features
Porac, Richard
By Josie Callahan | June 10, 2007, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
When the bell sounds at 2:10 p.m., students pile noisily out of the P.E. hallway, toward their buses or friends. In the midst of the hysteria, a teacher leans casually against the wall outside his classroom, slapping hands, laughing and joking playfully with students on their way out. The day however, is not nearly over for Richard Porac, a notoriously entertaining health teacher.
Amell, Heather
By Johanna Gretschel | June 10, 2007, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Late January marks the end of the indoor track season. Most members have long since disappeared, whether from the onset of studying for exams or not qualifying for the regional meet. The remaining runners face the frosty track each day after school, and they are not alone. Their coach sprints alongside them, feeling the same shin splints and fatigue. She who dares to join her athletes in the dreary weather instead of comfortably standing by on the sidelines is Heather Amell.
Ngbea, David
By Priyanka Gokhale | June 10, 2007, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
One peek into room 160 shows the depth of David Ngbea's reach. Over 40 letters and notes fill one bulletin board, saying things like, "Thank you Mr. Ngbea for everything." Motivational posters line every corner of the wall space – some with tips for healthy living and others with words of guidance. Ngbea has made it clear that he has one main purpose at Blair – to guarantee that young people get the best out of their high school careers.
Blair's budding businessmen
By Maya Calabrese, Rachita Sood | May 31, 2007, midnight | In Features »
At age eight, senior Thomas Dant picked up his first camera – an old Nikon from his uncle – and spent hours snapping photographs of flowers, people and whatever else he could find in his neighborhood. Now, nine years later, Dant's photography has blossomed into a thriving business, Fine Foto, and earned him honors in a national business competition.
Blazers hold their own at the historic Penn Relays
By Johanna Gretschel | May 28, 2007, midnight | In Features »
As soon as he felt the crisp, cold metal of the baton slap onto his palm, senior Muhammad Roberson bolted from his expectant stance to sprint up the curve of the track. Salty sweat dripped down his brow, blinding his eyes as he caught the leader of the race. Halfway through the backstretch, Roberson suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hamstring. An aching grimace spread over his face as the pain intensified and Roberson wanted to stop, but couldn't – not in front of the 46,000 fans who had come out for the 113th annual Penn Relays Carnival. For the first time in over twenty years, Blair sent the boys' 4x100m and 4x400m relays to Philadelphia, joining a legacy of Blair faculty who have competed in the meet throughout the years.
Beaching with the Boss
By Josie Callahan | May 25, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Think beach week is a time to get away from school? Think again; you may just end up sharing a beach umbrella with Mr. Gainous.
Lost in Translation
By Lois Bangiolo | May 17, 2007, midnight | In Features »
At the start of her sophomore year at Blair, senior Estefany Carrillo would walk into the science office, and explain her situation to any teacher there who would listen. After days of this, she finally got what she had been asking for: classes equal to her ability, not far below.
Hand in the sand
By Lois Bangiolo, Jessica Cutler | May 15, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Every vacation when he heads to the beach, Magnet teacher Robert Donaldson takes along a swimsuit, towel and one extra special item: a steak knife.
BLAIR PAIR: third time's the charm
By | May 14, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Hardworking percussionist Peter wants companionship. Will guitar player Lisa play to the beat of his drums?
For these athletes, the board is their field
By Poorva Singal | May 11, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Senior Max Lockwood doesn't need a large field or a court to play his sport. Nor does he need to run a few laps to warm up. All he needs is a cup, a three by six foot felt mat, a table to put the mat on, some small colored disks called winks and a shooter disk called a squidger for his choice sport: tiddlywinks.
BLAIR PAIR: part deux
By | May 7, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Quirky Tiddlywink-er seeks a girl who understands him. Will these two Blazers play by the same rules? Max Lockwood, senior, and Lily Ross, sophomore
Principal and parents
By Priyanka Gokhale | May 4, 2007, midnight | In Features »
In the center of the empty choral room, several parents met with Principal Phillip Gainous this morning. Over coffee, cookies and danishes, the group discussed Gainous's possible resignation and its repercussions. One by one, the parents – including PTSA co-President Dave Ottalini— asked questions of Gainous.
With Mike Street, it's bon appetit
By Josie Callahan | May 3, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Senior Mike Street swallows a nervous lump as he ties an apron around his waist. He surveys the immaculate personal cooking station before him, registering the raw chicken broccoli, and rice. To his right are spices, seasonings and vegetables; and to his left, cooking utensils and appliances. With one hour and 58 minutes to go, he seizes a handful of flour with one hand and a slab of raw chicken with the other, and begins the race for the title Best Teen Chef 2007.
