SherwoodHS_Warrior

theWarrior

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48th Year, Issue No. 3 March 5, 2026

Sherwood High School: 300 Olney Sandy Spring Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860

www.thewarrioronline.com

Students Stage ICE OUT Walkout

As the Trump Administration continues to deploy Immigration Enforcement and Customs Agency (ICE)

officers to American cities, students across the country are rallying to speak out. In collaboration with Students

For Asylum and Immigrant Rights (Students FAIR) more than 400 Sherwood students traded in their

third period for the ‘ICE OUT’ walkout on February 18. Done in conjunction with neighboring schools in the

Northeast Consortium (NEC) who also walked out on the same day, Sherwood’s chapter of Students FAIR

promoted the walkout through social media, posters around the building, and over the announcements. The

walkout, organized by sophomore Ava Ortega, and seniors Evelyn San Miguel and Maddy Quirion, was

peaceful, worked within students’ rights to protest, and centered on fighting against ICE presence in the

community.

Within Montgomery County dozens of residents have been taken by ICE, some of them friends and

family of Sherwood students. Several students described their stories, how they’ve lost their parents, grandparents,

and close friends to ICE deportations. The walkout demonstrated a strong show of togetherness

for Sherwood, and as students chanted and danced many felt closer to their fellow students than before.

“I feel so connected with my community and proud of us. This feels like the real ONE SHERWOOD,” said

junior Emma Pulaski. Caption and Photo by Lilah Boig ‘26

MCPS Stagnant on AI Policy

by Gabriel Esteban ‘27

Within the last two years, many generative

AI chatbots have quickly emerged

and now can be found throughout everyday

life. ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Snapchat AI

and many more promise to make some everyday

tasks easier, such as writing emails,

making schedules, and creating spreadsheets.

However, the impressive capabilities

of these programs also create massive

challenges in the educational system, particularly

regarding academic dishonesty.

These AI engines can write entire essays in

mere seconds, and the fast nature of the answers

they provide also allows for students

to take pictures of assignments or assessments

and have it answer questions.

MCPS currently is drafting regulations,

guidelines, and policies for the use

of these AI Chatbots. Last fall, MCPS released

a working draft of the regulations

for public comment. The Board of Education

(BOE) stated that it is looking to find

the best ways to integrate AI to enhance

education while also making sure that both

students and staff use the resources responsibly,

“preserving human judgement and

integrity.” Since the creation of this draft,

there has not been any new edits or information

regarding when a concrete policy

will be made public.

There currently is very little guidance

on what the expectations are for AI use by

either teachers or students. “We were given

very little guidelines coming into the

school year. It was very much like the Wild

West,” said Christine McKeldin, the department

head of social studies.

MCPS has made some moves to lay

the groundwork for planned regulations

and policies regarding AI. “We [school

administrators and department chairs] had

training from someone within the MCPS

central office … who went over guidelines,

not only here at Sherwood but in the [entire]

county,” noted Lynnette Evans-Williams,

the head of the English department.

After this training, Sherwood’s instructional

leadership team met over the summer,

reviewing a presentation to lay the foundations

for AI use. The presentation includes

the county’s stance on AI, mainly talking

about teachers and the responsible ways

AI can be used by them, such as sending

emails, setting up assignments and discussions

for English, as well as generating

practice problems for math and science.

McKeldin agrees with the usefulness of

AI for teachers. “AI is great with that,” she

said. “I’ll put in an idea [for a project], and

I upload what I’d like my students to do…

and I upload what I’d like my objectives to

be and it’ll give me different ideas and already

have the directions created for me.”

Another area prioritized in the presentation

to Sherwood’s leadership was transparency

with students. “Going with what

the county has said … have open conversations

with students about how they can

use it and when they should not use it,” explained

Evans-Williams. ”If you find a student

has used AI to write their entire paper

then, whatever the school’s consequences

say, that’s what you should follow”.

