MCS Staff, Author at The MoCo Show

MCPS: Five Things To Know

Published April 14, 2023 at 7:35AM

Students from many of the county high schools attend the Hispanic College Fair.

1. Nearly 200 Students Receive Inaugural Rales-O’Neill $10,000 Scholarships: The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Educational Foundation has announced 194 recipients of the 2023 Ruth and Norman Rales-Patricia Baier O’Neill Scholarship Recognizing Academic Excellence. These prestigious scholarships are being awarded to high-achieving graduating seniors in all 25 high schools. The recipients will each receive $10,000 to help ease the financial burden of attending college. Read more. List of recipients

2. Register Today for the Annual College Fair: Representatives from more than 300 colleges and universities will be on hand at the annual Montgomery County National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) National College Fair on Tuesday, April 18 and Wednesday, April 19 at the Maryland Soccerplex, 18031 Central Park Circle in Boyds. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days and is open to Grade 11 students attending with their schools. The fair is also open to high school students and their families from 6:30–8 p.m. on April 18.

Business

Germantown’s Recovery Point Systems Announces Jack Dziak as CEO

By MCS Staff

Published April 14, 2023 at 7:32AM

Recovery Point Systems, an Abry Partners company and a leader in cloud-based business resilience services based in Germantown, has announced that Jack Dziak, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, has been named Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Dziak is a long-time senior technology executive with over 35 years of experience in the enterprise IT, infrastructure, and communications services industries.

Per the press release: Dziak has served on Recovery Point’s Board of Directors since May and as Executive Chairman since August 2022. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was the Founder of Dziak Advisory Services LLC, an advisory firm that provides strategic, financial, and technology consulting to the digital infrastructure, cyber security, and managed services industries and their private equity and venture investors. His previous C-suite experience includes Executive Vice President Global Products and Chief Strategy Officer at Sungard Availability Services (2011-2017), with P&L responsibility for the $1.2B global recovery and managed services business, and Chief Operating Officer of Apcela, a provider of managed network and SD-WAN services. Dziak has also held multiple executive-level leadership positions with Accenture, Neustar, Inc., Sprint Nextel, and MCI Communications. His early career was spent as the lead financial economist for the privatization of national telecommunications concerns in over 20 countries. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.S. in Economics from Virginia Tech. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Events

MCPS Student-Refurbished Car, Computer Sale Coming May 6

By MCS Staff

Published April 14, 2023 at 7:24AM

Per MCPS: Mark your calendars for the last car and computer sale of the school year! Students in the Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation (ATF) and Information Technology Foundation (ITF) will sell used cars and computers they have refurbished from 9–11 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, at Thomas Edison High School of Technology.

The cars and computers are refurbished and reconditioned by the students as part of the students’ classroom and lab studies. The sales provide students with the opportunity to practice their sales skills, earn Student Service Learning hours, and develop an appreciation for community involvement.

Education

MCPS Special Education Resource Fair To Take Place April 29

By MCS Staff

Published April 14, 2023 at 7:21AM

MCPS parents, staff and community members are invited to the first Special Education Parent Community Resource Fair on Saturday, April 29 at Gaithersburg High School. The resource fair will be held from 9 a.m.–noon, and will include a guest speaker, valuable community resources and vendors, and fun children’s activities, including a moon bounce, crafts and face painting.

The speaker will be Dr. Joy Banks, associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Dr. Banks is committed to exploring the intersection of race and disability and how societal norms contribute to the marginalization of adolescents and young adults identified with disabilities. For two decades, she has taught and lectured on race, disability and reading development. She has also served as department chair for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Howard University and as associate dean for Research and Development at Bowie State University.

Events

RespectFest Festival Takes Place on Sunday, April 16

By MCS Staff

Published April 14, 2023 at 7:05AM

One in three teens experience dating abuse. So the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Police, State’s Attorney’s Office, Family Justice Center and MCPS have teamed up for RespectFest to begin discussing what healthy dating relationships look like early on. RespectFest is currently running (April 10-16) with virtual seminars and events running through April 14th. Then the in-person festival will be held on Sunday April 16th from 1-4 p.m. at the Wheaton Community Rec Center and Park.

