At first, he chalked it up to stress, dismissing his exhaustion as simply the result of a hectic schedule. But when he still felt lethargic and weak a month later, 2006 graduate David Slovin knew something was wrong.
Over half of all black and Latino students in MCPS enrolled in honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses last year, a four-percent increase from the previous school year.
Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources. One day last February, Tony, a junior, skipped school and stumbled upon a dark blue Honda Civic in Wheaton. The car's unlocked doors beckoned to him, inviting him to come inside. As he approached the lonely vehicle he looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then, in what he refers to as a "spur-of-the-moment" decision, he jumped in, ripped open the console, hotwired the car and drove off to Wheaton Mall.
Each year, thousands of high school seniors eagerly await the arrival of those thick envelopes, containing the letters that validate their past 12 years of hard work and sacrifice — the letters that confirm their admission into the colleges of their dreams. The diverse backgrounds of these seniors highlight the different struggles and challenges they must face in order to pursue higher education. For many Ivy League hopefuls, applying to college is a familiar process that their parents, who have graduated from college in the U.S., will be able to guide them through. For most first-generation students, they must navigate through the college application process on their own. Different though these students may be, they all share one ultimate goal: to be accepted into college.
Every night at dinner, Ethan, a junior, eats facing a wall plastered with index cards his mother has made of the colleges he will apply to, as well as a print-out of his SAT score sheet.
Every day between the ages of seven and 12, Catherine, a sophomore, was welcomed home by a familiar sight: bottles of liquor strewn over the carpet, accompanied by her father's drunken shouts ringing through the house.
MCPS has prohibited viewing R-rated films in high schools and PG-13 rated films in middle schools, according to a Nov. 29 memo to the Board of Education. Due to complaints from teachers, MCPS is working to make some changes to the policy.
Director Rob Marshall's "Memoirs of a Geisha," based on author Arthur Golden's bestselling novel, surely lives up to, if not exceeds, the high expectations of the novel's fans. Its dazzling cinematography combined with its talented actors brings to life the heartwarming tale of a destitute girl who fulfills her dream of becoming the most celebrated geisha of her time.
Every Wednesday afternoon, junior Andrea Wilkinson scrambles back and forth between the stuffy kitchen of the Woodmoor Pastry Shop and the throngs of impatient customers waiting at the register. She hurries to complete each shopper's orders while dealing with a litany of complaints from her dissatisfied manager. After scurrying around for almost five hours, she is finally dismissed from her job at 8:30 p.m. - and all for a meager $25.
In his upstairs bathroom, Michael, a junior, rolls up his sleeves and vigorously scrubs his hands with hot, soapy water before drying them with a towel. He pauses and stares nervously at his cracked and reddened palms. Unsatisfied, he plunges his hands back into the sink, rubbing even harder. Michael scrubs and dries 15 more times until the pain from his raw and bleeding skin forces him to stop.
Director Lasse Halstrom's "An Unfinished Life" combines the beautiful country setting of a Wyoming ranch with brilliant acting to create one of this summer's most memorable, yet plot-less films. Although the movie has its flaws, Halstrom's ability to turn the seemingly typical cowboy romance story into a dramatic, emotional tale manages to be both heartwarming and moving.