Eleanor Cook




Name: Eleanor Cook
Position: Online Editor-in-Chief
Graduation Year: 2017
Hi! I'm super excited to be an Editor-in-Chief of SCO this year. When I'm not managing this site I enjoy playing soccer, basketball, and running track, and am an avid reader and Harry Potter fan. Have fun reading about the latest Blair events!


Stories (39)


Students participate in town hall

By Eleanor Cook | March 23, 2017, 12:11 p.m. | In Local »

Newly-elected Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) spoke at a town hall on Sun., Feb. 26, along with other Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials, as well.

Blair mourns the loss of a student

By Eleanor Cook | March 16, 2017, 2:16 p.m. | In Local »

Junior Isaque Oliveira was a quiet student with big ideas. Friends remember how he was fun and caring. In class he looked for the big picture and pursued topics further. Early on the morning of January 31, however, Oliveira took his own life. He is survived by his mother and father, his older brother and his younger sister.

Girls' basketball comes up short in playoffs

By Eleanor Cook | Feb. 28, 2017, 1:03 p.m. | In Blair »

In a disappointing end to the season, the Blazers (13-9) lost to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons (14-6) by a score of 52-37. The Barons gained a lead early in the game and, although that lead fluctuated, the Blazers were never able to come back.

Blazers demolish Northwood

By Eleanor Cook | Feb. 13, 2017, 1:42 p.m. | In Blair »

The Blair boys' basketball team (9-8) flexed its muscles against the Northwood Gladiators (2-17) on Tuesday. With a full-court, man-to-man defense throughout the game, the Blazers put pressure on Northwood from the beginning and took advantage of opportunities on offense. After gaining a lead in the first quarter, Blair pulled ahead significantly and never looked back.

The play's the thing

By Eleanor Cook | Nov. 22, 2016, 12:57 p.m. | In Plays »

In this modern-day rendition of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, complete with selfies and sweater vests, Blair theater brings Hamlet to life. With a wonderful cast and set, the play is two-hours well-spent.

Students walk out in protest

By Amy Forsbacka, Eleanor Cook, Pedraam Faridjoo, Lauren Frost, Randima Herath | Nov. 14, 2016, 1:29 p.m. | In Local »

Hundreds of Montgomery Blair students left campus on Nov. 14 to participate in a national protest against President-elect Donald Trump.

Blazers find a new frequency

By Eleanor Cook | Sept. 22, 2016, 12:57 p.m. | In Features »

"You're listening to WOWD-LP and this is Block Period." It's 10 p.m. on a Friday night. While most people are just getting into the swing of the weekend, Blair seniors Max Kittner, Maia Pramuk, Mika Yatsuhashi, Olivia Lindsley and Vivian Bauer are hosting a radio show.

Bomb threat forces Blair to evacuate

By Eleanor Cook, Randima Herath | Sept. 20, 2016, 2:53 p.m. | In Local »

Students and staff at Montgomery Blair High School were evacuated out of the school building during sixth period on Tuesday, Sept. 20. The evacuation, which occurred at 12:28 p.m. was prompted after an anonymous call to Montgomery County 911 warned of a bomb in the school building.

Blazers take home two state track titles

By Eleanor Cook | May 30, 2016, 4:07 p.m. | In Blair »

Junior Thierry Siewe Yanga won the Maryland boys' 4A 800 meter race with a time of 1:55.22 at the Maryland Track and Field State Championships at Morgan State University in Baltimore on Saturday, May 28. The day before, Friday, May 27, he also led the boys' 4x800 meter relay team, along with seniors Ben Geertsema and Alexander Mangiafico and junior Dominic Massimino, to win the state championship with a time of 7:58.58.

Bill would require annual mental health training for teachers

By Eleanor Cook | May 9, 2016, 12:41 p.m. | In Local »

In the Maryland State House of Delegates, there is currently a bill on the floor that would require all school personnel to receive mental health training each year.

Blazers suffer ninth inning loss

By Eleanor Cook | April 26, 2016, 2:12 p.m. | In Blair »

Blair varsity baseball (6-5) lost to the Walter Johnson Wildcats (10-2) in a close game by a score of 4-2. After allowing two runs in the top of the ninth inning, the Blazers were unable to bounce back.

Primary Predictions: Maryland, April 26

By Eleanor Cook, Charles Lott, Maximillian Foley-Keene, Neida Mbuia Joao | April 25, 2016, 9 p.m. | In Local »

This race has been nearly unpredictable from the start, but SCO's team of experts, featuring seniors Max Foley-Keene and Neida Mbuia-Joao and juniors Eleanor Cook and Charlie Lott are here to break down the races and predict the unpredictable.

Colonels triumph over Blazers

By Eleanor Cook | April 19, 2016, 2:09 p.m. | In Blair »

Despite a strong start and consistent efforts throughout the game, the Blair boys' lacrosse team (0-5) was not able to fight off Magruder (2-4). The Blazers led early on, but as the game continued, they had no answer to the Colonels' continued offense, and lost 12-10.

