![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Fake bomb threats have plagued multiple MCPS schools over the past month. Eventually, the police linked the threats to a 12-year-old boy who cannot be charged for his offenses, due to his age.
Blair has been targeted multiple times, including on Oct. 13, Oct. 16, Oct. 17, Oct. 23 and Oct. 24. Montgomery County IT Staff were able to identify a 12-year-old who had sent a total of seven bomb threats to schools including Blair, Oak View Elementary School and Silver Spring International School on Oct. 15.
Maryland law says that people cannot be charged under the age of 13 unless they committed a crime of violence, which in this case doesn’t qualify, police chief Marcus Jones said in a statement released on Oct. 25. The child was aware that he could not be charged under current Maryland law. Even though the child cannot be charged, there will be actions taken by MCPS according to the Student Code of Conduct.
Montgomery County police have also charged a 15-year-old student for calling in a fake bomb threat on Oct. 26. Detectives charged the juvenile with making threats of mass violence.
Not only has this caused students emotional stress but it has also taken up valuable time and resources. Jordan Satinsky, director of the Montgomery County Police Department’s Community Engagement Division, estimates that Montgomery County Police have spent over $20,000 responding to fake bomb threats. The typical response for a fake bomb threat takes about 15 officers.
Students may be worried that the school is not taking security seriously. “One time I can remember I saw two Seneca Valley students walking around during the school day and the security guards just told them to go back to class. They didn’t even ask them if they went here,” senior Nico D’Orazio said.
Other students feel perfectly safe at school and are not concerned about security issues, “I feel safe at Wootton because I feel like there haven’t been many instances where people have brought anything into school,” sophomore Nishikaa Poona said.
On Nov. 16, the Activist Club met to discuss local safety issues concerning the recent bomb threats. Students discussed how we could keep our school safe with possible solutions. Scanning school IDs to get into schools, keeping doors locked and having harsher security standards were all considered.
The SMOB’s Advisory Board took action by creating a petition to create necessary changes in MCPS safety policies. Students can sign this petition, testify before the Board of Education and support student advocates in Montgomery County to create an effective change.
MCPS has counseling services available for anyone who might need them during this time due to the stress and anxiety that these threats cause students, teachers and other faculty.
This story was originally published on Common Sense on November 27, 2023.