Chalk Talk: Northwest Senior Named National Achievment Scholarship Semifinalist

Northwest Senior Named National Achievement Scholarship Semifinalists

Northwest High School senior Adjua K. Jones was among the 22 Montgomery County Public Schools students selected as semifinalists in the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship competition, MCPS announced Wednesday.

The scholarship program, administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, recognizes academically promising African-American students across the nation and awards college scholarships to hundreds each year.

More than 160,000 students requested consideration for the National Achievement Scholarship Program and 1,600 were named as semifinalists. Semifinalists are chosen based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) during their junior year. Approximately 80 percent of the semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level and more than half of the finalists will be awarded scholarships next spring.

Last year, 28 MCPS students from seven schools were named as semifinalists and 13 received scholarships. This year, the semifinalists represent nine high schools throughout MCPS.

Overall, MCPS students account for nearly 30 percent of the private and public school semifinalists in Maryland.

The other MCPS semifinalists are:

Bethesda Chevy-Chase High School —Angela S. White

Montgomery Blair High School

• Henok A. Addis
• Marcus S. Benyamin
• Rachel A. Darko
• Maya A. Davis
• Benjamin W. Eyring
• Simon T. Kapiamba
• Jordyn N. Schroeder
• Langston I. Taylor
• Mireille M. Verdonk

Winston Churchill High School

• Amira O. Collison
• Jonathan A. Mulugeta

Damascus High School — Efrem T. Gebrekidan

John F. Kennedy High School — Sydney M. Harper

Richard Montgomery High School

• Andie S. Berry
• Brittany L. Dickerson
• Kiera F. Givens
• Channing N. Kimble-Brown
• Caroline M. Tyson

Quince Orchard High School

• Bentley M. Threat

Sherwood High School

• Alexander M. Porter

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists Announced

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has 137 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the 2013 competition. The semifinalists will go on to compete nationally for scholarships that will be offered in the spring. The competition is sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. 

The MCPS semifinalists come from 12 high schools. The high schools and number of semifinalists are:

Bethesda-Chevy Chase: 6
Montgomery Blair: 37
Winston Churchill: 11
Damascus: 1
Albert Einstein: 1
Northwest: 1
Poolesville: 7
Richard Montgomery: 26
Sherwood: 2
Walt Whitman: 25
Walter Johnson: 6
Thomas S. Wootton: 14

Semifinalists from MCPS were selected from among high school juniors who were top scorers on the 2011 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Approximately 16,000 semifinalists across the nation will be considered for advancement to the finalist stage of the competition. The state of Maryland has a total of 323 semifinalists, meaning MCPS accounts for more than 40 percent of the state’s total semifinalists.

Finalists will be considered for $2,500 National Merit scholarships, plus additional corporate-sponsored and college/university-sponsored scholarships.

Student Election Aides Sought for 2012 Presidential General Election

The Montgomery County Board of Elections is seeking school-age students, grades 6–12, to serve as Election Day student aides during the 2012 Presidential General Election, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012.  Students willing to serve in Burtonsville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Olney, Rockville, and Silver Spring are currently needed.

Students and their guardians must attend mandatory training to serve on Election Day and, if applicable, to receive Student Service Learning (SSL) credits.  Students are placed in neighboring precincts according to their home addresses.  This initiative combines civic participation and the opportunity to observe democracy in action.

This program is available to all students within a public, private, independent, religious or home-school setting located in Montgomery County. U.S. citizenship is not a pre-requisite.  Students with bilingual and American Sign Language skills are encouraged to apply. 

Interested parents or guardians can register students before Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, online by visiting the Montgomery County Board of Elections’ website at www.777vote.org. For additional information, email future.vote@montgomerycountymd.gov.