Priyanka Gokhale


Name: Priyanka Gokhale
Position: Online Editor-in-Chief
Graduation Year: 2008


Stories (43)


Accidental gun shot fired at Albert Einstein High School

By Lucas Alvarado-Farrar, Priyanka Gokhale | April 10, 2008, midnight | In Local »

At around 11:30 a.m. yesterday, April 9, a gun was accidentally discharged during an alleged gun sale in a bathroom at Albert Einstein High School, according to MCPS Student Member of the Board (SMOB) Ben Moskowitz. At 1:30 p.m., the school was put into a Code Red alert for the remainder of the day; students returned to a normal school day today. Einstein Assistant Principal Elizabeth Burrell declined to comment on the situation.

snoWatch: Success at last?

By Priyanka Gokhale, Pia Nargundkar | Feb. 21, 2008, midnight | In Humor »

Here at snoWatch, we have many talents - predicting the weather, being funny and juggling with swords, to name a few. But tonight we unearthed a new talent - number-crunching. (And that too without the help of our technical staff!)

"Step Up" hits the floor

By Priyanka Gokhale | Feb. 17, 2008, midnight | In Movies »

The latest in a seemingly endless stream of dance-based movies, "Step Up 2: The Streets" fits the shallow mold perfectly. Rebellious misfits that moonlight as amazing dancers? Check. Screenplay so ridiculous that it's impossible to imagine someone actually writing it? Check. And a soundtrack that slides to the top of the charts within a matter of days? Check.

snoWatch: What is love? Snow days, of course

By Priyanka Gokhale, Pia Nargundkar, Rachita Sood | Feb. 13, 2008, midnight | In Humor »

Be still our hearts, it looks we've set a record - two days of mildly inclement weather in a row? Hopefully this Valentine's Day, we'll be showered with more than just gifts from our hearts' desires. After all, a day cuddled up in front of the fireplace with your significant other is a lot more romantic than - dare we say it - singing valentines and candy grams at school.

Special edition iceWatch

By Priyanka Gokhale, Pia Nargundkar, Rachita Sood | Feb. 12, 2008, midnight | In Humor »

Why is the weather so cruel? The snow gods from above have hit us hard on nearly every scheduled day off this winter (think several inches of snow the day before semester break), turning the beautiful prospects of a free day into yet another drab day stuck indoors. And yet every time, the conditions have cleared up before we can get anything more than a two-hour delay the next morning.

snoWatch: 08's turn

By Priyanka Gokhale, Pia Nargundkar, Rachita Sood | Dec. 5, 2007, midnight | In Humor »

As usual, the predictions were wrong. Somehow, "a light dusting" turned into "1-2 inches," which turned into "2-4 inches," which turned into two and a half hours stuck in the world's largest parking lot, also known as I-270. When students arrived at school a few hours late (the Colesville bridge closing didn't help) only to find out that MCPS decided the conditions weren't bad enough to close schools, we decided that some real weather experts needed to be called in to make the shots.

School fails to make AYP for second straight year

By Priyanka Gokhale | Sept. 30, 2007, midnight | In Local »

For the second year in a row, Blair did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), making it the only school in Montgomery County to have a two-year failure and be marked as "Improvement Code 2." The state released the results – which showed that the school failed by 12 students in the Limited English Proficient subgroup – on Sept. 28.

"Deathly Hallows" is Rowling's final treat

By Priyanka Gokhale | July 21, 2007, midnight | In Books »

Fans gave Harry Potter author JK Rowling a tall order: craft a final tale that matches the quality of the previous books but also ties up the myriad loose ends dangling throughout numbers one through six. And, using style, wit and a wave of the wand, Rowling delivers. In an ideal world, the series would never end, but what better way to end than with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which clocks in at a monstrous 759 pages (though it is no doubt slimmer than "Hogwarts: A History").

Board of Education names Darryl Williams Blair principal

By Priyanka Gokhale, Pia Nargundkar, Rachita Sood | June 25, 2007, midnight | In Local »

In its meeting today, the MCPS Board of Education (BOE) announced that Darryl Williams will be Blair's next principal. Williams has been the principal at Gaithersburg High School since 2005.

Farewell party held in honor of Principal Gainous

By Priyanka Gokhale | June 17, 2007, midnight | In Local »

The administration held a farewell party on June 12 for Principal Phillip Gainous, celebrating his 23-year tenure at the helm of Blair, which will formally end on July 1. The party, planned by a committee of staff and parents and open to all who wished to attend, was held from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and followed by a special presentation in the auditorium.

