School system battles tough budget
By Maureen Lei | Feb. 9, 2011, 11:32 a.m. | In Print News »
MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast recommended a $2.16 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 on Dec. 15. The budget is $60 million more than the FY 2011 budget.
The knights next door
By Sebastian Medina-Tayac | Feb. 9, 2011, 11:29 a.m. | In Print Features »
This is a battle like no other. Javelins soar over the slowly setting sun. Swords bash past shields and fell enemies. Shouted orders, the scratching of feet on dry grass, and muffled thuds permeate the ambient hum of the Interstate. Eventually, an armistice is called. "Five minute water break, guys!" shouts one. Weapons made of Plexiglas, foam and tube socks hit the ground. The fighters sit in a circle and take turns proposing new drill ideas, joking and laughing. This is Dagorhir.
A new face in cyberspace
By Stella Bartholet | Feb. 9, 2011, 11:28 a.m. | In Print Features »
Scrat is everything a 14-year-old girl might want to be. She's positive and understanding, always listening patiently to others' problems. Scrat always knows the right things to say at the right time. In a sense, she is perfect - except that Scrat isn't exactly human. She is the alternate online personality of freshman Tammy Sidel.
Plugging national security leaks
By Larisa Antonisse | Feb. 9, 2011, 11:27 a.m. | In Print Opinions »
During their childhood days of playing games like capture-the-flag or touch football in the neighborhood park, most kids learn to work as a team to reach a common goal. But despite the enormity of the organized U.S. foreign policy effort, it seems that the country still needs to learn a basic rule of competition that any third-grader could tell you: Don't reveal your team's strategy to the opponent.
Pro/Con: Should Blair Freshmen be permitted to take Advanced Placement Classes?
By Maggie Shi, Claire Sleigh | Feb. 9, 2011, 11:24 a.m. | In Print Opinions »
The Advanced Placement (AP) program is a nationally recognized curriculum in which high school students can take college level classes. Because of the rigor of the course content, AP classes are typically offered only to upperclassmen. However freshmen in some Montgomery County schools can now take certain APs. Blair's current policy does not allow students to take any AP classes during freshman year.
Dress to kill the winter chill
By Noah Mason, Jialin Quinlan, Gardi Royce, Eliza Wapner | Dec. 16, 2010, 7:04 p.m. | In Print Entertainment »
With winter rolling around, it's time to break out the hats, scarves and puffy coats. But for those Blazers who are tired of looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (Ghostbusters, anyone?), your trusty Entertainment Team, along with a couple of extra models, has braved the malls and the magazines to bring you what we believe are the season's latest looks.
Moving on to greater gigs
By Claire Boston | Dec. 16, 2010, 6:43 p.m. | In Print Entertainment »
Shortly after 6 p.m., the band takes the stage at the 9:30 Club. Their sound check is enough to make their front-row fans to erupt in cheers. But they aren't a big rock band performing a gig on a national tour. They are The Agiles, a self-described alternative rock band made up of mostly members from Blair.
Get ready, get set, get stressed
By Srividya Murthy, Helen Bowers | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:55 p.m. | In Print Features »
The light darkens in the auditorium as students and teachers gather to watch their everyday lives projected on the screen. Teachers recognize the difficult job of teaching in a system focused on testing. Students recognize the stress of their common goal: admission into top colleges and an assurance of a successful life ahead.
Advertising for a moral standard
By Gardi Royce | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:51 p.m. | In Print Opinions »
The Silver Chips ombudsman is the liaison between the paper and the Blair community. To have a successful newspaper, there needs to be a competent staff, visionary leadership and a dedicated reader base. Just as important, but often overlooked is the business end of newspaper.
MCPS pilots corollary sports teams
By Sebastian Medina-Tayac | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:45 p.m. | In Print News »
This year's inaugural corollary bocce ball team will begin its first season on Dec. 13, coached by science teacher and soccer and basketball coach, John Haigh. Blair's newest team, along with six other county high school teams, is part of an MCPS athletics program to bring in students not usually involved in athletics, including those with disabilities.
The leading question
By | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:44 p.m. | In Print Opinions »
This article was written by the Silver Chips Print Editorial Board and is intended to represent the official views of the newspaper. The hallmark of a legitimate, functioning democracy is generally considered to be a fair, enduring voting process, in which the people's wishes translate directly to electoral results. Consecutive peaceful transfers of power are often a good indicator that stability is reigning and that the citizens can breathe a little easier.
Teachers and students form bonds beyond Blair Boulevard
By Simrin Gupta | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:44 p.m. | In Print Features »
It's a bevy of hugs, handshakes and high spirits during lunchtime in math teacher Jacob Scott's room. The room is buzzing as kids clamor over one another to talk to Scott. Unconstrained by class work or lesson plans, Scott and his students discuss anything from world news to students' personal lives, while still finding time discuss the material that will be on the quiz next week.
Subtracting math acceleration adds to learning
By Claire Koenig | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:40 p.m. | In Print Opinions »
I've got a problem for you. No need to take out scratch paper, it shouldn't be too hard. If 50 elementary school students are placed in an accelerated math class, and 10 of them learn none of the basic concepts they need to succeed in higher levels of math, how many of these students should not have been in the course in the first place?
