features » blairconnection

LoveSCOpe: Soccer connections make for a winning time

By Zoe Johnson, Martha Morganstein, Sarah Trunk | Nov. 28, 2013, 5:16 p.m. | In LoveSCOpe »

Welcome to the first edition of LoveSCOpe! We set up students on free blind dates and see what happens. Dates will be published every month. Click here to apply.

No debating the greatness of Blair's debate team

By Birhan Alemayehu | Nov. 10, 2013, 1:49 p.m. | In Clubs »

The 76 member debate team has been defending county champions two years running.

Peter Engelmann

By Abir Muhuri | June 19, 2013, 8:56 a.m. | In Teacher Feature »

With binders of math curricula filed across his table, one would assume Peter Engelmann was born to teach math. But that's just not the case.

"Good teachers are born to teach," Mary Lou Thornton says, sitting in her office, surrounded by books, photos and papers. Thornton, who teaches three Honors United States History classes and is the resource teacher for the Social Studies department, has been teaching for a long time. "I've been at Blair since 2004 or 2005. It's been such a long time I can't remember," she says laughing. During her time at Blair she has developed a reputation of being fun teacher with interesting classes.

Courtney Wells

By Samuel Popper | June 18, 2013, 7:21 p.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Courtney Wells is glad she did come to Blair because even though she has just entered the Blazer family, she loves it already and is glad she came here over anywhere else,

Robert Gibb

By Rohan Oprisko | June 18, 2013, 7:33 a.m. | In Teacher Feature »

The Hand of God, playing long stick middy, seeing multiple music shows and stopping a fight in his first day as a teacher at Blair, the list goes on and on. Robert Gibb has seen and experienced all of these things and more in and out of Blair during his 24-year tenure.

James Mogge

By Madeleine Daly | June 17, 2013, 8:53 a.m. | In Teacher Feature »

James Mogge pulls up a chair in the hallway after school before heading back into his classroom. He stays late to give extra help to students who are waiting patiently in their seats. Kids stay after the bell rings, going over their notes and working with Mr. Mogge.

Katie Lazo

By Sarah Trunk | June 17, 2013, 8:36 a.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Lazo teaches English as a Second Language (ESOL), and there is nothing she cares about more than her students. She loves talking with them, helping them and really getting to know them.

Kelly Crowder

By Abel Chanyalew | June 17, 2013, 8:18 a.m. | In Teacher Feature »

For many students, the mandatory art class is not exactly an important element of the white index card that reads them their schedule. Art teacher and aficionado Kelly Crowder wants to change all that.

Lauren Gonzalez

By Martha Morganstein | June 17, 2013, 12:20 a.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Lauren Gonzalez has a full plate. She is a dance and health education teacher at Blair, the Student Service Learning Coordinator and Rockville High School's Varsity Poms Coach.

Christopher Klein

By Ross Cohen-Kristiansen | June 16, 2013, 11:59 p.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Although his career path has often changed direction, Klein feels it has taken him to the right place: teaching English at Blair.

Popping the question

By Mimi Verdonk | May 15, 2013, 1:53 p.m. | In Student Section »

With prom less than a week away, the dramatic asking season has officially come to a close. Prom proposals, affectionately dubbed promposals, no longer consist of a simple "Will you go to prom with me?”

Austin, Lucie

By Zoe Johnson | May 3, 2013, 2:51 p.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Allen, Tyrone

By Jack Estrin | April 13, 2013, 6:23 a.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Allen's teaching style is self-described as three things: structured, no-nonsense and organized, and these qualities are apparent. He controls his class, and will not put up with anything but civility. His style ensures complete focus from the students, whether he's lecturing or performing one of his classic solo music acts.

Goldberg, David

By Allison Daitch | Dec. 9, 2011, 2:21 p.m. | In Teacher Feature »

A teacher who used to be a DJ? Who loves punk music? Who wants school to start later? This doesn't seem feasible, until you meet Mr. Goldberg.

