media

Silver Quill hosts arts fair

By Michelle Chavez | Feb. 2, 2012, 3:30 p.m. | In Print News »

Silver Quill hosted its fourth biannual arts fair, which featured local band performances, a silent auction and art activities at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Downtown Silver Spring on Jan. 21.

PTSA starts Amazon store

By Zoe Waldrop | Feb. 2, 2012, 2:53 p.m. | In Print News »

This past holiday season, the Blair Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) launched a new way to raise money for Blair, using the popular online merchant Amazon.com.

Four art electives to be offered at Blair next year

By Katie Pohlman | Feb. 2, 2012, 2:50 p.m. | In Print News »

Four new fine arts electives - Digital Photography, Digital Art 2, Fashion Drawing and Design, and World Drumming - will be offered at Blair in the 2012-2013 school year. New fine arts teacher Jacqueline Armstead will teach two of the new classes.

Metro proposes summer fare increase

By Sarah Wilson | Feb. 2, 2012, 2:36 p.m. | In Print News »

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) may raise both rail and bus fares beginning in July to support its $116 million budget increase for the next fiscal year. If approved by the WMATA board, the increases will simplify fare charges and increase funds for improving the transit system and decreasing delays.

Blair to hold Sankofa show

By Peter McNally | Feb. 2, 2012, 11:37 a.m. | In Print News »

On Feb. 17, a cast of Blair students will stage a traditional Sankofa show in commemoration of Black History month. The show will take place at 7:30 in the Blair auditorium. English Department Resource Teacher Vickie Adamson will direct the show.

Recommended Capital Improvement Program threatens school construction

By Maureen Lei | Feb. 2, 2012, 11:28 a.m. | In Print News »

On Jan. 17, Montgomery County released County Executive Isiah Leggett's recommended Capital Improvement Program (CIP), a budget designated for construction and maintenance projects. Leggett recommended a $1.36 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2013-2018 CIP for MCPS, a $134 million reduction from the budget that the Board of Education (BOE) requested.

The high cost of lower tuition

By | Feb. 2, 2012, 10:44 a.m. | In Print Opinions »

With the national average in student loan debt quickly outpacing the national average in credit card debt, it is clear that the high cost of college is not a problem that the country can afford to ignore.

Go beyond the counter with new cold remedies

By Peter McNally | Feb. 2, 2012, 10:40 a.m. | In Print Entertainment »

As we enter the icy heart of the winter months, Blazers continue to succumb to the perilous symptoms of the common cold. Although many head to the pharmacies to stock up on Ricola and NyQuil, there is a whole universe of alternative remedies that you won't find at CVS.

At Blair, print media stays strong

By Claire Sleigh | Feb. 2, 2012, 10:32 a.m. | In Print Opinions »

Is print media dying? It's a question that professional publications have struggled with over the past decade. In 2009, the Baltimore Examiner went all-online, and newspapers like the New York Times continue to debate how much of their content should be made free to the public online.

Time's running out. What should you do before its too late?

By Zoe Waldrop | Feb. 2, 2012, 10:28 a.m. | In Print Entertainment »

As seniors receive admission decisions and start planning for next year, they start to look around the hallowed walls of Blair and begin to wonder what they will miss most about high school. But this December seniors aren't the only ones who have cause to look at Blair with a sense of impending nostalgia. Be it in plague, explosion, pollution or flood, it's pretty much a fact that the end of the world is coming in 2012… Maybe. It's time to look at all the things that are still left to be accomplished and create a plan of action. The internet is riddled with suggestions of things that are simply necessary to experience before you kick the bucket. But these ideas are lacking in creativity, and might, perhaps, devastate the rest of your life just in case the Mayans were off in their calculations. So! We set off on a perilous journey through school rules and policies into a Pandora's Box of rebellious deeds to do before we die. Let's begin at Blair.

For UMD, cutting their sports can only lead to losses

By Claire Sleigh | Feb. 2, 2012, 10:10 a.m. | In Print Sports »

Imagine: You are a freshman at the University of Maryland. Senior year of high school, you applied to a range of colleges, scouring state schools and private universities for a competitive, top-ranked swim team. You chose your state school, and, with a sizeable amount of scholarship money under your belt, you suit up for your first practice of the season.

Eight Blazers place in Intel Science Talent Search

By Srividya Murthy | Feb. 2, 2012, midnight | In Print News »

Seven Blair seniors were named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), a national science research competition for high school seniors. Senior Frederic Koehler was named a finalist and was the only finalist selected from Maryland.

