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Red dead addiction

By Sarah Wilson | Oct. 28, 2011, 11:41 a.m. | In Print Features »

Link began his quests at Death Mountain in 1986 when he first rescued Princess Zelda from Ganon, the Prince of Darkness, and saved the Kingdom with a Silver Arrow, but most video-gaming Blazers began their quests in a basement with a GameCube ten years ago. It's more or less the same story for junior Fen Kemp and senior Jack Vaughan as they discuss their experiences playing "The Legend of Zelda" over lunch.


New attendance policy: recycled and unimproved

By Claire Koenig | Oct. 28, 2011, 11:31 a.m. | In Print Opinions »

False names, masked intention, danger disdained - the circular sweeping of a school system remembering the steps to a waltz they left behind.


Athletic Director brings new workout to Blair sports

By Emma Bergman | Oct. 28, 2011, 11:27 a.m. | In Print Sports »

It's the first inning and Blair's new athletic director, Rita Boule, has proven to be a real all star as she finds new ideas for change in Blair sports.


For larger schools, one size does not fit all

By Maggie Shi | Oct. 27, 2011, 9:22 p.m. | In Print Opinions »

The term "Support” has become synonymous with "trivial” or "secondary.” But support positions are anything but trivial — without them, a school, like a building, can crumble.


Keeping autonomy and reputation

By Claire Sleigh | Oct. 27, 2011, 2:47 p.m. | In Print Opinions »

Silver Chips' autonomy could be in question because of recent leadership changes at Blair. The new administration has the power to take the school in a new direction, and with this they also have the power to take Silver Chips in a new direction.


The Secret Life of the Average Blazer

By Simrin Gupta | Oct. 26, 2011, 11:10 a.m. | In Print Entertainment »

Teen pregnancy, coming out stories, fashionistas, relationship drama, crazy parents and bullying. Though it may not seem like they have much in common, they're part of the secret formula writers use when they pitch the average high school TV show. Now there's no denying that every high school has its fair share of drama so in a school as diverse as Blair, one would think that we would be able to relate to all of this, right? I think we can all agree that Blair may get a little crazy at times, but we can consider ourselves lucky that it's not as crazy as some shows make it out to be.


Fall Sports Update

By Josh Schmidt | Oct. 25, 2011, 2:32 p.m. | In Print Sports »

High expectations and a decorated history follow varsity girls' soccer. Blair has averaged 12 wins per season over the past four years and has consistently been a top contender in the county. The team had a tough starting schedule and are 4-2-2.


Administration launches new security hotline

By Maureen Lei | Oct. 7, 2011, 7:11 p.m. | In Print News »

Blair Principal Renay Johnson announced the Blazer Hotline, a phone number which Blazers and surrounding community members can call and text to anonymously report negative student activity, on Sept. 13. The Hotline is monitored by Johnson and security team leader Cedric Boatman.


Johnson takes a hands-on approach at Blair

By Katie Pohlman | Oct. 7, 2011, 7:06 p.m. | In Print Features »

Those new flowerpots by Blair's front door are not just there to mark a new school year; they are there to announce the coming of a new principal and the changes that she is bringing with her. Principal Renay Johnson has big plans in mind and is putting some in action as she begins to leave her mark on Blair.


'Beautiful Blair' brightens campus

By Emma Bergman | Oct. 7, 2011, 6:04 p.m. | In Print News »

Through the PTA's newest project, "Beautiful Blair," student, parent, and teacher volunteers have been working for the past few weeks to make the campus's courtyards, gardens, and interior spaces greener and more attractive.


Restaurant Olympics

By Hannah Weintraub | Oct. 7, 2011, 11:19 a.m. | In Print Entertainment »

When walking along Georgia Avenue in Downtown Silver Spring, it's easy to do a double take. Camouflaged in the patchwork of restaurants and shops are two nearly identical Greek restaurants. The two popular restaurants, The Greek Place and The Big Greek Café, share a complicated history that begins at the Greek Place. The owners of local restaurants partnered together and founded The Big Greek Café in March of 2008. In 2009, according to Daniel Centeno the chef at the current Big Greek Café, the partners split and the original Big Greek Café closed down briefly. When it reopened a few weeks later, it was renamed as The Greek Place. One partner moved right down the street and opened his own Greek restaurant. The new restaurant opened in July of 2009 as The (Original) Big Greek Café. Confused yet? Jose Garcia, the manager of The Greek Place, has a different take on the story. "We came first, then they opened down the street when they saw a lot of business here," he says. Despite the proximity and confusing history, Centeno and Garcia both attest that there is no competition between the two restaurants; there are enough Greek-food lovers to go around. For any Blazer, the choice between the two Greek eateries can be tricky. As a homage to the restaurants' Greek roots, Silver Chips is pitting these two restaurants against each other in the Olympic Games of Greek Restaurants. In order to win, the restaurant must impress in three categories: appetizers, main dishes and desserts. Ultimately, only one restaurant will go home with the gold.


