The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch
There is a rise in teenagers using e-cigarettes compared to last year, the percentage of sophomores using vapes doubled to 16%. It was becoming more of a problem in schools, causing MCPS to implement vape detectors. (Courtesy Flickr)
Stopping the smoke: vape detectors to be added to high school bathrooms
Social studies teacher Mitchell Joy lectures during his AP World History class last school year. While the school policy on students use of phones in class has not changed since last year, many teachers have increased their enforcement of the policy.
Teachers increase phone policy enforcement
Dr. Thomas Taylor, the Board of Education's pick for the next superintendent, stands with members of the Board at the announcement on Monday. Taylor is a graduate of MCPS but has never worked for the district. (Courtesy MCPS News)
Dr. Thomas Taylor to be appointed MCPS superintendent
Incoming SGA plans for successful school year
Incoming SGA plans for successful school year
From left: Junior Honorary officer Skylar Zheng, junior Secretary Alexis Batac, junior President Sareen Papangelou. The officers of the Southeast Asian Union pose in front of a mural in the school. The club will join the school roster for the 2024-2025 school year, and all are welcome.
Southeast Asian Union to bring region’s culture, food to WJ
Film Club members gather around a table at Cabin John Park before the Oscars begin. Months of meetings and film discussions culminate in this special occasion, where students can finally showcase their movie-making abilities. (Courtesy Delina Palma)
Making Scorsese proud: Film Club Oscars strike again
The WJ Step Team readies themselves to perform one of their iconic numbers at the 2024 Fall Pep Rally.
Pep rallies should include JV sports
Time to break the ice: best to worst icebreakers
Time to break the ice: best to worst icebreakers
Columbia University is one of many schools across the United States where large groups of students have been protesting at.
Columbia protests escalate
Item bought online from "Demons Basement".
What’s wrong with these new online clothing brands?
The human mind is complex and may be a daunting concept for students. (Courtesy Rawpixel)
Why everyone should take AP Psychology
Travis Hunter is one of the most valuable college football players in the country. He moved from Jackson State University to the University of Colorado to join his former coach Dion Sanders. Hunter has an NIL evaluation of $2.7M according to On3.
College sports are ruined
The newest "Despicable Me" movie, "Despicable Me 4," was released this July. This film is the sixth installment in the series, which is composed of the "Despicable Me" movies and the "Minions" prequels. (Courtesy Goodfon)
The “Despicable Me” franchise, ranked
The new movie poster for the upcoming film "Inside Out 2." The poster features existing emotions from it's past film, as well as new emotions such as Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Nostalgia and Ennui.
Inside Out 2: Preview into the realm of new emotions
Zendaya scowls into the lenses of paparazzi on the Met Gala carpet. 2024 was Zendaya’s first year co-chairing the Met as she hadn’t attended the red carpet spectacle in five years. (Courtesy Getty Images)
The Met Gala: rating 2024’s best and worst dressed
Twenty One Pilots "Clancy" review
Twenty One Pilots “Clancy” review
Billie Eilish released her third studio album "Hit Me Hard and Soft," on May 17. All 10 songs on her brand new album were able to make their way up into the Billboard Hot 100. (Courtesy Glenn Francis via Wikimedia Commons)
Billie Eilish: “Hit Me Hard and Soft” most viral tracks
Drake performs on his Summer Sixteen tour in 2016. Along with many other rappers, he was accused of being an industry plant at the beginning of his career. (Courtesy The Come Up Show)
Are industry plants real?
MCPS’ Summer RISE program aims to provide students with work experience before graduating high school. “I worked with ‘Girls with Impact’...it was kind of entrepreneurial and that’s what I want to get into,” junior Alexis Batac said. (Courtesy MCPS)
Students elevate college applications with ‘Summer RISE’
Students hard at work during class. Many students struggle with balancing work with play. Students share how they overcome distractions and prioritize their work.
Balance between school life and extracurriculars and athletics
The Oreos have been a classic cookie for generations but which one is the best one? Out of all the different fillings, is there one that stands alone? (Courtesy nicoleleec via Wikimedia Commons)
How much stuf is too much stuff?
Special clubs at WJ to check out
Special clubs at WJ to check out
Sophomore Ahrin Letourneau looks through the College Board website attempting to get information about the SAT and ACT. “I’m feeling scared, petrified to be honest, to be a junior. Summer’s gonna be stressful … and I need to be really thinking about colleges and programs,” Letourneau said.
Previewing the summer by grade
A student reviews the rejection wall. The rejection wall was created to encourage students to know that even if they're rejected, they're not alone. "I'm scared I'll be rejected from the schools I will apply to, so it's comforting to know I wouldn't be the only one," junior Cristina Simpson said.
What summer looks like for rising seniors
Senior Hannah Schmidt prepares to take a shot in a preseason game this year against Einstein. The Wildcats prevailed against the Titans with a score of 5-1. (Courtesy Hannah Schmidt).
Divison III-bound: Schmidt commits to Kenyon College
Co-captains Connor Kim and Paul Gomes walk across the golf course during a practice. Both players gave impressive performances in their match on Sept. 3. (Courtesy Paul Gomes)
Golf comes out swinging with win over Clarksburg, Damascus
Senior Ginger Fishberg dribbles the ball into the attacking half, with junior captain Evie Avillo approaching behind her. (Courtesy Spencer Robinson)
Girls’ soccer dominates Poolesville in shutout win
Barons hold Cats in final minutes
Barons hold Cats in final minutes
Girls' flag football chant "Go cats" for good luck heading into the second half of the game in a dead heat with the Poolesville Falcons.
Wildcats lose to Poolesville Falcons 1-0 in 2OT in season opener
Freshman Owen Struzzerio winds up for his shot on Hole #12 a par 3. While Struzzerio's shot did not reach the green, he got up and down for par from a disadvantaged position.
Photo gallery: Golf starts out swinging
Clubs' first meetings
Clubs’ first meetings
Barons hold Cats in final minutes
Barons hold Cats in final minutes
Assistant Principals Jeff Leaman and Terry Heintze, dressed up as Gru for Despicable Me day, mimic the movie villain's iconic pose.
Photo gallery: Spirit Week
Freshman Owen Struzzerio winds up for his shot on Hole #12 a par 3. While Struzzerio's shot did not reach the green, he got up and down for par from a disadvantaged position.
Photo gallery: Golf starts out swinging
A group of seniors triumphantly celebrate their class' victory in the class tug-of-war. It is the fourth consecutive year the seniors have won the fall tug-of-war.
Photo gallery: Fall Pep Rally
Public Transportation Safety Podcast
Public Transportation Safety Podcast
The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch
The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch
Yuval Shachar