Similarly, teachers in their respective

departments also have open conversations

about AI in their classrooms.“Each department

meeting I try to encourage a different

teacher in the department to present a way

they used AI for themselves as well as a

way they’ve encouraged their students to

use AI,” said McKeldin

According to the presentation, MCPS

planned on launching an “Eye on AI Learning

Series” for staff and students. As of the

publication of this article, no new information

has come out about this document.

Approval for Abbreviated

Schedules Stricter Next Year

by Leslie Marjizak ‘27

As part of preparing students

for life after high school,

the college and career readiness

program offers a variety of options

that allow students to explore

alternatives to having a

full seven classes at Sherwood.

Options range from taking classes

at Montgomery College (MC)

to getting an internship to gain

experience in a possible career

pathway. This program will be

adjusted next year due to changes

to Maryland’s Blueprint for the

Future, requiring Sherwood to

tighten its definition of what qualifies

for an abbreviated schedule.

This will ensure that students involved

in the college and career

readiness program are doing it for

the right reasons, while allowing

a more diverse group of students

to participate.

In the past, and including

this school year, the criteria for

obtaining an abbreviated schedule

were more relaxed. Students

in the child development program

may have the opportunity to participate

in a teaching internship

as part of this pathway. On the

other hand, a student could leave

school early to work at the local

Chick-fil-A. Another option for

students is to take a half-day of

classes at Sherwood and then take

up to two classes each semester

at MC. This year, there were 96

students in dual enrollment, 45

in internship, and 50-60 working

in the loose job category, totaling

close to 200 students with abbreviated

schedules.

In the coming years, students

will not be allowed to just “get

a job” and have an abbreviated

schedule. Any work experience

must fit under the internship category

and relate to a possible

career pathway that could be pursued

after graduation. “We have

several different pathways that

have internships as part of that

pathway. However, we have this

bucket of students who are not in

a pathway, but want to gain an internship

experience,” said Maisie

Lynch, the school’s internship

coordinator. “Coming down the

pipe, students will be expected to

Calls Continue To Repair

Sherwood’s HVAC Systems

by Violet Fujimoto ‘27

Efforts persist to address the ongoing

infrastructure issues at Sherwood. A meeting

of top stakeholders from the school

district and county on January 7 discussed

the building conditions and the immediate

actions that MCPS is taking. Attendees

included Councilmember Dawn Leudtke,

who coordinated the meeting, MCPS

Chief of Operations Adnan Mamoon, Deputy

Chief of Facilities Andrew Swiatocha,

Superintendent Thomas Taylor, Principal

Timothy Britton, State Senator Craig

Zucker, Delegate Bernice Mireku-North,

and Councilmember Kristin Mink’s Chief

of Staff Chris Wilhelm.

The art wing has been confirmed as

the biggest concern, particularly the ceramics

room with water saturation issues

due to leaks and mold. It is unknown how

long the moisture has been left unattended

to and the reason for it not being fully

dried out in a timely manner. The deteriorating

HVAC system has been identified as

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the primary cause for water intrusion and

the subsequent mold issues. The HVAC

system is beyond repair; portions of the

HVAC system are not only failing but are

not designed to dehumidify. MCPS has recommended

HVAC replacement to begin in

2027. It takes one year to prepare and four

summers to replace the system. Because

of the severity of the issue, many community

members have argued that Sherwood

cannot wait until the replacement is complete

and that MCPS must specify the next

course of action promptly.

In a January 23 email addressed to

Sherwood staff, Superintendent Taylor did

not sugarcoat the fact that Sherwood is in

desperate need of attention. He reassures

the school staff that maintenance teams are

doing as much as possible and thanks them

for continuing to show up everyday despite

the building’s disrepair. Taylor asserts that

MCPS is prioritizing the major concerns

to address. Immediate repair and drying of

see REPAIRS pg 3

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March 5, 2026

Student-Run Restaurant Coming Soon

by Makenna Babcock ‘28

Trust Act Expected To Pass

by Emma Cosca ‘27

Montgomery County Council President Natali Fani-

González introduced the “Trust Act” on December 4, which

would permanently limit local cooperation with federal civil immigration

enforcement. In a county where a third of the population

is foreign-born, proponents of the bill say it would restore

community trust in law enforcement officials and improve public

safety for all residents.

