The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch
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, Senior News Editor

Yuval Shachar is a junior in her second year of the Pitch. In her free time she enjoys painting and reading and being outdoors.

All content by Yuval Shachar
Monifa McKnight has been appointed as MCPSs 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

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

April 3, 2022
Greys Anatomy releases a tentative vision for what it will look like to have the Pitch included in the upcoming season. The Pitch has not started filming for the show yet.

Pitch to be on season 19 Grey’s Anatomy

April 1, 2022
Junior Omer Bezherano washes her hands in the girls 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

March 28, 2022
Honestly, at this point Im sort of indiferrent to it becase Ive been doing it for so long, when I was in school I had the same teacher all year and I think theres value in that because you get to know the rhythms, routines and such, but Ive been teaching so long with the system as it is, Ive 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?

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

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

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

January 21, 2022
Year in review: What happened in 2021?

Year in review: What happened in 2021?

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

Students speak out about Julius Jones case

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?

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

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

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

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

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 dont listen to those who tell them to pull their masks up.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

[Photo]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May 11, 2021
People often associate hearts, candy and flowers with Valentines day. However, none of these really relate to the holidays original origins.

The history of valentines day

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

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?

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

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?

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

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

September 30, 2020
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Yuval Shachar