Ngbea, David

By Priyanka Gokhale | June 10, 2007, midnight | In Teacher Feature »

One peek into room 160 shows the depth of David Ngbea's reach. Over 40 letters and notes fill one bulletin board, saying things like, "Thank you Mr. Ngbea for everything." Motivational posters line every corner of the wall space – some with tips for healthy living and others with words of guidance. Ngbea has made it clear that he has one main purpose at Blair – to guarantee that young people get the best out of their high school careers.

MCPS student hit by teacher-driven car while jaywalking on Route 29

By Priyanka Gokhale, Rachita Sood | May 30, 2007, midnight | In Local »

At 6:15 p.m. today, a female MCPS student crossing Route 29 (Colesville Road) was hit by a car driven by a Blair teacher. The student, who was not using the crosswalk, faces no life-threatening injuries, according to Assistant Principal James Short.

Board of Education approves Gainous for new county job

By Priyanka Gokhale, Rachita Sood | May 8, 2007, midnight | In Local »

In a meeting today, the Board of Education approved Principal Phillip Gainous to the newly-created position of Liaison for Leadership Development. Gainous will leave his post as principal and begin his three-year term in the new position on July 1.

Principal and parents

By Priyanka Gokhale | May 4, 2007, midnight | In Features »

In the center of the empty choral room, several parents met with Principal Phillip Gainous this morning. Over coffee, cookies and danishes, the group discussed Gainous's possible resignation and its repercussions. One by one, the parents – including PTSA co-President Dave Ottalini— asked questions of Gainous.

Temp-ing for Blazers

By Priyanka Gokhale | April 24, 2007, midnight | In Features »

They're here every day. Writing on the board, typing on the computer and assigning worksheets, they look just like the myriad of other teachers at school, save for one key difference – when the day ends, they leave…for good.

Quick-and-easy kulfi

By Priyanka Gokhale | April 12, 2007, midnight | In Desserts »

In India and other parts of South Asia, "kulfi" is a dessert used to stave off the heat of summer. Children are often seen licking calorie-rich kulfi that has been molded into popsicles, but this dessert is often served as a finale at the end of a full-course meal. Cold and creamy, this dish is similar to ice cream but contains no air. Kulfi can come in many flavors, if the right fruit purees and spices are added, but the best kulfi is sweet, rich and plain.

Post-Pirates

By Priyanka Gokhale | March 31, 2007, midnight | In Local »

The Blair Players, whose musical "Pirates of Penzance" closed last weekend, will be performing for children in hospice care with the Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda.

Blair wins awards at Montgomery County Science Fair

By Priyanka Gokhale | March 18, 2007, midnight | In Local »

Sixteen students participated in the 51st annual Montgomery County Science fair in Gaithersburg this weekend. Senior Victoria Yao, one of Blair's 12 Intel semifinalists, placed first in her category and was a runner-up for the fair's grand prize.

Once a Blazer, always a Blazer

By Priyanka Gokhale | March 16, 2007, midnight | In Features »

In the fall of 1991, Emanuel Charles entered Blair as a freshman. Four years and 12 sports seasons later – in 1995 – he graduated. Never in a "million years" did Charles think that one day he'd return to Blair.

Blair alum places third in reality contest

By Priyanka Gokhale | Feb. 21, 2007, midnight | In Local »

Niels Hoven, a 1999 graduate of the Blair Magnet program, was eliminated from CW's "Beauty and the Geek" on Feb. 7. Hoven and partner Jennylee Berns, an Ultimate Fighting Championship ring girl and model, were the sixth team to be eliminated from the show's third season.

Blair learns from AYP results, looks forward

By Priyanka Gokhale, Gus Woods | Feb. 20, 2007, midnight | In Local »

The number "one-fifth" carries a lot of weight at Blair. After receiving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results in October last year, Blair found that the difference between a pass and fail for last spring's English High School Assessment (HSA) score was one-fifth of a student in the special education subgroup, based on the state of Maryland's calculations. Because the special education subgroup narrowly missed meeting the passing mark, the whole school failed to meet AYP for 2006. Now, Blair is making plans to pass the HSA in the future.

