The Churchill Observer- March 2016

Montgomery County Public Schools Winston Churchill High School 11300 Gainsborough Rd. Potomac, MD 20854

thechurchillobserver.com

Volume 12 - Issue 1738

Friday, April 1, 2016

A National Blue Ribbon School

Moving Walkways to Combat Hallway Congestion CHS to Sell AP Scores to Cover Cost of Travelators

By Sarah O’Brien Head of Potatoes Lauren Roseman Secretary of Potatoes

All CHS students have at one point felt the emotional and sometimes physical stress caused by walking through the Bulldog Lobby.

Students are constantly getting bumped into, leading to the occasional stampede, similar to the famous scene in The Lion King. Space in CHS is minimal, and the hallways on both floors are overcrowded, so the administration has decided to act.

A recent decision to add moving walkways, also known as travelators, to CHS hallways has been made in order to speed up hallway traffic. The travelators will be implemented as early as next school year.

“We’ve been getting complaints from students and staff alike about the hallway

backup for years now, so I am very much looking forward to installing the travelators in our school,” Principal Joan Benz said. “Frankly, this was long overdue.”

Travelators are often found in airports so that individuals can quickly move throughout the large area with a whopping speed of three miles per hour.

Airports avoid the stop-andgo traffic that the beltway and the Bulldog Lobby often have, and the implementation of this not-so-new technology will shorten the students’ and teachers’ commutes by at least half.

“Everyday I have to use the Bulldog Lobby, and everyday I’m nervous about running into someone or someone running into me,” sophomore Firstname Lastname said.

“I’m really excited because the travelators will allow me to get less exercise and give me a chance to take a quick nap on them between classes.”

Teachers also love the idea

of the travelators because students will no longer have a reason to be late to class.

“Since my classroom is located near the Bulldog Lobby, many of my students use that hallway and use the excuse that the traffic is what caused them to be late,” U.S. History teacher Amanda Marshall said. “This will let us teachers know who is actually trying to get to class and who is just goofing off with their friends.”

The travelators may be costly, but CHS has agreed to sell the top quarter of its AP scores to cover the bill.

“This will definitely help decrease person-to-person accidents, and help our students arrive safely to their classes,” security guard Terry Bell said.

If the travelators are effective, the administration will talk to the MCPS Board of Education to build escalators to speed up the gridlock on the various staircases.

The proposed design for the moving walkways at CHS includes travelators in the hallway outside the Media Center and Journalism and Yearbook offices.

Seeing Green: The Hidden Truth Behind Camo Attire

By Fiona Asbury Mrs. Shrek

Walking through the halls of CHS, something seems off.

Every so often, a backpack seems to be floating in mid-air, or shoes seem to be moving on their own accord; in some cases, all that is visible is the face of a nonchalant student.

No, there’s no magic involved, just camouflage.

More and more CHS students have been wearing camouflage coats, pants and even entire jumpsuits to school. Whether it be a fashion statement, a chance to experience invisibility or the newest form of a “lazy day” outfit, camo has become a daily staple for CHS students.

“I couldn’t leave the house without wearing my camo jacket,” senior Andre Penzes said. “It’s really nice to walk down the hallway and have people only see my face. After all, I think that’s where my best features are.”

Other students prefer to space out their camouflagewearing in an effort to keep it special.

“If you asked me five years ago what superpower I would choose, I would definitely say invisibility,” senior Emilie Butchko said. “Now that I have

that power at my disposal, I the Observer has no longer and found to find “suitable” don’t want to overuse it. I love been able to locate. “It was a clothing if caught wearing how I still get butterflies every great investment because I camo. time I put on my camo shirt get tons of stuff for ‘free’ and In the hallways, invisibility and see my torso disappear.” my grades have definitely had caused chaos. In the While wearing camo is a improved.”

Bulldog Lobby area, where positive experience for many, Several other students have the most student congestion it has also led to numerous also reaped the benefits of occurs, camouflaged problems in classrooms and invisibility in the classroom. students have been known hallways, as well as in the “Every so often during a test, to punch, kick and push CHS community. a student will go completely their way through crowds or According to a sign posted invisible for a second,” purposefully trip others. on the Cabin John California troubled teacher Leslie Armos “Camouflage attire is a Tortilla door, camo-wearers said. “That’s when you know serious issue,” security guard will no longer be allowed that the student is probably Big Man said. “Something in the restaurant due to “an cheating. Several students also needs to be done.” unknown decrease in queso put cheat-sheets somewhere The Montgomery County quantity.” under their camo attire and Police Department is even “Frankly, I think it’s use them during tests. It’s pushing legislators to ban discrimination,” Penzes becoming a huge problem.” camouflage completely. said. “Sure, some kids take Students have also been “We have enough on advantage of the fact that known to go invisible and our hands with the heroin they are invisible and are able leave classes during a boring resurgence,” police officer to enjoy a free meal, but a lecture. As a result, some Harold Badge said. “The last majority of camo-wearers are teachers have decided to ban thing we want is drug addicts just trying to live their lives camo from their classes and who now have the ability to without having to be seen. will send students to the lost disappear.”

There’s nothing illegal about that.”

With camouflage jumpsuits readily Horse For President Bulldog Bids Farewell accessible, camouflage wearers have also been America unanimously Students and able to go completely chooses invisible, rather than staff vote to horse only partially. replace mascot over other “I have a [camo] with Exploding candidates jumpsuit with a hood Hoverboard. that I can pull over my head,” said a junior who Page X

News

Page JK

Features

Senior Emilie Butchko’s torso disappeared when she wears her camouflage.

Sports Shuffleboarding CHS beats Wootton in County Semifinals. Again.

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April Fools

April 1, 2016

Seniors Dye Benz’s Car

By Sarah NO’Brain Trash Expert With the technology consistently growing, it is hard to keep up with all the innovations and lingo used by millennials. To keep up with this fast-paced world, CHS has introduced Emoji and Slang, a class open to all students who wish to explore the keys to success in the pop culture world.

AP Comparative Government and World History teacher Jamie KimbroughGroves is the prospective teacher for this course, which will run like any other foreign language class.

Like all foreign language classes, the curriculum will focus on vocab, grammar and culture.

“We will cover various units, such as when to use certain emojis, the symbolism behind each character and the lingo that one could hear in the hallway,” Kimbrough-Groves said. “This is a very important skill set. Who knows, maybe in the future we will only communicate with emojis.”

According to Siri, there have been rumors that the U.S. government has been thinking about making the language of emojis the official national language, which would be totally heart-eyes and surprised emoji.

“Emojis are so important nowadays,” senior Lily Bauer said. “If you’re texting someone and use the incorrect emojis, you could jeopardize your relationship.”

According to Kimbrough-Groves, her favorite unit will be the culture unit.

“I am planning on incorporating popular culture and modern day celebrities,” Kimbrough-Groves said. “I am going to make sure I include a Beyoncé unit and discuss the lingo she uses in her songs so everyone can understand and appreciate her.”

For those who have no time in their schedules for this class, an after-school seminar will be held bi-semesterly for students and teachers who want to increase their vocabulary.

“I have always had a fairly basic understanding of emojis,” U.S. History teacher Amanda Marshall said. “I think this class will allow me to learn proper usage and help me bond and relate to the students.”

If the class becomes popular in the future, Kimbrough-Groves plans to a letter to write to the College Board asking them to create an AP curriculum for the subject.

“Make sure to talk to your counselor and register for the Honors Emoji and Lingo Composition,” KimbroughGroves said. “It will be .”

By Tatiana Hewitt Model-In-Training On March 16, students were found dyeing Dr. Benz’s car hot pink, while every senior pushed the panic button on his or her car keys.

Principal Joan Benz was furious with the senior class and their senior pranks.

However, amongst all the chaos, Benz couldn’t refrain from laughing.

“I felt like I was in a movie,” freshman Billy Jean said. “There was so much action going on all at once, I just thought it was a really cool prank. I hope when I am a senior my class can top it.”

Senior Blue Ivy was the leader behind the prank. Ivy came up with the idea of having it happen during a practice fire drill.

On the day of the prank, secretary Angela Polis announced that there was going to be a fire drill 15 minutes into first period. Shortly before that, Ivy and senior Tom Cruise finished dyeing Dr. Benz’s BMW hot pink. As CHS students walked outside to their designated safety spots, they saw the hot pink beauty. Students started taking out their phones to tweet and

Snapchat about the prank, not knowing that it wasn’t over yet. In one eruption of noise, the senior parking lot exploded with sound.

“The dye we used is washable, but I think the pink goes well with Dr. Benz’s look,” Cruise said.

After the teachers realized it was a prank, they told the students to go back into the school. However, the seniors stayed outside and sang High School Musical songs while taking pictures, before getting in their cars and driving home.

According to senior Kailey Montgomery, the High School Musical singing was not planned but they had so much fun planning the actual prank that they just felt that they were all in this together.

According to Benz, she sent out an email to all CHS parents saying that the prank will be handled. The school will be investigating it further.

The following day at lunch, Benz held a mandatory meeting for all seniors in the auditorium to express her unique thoughts on the prank.

“I know you are all seniors and meant good by your prank, so I would like to reward you with washing my car,” Benz said at the meeting.

PHOTO BY SARAH O’BRIEN.

Kimbrough-Groves poses with the emoji magnets she plans to use as teaching tools.

Musical Fever Hits CHS Halls

By Eugenia Cardinal Bishop Professional Exerciser There is a musical theater song epidemic at CHS. On several mysterious occasions, large groups of students have been bursting into song and dance for what seems to be no reason at all.

“It’s almost as if they don’t have control over their bodies when they do it,” junior Jeremy Chang said. “I am enjoying all the jazz hands.”

These dance numbers have been causing disruptions during class, but in between classes, they provide entertainment for students.

Despite being confused, students who enjoy musical theater have been entertained by the performances and hope the love of theater is spreading throughout CHS. “I’m seeing a lot of good talent I hope we will see next year in the the drama department,” junior Katie Kaludis said.

CHS’ shocking epidemic has even caught national attention. ABC is planning on coming to CHS to film these musical theater outbursts live. Ratings are projected to be higher than those of Grease: Live! .

Additionally, due to the popularity of the High School Musical movie series on Disney Channel, Disney recently announced a new High School Musical movie.

The Observer is happy to be the first to announce that this new High School Musical film will be filmed at CHS and will feature students from the community.

“This unexpected turn of events has

really created so many great opportunities for the drama department,” theater teacher Naomi Ratz said. “I’m so excited these talented kids are getting national recognition. It’s truly amazing.”

PHOTO BY TATIANA HEWITT.

Dr. Benz car is back to normal after seniors washed it following a prank in which they dyed it hot pink. Benz discovered the prank after seniors all pressed their car alarms at the same time last week, leading administration to the parking lot to figure out what caused the disturbance.

Dr. Dre The Best Forger In Town Certified in three different languages to prescribe school notes to students who need them, Dre has a PhD in Forgery. Notes can be provided to exempt students from exams or for just a casual needed day-off.

Buy one meal get one meal

PHOTO BY EUGENIA CARDINALE.

Junior Gigi Katula breaks out into a dramatic song in the hallway. She hopes to take a lead role when ABC films a live performance at CHS next month.

30 % OFF*

In all participating MCPS Cafeterias *Valid through 6/99-8/99

Montgomery County Public Schools Winston Churchill High School 11300 Gainsborough Rd. Potomac, MD 20854

thechurchillobserver.com

Volume 40 - Issue 6

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

A National Blue Ribbon School

CHS Cuts Elective Courses

Bill Expands SMOB Power

By Rebecca Jackson Circulation Manager

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL FOX.

The fate of Erewhon, the literary magazine, is unknown after the class was cut for next school year.

By Michael Fox Editor-In-Chief Jonathan Greenzaid Online Editor-In-Chief Each school year both the county’s and each individual high school’s curriculum will change as a result of fluctuations in registration for certain courses. This year, specifically at CHS, several courses will be cut for the 2016-17 school year.

