MCPS Archives - Page 179 of 275

Six MoCo High Schools Make the “Sweet 16” in Hot 99.5’s “Best High School in the DMV” Contest

Published March 21, 2023 at 9:58AM

Radio station Hot 99.5 (WIHT FM) is currently running it’s annual “Best High School in the DMV” contest on Instagram. The six Montgomery County high schools to make the “Sweet 16” are Montgomery Blair, Northwest, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Walter Johnson, and Wheaton. The schools included in the tournament were selected after receiving the most nominations and the winning high school will be awarded with $1,000 (courtesy of Burn Bootcamp in Rockville.) Wheaton High School lost to Osbourn Park High School (Manassas, VA) in the final round of the 2021 tournament. Voting takes place in Hot 99.5’s Instagram page’s stories. Hot 99.5 (WIHT) broadcasts out of the IHeartMedia studios at 1801 Rockville Pike in Rockville.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqB3fRVL8WA/

Damascus Community to Meet Tuesday Night Following Proposed Delay of Major High School Renovation

By MCS Staff

Published March 20, 2023 at 7:37AM | Updated March 20, 2023 at 3:07PM

A recent change to the recommendation on the MCPS CIP that would delay the major capital project at Damascus High School by two years has led the Damascus community to call for a meeting that will take place at the high school on Tuesday, March 21 at 7pm.

The major capital project was previously approved to address various building systems and programmatic needs for Damascus High School, located at 25921 Ridge Road. The Board of Education, in the requested FY 2021–2026 CIP, included expenditures in FY 2022 to continue the planning and design of this major capital project with a completion date of August 2025, but the County Council delayed the expenditures by one year. An FY 2023 appropriation was approved to begin the design of this Major Capital project. A FY 2024 appropriation was recommended for construction funds, but that has now changed to “not recommended”, delaying the project for two years.

County Council to Receive Briefings on Community Engagement Officers and Restorative Justice Practices in Montgomery County Public Schools

By Patrick Herron

Published March 17, 2023 at 9:52PM

Per Montgomery County: The joint Public Safety (PS) and Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet on Monday, March 20 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing on the Community Engagement Officer (CEO) Program and restorative justice practices within Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The joint committee will also receive a briefing and discuss school bus safety. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink. The members of the EC Committee include Chair Will Jawando and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Mink.

The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to review a $250,000 FY23 Supplemental Appropriation and FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Amendment for streetlighting. The committee will also review CIP amendments for transportation projects and receive a briefing on the Purple Line. The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe and Kate Stewart. The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to receiving a briefing from representatives of the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) on Housing Choice vouchers. The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson and Councilmembers Natali Fani-González and Jawando.

Montgomery College Scholarships Available to High School Graduates

By MCS Staff

Published March 17, 2023 at 7:21AM

Montgomery College (MC) is providing a $500 tuition scholarship to Montgomery County residents who are spring 2023 graduates from a Montgomery County high school and are taking at least six MC credit hours this fall. The $500 “Raptor Ready” Scholarship can only be applied to fall 2023 tuition and fees, and the application must be completed by Tuesday, Aug. 1. The first 1,500 eligible applicants will be considered, with others added to a waitlist. Additional information below, courtesy of Montgomery College:

Montgomery College offers a $500 tuition scholarship to help 2023 spring Montgomery County high school graduates jump into their academic program in fall 2023. The $500 scholarship will be applied to fall 2023 tuition and fees at Montgomery College. The program is for spring 2023 Montgomery County high school graduates who are Montgomery County residents who register for and attend at least 6 credit hours at Montgomery College in the fall 2023. The scholarship cannot be used for any other semester.

MCPS Hosting Youth Climate Summit on April 22

By MCS Staff

Published March 17, 2023 at 7:16AM

MCPS will host the 2nd Annual Youth Climate Summit from 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. The event will take place at Tilden Middle School, which achieved a LEED Silver Certification in 2021 from the U.S. Green Building Council.

This student-led event is designed to educate MCPS high school students about climate change and equip them with the tools to create climate action projects to bring back to their communities. During the summit, students will talk with environmental mentors, collaborate with peer leaders and grow as environmental activists.