Chips Trip: Zumba

By Sarah Wilson, Helen Bowers | Oct. 7, 2011, 11:07 a.m. | In Print Entertainment »

The last time I danced, I performed a solo interpretation of The Ugly Duckling at age seven. I admit now that my smug self-satisfaction over my feathered boa and ambitious decision to portray a bird may have hurt my ability to gauge the audience's reaction. I can now only imagine the parents' shocked horror in what surely appeared to be a disappointing plot twist: I transitioned from awkward duckling to graceful swan but the terrible dancing continued without change. I quit shortly after that.


A Hidden D.C. Treasure is Unearthed

By Zoe Waldrop | Oct. 7, 2011, 9:53 a.m. | In Print Entertainment »

Passing by the White House and the grandeur of Washington D.C.'s public buildings and monuments sets up many expectations. But when entering the back door of the Department of Commerce building, these expectations are immediately replaced with the set of plastic hammerhead shark models hanging above the security check. The stairs lead down to the basement where natural light and marble trim disappear. The brown, six-foot long sharks are there to guard one of D.C.'s best-kept secrets - the oldest aquarium in the United States.


Council reviews curfew

By Srividya Murthy | Oct. 7, 2011, 12:05 a.m. | In Print News »

The proposal to enact a teen curfew in Montgomery County is being revised by the County Council's Public Safety Committee and will be submitted for a vote this November.


Silver Quill adds musical portion

By Srividya Murthy | Oct. 7, 2011, 12:01 a.m. | In Print News »

Silver Quill will integrate a music section with its present art and literature categories to encourage submissions from musically talented Blazers and to expand their readership to a broader subset of the student body.


Glory Days

By Claire Sleigh | Oct. 7, 2011, midnight | In Print Sports »

Blair football has become a regional joke in some senses, but it hasn't always been this way. It's important for Blair students to look back to all that our predecessors accomplished, and take a look forward to see what new crops of Blair athletes can bring.


Life on the Median

By Sebastian Medina-Tayac | Sept. 20, 2011, 3:17 p.m. | In Print Features »

They come earlier and stay later than any student. They work weekends and summers. While we sit in our climate-controlled school, building our futures, they stand in the heat or cold, begging to maintain their present. Just across the intersection of Colesville Road and University Boulevard, the "panhandlers" pace sidewalks and medians for hours every day, holding cardboard signs and jingling coins in plastic cups. Many different panhandlers visit the intersection, but some "regulars" have been coming to Four Corners for decades. The intersection and small commercial center surrounding Blair attracts many panhandlers, often five in a day.


From handcuffs to hallways

By NoahGrace Bauman | June 8, 2011, 4:16 p.m. | In Print Features »

Conducting blood pattern analyses, chasing suspects on motorbike, and finding bullet trajectories seems more like a day in the life of an actor on CSI, not of the security guard who patrols Blair's back halls. But just a few years ago Maureen Walsh was documenting homicides and dodging bullets for the Washington, D.C., Police Department.


Communicating through creation

By NoahGrace Bauman | June 8, 2011, 12:14 p.m. | In Print Features »

Senior Talia Mason stands red-faced and panting with a feeling of satisfaction after performing a series of jumps, leaps and twirls in front of a group of her peers at the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. The routine, which she painstakingly arranged herself is more than series of movements — it is an expression of her thoughts and feelings into a kinetic work of art.


Expanding the lunchroom

By Stella Bartholet | June 8, 2011, 11:53 a.m. | In Print Features »

Senior Roxana Treminio used to resort to going hungry during the school day. She did not know that she could qualify for free meals until last year, when her younger sister brought a county-government form home and asked her parents to fill it out. Now that Treminio receives school-provided meals, she is able to eat a full meal without waiting until she gets home.


June issue: changing of the guard

By Claire Sleigh | June 8, 2011, 11:41 a.m. | In Print Opinions »

The observant reader might notice recent updates in our staff box. Silver Chips's June issue is always entirely edited, written and managed by juniors. In the fall, we will formally begin our managing editor positions and work with a new group of junior staffers. Here is where we hope to take the paper next year.


The student sabbatical

By NoahGrace Bauman | June 8, 2011, 11:30 a.m. | In Print Features »

Class of 2010 graduate, Gemma Deustachio, lives on her own off of a mere three dollars a day. She gets up at six every morning and works with at-risk fourth graders in Washington D.C., and she loves it.



JV Journal

By Claire Sleigh | June 8, 2011, 11:12 a.m. | In Print Sports »

The JV softball team finished off the season with an outstanding record of 12-1, making them one of the strongest JV teams at Blair this year.


Best of Blair Sports

By Claire Sleigh | June 7, 2011, 12:28 p.m. | In Print Sports »

Senior Eve Brown has been a pitcher on Blair's varsity softball team since her freshman year. Brown has pitched the majority of the games for the past two years and achieved a record of 12-1 for this past season, striking out 82 batters in 72 innings. Her only loss was against Chesapeake in the state semifinals.

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