Blazers take down Rams

By Eleanor Cook | April 9, 2016, 3:14 p.m. | In Blair »

In a hard-fought game, the Blazers (2-1) defeated the Rockville Rams (0-3) 12-10.

Superintendent and SMOB answer questions at Blair

By Eleanor Cook, Nicholas Shereikis | March 23, 2016, 1:19 p.m. | In Local »

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) Eric Guerci hosted a town hall meeting with Interim Superintendent Larry A. Bowers in the Montgomery Blair High School media center on Thursday, Mar. 10.

Behind the campaign

By Eleanor Cook | March 21, 2016, 3:46 p.m. | In Local »

After campaigning for several weeks and travelling around the county, Blazer Olivia Gonzalez agreed to sit down with SCO to provide insight into the experience of running for SMOB.

March 15 primary predictions

By Eleanor Cook, Charles Lott, Maximillian Foley-Keene, Neida Mbuia Joao | March 14, 2016, 9:23 p.m. | In National »

This race has been nearly unpredictable from the start, but SCO's team of experts, featuring seniors Max Foley-Keene and Neida Mbuia-Joao and juniors Eleanor Cook and Charlie Lott are here to break down the races and predict the unpredictable.

Ooh ah, you wish you were a Blazer!

By Eleanor Cook | March 3, 2016, 1:45 p.m. | In Op/Ed »

In basketball, and all sports, female athletes work just as hard as their male counterparts, and should therefore be given the same respect. Girls' sports teams should be referred to without the preceding "Lady."

Super Tuesday primary predictions

By Eleanor Cook, Charles Lott, Maximillian Foley-Keene, Neida Mbuia Joao | Feb. 29, 2016, 8:29 p.m. | In National »

Happy Super Tuesday! More states vote today than at any other point in the primary contest. A huge amount of delegates are awarded and candidates who do well on Super Tuesday tend to win the nomination.

Primary Predictions: South Carolina Democrats

By Eleanor Cook, Charles Lott, Maximillian Foley-Keene, Neida Mbuia Joao | Feb. 27, 2016, 8:51 a.m. | In National »

This race has been nearly unpredictable from the start, but SCO's team of experts, featuring seniors Max Foley-Keene and Neida Mbuia-Joao and juniors Eleanor Cook and Charlie Lott are here to break down the races and predict the unpredictable.

A whole new world

By Eleanor Cook | Feb. 8, 2016, 8:08 p.m. | In Features »

ESOL classes are an important part of helping students adapt to their new country and succeed academically but, above all, they are made up of hard-working students and teachers.

SCO Says: noisy families, cuffing season and senioritis

By Eleanor Cook, Sandeep David, Lauren Frost, Divya Rajagopal | Feb. 5, 2016, 10:36 a.m. | In Lifestyle Blog »

Welcome back! With the holidays finally over, we here at SCOsays have completely recovered and are ready to dish out more advice for all you confused people out there. So! Without further ado here we go on the third edition* of SCOsays. *If you haven't yet (loser), check out our second edition (It's a video!!) SCOsays holiday special.

More computer science means more opportunities

By Eleanor Cook | Feb. 3, 2016, 7:40 p.m. | In Op/Ed »

The advances in computer science education in the county should be lauded, but need also be pushed further. Computer science should be made a graduation requirement.

A warning about school Google products

By Eleanor Cook | Jan. 22, 2016, 8:07 p.m. | In Op/Ed »

In Montgomery County Schools (MCPS), a county which uses multiple Google products, teachers should be wary of using Google products, particularly for out-of-class assignments.

County announces elevated concentrations of radon in 28 facilities

By Eleanor Cook | Jan. 7, 2016, 7:58 p.m. | In Local »

In 26 schools, as well as the Rocking Horse Road Center daycare and the Lathrop Smith Environmental Education Center, where many students go for Outdoor Education in middle school, the levels of radon in one or more rooms were above the recommended 4 pCi/L.

"Joy" needs more

By Eleanor Cook | Jan. 2, 2016, 11:45 a.m. | In Movies »

"Joy" is a modern-day story of rags to riches, and plays off of the clichéd idea that anyone can make it big in America. With more character development, it would be an excellent film, but without it, there is too much missing for it to be plausible.

Cheering for a win

By Eleanor Cook | Dec. 8, 2015, 1:13 p.m. | In Features »

From the summer before the season through Nov. 13, the day before their competition, the cheer team practices every day, growing as a team and as individual athletes. This year they finished on top, winning first place in Division Two for the first time since 2007, and the Spirit Award for the 11th year in a row.

Vigil held for woman who died in Mali terrorism

By Eleanor Cook | Dec. 2, 2015, 9:20 p.m. | In Local »

Takoma Park community members gathered at the gazebo in Old Town Takoma Park on Sunday, Nov. 22 for a candlelight vigil to mourn the loss of Takoma Park resident Anita Ashok Datar, 41, who was killed in the terrorist attacks on a Mali hotel on Nov. 20.