MCPS: Five Things To Know (Thursday, March 16)

By MCS Staff

Published March 16, 2023 at 6:43PM

1. Next Family Fentanyl Forum Set for March 25: Montgomery Goes Purple, in partnership with MCPS, is hosting a third Family Forum on Fentanyl from 9 a.m.–noon on Saturday, March 25, at Paint Branch High School. This forum will focus on in-depth learning opportunities with dozens of sessions, as well as Narcan training, resource tables and opportunities for fitness. The forum will include sessions for youth and adults, individually and jointly, in English and Spanish. Discussion topics will include:

Paint Branch is located at 14121 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville. RSVP

Three MCPS Students Win ‘Women Making History’ Awards

By MCS Staff

Published March 16, 2023 at 6:28PM

Three MCPS students are among 32 women who will be recognized with 2023 Women Making History Awards from the Montgomery County Commission for Women and Montgomery Women. They will be recognized at the Women Making History Celebration and panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. on March 16 at the Silver Spring Civic Building. The students are: Shrusti Amula, 9th grader at Richard Montgomery High School; Shairee Arora, 10th grader at Richard Montgomery; Lumina Zhang, 8th grader at Herbert Hoover Middle School.

The awards are given in recognition of outstanding women in Montgomery County who are making significant contributions to their vocations and to the community. Nominations were submitted by peers based on criteria such as unselfish leadership, hard work in their field, exceptional leadership in civic activities, developing or supporting programs resulting in positive social action and inspiring others. More information and the full list of honorees is available here.

Sherwood High School’s Rock N Roll Revival Completes its 52nd Annual Show

By MCS Staff

Published March 16, 2023 at 9:52AM

Sherwood High School’s Rock ‘n Roll Revival just had its 52nd annual show– the tradition has been going strong since 1971, with 2020 being the only year a live show wasn’t produced due to Covid (a virtual show was produced that year). It all began when Sherwood students were inspired by a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Since then, students audition for the show and rehearse for a couple months, working with staff members to put together a show that is routinely seen by thousands of people each year.

Per Dan Gross of MCPS Communications, “performers work on four to five songs a day. Other cast members who rehearse separately accompany the larger group little by little until all 40 songs have been rehearsed en masse. Shortly before opening night, dancers join in when rehearsals move to the theater. In the weeks before opening night, the stage is built and painted, while the tech crew finalizes sound and lighting.” Gross writes that this year’s show involved 250 student performers and crew members and was seen by over 6,000 people over six performances this year. See the full MCPS photo story here.

Walter Johnson Announced Aaron Fiddler as New Varsity Football Coach, Replacing Larry Hurd

By MCS Staff

Published March 16, 2023 at 9:17AM

Walter Johnson High School has announced the new varsity football head coach, Aaron Fiddler, a couple weeks after previous coach Larry Hurd made the decision to step down as coach to become the Athletic Coordinator (position previously known as Athletic Director) at the school. Walter Johnson Athletics announced the following:

The Walter Johnson Community would like to extend a warm welcome and congratulations to Coach Aaron Fiddler as our new Head Football Coach. Coach Fiddler brings incredible knowledge, experience, passion, success, and an ability to develop long lasting relationships with all his students/athletes. Coach Fiddler will be meeting with his team for the first time on Friday Morning at 7:30 am in the Weight Room at Walter Johnson High School!

NASA Flight Instructor Visits Rolling Terrace Elementary School Students

By MCS Staff

Published March 16, 2023 at 7:12AM

Third graders at Rolling Terrace Elementary School in Takoma Park got a chance to hear from NASA Flight Director Diana Trujillo of the Johnson Space Center in Texas. She spoke to students about her career with NASA and work on the Artemis mission.

According to MCPS, Trujillo most recently served as the Integrated Planning and Sequencing for Surface Missions Group Supervisor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. She supported mission operations for NASA’s ongoing exploration missions on the surface of Mars, and the planned Mars Sample Return mission. Trujillo was born and raised in Colombia, and earned a bachelor’s of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Einstein High School Hosts First Ever School-Wide Career Day

By MCS Staff

Published March 16, 2023 at 7:08AM | Updated March 23, 2023 at 8:21AM

More than 150 guest speakers visited Albert Einstein High School for the school’s first school-wide Career Day. 1,800 students participated in the event earlier this month.

Speakers included Board of Education members Lynne Harris, Grace Rivera-Oven and Julie Yang, and former NFL player Josh Morgan. Other career fields represented included: novelist, lawyer, hair and makeup artist, statistician, computer programmer, TV news production assistant, entrepreneur, EMT/paramedic, chef, realtor, certified public accountant, circuit court administrator, social worker, professors, dentist, and police officer.