Rachita Sood


Name: Rachita Sood
Position: Online Editor-in-Chief
Graduation Year: 2008
Rachita Sood wants you to tell her a joke. She probably won't get it, but she'll laugh anyways. In the little free time she has, Rachita enjoys jammin' to ROXANNE, dressing in earth-toned clothes and munching on Peeps.


Stories (41)


Boys' relays bring home gold and silver at indoor track state championship

By Rachita Sood | Feb. 20, 2008, midnight | In Blair »

On a successful night for the Blair indoor track team, the boys' 4x200-meter relay team placed first at the 4A Maryland State Championship, and the 4x400m relay took home the silver medal with second place in a loss by .28 seconds. With athletes entered in only five events, the boys' squad racked up 30 points by placing in each event for a fourth place finish out of 23 teams.

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.

Blazers advance to state meet in six events

By Rachita Sood | Feb. 7, 2008, midnight | In Blair »

Athletes from the indoor track team will advance to the 4A Maryland State meet in six events after finishing in the top four or meeting qualifying times at the 4A West Regional meet, held yesterday at the Baltimore Armory. The Blair boys also racked up enough points to finish fourth overall.

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.

Changes and strong organization made Back-to-School Night a success

By Pia Nargundkar, Rachita Sood | Sept. 7, 2007, midnight | In Local »

Blair's annual Back-to-School Night was held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. yesterday. This year's event, coordinated by new assistant principal Myriam Rogers, saw many changes from previous years.

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.

Blair's budding businessmen

By Maya Calabrese, Rachita Sood | May 31, 2007, midnight | In Features »

At age eight, senior Thomas Dant picked up his first camera – an old Nikon from his uncle – and spent hours snapping photographs of flowers, people and whatever else he could find in his neighborhood. Now, nine years later, Dant's photography has blossomed into a thriving business, Fine Foto, and earned him honors in a national business competition.

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.

Newly revamped Blair Fair to be held this week

By Rachita Sood | April 17, 2007, midnight | In Local »

Blair Fair will be held this Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20 after school. The fair, open to anyone in the community, features a street basketball tournament, the Mr. and Ms. Blazer talent competition, a silent auction, a carnival and a poetry slam.

Softball season preview

By Rachita Sood | March 21, 2007, midnight | In Blair »

Two years ago, the varsity softball team fielded eight sophomores and played to an impressive 15-3 regular season record. The next year, the class of 2007's ranks swelled to 12, and the Blazers finished the season as Division Champions with a 15-1 regular season record, the best in Montgomery County. Now, with high expectations and 13 seniors leading the way, the Blazers look to the upcoming season to duplicate their success and carry it into the playoffs.

County begins field tests for new lessons in sex-ed curriculum

By Rachita Sood | March 15, 2007, midnight | In Local »

Six Montgomery County schools will begin field tests to pilot lessons that introduce the topic of sexual orientation into 8th and 10th grade health curriculums for the first time. If approved by the Maryland State Board of Education this summer, the lessons will be implemented countywide next fall.

Bubble Tea

By Rachita Sood, Julie Zhu | March 2, 2007, midnight | In Drinks »

Originally a popular after-school refreshment among Taiwanese children, this Frappuccino of the eastern world is making its way into cities and towns across the nation. Chewy bubbles swirl in a creamy tea blend, making bubble tea truly unique. Most malls only offer cheap powdered imitations, so try this delicious homemade recipe to delight your friends with an Oriental favorite.

Lady Blazers fall in first round of playoffs

By Rachita Sood | Feb. 27, 2007, midnight | In Blair »

FEB. 23, Churchill- The girls' basketball team's recurring inconsistency led to a dismal offensive night for the Blazers as they fell hard to the Churchill Bulldogs in the first round of the 4A region playoffs. Riding a two game winning streak, the Blazers traveled to Churchill confident that they could be competitive against the Bulldogs. But the Bulldogs (14-8) shut down Blair's offense and capitalized on sloppy passes and lackadaisical defense to defeat the Blazers (3-20) for the third time this season.

Blazers advance to state meet in five events

By Johanna Gretschel, Rachita Sood | Feb. 22, 2007, midnight | In Blair »

The girls' indoor track team scored 20 points to tie Damascus for eighth place, while the boys tied Springbrook with 14 points to place tenth at the 3A/4A West Regional meet.

Wildcats tear through girls' basketball

By Rachita Sood | Feb. 12, 2007, midnight | In Blair »

FEB. 9, NELSON H. KOBREN GYMNASIUM- As a sophomore last year, Walter Johnson's standout guard Alex Chili served up 34 points as the Wildcats defeated the varsity girls' basketball team 63-50. Friday night, Chili returned to Blair's gymnasium as a junior and scored 37 points to bury the Blazers in their third loss to Walter Johnson this season.

Pom Squad wins two awards at county competition

By Rachita Sood | Feb. 10, 2007, midnight | In Local »

The Blair Pom squad won the 2nd place team award and 1st place captain award at the MCPS Pompon Championship competition today. The team competed against six other Division II schools at the competition.