Yuval Shachar, Print Editor-in-Chief

Yuval is a senior, excited to be a Print Editor-in-Chief for her third year of the Pitch! Outside of Room 193, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time outdoors.
All content by Yuval Shachar
Yuval Shachar's senior reflection

Yuval Shachar’s senior reflection

Yuval Shachar, Print EIC
May 24, 2023
Senior Destini Haith performs a solo during the dinner scene in the second act of the play. Haith's solo performance showed vocal mastery and powerful acting.

S*T*A*G*E brings lively fun to macabre in Addams family musical

Liam Dorrien, Yuval Shachar and Robert Hsu
May 10, 2023

Seniors share advice to incoming freshmen and underclassmen

Yuval Shachar and Zsuzsanna Juhasz
March 14, 2023
“I don't mind. They can wear whatever they wanna wear. I mean, I don't really wear it that often, like personally, but once in a while I wear some pajamas, but I don't mind loaf wear, it's fine.” - Rafael Quattrucci, 12

Up-At-Bat: Is it disrespectful to dress in “loaf” wear in school?

Yuval Shachar, Print EIC
March 7, 2023
Why do we not give valentines anymore?

Why do we not give valentines anymore?

Yuval Shachar, Print EIC
February 14, 2023
Security guard Kelly McDonnell checks students' ID cards as they walk into the building in the morning. These checks are done before school and at lunch to ensure the safety of students in the building and are only part of the duties of the security guards at school.

Black cadillacs to blue jackets: Kelly McDonnell’s career journey

Yuval Shachar and Katie Campbell
February 8, 2023
Sophomore Yahlly Kachlon shows off her favorite crocheted creation. The project was modeled off of a famous Harry Styles cardigan.

Staying in the loop: why do students crochet and knit?

Raquel Daley and Yuval Shachar
December 13, 2022
"My message to students is to think about how your relationships, how your choices are going to serve you." - Resource Counselor Imani Ladson.

Teachers, counselors share the unseen side of college recommendations

Yuval Shachar, Print EIC
November 1, 2022
English teacher Adam Zeitlin grades a student essay out of his pile of 60 plus essays for AP Literature. Zeitlin noted that a significant difference between teaching English and physics was the grading workload.

