On March 14, in honor of Pi Day, Superintendent Joshua Starr tweeted a link to math teacher Jacob Scott's music video "Triangle Experts," raising the number of views of the video to nearly 7,000. Scott has gained countywide acclaim for pioneering a new genre of music: math rapping.
The Montgomery County Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) released a report on county-funded alternative programs for students at risk of dropping out. The study was sponsored by the County Council to evaluate the success of these programs in preparing at-risk students for college and the workforce.
On Feb. 28, the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE) adopted the first statewide policy on Gifted and Talented (GT) programs, which will establish minimum standards for such programs in school systems across the state.
Assistant Principal Dirk Cauley and Blair Sports Academy director Jose Segura have piloted a leadership program, Iron Sharpens Iron, to empower male Latino students at Blair.
Seven Blair seniors were named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), a national science research competition for high school seniors. Senior Frederic Koehler was named a finalist and was the only finalist selected from Maryland.
On Dec. 7, Superintendent Joshua Starr proposed his first MCPS operating budget before members of the Board of Education, Montgomery County Education Association, Montgomery County Council and Maryland state legislature.
On Dec. 13, Chipotle Mexican Grill opened its second Silver Spring location at the nearby Woodmoor Shopping Center. Chipotle replaced the space previously occupied by Subway, which relocated into the space formerly held by China House, according to Chipotle spokeswoman Katherine Newell Smith. Smith said that Chipotle came to Woodmoor in response to requests of several members of the community.
This year, Assistant Principal Dirk Cauley and the ninth grade team began collaborating on a new series of initiatives to decrease academic ineligibility, and strengthen leadership and anger management skills in the freshmen class.
Beginning with the Class of 2011, the Maryland Board of Education (BOE) will calculate graduation rate using a new formula that will comprise all four years of high school and account for transfer students and student deaths.
The proposal to enact a teen curfew in Montgomery County is being revised by the County Council's Public Safety Committee and will be submitted for a vote this November.
Silver Quill will integrate a music section with its present art and literature categories to encourage submissions from musically talented Blazers and to expand their readership to a broader subset of the student body.
Our society has etched the story of the successful student: they advance through elementary, middle and high school, working hard and achieving good grades and finally standing proudly as high school graduates. Adorned with a cap and gown, diplomas in one hand and admission letters to top colleges in another, they are completely prepared to meet the future ahead. While this trajectory is common for many Blazers, it conceals the paths of who do not follow this story: the paths of Blair dropouts.
Maryland General Assembly will not offer the Maryland Distinguished Scholar award for the high school class of 2012 and beyond, but will continue to fund recipients in the class of 2011 and those who are already enrolled in college.
Beginning in July, MCPS students will have free access to Ride On and Metrobus services on weekdays between 2 and 7 p.m. The Montgomery County Council passed the Kids Ride Free program on May 26 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 after suspending it for FY 2011.
Student members of the Green Club are currently collaborating with building service workers to reduce recycling contamination, an issue highlighted by this year's School Energy and Recycling Team (SERT) inspection. Recycling contamination occurs when trash is mixed with recycling and damages the recycling, causing Blair's recycling to be discarded with trash, according to SERT's recycling manager, Richard Benjamin.
They watched it happen nearly 7,000 miles away. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake, accompanied by hundreds of aftershocks, brought entire buildings to the ground, flooded the land with several tons of seawater and expunged thick, dark smoke into the air. They saw an earthquake, a tsunami and nuclear plant explosions taking place in Japan and finally absorbed the heartbreaking reality: This was happening to their home.
The Intercounty Connector (ICC) opened its 5.5-mile segment between Gaithersburg and Olney on Feb. 23, after nearly 50 years of debate and planning. According to Ray Feldmann, media relations manager at the ICC Project, driving on the ICC has proceeded smoothly during its opening weeks.
MCPS middle and high school students have started to contribute to Navy-based science and engineering projects as a result of a partnership signed between Montgomery County and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock Division. This is the first partnership between the Navy and Montgomery County and was entered at a signing ceremony on Jan. 24 at Shady Grove Innovation Center in Rockville, Maryland.
MCPS has installed diesel exhaust filters on 70 MCPS buses in order to enforce the 2008 settlement with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and to meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for improved air quality in the local Washington D.C., area. The settlement additionally entailed the construction of an air quality monitor near the Capital Beltway, which would be able to provide the first hard data on the highway's pollution levels over the course of three years.
The light darkens in the auditorium as students and teachers gather to watch their everyday lives projected on the screen. Teachers recognize the difficult job of teaching in a system focused on testing. Students recognize the stress of their common goal: admission into top colleges and an assurance of a successful life ahead.
On Nov. 19, Regal Majestic opened its first IMAX theater with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I." This is the first IMAX theater to open in Montgomery County, and is the first of four new IMAX theaters to be built in the Washington D.C., metropolitan area, according to Kirby Lawson, associate manager at Majestic.
At fourteen years old, freshman Victor Adamson is small and slight. He isn't built like a linebacker, but he has exceptional athletic talent. As a star freshman golfer on Blair's golf team, Victor shows that his size and age are no shortcomings for his gift - an inherent talent and potential for golf.
At fourteen years old, freshman Victor Adamson is small and slight. He isn't built like a linebacker, but he has exceptional athletic talent. As a star freshman golfer on Blair's golf team, Victor shows that his size and age are no shortcomings for his gift - an inherent talent and potential for golf.
Today's students are taught to be environmentally aware. They know the importance of a greener Earth. Blair has recycling bins in nearly every corner of the school. But now, it's time to bring environmentalism into the classroom. Under the new Environmental Literacy Program enacted on Sept. 21 by the Maryland Board of Education, all state schools are required to incorporate environmental education into their science curricula. It's valuable to conduct lessons and study books that teach how to conserve the environment, but those lessons can only be enforced through practical application. Planting vegetable gardens is one simple way to cement the lessons learned in the classroom. The only problem is MCPS's Feb. 26 ban on vegetable gardens in schools.