Results of the Takoma Park elections released

By Eleanor Cook | Nov. 16, 2015, 9:04 p.m. | In Local »

Voters in Takoma Park, Maryland elected Kate Stewart as the new mayor at the Takoma Park Community Center and selected city councilmembers of their wards on Nov. 3. Since the voting age in Takoma Park was lowered to 16 in 2013, several Blair students were able to vote in the Tuesday elections.

Blair graduates killed in separate car accidents

By Eleanor Cook | Nov. 12, 2015, 1:27 p.m. | In Local »

Mohammed Shafiq Khan, 21, crashed into a tree at the intersection of Gist Ave. and Ray Dr. in Silver Spring on Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the early morning. On the evening of Thursday, Oct. 22, Yoftahea Afework Melese, 20, crashed on Carroll Ave.

Blair opens cap and gown color options to all genders

By Eleanor Cook | Oct. 21, 2015, 6:46 p.m. | In Local »

The class of 2016 voted on Thursday, Oct. 8 that they will continue to have both red and white caps and gowns at graduation. Principal Renay Johnson announced the outcome of the vote later that day, but decided students will be able to choose whether they want to wear red or white.

SCO Says: Lunch seating, Homecoming, and Blair's exclusive pool

By Eleanor Cook, Sandeep David, Lauren Frost | Oct. 20, 2015, 8:13 a.m. | In Lifestyle Blog »

Welcome to the first SCO Says of the 2015-2016 school year! Here you'll find some great advice on all things Blair provided by professionals. In this edition we tackle all your first-month-of-school including lunch time seating, homecoming, and of course the exclusive Blair pool.

Too much diplomacy

By Eleanor Cook | Oct. 11, 2015, 10:39 a.m. | In Op/Ed »

While meeting with Jinping and maintaining relations China are important, the White House's grand reception of the Chinese president was irresponsible and should have been scaled down.

"The Intern" rises to the occasion

By Eleanor Cook | Oct. 6, 2015, 1:51 p.m. | In Movies »

Falling in love with "The Intern" is easy. It excels at portraying the complexities of life in the 21st century and keeps audiences rooting for Ben, Jules, and their colleagues and company the whole length of the film.

MCPS Board of Education votes to eliminate high school final exams

By Eleanor Cook | Sept. 21, 2015, 1:14 p.m. | In Local »

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Education decided to do away with final exams in all high school courses beginning the 2016-2017 school year.

Renovations update Downtown Silver Spring

By Eleanor Cook | Sept. 3, 2015, 1:30 p.m. | In Local »

Since the end of the 2014-2015 school year, Downtown Silver Spring has undergone several changes, and more are projected to be finalized later in the year. New restaurants have gone into vacant spots and renovations have made space for more new eating and shopping venues.

Priceless adventures

By Eleanor Cook | Aug. 27, 2015, 11:56 a.m. | In Lifestyle »

As the summer winds down and school floats back to the top of everyone's minds, students should take advantage of their last few days of freedom. A great way to ease back into the idea of learning would be by spending a day in Downtown DC visiting museums and monuments.

"Paper Towns" is worth the trip

By Eleanor Cook | July 27, 2015, 10:20 p.m. | In Movies »

"Paper Towns," based on the novel by John Green, combines clever humor with existential questions to create a film that has the audience not only laughing with the characters as they encounter comical situations, but also reflecting on their own lives.

A green light for the Pope's discussion on climate change

By Eleanor Cook | July 25, 2015, 7:08 p.m. | In Op/Ed »

Pope Francis' actions should be celebrated as an effort that will bring one of the globe's most massive organizations, as well as millions of people throughout the earth, back onto the world stage.



Images (9)


Photo: Talking to Raskin

By Eleanor Cook | March 23, 2017, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Senior Suad Mohamud waits to speak with Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Photo: Town Hall

By Eleanor Cook | March 23, 2017, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Constituents listen as their representatives talk.

Photo: HSA

By Eleanor Cook | Feb. 18, 2017, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Maryland is modifying the Government High School Assessment (HSA) to comply with the Common Core. The Biology HSA will be replaced.

Photo: Cook, Eleanor

By Eleanor Cook | Dec. 14, 2016, 1:22 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Police check the stadium

By Eleanor Cook | Sept. 20, 2016, midnight | In ‎Latest »

A Montgomery County Police Officer clears Blazer Stadium before staff and students are directed into it.

Photo: In the Studio

By Eleanor Cook | Sept. 19, 2016, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Seniors Maia Pramuk and Vivian Bauer look out of the studio where they are recording their radio show "Block Period."

Photo: Block Party!

By Eleanor Cook | Sept. 19, 2016, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Seniors (from left to right) Mika Yatsuhashi, Olivia Lindsley, Vivian Bauer, Max Kittner, and Maia Pramuk started "Block Period," a new show on Takoma Radio.

Photo: Blair at bat

By Eleanor Cook | April 26, 2016, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Vigil singing

By Eleanor Cook | Dec. 2, 2015, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Takoma Park mayor Kate Stewart leads the singing of "This Little Light of Mine."