Germantown Student Receives Scholarship From Local Historical Society

Seneca Valley High School student Steven Isaacson was awarded $500.

Germantown Historical Society awarded a $500 scholarship to Seneca Valley High School student Steven Isaacson.  The scholarship was presented Wednesday at an awards ceremony at Seneca Valley. Steven has a weighted GPA of 3.95. He has taken eight advanced placement (AP) classes, five of which are Social Studies classes (AP US History, AP US Government, AP World History, AP Psychology, and AP Comparative Government), according to a news release from the historical society.

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Mom of Germantown Teen Killed in Crash Joins Police in Pedestrian Safety Initiative

“We're seeing many, many more instances where pedestrians are not aware of their surroundings. That’s just an evolution of the issue with cell phones—they're taking over more and more of our attention,” said Montgomery County police's head of traffic.

Distracted pedestrians and drivers, listen up. Seneca Valley High, along with Montgomery County Police, want you to put down the cell phone, take the earbuds out and pay attention—or else. Beginning Tuesday, April 23, the school and the force will complete the second phase of a program developed to prevent pedestrian fatalities near the high school. Spurred by the death of Seneca Valley High sophomore Christina Morris-Ward, 15, who was struck by a car while crossing Germantown Road last October, school officials rallied public safety leaders to educate and enforce strategies to keep walkers safe. Last week, teachers and parents worked the streets to educate pedestrians and drivers about how common distractions—namely cell phones and all of…

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Seneca Valley Students Seek Pennies For Patients

Seneca Valley is among 16 area high schools participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s National Capital Area Chapter fundraiser.

Seneca Valley High School hopes to be the first of 16 high schools to raise $175,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s National Capital Area Chapter. Under the 2013 Pennies For Patients High School Challenge, which began on Monday, the schools have a collective goal of raising $175,000. But there’s a reward for the school that raises the most money at the end of the four-week period: An internship with Pepco will be awarded to a junior or senior from the winning school. According to the LLS, the funds  the local high schoolers raise will be put toward the organizations mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. When announcing the list of participating schools, the LLS lauded Damascus High School student Daniel …

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Grades, Achievement Dominate Discussion at MCPS Town Hall in Germantown

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr hosted a Town Hall at Seneca Valley High School Monday, capping his third community day of the school year.

When addressing a crowd of nearly 300 parents, the leader of Montgomery County’s public schools didn’t talk about bad grades. He took it a bit further—he said he doesn’t believe in them. “I've been joking about this, and, no, I’m not really going to do it [get rid of grades],” Starr said. “But I don't know why we have grades other than to compare kids to each other. I don't know why we have grades.” Starr was speaking to a cafeteria full of parents, teachers and a few students at a town hall Monday at Seneca Valley High School, capping a string of Community Day events at Upcounty schools. After a brief introduction by Starr, parents had the opportunity to ask questions. Achievement gaps, construction funding and bullying were among the …

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Storify: MCPS Superintendent Starr Visits Germantown, Upcounty Schools

On Monday, MCPS Superintendent Joshua P. Starr met with staff, parents and kids at the district's Clarksburg, Northwest, Quince Orchard, and Seneca Valley clusters. Here's a recap of how Starr's day went, as told through Twitter.

As spoken from the lips of from the Twitterverse, "community day" was a successes for the leader of Montgomery County's public schools. In his third round of community day visits, superintendent Joshua P. Starr spent the day meeting with staff, parents and kids at the district's Clarksburg, Northwest, Quince Orchard, and Seneca Valley clusters. The community day upcounty culminated with a town hall at Seneca Valley High School, with more than 300 people in attendance. And there was lots and lots of tweeting along the way. Here's a recap of how Starr's day went, as told through Twitter. Stay tuned for the story on Starr's town hall meeting at Seneca Valley High School. The next Community Day is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 28, covering …

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Weekend: Miracle on 34th Street, Winter Lights, More

Looking for something exciting to do this weekend? Check out some of the fun things going on around town.

Each week, Patch puts together a list of local activities and events going on in your area this weekend.  Check back weekly and tell us in the comments if you know of any additional activities coming up. To submit an event in the Patch events calendar, click on “Events” at the top of the page and then click on the green "Add an event" button on the right side of the page.  Miracle on 34th Street   Historical Society Open House   17th Annual, Gaithersburg Winter Lights Festival The Nutcracker A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas

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Blind Seneca Valley Runner Awarded County Proclamation

Angie Fuentes, a junior at Seneca Valley High School, was awarded the proclamation on Tuesday. Fuentes is legally blind.

When we caught up with Seneca Valley High School runner Angie Fuentes in September, we walked away with a new consideration for what it means to have blind ambition: Angie Fuentes is legally blind athlete who aspires to be the fastest runner on her cross-country squad. “To me, it's freedom," said Angie, on why enjoys the sport. "Nothing stops you from anything. You just go.” Well, last week Angie's ambition took her straight to Rockville, where on Tuesday Montgomery County Councilman Craig Rice (D-Dist. 2, Germantown) awarded her with a proclamation in recognition of her feat.  The county posted this video on its YouTube channel.

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Crime Summary: Indecent Exposure at Montgomery College, Burglaries Reported

The following arrest information was supplied by the Montgomery County Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

A sex offense was reported at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College at around noon Wednesday, Oct. 24, and Friday, Oct. 26. Police said the suspect exposed himself to the victim. Two commercial burglaries were reported to concession stands at Seneca Valley High School between 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, and 4:45 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26.  Forced entry; property taken. A residential burglary was reported in the unit block of Brook Run Court in Germantown on Wednesday, Oct. 31 between 5 and 9 p.m.  No forced entry; property taken. A residential burglary was reported in the 20300 block of Foxwood Terrace in Germantown on Wednesday, Oct. 31, between 9 and 9:30 p.m.  No forced entry; property taken.                   A residential burglary was …

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Remembering ‘Tina’

Seneca Valley students, Germantown community pay tribute to Christina Morris-Ward, teen who was struck, killed while walking to school.

Death is one of those things Seneca Valley student Ramatu Kembe doesn’t quite understand, especially the reason it had to come for her friend and fellow classmate, Christina Morris-Ward. "I miss her a lot and I wish she could be with me,” Kembe said. “But there's a lot of things that we don't understand, and death is one of them. I wish I could have just hugged her before she left, but I couldn't." Kembe was one of several to share memories of the late Christina Morris-Ward, 15, during a vigil outside Seneca Valley High School Monday night. Morris-Ward, a sophomore, was struck and killed by a car as she walked to school on Halloween morning. Amid the air of mourning and tears during the vigil was hope that the community would learn from …

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Today: 'Rocking for Tina' Vigil at Seneca Valley High School

A candlelight vigil at 5:30 p.m. tonight will honor the life of Christina Morris-Ward, a Seneca Valley High School sophomore who died last week.