Inter-county disconnect

By Rachita Sood | Feb. 8, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »

Every workday, thousands of commuters sit through miles of gridlock, crawling along the area's clogged local roads and highways as they face hour long drives to work. The Intercounty Connecter (ICC), a proposed six-lane, 18-mile highway, aims to alleviate this congestion by providing a traffic free east-west route between I-270 in Montgomery County and U.S. Route 1 in Prince George's County.

Bengals trounce Blazers in 72-28 blowout

By Rachita Sood | Jan. 29, 2007, midnight | In Blair »

The varsity girls' basketball team that took the floor on Friday night against the Blake Bengals bore little resemblance to the team from previous games. While the Blazers played a controlled offense, they struggled to complete their passes and were plagued with turnovers, a problem that the team hasn't had in previous games. The Bengals pounced on the Blazers' new vice, using a fast paced transition game to secure their 72-28 victory.

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.

Girls' basketball finds unity against Bulldogs

By Rachita Sood | Jan. 12, 2007, midnight | In Blair »

Reeling from a 51-23 loss to Magruder on Monday night, the varsity girls' basketball team returned home to play the Churchill Bulldogs in what head coach James Mogge called the team's "best game in a long time." The Blazers (1-10) stepped up to play together as a unit on offense and defense, adding the teamwork ingredient that has been missing from their play in previous games, but lost to Churchill 57-42.

Vikings sink girls' basketball

By Rachita Sood | Jan. 5, 2007, midnight | In Blair »

After notching their first victory in the Walter Johnson Holiday Tournament over winter break, the varsity girls' basketball team returned home Wednesday night for a 68-35 loss to the Whitman Vikings. The Blazers (1-7) led the Vikings at the end of the first quarter, but Blair's recurring struggle to run a cohesive offense devastated the team as the Vikings turned turnovers into fast breaks to pull ahead.

Springbrook tramples girls' basketball

By Rachita Sood | Dec. 22, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

The Springbrook Blue Devils handed the varsity girls' basketball team their fourth straight loss on Tuesday night, soundly defeating the Blazers 51-22. While Blair's defense was once again a highlight, the team struggled to muster any offensive might and put points on the board.

"Charlotte's Web" won't catch all

By Rachita Sood | Dec. 20, 2006, midnight | In Movies »

Most teenagers can remember reading "Charlotte's Web," the classic E.B. White novel, with delight and awe in elementary school English classes. Fast-forward ten years and the story loses much of its charm. For this reason, director Gary Winick's screen adaptation may not hold the attention of most Blazers, but the movie is a simplistically well done film for another generation to delight over.

Blazers fall to Jaguars in home opener

By Rachita Sood | Dec. 16, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

After two uninspiring losses on the road to Kennedy and Einstein, the Blair varsity girls' basketball team made their home debut on Friday night as underdogs against the undefeated Northwest Jaguars. But the Blazers stepped up all aspects of their game, maintaining a solid defense and generating enough sparks of offensive prowess to battle the Jaguars to a close 47-43 loss.

Miscommunication causes It's Academic team to lose KMO standing

By Rachita Sood | Dec. 12, 2006, midnight | In Local »

The Blair It's Academic team scored 1734 out of 2000 possible points in the Knowledge Master Open (KMO), held on Wednesday Dec. 6, but failed to report the score by 10 a.m. the following day. Had the score been reported by the deadline, the team would have placed first out of 20 teams in Maryland and third overall out of 783 teams in the world, which has significantly improved from Blair's ninth and eleventh place overall finishes in the past two KMOs.

It's Academic Team to compete in Knowledge Master Open

By Rachita Sood | Dec. 6, 2006, midnight | In Local »

Blair's It's Academic Team will compete in the worldwide Knowledge Master Open (KMO) today during periods 5A, 5B and 6 in room 247. The team looks to improve from their eleventh place finish out of 774 teams in last spring's KMO and return to the top ten.

For football: recover and rebuild

By Rachita Sood | Nov. 9, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

Last year, Blair's varsity football team was only one win away from a playoff berth. The Blazers lost to former state champions Damascus in their final game, ending the season at 6-4. This year, the Blazers have won only two games and stand at a dismal 2-7. Riding on last year's success, Blair seemed likely to shine again this season. But the Blazers graduated several key seniors last year and were left with a young nucleus of players, many of whom had little to no varsity-level experience.

Girls' soccer falls to top-seeded Wootton

By Rachita Sood | Nov. 1, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

From the opening whistle to the very last seconds of Tuesday night's match, the varsity girls' soccer team fought relentlessly against the number one team in the division. They played with heart and skill, showing that despite an 8-8 season, the Blazers are capable of taking on any team in the county.

Girls' soccer triumphs on senior night

By Rachita Sood | Oct. 27, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

When the final whistle pierced the frigid air on Tuesday night, the Blair varsity girls' soccer team rushed to the center of Blazer stadium amid enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, jubilant over their victory. The Blazers (7-7) snapped a three game losing streak with a decisive 5-3 win over Walter Johnson on senior night, Blair's last home game of the regular season.

