English Honors Society gives back
By Jeremy Fredricks, Assistant Opinions Editor
January 17, 2020
The tables were lined with books of every color, size and genre. There was another table full of cookies and other festive desserts. It was the English Honors Society’s fourth annual Book Fair, held on Thurs., Dec. 12, 2019. The event was spearheaded by English teacher Mary Dempsey, who runs the EH...
Wellness Fair encourages mental health awareness
By Jeremy Fredricks, Assistant Opinions Editor
January 3, 2020
On Thurs., Nov. 21, the Thrive Club hosted the Wellness Fair. The fair provided students with the opportunity to meet mental health professionals and vendors. Many vendors that attended the event, including One Aum Yoga, Stone Branch School of Art and Every Mind. Thrive Club’s officers, including so...
Substance abuse sparks action within WCHS community
By Emma Chen, Observations Editor
January 3, 2020
The Substance Use Committee at WCHS is comprised of parents and students worried about the dangers of vaping, and hoping to make some changes around the school. They have hosted two forums, one in Nov. and one in Dec., that showcased important data and touching stories. “The forum was powerful, gut wrenching, an...
MCPS debates divisive redistricting policies
By Sacha Feldberg, Arts Editor
January 2, 2020
Members of Montgomery County are divided on the concept of redistricting, as the Board of Education pursues a comprehensive assessment of the county’s boundaries. The Board has been hosting Districtwide Boundary Analysis Public Meetings in Montgomery County, including a recent public hearing at the ...
MCPS Board members showcase plans to redistrict schools
By Allison Jacobs, News Editor
December 27, 2019
On Weds. Dec. 4, MCPS hosted a meeting at Gaithersburg High School to discuss the topic of redistricting. This was the first of six meetings planned to keep families up to date on the topic of redistricting, and the meeting was focused on phase one of the process. In phase one, MCPS is focused on data an...
Honors societies change for the better
By Victoria Park, Opinions Editor
December 19, 2019
Honor societies are vital to high schools for the standard of excellence they bring to various subjects, including math, spanish and art. One of WCHS’ longest existing honor societies is the English Honor Society (EHS), currently run by english teacher Mary Dempsey and senior officers Clare Tobin, Ma...
Shooting threat sparks community response
By Ela Jalil, Assistant News Editor
November 15, 2019
On Oct. 24, a rumor flew around social media about a school shooting threat, causing WCHS students and parents to fear for their safety. The original message was posted on Snapchat and soon students were posting their reactions on their Instagram and Snapchat stories, explaining how scared they we...
Students, teachers take side on later school start time debate
By Jeremy Fredricks and Ari Dimitoglou
November 15, 2019
For students in California public high schools, start time will be later beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. After Governor Gavin Newson signed a law for later start times, California will become the first state to legislative start times for public schools with high schools starting at 8:30 AM. ...
MCPS students to vote on next year’s calendar
By Jasper Bernstein, Assistant Observations Editor
November 13, 2019
MCPS has given students a choice of the next school calendar after the change in Maryland policy. To effectively compare schedules across different years, The Observer has added up the amount of days off for each MCPS school year since 2013. Each day off counts as one point, and each half day counts as a half point...
Hack on Naviance terrifies the MOCO community
By Nur Yavuz, Assistant Observations Editor
November 13, 2019
The safety concerns of administration greatly increased after the news of two students in Montgomery County hacking into the Naviance college-prep database system came into light. The suspects were able to see the personal and school related data of 1,344 students at Wheaton High School and are now under p...
Administration & MCPS don’t see eye to eye on no zero policy
By Jeremy Fredricks, Assistant Opinions Editor
October 21, 2019
For a brief period in the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, WCHS had a policy where students could earn a minimum grade of 50%, not 0%. The policy would have applied to students who submitted nothing, had cheated or committed plagiarism (and still receive half credit). Aside from its intentions, it contradicted M...
Student protestors take on climate change
By Maya Bhattiprolu, Assistant Online Editor
October 19, 2019
The Global Youth Climate Strike inspired more than 4 million people worldwide to strike on Sept. 20 to advocate for stronger legislation and regulation. Northwood High School junior Sophia Geiger is the lead organizer in the DC-area climate change strike. “I started being active very recen...