SGA-sponsored Winter Formal postponed

By Priyanka Gokhale | Feb. 15, 2007, midnight | In Local »

The SGA announced today that the Winter Formal, originally scheduled for tomorrow, Feb. 16, has been postponed. If approved by administrators, the new date will be Friday, Feb. 23. SGA President Eric Hysen cited the impending snow day as the reason for rescheduling. "We didn't really have a choice on whether or not to move it at this point," he said.

Check out Cesco

By Priyanka Gokhale | Feb. 6, 2007, midnight | In Restaurant Reviews »

Almost every major street in Downtown Bethesda is dotted with one or two Italian restaurants aiming to distinguish themselves from the rest with unique flourishes and affectations. From the minute you step into Cesco to the second you leave, this trattoria will make you feel like royalty, if only for one night.

Senior computer team takes first at programming competition

By Priyanka Gokhale | Feb. 5, 2007, midnight | In Local »

The Blair senior computer team placed first out of 18 teams in the Loyola College High School Programming Contest on Feb. 2. The senior team solved all five contest problems as well as the bonus problem, earning a score of six, which was the highest score in the competition. The Blazers won $512, which will go towards school funds.

Behind the scenes of Blair

By Priyanka Gokhale | Jan. 29, 2007, midnight | In Features »

Every time a Blazer turns on a school computer, the Blair log in-screen pops up. Every day at 9:08 a.m., InfoFlow airs on all of the school's television screens. During every school play, a collection of 24 lights illuminate the stage. But where are the rooms and places that make these things happen? Chips has the answers for you.

The best of Bollywood entertainment!

By Priyanka Gokhale, Poorva Singal, Rachita Sood | Jan. 23, 2007, midnight | In Features »

It's the largest film industry in the world. It starts with a "B," (as in Bombay), and rhymes with Hollywood. Just in case you still don't get it, we're talking about Bollywood – the Indian film industry that produces around a 1000 movies a year, twice that of Hollywood.

Twelve seniors chosen as Intel semifinalists

By Priyanka Gokhale | Jan. 17, 2007, midnight | In Local »

As announced in an assembly today, Blair has 12 semifinalists out of a total 300 in the 66th annual Intel Science Talent Search. Out of all the schools whose students submitted projects in the competition, Blair had the second-highest number of semifinalists.

Planning begins for SGA Battle of the Bands

By Priyanka Gokhale | Jan. 9, 2007, midnight | In Local »

The SGA has begun holding tryouts and making preparations for a Battle of the Bands competition. Senior Nic Lukehart and fellow senior and SGA deputy director of student advocacy, Simon Kanter, initially scheduled the show for Dec. 8, but are considering new dates to hold the event because of scheduling difficulties, Lukehart reported.

"Eragon" excels

By Priyanka Gokhale | Dec. 20, 2006, midnight | In Movies »

The most frequent complaint about the movie Eragon will be its similarity to other recent fantasy films. A fight in a dusty farmhouse will remind the audience of the famous Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp "brawl-in-a-barn" scene from "Pirates of the Caribbean." The magic spells cast will "conjure" images from the most recent "Harry Potter" installment, and the plethora of sword-wielding and the presence of fantastical creatures are reminiscent of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But take these battles up with Eragon's author, Christopher Paolini—these parallels originated from the book, not the movie—because as a film, "Eragon" works.

Canned food mid-season report

By Priyanka Gokhale | Nov. 17, 2006, midnight | In Features »

'Tis the season to be giving &mdash at least that's the basis for this year's SGA-sponsored canned food drive. But with the drive coming to a close, Blair classes have their eyes on the ball &mdash er, breakfast party &mdash offered to the winning class.

MCPS to hold public forums on middle school reform in upcoming weeks

By Priyanka Gokhale | Nov. 13, 2006, midnight | In Local »

MCPS will be holding two public forums for parents, staff and students to voice their opinions on the proposed MCPS plans for strengthening the middle school system. The first forum will be held on Nov. 13 at Shady Grove Middle School. A subsequent forum will be on Nov. 29 at Silver Spring International Middle School. Both public forums will be held from 7 to 9 p.m.

Annual FIST conference to be held at Blair on Nov. 11

By Priyanka Gokhale | Oct. 29, 2006, midnight | In Local »

The annual Females in Science and Technology Conference (FIST) is scheduled for Nov. 11. Seventh grade girls from all around the county have been invited to attend the program. They will learn about science, math and technology at workshops taught by Blazers and teachers and hear from a female guest speaker.

