Author: MCS Staff

Education

More Than 1,500 MCPS Students Earn Maryland Seal of Biliteracy

By MCS Staff

This school year, more than 1,500 MCPS high school graduates will earn the Maryland Seal of Biliteracy in over 28 languages. the Maryland Seal of Biliteracy recognizes a student’s high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English and one or more languages.

The Maryland Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by participating school systems that recognizes a student’s high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English and one or more languages. Starting in California in 2011, the Seal of Biliteracy is now offered in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Maryland’s Seal of Biliteracy Bill was signed into law in 2016 and implemented for the first time in 2017.

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Education

Winners Named in MCPS’ Asian Pacific American Student Achievement Action Group (APASAAG) Poster Contest

By MCS Staff

In honor of Asian Pacific American Islander Heritage Month, 95 K–12 students in 49 schools participated in a poster contest hosted by the Asian Pacific American Student Achievement Action Group. The contest called on students to create original art work to commemorate the histories, challenges and contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. All  21 student winners and honorable mentions were honored during a ceremony last month. See the winning artwork.

Winners are:

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Education

Montgomery College Ranked a Top School for Online Degrees in Public Service

By MCS Staff

Montgomery College has been ranked one of the year’s best schools for online degrees in public service by STEPS (Student Training & Education in Public Service). Just under 6 percent of colleges and universities in the U.S. earned a ranking position. “The virtual campus at Montgomery College provides students with comprehensive services and support to help them reach their academic goals, and the online degree in criminal justice is a great example of how students are provided with the option to complete their degree entirely in the virtual environment,” said Shinta H. Hernandez, Ph.D., the College’s Dean of the Virtual Campus, Office of E-Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Excellence (ELITE).

“Criminal justice professors have worked tirelessly over the past several years to ensure that the programs’ online courses utilize best practices in distance education, including a variety of media and innovative, often free, instructional materials,” said Ginger R. Robinson, JD, Interim Department Chair, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice. “Courses are routinely updated to incorporate current events, reflecting the changing nature of law, justice, and society. The faculty’s willingness to meet students where they are, whether it’s the physical or online classroom, ensures that every criminal justice student in Maryland possesses the ability to access the highest quality education.”

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Bethesda

Bethesda’s ProShares Provides Way for Investors to Profit From Decline In Price of BitCoin

By MCS Staff

ProShares to Launch the First U.S. Short Bitcoin-Linked ETF on June 21. BITI will offer investors the opportunity to potentially profit when the daily price of bitcoin declines, with the convenience, cost-efficiency, and liquidity of an ETF.

“As recent times have shown, bitcoin can drop in value,” said ProShares CEO Michael L. Sapir. “BITI affords investors who believe that the price of bitcoin will drop with an opportunity to potentially profit or to hedge their cryptocurrency holdings. BITI enables investors to conveniently obtain short exposure to bitcoin through buying an ETF in a traditional brokerage account.” BITI is designed to deliver the inverse (opposite) of the performance of the S&P CME Bitcoin Futures Index. It seeks to achieve its objective on each investment day and for no other period. BITI seeks to obtain exposure through bitcoin futures contracts.

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Downtown Crown

20 Acres of Crown Farm Were Sold for $28 Million Approximately 10 Years Ago, Launching the Development of “Downtown Crown”

By MCS Staff

20 acres of Gaithersburg’s Crown Farm was sold to JBG Rosenfeld Retail and the Bozzuto Group for $28 million nearly 10 years ago, in July of 2012. According to documents from what was then Crown Farm Community, this purchase included approximately 11 percent of Crown Farm’s 180 acres, for the development of Downtown Crown, “a mixed-use project slated to include a Harris Teeter-anchored retail center and nearly 540 apartments.” JBG Rosenfeld Retail purchased the property to build 260,000 square feet of retail. The Bozzuto Group purchased the multifamily development rights to build 538 apartments above the retail.

Located in Gaithersburg,  just west of Interstate-270 and the Intercounty Connector, Downtown Crown is considered the “retail heart” of Crown—a 182-acre master-planned community that was to consist of “more than 2,200 new homes and apartments, acres of parks, trails and a future transit stop for the Corridor City Transitway.” The community plan also incorporated a high school and a Corridor Cities Transit station for a light rail or bus line that would connect Gaithersburg with Clarksburg. Construction began later that summer for the plans that included the previously mentioned Harris Teeter, an LA Fitness, and a Starbucks. In October, the following restaurants were announced for Downtown Crown (not all ended up opening):

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Education

Blair Student, Samantha Jayasundera, Named Youth Volunteer of the Year

By MCS Staff

Samantha Jayasundera will be honored during the 11th annual Montgomery Serves Awards, the county’s highest honor for service and volunteerism, tonight (June 15). This year’s honorees represent volunteers dedicated to programs including social justice and educational advocacy, safety-net healthcare services and outreach to vulnerable populations.