Barclay, Maima

By Molly Nicholson | Dec. 9, 2011, 1:51 p.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Students stop in the middle of what they're doing to come up to Maima Barclay; they hug and kiss her cheeks as she puts her arms around them and comments on what they're working on. Everyone says hello in the hallway and as she sits down Barclay rummages through her purse, pulls out a Baby Ruth candy bar and offers it to anyone.With her down-to-earth and playful personality, Barclay is a teacher that students fawn over.

Chinese/Korean Club

By Grace Wang | Aug. 2, 2009, midnight | In Clubs »

An enticing smell wafts through the hallway outside of room 365. Loud laughter is heard along with the occasional phrase in a foreign language. Within the classroom, Blazers sit and stand in a lazy circle with delicious moon cakes and crackers melting in their mouths. They make frequent visits to the front of the room for more Asian snacks, play an animal game as an icebreaker between upper and underclassmen and revel in their shared, unique culture.

Bushy Blazers grow long for donations

By Fran Djoukeng | Feb. 25, 2009, 2 p.m. | In Blair Connection »

A variety of forms and contours roam the Blair hallways. Some don prickly spots, whereas some sport patchy areas. Others go thick and dark, red and curly, and scruffy and wild. Some barely measure a few centimeters in diameter and few are lengthy. A small number are well-kept and untangled, while furry, shaggy borderline unsightly ones can be found. No matter the volume, shape, trim or surface, these hairy chins will unite together for charity.

McManus, Mary

By Katie Sint | July 3, 2008, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

Jasmine green tea, stacks of student papers and open textbooks surround Mary McManus on a covered desk in a hot computer room. McManus teaches a variety of classes ranging from Software Applications to Computer Programming in the Business and Computer Science Department.

Jessell, Margaret

By Sophia Deng | June 30, 2008, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

Margaret Jessell may not be a teenager, but she still plays Truth/Dare, hosts murder-mystery parties and goes to R.E.M. concerts with her friends. A petite woman with piercing blue eyes, Jessell seems solemn and very serious. But in reality, she is the complete opposite. "Oh, I'm mean and uptight," she jokingly describes her personality. Then, cracking up at her joke, Jessell reveals the hidden goofy and outgoing side that her students, children and friends have the privilege to see.

Haigh, John

By Jenna Bushnell | June 30, 2008, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

John Haigh is a typical Blazer: he plays soccer constantly, loves the outdoors, wears American Eagle clothes and enjoys hanging out with his friends and jamming to alternative rock music. He could be just a typical teenager – which is why it is easy to forget that he's a teacher.

Murley, Kevin

By Lauren Kestner | June 30, 2008, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

A young man sits at a crowded desk in the Business and Entrepreneurship Office, flipping through pages of student reflections found in a lopsided pile of journals. Eyebrows furrowed in concentration, he reads a student's account of relatives faced with nearly insurmountable debt — a financial burden that could have easily been avoided, had they taken a business course. When the student begins to express her gratitude for the financial acumen she has developed through his business class, Kevin Murley's deep blue eyes brim with a newfound resolve to teach.

Gonzalez, Dora

By Sonalee Rau | June 30, 2008, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

The foreign language academic support classroom is perpetually jam-packed during lunch as students filter in and out, looking for a teacher to help them. The environment seems chaotic – that is, until the commanding presence of Spanish teacher Dora Gonzalez enters the room. She hands each student the material that they need in a businesslike fashion. Then, noticing a former student complaining about his work, she addresses the classroom jocularly as her smile belies her seriousness. "If he had taken a class with me, he would have experienced a lot of fun," she says.

Swaney, David

By Rose Wynn | June 30, 2008, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

The lights are dimmed as social studies teacher David Swaney sits among teenage students, below a stage decked with flashy costumes and dramatic actors. He sits as those around him do: with their violins propped steadily on their shoulders and their right arms flying wildly to create an energetic stream of music, as background for the torrent of song coming from the stage. Swaney plays with his fellow pit members, delighted to be engaging in one of his favorite pastimes while supporting his students' extracurricular interests.

Stallings, Franklin

By Fran Djoukeng | June 30, 2008, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

Swiveling in his chair and contemplating his typical weekend plans, Franklin Stallings chuckles and says, "Work." Since he was 16 years old, Stallings says, he can't remember a period in his life when he was not working.

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