Adam Zeitlin pulls a 180 switching from STEM to humanities

Yuval Shachar, Print EIC
September 21, 2022
(Left to Right) Next year's SGA officers juniors Ethan Mendes, Lauren Kim, Bryan Kibet and Luke Liden discuss the homecoming video for next year. Many of these meetings have been held by the officers to start planning for next year.

Sneak peek into next year SGA plans

Yuval Shachar and Jona Jancewicz
June 14, 2022
Dramitization of sophomores Torben Mucchetti and Erik Austengard cheating on an assignment. The students were not participating in academic dishonesty.

Classifying cheating: students, teachers on academic dishonesty

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
May 24, 2022
Monifa McKnight has been appointed as MCPS's permanent Superintendent a month ago. McKnight became the first woman to lead MCPS and has vowed to rebuild trust with the MCPS community following what many called poor communication regarding Covid-19 regulations.

A rundown of the MCPS Superintendent’s press conference

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
April 8, 2022
Mental illnesses have become an accessory for many people, and some use it as a "personality trait". It is seen as cool to be mentally ill, furthering the romanticization of mental illnesses and mental health.

Mental health stigmas, romanticizing still present today

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
April 3, 2022
Junior Omer Bezherano washes her hands in the girl's G-floor gym bathroom. The bathroom doors, at this bathroom and others, are open at any time, and anyone walking by can see into them.

Behind closed stalls: A deep dive into school bathrooms

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
March 28, 2022
"Honestly, at this point I'm sort of indiferrent to it becase I've been doing it for so long, when I was in school I had the same teacher all year and I think there's value in that because you get to know the rhythms, routines and such, but I've been teaching so long with the system as it is, I've just kind of gotten used to it." - English teacher Joshua Fullenkamp.

Up at bat: What are your thoughts on changing teachers during semester class changes?

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
February 14, 2022
Precalc teacher Tricia Cooper teacher her 6 period Precalc class while recording the class on zoom. Cooper usually records her classes to later post on Canvas for students who were absent to follow along.

Teachers accommodating students online

Ila Gordon and Yuval Shachar
February 14, 2022
The official Magruder HS Twitter page thanks fellow MCPS schools for their messages of support. There has been an outpouring of love from around the County for the staff and students at Magruder including wearing grey and blue on Tuesday, January 25.

Gun-related incidents rock MCPS

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
January 27, 2022
Students at WJ often match their cars; both in looks and personality. Many students notice these peculiar yet accurate similarities in their friends and family.

Me and not-so-mini me: students match their cars

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
January 21, 2022
Year in review: What happened in 2021?

Year in review: What happened in 2021?

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
December 21, 2021
As more individuals fight for Julius Jones, students at WJ arefollowing his case and spreading his story. Julius Jones's petition had spread across the US and the world, with over 6.5 million signatures.

Students speak out about Julius Jones case

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
December 21, 2021
The thick layers of chocolate topped with mouthwatering candy canes is simply irresistible. Especially around the holidays, there is simply no better dessert.

Can the holidays be enjoyed vegan?

Yuval Shachar and Ila Gordon
December 21, 2021
English 10 students work on an assignment in room 194. Throughout MCPS a discussion about the diversity gap is being held, as the student body is more diverse than its staff counterpart.

Demographic discrepancies prompt concern

Yuval Shachar and Ila Gordon
December 20, 2021
Pictured above is an actual Jude patch from the Holocaust. The anti-vax patches encased the words "not vaccinated" and were sold in a shop in kansas.

Students react to anti-vaxxers’ holocaust patches

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
December 17, 2021
Any family who can donate to the food drive is encouraged to do so. Last year over 70 full baskets were provided to families in need.

WJ families organize Thanksgiving food drive

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
November 16, 2021
Seniors Cian Haefele and Catherine Prado hold a Blue Bench meeting on Friday, Nov. 5. Prior to the meeting, Blue Bench officers met with Principal Jennifer Baker on Nov. 1 to talk about sexual assault at WJ. During the meeting, officers shared the outcome of the meeting as well as the topics discussed with club members.

Students ignite conversation about sexual assault

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
November 12, 2021
Many students wear their masks under their noses or mouths, defying the whole purpose of wearing a mask in the first place. Unfortunaley some students don't listen to those who tell them to pull their masks up.

Wearing your mask under your nose does not make you look cool

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
November 12, 2021
Health teacher Lorraine Goldstein assists her students with an in-class assignment. While in-person assignments are fairly low-stress, the work level differs for online health class.

