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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

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...

Antisemitic graffiti found on the marquee of Bethesda Elementary School was parent of a string of hate incidents targeting Jewish communities

WCHS hate bias incident challenges county protocols

By Isar Uslu and Maximus Wang December 10, 2024

On Oct. 7, 2024, five WCHS seniors were caught sharing racist and antisemitic content on a school document, containing numerous references to the “N-Word,” “K-Slur” and Nazi symbolism. The response:...

"To the Point" host Aisha Mbowe discusses the operating budget on the first episode of the show post COVID-19. Many MCPS-TV programs went on hiatus during the pandemic and are now being brought back.

MCPS rolls out new methods of public outreach

By Isar Uslu, Assistant News Editor March 1, 2024

From emails to live streams, phone calls to social media posts, MCPS has many methods of communicating with students, families and staff. But after several policy changes, controversies and school closures,...

WCHS senior Alvia Naqvi completes the FAFSA after its release in early January. Completion has not been easy, however, as there are many issues with the form.

FASFA Frustration: students struggle with financial aid fiasco

By Caroline Harless, News Editor March 1, 2024

Every year, around 18 million students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Created to provide federal aid to students who demonstrate financial need, the FAFSA has long been...

Open from 6:00 A.M - 9:00 P.M during weekdays, McDonald's in Cabin John Village is a social hub for hanging out, celebrations and quick eats.

Cabin John Village McDonald’s gets McRescued

By George Chang, Features Editor December 15, 2023

Whether perfectly salted fries, cheap prices or kind staff, the McDonald’s in Cabin John Village (CJ) has been a community cornerstone for years. Earlier in November, however, Store Reporter announced...

MCPS SMOB Sami Saeed presenting his Safe Schools Resolution to the BOE on Oct. 26. One of Saeed's biggest goals as SMOB is to increase safety and security in s

Safe Schools Resolution raises the bar for school security

By Caroline Harless, News Editor November 13, 2023

In a world where mass violence is all too common in schools, it is no surprise that many students often feel unsafe in class. From individuals carrying guns in schools to countless bomb threats, MCPS has...

On Oct. 11, 2023, Principal John Taylor sent out an email to the WCHS community about the cancellation of the PSAT.

MCPS PSAT test cancellation: online exam mayhem

By Kalena Yee, Features Editor October 23, 2023

In less than a year, yet another digital standardized test administered by the College Board has crashed for WCHS students. On Wednesday Oct. 11, many WCHS students were around 45 minutes into PSAT, when...

WCHS senior Kira Bernstein checks into the main office per the new attendance rules. Now, attendance is handled in the main office instead of the previous attendance office.

Don’t skip this one: WCHS updates the attendance policies

By Sneha David, Online Content Editor October 18, 2023

At any MCPS classroom at this moment, there would be empty seats. However, these seats have increased in the past two years, causing alarm among the MCPS community. As schools across the county have...

Typing on her computer, WCHS senior Jaehee Lee drafts ideas for a diversity prompted supplemental essay on Oct. 1 2023.

Admission anxiety heightens per affirmative action ban

By Kalena Yee, Features Editor October 18, 2023

The college admissions process has drastically changed over the past decade, including a sharply increased number of applicants, lowered acceptance rates, lasting effects of COVID-19 and the most recent...

Copy-Plus, MCPS' program to centralize document copying and distribution, has been plagued with delays during the start of the 2023-24 school year. This has resulted in severly disrupted classes and schedules at WCHS and across the county.

The new pandemic plaguing WCHS: tech issues

By Isar Uslu, Assistant News Editor October 18, 2023

Broken copiers. Slow Wi-Fi. Old laptops. These are just some of the issues WCHS students and staff face daily. In an ever-digitizing school system, dependence on functioning technology becomes increasingly...

Registation for the MCPS Central High School Program (CHSSP) is now available. Students may now register to complete one full-credit course over the summer.

Soak up the sun and knowledge at MCPS summer school

By Catherine Chan, Assistant Online Editor June 6, 2023

Sunshine. Travel. Beach. Friends. Ice cream. These are often the words that come to mind when students think about summer. However, for other students, summer reminds them more of pencils, paper and Zoom...

From left: WCHS juniors Alexander Wei, Soham Jinsi, Eric Zhou, Justin Zacharia and Garion Cheng eat at California Tortilla after their AP Chinese exam abruptly crashes on May 3.

Lost in translation: AP Chinese exam crashes for students

By Jeremy Chung, Editor-in-Chief June 6, 2023

Imagine paying 100 dollars and studying for months for a test that can give you college credit, only for the test to be canceled due to poor management. This is exactly what happened to all WCHS students...

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