The family-friendly event will include activities to learn about dating violence, consent, how to help a friend, what the warning signs are and what the resources are in the community. There will also be performances, FREE food, yoga and self-defense demos, raffle prizes, a resource fair with other community organizations, and story-time at the Wheaton Library.

Events

City of Rockville Hosts Skate Jam Event on Saturday, April 15

By MCS Staff

Published April 13, 2023 at 7:21PM

Skating Competition: Sign up for our Free skate competition! The competition consists of 3 heats with skaters who will compete to see who can have the best run! The competition is free to enter, and participants will be grouped by skill level. Free. Sign-up Here

Build your own Skateboard: Join the City of Rockville and Bethesda Boards to build and customize your skateboard! Participants will get to design, decorate, paint, and adjust their own personal skateboards. Skateboards will be ready to take home after the event with a new skate tool to keep. Register Here

Montgomery Parks

Postponed Due to Weather: Silver Spring Intermediate Neighborhood Park Celebration

By MCS Staff

Published April 13, 2023 at 5:51PM

Event rescheduled for the rain date, Saturday, April 22, 2023, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is postponing the planned celebration of the newly renovated Silver Spring Intermediate Park, due to forecasted rain.

MCPS

MCPS Hosting Job Fair for Maintenance and Operations on April 21

By MCS Staff

Published April 13, 2023 at 12:44PM

Per MCPS: MCPS is looking for highly qualified and highly skilled people to join its workforce as support professionals. The next in-person job fair will be for maintenance and operations from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Friday, April 21, at the Division of Maintenance and Operations, 8301 Turkey Thicket Drive, Building A, First Floor in Gaithersburg.

To have the possibility to interview for the maintenance positions, visit the MCPS Careers website and apply to one of the Talent Pools for Hiring Fair Only. Talent pools are open for the following positions: electrician, cafeteria worker, HVAC, plumber, carpenter and building service worker. To apply for one of the talent pools, follow these instructions:

Education

MCPS Teacher of the Year to be Announced on April 24

By MCS Staff

Published April 13, 2023 at 12:09PM

MCPS will announce the Montgomery County Teacher of the Year at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 24 at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. The year’s signature celebration honoring the district’s Champions for Children will be held in person for the first time since 2019. The 2023–2024 Teacher of the Year finalists are: Megan Anderson, fifth grade teacher at Chevy Chase Elementary School; Eunju (April) Moon, sixth grade English teacher at Ridgeview Middle School; and Shannon McKenzie, child development teacher at Clarksburg High School.

The celebration will also recognize Rising Star Teacher of the Year: Amanda Hammersla, fourth grade teacher at Chevy Chase Elementary School; Beth F. Thomas, assistant principal at Hallie Wells Middle School, who won the Dr. Edward Shirley Award for Excellence in Educational Administration and Supervision, and Supporting Services Employee of the Year Kimani Gray, supply services coordinator, Supply and Property Management in the Department of Materials Management.

Gaithersburg

BurgerIM Gaithersburg (Crown) Has Closed Permanently

By MCS Staff

Published April 13, 2023 at 8:44AM | Updated March 13, 2024 at 11:35AM

BurgerIM, the Israeli based burger chain that opened a Downtown Crown location in September 2019, has closed permanently. The space, which was previously home to SmashBurger, has been listed as available to lease by Kite Realty.

WMATA

Metro to Reveal Better Bus Visionary Network with 50 Events in 50 Days

By MCS Staff

Published April 13, 2023 at 7:44AM

Per WMATA: Metro announced 50 events in 50 days kicking off the next phase of its Better Bus Network Redesign. During this phase, Metro will also provide a first look at the draft Visionary Network of the future that provides frequent, fast, and reliable service, matches the region’s changing travel needs, advances equity and sustainability, and increases access to opportunities.

Starting Monday, April 17 through Monday, June 5, Metro will host community-focused events across the region and launch an interactive website where customers can explore the reimagined bus network and provide input. The Better Bus “Experience LIVE!” will include in-person workshops, community pop-up events, and virtual “lunch and learns.” The virtual “Experience LAB” will also offer people an interactive tool that enables customers to compare their trip today to their routes in the draft Visionary Network, as well as a map library to explore route profiles and the network as a whole.