The disparities between online and in-person health

Ila Gordon and Yuval Shachar
November 12, 2021
Senior Halle Burns (left) and senior Caitlyn Rose (right) pose with their fall fashion on October 22. Burns and Rose combined fashion and functionality and dressed fashionably for the cold weather.

Fall fashion photo gallery

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
November 2, 2021
Public indoor areas in Montgomery County can now remove their "face masks required" signs, due to the mandate lift. Before the lift, stores in Montgomery County were required to put up these signs and some stores provided people with masks upon entry.

Montgomery County lifts indoor mask mandate

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
October 29, 2021
Students watch the game and cheer at the football game on Friday Sept. 24. Most students did not wear masks or social distance at the game.

Students neglect to wear masks full time

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
October 18, 2021
Senior JP Rakis sets up the drum for Alejandro Linares to begin the drum chant. The anticipated chant excites students as they wait to hear the beat of the drum.

During in-person school students are able to eat with their friends during lunch. Students can choose to eat almost anywhere on campus as well as off campus at G-square or at the mall if they can drive.

Point Counter Point: In person vs online school

Ila Gordon and Yuval Shachar
October 15, 2021
Walter Johnson was found vandalized the morning of Sunday October 3. The graffiti included hate speech and references to white supremacy.

WJ vandalized with racist and homophobic hate speech

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
October 3, 2021
Walter Johnson students cheer on the WJ football team at the first game of the season. The game took place at Churchill High School on September 8.

WJ’s enthusiastic student section at football game

Yuval Shachar, Senior News Editor
September 20, 2021
Graduated senior Jaidon Smith in his senior portrait. Smith and another WJ graduate were killed in a car crash on Wednesday June 9.

Two graduated seniors killed in car crash

Yuval Shachar and Maeve Sanford-Kelly
June 11, 2021
Senior Shiri Cohen talks about her expectations for graduation. Seniors have already received their caps and gowns on May 19.

Senior reaction to graduation restrictions

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor and Business Manager
May 27, 2021
As AP tests start taking place in the building, classes need to be moved to other classrooms. With the weather warming up, The Pitch class decided to have their class outside due to an AP test taking place in their classroom.

Within these walls: students return to WJ

Jona Jancewicz and Yuval Shachar
May 25, 2021
According to College Board, AP tests will be full length, ranging from 2 to 3 hours depending on the subject. As many students signed up for more than one AP class, some might not want to study and sit for numerous 3-hour tests, and therefore have decided to opt out of the exam.

Students are not taking AP tests

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor and Business Manager
May 20, 2021
Many students are already attending school in person. However, many were unsure and opted to stay home and remain virtual.

Students deciding to stay virtual rather than returning in-person

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor and Business Manager
May 11, 2021
People often associate hearts, candy and flowers with Valentine's day. However, none of these really relate to the holiday's original origins.

The history of valentines day

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor and Business Manager
February 28, 2021
Students are failing more, not just in the grade book. The average SAT score for WJ has dropped from the 2018-19 to the 2019-20 school year.

Students are failing much more in online school

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor and Business Manager
February 11, 2021
AP College Board offers free online support and resources for students taking AP classes online. This year and in past years students and teachers have used AP College Board to distribute and teach material for their classes.

AP classes: Harder or easier during a pandemic?

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor and Business Manager
January 22, 2021
Senior Olivia Zaid lights the Menorah with her family for the 6th night of Hanukkah. Even during a pandemic, families still celebrated and performed holiday traditions.

How people are celebrating holidays this season

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor and Business Manager
December 21, 2020
Some may think this is what the world would look like if Generation Z ran it. However, the WJ student body which is composed of Gen Z, said otherwise.

What if Gen Z ruled the world?

Yuval Shachar, Business Manager
November 30, 2020
The infamous house on Tilden Lane lives up and exceeds all expectations, and provides us with spooky decorations. As Halloween is drawing near, many people have started decorating their houses to be as scary and festive as possible.

Bored? Covid-safe activities are sure to keep you busy

Yuval Shachar, Business Manager
November 2, 2020
Sources of Strength 2020-2021 leadership team meets to discuss their plans for virtual campaigns during suicide awareness month.

Suicide Awareness Month

Yuval Shachar, Layout Editor anmentald Business Manager
September 30, 2020
Load More Stories
Donate to The Pitch
$56
$500
Contributed
Our Goal