Montgomery County Public Schools Winston Churchill High School 11300 Gainsborough Rd. Potomac, MD 20854
thechurchillobserver.com
April 1, 2017
Volume 621 - Issue 2
A National Blue Ribbon School
Wifi Returns to CHS After Student Complaints By Sarah O’Bye Teen Mom of Ten
After the push from the CHS student body, administration has officially opened the wifi to work on apps and sites it previously did not work for. What does this mean? This means that Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and many other social media apps will be free game for use. There have been instances of this wifi working on Snapchat for a brief amount of time, as it was an accident, however this implementation is official, will work on school property 24/7, and will be initiated as soon as April 1st, 2017. “I think it’s really amazing,” senior Michael Chang said. “Not being able to use the school wifi to reply to my snapchats has really eaten up all my data.” C H S administration finally agreed to the student’s plead for an open wifi network, with the help of the Sources of Strength (SOS) program to keep students happy, healthy, and smiling into their phones all day long. “Sources of Strength has been taking to CHS administration for some time now,” junior and SOS member Kendrick Smith said. “I’m really happy that administration is realizing the importance of our phones in our well being. For example, if you break a Snapchat streak, you might lose a friend, which can be hard on the students.” Some teachers are not excited about the free wifi however.
“I think it will be distracting,” Astronomy and Matter and Energy techer Clinton Sandford said. “I guess we will see how it goes though.”
Benz To Teach Spin Class For Upcoming School Year By Eliza Raspberry A Berry Picker CHS principal Dr. Joan Benz has spun her way to the top instructor at SoulCycle. Benz started a spin class two months ago at SoulCycle, after weekly classes Benz instantly became a natural, excelling through all levels of spin classes. “I haven’t seen talent like what she has in years,” SoulCycle president Jillian Michaels said. “The effort and work she puts into cycling is truly inspiring.” Benz originally thought of indoor cycling just as something people do as a hobby or to get fit, however she recently learned it is a lifestyle. “The first time I cycled I wondered why people put so much time into spinning,” Benz said. “It wasn’t until my spin class teacher told me how good I was that I even thought about pursuing cycling as a serious sport.” Additionally, Benz was rewarded with the Cycler of the Year award in December, which is only given to three cyclers in the whole nation each year. This award shows the dedication that Benz has put into cycling, and the extreme skill Benz has shown. “The Cycler of the Year is a very big honor,” Michaels said. “It is ridiculously hard to get this award, and highly competitive. I think it is truly amazing that Benz achieved this award, I’ve never seen
Members of the Observer staff got an advanced lesson of Dr. Benz’s new spin class, which will be offered to all students for the 2017-2018 school year. anything like her talent.” Benz later reminisced on how she felt when she started cycling. It was a brand new sport and activity for her. “I remember the first time I cycled, I felt exhilarated,” Benz said. “It was definitely a turning point in my life. I realized how stress relieving cycling can be. Most people bike for exercise purposes, however I feel like it reduces a lot of my stress.” Indoor cycling has recently started taking off, becoming a very popular activity for all ages. It has become so popu-
lar due to it’s ability to be a good social activity, while also giving people a good workout. “I am obsessed with SoulCycle,” Potomac mom Regina George said. “My girlfriends and I always love to go because it is such a fun workout! I met Dr. Benz at SoulCycle, and now she’s my instructor and I couldn’t be happier!” When Benz is not working at CHS, she is at the gym. To say she is a SoulCycle addict would be an understatement. “I practically live at the gym,” Benz said. “I am there before school, after school,
and sometimes I even go there for lunch. I guess you could call me a gym junkie” Benz believes SoulCycle is her soulmate. She has fallen in love with the sport and finds it hard to imagine her life without cycling. “Cycling is definitely my true love,” Benz said. “It has become a part of me, and I have totally forgotten what life what like prior to starting cycling.” Being an instructor takes up a lot of time, classes are every day, usually forty-five minutes to an hour. A typical spin
class includes a quick warm up and then a cycle workout. Benz will go into a class, give a short pep-talk to the bikers, and then proceed to guide the class through the entire workout. “I pretty much just take the lead,” Benz said. “I go into the room, and then start biking. People follow what I say and try to keep up with me, however I go pretty fast.” Spinning will be a physical education course next year at CHS and Benz will be the teacher for the class. Due to Benz’s busy schedule, there is only one period of the class. Benz is encouraging students to sign up as soon as possible because of this limited space. “Spin class will be a class next year,” Benz said. “I think we are going to make it an AP eventually as well.” Benz hopes to continue cycling, because she only continues to get faster and faster. The US Olympic cycling team has recently contacted her hoping she would be part of the team, however Benz claims she would rather keep her spot at SoulCycle. “I have gotten many offers and sponsors,” Benz said. “But honestly, I’m perfectly happy staying at SoulCycle where my soul is.”