Youth organization closes

By Emma Bergman | Feb. 2, 2012, midnight | In Print News »

Washington, D.C. youth development organization City at Peace closed last month as a result of long-term financial difficulties. The organization was forced to cut short what would have been its seventeenth year.

Raising the bar for Spanish page

By Claire Sleigh | Dec. 22, 2011, 11:58 a.m. | In Print Opinions »

It is our goal as a newspaper to reach out and include as many people in our community as possible. Blair has a significant Hispanic population, including many who feel more comfortable reading in Spanish. Silver Chips has included a Spanish page in every issue since for the past ten years because we believe that it is important for Silver Chips to be accessible to everyone.

Down, but not out

By Claire Sleigh | Dec. 19, 2011, 12:09 p.m. | In Print Sports »

There was a loose ball, and a pileup ensued. The play moved to the other end of the court, and everyone in the stands followed the action, except for Dawn Smith, senior Gabrielle Smith's mother, who was focused on her daughter. Blazer shooting guard Gabrielle didn't get up and follow the play like everyone else. She lay on the gym floor curled up in a ball.

Council tables curfew bill

By Maureen Lei | Dec. 15, 2011, 11:23 a.m. | In Print News »

The Montgomery County Council voted to table the youth curfew and anti-loitering proposals on Dec. 6, postponing action on both bills indefinitely, according to Councilmember Phil Andrews (D-Dist. 3).

Where's the beef: local Jamaican eateries reviewed

By Eliza Wapner | Dec. 14, 2011, 12:01 p.m. | In Print Entertainment »

Blazers recall the legendary "Beef Patty Man,” the elusive entrepreneur who brought a little taste of the Caribbean to Blair in the form of beef patties. The Beef Patty Man would sell his goods at prices that would fly up to fifteen dollars a patty, but Blazers would empty their wallets for this exotic lunch. But now that the Beef Patty Man is gone, it's up to Blazers to find their own patty paradise at a much cheaper cost.

Battling stereotypes in surround sound

By Emma Bergman | Dec. 14, 2011, 11:20 a.m. | In Print Features »

The ventures of most third graders end up abandoned with gobs of Elmer's glue and a few bucks to serve as mementos of far flung dreams of greatness. When now freshmen Zeke Wapner, Ben Miller, Michael Untereiner and Ian Askew decided to start a band in the third grade, not much more was expected of them.

JV Journal

By Zoe Waldrop | Dec. 2, 2011, 2:22 p.m. | In Print Sports »

The girl's soccer team ended a successful season with a positive attitude and a strong record of 7-1-1 to boot. As the season progressed, the girls grew closer and were able to work together more successfully.

Pro/Con: Are class rankings an accurate measure of student achievement?

By | Nov. 29, 2011, 7:45 p.m. | In Print Opinions »

Despite the preference among admissions officers to use class rank, 40% of US high schools have abandoned ranking as a means to measure their students GPA.

Painting only by numbers misses half the picture

By Adam Kadir | Nov. 29, 2011, 7:42 p.m. | In Print Opinions »

No one likes to be number two. That is why Blazers are frustrated about their standings in high school rankings.

It's all in the family: the Gondor family legacy

By Josh Schmidt | Nov. 21, 2011, 11:17 a.m. | In Print Sports »

Andrew, a 2010 graduate, and his younger brother Peter, a current senior, were and are both key players on the Blair football team. Growing up in the same household, Andrew and pushed each other to be the best athletes possible, which made them the players they are today.

It takes two: when clubs work together, everyone benefits

By Claire Koenig | Nov. 17, 2011, 11:45 a.m. | In Print Opinions »

It's in the symbiotic give-and-take of the natural world and the mutually beneficial handshake-deals executed in thriving businesses. In the bonds of a healthy marriage and the well-tuned chords of a veteran rock band. Cooperation works - just ask a few of Blair's clubs.

Charter Schools send educational reform off-course

By Puck Bregstone | Nov. 17, 2011, 11:36 a.m. | In Print Opinions »

The United States education system is in turmoil. Other industrialized countries are outstripping the U.S. in almost every aspect of education. In a desperate move, the U.S. Department of Education has poured $4.35 billion into an unexplored, costly and unnecessary alternative: the charter school.

Black friday tips and tricks

By Ruth Aitken, Helen Bowers | Nov. 17, 2011, 11:18 a.m. | In Print Entertainment »