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Take a minute to recognize the achievements of our students for the 2025-2026 school year!

  • Congratulations to the PHS Model UN Team!  They did a great job last Saturday (11/1) at Centennial High School's CHSMUNC XVII Competition. The list of winners include: 

    • Best Delegate - Gideon Ott as Katahdin in Salem Witch Trials
    • Best Delegate - Hyunbee Cho as Kurt Hager in USSR & GDR
    • Best Delegate - Olivia Suh as Germany in Celestial Security Group
    • Best Delegate - Adithi Doddi as France in DISEC
    • Best Delegate - Leela Ramanathan as Canada in SOCHUM
    • Outstanding Delegate - Adi Arunkumar as Edward Bishop in Salem Witch Trials
    • Outstanding Delegate - Grace Chi as Syria in SOCHUM
    • Outstanding Delegate - Ishita Singh as Turkey in DISEC
    • Honorable Mention - Vir Pratap Mattu as Ireland in SPECPOL
    • Verbal Commendation - Mohammad Taariq Ashkar Ali as Mikhail Gorbachev in USSR & GDR
    • Verbal Commendation - Claire Huang as India in SOCHUM
    • Verbal Commendation - Erica Millin as Denmark in SOCHUM

  • Congratulations to the PHS Boys and Girls Cross Country teams for their third place finish in the MPSSAA State Championship!

  • Congratulations to the PHS History Bowl Team for their successful fall competition at Georgetown Day!  Our History Bowl Team had at least one player qualify for Nationals in all eight events.  The National Qualification Exams are the means to qualify for nationals in the US History, Geography, Political Science, Humanities, Science and Biology Bees. PHS had 21 players qualify, two of whom double-qualified. At the Varsity level, we had five of a possible six top scores.  At the Junior Varsity level, PHS had three of the six top scores.  Congratulations to the teams and the following students:

    • Tournament semi-finalists: Vittal Rajagopalan, Jackson Hickman, Nico Cabrera, Ahilan Kurlekar, and Grace Yeung
    • Junior Varsity semi-finalists: Pierce Pollard , Taylor Quinn, Max Pazicky, Ayrush Meka, Demi Hobbs, and Ryan Duncan 10. 
    • Tournament quarterfinalists: Beth Weld, Jack Murphy, Liam Slattery, Alexander Wang, and Tristan Reyes
    • Junior Varsity quarterfinalists: Mahi Bakhru, Leo Aguado, Ethan Owens, Holden Pollard, and Griffen Bhargava.  
    • Seniors Nicholas Cabrera and Ahilan Kurlekar qualified in the National History Bee. 
    • Ahilan qualified in four events (History Bowl, History Bee, Geography Bee and Political Science Bee)

     

  • Congratulations to the PHS Debate Team on a successful competition at Montgomery Blair High School.  The PHS Debate Team showed up strong with 29 pairs of students ready to rhetorically battle against schools across the county over the resolution: Resolved: The United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union.  The team continues to improve its overall record, racking up 31 wins to 25 losses over the course of the night. 

  • Congratulations to the Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams for their successful performance at the Regional Championships.  The Boys team placed second as Regional Finalists, and the Girls team placed first to become Regional Champions.  They will compete in the State Championship this Saturday at Hereford High School.  

  • Poolesville High School was named as one of the Top 25 Engineering Source Schools in Maryland by the University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering, recognizing “these high schools, and their excellent teachers and staff” for being “essential links in our pipeline for funneling in-state talent into [UMD’s] undergraduate engineering programs.”  

  • Congratulations to Ekansh Dave and Jeff Hou for qualifying for the semifinals of the Cal-State Debate tournament!

  • Congratulations to Annabel Gaughan and Greta Jauch, who are competing for DC National Rowing Club at Head of the Charles this weekend in Boston. This race was televised, so I hope you werre able to cheer on our Falcons from afar!

  • Congratulations to James Woo, who was awarded High Commendation for his essay in the John Locke Institute 2025 Global Essay Prize.  Only approximately 3% of essayists receive this honor.  Congratulations to Ms. Marks, Ms. Van Yuga, and Mr. Traver for their role in supporting James to earn this achievement.  

  • Congratulations to the students, staff, and families in our entire school community!  Poolesville High School has been named the Number 1 school in Maryland by Niche.  I appreciate all the work, collaboration, and energy that goes into this achievement, and I appreciate each and every one of your roles in making it happen for our future. 

  • Congratulations to Raymond Lim for his acceptance into the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Youth Fellowship Program for the 2025-2026 school year.  As part of this elite training program, Raymond will take part in chamber music ensembles coached by NSO musicians and perform in rehearsals and concerts during the season at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  

  • Congratulations to the PHS Debate Team for their success last weekend at Montgomery Blair High School.  The PHS debate team showed up strong with 22 pairs of students ready to rhetorically battle against schools across the county over the resolution:   The United States federal government should substantially increase its investment in Low Earth Orbit satellite networks.  Over the course of the last five weeks, students have painstakingly researched, completed numerous drills, and collaborated as a team to not only sharpen the skills of those experienced with MCDL, but also prepare a whole host of new debaters fresh to PHS Debate.  Overall, the team posted 25 wins to 19 losses last night, with eight pairs winning both of their rounds throughout the evening. 

