Press Releases
What Are Press Releases?
Press releases are information that are particularly newsworthy and involve the students from Blake High School.
News
Blake High School Teens Present at the GradNation Summit on the Power of Positive Peer Influence
Pictured left, Blake High School sophomore Victoria Alexis brainstorms peer influence strategies with GradNation attendees.
Sophomores Victoria Alexis and Taniya Ross Dunmore from James Hubert Blake High School presented at the 2014 GradNation Summit as teen innovators engaged in finding ways to support their peers on a path to graduation. “It was very exciting to have been selected by America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest partnership focused on increasing the national graduation rate, to help students in my school become academically successful,” says Taniya. “I wasn’t sure at first how to make a difference, but after meeting with the Blake administration and finding out about the 9th grade achievement data, it was clear to me that that was where we needed to focus our attention.”
Victoria added, “Adults are constantly telling students that they need to do better in school, that their grades are important. How often do peers step up and tell each other this same message?” For the last two marking periods, Victoria and Taniya have led a variety of activities for the ninth graders, including a quarterly academic challenge for students to raise their grade point averages by .5. The young women co-founded the Blake High School Alliance for Academic Achievement charged with providing first time 9th graders with tutoring, mentoring, and motivational support. They have worked tirelessly to build relationships with the 9th graders by visiting them in classes and providing them with weekly incentives for effort and scholarship. The academic ineligibility rate of first time 9th graders this quarter was 17%, the lowest it has been in five years.
“Peer influence is an underutilized resource” says Monica Abuliak, Blake High School Academic Intervention Coordinator. “What if every student group in every school building committed to helping students become successful? Imagine the positive impact that would have, not only on the school climate but also on academic achievement? So much is possible if we just reach out to our young future leaders and include them in our efforts to actively engage all students.” Ms. Abuliak presented with Victoria and Taniya at the GradNation Summit and shared with participants the outcomes of the peer influence project.
For more information about the GradNation initiative and summit visit the GradNation website.
James Hubert Blake High School Sophomore Receives Local ACT-SO Gold Medal in Poetry
Sophomore Nathan Peoples from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring received a Gold Medal in Poetry at the 2014 local ACT-SO competition on Saturday April 5, 2014. ACT-SO is the NAACP’s Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics for African-American high school students. There are over 25 categories of competition in the science, humanities, business, and performing and visual arts.
Nathan’s poetry Gold medal winning composition was entitled, Freedom Don’t Cost Much. Nathan is now eligible to compete in the National competition this summer in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Congratulations Nathan Peoples! All of us at James Hubert Blake High School are rooting for you as you enter the next level of the competition.
James Hubert Blake High School We the People... Maryland State Champions head to Nationals
Blake’s We the People… team, three-time Maryland state champions, compete at the We The People 2014 National Finals Friday, April 25 through Monday, April 28. They represent Maryland, competing against the top team from every other state. After two rounds of competition with questions from judges, lawyers, politicians, historians and constitutional scholars, Blake Team Maryland hopes to break into the top 10 and compete in a third day of testimony on Capitol Hill.
Watch this video to get a glimpse into the Maryland state champion’s journey. Good luck Blake.
For more information on the competition, and for a schedule of events please visit the Center for Civic Education 2014 National Finals website.
Four James Hubert Blake High School Students accepted into the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at UMBC
Four seniors from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring have been accepted into the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at UMBC. The Meyerhoff Scholars Program was founded to increase diversity of leadership in science, engineering, and other related fields. The program is open to high-achieving high school seniors who plan on pursuing a doctorate in the sciences or engineering.
Mitsue Wiggs, Assistant Director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at UMBC said, “We received more than 600 complicated applications and invited 250 students as finalists.” Blake HS and Wooton HS both had four students selected this year, the most chosen for any school in Montgomery County Public Schools. Twice as many students were selected from Blake HS than any other school in the Northeast Consortium of MCPS.
The Meyerhoff Scholars awards range from $5,000 - $15,000 per student per year for four years. We are honored that all four of our Blake Seniors (Mary Aronne, Ann Cirincione, Theodora Martin, and Thomas Stanton) were offered the top scholarship of $15,000 each for four years. Mitsue Wiggs said, “They (Mary, Ann, Theodora & Thomas) were quite impressive during our selection process.”
Mary Arrone said “I am eager to begin studying Physics in the Fall.” Ann Cirincione explained, “I have already officially accepted the offer and will be studying Bioinformatics.” Thomas Stanton and Theodora Martin both plan on pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering. Theodora said, “I am very proud to have received this honor.”
Congratulations to Seniors Mary Aronne, Ann Cirincione, Theodora Martin, and Thomas Stanton, our Science Resource Teacher, Mrs. Nasrin Saikh and the entire Science department at James Hubert Blake High School.