Channeling her swim and dive spirit, Mira Chung becomes assistant coach
By Matt Mande
November 20, 2019
During her senior season on the Walter Johnson Swim and Dive team, Mira Chung won the “Most Spirited” award. Chung said she loved all aspects of spirit in swimming — team gear, wearing her swimsuit over her clothes on meet days and being part of a close and competitive second family. Though sh...
New county policy lowers substitute teacher qualifications
By Heather Wang
November 14, 2019
In July, the MCPS Board of Education lowered the qualifications to be a substitute teacher. New legislation made the minimum academic experience for substitute teachers an associate degree or 60 college credits, where a bachelor’s degree used to be necessary. By adopting this policy, the Board hopes to...
County Council members host town hall, discuss community issues
By Emily London
November 10, 2019
Montgomery County Councilmembers hosted the first of two Youth Town Hall meetings at Clarksburg High School Oct. 30. The town hall gave council members an opportunity to respond to student questions and concerns on the boundary study, crumbling facilities, gun safety and more. County Council president Nancy Navarro, Board of Education president Shebra Evans and county counc...
SGA hosts POCO, draws over 700 students
November 3, 2019
The SGA hosted their post-homecoming event, POCO, Oct. 26 in the main gym. Over 700 students attended the event, and the SGA provided food, activities and raffle prizes. The theme was “into the wild,” and each room was set up a different way: the wrestling room was the arctic, the small gym w...
Whitman welcomes six new teachers
By Sarah Tong
November 3, 2019
With the start of the new school year, Whitman welcomed six new teachers to its music, science, special education, art and engineering departments. All six teachers have taught at other schools prior to Whitman; administrators and students are excited to work with them. Music Michelle Kim came to Whitman after teaching as the...
ACT reveals change in test policy; allows students to retake individual sections
By Mia Friedman
November 1, 2019
The ACT will allow students to retake single test sections to improve their scores starting in September 2020. The change came after the number of test-optional colleges — schools that don’t require applicants to submit standardized testing scores, like the SAT or ACT, when applying — increased over ...
Staff morale declines, MCPS survey shows
By Ben Waldman
November 1, 2019
The annual MCPS staff climate survey released Sept. 27 indicated that staff morale at Whitman declined from the 2017-18 to 2018-19 school year. Although the survey isn’t mandatory, staff members are strongly encouraged to take it and all answers are anonymized so that staff members can answer freely....
Second City performs at Whitman, raises money for Post Prom
October 30, 2019
The Second City, a Chicago-based comedy company, performed a variety of skits and improvised performances at Whitman Oct. 17 as part of the group’s tour celebrating their upcoming 60th anniversary. PTSA Vice President of Post Prom Alicia Hatcher organized the performance, which was open to the Bethesda...
In response to criticism, College Board revises adversity score
By Ellie Taylor
October 22, 2019
In response to criticism from parents and educators, the College Board restructured its Environmental Context Dashboard on August 27, a program originally designed to provide colleges and universities with standardized information about a student’s socioeconomic background. The old Environmental Context Dashboard exam...
Internal errors delay PSAT start, prevent students from testing
By Sammy Heberlee and Ben Waldman
October 16, 2019
Administrative difficulties delayed the start of this morning’s PSAT at Whitman and prevented some students from taking the test at all. Before the test, teachers picked up baskets that were to contain test booklets and testing instructions; however, many of these baskets were missing instructions...
SGA to host new post-homecoming event
By Andrew Eagle
October 16, 2019
To increase student attendance at the homecoming dance, the SGA is hosting a post-homecoming event this year. “POCO” will run from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. Its theme will mirror homecoming’s theme: into the wild. Principal Robert Dodd encouraged the SGA to create POCO in an effort to keep stu...
Photo of the Day: B&W staff receive individual awards from CSPA
October 14, 2019
Four Black & White editors, as well as two former staff members, were honored for their work in the annual Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle awards. Print Managing Editor Max London won first place in news feature for his story about Trump's transgender ban; he won second place in gen...
November 20, 2019
By Ella Adams
November 20, 2019
Alex Chappell (‘06) was the voice of the morning announcements Monday through Thursday...
By Matt Mande
November 20, 2019
During her senior season on the Walter Johnson Swim and Dive team, Mira Chung won the...
By Eva Levy
November 19, 2019
This year’s musical, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is a drama that takes place in Paris...
November 18, 2019
November 18, 2019