  • Congratulations to the PHS It’s Academic team, made up of Nicholas Cabrera, Ahilan Kurlekar, and Alex Want.  Last Sunday, Nicholas, Ahilan, and Alex beat Holton-Arms and DeMatha high schools to win their first round matchup.  The episode will air November 15 at 10:00 a.m.

  • Congratulations to all the members of our Falcon Family who participated in the Poolesville Day festivities this past weekend!  It was wonderful to see our Falcon Spirit throughout the community.  It was a beautiful day made even more special with all the smiling Falcon faces at the various booths, during the parade, and throughout the community. 

  • Poolesville High School was named the 32nd best high school in America by Business Insider!  Congratulations to our incredible students, dedicated staff, supportive families, and welcoming community for continuing to make PHS a wonderful place.  

  • Congratulations to Lily Gough for being selected to march and perform with the University of Maryland’s marching band, the Mighty Sound of Maryland, at this weekend’s UMD game.  

  • Congratulations to the Falcons named as National Merit Semifinalists as top scorers on the 2024 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and will be competing nationally for scholarships to be announced in the spring.  The PHS Semifinalists are:

    • Caitlin Buchet
    • Chloe Chang
    • Tanvi De
    • Angela Dong
    • Elena Du
    • Mu Du
    • Yiren Jing
    • Abraham Klemek
    • Ahilan Kurlekar
    • Anish Mulukutla
    • Vittal Rajagopalan
    • Benjamin Ross
    • Samiha Salam
    • Shayaan Wadkar
    • Alex Wang
    • Olivia Yao
    • Alyssa Yu

  • Congratulations to Nolan Chen for his success in both the Congressional Art Competition for Maryland’s Sixth District and in the History Category of the John Locke Institute Essay Competition.  

  • Congratulations to Sathvik Dasari, who was named one of the Top 10 winners in the 2025 Junior Scientists and Young Explorers Meta (JYEM) / NY-CSEF-2025 International Research Competition.  As part of this recognition, his research paper will be published in the JYEM journal.

  • Poolesville High School was recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report Best High Schools for 2025. Congratulations to our students, staff, and families for being the reasons for our consistent recognition and success.

  • Congratulations to James Woo for being named as a finalist in the History Category of the John Locke Institute 2025 Global Essay Prize.  

  • Congratulations to Swati Seshadri for her selection as a finalist for the 2026 High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, which brings together talented young musicians to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City under the guidance of master conductors.  

  • Congratulations to Jaylin Anderson for being interviewed and featured in MyMCM for the successful Mother-Daughter Summer Volleyball Clinic she started with her mother in Poolesville this past summer.  

  • Congratulations to Diya Kamalabharathy, rising senior.  Diya was appointed to the position of Vice President of Communication of the Maryland State Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) for Future Health Professionals.  Diya faithfully serves the local chapter of HOSA at PHS, and she will now be one of the few who represent the organization at the statewide level, as well.  

  • Congratulations to Sarthark Pal Mahajan and Aadhavan Muralidharan, rising juniors, for the publication of their article, “Runoff and Groundwater Recharge” by The Good Gift Project.  This organization challenged students to select a groundwater-related issue, conduct research, and write a short, magazine-style article highlighting their findings.  Among the submissions, they chose to feature this thoughtful article by Sarthark and Aadhavan, which dives into the case of runoff, its effects on groundwater, and the steps we can take to reduce its impact.  

  • Please see the bottom of the page for past years Student Success

Staff Success

  • Thank you to the Town of Poolesville and the Fair Access Committee for honoring me with the Western Montgomery County Champion Award for “Dedication to Learning, Student Health, and Community in the Western County.”  I am overwhelmed with gratitude, and it is a true honor to be recognized by the community I directly serve.  Poolesville High School and the surrounding communities are special, and I am blessed to serve as the principal.  Thank you to the students, staff, and families that make our school community so amazing.  
  • Congratulations to Dr. Hunsicker-Blair for being awarded the first WeRAISE Legends award from MCPS Systemwide Athletics.  Dr. Blair was celebrated for her positive impact on Girls High School Golf at the county and state levels.  You can watch the surprise ceremony at this link.  

Click to see Super Student Successes for the 2024-2025, 2023-2024, 2022-2023, 2020-2021, 2019-2020, 2018-2019, 2017-2018, 2016-2017, 2015-2016, 2014-2015, 2013-2014, 2012-2013, 2011-2012 school years.