A guide to Edline
By Boris Vassilev | April 30, 2007, midnight | In Features »
For more than two years, Montgomery County has been testing a program for student-school interface, Edline, at several Montogomery County schools with the aim of making it the standard for all public schools in the area. Edline works much like BEN does, providing students with a way of checking their classes and homework as well as emailing their teachers and keeping track of school events.
Temp-ing for Blazers
By Priyanka Gokhale | April 24, 2007, midnight | In Features »
They're here every day. Writing on the board, typing on the computer and assigning worksheets, they look just like the myriad of other teachers at school, save for one key difference – when the day ends, they leave…for good.
Blair parent ISO quillow?
By Eve Gleichman | April 24, 2007, midnight | In Features »
PTSA Silent Auction co-chair Donna Beausoleil stands at the ready, yellow highlighter in hand. There are fifteen seconds to go in section B.
On your mark, get set, fire
By Miriam Ragen | April 23, 2007, midnight | In Features »
"We thought it was a real bullet," junior Ben Simon says. "Luckily it wasn't." While in the sixth grade, Simon was hit by a bb pellet in the stomach, making the looming threat of bb gun injuries closer than ever before.
Slam dunk for aspiring poets
By Eve Gleichman | April 20, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Three minutes. No props. Original poetry only. The rules are clear for Blair's second annual Poetry Slam, which took place in the media center tonight as part of the Blair Fair festivities.
Linked by a pink ribbon
By Audrey Kubetin | April 19, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Her grandmother died from it. Her grandfather, too. But when her mother received a breast cancer diagnosis in 1995, junior Catherine Rogers was too young to realize what it meant. "My mom just told me that she had a 'boo-boo' and the doctors were trying to fix it," Rogers remembers. "I guess I was too young to think that she could die from it."
A passion to dance about
By Josie Callahan | April 18, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Inside the walls of the Dance Exchange studio on Maple Ave., more than muscles are hard at work. Juniors Sarah Rothman and Suzanna Vaughan, along with six other teenage girls are deep in thought as they fan out onto the shining studio floor. The girls divide in two groups of four and each begin to talk and move to a mellow techno beat. After ten minutes of brainstorming, the girls have choreographed a 30 second dance. "Show me what you got!" says their instructor. With a confident smile, Rothman urges one of the younger dancers to begin. Taking the first of many risks, the young dancer allows Rothman and Vaughan to lift her into the air.
SGA plans a month of events
By Boris Vassilev | April 17, 2007, midnight | In Features »
As fourth quarter flies past, the school year may be slowing down, but the Blair SGA is certainly not winding down. With a host of activities planned for the coming two months, the SGA plans to end the school year with a bang. Here is a look at what the SGA has planned for Blazers during that time.
Raising the stakes
By Pia Nargundkar | April 16, 2007, midnight | In Features »
As the final minutes of the Georgetown versus Ohio State Final Four game wind down, junior John Winters grapples with a difficult dilemma: whom he wants to win. Winters has to choose between a team he genuinely likes (Georgetown) and a team that will win him money. In the end, Winters decided he was happy that Ohio State won. After all, he was itching to win this year's March Madness pool.
BLAIR PAIR: 2007
By | April 13, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Calling all Blair bachelor(ette)s! Are you on the lookout for love? Praying for the perfect prom date? Searching for that special someone to make your spring spectacular?
Running on empty
By Johanna Gretschel | March 28, 2007, midnight | In Features »
Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources. Willing herself to finish a suicide sprint at practice, Jane, a senior, clutches her throbbing temple. Her concerned teammates' blurry faces bob before her eyes. Her legs stagger, then buckle as she loses consciousness. When she comes to a few seconds later, Jane's mother is standing over her with a popsicle in hand. Jane consumes the popsicle and feels her blood sugar spike back up, replenishing some of her energy and relieving not a case of dehydration, but malnutrition; Jane had eaten nothing but a pear that day.
The worrying world of Blair
By Kate Harter | March 26, 2007, midnight | In Features »
With the third quarter winding down (phew) and AP exams just around the corner, we're all feeling stressed and irritable. First come the re-take quizzes (after which you wish you'd actually studied so you hadn't failed the first time around), the 16 tests jammed into the last week before grades are entered, and all those after school hours of spring sports: you can't go home and sleep after a dreadful day of three math re-takes and a Latin oral; instead you have to lace up your cleats and head out to softball or lacrosse or Tiddlywinks.
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