features
Silver Chips Online's official Halloween guide
By Lois Bangiolo Merlyn Deng | Oct. 28, 2005, midnight | In Features »
The weather is getting colder. The rain is pouring down. The leaves are changing color. Little monsters are jumping off the walls on sugar highs. It seems that that spooky time of the year has finally come once again.
The Halloween handbook
By Zoe Norvell | Oct. 27, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Tired of throwing on that old white sheet at the last minute because you had nothing else to wear for Halloween? Then this year, take your one chance to wear something unusual and put together the best Halloween get-up. Even if you're too cool to go trick-or-treating this year, remember that it's even more uncool to show up to the Halloween bash without a costume. No matter what your plans are for Halloween, we've got you covered. Here are some of the best stores in town for completing your one-of-a-kind Halloween ensemble:
The supplement sweeping the nation
By Phillip Allen Josh Zipin | Oct. 26, 2005, midnight | In Features »
The bench-press bar pulses up and down as the beat of Missy Elliot's "Lose Control" blares throughout Junior Eli Simon-Mishel's cramped basement. As the bar bounces, his breath becomes short and sharp. His face contorts into a look of anguish, his puffed up cheeks showing the intense stress on his body. "Twenty!" he exults as he clangs the bar back into place above his now still frame. Simon-Mishel reaches to his side and, with shaking hands, ladles two scoops of powder from a giant gray tub, stirs them into a cup of water and then downs the pink mixture in one swig.
Blazers turn to a different type of education
By Merlyn Deng | Oct. 25, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Senior Christiana Cassell will leave high school this June with more than just a diploma. In addition to graduating from Blair, Cassell will also have obtained her cosmetologist's license and completed over 1,500 hours of cosmetology-based practical, theoretical and business-related experience. While most Blazers do not take an interest in vocational education, Cassell chose to enroll in the countywide Thomas Edison High School of Technology.
The captain's curse
By Lois Bangiolo | Oct. 18, 2005, midnight | In Features »
As the ball flies toward her, senior Sarah Rumbaugh jumps up into the air to head it. Suddenly, another player smashes into her, toppling her over. As she hits the ground, her legs lock and she tears the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee. Her soccer season is cut short, and the varsity girls' soccer team has lost its captain - for the sixth time. The captain's curse has struck again.
Diversity Workshop leaders trained
By Meaghan Mallari | Oct. 14, 2005, midnight | In Features »
The annual open Diversity Workshop was held at Blair last Thursday after school to allow students, parents and teachers to talk about discrimination and how to recognize and stop stereotyping groups. The workshop was held in the SAC on Oct. 6 and a leader training session was held on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2005. The workshop, which attracted about 30 participants, began after school at 3:30 p.m. and lasted until 8 p.m.
One girl gives gaming a shot
By Natasha Prados | Oct. 14, 2005, midnight | In Features »
I've always blamed my inexperience with videogames on the fact that I don't have an older brother. But instead of shirking responsibility, I have finally decided to take matters into my own hands and find out for myself what gaming is all about.
Hope blooms in a Hispanic neighborhood
By Meaghan Mallari | Oct. 12, 2005, midnight | In Features »
The coconut chips, mango slices and cucumber slices are all in plastic Ziploc bags. Umbrellas cover the stands and shopping carts hold the fruit that gets periodically peeled and sliced. Here is a group of women holding on to the culture of their native country while trying to make a living everyday on the four corners of Merrimac Drive and 14th Avenue.
Celebrating Ramadan
By Hokuma Karimova | Oct. 11, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Ramadan, a time when Muslims celebrate Allah's revelation of the first verses of the Koran, began Wednesday, Oct. 5. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, but because Islam uses the lunar calendar, the holiday begins on a different day each year. This year, Ramadan will last until Nov. 4.
Weathering the storm
By Eve Gleichman | Oct. 6, 2005, midnight | In Features »
"New Orleans is no more." Senior Carl Fortenberry recalls the words his mother spoke the morning of Aug. 28 when Hurricane Katrina, a category four storm, hit Algiers Point, New Orleans, washing away the only home he had known for the past 18 years. By the time Katrina struck, Fortenberry had already left behind his extended family, his friends and his life to drive with his mother to Little Rock, Arkansas. Now, he is a student at Blair struggling to begin a new life.
Charles, Emanuel
By Zoe Norvell | Oct. 3, 2005, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
At first glance, the guy leaning against the gym's wall, exchanging daps and a quick "What's up?" with the tall basketball players that walk by him, looks like a fellow student, ready to follow them on the court and "play some ball" with them. But in fact he's there to supervise the boys during open gym. The guy is Emanuel Charles, a second year Physical Education teacher at Blair.
Horne, Michael
By Devon Madison | Oct. 3, 2005, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
English teacher Michael Horne grew up a well-rounded child in Connecticut. He had one sister and played a little of every sport and played the accordion. Since then, his interests have changed, but his well-roundedness has remained as one of his best qualities.
Playing ball for a good cause
By Hokuma Karimova | Oct. 1, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Blair staff members faced off against Montgomery County Police officers in a basketball game to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, on Thursday, Sept. 29.
