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The School Newspaper of Winston Churchill High School.

The Observer

The School Newspaper of Winston Churchill High School.

The Observer

The School Newspaper of Winston Churchill High School.

The Observer

WCHS students eat lunch in the cafeteria on April 23. WCHS offers various options for the daily lunch, from hot pizzas to refrigerated salads.

To eat or not to eat, with lunch choices for MCPS students

By Ella Carnathan, Online Content Editor & Social Media Manager May 15, 2025

What is even in the school lunches that many students eat daily? From soggy pizza to ultra-processed nuggets, the contents of high school cafeteria trays have sparked debate nationwide. For many high school...

Starting Feb.13th, the new initiative DOGE overseen by Elon Musk, fired 75,000 federal employees. Between layoffs and buyouts, around 200,000 employments have been terminated.

WCHS families bear the brunt of DOGE’s workforce cuts

By Xavier Reyman, Staff Writer May 15, 2025

With the start of a new presidential administration, many federal workforce cuts have been made, affecting families around the country. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has laid off around...

WCHS social studies teacher Jamie Frank grades students' papers following the structure of the current 2025 grading policy, which the BOE is reconsidering.

MCPS BOE plans to redefine semester grading

By Alexandra Wu, Arts Editor & Subscriptions Manager May 14, 2025

Since the 2016-2017 school year, MCPS students have been enjoying a semester-based grading system. However, in the upcoming school year, that may change. In a memo released on April 10 from MCPS Superintendent...

Zaria Naqvi poses in front of the Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC), at a winter student leadership conference, after advocating for school safety and student representation in her speech for Maryland Student Member of the board.

WCHS junior Zaria Naqvi aims for state SMOB

By Isaac Ban, Staff Writer March 1, 2025

In February 2021, an emergency lockdown at a MCPS high school—triggered by a credible threat—prompted a significant reassessment of security measures. In the wake of that incident, security measures...

Following three days off of school for snow, snow covers the WCHS baseball field early in the morning. MCPS has seen an increase of snow days this year with more snow fall.

Recent snow days shed light on climate change’s impact

By Sydney Stern, Subscriptions, Promotions, and Communications Manager March 1, 2025

It is 6:45 a.m. and the phone alarm clock is vibrating. After picking up the phone and opening the weather app, it is revealed that it is a sunny day with a low of 36 degrees and a high of 54 degrees....

On Jan. 17, The Supreme Court agreed to hear the Mahmoud v. Taylor. The plaintiffs of the case are Montgomery County parents of various religious affiliations against the MCPS School Board for violating religious freedom and parental rights.

SCOTUS opts-in to hear LGBTQ+ books case

By Maximus Wang and Ava Van Vuren March 1, 2025

In March 2023, MCPS reversed its policy of providing parents notice and an opt-out option regarding LGBTQ+ texts in K-5 school curriculums. MCPS had implemented this change citing the need to comply with...

A collection of agencies gather at a dock close to the crash site in order to investigate the crash and figure out what may have caused it.

Plane and helicopter collision leaves a lasting and detrimental impact on the environment

By Malaki Kagwa, Staff Writer February 24, 2025

The smell of ash was in the air. The sky was ablaze in fiery orange light as smoke drifted up from the river. Instantly, 911 was called and loads of ambulances appeared at the scene, each of their drivers’...

WCHS students relax at the Bridge to Wellness room during lunch on Jan. 21,2025.

School safety concerns extend to potential online threats

By Isar Uslu and Olga Engler February 5, 2025

While students celebrated the holiday season and geared up for a return to school, Montgomery County was still exercising full caution regarding the day-to-day security situation across the county. Facing...

Elizabeth Seldin is using the light board to control the color, hue, brightness, and patterns of the stage lights and turning them on and off by entering their respective code during the performance.

Designing the future: Summer Rise Program ’25

By Catherine Chan, Online Content Editor February 3, 2025

Sooner or later, WCHS students will notice their time as high school students is ending and begin planning for their future, with many applying to colleges. However, when asked to choose a major, many...

Superintendent Taylor announced his proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year on Wednesday, Dec. 18. in the Montgomery County Board of Education Meeting Room in Rockville.

Budget increases justified after past shortfalls

By Lily Chadwick, Observations Editor February 3, 2025

$3.6 billion. While an unfathomable amount of money to most, for MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor, it is the necessary price for schools to properly function during the 2026 fiscal year, which runs from...

The MCPS Board of Education (BOE) held a general meeting on October 22, 2024, where they revealed that for the Charles W. Woodward High School Project MCPS had lost $39 million in funding from the state for the project.

Show me the money: MCPS budget questioned

By Amari Suissa, Sports Editor December 19, 2024

MCPS is known for its high-quality programs, elite staff and top students. The many components of a functioning school system require enough funding to make them possible, which is designated by the Board...

Left to right: Laura Stewart, Rita Montoya, and Natalie Zimmerman pose with campaign literature and MCEA Apple Ballots outside a school.

BOE welcomes new members as incumbents lose election

By Maximus Wang, Opinions Editor December 19, 2024

Though only a handful of the 2024 general election races received mass media coverage, special attention is worth paying to the results of smaller and less high-profile elections, which will have effects...

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