Samantha, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School, will be named a Youth Volunteer of the Year. She is a co-founder of Sankofa Empowering Women in Ghana (SEWING), a women’s empowerment and human rights program combating child labor and female exploitation. Committed to her personal focus of “education for all,” she has spoken on the local, national and international stage, hosted conferences and led large-scale initiatives for education and equity.

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Montgomery College

Montgomery College to Provide “Raptor Ready” $500 Tuition Scholarship to 2022 Montgomery County High School Graduates

By MCS Staff

Applicants must be Montgomery County residents and registered for at least six credits this fall

Montgomery College is providing a $500 tuition scholarship to Montgomery County residents who are spring 2022 graduates from a Montgomery County high school and are taking at least six MC credit hours this fall. The $500 “Raptor Ready” Scholarship may only be applied to fall 2022 tuition and fees, and the application MUST be completed by August 1, 2022. The first 3,000 eligible applicants will be considered for the scholarship with all others added to a waitlist.

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Olney

Update on &Pizza Coming to Olney

By MCS Staff

Back in September of 2021 we let you know that &Pizza would be coming to Olney’s Fair Hill Shopping Center. At that time, we didn’t have an exact location, noting that it would likely take over a spot that was home to an existing business. It turns out the location will be the storefront that was formerly home to Olney Winery. Olney Winery will soon be moving to Ashton Market, but will remain in the Fair Hill Shopping Center until the Ashton Market location is ready to open. This means that &Pizza would not begin construction until after Olney Winery has moved, so the opening is still many months away, possibly early 2023.

&pizza was founded by Michael Lastoria and Steve Salis (Ted’s Bulletin, Federalist Pig, and Ensemble) in 2012 with their first location on H Street in D.C. The growing chain now has over 36 locations across the east coast including MoCo locations in Bethesda, two in Gaithersburg (Crown and Gaithersburg Square), Germantown, Pike & Rose, and Silver Spring.

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Maryland

Maryland Is 2022’s ‘6th Most Patriotic State in America’, According to Study

By MCS Staff

With the Fourth of July approaching, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Most Patriotic States in America. Maryland ranked 6th on the list, with our neighbor Virginia coming in 3rd behind Montana (2nd) and Alaska (1st). According to the report, “Americans may feel their patriotism dampened this year in the face of startling statistics such as the fact that there was a 44% increase in hate crimes in major cities last year, as well as a similarly high jump in the homicide rate. Many people may find it hard to celebrate a country in which racist incidents and frequent violence persist. However, an expression of love for fellow citizens is patriotic in itself.”

To determine where Americans have the most red, white and blue pride, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 13 key indicators of patriotism. The data set ranges from the state’s military enlistees and veterans to the share of adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election to AmeriCorps volunteers per capita. Below are some additional highlights from the report.

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Derwood

Magruder Freshman, Colin Abrams, Wins Second National Championship in Four Days

By MCS Staff

Magruder Hugh School’s Colin Abrams has picked up his second national title in four days, easily winning the Emerging Elite 800m race with a personal best of 1:52.6 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Nike Outdoor Nationals are currently wrapping up at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field (June 16-June 19).

According to Magruder Track’s Instagram account, the time is “one of the fastest-ever run by a 14-year-old in the WORLD. It is also the 6th fastest time posted by a freshman, ever, the fastest time run by any American freshman in the 2022 season, a new school record and a new Maryland Freshman Class record.” Colin Abrams will now come home from Oregon a two-time National Champion after his previous first place finish in the Freshman 400m with a time of 49.46.

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Beyond MoCo

Beyond MoCo: Suspect Wanted in Saturday’s Tysons Corner Shooting

By MCS Staff

Per Fairfax County Police at 3:30pm on Sunday afternoon: “Noah Settles is wanted in connection to yesterday’s shooting at Tysons Corner Center. Settles got in dispute w/ another group, displayed a firearm & fired multiple rounds. Fled in blk Cadillac DC tags-GK0174. Considered armed & dangerous. Call w/ info 703-691-2131 or 911”

WANTED: Noah Settles is wanted in connection to yesterday’s shooting at Tysons Corner Center. Settles got in dispute w/ another group, displayed a firearm & fired multiple rounds. Fled in blk Cadillac DC tags-GK0174. Considered armed & dangerous. Call w/ info 703-691-2131 or 911 pic.twitter.com/jyRIM87Bte

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