One of the act’s focuses is ensuring that county employees

and departments are prohibited from inquiring about individuals’

immigration status unless required by state or federal law, a judicial

order, or an international treaty. It would also prohibit county

officials from conditioning county benefits, opportunities, or serviceson

immigration status unless required by applicable law or a

judicial order.

Under the proposed act, county police may not stop, arrest,

or detain individuals solely for civil immigration violations, nor

may they hold individuals past their release time on behalf of immigration

detainers. Criminal law enforcement is fully preserved.

The Trust Act has the support of the full 11-member council,

as well as County Executive Marc Elrich and County Police

Chief Marc Yamada. A joint work session on the bill was held

on Jan 28, and a full council vote will take place on a later date.

As an expedited bill, the Trust Act will become law immediately

upon Elrich’s signature.

Council Member Hears from

Community Members

by Elise Yang ‘27

Montgomery County Council Member Evan Glass hosted a

virtual meeting open to parents, teachers, and community leaders

to discuss the Sherwood cluster’s priorities, specifically relating

to the health and well-being of students. Around 10 attendees

joined the meeting on February 25, including Sherwood’s PTSA

President Claudia Delgado, Cluster Coordinator Henriot St. Gerard,

and other parents and community members.

Sherwood has been experiencing a number of health and

safety concerns over the past couple of years, including mold infestation,

damaged HVAC systems, and sewage leaks. St. Gerard

noted in the virtual meeting that Sherwood is in line to receive

a new HVAC system in two years; however, there is still a need

for the MCPS board to mitigate the health effects until repairs,

replacements, and remodeling can be done. Delgado added that

MCPS only has been addressing problems with small repairs,

which act as ineffective temporary solutions that fail to fix the

real problem of mold infestations that recur even after repair.

Glass told the attendees that gun violence is a huge topic of

discussion in the county right now, following the shooting that

occurred at Wootton in February. Delgado recounted how a letter

was sent out to the Sherwood community about a student who

had a gun during a school day in late October, but the letter did

not explain what exactly had happened, the consequences for the

involved students, and steps moving forward.

LGBTQ+ Case Requires

MCPS To Pay Families

by Andrew Fenner ‘27

After the June Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor,

in which parents had sued MCPS for not providing students the

option to opt out of reading books with LGBTQ+ characters or

themes, a U.S. District Court Judge has now ruled that MCPS

pay out $1.5 million in damages to different families. The families

who sued the county claimed that through its policy of denying

parents the right to withdraw their children from lessons that

covered LGBTQ+ topics, they were violating the families’ First

Amendment right to freedom of religion.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court granted a preliminary

injunction, pending a resolution in a lower court, which gave

parents the right to opt out of these lessons. The author of the

Supreme Court’s majority opinion, Samuel Alito, wrote that the

instruction poses “a very real threat of undermining the religious

beliefs and practices that the parents wish to instill,” and that by

not providing students the option to opt out of such lessons, the

county was violating their rights.

When the case was moved to a U.S. District Court to be resolved,

the judge mandated the county pay out compensation to

the families who brought on the suit, alongside filing a permanent

injunction that secured these families their right to opt out.

As part of the Culinary &

Hospitality Management course

at Sherwood, fine arts teacher

Kimberly Coleman Yirenkyi

decided to create a student-run

restaurant to help her students develop

their skills while providing

tastier lunch and snack options

for staff. Sherwood Station will

be a small restaurant right here at

Sherwood, featuring menu items

that have a bistro theme and the

aesthetic of a quick Grab & Go.

The restaurant is planning to open

as early as this month.

Coleman initially started her

career teaching about nutrition

but gravitated into the culinary

world through her experiences

and work. She loves food and

wants to help encourage interested

students to engage in culinary

arts.