Courses to be cut next year include African American History, History of the Middle East, Comparative Religions, Dance as Fine Art, Real World Writing and Literature Magazine.

Teachers and students have been notified if their classes will be cut so they can adjust their schedules.

“I’m surprised we didn’t get one section back, but as a person who understands how the school system runs, you can’t have a teacher have 12 students in one section and 34 in another section,” Art resource teacher Brendan Roddy said.

According to Social Studies Department resource teacher Rodney Van Tassell, African American History, History of the Middle East and Comparative Religions were all courses that were pitched to the students and staff this year for the upcoming school year, but could not get enough registered students to be able to run the course.

Literary Magazine is an English class that has developed over the last two years with students who have been appointed to staff positions. However, next year, the class will shut down due to low registration numbers.

“I think this class does good things for students and it’s a bummer that it is being cut,” senior and Lit Mag section editor Jake Derby said.

According to Lit Mag Adviser Christin Nixon, this happened two years ago when the course was cut due to the number of students who signed up.

According to Benz, the reasoning behind cutting these classes is not budget related,

rather, it is based on how many students sign up to take the course. With the roughly 2,100 students at CHS, many courses are dropped each year, while others are experimented with.

“As soon as all of our students register for next year, including the students from the middle schools, everything is computer generated,” Benz said.

Once the students have registered for their classes for the upcoming year, classes are cut based on low registration numbers.

According to Benz, 30 students in a classroom would be ideal for each course; however, if there are circumstances where some courses can only put less than 20 kids in a room, then it’s difficult to offer the course for the next school year.

“If there have been courses in the past that have been small for two years, we may have to cut those because it shows us that students aren’t interested in them,” Benz said. “But from that, after we cut those courses

out, we get staffing and look at all the numbers.”

In the next wave of the process, the school will look at how many teachers they have and how to distribute them among the general education and special education classes. Specific courses that are required for students to graduate, known as core classes, are prioritized.

In some cases, if a class has a medium size, ranging from 22-30 students total, the school may allow it to run for another year to see if student interest will increase or decrease. If the number drops, then the course may be cut.

The school must also ensure there will be enough core classes where students will be able to move from an AP to an honors class, or an honors to a regular class if it is too hard for them. This also needs to be done because the number of students enrolling at CHS and leaving CHS will change over the summer.

“The biggest objective is to try to get kids the courses that they want,” Benz said.

minute I started to speak with them their eyes sparkled and they had the biggest smile that I will never forget.”

A memorial service for Baumann was held at the Julia Bindeman Center March 1.

Condolences and gifts can be sent to the Baumann family on the Sagel Bloomfield Funeral Inc. website.

At the request of Baumann’s family, any donations made in honor of Alex will be donated to Maryland Therapeutic Riding, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve quality of life and physical and emotional health challenges through human and horse interaction.

Alex’s passing has impacted many students at CHS. “Alex was a determined, passionate and truly caring person who always put others

before themselves,” Weitz said.

The tragedy has also affected CHS staff members who had the pleasure of knowing Alex.

“It was devastating news when we learned that we had lost Alex,” Principal Joan Benz said. “My heart goes out to their family. I am proud of students and staff members in recognizing Alex’s contributions. They will be greatly missed.”

Those affected by Alex’s passing are encouraged to seek help from a counselor in coping with the tragedy. Other students struggling, either physically, emotionally or mentally, should be reminded of the various resources available, within CHS and throughout the community, that can provide them with

help.

“Love and support could come from anywhere, even from people who you don’t know,” said junior Noah Bach, who was close friends with Alex. “Even if it feels like nobody cares about you, there genuinely are people who care about you.”

CHS Mourns Loss of Sophomore Baumann

By Fiona Asbury Editor-In-Chief Balbina Yang Features Editor

Sophomore Alex Baumann passed away Feb. 25 at the age of 15. Baumann is survived by parents Lissa Cooper Baumann and David Baumann and extended family members.

Baumann identified as non-binary, meaning they did not identify as exclusively masculine or feminine, and preferred the pronoun “they.”

Baumann was known for their involvement in B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO), love of horses and kind smile.

“I remember the first time I ever talked with Alex,” senior Valerie Weitz said. “At first they looked so quiet, but the

The Maryland House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 87, which will significantly expand the voting rights of the Student Member of the Board (SMOB) for Montgomery County.

If passed in the Maryland Senate, this bill will be enacted July 1, increasing the SMOB’s voice and effectiveness in representing MCPS students.

Most counties in Maryland and the United States do not allow their SMOB to vote on many issues. However, If the Maryland bill passes, the SMOB will be able to vote on all matters, with the exception of collective bargaining, budgets, school closings, reopenings, boundaries and negative personnel issues.

This is inclusive of bell times, the school calendar, policy changes, stances on legislation, resolutions and appeals.

“Currently, our student member of the board votes on most, but not all, issues that come before the full eight member Board of Education,” said Michael Durso, President of the Board of Education.

According to the current SMOB Eric Guerci, the SMOB receives the same information on issues as the adult board members. However, in order to fully represent MCPS students, he must be able to vote on the issues that affect their day-to-day lives.

Over the next couple of years, Durso said that the MCPS Board of Education hopes to pass full voting rights for the SMOB.

Page 4 Opinions Talking Trash CHS students need to learn to clean up their lunch waste before Building Services has to.

Page 12 Arts Glenstone

PHOTO COURTESY OF FINEST HOURS.

A local museum provides art lovers with an expansive unique collection.

News

2

March 23, 2016

2017 Budget Announced

By Nathan Deychman Sports Editor

PHOTO BY BROOKE WEINER.

CHS offers many classes, including AP Physics Mechanics and AP Physics Electricity and Magnetism, which prepare students for the rigor of pursuing an engineering major once they are in college.

CHS Top Engineer School

By Brooke Weiner Advertising Manager It’s no secret that CHS offers topof-the-line academics. Over the years, CHS has received numerous awards and accolades for its excellent performance across the board. Recently, the University of Maryland named CHS the eighth-largest source of students for its Clark School for Engineering.

The ranking was based on the number of students from each school that went into UMD’s engineering program.

According to the UMD website, 12 CHS graduates enrolled in the Clark School for Engineering, compared to the number one school, Richard Montgomery, which sent 25.

“I think what sets us apart from other schools is that we have way more students taking physics,” AP Physics teacher Adam Fugal said. “Previous schools that I’ve been to have exactly one physics teacher and half their classes do chemistry and matter and en-

ergy. We’re special in that we have eight sections of physics, which is incredible in this count.”

According to Fugal, in addition to many students being interested in physics, CHS teachers are part of the reason for excellent performance.

“The beginner classes at the UMD engineering program are physics classes, so it matches up exactly with what they [the CHS physics teachers have already] started,” Fugal said.

Similar to what students do in the Clark program, CHS physics classes do many hands-on labs.

“We do a lot of theoretical labs, so it helps with engineering,” Fugal said.

“We try to incorporate hands on components, and they’re the exact same things that you do once you get into an engineering program. It applies to chemistry as well, and also our programming courses here. Specifically for physics classes, the labs are probably the most important part to get people ready for the engineering program.”

After over three months of deliberation, MCPS released the Fiscal Year 2017 Operating Budget March 15.

The 2017 budget will include increased spending on instruction, with over 81 percent of the budget being allocated to the development of the instruction provided for students in MCPS. Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers proposed the initial budget to the Board of Education Dec. 8. The proposal called for a $2.4 billion spending budget with a 4.5 percent increase in new spending designed to strengthen the system’s foundation.

According to Bowers’ recommended budget, an increase of $134.9 million is required for MCPS to fund the same level of services for an additional 2,502 students, previously negotiated agreements, rising costs in operations and strategic enhancements. The latter is somewhat offset by savings from program efficiencies and reductions.

About 65 percent of the budget is generated from the country. Approximately 27 percent comes from the state government, and three percent comes from the federal government.

There are 202 schools in the MCPS system, all of which receive different allocations of funds.

According to MCPS Budget 101, an interactive website designed to explain the budget in simple terms, MCPS funds its schools based on enrollment, need and programs.

The vast majority of the MCPS budget goes into classrooms and services that make learning easier for students.

According to Budget 101, over 90 percent of MCPS funds pay for the salaries, wages and benefits for teachers, service professionals and administrators.

Compared to previous years, the 2017 budget will allocate less money to grants and enterprise funds.

Over the last seven years, enrollment in MCPS schools has increased by over 17,000 students, causing MCPS to request more money each year to support the growing student bodies.

Additionally, the number of FARMS (Free and Reduced Meal Students) and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students has grown by 44 percent and 32 percent, respectively, over the same seven year span, making it necessary for MCPS to request even more funds to support those programs as well.

According to the finalized budget, the amount MCPS spends on every student has risen dramatically over the last several years. Every student in MCPS will have nearly $15,000 spent on them during the 2017 fiscal year.

INFOGRAPHIC COURTESY OF BUDGET 101.

The number of students enrolled in MCPS schools has increased greatly, leading to the need for a larger budget.

Proposed Cell Tower in Snug Hill Provokes Neighborhood Response

By Jake Herman Staff Writer Residents of the Snug Hill neighborhood located near the corner of Gainsborough Road and Democracy Boulevard are concerned over a proposal for a cell tower in their neighborhood. They were informed of the proposal Feb. 14.

The proposed location of the tower is East Gate Swim and Tennis Club, which is at the corner of Gainsborough and Democracy, just a mile and a half from CHS and close to those who live on Snug Hill Lane and Snug Hill Court.

“I think it’s a horrible idea,” said a Snug Hill homeowner who preferred to not be named. “We would all be able to see it [from] our yards, and it’s not in keeping with the neighborhood.”

Residents were surprised by a lack of notice or warning about the proposal.

According to a Feb. 14 letter to the homeowners of Snug Hill, from the East Gate III Homes Association, the neighborhood homeowner’s association, the Homes Association “received no notification of the proposal” from the East Gate Recreation Association (EGRA) who has the right to direct the use of their land, the East Gate Swim and Tennis Club, within certain limits.

Some of the residents’ oppositions to the proposal stem from the fact that the proposed site of the tower is on the far part of EGRA property that is very close to residents’ houses, rather than placing the tower closer to the street corner.

PHOTO BY JAKE HERMAN.

The proposed cell tower would be built on the East Gate Swim and Tennis Club’s land. Revenue from the tower would be used to keep the club open.

According to the resident, while he understands placing the tower near the houses because of the increased elevation, he dislikes that the tower being so visible to residents and fears that it would lower the value of homes in the neighborhood.

Another residential concern is whether there are possible risks of cancer associated with frequent exposure and proximity to cell tower radiation.

Another Snug Hill resident, who also

preferred to remain anonymous, worries that people don’t yet know enough about the effects of the radiation, and therefore won’t know if the proposed cell towers are safe.

According to a 2014 American Cancer Society article, conflicting studies exist surrounding cell tower radiation, and it has yet to be proven whether the radiation causes cancer.

Snug Hill residents who are frustrated or confused about the tower

proposal are questioning the necessity of the cell tower.

According to the letter to homeowners from the East Gate III Homes Association, the proposal includes a provision that the third party company building the tower would pay lease money to EGRA to fund keeping the pool open since the club is facing a membership shortage.

According to the first resident, he has spoken to multiple neighbors who will cancel their East Gate Pool membership should the cell tower be built.

East Gate Swim and Tennis Club membership representative Susan Stillman declined to comment on the issue.

In addition to keeping the pool open, the proposed tower would also improve local coverage for whichever wireless providers use the tower once it is built.

While many residents are already concerned, the proposal is still in its earliest stages.

According to Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner, an actual application for the East Gate cell tower has yet to be filed. Once it is filed it must pass through the County Department of Technical Services to clarify the engineering and practicality of the tower. It would then move to a hearing where both sides would get to voice their opinions and then an administrative law judge would decide the case.