Blazers charge past Cavaliers

By Rachita Sood | Oct. 20, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

The varsity girls' soccer team picked up their third straight win Monday night, soundly defeating the Kennedy Cavaliers 4-0. The Blazers took a decisive lead in the first half and controlled possession throughout the game to improve their record to 6-4.

Newfound spirit surges through Blair

By Rachita Sood, Boris Vassilev | Oct. 14, 2006, midnight | In Op/Ed »

A black ninja walks through the 150s hallway, stealthily slipping by the Expedition Club's colorful display of an erupting brown paper volcano with red and yellow streamers flowing out. A few feet away, a bold poster of graffiti art showcases the Hispanic Club's culture, proclaiming "Orgullo y Cultura" (pride and culture), as it hangs in the 160s hallway amongst the oversized dominos dangling from the ceiling.

Blazers edge past Hornets

By Rachita Sood | Oct. 11, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

The varsity girls' soccer team defeated Damascus 2-1 in a tough home game Tuesday night, bringing their record to 5-4. The Blazers grabbed an early lead and held it throughout the night as they played with intensity and vigor.

"Friday Night Lights" goes the whole length

By Rachita Sood | Oct. 10, 2006, midnight | In Television »

As the Friday evening sun settles below the horizon and the glaring stadium lights snap on to illuminate 100 yards of cleanly marked turf, one thought runs through the mind of every person in the small Texas town: football. "Friday Night Lights," a new series based on the movie and book of the same name, captures the lifestyle that high school football is with the grit and realness that characterized the film while spinning the situation into an engaging drama.

Blazer soars in the cockpit

By Rachita Sood | Oct. 10, 2006, midnight | In Features »

A Schweizer 2-33 glider swoops down from the sky and heads into the Boulder Municipal Airport runway to land. Just as the plane begins its descent, an air current rapidly lifts the craft hundreds of feet higher. The pilot deftly tips a wing down and sends the plane into a slip, decreasing altitude. The plane bounces off the runway and skids to a stop. Senior Robert Riker steps out of the cockpit after his third solo flight in Boulder, Colorado, where he obtained his student pilot's license for gliders this past summer.

Bengals leap past Blair

By Rachita Sood | Oct. 3, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

The Blair varsity girl's soccer team fell 2-1 to Blake in a game played in two parts due to thunderstorms, dropping their record to 3-4. The Blazers came out with intensity and left the field with a 1-1 tie on Thursday night before the game was postponed, but they were unable to carry the momentum through the rest of the game on Saturday.

Warriors leave Blazers in the dust

By Rachita Sood | Sept. 24, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

After placing first in the Wheaton Tournament on Sept. 16, the Blair varsity girls’ soccer team returned home for a hard-fought 3-1 loss to the Sherwood Warriors on Wednesday night. The Blazers struggled to match Sherwood’s fast-paced play and had trouble generating scoring opportunities.

Class councils choose homecoming class-themes

By Rachita Sood | Sept. 19, 2006, midnight | In Local »

The class themes for the Oct. 14 homecoming dance are Monopoly for seniors, Candyland for juniors, Life for sophomores and Clue for freshmen. The SGA class council presidents and the freshman homecoming committee chair made the final decisions based on a general survey of students.

Lady Blazers punish Knights

By Rachita Sood | Sept. 14, 2006, midnight | In Blair »

The Blair varsity girls' soccer team defeated the Wheaton Knights 6-0 in their season opener. The Blazers maintained a strong defense throughout the game and dominated in the midfield to come out on top.

Pass the Samosas

By Rachita Sood | Aug. 31, 2006, midnight | In Restaurant Reviews »

From cities lining the coast of the Arabian Sea to small villages in the northern state of Punjab, the unique food of India varies with every mile. Tucked away in Bell's Corner just outside of downtown Rockville, Bombay Bistro captures this delectable cuisine with its large menu and delicious food.



Images (18)


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By Rachita Sood | March 26, 2008, midnight | In ‎Latest »

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By Rachita Sood | Feb. 27, 2008, midnight | In ‎Latest »

For the previous two yearbooks, shown above with the 2004-2005 yearbook, the school ordered too many copies after presales.

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By Rachita Sood | Feb. 20, 2008, midnight | In ‎Latest »

From left, assistant coach Mike Fleming, junior Jonathan Haughton, senior Nilan Schnure and senior Louis Varella pose with their medals after the meet.

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By Rachita Sood | Feb. 20, 2008, midnight | In ‎Latest »

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By Rachita Sood | Feb. 20, 2008, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Senior Mohamed Mansaray, who ran in Blair's first-place 4x200m relay team, sports his state meet shirt.

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By Rachita Sood | Feb. 7, 2008, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Senior Nilan Schnure lines up for the start of the 800m race.

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By Rachita Sood | Jan. 12, 2008, midnight | In ‎Latest »

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By Rachita Sood | Dec. 16, 2007, midnight | In ‎Latest »

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By Rachita Sood | Nov. 19, 2007, midnight | In ‎Latest »

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Photo: Gainous at Awards Ceremony

By Rachita Sood | May 21, 2007, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Principal Gainous speaks at the Awards Night on Monday, May 21.