“I love exposing students to

recipes that they may purchase

but may not have prepared before—basic

and complex recipes.

I also love including students in

choosing recipes they are interested

in,” Coleman stated.

The restaurant is a great way

for students in the cooking classes

to get involved with the school

and get real-life experience about

the culinary industry. While getting

support from Coleman, the

establishment will be run by students,

each one running different

sections of the restaurant. There

are a lot of intricate details that

Student Burnout Culture Normalized

by Rachel Themistokleous ‘26

Junior Happy Johnson whisks up a sauce during a culinary arts lesson.

will be considered while putting

the endeavor together: the cost

of items, the design and overall

aesthetic, selecting the menu, creating

work routines, and more.

Sherwood Station will run out of

room D122a, with a pick-up and

delivery model in progress. Tentatively,

the menu is divided into

sections: Comfort Station, Garden

and Deli, Side Tracks, Sweet

Caboose, and Hydration Hub.

“I walk students through

each phase of planning the restaurant,”

said Coleman. “Selecting

a menu, costing out the recipes,

trying out the recipes, creating a

work flow, branding the restaurant,

marketing, budgeting, hiring

team members and the onboarding

process, and all the intricate

details of customer service and

customer satisfaction.”

Coleman explained that her

Culinary Arts I students will plan

According to a 2024 article

by Hunter Wesolowski on The

Learning Counsel, student burnout

is “not just an adult phenomenon.

It’s real, it’s happening, and

it’s affecting children in schools

nationwide. Perfectionism, overwhelming

feelings, and overcommitment

are pushing students to

their limits and, in some cases,

beyond.” In recent years, burnout

has become an increasing

problem in the education system,

and something people not only

tolerate, but almost celebrate.

For many students, a severe lack

of sleep is not met with concern

anymore, but rather with competition.

Across all levels of school,

student burnout has become increasingly

normalized. According

to an American Psychological

Association survey, over half of

high school students are regularly

labeled as stressed or burnt out.

Burnout has become a sort of a

status symbol, and comparing

hours of sleep, normalizing excessive

amounts of stress, and extensive

workloads are being seen

less as a problem to address and

more as a requirement and proof

that a student is hardworking.

Exhaustion, in many ways, has

turned into a badge of honor.

Burnout isn’t just feeling

tired after a long day. It is chronic

exhaustion, loss of motivation,

and emotional strain caused by

prolonged stress. Yet many students

don’t recognize these signs

as burnout at all, because nearly

everyone is feeling the same way.

In competitive academic environments,

effort isn’t always visible.

However, stress and exhaustion

are outward signs that signal a

student is trying and dedicated

to succeeding. These feelings

are validated by what teens call

“grind culture,” which is described

as the feeling of always

needing to be productive, even if

it’s at the expense of one’s health.

“Children respond to perfectionistic

expectations and competition

in a variety of ways. Many

internalize sky-high goals and

subscribe to ‘grind culture,’” says

an article by Gail Cornwall on

PBS. “Beyond developing their

own perfectionism, these kids end

up living for the future rather than

the present and compulsively

comparing themselves to others.”

With increased pressure

around college applications, students

often begin to juggle not

just advanced coursework, but

also sports, part-time jobs, service

hours, and other extracurriculars

in order to build their

applications. Downtime comes

with guilt, and relaxation starts to

feel like falling behind. Researchers

from the Harvard Graduate

School of Education’s Center

for Digital Thriving conducted a

study of 1,545 U.S. teens in the

fall of 2023. Of the surveyed

teens, more than 50 percent of

them responded that they often

felt “game plan pressure” that

Oliver LaRoche ‘27

and manage the restaurants and

will “hire” applicants from International

Cultures and Cuisines

to work with them. There will be

a team of about 10 -12 students

who will run the entire restaurant,

with all the positions assigned.

Some students will be managers

and cooks, and a few servers, but

all are responsible for cleaning

and hospitality.