“We rarely get these kind of issues,” Berliner said. “We always want [the tower] to be compatible in the neighborhood.”

March 23, 2016

3

Observations

Journalism Convention

PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL WU.

Lee Wins Silver, Bronze

PHOTO BY FIONA ASBURY.

By Eugenia Cardinale Observations Editor

Sophomore Lucy Lee won the Congressional Bronze and Silver Medals for completing the Congressional Award program. These awards are part of the Congressional Awards, which are voluntary and non-competitive awards given to young Americans

by Congress.

Lee qualified for the awards by completing the program required amount of hours in the areas of personal development, physical fitness, volunteer public service and exploration. Each award builds on the previous one by adding more hours.

“I’m really glad I got the chance to participate in these awards because they helped me explore different areas of interest,” Lee said. “The four areas in this award are very goal-oriented, and require participants to set goals and work to reach them through documenting the hours we did.”

Robotics Team Wins Award

By Emiliana Cardinale Production Manager The first-year Robotics team made up of four male and four female MCPS students, including CHS’ freshman Medha Tumkur, recently won a “Control Award.”

Other awards won include the Finalist Alliance Captain and the Winning Alliance Second Pick. “[The ‘Control Award’] is an award given to teams who demonstrate good programming techniques, have really well-organized and well-documented software and have good control over their robot in terms of code,” Tumkur said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRUCE KROHMER.

The team’s robot climbs up the ramp during the competition.

Students Compete in Russian

By Thomas Atkinson Online Features Editor On Thursday March 10, CHS students took part in the Maryland Olympiada of Spoken Russian under the guidance of Russian Language teacher Charles Feinson.

The competition took place at

Goucher College and 11 CHS students received medals for their proficiency in the Russian Language.

“I liked the laid back noncompetitive environment of the Olympiada,” junior and Level 1 silver medalist winner Lauren Hassan. “I did not feel like I was under any pressure and the judges were really nice to us. Also Goucher is pretty and welcoming.”

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The newspaper and yearbook staffs tour the Bloomberg News headquarters on their field trip to New York City March 16-18.

By Camila Camp Staff Writer Newspaper and Yearbook students went to Columbia University in New York City from March 16-18 for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) 92nd Annual Spring Scholastic Convention.

At the convention, students attended journalism sessions and consulted with other student journalists

from around the country about their own school newspapers. The members at the convention could choose from the 350 sessions offered at the convention.

These sessions were divided into seven categories: yearbook, video/broadcasting, newspaper, online media, law and ethics, advisers and magazine.

“It is a fantastic experience,” Yearbook and English teacher Naomi Ratz said. “Every time I come back, I see students rejuvenated and excited for the future of the publications.”

Harlem Wizards Event

By Bryan Fletcher Staff Writer

The Winston Churchill High School Education Foundation (WCHSEF) is holding a fundraiser in the main CHS gym, Sunday, April 17, featuring the Harlem Wizards, a popular entertainment basketball team, as special guests.

The main goal of the fundraiser is to raise awareness for the foundation and its goal of improved education for students, as well as to bring families together from all over the CHS community. Students, parents and teachers from all schools within the CHS cluster can attend. Doors open at 3 p.m. Prepaid tickets are $13 for children, $17 for adults and $20 for

anyone at the door.

“The event is a fundraiser, but the the majority of funds raised will come from the sponsorships we obtain versus generating most revenue from ticket sales,” WCHSEF Chairwoman Laura Siegel said. “I prefer to think of this event as a FUN-raiser because it will be lots of fun for students, parents and staff of all ages.”

Many teachers and students will be playing against the Harlem Wizards at the fundraiser. Players include social studies teachers Kevin Doherty, Paul Jacobson and Evan Rosenthal, along with science teacher Adam Fugal and Spanish teacher Priscilla Ramos.

To get more information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit www. chsfoundation.org/events/.

Class of 2017 Silent Auction

By Emily Wang Online Arts Editor

The Class of 2017 held its largest fundraiser of the year, a silent auction, for the second year in a row March 10, and raised over $4,283 toward senior year events, compared to last year’s earning of $3,000.

According to junior treasurer Sheila Gaur, the silent auction is an effective method of raising funds because all items are donations and, thus, the class can make a 100 percent

profit.

The items auctioned were donated by student executive board members, local parents and businesses.

“The auction went extremely well,” junior class president Max Smith said.

“I think it was more successful because of our exec board. They were amazing at getting the word out and securing great prizes.”

The silent auction was passed down to the Class of 2017 from the Class of 2015 and to continue the tradition, the Class of 2017 will pass down the tradition to another class when they graduate.

Sophomore Releases Albums

By Will Hyland Staff Writer Sophomore Michael “MC Big Mike” Daniels released his first album, “I Am Black” Feb. 13.

Daniels and sophomore producer Jared Green started the record label Redd Records in November and have been successful thus far.

According to Green, they used Spotify, Soundcloud and iTunes to promote Daniel’s music.

According to Daniels, he and Green plan on releasing another album on March 13th.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL WU.

Sophomores Green and Daniels pose with Daniels’ album.

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March 23, 2016

Opinions

The Churchill

Observer Editors

Editors-in-Chief Fiona Asbury Michael Fox Online Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenzaid Chief Production Manager Emiliana Cardinale Production Editors Thomas Atkinson Eugenia Cardinale Ben Dross Sara Heimlich Ariel Levchenko Sarah O’Brien Lauren Roseman Sofia Williamson Becky Wolfson News Editors Isabel Dibble Arjun Swaminathan Opinions Editor Jasmine Baten Observations Editor Eugenia Cardinale Features Editors Madison Hurr Balbina Yang Arts Editor Arielle Gordon Sports Editors Jake Certner Nathan Deychman Fact Checkers Brooke Weiner Sofia Williamson Social Media Editors Peter Durand Sara Heimlich Maya Rosenberg

Managers Advertising Manager Brooke Weiner Business Manager Lauren Roseman Circulation Managers Rebecca Jackson Rebekah Sklute Sai Sreenivasan Contest Manager Becky Wolfson Adviser Kelly Knarr

Our Policy The Churchill Observer is published monthly by the students of Winston Churchill High School, 11300 Gainsborough Road, Potomac, Md. 20854.

Advertising and subscription rates are available by e-mailing churchill.observer@gmail.com.

Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff, faculty or the student body.

Every effort has been made by the staff to ensure that the news is accurate and free of bias.

Editorial opinions are those of the Observer staff, and personal commentaries and cartoons reflect the opinions of their writers. Letters to the editor must be signed, and assertions must be documented upon request.

Send letters to the editor to churchill.observer@gmail.com The Observer is a public forum for the purpose of expressing the views of and informing the Churchill community.

We Need Proactive Mental Health Support

CARTOON BY KEVIN HO.

If you think it’s difficult to read an article about suicidal students, consider what it would be like to be one.

In light of recent tragedies, mental health awareness has become more of a hot topic at CHS. Students and staff have rallied together in organizations like Sources of Strength and National Honor Society, which have worked on projects to bring mental and emotional health to the forefront, voicing the struggle individuals have been facing alone.

But it’s time to make mental health support a proactive movement rather than a reactive one. It’s essential that CHS realize how important it is to provide adequate resources and support for its students before it’s too late.

CHS’ SOS took a huge step in the right direction by putting a new wave of enthusiasm into training teachers to be trusted sources of help for students in a crisis or suicidal students.

According to Art Department head Brendan Roddy, “part of the Sources of Strength Initiative is to train adults to be mentors and have them be recognized as people in the building to connect with.”

The program is extremely necessary, as it offers students the opportunity to receive

mental health help on some level when they may be unable to outside of school. It also pushes CHS adults to take an active role in students’ mental health, remedying feelings of some that the school’s staff was too apathetic following Alex Baumann’s death.

When the Observer reached out to Alex’s friends following their passing, many expressed disappointment in the lack of resources and support for students facing similar issues.

Students’ mental health, particularly when it comes to depression and suicidal tendencies, is sensitive and should be addressed by professionals, but the school’s response to Baumann’s death consisted mainly of hard-to-find grief counselors. The students’ response materialized in the form of banners and Post-It notes with positive messages, but they created them of their own volition, not because the school encouraged remembrance or awareness. That lack of attention left grieving friends and shaken students to sort through the loss on their own.

The absence of school support and resources is alarming.

On the CHS homepage, the only resource for mental anxiety is one link leading to a page discussing symptoms of stress and factors to prevent it.

Yet, when a student is already facing severe mental stress, bullets encouraging “relaxation time” and “at least eight hours of sleep per night” are no longer applicable to the situation.

Other bullets suggesting an adjustment “in course load or extracurriculars” and “reasonable expectations” are useless to the CHS students who take on many activities to satisfy college requirements.

Anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies can’t be fixed by long conversations with a friend, sympathetic teacher or even an well-meaning guidance counselor. They require the attention of a professional.

There are a few possible solutions. CHS counselors could be trained to provide psychological help or the school could look into hiring a professional psychological counselor for students. Referring students struggling with severe mental health issues to a therapist or

By SofiaWilliamson Production Editor

are reasonable. However, about a third of the entire student body still sits on the second floor during their lunch block and blantly ignores the rules.

Now, Building Services must wait until lunch is over to travel around the whole school cleaning up after lunch.

It takes students less than a minute to throw away their trash when they are done eating; however, it takes maintenance an entire 45-minute class period to dispose of the trash leftover all over the school by 1,500 students, not counting the seniors that leave school grounds for lunch and the majority of juniors that reside in the cafeteria.

It’s important to also be aware of the amount of clean, whole food that is left on the floors, only to be thrown away.

According to the Community Food Rescue, every year in Montgomery County 246,000 tons, or 23 percent of the community’s solid waste is food.

Because the vast majority of the CHS community has virtually unlimited access to food, and therefore is obviously economically advantaged in comparison to other MCPS schools, students

take advantage of their resources and leave uneaten food on the building’s floors or throw them away without a second thought.

According to Montgomery County’s Community Food Rescue, in comparison, an average 35 percent of all children in MCPS schools qualify for reduced meals.

Just because most CHS students have access to lunch foods, it does not give them the right to waste it. Instead, students should save their food for later, or give it to someone else.

Simply encouraging students will not fix the problem.

Administration could charge groups of students with lunch detention in the cafeteria for leaving their trash on the floor, because without taking drastic action the students will repeat the same behaviors.

With penalties for leaving trash on the floor, as well as an equal ratio of trash cans to recycling bins in accessible places, we would see a serious, necessary change in the disposal of food waste at CHS. Donation boxes could also be organized in the hallways

BSERVER O OPINION

psychologist is helpful, but only plausible for students who have family support as well as the economic means.

So let’s learn from tragedy.

Being supportive doesn’t have to be limited to school staff, students who are a part of SOS or to desperate times.

Every CHS student and staff member can show more kindness towards others, though professional medical instruction and help should be reserved strictly for medical health professionals, empathy and friendliness can be employed by anyone. It’s extremely important to show compassion towards students before it’s too late.

This doesn’t necessarily mean coddling or showing pity towards every relatively quiet person in the room. When it comes to kindness, just being polite and friendly can turn someone’s day around.

“The challenge is going to be to keep the positive momentum going in times of celebration, stress and sadness,” Roddy said. “We need to make sure that there’s always a way for students to get help.”

Treating mental health isn’t any particular student or teacher’s responsibility. Being a compassionate person is. Keep it kind, CHS.

Throw Away Bad Habits Along With Your Trash Let’s talk trash.

At CHS, there seems to be a prominent problem that no one is talking about, in which students lack the character to properly dispose of their trash.

After lunch, it is impossible for a student to walk to sixth period without encountering leftover food and wrappers on the floor, but the students who are responsible for the waste seem to have little regard for the already difficult workloads of the CHS Building Services Department or the amount of perfectly clean, wasted food.