Making it as a male cheerleader
By Natasha Prados | Sept. 30, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Twenty-eight pairs of hands clap. Twenty-eight mouths shout in unison. Twenty-eight bodies move rhythmically in perfect formation on the field. Twenty-eight bodies are wearing 28 white t-shirts and 28 black skirts that read "Cheer" in italics. Wait, make that twenty-five skirts.
Translating from German to English
By Lois Bangiolo | Sept. 29, 2005, midnight | In Features »
On junior Lotte Giza's first day of school, she was like many Blazers who might have been asking themselves, "Why am I here? I should be at home!" What separated Giza from the others was the fact that Giza's home is across an ocean, thousands of miles away in Hamburg, Germany.
Stuck in time
By Alexis Egan | Sept. 26, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Car radios blast loudly, immersing the expansive grounds in the soundtrack of "Charlie and Chocolate Factory" with literal surround sound. The aroma of popcorn fills the air, as tots are herded back to cars by weary traffic directors, who are glad that the film is finally starting. Viewers sit in cars, on lawn chairs and atop picnic blankets, attentively watching the main attraction. Stuck in time, guests have no idea that they are living history, enjoying an evening in Maryland's last drive-in, Bengies – an artifact from a bygone era. One of only 402 drive-in theaters left in the United States, Bengies draws viewers from all over the East Coast.
Hurricane Katrina evacuees find hospitality at D.C. Armory
By Mary Donahue | Sept. 25, 2005, midnight | In Features »
As the sun rises above the D.C. Armory on Sept. 10, Billy Allen sits on the concrete steps reading his Bible. "God makes things happen for a reason," he sighs, closing the book and turning to look reflectively at the people beginning to gather at a Red Cross booth across the street.
Seeing through the storm
By Cole Brown | Sept. 17, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Until Aug. 27, things seemed to be going great for Zachary Brown. He had just moved into Loyola University in New Orleans where he planned to study music performance and industry in Loyola's highly praised music program. At the time, no one at Loyola knew that Hurricane Katrina was poised to strike the Gulf Coast. Brown is one of thousands of students forced to evacuate New Orleans because of the hurricane.
Collins and Squeeze Bayou bring stylish Cajun to sweltering Silver Spring
By Merlyn Deng | Aug. 4, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Swimsuit clad toddlers and children prance about in the bubbling water fountain in Downtown Silver Spring as Blair computer science teacher Karen Collins and her Cajun & Zydeco band, Squeeze Bayou, tune up and play a few measures before the beginning of another Silver Spring Swings Summer Concert Series performance, on Thursday, July 28.
Blair grads focus of Washington Post Magazine cover story
By Alex Hyder | July 31, 2005, midnight | In Features »
The Washington Post Magazine featured Abby Fraeman and Sherri Geng, both 2005 Blair graduates, in its cover story, "Aptitude Aplenty," by Kathy Lally, on July 31, 2005.
Potter party
By Eve Gleichman | July 16, 2005, midnight | In Features »
"Chocolate-covered frogs and Hagrid's Hot Cocoa!" a sign advertised in a very crowded basement. A daunting figure stood behind the counter, dressed in an ominous cloak and a painted white face, serving small children clad as wizards, witches, elves and even…You-Know-Who.
The bleak outlook for summer movies
By Nora Boedecker | June 2, 2005, midnight | In Features »
Whether your summer is characterized by "Romance and Cigarettes" or a trip to a Caribbean "Island," you'll probably find yourself at the movies at least once. But movie watchers beware: This is not a promising season. You may end up being "Bewitched" by these films or you may find yourself caught up in a "War of the Worlds," but it's best to go to the theater knowing what to expect so that you don't find yourself heading out of the movies as fast as your "Traveling Pants" can carry you.
Breaking and entering: the new way to party
By Jody Pollock | Feb. 23, 2005, midnight | In Features »
The front door of a white house in the middle of the block is slightly ajar. Inside, the house looks empty, except for a lonely Christmas tree in the corner. It is 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 23, and the homeowners have gone on vacation with their teenage son. Little do they know that upstairs in their supposedly empty home, smoke swirls in thick clouds and eight friends of their son are lounging on their furniture, snorting OxyContin off of their CD collection.
Housing at high costs
By Kiran Bhat | Feb. 20, 2005, midnight | In Features »
It wasn't much. In one corner of the tiny apartment was a hidden bedroom door; in the other, the open entrance to a bathroom. Surveying her prospective home, English teacher Pam Bryant was not impressed. But when she learned that her prospective apartment was selling for $80,000 more than it had been only one year before, Bryant knew she couldn't afford it, and gave up hope of purchasing a place in Montgomery County.
Student education lost in translation
By Katy Lafen | Feb. 16, 2005, midnight | In Features »
When senior Jose Kafie lived in El Salvador, his parents were actively involved in his education. They hosted a parent reunion, met with his teachers regularly and made time to talk with Kafie about school. However, once his family moved to Silver Spring in search of more opportunities, everything changed.
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