“All the staff and I all have

foods that we are in charge of.

I’m in charge of soup and grilled

cheese,” said junior Happy Johnson.

“I had to figure out a recipe,

container, and the cost of the

food.” He said that he and the

others involved are all looking

forward to working together to

create something long-lasting. A

few students are looking to apply

their experience to the real world

and make a career in the culinary

arts.

they must have their future path

clear and set.

“This finding is interesting to

me as an adolescent psychologist

because we tend to think of the

adolescent years as an important

time for exploration, for figuring

out who you are and who you

want to be,” said co-director Emily

Weinstein in the study. “But we

have teens telling us there is no

time for that.”

Treating burnout as a status

symbol can have serious consequences

among students. When

exhaustion is praised instead of

questioned, students may start to

ignore real warning signs. Chronic

fatigue and irritability become

something to endure and win

at rather than address. Normalized

burnout builds a narrative

that asking for help can feel like

admitting weakness instead of

responsibility, and this culture

begins to blur the line between

normal academic pressure and

unhealthy overload.

Burnout should not be considered

the standard. Overworking

yourself can be just as bad

as not working hard enough, and

people shouldn’t feel like they

have to mentally and emotionally

drain themselves in order to be

successful. As students continue

to push themselves in pursuit of

success, it may be worth asking

when stress stopped being a concern

and started becoming something

to flex, and consider what it

is costing in return.

AI Use for Mental Health

Help Has Led to Tragedy

by Elise Yang ‘27

Stories of young adults and

teens’ tragic suicides are being

told by parents who claim

ChatGPT is at fault for their children’s

deaths. In cases like with

23-year-old Zane Shamblin and

16-year-old Adam Raine, disturbing

conversations between the

victims and ChatGPT were found

after their deaths. ChatGPT encouraged

them to not only commit

suicide but to avoid confiding

in their parents or seeking help.

In the case of Shamblin,

ChatGPT’sadaptive nature

seemed to have turned against

him, adopting Shamblin’s conversation

style, demeanor, and

humor, supporting Shamblin even

in his final decision to commit

suicide. It was not until four and

a half hours into the conversation

did ChatGPT offer support and

resources.

The circumstances and reasons

for why a person takes their

own life are complex, and they

cannot be reduced to a single

conversation with an AI chatbot.

These victims had already

been struggling with their mental

health and were in extremely

vulnerable states before ever consulting

ChatGPT. Nevertheless,

ChatGPT can be a dangerous

tool, acting as a threat to emotionally

unstable young people.

Since the countless incidents

citing OpenAI’s ChatGPT as a

contributing factor to young people’s

suicide, the company has

made a commitment to working


March 5, 2026

with mental health professionals

to revise ChatGPT. Now,

ChatGPT offers mental health

resources and encourages users

to confide in humans. But many

critics have asked why teenagers

and young adults had to die and

their parents suffer the loss of a

child in order for ChatGPT to implement

these safeguards. A stated

practice of big tech companies

lets new technologies run wild,

waiting for flaws to emerge to

then fix.

Parents who have lost their

children want to hold companies

accountable for the technologies

they unleashed on the public. In

Raine’s case, his family accused

ChatGPT of acting as a ¨suicide

coach¨ which OpenAI denied

through a response filed in the

California Superiour Court stating

that it was not at all responsible

for Raine’s death, as a result

of a series of disclaimers and

guidelines that were provided

alongside ChatGPT’s release.

Many individuals that seek

advice or companionship with an

AI chatbot frequently feel lonely

or isolated and may be struggling

with their mental health. Experts

argue that ChatGPT should not be

used to seek advice about serious

mental health and safety concerns.

If you are struggling with

mental health or having suicidal

thoughts or ideations, call

988 to reach the 24-hour Suicide

Crisis Lifeline.

Community Fights for Sherwood Repairs

from HVAC pg 1

leaks, dehumidifiers, roof evaluations,

building maintenance staff,

and close monitoring are the current

actions being taken. Taylor

also disclosed that the work has

to be carried out within the limits

of the Capital Improvement Plan

and funding.