Due to students’ laziness, security and the administration have established rules regarding where students can sit at lunch. Signs tell students that they are not permitted to sit on the building’s second floor during the lunch block, primarily due to the trash load. There are also hallways on the first floor that are blocked off to students for lunch.

Because students seem to repeatedly leave their trash from lunch on the floor, these rules

PHOTO BY SOFIA WILLIAMSON.

Students often leave trash after lunch for the building services crew to clean up. for uneaten and non perishable foods during lunch in order to put less food to waste.

However, it is up to students to decide for themselves what type of person they will be. Will they be the type of person who forces Building Services to take time out of their long day to dispose of students’ trash, and waste perfectly clean food? Or will they be the type of person who, at the end of lunch, properly disposes of his or her trash and saves his or her uneaten food for later on?

March 23, 2016

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Opinions

Going to Washington is a Capital Opportunity

By Maya Rosenberg Social Media Editor

CHS is a mere 30-minute drive from the center of the free world, the capital of our country, the District of Columbia.

According to Destination D.C., a part of Washington D.C.’s official website that monitors the rate of tourism, D.C. welcomed a total of 20.2 million visitors in 2014, setting a new record for the city. Among those 20.2 million tourists are families, foreigners, politicians and educational groups.

But not included amongst those 20.2 million? CHS students. While many students at CHS live close to D.C. and have visited before, they may not have gone on a guided group tour and have not taken advantage of all the educational opportunities that D.C holds. This needs to change.

According to AP US History and Psychology teacher Rodney VanTassell, anytime students can visit historical monuments or museums it will enhance their appreciation for history and government. There are so many great attractions in the D.C. area, and students should be able to take advantage of the educational opportunities they contains.

Providing an opportunity for a field trip to a D.C. museum or monument would get students excited about their United States government and history classes. Seeing the actual buildings and artifacts behind American history would create a unique connection between students and their learning.

Many students know their history and government classes can be boring at times. While it is crucial to know America’s history and the workings of its government, reading a dry textbook or listening to a teacher give a monotonal lecture is not always the best way to learn this important information.

It is true that teachers have to teach specific, sometimes boring, information, but there is no reason to not bring that information to life. Many of the documents and events that are studied in all U.S. history and government classes, regardless of AP or Honors status, have

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA MARSHALL.

U.S. History and art students got the opportunity to go to the White House Feb. 24 to hear Michelle Obama give a speech about overcoming adversity. The field trip also allowed the students to explore D.C. been archived in countless museums and monuments downtown. If students are reading the Constitution, a trip to the National Archives where the actual document is located would allow students to see that what they are learning about is not some ancient document that disappeared ages ago, but a real document that our nation is founded on.

In addition to living close to Washington D.C., CHS students are also closely located to presidential residences. Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, is about an hour away, and John F. Kennedy’s bachelor pad is located in Georgetown, under 30 minutes away. Harry S. Truman, Bill Clinton and Franklin D. Roosevelt all had residences in D.C. at one point.

In addition, students can also visit the current presidential residence—the White House. Students should be able to visit these hallowed grounds and learn about the men who lead our country in

person, not just from a book.

When students learn about important events in American history, it often feels like they are far removed and ancient, and they feel little connection to those events. Reading and hearing about a topic is the way most subjects are taught, but as the saying goes, seeing is believing. Seeing important and influential artifacts from America’s history brings a student’s education to life as it gives him or her a direct visual of something that represents some of America’s most important moments.

A field trip to Washington would also be budget friendly.

According to the Montgomery County website, the BOE has a $2.5 billion budget plan for the 2017 fiscal year.

This huge amount of money goes towards numerous expenditures that help to keep our county running smoothly, but only a small portion, if any, would go toward field trips. On field trips

students often pay their own costs, and many of the museums and monuments downtown are free to the public. There are 13 museums run by the Smithsonian Institution, which admits visitors for free, including the American History Museum and the Natural History Museum. In addition, all federal monuments are free to visitors.

The only money from the county that would go towards a field trip would be subsidization of transportation costs, which would be low. Students could meet at the Grosvenor-Strathmore metro station in Bethesda, where a metro ride to the Federal Triangle metro station located next to the National Mall would cost less than $10, round trip.

D.C is a city of politics, a city of culture, a city of business and a city of community. It is also a city full of rich history and incredible opportunities for students of all ages to learn about America’s past, present and future.

Ordinary Classes, Extraordinary Chances For Success

By Jasmine Baten Opinions Editor Ariel Levchenko Online Opinions Editor It’s the CHS motto—maintain academic rigor at all costs.

At CHS, a well-rounded schedule usually means that one should take as many intensive honors and AP classes as possible, preferably with lots of calculus and difficult science thrown in.

This results in many regular, supposedly easy classes being left in the dust, whether it’s because they have been deemed indicators of slacking and underachieving or because they just don’t sound as impressive with that “Regular” prefix.

Regular classes like Global Issues, Law, Personal Finance, Philosophy and Comparative Religion are consigned to the bin, when they really shouldn’t be.

Yes, AP Chemistry, Molecular Genetics, Multivariable Calculus, AP World and AP Biology are all admirable classes to take; they lead to highly intelligent people, scientific progress and the betterment of the future. But there’s more to life than numbers, names, dates and molecules.

Take Global Issues, a class that informs its students of current worldwide events. It raises awareness in a practical and realistic way that no other honors or AP History class has ever been able to, forcing students to be aware of the

harsh truths surrounding the conflicts and suffering that students only hear about on the six-o’clock news.

However, the class is only offered at the regular level, as the curriculum constantly changes with the world’s situation. This means that students on the “Honors/AP Track” tend not to

and has no impact on everyday life.”

Well, how about the fact that almost every discovery of note in every discipline was made by men and women who understood philosophy and how the physical world and the world of thought intersect?

Besides that, philosophy has always

“

For the welfare of individual humans and the human race, students need to expand their scope beyond the arbitrary letters in front of a course selection.”

take the course, which is problematic and confusing, given that those “highachieving” students are frequently reminded that they will be working to provide answers to the world’s issues, yet seem to be mostly unaware of what those conflicts are.

The fact that there’s a group of CHS students that is set on taking high-level courses in all subjects, whether or not they are truly interested in the material, is nothing new. However, the problem arises when students equate rigor with practicality and usefulness.

Another example: Philosophy.

Some might ask, “What’s the good in philosophy? It’s all old dead guys

held a special, revered place in education that it’s losing now. Philosophy fills the gap that no other discipline can fill.

AP Biology, Multivariable Calculus, AP Physics—all can teach a student what to think—they put concrete thoughts, theorems and facts in the existing framework of a child’s mind.

However, Philosophy shapes the structure of the mind; it doesn’t teach what to think but rather how to think.

It teaches deduction, logical reasoning, argumentative rhetoric, critical thinking—skills that are not only applicable to every facet of life, but also help one advance the human condition.

Or how about Law? How many stu-

dents actually know what their rights are? What students can and can’t do or what the police can and can’t do to them? The society of today has a police force that tends toward actions that are questionable at times, so it might be a good idea to know how to defend oneself to some degree when put in a legal situation.

What about Comparative Religion, a class so underappreciated that it isn’t even being offered this year. Looking at world history and modern times, a huge portion of conflict around the world is caused by religious and cultural clashes.

To understand a conflict, one must understand its roots. Consider the Middle East — it would be absolute, utter folly to try to approach the situation there without examining its religious background, especially considering that it doesn’t seem to be getting any better and Generation Y will probably still be dealing with it in the decades to come.

These classes and more are worth taking. They aren’t a waste of time, they’re necessary aspects of a wellrounded individual and a functioning member of society. For the welfare of individual humans and the human race, students need to expand their scope beyond the arbitrary letters in front of a course selection, because 20 years from now nobody is going to care about how many AP classes you took in high school, but the knowledge and ways of thinking will stay with you your entire life.

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Features

March 23, 2016

Not Just Cookies: Girl Scouts Make a Change

By Emiliana Cardinale Production Manager

March 12 is National Girl Scouts day. Nearly everyone is familiar with Girl Scout cookies but not everyone knows how being a Girl Scout impacts the community.

The Girls Scouts of the USA is composed of millions of members, some of whom walk the halls of CHS. The organization provide girls with leadership experience starting from a young age, helping them be able to forge paths for themselves in the future.

“People tend to forget that Girl Scouts aren’t just goody two shoes with cookies boxes,” said freshman Maia Primerano, who has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. “We’re girls trying to change the world for the better.”

According to the GSUSA website, the Girl Scouts’ mission is to build girls

of courage, confidence and character who can make the world a better place.

“It’s a great way to get involved with the community and learn life skills,” said freshman Hannah Bush, who has been a Girl Scout since second grade.

According to GSUSA website, the “Girl Scout Law” requires girls to be friendly, helpful and caring. As such, this law emphasizes the Girl Scouts’ emphasis on helping to “make the world a better place” as well as helping the community in general.

“I really have learned a lot about myself and the community around me, and what I can do to help the environment,” Primerano said.

As Girl Scouts emphasize kindness compassion, the commuinity environment they create is often a positive one.

“You feel comfortable and welcome and free to be yourself,” Bush said. “I encourage more girls to do it and most

people should stay with it because it will really help them in the long run.”

Being a member of the Girl Scout community not only gives young girls responsibilities, but also provides them with a community in which they are free

oski, who is Catholic, has chosen to give up desserts and sweets for Lent.

“Lent is a time to understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and is a time for us to make a sacrifice,” Malanoski said. “Sugar, and all that is sweet, is a particularly difficult thing for me to give up because I have a rather large sweet tooth.”

Still, others choose to fast from a

certain habit or behavior.

Sophomore Lelia Durand gave up Netflix for the 40 days.

According to Durand, the task has been challenging, to the point where it resulted in her getting a free one week of Hulu to watch Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal..

Junior Dan Alpert will fast for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur from Oct. 11-12 this year.

Yom Kippur is a time of fasting from sunrise to sunset to focus on wrongdoings of the year.

“There is a time during the day when you forget that you haven’t eaten and you just aren’t hungry anymore,” Alpert said. “That’s the best time because you aren’t distracted by being hungry and it gives you a sense of peace and time to reflect on the past year.”

Islam’s holy month of Ramadan also has observers fast from sunrise to sunset. In Islam, fasting during Ramadan is one of the five major pillars of the religion. This year, Muslims will fast for 16 hours a day from June 5-July 5.

to be themselves.

“As far as my kids are concerned, they’re more independent than they would’ve been had they not been Girl Scouts,” AP Economics Monica Malanoski said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAIA PRIMERANO.

Freshmen Hannah Bush and Maia Primerano with Girl Scout Troop 5537 while on a troop outing at the Escape Room in D.C.

Staff, Students Fast in Observance of Religious Holidays

By Sara Heimlich PR & Social Media Editor Jasmine Baten Opinions Editor

Fasting has never gone so slowly.

CHS students and staff began Lent Feb. 10, a 40-day period of self reflection and fasting leading up to Easter. Lent is a period of fasting from a food or habit, but the specific sacrifice depends on the denomination’s instructions or the person’s particular choice.

Senior Adamandia Frantzis is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, which requires healthy and able members to fast from meat and dairy products for Lent.

“For me it is a way to challenge and discipline myself in a way that’s good for my physical health and my spiritual health,” Frantzis said.

While Frantzis must give up meat and dairy, it’s common for people to fast from different foods, often desserts.

AP Economics teacher Monica Malan-

PHOTO BY JASMINE BATEN.

A common sacrifice during Lent is giving up sweets like chocolate.

“In Ramadan, there’s no food or water from sunrise to sunset,” junior Neeku Misaghian said. “It’s spiritual cleanising; a way to feel the hardship of people who don’t have what you have and a way to get closer to God.” In Hinduism, optional fasts are frequent. Hindus can fast on a certain day of the week and during religious festivals, for God and for physical health.

