COUNTY’S FINEST Public safety employees honored for bravery. A-4
NEWS: Germantown resident has led the National Library of Medicine for 30 years. A-3
The Gazette GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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Sixth-grader earns trip to National Spelling Bee Clarksburg student wins the day and the regional bee by spelling ‘pantheistic’
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BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Raffae Chowdhury of Clarksburg entered his first spelling bee in second grade. Now a sixth-grader at Rocky Hill Middle School, he is poised for the big time. Raffae will represent the county at the Scripps National Spelling Bee at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center May 25-29. He has come a long way since that second-grade bee when he lost by misspelling “oasis,” he said. “I went quite far, I went to seventh-grade words,” he said. “Sadly, I got out on oasis. I knew that word.” He said nervousness got in his way back then and he did not enter any other spelling bees until this year when he found out Rocky Hill had one. “That was my OMG moment,” he said. Raffae, 11, took the competition seriously but said that in addition to studying, he is just good with words. “I read a lot,” he said. “I take a lot of advanced classes and I have an advanced vocabulary.” He won the Rocky Hill Spelling Bee Jan. 30 spelling “granulation” correctly. That win qualified him for the Montgomery County regional
Clarksburg students invited to share heritage with others BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
If there is such a thing as international energy, Clarksburg High School had it Friday at its annual International Night. Students, teachers, parents and friends came together to share the school’s cultural diversity in a night of food, fun and entertainment. The school cafeteria was organized to resemble an open air market with dozens of tables gathered
Persistence of Wilson Wims parents pays off BY
Proposed changes to Md. law would impose limit on fees, enforce compliance BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
A bill sponsored by Montgomery County lawmakers would update the state’s law on access to public information. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park and Del. Bonnie L. Cullison (DDist. 19) of Aspen Hill. Maryland’s Public Information Act was passed four decades ago,
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Zeenat Chowdhury helps her son Raffae Chowdhury, 11, a sixth-grader at Rocky Hill Middle School, study his spelling words at their home in Clarksburg. bee, held March 7 at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda. There he competed against 37 elementary and middle school students. His victory came after 12 rounds when he correctly spelled “pantheistic,” a doctrine that equates God with the forces and laws of the universe, according to the Merriam Webster online diction-
ary.
Nervousness did not get in his way this time, he said. “I was actually very nervous,” he said. “[But] I’m actually very good at concealing [it].” Preparing for the National Bee is serious and time consuming for Raffae.
He studies about two hours a day with the help of his mother. Though there is not an official study list, they use one his father found on the Internet from previous national spelling bee competitions. Just memorizing the spelling of
See BEE, Page A-10
in a semicircle and students, many in ethnic dress, serving small plates of food. “Little plates keep people from loading up on any one thing,” said Dwight Onley, English teacher and staff sponsor of the event. He encouraged people to enjoy a variety of foods, maybe even something new to them. Ever tried a Korean burrito? English teacher Edith Lee and sophomore Destiny Lim, who share a South Korean heritage, were serving them up at their table. “Are you ready to try something different,” Lee asked students who came to see what she had to offer. “Its
a little spicy.” The “burrito” was a small sheet of dried seaweed packed with rice, topped with a spicy sauce and rolled to resemble its Mexican counterpart. “[International Night] is a great opportunity for students to share a little about their culture and learn about others.’” Lee said. “Most of our students are second generation — they were born here — so its a good opportunity for them to talk to their parents and grandparents and learn.” Several members of the Muslim Student Association offered hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli, dates and coffee to visitors at their table.
They also had a display table that included an ornate copy of the Quran and a prayer rug along with other artifacts from the mid east and North Africa. “This is our first year doing [International Night], junior Alaa Muhtaseb, president of the association said. “I like that people are coming and getting [our] food.” After loading up on jerk chicken, schnitzel, spanikopita, Swedish meatballs and American soul food — mac and cheese, collard greens and fried [chicken] wings, among other delights — the evening ended with
See CULTURE, Page A-6
with no serious reform since then, Raskin said Monday. Testimony on the n Page A-12 bill revealed “radical variations” in what people are charged and how long it takes to get a response, he said. Raskin said the bill aims to simplify and improve the process of accessing public information. “Government by the people depends on the truth being available,” Raskin said. The bill also changes how local
An overhaul of Maryland’s Public Information Act is overdue
governments can charge for copies when the request is not for a commercial purpose. A “reasonable” fee would have to closely match the actual cost of making photocopies. Also, it would allow up to five hours of search time at no cost, instead of the current two hours. The bill would set up a five-member board to analyze complaints that a local government or state agency
STILL AS SWEET Homegrown star Maggie Rose takes to the stage at Bethesda Blues and Jazz.
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Parents with children at Wilson Wims Elementary School in Clarksburg finally got what they wanted after years of campaigning for a traffic light and crosswalk across Snowden Farm Parkway. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation announced in a March 13 letter that it will install a traffic signal at Snowden Farm Road and Grand Elm Street by the fall of 2015. “The new traffic signal will include audible pedestrian warnings and countdown pedestrian indications in addition to marked crosswalks across Snowden Farm Parkway,” wrote Acting Director Al Roshdieh in the letter to the Coalition for Smarter Growth, based in Washington, D.C. The county Department of Transportation did a traffic study of the area and concluded that “a traffic signal at this location will improve pedestrian and traffic safety and operations,” Roshdieh wrote. The coalition, which advocates for pedestrianfriendly conditions, supported a group of Wilson Wims parents in their campaign to have traffic controls installed. Wilson Wims is bounded on one side by the new
See LIGHT, Page A-10
Initial PARCC test reactions mixed in county Interim superintendent said implementation going well; others have complaints n
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LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
charged an unreasonable fee of more than $250 for access to records. The board would include members representing custodians, which is a change since the bill was first introduced. Governments wanted to be represented on the board, which was a good idea, Raskin said. Under the Maryland Open Meetings Act, the state has a similar compliance board to consider complaints. That board’s authority is limited to advisory opinions. The PIA bill also would create an ombudsman to handle other issues, such as a custodian not responding
As students and schools across Montgomery County Public Schools tackle new state tests, feedback has been a mixed bag. This is the first time the school system is fully implementing Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers tests. Schools are following a state-dictated window of March 2 to 26. The first group of tests are “performance-based assessment” that are longer and more complicated than “end-of-year assessment” students will take this spring. Students in third through eighth grades will take math and English language arts tests. High school students studying Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and English 10 will take corresponding tests. Some have talked about problems they’ve seen in this year’s rollout. Others have seen it as a smooth transition for the tests, which replace the Maryland School Assessments and some High School Assessments. Ananya Tadikonda, an eighth-grader at Clemente Middle School in Germantown, said Friday that
See BILL, Page A-10
See TEST, Page A-10
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VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
Bill would create public records fines, review board n
Traffic light approved for school in Clarksburg n
School’s International Night celebrates cultures n
SPORTS: Gazette previews high school baseball, softball, track and boys lacrosse seasons. B-1
Volume 28, No. 9, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
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