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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
This year, Assistant Principal Dirk Cauley and the ninth grade team began collaborating on a new series of initiatives to decrease academic ineligibility, and strengthen leadership and anger management skills in the freshmen class.
The Blair Student Government Association (SGA) held a two week canned food drive and a homeless walk in order to raise social awareness in the Blair community.
Beginning with the Class of 2011, the Maryland Board of Education (BOE) will calculate graduation rate using a new formula that will comprise all four years of high school and account for transfer students and student deaths.
Six Blair seniors were named semifinalists in the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.
Montgomery County Councilmembers Phil Andrews (D-Dist. 3) and George Leventhal (D-at large) introduced Expedited Bill 35-11 on Oct. 25, a piece of legislation that would allow police officers to question individuals who appear to be loitering or engaging in unlawful behavior. According to Andrews, 35-11 is based on existing laws in Florida, Georgia and Wisconsin.
Takoma Park's sanctuary laws protecting the identities of undocumented criminals from the federal government will be overridden by a new federal policy, Safe Communities, which allows the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to gather data on undocumented immigrants from municipal police records.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) authorized the Purple Line for the preliminary engineering stage of development which could make construction possible by 2015 and service possible three to five years later. The proposed, 16 mile railway will connect New Carrolton, Takoma Park, Silver Spring and Bethesda with a total of 21 stops according to the Maryland Transit Association (MTA).
Blair Principal Renay Johnson announced the Blazer Hotline, a phone number which Blazers and surrounding community members can call and text to anonymously report negative student activity, on Sept. 13. The Hotline is monitored by Johnson and security team leader Cedric Boatman.
Through the PTA's newest project, "Beautiful Blair," student, parent, and teacher volunteers have been working for the past few weeks to make the campus's courtyards, gardens, and interior spaces greener and more attractive.
The proposal to enact a teen curfew in Montgomery County is being revised by the County Council's Public Safety Committee and will be submitted for a vote this November.
Silver Quill will integrate a music section with its present art and literature categories to encourage submissions from musically talented Blazers and to expand their readership to a broader subset of the student body.
The Gandhi Brigade, a local non-profit organization, hosted its fourth Annual JustUs Youth! Media Festival in Downtown Silver Spring on May 21. Blair students participated in activities related to social justice issues at the festival, including film competitions, workshops and performances.
Six teachers, each of whom has worked over 20 years in the school system, across several departments will be retiring from Blair after the 2010-2011 school year.
Joshua Starr was officially appointed the next MCPS Superintendent by the MCPS Board of Education (BOE) on May 10. Starr visited Montgomery County to sign the Superintendent's Contract on May 11. According to BOE President Christopher Barclay, Starr will begin his tenure as superintendent on July 1. Starr will replace Jerry Weast, the current MCPS Superintendent.
Maryland General Assembly will not offer the Maryland Distinguished Scholar award for the high school class of 2012 and beyond, but will continue to fund recipients in the class of 2011 and those who are already enrolled in college.
Beginning in July, MCPS students will have free access to Ride On and Metrobus services on weekdays between 2 and 7 p.m. The Montgomery County Council passed the Kids Ride Free program on May 26 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 after suspending it for FY 2011.
The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents will consider merging the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), as proposed in a bill introduced by President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-27) on March 21. The bill is currently in the Conference Committee and has been approved by both the House and Senate, according to USM Chancellor William Kirwan.
Blair may face possible staff reductions for the 2011-2012 school year.
Student members of the Green Club are currently collaborating with building service workers to reduce recycling contamination, an issue highlighted by this year's School Energy and Recycling Team (SERT) inspection. Recycling contamination occurs when trash is mixed with recycling and damages the recycling, causing Blair's recycling to be discarded with trash, according to SERT's recycling manager, Richard Benjamin.
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