Winston Churchill High School (Montgomery County, Maryland)

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Winston Churchill High School, often referred to as WCHS or Churchill, is a high school in Potomac, an unincorporated section of Montgomery County, Maryland.

The school is named after Winston Churchill, British statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during and after the Second World War. The school was founded in 1964 and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. The majority of the students come from Herbert Hoover Middle School (60%) and Cabin John Middle School (40%). The principal as of October 2008 is Dr. Joan C. Benz.

[edit] Departments and programs

Taken in January 2000

Churchill was in the top 100 High Schools in the United States in 2006 and 2007.^{[citation needed]} It has several different departments, including Alternative Education, ESSO Program, Art, the Bridge Program, Computer Science, English, Family Science, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, and Theater.

The school also has a Signature Program, which allows students the opportunity to follow one of several course paths to specialize in a particular career field. The Signature Program comprises three academies: The Academy of Math, Science, & Technology; The Academy of International Studies; and The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts. [1]

Churchill was given the 2006-2007 Maryland Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence by the Maryland State Department of Education.^[1]

Churchill was selected as a 2007 National No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Performing Arts

Many theater productions are put on regularly, including several nights of one-act plays in which many students are able to participate. Theater classes at three levels and a television production class are taught.

In 2007, Churchill's fall production of Singin' in the Rain was nominated for 6 Cappies High School Theater Awards: Best Orchestra, Best Cameo Actor, Best Cameo Actress, Best Featured Actor, Best Lead Actor, and Best Musical,^[2] winning Best Orchestra(for the third year in a row), Best Cameo Actor, and Best Cameo Actress.^{[citation needed]} Only one other school received more awards.^{[citation needed]}

Churchill is well known for its annual Blast From the Past production, in which over 200 student singers, dancers, and musicians perform a variety of popular songs from the 1950s to today, which all relate to a selected theme for each year.

David Levin and Kristofer Sanz conduct Churchill's bands and orchestras. Levin is also the conductor of the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras (MCYO) Philharmonic Orchestra.

Many students form their own bands, typically of a rock variety, and the school occasionally facilitates this by sponsoring a battle of the bands or allowing band performances or even day-long concerts (such as The Merritthon, a fundraising event for Leukemia research which occurred annually from 2002 through 2004) to take place on school grounds.

In 2009 the instrumental music program won four awards including Best Symphonic Band, Best Orchestra, Best Classical Soloist and Best Overall Program, at the Windy City Classic. The jazz band got second place on that category. All three groups received a gold rating.

[edit] Bridge Program

The Bridge Program is a program supervised by an interdisciplinary team intended to meet the needs of socially vulnerable MCPS Middle and High School students who may be challenged by problem solving abstract thinking, organizing and planning, interpreting social cues, establishing relationships with peers, coping with anxiety, changes in routine, and transitioning

[edit] Publications

Churchill produces three publications, all of which have won awards: its newspaper, The Churchill Observer; its yearbook, Finest Hours, and its literary magazine, Erehwon.^[3][4][5] Each publication is accompanied by three levels of instruction in the related publishing topics.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Mike Sacks - Magazine Editor/Humor Writer
• Michael Hardt - philosopher
• Dhani Jones - NFL Football player
• Rachel Nichols - ESPN reporter
• Darren Star - Television (Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Sex and the City) creator and producer
• Bruce Murray - US Soccer player
• Don Kirkpatrick - Former guitarist for band Animotion
• Jeffrey Allan Kemp - NFL Football player, son of Jack Kemp
• Paul Palmer - NFL Football player
• Jimmy Kemp - CFL Football player
• Jeff Halpern - NHL Hockey player
• Marc Zell - International Attorney
• Brian Holloway- NFL Football player
• Mike Barrowman - class of '87 1992 Olympic Gold Medal winner, 200 meter breaststroke
• Taylor Momsen - former class of 2011, plays Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl
• Brandon Shapiro - Maryland wrestler, won 2 state championships
• Shinsaku Uesegi - class of 2010, World Olympic Chess Player (Japan)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://www.churchillreunion.com/ 40th Class Reunion 1967-1968-1969
• http://www.ktrevents.com/ Class of 1998 10-Year Reunion
• Winston Churchill High School official site
• Churchill statistics from MCPS