SGA classes plan upcoming events, fundraisers

Class of 2010

To raise money for the senior class prom, the Class of 2010 will be hosting its first annual mulch sale on Friday, April 9 after school, and all day Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11.

“This is a great way to meet other students and earn community service hours,” senior Alex Leventer said.

Leventer learned that many other high schools in the county have had annual mulch sales for a few years now and were able to raise a lot of money.

“Since I have my own landscaping business, I understand the huge market for mulch in Potomac,” said senior Kohler Brafford, another student helping to run the mulch sale. “With my experience, I figured I could be a big help to the senior class.”

The mulch sale organizers contacted all CHS feeder schools to distribute fliers to students, spoke to the schools’ PTSAs, created commercials for the CHS news show and created signs to be posted on busy streets.

Each bag of mulch costs $5 and there is a 12-bag minimum purchase for home delivery.

Class of 2011

The Class of 2011 has many fundraising projects planned for the coming months.

“The junior class, 2011 executive board and myself are striving to raise as much money as we can to eliminate added stress next year,”junior class sponsor Brendan Roddy said.

According to junior class president Janey Asher, the recent sweatpant and sweatshirt spirit wear sales made $1,400 in profits.  This spring, the class of 2011 will be selling t-shirts and lacrosse-style shorts for warm weather spirit wear, along with senior shirts for girls to wear on the first day of school in the fall.

Asher also said that other fundraising events will include a dunk tank booth at the school carnival May 15, where Roddy will be dunked. A community movie night is tentatively planned for May 22, which will be open to the entire Potomac community.  The class also plans to hold car washes in April and May.

The class of 2011 is also planning a silent auction for the fall which will include a weekend trip to Hawaii and private pottery lessons with Roddy.

Class of 2012

With a busy schedule of events from fundraisers to volunteer work, the Class of 2012 has set many goals for itself.

In February, the Class of 2012 held a fundraiser at the Subway in Cabin John shopping center.

“[Subway] was good for us to do, and hopefully next year when people can drive we can do somewhere in Falls Grove, like Mama Lucia,” sophomore class sponsor Jennifer Lubenetski said.
The class is looking forward to its carnival booth, in which they give out a live goldfish as the prize.

Another project involves getting students to volunteer by selling merchandize at the Verizon Center during entertainment events. The Verizon Center will give a certain portion of the sales to the volunteers, generating more money for the class.

The main goal of the Class of 2012’s fundraising is to make sure that there will no problem covering the costs of prom and senior banquet. But it is also very important to the officers that everybody gets involved.

“I want to inspire a new sense of community within the class, where everyone can get involved and do their part to make our class run effectively for everyone,” class president Zac Vogel said.

Class of 2013

The CHS freshman Class of 2013 has scheduled a Battle of the Bands to take place mid-spring. Tickets will be $10 and all of the money will go to charity. Any band may participate as long as one member of the band is a CHS student or alumni.

“We’re really excited about the Battle of the Bands because this is going to be the first year we’re handling it,” freshman class president Aaron Ross said.

After spring break, the freshman class is planning a pizza sale to take place in the Bulldog lobby and possibly a movie night before the end of the school year.

MCR discusses food service, budget

Recent meetings of the Montgomery County Region (MCR) of the Maryland Association of Student Councils have been primarily concerned with the food service industry within MCPS and the country budget crisis.

According to sophomore class MCR Representative Hal Zeitlin, the main goal of food service in schools is to be appealing, high quality, nutritious and respectful of students, needs and differences. Vegetarian and vegan options are also made available to students every day.

The meeting also discussed how MCPS is facing an extreme budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year. The Board of Education cut $200 million through reductions, reorganization and cutbacks.

MCPS is asking the County Council for a one percent increase in their operation budget to $2.2 billion due to an increase in the student population of MCPS.

All students interested in participating in the process should attend the Montgomery County Council meeting in April to voice their opinions.

New eco-friendly lamps brighten school’s computer labs

In an effort to decrease the amount of energy that the school uses, the SGA’s “Churchill Goes Green!” initiative partnered with the Montgomery Country School Energy and Recycling Team (SERT) to introduce eco-friendly lamps to CHS.  The “Churchill Goes Green!” initiative is a school-wide campaign to reduce the energy costs at CHS and promote recycling.