According to hinduismfacts.org, each day of the week is associated with a deity, and fasting on that day pleases the deity and minimizes suffering.

“Fasting in Hinduism is a way to cleanse,” senior Shivram Iyer said.

“Sometimes, it’s to commemorate cut blood ties, like the custom of fasting when one’s grandfather dies or for traditional times like Shivarathri, where we fast to cleanse both the spirit and body.”

Most religions have some form of fasting, which followers use as a spiritual cleanse, but it also proves to be a bonding experience when people can come together and reflect upon themelves and the world around them.

March 23, 2016

Features

7

Student’s Best Friend They See Him Rolling...

By Sophie Liss Staff Writer

By Jake Herman Staff Writer

National Puppy Day, celebrated annually on March 23, was created to honor the love, joy and loyalty of puppies. However, there are more to puppies and other pets than their lovable and energetic presence.

Pets can relieve their owners of stress, anxiety and depression.

“I can pet my dog and play with my dog when I feel sad, and it makes me feel better,” freshman Charlie Butchko said.

Some colleges have been researching the benefits of having a pet and have found astonishing results.

According to a University of Virginia study cited on PsychCentral, a website that shares information about psychology, petting a dog can lower heart rate and blood pressure, in addition to increasing serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that regulates mood and sleep, and increasing it can decrease the likelihood of depression.

According to Animal Smart, a website that shares science-based information on animals, studies also show that playing with or petting an animal increases the hormone Oxytocin, which reduces stress and decreases the production of the stress hormone Cortisol.

Along with health benefits, pets are loyal companions to their owners.

According to freshman Hannah Suh, her dog jumps, wags its tail and kisses her when she comes home from school, which makes her feel loved and takes her mind off the stress of schoolwork.

For some, dedication and companionship draws them to pets.

“They are always there for you whenever you need them,” sophomore Abby Mazer said. “They are there to hug and snuggle with through bad times.”

CHS’ Sources of Strength Organization (SOS) was created to help students find strength in their lives through many outlets, such as friends and family. SOS has used pets and stress dogs

It’s daring. It’s bold. Some might even say it’s crazy. Roller blading down Gainsborough Road alongside traffic could be described as a lot of things; typical isn’t one of them. That is, unless you’re CHS freshman Benson Cheng.

For almost every day of the 2015-16 school year, Cheng has skated over a mile to and from CHS with only his trusty 1x4 inline roller blades.

“It’s fun, fast and convenient,” Cheng said. “I feel a rush when I go down the hill.”

According to Cheng, he began roller blading in second grade in China. Since then, he’s increased his skill to blading down busy roads and sidewalks.

However, the exhilaration of Cheng’s commute comes with danger.

According to Cheng, rainy days pose a risk to him because he slides when there’s less friction on the ground due to moisture or precipitation.

Whether he’s weaving through walkers on the sidewalks or gliding along the road with cars, Cheng and his roller blades always stand out among other students’ ordinary commutes.

“When I skate, I sometimes see people’s faces look weird or surprised,” Cheng said.

Another interesting aspect of Cheng’s commute is his lack of safety equipment, as he’s often seen without a helmet or pads.

According to a 1999 Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) injury surveillance study, 46 percent of inline skating injuries happen when a skater wears no safety gear, compared to just seven percent of injuries that occur when skaters wear knee and elbow pads, wrist guards and a helmet.

According to Cheng, he recommends knee and hand guards for beginner skaters who will most likely fall due to their inexperience. As for him, he believes he has enough “experience and caution” to

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLIE BUTCHKO.

Freshman Charlie Butchko’s halfSchnauzer, half-poodle, Trixie, makes him smile after a long day. during exams for their psychological perks and stress-relieving abilities.

According to a Dec. 19, 2013 CNN article, colleges such as Emory University, the University of California Berkeley and Columbia University have provided therapy dogs during finals week to relieve excessive stress. Stress can cloud students’ memory and make it difficult for them to retain information.

SOS organized bringing therapy dogs to CHS between exam periods this past January.

According to AP Psychology and Law teacher Jamie Frank, who is also the staff adviser of SOS, she was inspired to bring the dogs during exams because dogs calm nerves, provide comfort and are an emotional outlet in times of stress.

While pets can’t cure depression and anxiety, they can serve as a great temporary reliever of stress and depression.

For some students, pets can be great friends that put them in a better mood.

“I love pets because they are so much fun to be around and they always lighten the mood,” Mazer said.

skate without safety equipment.

Despite the risks involved, Cheng wouldn’t skate to school if he didn’t both enjoy and excel at it.

“I like it because I can get somewhere while doing my favorite sport,” Cheng said. “It helps me wake up in the morning and just feels fun.”

PHOTO BY JAKE HERMAN.

Freshman Benson Cheng rollerblades during his mile commute to and from school each day.

aa

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Features

By Jonathan Greenzaid Online Editor-in-Chief

March 23, 2016

Human versus alien. Vigilante v Kent. The Dark Knight versus t fight of the century as two heav Superman: Dawn of Justice. Wh

Although he is just a mere mortal fighting an almost godly alien, Batman has a few tricks up his sleeve that could level the playing field against Superman.

First off, Batman is the perfect human specimen. He is in peak human condition, and his physical prowess would shame any olympian.

What’s even scarier than a perfectly fit human? A perfectly fit human who has mastered over 127 styles of martial arts. Yes, Batman could spar against Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris all at once without breaking a sweat.

Batman isn’t just all brawns. He is a brilliant strategist and tactician. Bruce Wayne has an IQ of over 200 and is well versed in ballistics, armor and forensic science. The Caped Crusader will not only be aware of, but will also be able to capitalize on all of Superman’s weaknesses before any combat has even begun.

Bruce Wayne is a multi-billionaire in charge of an international conglomerate corporation that can devote an entire department to developing kryptonite-based bat gear.

Bottom line, Batman has more than enough resources to not only fight Superman, but to also completely incapacitate him within seconds. Not only would Bruce Wayne be able to construct a suit that rivals the power of Superman, his access to kryptonite would make the fight a no contest.

Batman has already prepared to fight Superman. In the JLA comic book Tower of Babel, Batman creates a file on how to defeat every member of the Justice League, including Superman.

Batman uses not green, but red kryptonite to defeat Superman.

Batman is a formidable opponent because he has the conviction and drive to push himself past even the most unbearable of situations. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane snaps Batman’s back in half and leaves Batman to die in a nearly inescapable prison while the city of Gotham is being destroyed. You think Batman allowed his city to burn to the ground? No. Batman healed his back in the prison and then found the strength and mindset to escape the prison and save his city from nuclear disaster.

Not only that, Batman is stealthy. This man lives in the dark, and will silently pounce on any person in his path. Superman’s got to watch his back.

Batman 36.92% of CHS students think that Batman will win.

March 23, 2016

Features

versus hero. Bruce Wayne versus Clark the Man of Steel. March 25 will be the vyweights face each other in Batman v. ho will win?

Superman 63.08% of CHS students think that Superman will win.

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By Ross Tanenbaum Online News Editor

Batman may have cool gadgets and extreme martial arts skills, but Superman has almost every single superpower that he can use to defeat Batman.

Not only does he have super strength, but he has laser vision, frost breath, X-Ray vision and the ability to fly. It is unfair how many super powers Superman has that he can use to defeat his enemies.

Superman’s weakness may be kryptonite, but Batman’s weakness is anything potentially harmful. In Superman Returns, Superman stopped a bullet with his eye. One bullet could kill Batman.

In terms of opponents, Batman’s main enemy is a clown, whom Superman would break with one punch. Also, Batman may have been able to defeat Bane but not without Bane first breaking his back. Superman would have punched Bane into outer space.

One of Superman’s main enemies is General Zod. Zod is a soldier from Superman’s home planet, Krypton, and has the same powers as Superman, but is more experienced in fighting than Superman is. Superman defeated him in Man of Steel after Zod almost blew up Metropolis by breaking his neck. Batman would have had no chance against an enemy with this much power.

Batman is simply not strong enough to take on enemies as powerful as the ones that Superman battles. Batman gets beaten by even the simplest of enemies. For example, in The Dark Knight, the Joker puts Harvey Dent and Rachel, Batman’s love interest, in separate buildings and tells Batman that he must choose one to save before the buildings both blow up. Batman only has time to go save Harvey Dent and fails to save the woman he loved. Superman has super speed and would have saved Rachel and Dent and stopped the Joker in all under two minutes.

The one place where Batman beats Superman is his secret identity. Wayne is a multi-billionaire who has the intelligence to build his own gadgets while Clark Kent is just a nerdy journalist for the Daily Planet. Basically, Kent is just Superman with glasses on.

Still, having a cool secret identity does not make Batman that much more powerful. Batman still needs cool gadgets, such as the Batmobile and Batwing in order to defeat his enemies.

Superman can do everything by himself without any help from technology.

Batman cannot even compete with Superman. Batman has to come up with a whole plan and execute it perfectly in order to defeat Superman while Superman can simply defeat Batman with a swing to the face.

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By Sarah O’Brien Production Editor

Although often overlooked, fashion has a major influence on show business, and junior Libby Spriggs dedicates her time to ensure that all the actors and actresses of CHS look their part.

Spriggs has been finding, altering and creating costumes for the CHS plays and musicals since her freshman year. She also designs for her general enjoyment.

“I got into fashion because I have a love of theater, but I suffer from some amount of stage fright,” Spriggs said.

“So in middle school I did tech crew, but the main thing I noticed that I cared about were the costumes the people were wearing. My love of fashion never really had a start—it was always there.”

Theater Director Naomi Ratz works with Spriggs to complete the school plays and musicals.

“She’s very professional,” Ratz said. ”She gets stuff done and has a great work ethic.”

According to Spriggs, to create the looks for a show, she thinks about the time period and the character’s personality. She asks her classmates what costume pieces they have and utilizes local thrift shops to complete looks. She has to alter the pre-existing clothes: rip them, dye them and sew them to make the all the looks seem cohesive.

Spriggs is also the president of the Fashion Club, which puts on a fashion show each year for the Arts Festival hosted by the art department. Her work is among the many that are shown.

“It’s really refreshing to have a student like Libby because she is very dedicated and determined,” Studio Art and Fashion teacher Jacquelyn Washam said. “She steps up and does a wonder-

Arts

March 23, 2016

Student Art Spotlight: Libby Spriggs her create new designs is fascinating because she’s so creative, and I’m always admiring how she inserts her own style into every project we do–-her passion and confidence are contagious.”

Spriggs plans on continuing fashion, however focusing more on the advertisement and marketing side rather than the actual designing.

“Libby is not afraid to be herself, which is the best thing in the fashion world where it’s so easy to get pushed around by strong personalities and trends you may not even like,” Moosa said. “She loves fashion so much that you know whatever she does, it will be because of her love of the subject and not money or outside pressure.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF HELENE TAIRA.

Junior Libby Spriggs has helped design costumes for CHS performances since freshman year. She plans to continue fashion in the future. ful job filling that leadership role.”

In her downtime, Spriggs likes to make collages, tie-dye t-shirts and create flower crowns.

Although she has no one specific role model, Spriggs is inspired by the music she listens to, as well as British and 1960s fashion. She does look up to fashion designer Iris Apfel and Kimora Lee Simmons, who is a model as well as a designer.

According to Spriggs, Simons and

Apfel live and breathe fashion and are not afraid to be themselves and express their thoughts in a unique way.

Along with a few other CHS students, Spriggs has an internship at Nordstrom in Montgomery Mall, where she learns the in’s and out’s of the fashion industry, puts on fashion events and even models in them.

“Working next to Libby in fashion class, I never fail to learn something new,” junior Amal Moosa said. “Seeing

PHOTO COURTESY OF HELENE TAIRA.

