Silver Spring, MD (11/14/08)-- Celebrate Thanksgiving early at the Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade. The parade will be held November 22 from 7:30am-1:30pm in Downtown Silver Spring. Don’t want to be on the sidelines? You can participate in the parade by holding a giant balloon or carrying a sign while throwing out candy. Student service learning hours are available. Email egallauresi@themodernmuse.com for more information.

Last Saturday, the Forensics team took first in the league at its first qualifying tournament, with an eleven point lead over perennial county champion, Walter Johnson High School.

Seniors Erin Washburn and Justin Pereira tied for first in Prose. Washburn also received second in Poetry, and Pereira received first in Dramatic Interpretation. Juniors Aurelia Akpan and Jacob Perry tied for second in Dramatic Interpretation, senior Cris Hall placed fifth, and junior Elise Gifford took eighth. In Children’s Literature, junior Becky Joiner finished second. Sophomore Daniel Arias received a rank of “superior” in Informative Speaking, and placed third in humorous interpretation.

In group categories, the team swept the competition. Washburn and Pereira placed first in Reader’s Theater, while Hall and senior Graham Flessas placed second. Gifford and Akpan received a rank of “superior” in Ensemble Acting. As a whole, the team won 64 points; its main competitor, Walter Johnson, obtained 53.

There will be an informal informational meeting for all female seniors who are interested in applying for the Alicia Betancourt Prize for Excellence in the Arts. The meeting will take place 11am Monday in the D253 computer lab. Applicants must have an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or higher or a weighted GPA of 4.0 or higher. The scholarship awards the recipient a minimum of $1000 annually, renewable for four years.

Senior Jeffrey Wellman’s poem “Winter’s Ransom” has been selected to be published in the anthology A Celebration of Poems. His poem was entered in a contest for young poets and it was chosen to be published among thousands of entries. He is being honored by the publisher as one of the Top Ten poets at the high school senior level. Copies of the anthology are available for purchase online.

The Maryland Scholastic Press Association awarded The Blake Beat 21 individual awards in its 2008 high school journalism contest. Additionally, the 2007-2008 Blake Beat was named as the top high school newspaper in the state for schools with enrollment of greater than 1,200 students. For more information visit the MSPA website at http://www.journalism.umd.edu/mspa/contests/indiv.newswinners.2008.pdf