“The lamps contain energy and cost efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs,” SGA president Meenu Singh said.  “With the already bright glare of computer screens, computer labs are the perfect place to use these lamps instead of using bright overhead lights.”

SERT initially delivered 50 lamps to CHS and the lamps were then placed in several teachers’ classrooms, with the hopes of replacing all overhead lighting in each classroom with just eight lamps. 

The SGA was forced to remove the lamps from the classrooms upon being notified by SERT of a misunderstanding.

“The lamps were supposed to be put only in computer labs [but] we misunderstood,” SGA vice president Jamie Oppenheimer said.  “We were asked [by the SERT team] to remove the lamps from the classrooms and put them in the [computer] labs.”

By replacing the overhead lights with floor lamps, the amount of energy used in the computer labs is drastically reduced.  Each overhead lighting panel consists of about four light bulbs.  With all of the overhead lighting units in each computer lab and the amount of electricity required to power each computer, a great amount of energy is conserved.   

“The main purpose [of the lights] was to save money and using them [does] save money and it’s just a shame that all of the teachers can’t use them,” SGA sponsor Justin Ostry said.

Although there were rumors that the lights were removed due to complaints from parents, Ostry said this is false. 

“I have heard [over] 90 percent positive [feedback],” Ostry said.  “People liked it.  It creates a nice ambiance and people liked going green.” 

According to Ostry, several students complained about the lights being too dim and a few individuals complained that in the back of the classroom, the heat from the lights could be felt. 

However, Ostry said that by taking out the bulbs from overhead lights and using the floor lamps instead, classrooms still have enough light and meet MCPS restraints on lighting; the only setback to placing them throughout classrooms is a pending approval from MCPS.
“Using the lamps is our first step towards making CHS a greener, more energy-efficient school,” Singh said.

Got talent?

The SGA will be hosting the new event Churchill’s Got Talent Jan. 28, a show that offers students a chance to display their talents.

“This is something bigger than Churchill has ever seen before,” SGA vice president Jamie Oppenheimer said. “This is a new and exciting way for CHS students to show off their unique talents.”

Auditions will be held Dec. 1-3 after school. If a student cannot attend these dates or requires a piano to audition, he or she may audition at lunch Dec. 1 and 3.

SGA President recognized

Senior Meenu Singh was named Potomac Teen of the Year on Nov. 16, for her academic achievements leadership, and athletic prowess. She was also awarded with the Smith College Book Award for her academic achievements, leadership qualities and genuine concern for the Potomac community. Meenu serves as the Student Advocacy Chairperson for the Montgomery County Regional SGA in addition to being SGA President.

SGA’s international posters display students’ diversity

Posters displaying students’ names, yearbook pictures and flags from their countries of origin have recently been displayed in the Bulldog lobby and by the main office to exhibit the diversity of the student body.

According to the SGA, the posters are part of their initiative to promote the vast diversity at CHS this school year.

“We have a lot of students from different countries that we should be proud of and showcase,” SGA sponsor Justin Ostry said.

According to Ostry, all students were surveyed during their fourth period classes last semester, where the SGA explained the flags and asked for each student’s country of origin.

“[Someone in leadership] asked me if I wanted my picture to go up,” sophomore Aylin Unal, a student of Turkish heritage, said. “I think she already knew [where I was from].”

However, some of the students have no recollection of filling out the survey.

“I didn’t even know my picture was going up,” junior Martino Picco, an Italian student, said. “But I think it’s cool that the school cares about [international] students and wants to learn more [about different] cultures.”

Sophomore leadership student Rachel Marincola is working on the international flag project and is finding students who are from different countries and then creating the displays.

“I’ve just been asking people where they’re from and some people have even come up to me and asked to have their picture displayed,” Marincola said.

There has, however, been some speculation among students that some of their peers may not actually be from the country that they are being associated with.

“If people tell me they’re from a [certain] country, I assume that they are telling me the truth,” Marincola said. “I don’t know why people would lie about it.”

The feedback from the majority of students interviewed was positive, and they seem to be curious about their classmates’ places of origin.

“A lot of people don’t know where [their classmates] are from,” said junior Ann Katherine Chemkoff, who is from Canada. “It’s cool when people just walk by and find out something new about someone they know.”