Taylor’s letter was sent in response

to an ongoing outcry from

parents, students, and staff about

the state of Sherwood’s facilities

and building. On January 20, a

letter signed by 71 members of

the Sherwood staff was sent to

every Board of Education member

regarding the health concerns

caused by the poor infrastructure

and disrepair in the building. The

letter notes that reporting by The

Warrior and The Washington

Post “shows widespread mold,

malfunctioning HVAC systems,

persistent humidity, and unsafe

indoor air conditions across classrooms

and hallways.”

Jordan Bennett, the head of

the math department, says that

the classrooms he works in appear

to be in relatively good condition.

“The common issues over

the years have been extreme temperature

fluctuations, moisture

and humidity particularly in the

summer, noisy HVAC units, etc.

We do have a recurring plaster

issue in one of our classrooms,

where the plaster bubbles from

what seems to be a moisture

source,” said Bennett.

Though the second floor of

Sherwood is in better shape than

the first floor, there are still maintenance

problems that continue to

ICE Shootings Shift Public Opinion

by Molly Schecter ‘27

On January 7 videos of

Renée Nicole Good being shot

by an Immigration and Customs

Enforcement (ICE) officer spread

through social media. The video

shows three officers approaching

Good’s car and as it appears that

she turns her steering wheel to

attempt to drive away, an officer

who was in front of the car steps

to the side and fatally shoots her.

Less than a month later on

January 24, 27-year-old ICU

nurse Alex Pretti was shot at least

ten times in a span of five seconds

by two Customs and Border Protection

(CBP) officers. Tens of

millions of Americans saw video

footage of the killing. It begins

with Pretti recording on his

phone and intervening in a dispute

between a woman and a federal

agent. The agent then shifts

his focus to Pretti, restraining

him while multiple other officers

approach. They push him to the

ground, and in the next seconds,

Pretti’s own gun is removed from

the belt area of his back before he

is shot to death while lying facedown

on the ground. Pretti did

not have a criminal record and in

Minnesota is legally permitted to

carry a concealed weapon.

A number of surveys and

polls have shown that these videos,

in addition to many others

related to ICE operations, have

tilted Americans’ views about the

Trump Administration’s aggressive

approach to immigration law

enforcement. According to Reuters/Ipsos,

58 percent of Americans

say that ICE efforts on immigration

have gone too far. After

the killings of Good and Pretti, 51

percent say immigration policy is

going in the wrong direction, with

35 percent believing it is going

in the right direction.

One result of the shifting

Americans’ views of ICE enforcement

is that a partial shutdown

went into place at midnight on

February 14, as democrats in Congress

and members of Trump’s

team struggled to compromise

on funding the Department of

Homeland Security (DHS). The

shutdown pauses federal funding

to DHS, which oversees ICE. The

struggle to compromise stems

from the democrats demanding

change in immigration operations

after the deaths of Good and

Pretti. The shutdown only affects

Google Images

Videos posted of Alex Pretti’s death sparked public outrage over ICE.

agencies under the DHS, leaving

the rest of the government unaffected.

However, ICE and CBP

operations are most likely to continue

functioning unaffected due

to funding from Trump’s 2025 tax

and spending cut law that passed

last summer and provided about

58 billion dollars to DHS.

Another impact of the fallout

from ICE’s aggressive actions is

that Tom Homan, the Trump’s

Administration’s “Border Czar,”

announced that the federal immigration

enforcement surge in

Minnesota, dubbed “Operation

Metro Surge,” would end. Homan

claimed that the removal is

a result of Minnesota now being,

“less of a sanctuary state for criminals.”

However, the decision for

ICE to leave the city was largely

interpreted as the Trump Administration

responding to decreasing

public support and growing

protests. Security force and ICE

agents will still remain in the

Minneapolis area.

burden students and staff with unease.