Pumpkin patch passion

By Priyanka Gokhale | Oct. 27, 2006, midnight | In Features »

Crisp weather, lovely foliage and the sweet scent of apples and pumpkins are all signs that fall is here in full swing. And what better way to celebrate the signs of autumn than by heading out to a pumpkin patch? Besides patches of pumpkins, these area farms have hayrides, festivals, corn mazes and more to satisfy your fall cravings. Whether you want to find the perfect Halloween pumpkin or share cider around a bonfire, these four farms will have you covered.

Blazer wins second place nationwide at science competition

By Priyanka Gokhale | Oct. 26, 2006, midnight | In Local »

Blair freshman Jacob Hurwitz won second place and a $10,000 scholarship at the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC) – a nationwide science competition in which students compete for the title of "America's Top Young Scientist of the Year." Fellow freshmen David Tao and Scott Yu were also among 40 finalists in the competition. Tao and Yu also did well at the challenge, which took place from Oct. 21 to 25, winning the "Discovery Times 'Tech Trip'" award and the "Discovery Health 'Forensics Camp' award," respectively.

Turned off by other resources, Blazers turn to Wikipedia

By Priyanka Gokhale | Oct. 20, 2006, midnight | In Features »

When freshman Richard Higgins had to do a group project on Native American chiefs, he nixed Newsbank, overlooked World Book and passed by ProQuest. Instead, Higgins went straight to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, where he found enough information to complete his part of the poster project: research on the Native American chief "Black Kettle."

Administration's new ID policy is more than the sum of its punishments

By Priyanka Gokhale | Oct. 11, 2006, midnight | In Op/Ed »

At a glance, Blair's new ID Policy seems daunting and uncalled for. Saturday detention? For not wearing a small plastic rectangle? However, when examined more thoroughly, the administration's new ID policy is a sure step forward.

"Ugly Betty:" Been there, seen that, still funny

By Priyanka Gokhale | Oct. 4, 2006, midnight | In Television »

Betty Suarez is a fashion goddess. With her green, floor length poncho, red coke-bottle glasses and stylin' braces, she's well-equipped to teach the world a thing or two about trends. On the other hand...maybe not.

Freshman convention and election scheduled for next week

By Priyanka Gokhale | Sept. 21, 2006, midnight | In Local »

The freshman election convention for the class of 2010 SGA will be held on Sept. 27 – a half-day – in the auditorium during fourth and sixth periods from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Voting will take place on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29. CAP students will vote during Photography, Magnet students will vote during Computer Science and all other freshmen will vote during Connections.

Freshmen candidate profiles

By Priyanka Gokhale | Sept. 21, 2006, midnight | In Features »

Good news, freshmen: You may not have voted in Tuesday's primary election, but that doesn't mean that you won't get your chance to vote at all. On Sept. 28 and 29, freshmen will be voting for Class of 2010 representatives.

SGA tries to show Blair that they are more than just three letters

By Priyanka Gokhale | Sept. 14, 2006, midnight | In Features »

When passing through the 160s hallway, one door stands out from the others. At first glance, it looks like the door to every other room at Blair –- polished wood with a small rectangular window. But the door to room 161 has something extra: stick-on letters in the window that read: "HEY! IT'S SGA!" The interior of the SGA office is just as inviting as the sign on the door –- Room 161 boasts a comfortable couch, a whiteboard with ideas and plans and a life-size paper maché Blazer, among other strange knacks.

SGA to hold activity fair on Sept. 15

By Priyanka Gokhale | Sept. 7, 2006, midnight | In Local »

The SGA will hold its annual activity fair on Friday, Sept. 15 during periods 5A and 5B. Teachers will bring their classes to the fair during their fifth period class.

SGA announces homecoming theme

By Priyanka Gokhale, Miriam Ragen | Sept. 6, 2006, midnight | In Local »

The SGA announced today that this year's homecoming theme will be board games. This year's homecoming dance will be held on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m, and the annual fall spirit week will take place from Monday, Oct. 9, to Friday, Oct. 13.

Preparations underway for annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair

By Priyanka Gokhale | July 6, 2006, midnight | In Local »

Planning and set-up has begun for the annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, which will be held from Aug. 11 to Aug. 19 on the Montgomery County fairgrounds in Gaithersburg.



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