Good News
Winners of the 2024 Sustainability Poster Contest have been announced. The goal of the contest was to increase awareness and demonstrate the importance of environmental sustainability, energy conservation, waste reduction and responsible recycling through creative artwork. The entries this year highlighted the students' commitment to sustainability and encouraged others to be responsible environmental stewards.
Nearly 1,100 students in grades K–12 and staff participated in this year’s online judging to select the winning entries. The first place winners and their artwork are:
- Grades Kindergarten-2: Lana Morales, Grade 2, Wilson Wims Elementary School
- Grades 3-5: Sofia Villalta Lerma, Grade 5, Fox Chapel Elementary School
- Grades 6-8: Laura Macapagal, Grade 8, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School
- Grades 9-12: Juan Beltran Hernandez, Grade 11, John F. Kennedy High School/Thomas Edison High School of Technology
The winning entries will be on display at the Rockville Memorial Library during June. New posters, created from select winning entries, will be distributed to schools in the upcoming school year.
Division of Sustainability and Compliance
Twenty-Two MCPS Students Earn College-Sponsored National Merit Scholarships
Twenty-two MCPS students have earned college- and university-sponsored National Merit Scholarships in the latest round of awards from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Each sponsoring college or university selected scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
The winners, their sponsoring university or college, and their intended career fields are:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Jeffrey L. Olsen
Grinnell College
Probable career field: Economics
Montgomery Blair High School
Matthias R. Nigmann
Rochester Institute of Technology
Probable career field: Electrical Engineering
River T. Qiu
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Science
James Hubert Blake High School
Conrad N. Blom
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Politics
Winston Churchill High School
Sabrina Emily Chou
University of Southern California
Probable career field: Consulting
Elise L. Huang
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Biochemistry
Alvia Parvez Naqvi
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Science
Walter Johnson High School
Nathan H. Tang
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Science
Richard Montgomery High School
Carolyn L. Conner
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Environmental Science
Michelle Yu
Emory University
Probable career field: Applied Mathematics
Samwit Dangol
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Engineering
Northwest High School
Anthony J. Wang
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Materials Engineering
Poolesville High School
Vaishnavi Banda
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Science
Patrick T. Foley
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Science
Nora E. Rudmann
University of Central Florida
Probable career field: Acting
Walt Whitman High School
Timothy J. Lindstrom
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Engineering
Anthony J. Noya
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Electrical Engineering
Arjun R. Mohan
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Applied Mathematics
Thomas S. Wootton High School
Aylin E. Aarhus
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Journalism
Shreyas Bachu
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Science
Yusuf A. Hasan
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Computer Engineering
Arjun N. Ram
University of Maryland
Probable career field: Business
Rockville High School Art Teacher Wins Wheaton Arts Parade Poster Contest
Caryn Chavarria, a digital art, photography and ceramics teacher at Rockville High School, won the poster contest for the 8th annual Wheaton Arts Parade and Festival. The poster contest was open to all county residents. Chavarria’s artwork was incorporated into the design for the poster and the event T-shirt. It will be featured in all promotional materials leading up to the parade.
Chavarria will receive a cash prize of $500 donated by IHOP Wheaton and the Los Chorros Restaurant in Wheaton. An additional $100 will be donated to Rockville High School for art supplies in Chavarria’s honor.
The annual Wheaton Arts Parade and Festival will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sept. 29 in the Wheaton Triangle and on the Marian Fryer Plaza, which is adjacent to the entrance of the Wheaton Metro Station. The Wheaton Arts Parade and Festival is a day for residents, artists, businesses and civic organizations to celebrate art and Wheaton’s diverse cultures.
RICA Staff and Students Recognized for Recycling Efforts
The John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents, or RICA, was a winner of Montgomery County’s 25th annual Recycling Achievement Awards. RICA serves young people with severe emotional and behavioral challenges. Despite these challenges, the faculty, staff and students actively recycle electronics, toner cartridges, pallets and batteries. They also collect clothing donations through the Cash for Clothes program to earn points for educational items. Students also participate in a garden program to learn about recycling, gardening and composting. The awards were presented last month during the county’s celebration of Recycling Awareness Week, where recipients were recognized for helping the county reach its goals of reducing waste and recycling more, aiming for Zero Waste.
WJ Math Teacher Wins Expository Writing Award
John Chase, math resource teacher at Walter Johnson High School, won the Carl B. Allendoerfer Award for expository mathematical writing from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), for an article he co-wrote, “Bacterial Growth: Not So Simple,” in Mathematics Magazine. Chase co-wrote the article with Matthew Wright, and the article was inspired by conversations with colleague Will Rose, a teacher in the magnet program at Montgomery Blair High School. Read more about the winning article and other awards.
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