“Teachers and students alike

deserve an environment free from

elements that have the potential

to cause long-term health issues,”

said Bennett.

Additional incidents in December

raised questions about

the maintenance and facilities of

the building. Due to a sprinkler

malfunction, students and staff

were evacuated on December 18.

It was determined that the broken

sprinkler system unit caused a

high-pressure water leak, which

spread downstairs and flooded at

least 12 classrooms on the first

floor. Prior to this event, there

were two sewage leaks that occurred

within the same week.

These leaks caused flooding in

the lower C-wing hallway and

required classes to be moved and

that area remained blocked off to

complete the necessary repairs.

An anonymous MOSH

(Maryland Occupational Safety

& Health) complaint was filed by

a Sherwood staff member on December

29 and the MCPS System

Safety Programs Unit received

notification on January 5. The

employee reported that they are

being exposed to unsanitary conditions

due to the plumbing leaks

and asbestos as a result of plumbing

work disturbing the ceiling

tiles. According to the MOSH

complaint, eight plumbing-related

leaks occurred due to objects,

including feminine hygiene products

and electronic cigarettes,

causing these incidents. MCPS

maintenance department and

building service staff completed

maintenance work to address the

3

problems.

MCPS has also contacted

AMA Analytical Services Inc. to

address concerns about the presence

of asbestos. They tested

building materials that were affected

by the fire sprinkler leak,

including ceiling tiles. No building

materials that were examined

were found to contain asbestos,

according to the report. Although

MCPS has sent a maintenance

crew to complete necessary repairs

after each incident, there has

been little visible improvement in

the overall maintenance of the

building.

The letter signed by Sherwood

staff advocates for the

health of students and staff. The

letter demands numerous actions

to be completed with no delay in

order to combat maintenance issues:

a thorough Board of Education

walkthrough of the building

beyond visible repairs; immediate

mold remediation and mold-specific

testing; HVAC replacement;

Sherwood as a priority in

the MCPS Capital Improvement

(CIP) Plan; and, an increase of

Building Service staff. This letter

also contains comments from

staff, describing their experiences

with the building.

“Please address this issue.

Our building has faced these issues

for some time now, and

many of us have become deathly

ill while working here. We

love our students, our community,

and care about every single

person who is coming in contact

with this school,” an anonymous

teacher said in the staff letter’s

addendum of comments.

MCPS Operating Budget

Faces Funding Challenges

by Nicholas Jones ‘28

MCPS is struggling with

whether it fully funds its operating

budget for the next school

year. One major issue is the loss

of about $8.6 million in federal

funding. In addition, MCPS is

dealing with a backup of needed

construction and repairs to school

buildings and declining enrollment.

Despite the budgetary

pressures, Superintendent Thomas

Taylor has proposed a $3.775

billion Operating Budget for FY

2027, representing a five-percent

increase over FY 2026 to support

academic restoration, teacher

staffing, and school security. That

requested increase totals $180

million.

The programs that would be

impacted by the loss of federal

funding include the Stronger Connections

Grant and Federal Title

II. These programs have assisted

the county in funding for communication

platforms and consulting

teachers. Without this funding,

MCPS would have reduced funding

for the number of people who

consult new and underperforming

teachers. In addition to these

programs no longer being active,

some other programs are going to

receive sharp cuts that would impact

the number of students who

get the help they need.

One of the biggest issues that

MCPS has to tackle in the near

and far future is the age and disrepair

of many school buildings.

Separate from its annual operating

budget, MCPS has a five-year

Capital Improvement Plan (CIP),

and Taylor introduced a $2.7 billion

CIP request for Fiscal Years

2027–2032 while describing the

district’s aging infrastructure

as having been maintained by

“chewing gum and duct tape.”

The $2.7 billion is an $850-million

increase over the previous

five-year CIP.. County Executive

Marc Elrich acknowledged the

proposal but said that he is not

fully funding the request, noting

“they know we don’t have that

kind of money.”

