Amy Forsbacka

Name: Amy Forsbacka
Position: Editor-in-Chief
Graduation Year: 2018

Hi, I'm Amy. I love drinking coffee, trying tasty new foods and doing yoga. I also enjoy running and relaxing.

Stories (23)

MoCo students participate in #National Walkout Day

By Absa Fall, Mahnaz Habib, Madeleine Tilley, Rebecca Wessel, Oreet Zimand, Amy Forsbacka | March 14, 2018, 10:47 p.m. | In Local »

Montgomery Blair High School students walked out of school to participate in #NationalWalkoutDay, joining students from across Montgomery County. The walkout culminated in 17 minutes of silence in front of the White House, after which they marched to the Capitol to listen to several speakers.

MoCo students welcome students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

By Rebecca Wessel, Oreet Zimand, Amy Forsbacka | Feb. 27, 2018, 9:59 p.m. | In Local »

On Monday evening, Montgomery Blair High School hosted a town hall meeting for Montgomery County (MoCo) high school students to meet and talk to students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. took place.

MCPS employee arrested for sexual abuse of a minor

By Amy Forsbacka | Oct. 6, 2017, 5:07 p.m. | In Local »

Cory Boatman, long-term substitute teacher and assistant football coach for Montgomery Blair High School, has been arrested and charged with one count of sexual abuse of a minor.

Students and staff devastated by death of Blair student

By Mehana Daftary, Amy Forsbacka | May 19, 2017, 12:35 p.m. | In Local »

Blair offered counseling services today for staff and students due to the death of freshman student Mark Jean-Louis yesterday. Jean-Louis passed away while in the hospital on Thursday.

How to spot a fire technician

By Amy Forsbacka | April 20, 2017, 2:04 p.m. | In Humor »

Changes coming to government and biology HSAs

By Amy Forsbacka | Feb. 18, 2017, 8:04 p.m. | In Local »

The Maryland State Department of Education is in the process of changing the government High School Assessment (HSA) test and plans to phase out the biology HSA test next year.

Getting down and dirty

By Amy Forsbacka | Feb. 18, 2017, 7:21 p.m. | In Features »

Secluded in its own little niche just off of the 210s hallway, it's unlikely that many Blazers have ever actually been inside the greenhouse. But for those who yearn to roll up their sleeves and get dirty or to discover the green thumb they never knew they had, this small, glass-paneled classroom is a haven.

Blair varsity boys basketball wins against Clarksburg

By Amy Forsbacka | Feb. 13, 2017, 1:45 p.m. | In Blair »

Blair's varsity boys' basketball team won 56-50 against Clarksburg on Friday night. Sophomore forward Ethan Ellis scored 13 points and senior center Julius Cobb dunked twice and scored 21 points.

Bocce on the rise

By Amy Forsbacka | Feb. 7, 2017, 12:59 p.m. | In Features »

Junior Falla Mathieu bends down. After a moment of concentration, she gently tosses a ball forward. It bounces once, twice, then glides down the gym floor before coming to stop. It's now the closest to the yellow ball, and Blair wins the game. The sport is bocce, and a small but dedicated crowd goes wild for Blair's close victory.

Top Ten Tweets 1/31-2/5

By Nate Bodner, Amy Forsbacka, Ryan Handel, Neva Taylor, Ellie Williams, Charles Lott | Feb. 6, 2017, 7:14 p.m. | In News Blog »

Every week on Silver Chips Online the top ten tweets will aim to highlight the ten most important, most clever, or funniest tweets of the week. Keep caught up with news, sports, and social media in this week's roundup.

Top ten tweets: 1/24-1/30

By Nate Bodner, Amy Forsbacka, Ryan Handel, Ellie Williams, Charles Lott | Jan. 31, 2017, 4:27 p.m. | In News Blog »

Meet the Blair SMOB candidates

By Amy Forsbacka | Jan. 30, 2017, 9:22 p.m. | In Local »

Juniors Charles Goldman, Joshua Sorto, Le Do and Michael Yin are all running for Student Member on the Board (SMOB) this year.

Top ten tweets: 1/17-1/23

By Nate Bodner, Amy Forsbacka, Ellie Williams, Sandeep David, Lauren Frost, Charles Lott | Jan. 25, 2017, 1:17 p.m. | In News Blog »

Showing a war through a screen

By Amy Forsbacka | Jan. 14, 2017, 1:17 p.m. | In Op/Ed »

Bana Alabed, seven, is a little Syrian girl bringing the daily struggles of living in a war zone and what is happening inside of Aleppo to the forefront of national media. Her medium for doing this? Twitter. During Syria's civil war, social media is helping the international community care more about the Aleppo conflict by directly seeing how it affects those living in Aleppo.

Blair girls basketball topples Springbrook

By Amy Forsbacka | Jan. 12, 2017, 10:36 a.m. | In Blair »

The Blair Blazers won 60-24 on Friday against the Springbrook Blue Devils. The first quarter saw the Blazers start off slowly, allowing the Blue Devils to match them score for score. Despite the shooting ability of the Springbrook guards, Blair was able to take the lead in the second quarter.

Lifting the veil on the rise of German Islamophobia

By Amy Forsbacka | Jan. 9, 2017, 1:11 p.m. | In Op/Ed »

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a ban on the full face veil in a speech at her party's conference. She said wearing the veil, called niqabs and burkas, was not appropriate in Germany. However, banning the veil does not encourage the cultural assimilation of migrant women.

Why Promethean?

By Amy Forsbacka | Dec. 23, 2016, 1:45 p.m. | In Op/Ed »

Integrating technology in classrooms sounds groundbreaking, but the reality is not so glamourous. When Promethean boards started popping up in classrooms all around Montgomery County in 2008, it sounded like the perfect technology - designed to make learning interactive and to bring the fresh face of the 21st century to the classroom. But eight years later, those shiny dreams have come up short.

State pride reaches far and wide

By Amy Forsbacka | Dec. 19, 2016, 9:24 p.m. | In Features »

It's everywhere. It finds its way onto athletic wear, shorts, sweatshirts and hats. People are obsessed with it. Its presence is so constant that that the average Marylander doesn't even notice it anymore. What is it? It's the coolest state flag of all: the red and white cross and black and yellow checkers of Maryland.

Fantastic effects and where to find them

By Amy Forsbacka | Dec. 14, 2016, 1:05 p.m. | In Movies »

J.K. Rowling has done it again with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.This cinematically breathtaking film has impressive special effects, a consistently visually appealing color scheme, imaginatively detailed beasts and a multitude of magical landscapes.

The safety pin campaign comes to America

By Amy Forsbacka | Dec. 1, 2016, 6:01 p.m. | In News Blog »

In the wake of Trump's election, many have expressed a need for solidarity and tolerance. Wearing a safety pin is supposed to signify being an ally and a safe person who will stand up against oppression and protect those being publicly harassed.

Picking up the pieces

By Amy Forsbacka | Nov. 15, 2016, 2:10 p.m. | In Features »

The explosion that ripped through a Long Branch apartment building this summer also tore apart many of the lives of the families affected. Heard from a mile away, the explosion killed seven and left many others displaced. The community pitched in to attend to the immediate needs of the victims, but two months later, numerous families are still in need.

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.

Silver Spring apartment explosion leaves at least 30 injured and 7 dead

By Amy Forsbacka | Sept. 2, 2016, 1:13 p.m. | In Local »

A massive gas explosion injured at least 30 people and killed seven in a Flower Branch apartment complex on Arliss Street in Silver Spring late Wednesday night.