Good News
A high school freshman has won a top prize in this year’s C-SPAN 2024 Student-Cam documentary competition. Dermott Foley, a 9th grader at Montgomery Blair High School, won $3,000 as a first-place winner for his documentary, “The Promise of Langley Park: The Purple Line, Climate Change and Reimagining the Future of America's Suburbs.” This documentary will air on C-SPAN on Friday, April 19 at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day.
The annual competition was open to middle and high school students across the nation. Students from eight schools—Montgomery Blair, Winston Churchill, Poolesville, Richard Montgomery and Rockville high schools, and Eastern, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Westland middle schools—placed in the competition. See the full list of winners.
MSP Hosts 13th Annual Retreat
More than 950 middle and high school students attended the 13th Annual Intra-County Minority Scholars Program (MSP) retreat earlier this month at John F. Kennedy High School. They presented workshops on leadership, reacting to microaggressions and rewriting the narrative. One of the highlights was the talent show where students from middle school and high school performed dances, songs and poetry. The audience felt especially inspired by the performance of the poem “I am a part of history,” created by Alejandro Gonzalez of White Oak Middle School. Stay up to date with the activities of MSP.
Athletics News!
Congratulations to the following high schools and coaches who won state athletic championships and sportsmanship awards for the 2023–2024 winter season.
4A Girls State Basketball Champions
Clarksburg High School
Coach Sissy Natoli
State Bocce Champions – Milan Division
Thomas S. Wootton High School
Coach Steve McMahon
4A/3A Boys State Swimming and Diving Champions
Winston Churchill High School
Coach Dennis Witol
4A/3A Girls State Swimming and Diving Champions
Richard Montgomery High School
Coach Akshay Gandhi
3A/2A/1A State Swimming and Diving Champions
Poolesville High School
Coach Jonathan Leong
4A/3A State Dual Wrestling Champions
Walt Whitman High School
Coach Derek Manon
4A Boys Basketball - Jack Willard Sportsmanship Award Winner
Walt Whitman High School
Coach Chris Lun
4A/3A State Swimming and Diving – Doug Sutherland Sportsmanship Award Winner
Quince Orchard High School
Coach Staci Armezzani
Richard Montgomery swimming and diving coach Akshay Gandhi has received the 2024 Allen Murray Award, a recognition that honors the former teacher, coach, camp director, and founder and director of the Montgomery County Stroke and Turn Clinic. Murray was a longtime supporter of swimming in Montgomery County.
Walter Johnson, Blair Students Win Top Prizes in Heads Up, Phones Down Video Contest
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has announced the winners of its 2024 “Heads Up, Phones Down” video contest.
Anjolaoluwa Adeleke of Walter Johnson High School was the grand prize individual winner. Erol Kalayoglu, Zachary Carter and Ian Ha of Montgomery Blair High School took the grand prize in the team category.
The contest asked students to produce videos encouraging peers to not allow cell phones to distract them while driving and walking. The contest received 200 video entries.
The county contest was open to high school students, who could submit entries either individually or as a group of up to four in English or Spanish.
Winners with links to their videos are below:
Individual Winners
- Grand Prize: Anjolaoluwa Adeleke, Walter Johnson: ‘HUPD Music Video’.
- First Runner Up: Platon Tsislav, Walter Johnson: ‘Crossing the Road’.
- Second Runner Up: Jason Konecnik, Northwood High School: ‘Don’t Distract your Driver’
Group Winners
- Grand Prize: Erol Kalayoglu, Zachary Carter and Ian Ha, Montgomery Blair: ‘Silence your phone Not a heartbeat’
- First Runner Up: Aaron Silberglitt and Ryan Silberglitt, Paint Branch High School: ‘It’s Never Worth The Risk’
- Second Runner Up: Shaina Asuncion and Yvette Larios, Gaithersburg High School: ‘Pay Attention’
Hundreds Attend MCPS College Fair
Hundreds of high school juniors packed the Adventist HealthCare Fieldhouse in Boyds earlier this month for the annual Montgomery County College Fair.
The event featured representatives from more than 275 colleges and universities, and provide resources and workshops to students and parents navigating the college admissions process.
MCPS In The News
It’s Destiny, as a star freshman leads Clarksburg to the state final
Montgomery County High School Athlete of the Week: Jonathan Chang