Your cooperation is essential to help protect the safety and welfare of all our students and school staff. We teach students—and ask parents and caregivers to remind students—that:
Weapons are not allowed on school grounds, ever. Guns, knives, toy guns, ammunition, or any device meant to cause harm are prohibited and carry significant school and possible criminal consequences.
The state of Maryland has been ranked second in a list of “Most Educated States.” With BLS data showing a correlation between higher education levels, higher income and lower unemployment rates, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Most & Least Educated States in America. Massachusetts was ranked first and Connecticut came in third.
In order to determine the most educated states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 18 metrics that examined the key factors of a well-educated population: educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races.
Abby Meyers is Whitman High School’s all-time leading scorer with over 1,700 points and was the Ivy League Player of the Year last year before transferring to the University of Maryland for her senior season. Yesterday she was honored at Senior Day as #8 Maryland took on Illinois.
Meyers didn’t disappoint, scoring 14 of her 18 points in the third quarter for the Terps, helping lead the team to an 81-72 victory and improving to 13-0 all-time against Illinois. In an interview with the Diamondback last month, she credited her junior and senior years at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda as helping her evolve as a teammate and leader, playing a big role in being named a captain ahead of her first season at Maryland.
Malick Boly is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to overseas service since the agency suspended its global operations and evacuated nearly 7,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries in March 2020. Boly grew up in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso in West Africa before moving to Gaithersburg in 2011, where he attended Lakeland Park Middle School and Northwest High School (Class of 2016) in Germantown. Boly graduated from UMBC with a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology and will serve as an English literacy volunteer in Samoa.
“My mother was a volunteer in Gabon during the early 80’s,” said Boly. “Her decision to join Peace Corps sent her on a thirty plus year humanitarian journey that culminated in the creation and management of multiple schools and a happy family of five. I am proud to follow in her footsteps.”
Congratulations to MCPS students who competed in various championships in the last week:
Bocce – County Champions
Ricardo Hernandez, assistant principal at Paint Branch High School has been awarded the State of Maryland Secondary School Assistant Principal of the Year. He will go on to represent the state of Maryland in the national competition.
Earlier this week, Kingsview Middle School counselor Katie Mendelson was named Maryland State Middle School Counselor of the Year. She was surprised with the news on Feb, 6, the first day of National School Counselor Week, during an announcement at the school. Watch the surprise here.
In September of 1951, George Washington Carver High School opened and became the only modern secondary educational facility built for black students in Montgomery County. Today the building serves as the MCPS central office in Rockville. MCPS interviewed Carver graduate Howard Bell about his experience going to school during segregation and later integration and how far we have come as a county. The interview can be seen below:
The Minority Scholars Program (MSP), a student-led initiative to help narrow the opportunity gap in MCPS, increase the academic success of minority students and foster positive relationships, will hold its 12th annual retreat on Saturday, March 18. This year’s theme is “We are the Blueprint: Dream About it, Scream About it, Be About It.” This event will be held from 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at Northwest High School, 13501 Richter Farm Road in Germantown.
Since its inception 17 years ago, MSP has worked to change the conversation around race, equity and the opportunity gap. MSP has been growing steadily and now has chapters in every MCPS high school, 24 middle schools and six elementary schools. Student leaders have spoken at county, state and national events, spreading the MSP model across the state and nation.
Working with industry leaders, hospitality and restaurant management students at Seneca Valley and Sherwood high schools served a four-course meal at a pop-up restaurant in Potomac on Feb. 3. The school was above to raise over $5,200 from the event (photos available below).
The dinner was an opportunity for the students to experience the variety of activities necessary to stage a sophisticated experience—from social media and ticket sales to front-of-house management and heart-of-house hustle. With a team of chefs from CAVA, the students designed, prepared and served the dinner at the Falls Road Golf Course Café on Friday.
On Feb. 3, DuFief Elementary School in North Potomac welcomed Montgomery County Chief of Police Marcus Jones to speak to students on community leadership. The school is celebrating Black History Month by looking at ways to serve the community through leadership.
Along with the parent community and the DuFief Diversity Committee, the month will include guest speakers, including Robert Frost Middle School students and students from the Thomas S. Wootton High School Minority Scholars Program. Featured photo: Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones speaks to students at DuFief Elementary School.
In partnership with Montgomery Goes Purple, MCPS invites families to come out Saturday, Feb. 25 for an event and discussion on Fentanyl. Panelists will share important information on the dangers and prevalence of illegally-made fentanyl, prevention tools and protective factors for students, and resources for treatment when needed. The event will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Northwood High School Auditorium, 919 University Blvd W. in Silver Spring.
Breakout discussions for students and parents/caregivers & students, resource fair, COVID-19 vaccinations and refreshments will be available. Panel and breakout sessions will be in English and Spanish. Hundreds attended the Fentanyl Family Forum that took place at Clarksburg High School on January 28th.