WCHS English teacher wins MCCPTA Teacher of the Year
By Melissa Redlich, Sports Editor
May 29, 2020
Need Grant Goodman in a nutshell? Read his last name: good man. WCHS’s very own Grant Goodman became the first teacher to get the Montgomery County Council Of Parent-Teacher Associations (MCCPTA) Teacher of the Year Award. According to Daria Daniel, the MCCPTA Awards Committee Chair, MCPS teachers and ...
MCPS student town hall meeting discusses school closures
By Ela Jalil, Assistant News Editor
May 13, 2020
On Weds. April 22, Councilmember Tom Hucker and Lynn Harris, hosted a virtual student town hall that allowed student activist groups to introduce their agenda and to answer questions that students had about how Montgomery County is handling the school closures. Councilman Hucker has held a couple of town ...
New MCPS LGBTQ+ Studies course makes history
By Trevor Gardemal, Social Media Manager
May 13, 2020
Over the past few years, MCPS has made efforts to diversify their curriculum. These changes include the introduction of books written by women and people in color into English curriculums, and the introduction of history courses beyond what is normally taught. In 2021, MCPS will extend this to member...
New and improved vending machines make it to WCHS
By Trevor Gardemal, Social Media Manager
March 9, 2020
Many WCHS students tend to satisfy their daily hunger with snacks from the vending machines spread throughout the school. With multiple machines and a variety of contents in each, it is hard to be unhappy with the selection. However, after recent replacements of the vending machines, students have start...
MCPS continues to fight to keep summer short and sweet
By Charley Hutton, Advertising and Subscriptions Manager
March 3, 2020
In Aug. of 2016, Gov. Larry Hogan issued a mandate requiring school to start after Labor Day, denying the Montgomery County Board of Education the power to give each county the freedom to make their own decision in regards to school start dates. In early 2019, the Maryland State Senate Committee voted on a bi...
MCPS should plan for more snow days
By Ally Salzberg, Assistant Online Editor
February 23, 2020
Whether it snows or not is completely out of our hands. As much as students may want it to work--flushing ice cubes down the toilet, sleeping with a spoon under pillows or wearing pajamas inside out-- it still might not snow. In Montgomery County, students and teachers are designated a mere two day...
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...
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...
Tech updates needed within this technological age
By Ohio Meshanko, Promotions Manager
November 6, 2019
In recent years, many MCPS classrooms have been completely overhauled to accommodate a modern learning and teaching experience. The widespread adoption of Promethean boards and chromebooks, specifically, have allowed for lessons to be planned and organized faster and cleaner than with markers or ch...
MCPS redistricting considered to quell inequity issues
By Fatima Yazdi, Editor-in-Chief
May 8, 2019
Montgomery County Public Schools such as WCHS have consistently ranked among the best in the country and are growing at high speeds, though a great divide exists between schools in wealthy areas and schools in less wealthy ones. Recently, this divide has sparked debate over whether or not Montgomery...
MCPS modifies assailant situation procedures
By Sophie Liss, Editor-in-Chief
February 8, 2019
If you are an MCPS student, the phrase “lockdown” likely generates memories of covering classroom windows, locking the door and sitting silently under desks during drills and emergencies. However, MCPS is now making changes to active assailant situation procedures coinciding with the “Maryland...
MCPS school buses need to install seat belts
By Miranda Chung, Assistant Opinions Editor
December 21, 2018
The Oct. 8 limo crash in New York is considered to be the deadliest U.S. car accident in nine years according to the New York Times. After killing 20 people, including the driver of the vehicle and two pedestrians, the horrifying incident directed much needed attention on transportation safety. ...