Spriggs assists senior Anna Votaw with hair and make-up before a performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

March 23, 2016

Arts

11

Annual Arts Festival Draws and Displays Talent

By Emily Wang Online Arts Editor

The opportunity to see stunning photographs, paintings, sculptures, one-act plays, orchestra performances and fashion shows will be available to the CHS community at the annual CHS Arts Festival, held in the auditorium and room 126 April 19-29.

The Arts Festival is a week where students and staff present their artistic fruits of the year’s labor.

Junior Grant Dong entered and won best in the show for the photography/ digital art section two years ago as a freshman.

“The Arts Festival gives a chance for students to have a taste of competition in a low pressure situation, which is easy for the artist, and also enjoyable for the people who vote and view the art,” Dong said.

Not all artwork created this year will be presented in the Festival; art teachers choose pieces from their various level classes that are strong conceptually or in terms of craftsmanship.

For the fine art pieces, attendees will be able to vote on their favorites in each of the categories: photo/digital art, painting/drawing, ceramics/sculpture and fashion. The winner in each category will be awarded best in its re-

spective category and an overall winner will awarded best in show. The prizes include art supplies and coupons or discounts to local restaurants. Last year, the prize for best in the show was brunch for two at the Four Season’s restaurant.

“Winning does not go through my mind until someone asks if I want to win,” junior Emma Jin said. “Creating the piece and putting it on display is already satisfying. I don’t need to win a prize to be content.”

On the performing arts side, students will direct and act in 15 minute one-act plays, which are free to see, to encourage donations for the drama club.

Attendees will have a chance to enter the raffle for Art resource teacher Brendan Roddy and Studio Art teacher Jacquelyn Washam’s original artwork.

Students can also sell their work if they choose.

The Arts Festival is funded by donations from local businesses, the PTSA and students’ families. As such, all proceeds from this year’s Arts Festival will go towards next year’s Festival funds.

According to senior Emilie Butchko, last year’s Arts Festival was different than the ones in previous years because there was a fashion show and a lot more interactive activities, which made the entire experience more enjoyable.

This year, the events of the Arts Festival will remain relatively unchanged from last year.

However, the Festival this year will span two weeks due to the days conflicting with elections and the senior banquet.

The first day of the Festival will start with the Instrumental Concert on April 19 and end with the Instrumental Gala April 29.

In addition to student works, there will be a staff show area where staff members are allowed to enter two

works to be displayed.

According to AP World History teacher Christopher Forney, who displayed pop art in previous years, the staff section of the festival is a great way to see the talents and creative outlets of his students and peers.

Students and staff are encouraged to bring their families and friends to the Arts Festival.

“We would like to invite everyone to the Arts Festival to be able to view and appreciate the talent of our visual art students,” Art teacher Paul Dermont said.

PHOTO BY EMILY WANG.

Art Department resource teacher Brendan Roddy displays original pottery that will be raffled off during the Arts Festival April 19-29.

Arts

12

March 23, 2016

Glenstone: Local Art Museum is Worth a Visit

By Madison Hurr Features Editor

Interested in modern art museums but don’t want to make the trek to D.C. or New York City? Look no further than Glen Road.

Spanning 200 acres of natural landscape, contemporary art and architecture, the Glenstone museum, located a mere four miles from CHS, is the perfect destination for art aficionados and art novices alike.

Glenstone is a museum curated by Mitchell and Emily Rales. Over the years, the Rales have been collecting pieces from artists all around the world.

Though the Rales reside on the property at Glenstone and initially kept their art collection private, the museum building has been open to the public Wednesday to Saturday from 10 to 3 p.m. since 2006.

Driving onto the property, I was amazed by the stark contrast of the sleek limestone buildings to the more traditional houses I have been accustomed to seeing in Potomac. I felt like I had been transported onto the set of a futuristic movie.

One very intriguing piece was Richard Serra’s Sylvester, a torqued, spiral corridor-like structure through which museum-goers can walk. The contracting walls and elliptical structure create a very unique space–one that juxtaposes the perpendicular nature of the minimalist museum building beside it.

Exploring Glenstone won’t cost you a penny; visits are free with prior reservation. With a reservation comes the opportunity to embark on a 90-minute guided tour of the outdoor sculpture

PHOTO COURTESY OF TONY SMITH.

Richard Serra’s Sylvester provides viewers with an interactive exhibit they can observe and walk through. garden and artist Andy Goldsworthy’s Clay Houses along the wooded trails behind the main museum building.

After the tour, visitors are then free to tour the indoor exhibitions.

In the museum building, the current exhibition is Fred Sandback’s Light, Space, Facts. What’s so interesting about Sandback’s work is that it is centered around creating geometric figures with store-bought yarn. Yes, yarn. Talk

about minimalism.

Unlike in the outdoor gardens, photography is not allowed inside the museum building. However, the simplistic, geometric yarn shapes spanning from ceiling to floor are definitely worth seeing in person--photos do not do the art justice.

From inside the building, guests can catch a glimpse of a serene duck pond and the Rales residence right behind it,

a scene fit for a postcard.

Just when you thought Glenstone couldn’t get any more beautiful, a new expansion project is expected to be completed within the next two years.

It will quadruple Glenstone’s existing gallery space. After the expansion, expect 50,000 more square feet of exhibition facilities, a central water garden, an arrival building, restored meadows and a cafe.

Popular North Carolina Donut Chain Coming to Rockville

By Becky Wolfson Contest Manager

Duck Donuts, a well-known donut chain that began in North Carolina’s Outer Banks in 2007, is set to open on Rockville Pike in early spring. Duck Donuts gets its name from Duck, N.C. “I am excited for the new location in Rockville,” sophomore Bergan Babrowicz said. “Being able to have them on vacation was always a treat, but now I can get them any time of the year.”

The business currently has 27 locations across the East Coast and is most known for its made-to-order vanilla cake donuts that can be combined with various glazes and toppings.

According to junior Gloria Oh, who frequently visits the Outer Banks location, her favorite flavor is the plain glazed because it’s fluffy and the glaze is not too sweet.

The ability to choose toppings and glaze attracts many customers.

“With our made-to-order donuts,

PHOTO BY BECKY WOFLSON.

Duck Donuts will open location on Rockville Pike across from Best Buy. Students who have been to the Outer Banks are familiar with the chain.

customers can see the entire process from making and frying the dough, all the way to topping the donuts,” Rockville Duck Donuts employee Alvin Nova said.

Rockville is one of seven new locations the chain recently announced, in addition to Wilmington, NC; Lancaster and Mechanicsburg, PA; Avalon, NJ and Fredericksburg and Woodbridge, VA. According to Nova, Duck Donuts believes Rockville is an ideal location because the chain has many customers from the area who know the brand.

“Duck Donuts is amazing,” NSL teacher Bryan Clark said. “I like the strawberry flavor, but the most intriguing flavor is bacon.”

CHS students and staff are eagerly anticipating the open of the new store.

“Duck Donuts are so good because they are made fresh in the store, right in front of you, and are always served warm,” Babrowicz said.

March 23, 2016

13

Sports

Glassman Doesn’t Pass Over His Faith for Basketball

By Brooke Barclay Staff Writer With practice almost everyday, and games every Friday night, keeping up with the CHS boys varsity basketball team requires a lot of time and effort, but when you can’t drive to practice or games because of your religion, it gets even tougher.

Junior Jacob Glassman plays on the basketball team and observes Shabbat, which begins every Friday at sunset and continues until Saturday at sunset.

Shabbat is known as the day of rest in Judaism where certain actions deemed “work” are not allowed. Orthodox Jews, like Glassman, are prohibited from engaging in 39 activities during Shabbat. ¨There is a biblical prohibition on Shabbat to light a fire,” Glassman said. “Because starting a car involves lighting a fire, observant Jews refrain from driving. Because of Shabbat, I am unable to drive to and from Friday night basketball games.”

Glassman has attended almost every basketball game this year, but because most games are on Friday, he has to plan ahead to get to and from the games while still following Shabbat.

“When I have a Friday night home game, I walk home,” Glassman said.

“My house is around a mile from school.”

But not every game is at CHS. Sometimes away games are at schools like Richard Montgomery and Blair.

According to Glassman, when he has an away game, he and his family “reach out to the extended Jewish community”and he stays with a host

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACOB GLASSMAN.

Junior Jacob Glassman’s observance of Jewish Shabbat every Friday sunset to Saturday sunset coincides with Bulldogs basketball games. if walking is too far. Most of the time the people they stay with are friends of friends who are open to providing hospitality due to Shabbat.

The decision to play basketball was not an easy one for Glassman, and

having to juggle between huge commitments is a constant struggle.

Glassman has had to miss Saturday morning synagogue because of a game or practice and has also had to miss basketball-related events because of

Shabbat or a special religious occasion.

“The question I keep asking myself is, ‘Is it worth playing basketball at the expense of compromising my observance,’” Glassman said. “It took me months to decide, and even today, I am still unsure whether I made the right decision, though I do love basketball.”

According to varsity basketball coach Robert Bean, Glassman “is a great teammate” and as “a great player.” He is “very enthusiastic about the sport and tries to get his teammates pumped up.”

“Jacob is everything that you want in a player,” Bean said. “He is extremely committed, and he is one of the hardest working players.”

Bean typically expects all players to be there every practice, but Glassman’s case is different.

“He actually has another commitment in his life that we want to honor and allow him to juggle along with his commitment to basketball,” Bean said.

“There aren’t many players who would be able to handle that.”

When Glassman skips practice, it is never to rest; rather, it’s to participate in his faith and be with his community, which impresses Bean.

“He has to walk very long distances to still be committed to his sport,” Bean said. “We’ll have a game Friday night at Richard Montgomery, and he’ll walk home with his family, which is like four miles.”

Although he has to balance his religion with basketball, both are very important aspects of his life and he is always able to fall back on the support of his family.

“I am grateful that I have been put in this position because life is not clean cut,” Glassman said. “It forces prioritization and compromise.”

Gertler Commits to Play Division III Basketball at NYU

By Rebecca Jackson Circulation Manager Congratulations to senior Nathan Gertler who committed Dec. 15 to New York University in New York, NY for basketball.

In his freshman year, Gertler was the only varsity basketball player under former head coach Matt Miller’s leadership. He is the only four-year varsity player on this year’s team and the only player to receive offers at the collegiate level for basketball.

“Nate epitomizes the term ‘studentathlete,’” head coach Robert Bean said.

“He’s a role model on and off the court and he deserves and has earned all the success that he experienced and will ex-

perience.”

Gertler is excited to continue his basketball career at the next level.

“I chose NYU because of the mix of great athletics and great academics,” Gertler said.

Gertler is a member of the English and History Honor Society and is an AP Honors Scholar. He plans to attend NYU’s Stern School of Business on a full scholarship in the fall.

“I love New York City and to be able to play for a great basketball program such as NYU while attending one of the top business schools in the country is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Gertler said.

He was also one of 12 athletes selected to represent the United States in

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATHAN GERTLER.

Gertler played CHS varsity basketball all four years and will play for NYU in the fall.

the 2015 European Maccabi Games held in Berlin, Germany, as a member of the U18 basketball team.

“Playing against such high level players and winning the gold medal with a great group of teammates was incredible,” Gertler said. “To have the opportunity to represent the United States and compete in Berlin with players from all over the world was something I’ll never forget.”

Coach Bean thinks highly of the 6’8” center and thinks he was a large part of the team’s success during the year.

“NYU is getting an excellent basketball player, student and person,” Bean said. “They’re lucky to have him and he will be very difficult to replace next year.”

March 23, 2016

14

Sports

CHS Hockey Breaks the Ice, Sets New Records

By Jake Certner Sports Editor Cristian Edwards Online Sports Editor

The ‘72 Miami Dolphins, ‘85 Chicago Bears and ‘96 Chicago Bulls defined greatness. Each team is synonymous with complete dominance of the league in which they played, and the 2015-16 CHS Hockey team deserves to be on that list.

