Per MCPS: The Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation (ATF) is looking for car donations. Donations will help more than 400 high school students learn how to evaluate, repair and restore used cars. ATF is a nonprofit that fosters automotive education by offering students hands-on instruction in maintenance, repair, sales and marketing.

The ATF accepts donations year-round between 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday through Friday at Damascus, Gaithersburg and Seneca Valley high schools, at Thomas Edison High School of Technology and at the Shady Grove Bus Depot. Donations may be tax deductible.


On Wednesday, September 28th, MCPS Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight sent the following message out to the community regarding athletic safety plans:

“Dear Montgomery County Public Schools community members:


Poolesville High School, the only whole school magnet in Montgomery County, was ranked as the “Best Public High School in Maryland” by Niche– a rankings and review resource that provides information on K-12 schools, colleges, cities, neighborhoods, and companies across the United States.

The core of the school building was built in 1911 as an elementary school, and as of 1912 the school was the only consolidated (middle and high school) in Montgomery County. The current school building dates back to 1953 but has had over 22 additions made since then, with the last major revision happening in 1978. John Pool Middle School was built in 1997, separating the two schools that were together for nearly a century.


Niche, a rankings and review resource that provides information on K-12 schools, colleges, cities, neighborhoods, and companies across the United States, has just published its new 2023 Best Schools and Districts rankings. Now in its ninth year, the rankings include updated data for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools, and 11,820 school districts nationwide. 7 of the top 10 public high schools in Maryland are located in Montgomery County, with Poolesville High School earning the top spot (All MCPS schools listed can be seen below and there are 282 public high schools in the state).

Per Niche: “While traditional rankings rely almost exclusively on metrics like test scores and academic performance, Niche’s rankings combine user input — ratings from current students, alumni, and parents — with quantitative data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities, extracurricular activity opportunities and more. The 2023 Best Schools rankings include 2,906 newly ranked public schools, 1,018 newly ranked private schools, and 547 newly ranked school districts across the country.


Every week, Takoma Park Middle School teacher, Maura Moore, highlights one student in each of her classes that has done something noteworthy (kind to a classmate, shown perseverance with an academic struggle, exemplary work, etc.) by giving them a raffle ticket that could win the a students a “meep” to keep. A meep (photos below) is a crocheted emotional support orb. Moore started making the meeps in March of 2018 when she was going through a difficult time in her life and wanted to show that you could turn a tough time into something beautiful.

She made over 1,000 maps in a little over 6 months (approximately 250 of them were for staff and students). In the last 4 years she had made several thousand meeps, spending her own time and money, so that she can brighten other’s day. When she made her first meep, before it had a name, it was just a gesture to say to someone “I see you struggling, and I want you know I am here and I care.” Just this summer she made 600 of them and recently she has made meeps available for purchase through her website, AllYouMeepIsLove.com


Montgomery County native Mack Hollins caught 8 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown for the Las Vegas Raiders, who fell short in a comeback attempt against the Titans on Sunday. Hollins has caught 13 balls for 224 yards in the last two games, nearly matching his best seasons in the NFL already.

Hollins attended Robert Frost Middle School and Wootton High School. After not receiving any scholarship offers out of high school, Hollins attended Fork Union Military Academy where he received several offers to join teams, including a walk-on opportunity on the University of North Carolina football team if he could get accepted to the university on his own. Hollins got accepted and was able to walk-on, playing three seasons for the Tarheels before getting drafted by the Eagles in the 4th round of the 2017 NFL Draft.


Montgomery Public Schools released a survey this week asking the public to provide input on the 2023-2024 school year calendar. According to MCPS, “This survey seeks to gauge the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) community’s interests as the calendar scenarios are developed for school year (SY) 2023–2024. Prior to presenting the calendar scenarios for discussion at the Board of Education Meeting on October 25, 2022, MCPS is providing an opportunity for the public to provide input. Please share your SY 2023–2024 calendar interests by Thursday, October 13, 2022.”


At a press conference on Wednesday, Montgomery County Public Schools announced several new safety measures that will be implemented at upcoming sporting events as a result of last week’s incident at Gaithersburg High School that resulted in the Gaithersburg/Northwest High School Football Game being called off following an on-field altercation between the teams, as well as the arrest of five individuals for fights that occurred after the game in Gaithersburg High School’s parking lot. The safety measures include:

Per MCPS, these changes will be in effect for all high school athletic events for the remainder of the season. Should other incidents occur, other tiered security interventions will be implemented. These could include spectator capacity limitations and game time/date adjustments. Additional actions will be based on the following criteria or guidelines:


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