Two Blazers tear up the turf
By NoahGrace Bauman | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:32 p.m. | In Print Features »
Soccer could be considered the ultimate team sport: Players pass and defend each other to work toward a common "goal.” In a sport that relies on group identity, two dynamic Blair players set themselves apart from the pack. After a stellar season for the Lady Blazers, senior Sofia Read and junior Jamie Kator kicked their way onto the highly competitive All-State Soccer team.
Rise up against rising tuition rates
By Stella Bartholet | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:28 p.m. | In Print Opinions »
Throwing eggs, setting off flares and breaking windows: This is how England reacted to a recent jump in college tuition. The cost of attending an American college has been rising for decades, yet few people have protested.
Country in Profile: Cameroon
By Maureen Lei | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:27 p.m. | In Print Features »
Junior Larissa Sofia Taaga attended the school in her hometown of Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon, but she knew that no degree, no certificate and no qualification would secure her a bright future. Without the government connections needed to secure a job, Taaga saw few opportunities in her home country.
Doors do not close when Blazers come out
By Jenny Sholar | Dec. 16, 2010, 2:07 p.m. | In Print Features »
In a classroom tucked away on the second floor, a handful of students gather, leaning on desks and lounging on chairs. They sit at ease, joking and chatting, completely relaxed — a mood that befits the atmosphere of the room. The walls of the room are hung with posters about human rights, equality and tolerance. One features several figures in rainbow neon colors, bearing the legend "Generation Q: Young, Proud, Queer." This room, where the people are friendly and open to all comers, is the meeting room of Blair's Gay-Straight Alliance, or GSA.
Mega Mart
By Jewel Galbraith | Dec. 16, 2010, 12:15 p.m. | In Print Features »
It's noon on a Saturday, and cars are streaming into the back parking lot of a boxy brick building on the corner of Piney Branch Road and University Boulevard. Families get off the Ride On bus that stops directly outside and move toward the building's back entrance, where a dark purple awning that reads "Mega Supermarket” covers a long line of shopping carts. Inside a purple booth under the awning, a woman bundled in winter clothing sells food: tamales, taquitos, pan con gallina. A few feet away, families get Christmas photos taken under a crowded white tent. Shoppers bustle up the steps, past a large bulletin board and a giant, bright yellow advertisement for Del Frutal juice. From just outside the doors, the shoppers can hear the twang of guitar music and Spanish vocals.
Community garden plans blossom
By Claire Koenig | Dec. 16, 2010, 12:14 p.m. | In Print News »
Plans for a new Silver Spring community garden on Fenton Street are underway, with high hopes for an opening in April. The Montgomery County Parks (MCP) service has collected a soil sample from the potential garden space at 7904 Fenton Street to ensure that the soil is safe and fertile enough for plant growth.
Let it snow: Montgomery County is ready
By Larisa Antonisse | Dec. 16, 2010, 12:14 p.m. | In Print Opinions »
As soon as the weatherman predicts snow, children, teens and even some teachers start their snow-inducing rituals. In order to make the fluffy stuff come faster, they wear their pajamas inside out, flush ice cubes down the toilet and sleep with spoons under their pillows. But this winter, snow-loving residents of Montgomery County are going to have to step up their game if they really want a day off, because the new snow removal plan is going to get the streets clear and the school buses on their way faster than ever.
NEWS ANALYSIS: On bus fees, Montgomery County drives down a dangerous road
By Biruk Bekele | Dec. 16, 2010, 12:07 p.m. | In Print News »
In early December, Maryland State Senator Richard S. Madaleno withdrew a bill that aimed to allow the school system to implement bus fees for optional programs including magnet, immersion and consortium programs. According to Madaleno's Chief of Staff Adam Fogel, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) advised Madaleno that the bill was not sufficient enough to allow the county to implement bus fees, prompting the senator to withdraw the bill.
Teach for America heads the class
By Natalie Rutsch | Dec. 16, 2010, 12:02 p.m. | In Print Opinions »
When an educator brings up school reform, the words "achievement gap" are never far behind. In a time when a dismal half of low-income students graduate high school, the need for dramatic educational reform has never been more urgent.
Pro/con: Should military recruiters be allowed to promote enlistment in high schools?
By Claire Boston, NoahGrace Bauman | Dec. 16, 2010, 11:56 a.m. | In Print Opinions »
Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires public schools to allow military recruiters in schools where college recruiters are also permitted. Opponents of the provision argue that recruiting in high school unethically takes advantage of students, while others claim that military recruiters simply inform interested students of possible career options.
3:00 buses overflow
By Biruk Bekele | Dec. 16, 2010, 11:33 a.m. | In Print News »
Due to issues of overcrowding on local magnet and activity buses serving the Takoma Park Middle School and Eastern Middle School areas, Blair has implemented a bus pass system. According to Magnet Coordinator Peter Ostrander, bus drivers have seen a sizable increase in the number of non-Magnet and non-CAP students who want to ride 3:00 and 4:30 buses.
Undemocratic championship system threatens America's iconic sport
By Maggie Shi | Dec. 16, 2010, 11:30 a.m. | In Print Opinions »
On New Year's Day, millions of college football fans around the country will tune in to the Rose Bowl, the first of five bowls in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). But even as spectators cheer on their favorite teams, a glaring issue remains in the backs of their minds. Football is uniquely American, and the national championships should reflect the values of the nation — equality, fairness and the opportunity of success. Ironically, however, exclusivity and inequality in the BCS make it simply impossible for "America's new pastime” to reflect these American values.
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