The team put together an unbelievable 20-1-1 season, capping it off with a second straight state championship--its third in four years. CHS Hockey is no stranger to exceptional seasons, but this year’s team may be the best one yet.

“From a records and stats perspective, Churchill is in the conversation as one of the best high school hockey teams in Maryland State Hockey League’s (MSHL) history,” said MSHL President Ron Mascetti.

The Bulldogs set nine MSHL records during the playoffs alone, including most playoff points by a single player, most playoff goals by a single player and the largest margin of victory in a state championship.

It is almost impossible to find any flaws in the team’s makeup. Whether it is offense, led by one of the best players in MSHL history, or defense, anchored by two of the best goalies in the state.

According to Mascetti, the team’s success came from its “excellence in all facets of the game,” with no noticeably weak aspect bringing the team down.

Leading the offensive charge this year was captain and senior forward Phil Satin. Satin not only added four

INFOGRAPHIC COURTESY OF JAKE CERTNER

postseason records to his résumé, but he also broke the record for most career points in MSHL history.

If Satin didn’t provide enough superstar talent for the team’s offense on his own, junior Andrew Kurapov was there to fill the gaps. “Kura-god”

notched two of his own MSHL postseason accolades, including breaking the single-game goal record with an incredible seven-goal performance in the state championship game.

This scoring outburst broke a record that stood for decades, and is sure to

stand for some time to come.

On the other side of the ice, senior goalies Kendall Wong and Markus Hurd racked up unprecedented goalsagainst averages of .39 and .74, which were the first and second best in the state. In fact, they were both so good that the coaches decided to interchange them each game during the playoffs.

This decision paid off for the team as Hurd posted a 13-0 shutout in the state semis against the DC Stars, and Wong an 11-0 shutout in the state championship against Annapolis-Old Mill.

According to WashingtonPost.com, the Bulldogs are the number two team in the entire public and private DMV behind Landon, whom the team did not get a chance to play this year.

In the MSHL’s 28-year history, only one other team can compete with the dominance of this year’s: the CHS Hockey team from last year. Amazingly, that team posted similar records, such as the highest margin of victory in a state championship (at the time) of 10, but this year’s team not only broke more records but dominated the league in bigger and badder ways.

With a variety of record breaking numbers, league leading players and a state championship all under their belt, the Bulldogs have built a strong case for the best MSHL team in history, and have certainly earned every accolade that has and will come their way.

“With seven seniors, two of the best forwards in the state, two of the best goalies in the state, more depth than anyone else and an amazing coaching staff, it seems unlikely that there will be another team that can put together a season like this,” Hurd said.

JV Boys Lacrosse Aims to Maintain Undefeated Season

By Michael Fox Editor-In-Chief

Since the beginning of the 2012 lacrosse season, freshmen and sophomore boys on JV lacrosse have put on their pads every March and tried to get back into lacrosse shape. As March 23, the day of the first JV lacrosse game, closes in, the team is reminded daily of the high expectation to maintain its undefeated streak.

Boys JV lacrosse has gone an unprecedented three seasons without a loss.

According to athletic director Scott Rivinius, this is the first time that JV boys lacrosse has been undefeated for this long.

It has been 28 games since the team lost a game, and the Bulldogs continue to thrive under the leadership of head coach David Blumenthal.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID BLUMINTHAL.

Sophomore Avery Slomnicki is a middie returning from last year.

“I’ve been blessed with kids that have bought into my system of lacrosse,” Blumenthal said. “Instead of having two or three shining players, I’ve had five or six that share the workload, and I think being able to have multiple threats who buy into the system has really helped continue the same success we’ve had year-to-year.”

Blumenthal is entering his fifth year as head coach and is 32-2-2 with CHS. He has mastered a style of coaching in which he understands each player’s strengths and weaknesses.

According to Blumenthal, at the beginning of each season, he experiments with each player’s skills, tries to emphasize the strong parts of the team and spends time on things the team needs to improve on.

Going undefeated is hard enough, and doing it consistently with a JV team is almost unheard of. Not only does the roster consist of fewer returning players and less experienced athletes, it is often the first time they have played together as a team.

“It shows the strong program that the coaching staff has put together to have that consistency for three years when JV rosters tend to change more from year to year than varsity ones,” Rivinius said.

As the season approaches, the Bulldogs have pressure to maintain their previous excellence. However, Blumenthal and the players are trying to keep their focus on becoming better as a team and working on playing the best lacrosse they can.

“It’s definitely in the back of our heads to go undefeated this year, but as of now, our goal is to improve as a team and be as successful as we can,” sophomore attackman Harrison Gerber said.

To maintain his hot streak and incredible winning record, Blumenthal approaches every new season and all of his new players with a similar mentality.

“I’ve learned that the attitude of the players is going to reflect the attitude of leadership, so I’ve learned to be a

little calmer and more understanding, especially early in March, when these kids are learning because they are new or trying to knock the rust off and need a calming influence who tells them it’s okay to make mistakes,” Blumenthal

said.

The season opener will be against The Heights School on March 23. With Bluminthal’s previous win percentage, the team is sure to have another incredible, if not undefeated, season.

March 23, 2016

15

Sports

CHS Wolfpack Hunts Competition While Side-by-Side

By Peter Durand PR & Social Media Editor Arjun Swaminathan News Editor

For some CHS student athletes, distance running is more than a sport; they consider it a way of life. Meet the CHS “Wolfpack.”

The Wolfpack is a group of some of the best runners at CHS who have become close friends through running, on and off the track. The group formed three years ago and has grown since then. The current Wolfpack consists of seniors Mitchell Welter, Thomas Winkert, Michael Hughes, Jason Shefferman, Josh Freilich and Jacob Grant, as well as junior Matthew Goldsmith.

“It all got started when [Class of 2015 alumnus] Brendan Fagan thought it would be a good idea to make a group of guys that weren’t necessarily the best runners, but ones that really wanted to work hard and get the most out of their training,” Welter said.

Welter has gone from being an average runner as a freshman to being arguably the fastest CHS long distance athlete, with a two mile time of 9:52.

He credits the Wolfpack for his success.

“Running is something that has grown on me since I started freshman year,” Welter said. “It’s extremely competitive and very rewarding when you hit a good time because you know all that hard work finally paid off. Because of the Wolfpack, we turned a group of decent varsity runners that struggled to make states into the second best 4x800 meter relay in the state. I think that’s pretty inspirational.”

The close bond between these runners began to form during their early formative years, but it took until high school for the group to become truly cohesive.

“Jacob, Jason and I had been best friends since around second or third grade, so we were pretty close from

PHOTO BY ARJUN SWAMINATHAN.

Second from left, senior Mitch Welter, junior Matthew Goldsmith and seniors Michael Hughes and Josh Frielich run as part of the Wolfpack. The close-knit group of distance runners have excelled as a group. the beginning,” Hughes said. “Mitch and Brendan became close friends near the end of the freshman season, but it wasn’t until our sophomore season that we all really came together.”

This past year, the Wolfpack’s efforts to improve as a unit have been fruitful, as evidenced by their performance in meets in past cross country and indoor track seasons.

“We may not have the fastest individuals, so another school might put one guy ahead of us, but we will get second to seventh,” Hughes said. “In the same way defense wins championships, running depth wins state titles.

That’s what makes our team so strong.”

The close relationship of these runners allows them to push each other to work harder every day.

“It’s a classic example of guys who were good, but pretty mediocre before they formed the Wolfpack,” cross country coach Paul Jacobson said. “They have a really good rivalry.”

Jacobson, who ran in high school and college and remains dedicated to his craft, believes that it is quite common for strong runners to form clique-like groups that help them push each other.

“It gets them to love running,” Jacobson said. “Because running doesn’t

often get the accolades of other sports, it becomes their thing. They can say, ‘We’re the best in the school.’”

Since the majority of the students in the group are seniors, this outdoor track season likely serves as their final opportunity to represent CHS. However, it’s clear that the connection that they have formed will last well beyond this season.

“Whether it’s the long miles over the summer or toughing it out in the cold months of indoor track, we are always there for each other and it makes it easier when you know that someone always has your back,” Welter said.

Montgomery County Public Schools Winston Churchill High School 11300 Gainsborough Rd. Potomac, MD 20854

thechurchillobserver.com

Volume 40 - Issue 6

March 23, 2016

By Ben Dross Production Editor When junior Zack Einhorn jumped into the water, CHS was in fourth place. This would not do, however, as the team needed to win as many events as possible to win the state championship. Einhorn swam hard, passing the swimmer from Walt Whitman, and then passing the swimmer from Richard Montgomery. He had propelled CHS into second place, keeping the team’s hopes of a state championship alive.

Einhorn started swimming for Regency Estates Swim club when he was 7 years old. He picked up swimming because it was what every kid did during the summer. In fact, he was not that good originally, but quickly improved and made swimming his passion.

“Once my coach taught me, I improved pretty quickly,” Einhorn said. “I started to swim year-round.”

Einhorn swam freestyle for CHS this year, finishing third in the regional final and second in the divisional final. He also won the state final for the mens 200-yard freestyle. Einhorn’s final time in the state championship was 1:42.91, a full second ahead of the runner up.

Einhorn believes his success in the state championship was

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZACK EINHORN.

Junior Zack Einhorn’s 200 freestyle at the Maryland State Championships qualified him for the National Club Swimming Association Junior Nationals competition. a result of his training and time-management.

“Before the race, I had a strategy in my head,” Einhorn said. “In the beginning, people were pulling ahead, but they ran out of energy. I had more at the end because of my strategy.”

Einhorn swam freestyle in relays as well, where he helped

the swim team win lots of races over the course of this season.

In addition to engineering a come-from-behind second place finish in the mens 400 yard freestyle relay, he was also a big reason for the team’s second place finish in the mens 200 yard relay. Both victories pushed the team to win second overall at the state meet.

A National Blue Ribbon School “We are all pretty fast and we can rely on each other,” Einhorn said. “So if one person doesn’t do well, we can bring it back.”

Einhorn prides himself on his hard work. In his mind there is no substitute for hard work. Swim can sometimes be an inconvenience, so focus is important to making it through them.

“I stay focused and work through all difficulties,” Einhorn said. “Some practices are difficult and you want to give up, but you can’t let yourself give up. ” Einhorn’s work ethic is contagious, and his teammates look up to him as a leader.

CHS has a lot of young swimmers, and the team looks for Einhorn’s hard work and success as motivation for them to go forward.

“He’s a hard worker, always consistent in meets,” sophomore teammate Ian Mackey said. “He’s definitely someone to look up to in the water just based on times alone.”

It was recently announced that Einhorn would be one of the team’s senior captains next year in his senior season.

“Zack leads by example very well,” Haynos said. “You see him race and it gets the team really hyped up and we all want to do better. I think he’ll make a great captain.”

Boys Varsity Lacrosse Has High Expectations

Dawg Data Seconds it took freshman Karis Lee to run the 60 meter dash at Nationals March 11.

Returning varsity players for the baseball team this season.

The State Semi-Finalist Bulldogs Look for Revenge

By Nathan Gertler Online Sports Editor Over the past few years, CHS boys lacrosse has been synonymous with excellence.

This year is no different, as the highly touted Bulldogs seem charged up for a chance at another deep playoff run.

The team enters the season with a sour taste in its mouth, hoping to get back to the state championship and redeem itself from last year’s 14-6 loss in the finals to Howard. This was the first time CHS has gotten all the way to the state final and is primed to get back there this season.

“We became more mature as a team,” sophomore midfielder Reed Moshyedi said in regards to the state championship loss. “We were reminded of how much we hate losing, especially in a big game, and it will only motivate us to work harder to succeed this year.”

Making that deep of a playoff run last season gave muchneeded playoff experience to Moshyedi, and to the numerous other underclassmen on the team this year.

PHOTO COURTESY OF REED MOSHYEDI.

Sophomore Reed Moshyedi scores a goal for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore defenders Jack Taylor and Jimmy Rubino also gained invaluable playoff experience, which they hope will pay dividends for them this year.

Along with the underclassmen, the team has a plethora of seniors looking to pave the way for a historic run this season.

Among the seniors hopeful for a big season is midfielder

and faceoff specialist Austin Laborwit.

“Individually, I want to be better offensively, since last year I would take the faceoff and play more defensively,” Laborwit said.

While Laborwit and Moshyedi lead the midfield, the defense seems to be the team’s biggest strength this year. CHS is returning three soon-to-be

Division I defenders, which include Taylor, Rubino and Syracuse commit Cristian Edwards, as well as senior goalie Markus Hurd.

The talented mix of both underclassmen and upperclassmen on last year’s roster brought great success to the team, and especially the defense. The seniors are hopeful that the experience will translate to success again this season.

“This offseason, Ryan Sorkin and I led weight room and running workouts two-to-three times a week and worked as a team to get bigger and faster,” Laborwit said. “It helped bring the team together and also was a good chance to work with the younger lacrosse players new to the program.”

The Bulldogs quest for another state championship appearance will officially be underway against The Heights School March 23.

“We are fully capable of winning, and also, it leaves a target for all the other teams in the state to take us out,” Laborwit said. “We worked hard and will continue to work until we show that we are the best team in Maryland.”

Consecutive seasons Boys JV Lacrosse has gone undefeated.

Matches won at States each for JJ Bravo and Jack Conolly in wrestling.

Individual events won by CHS at swin and dive states. *as of 3/23/2016

April 1, 2016

April Fools

Chipotle Now Offering Complimentary Virus

By Ross Palenbaum Deliciousness Columnist Chipotle is now charging customers extra for two things: Guacamole and E. coli.

Chipotle has always been a favorite restaurant for CHS students. However, after an outbreak of E. coli in many restaurants, students have been hesitant to continue eating Chipotle as frequently.

“I personally never thought Chipotle was that good,” junior Noah Johnson said. “I would always get Qdoba. It is not that different and it is only $5.”

MCPS parents are very concerned for their children’s safety. Some are already seeing warning signs that E. coli may be affecting their kids.

“My son recently ate Chipotle and I believe that E. coli is damaging his memory,” parent Laura Smith said. “He keeps pointing at my Crocs and asking me ‘What are those?”’

Reported symptoms include drowsiness, sudden weight gain, stomach pains and uncontrollable gas. People have seen these symptoms and assume that this is due to the E. coli outbreak.

“What is interesting is that even though I have never had E. coli, every time I eat Chipotle I end up having similar symptoms,” freshman Jerry Simpson said. “I think Chipotle is just super unhealthy.”

Scientists are currently looking into how E. coli is affecting people who eat Chipotle. So far, scientists have been unsuccessful in figuring out how to solve the problem.

“I am very confused why people are making a big fuss out of this disease,” scientist Steven Schwimmer said. “Chi-

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN DOE.

Customers wait in line for the E. coli virus now being served at Chipotle. potle was never good for you. I think E. coli was the healthiest thing they served on the menu.”

Chipotle has taken steps to address the current issue. On Feb 8, or as many call it, The Purge, Chipotle closed all of its stores in order to have a nationwide meeting. On that day, chaos broke out in the streets as many were furious that they had to go a day without Chipotle.

“I know that the E. coli outbreak is a problem,” sophomore Rebecca Goldstein said. “But I can’t last a day without the chips and guac. If Chipotle has E. coli, then I guess I like E. coli.”

The recent outbreak is so viral that even politicians are addressing how they are going to fix the Chipotle problem. Some have even suggested taking drastic measures to stop Chipotle from

3

spreading E. coli.

“We are going to build a wall around every single Chipotle and make Chipotle pay for all the walls,” Republican candidate Donald Trump said.

Even celebrities are giving their own ideas for how to fix the problem. In an attempt to draw attention away from Chipotle, musician Kanye West is creating his own burrito that will be sold exclusively at California Tortilla. The restaurant is even offering Kanye’s new creation at a lowered price for 30 days.

“Even if it is at a discounted price, I am not sure if I want to support California Tortilla,” senior Lewis Branch said.

“I may just wait for a friend to buy it, and then I will try it.”

As of now, scientists are coming up with a vaccine to stop the outbreak.

Many students are still being affected by E. coli and an answer has to come soon.

“We are calling the vaccine ‘common sense,’” Schwimmer said. “What this will do is send messages to one’s brain and tell them that if there is a disease in a food, it may be a good idea to not eat it.”

Hopefully, the new vaccine will put an end to the E. coli outbreak and prevent it from doing any more damage.

Chipotle needs to do their part to keep the disease out of their restaurants, but for now, students are more willing to take the vaccine after they get E. coli than go without Chipotle and avoid the E. coli.

“I have yet to get E. coli from Chipotle so far,” junior Bradley James said. “I have gotten salmonella, the Norovirus and heart disease from Chipotle, but no E. coli yet.”

Ice Skating Rink To Be Installed in CHS Lower Gym

By Vicky Gunawanna-readthis Observationist As of March 3, the MCPS Board of Education approved CHS’ request for an indoor ice skating rink. The ice rink will be installed before the 2016-17 school year and will be located in the current lower gym.

The funds going to the arts programs were used to finance the rink and cover the costs of new pairs of ice skates and a Zamboni.

According to Principal Joan Benz, the new rink might cause controversy, but it will be worth it.

Freshman Alexandra Mamalian is upset that she will not be able to perform in plays next year.

“Now that this new ice skating rink extinguished all our art funds, I cannot do what I love most,” Mamalian said.

There is also disapproval amongst gym teachers who will now have to change their schedules and will be required to teach at least one ice sport next year, instead of the off-ice sports they usually teach.

This ruined my whole year of outdoor and indoor sports,” PE teacher Shannon Morris said. “Now I have to work with this new ice skating rink and teach ice sports.”

According to Morris, she is willing to work with the rink, but is upset she can no longer teach other sports and must learn how to ice skate.

Many students, especially those on

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN DOE.

CHS will begin offering ice sports next year on the lower gym ice rink.

Funds from the Art department will be used to cover installation costs.

the hockey team, are excited about the rink, and are willing to go to drastic measures to see it come to CHS. “I love the new ice skating rink because now I can finally play hockey

without having to drive far,” senior Alex Chen said. “Unfortunately, I’ll have graduated by the time it comes to CHS, so I’m thinking about staying an extra year just for the rink.”

Montgomery County Public Schools Winston Churchill High School 11300 Gainsborough Rd. Potomac, MD 20854

thechurchillobserver.com

April 1, 2016

Volume 40 - Issue 6

A National Blue Ribbon School

A+ Physics Teacher Played Eat. Sleep. Run. Basketball in D-League

By Nathan Deychman Sports Editor

By Michael J. Fox Bad cop

From the moment physics teacher Adam Fugal was born at 2’4” tall, weighing 28 pounds, his parents knew that he was destined to be a professional basketball player.

Fugal’s journey began in fifth grade when he stood a respectable 6 feet tall.

As a superstar on the basketball court, Fugal began to be recognized by college scouts from all over the country when he was in middle school at Kalliber Middle School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was able to dunk when he was in seventh grade and averaged 32 points and 13 rebounds per game throughout his middle school career.

“Watching a seventh grader dunk in a game was absurd,” said Luke Bachdor, who was Fugal’s teammate at the time.

“We never lost a game when he played.”

Though many college and NBA coaches knew this kid had a future, they couldn’t afford to gamble on such a young player.

However, Fugal proved his worthiness throughout high school and college. He attended DeMatha High School and was named the All-Met Player of the Year his junior and senior year. He then went on to play for the University of Kentucky where he put up big numbers, such as his 22 points and 26 rebounds against UNC-Chapel Hill Feb. 22, 2005.

“I’d seen a lot of talented players come to Kentucky, but I knew Fugal was special,” Kentucky head coach Joe Hall said. “Not only did he have the skillset to play at the next level, but he also had the attitude, that ‘I’m going to work until I get it right’ mindset.”

Finally, Fugal had the opportunity to get drafted into the NBA. However, he decided to declare for the NBA D-League draft because he wanted go back to school and major in physics and engineering at Brigham Young University while playing basketball. He went on to get drafted by the Texas Legends in the second round.

“My feelings on the night of the draft can’t be put into words,” Fugal said. “To be able

Boys Basketball: 100-9 Girls Basketball: 3-1500

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL FOX.

They say that once every 1,000 years, a runner is blessed with a runner’s high so great, they feel as if they can run forever.

This statement has been confirmed by senior track star Jacob Grant, who has set a CHS record by running continuously around the CHS track since March 1, with no plans of stopping any time soon.

“I’m just feeling it right now,” Grant wheezed. “After a month, I think I can keep this up forever. I will never stop.”

Grant was running before he learned how to crawl. He ran his first 5k at age 2 and crushed the competition in the U18 race.

He is a natural athlete with endurance that is off the charts.

“Running is what I was born to do,” Grant said.

While Grant may be a record-holder at CHS, he is still several months away from famed distance runner Forrest Gump’s world record.

“I want to beat Forrest’s record,” Grant said. “I respect him a lot, but as an amateur runner myself, I feel like I have what it takes to topple it.”

Grant is not alone in his quest to run forever. He has garnered support from all types

of people at CHS, ranging from teammates and coaches to students that have never set foot on the track.

“I’m so proud of his dedcation,” track and field coach Paul Jacobson said as a single tear rolled down his cheek. “He has done so well throughout his running career at CHS. I wish we could have him back for a fifth year, but that should not be too difficult since it does not seem like he is going to leave.”

Although the fact that Grant has been running for so long is incredible, what is even more impressive is his pace. Grant ran at a five minute mile pace from March 1-15, but picked up the pace and has been running at a four minute mile pace since then.

“We try to bring him food and water from time to time, but it’s really hard to feed him since he never slows down,” senior teammate Mitch Welter said.

Through rain, snow, heat and all other potential obstacles, Grant has persevered.

His eyes are on the prize and frankly, he doesn’t even seem tired yet.

“I haven’t even broken a sweat yet,” Grant said. “I think the first month is just a warmup.”

PHOTO BY MICHAEL FOX.

Physics teacher Adam Fugal has a vertical jump of 36 inches, allowing him to dunk on a 12-foot hoop. to play in the D-League, which was a dream of mine, while being able to study what I loved was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

Throughout his three-year career, Fugal matched up against some of the greats, including Portland Seawolves center Greg Manly. According to Fugal, the highlight of his career was when he rejected Manly’s shot and hit the game winning-shot from half-court to beat the Seawolves 101-100 in overtime Feb. 6, 2007.

“It was one of the greatest things I’d ever seen as a head coach,” said Steven Worley, who had been Fugal and the Legends’ coach at the time.

“For a kid that young to have that much talent and awareness is pretty unique.”

Indoor Track and Field Next Meet:States held on 5/28/20

Once Fugal got tired of the D-League, he decided to come to CHS to inspire kids to reach for their goals and work hard in life.

“Some people said that I was only good at basketball because I was tall,” Fugal said. “But they don’t realize that I worked hard to be this tall, and it took a lot of effort to stay this height.”

Although many of Fugal’s students aren’t aware of his background, it’s something that should be made known to the entire CHS community.

“Knowing that Mr. Fugal played in the D-League has makes me realize how incredible he is and how much he has done so far in his life,” junior Stacy Weinmann said. “I really wish I could have gone to one of his games. He was like a legend.”

Records: Boys Swim and Dive: 2-2-2-2 Girls Swim and Dive: 8-?

PHOTO BY NATHAN DEYCHMAN.

Jacob Grant finishes his millionth lap on his endless running adventure.

Wrestling: 17.38

Hockey: 20-1-6