The proposed operating

budget for next year prioritizes

mathematics and literacy, staffing,

special education support,

and facility maintenance. The

budget has gone through multiple

hearings and work sessions from

December through January. Some

of these meetings include or will

include public hearings that allow

the public to give feedback on

the budget and voice their opinions.

The budget is expected to

be finalized around the end of the

school year on June 25, when the

County Council votes whether to

approve it.

4


March 5, 2026

Martin Reflects on Time at Sherwood as Both Student and Teacher

by Evelyn San Miguel ‘26 were amplified by the words and When she came back to

At the very end of her 35

year teaching career, science department

head Gina Martin found

herself reflecting back. For any

AP Psych takers, Erickson’s stages

of development may sound familiar.

Seeing herself at the end,

in the Integrity vs. Despair stage

where a person seeks out fulfillment

in a life well lived, Martin

often vacillates between the two

categories. “As I’ve been reflecting,

it brings a lot of emotions,”

said Martin.

A member of Sherwood’s

Class of ‘87, Martin was class

vice president, a Rock N’ Roll

Revival participant, and a deeply

dedicated student. Being at

Sherwood was not without its

challenges. Martin’s parents, who

were married before interracial

marriage was legalized in Maryland

in 1967, would often be the

only non-white family within

their suburban neighborhood.

While a student at Sherwood,

Martin found herself constantly

questioned. “It’s clear I’m a black

woman, and when I walk into a

room and everybody is white

or white-passing, then it’s all

eyes on me,” recounted Martin.

“‘What are you doing here? Why

are you here? Did you get lost?’

I kind of turned inward and just

focused on school.”

Her feelings of isolation

actions of her classmates. Boys

would whisper the ‘n-word’ to

her in the hallway, weaponizing

her identity against her. It wasn’t

only whispers, either. During her

junior year while walking down

a hallway, Martin was stopped in

her tracks. Big white posters hung

on the cinderblock walls—dozens

of them. She didn’t take notice

until her principal came storming

down the hallway, tearing them

down. On those big, white posters

in big, bold letters was advertised

Sherwood’s local chapter of the

Klu Klux Klan, who were having

a meeting in the cafeteria on

Wednesday night. It was the late

80s, and that was one of the many

times that she felt marginalized in

a place she called home.

Across her career, both as

a student and as a teacher, Martin

was often the only non-white

person in the room. “You kind of

vacillate between three ways of

being. You either try to hide, you

try to fit in, or you try to break that

stereotype threat, and sometimes

you’re three at the same time,”

said Martin. She prefers the term

non-white because she believes

it ensures clarity; she wasn’t just

the only African American in the

room, but oftentimes she was the

only person who wasn’t white.

Not only did this perpetuate her

feeling of otherness, but also her

own self-doubt.

Sherwood in 2001 as a science

teacher where she would often be

the only non-white teacher in her

department, Martin felt it became

harder to call out racism when

she saw it. Whether it was raising

concerns with colleagues across

the school or out in the world,

Martin felt more questioned

than her white counterparts. She

would have to come prepared—

dates, times, quotes. The other

person didn’t. Over time, the fight

became more exhausting.

Yet, she persisted. Her often

adverse experiences pushed her

to earn her EdD in curriculum

and instruction, with a specific

focus on the complex web that is

the relationship between race and

education. Receiving her doctorate

helped prove to herself that

she was capable and could be far

more successful than the stereotypes

that surrounded her. Taking

the research from her Ed.D.,

Martin integrated inclusivity and

authenticity into her lessons to

both her students and to her colleagues,

sharing techniques and

strategies to help ensure that no

student or teacher would feel out

of place no matter their identity.

The hardest part, Martin said

about approaching the end of her

35 year career, was not knowing

if she truly made an impact; if her

efforts were making it to those

who needed to hear it most. What

MCPS Moves Forward with Its

Controversial Plan for Crown

ing to the “Rockville Holding

School” while the new Crown

school will be renamed as Wootton

High School.

Many Wootton parents are

furious with the pending decision.

The Wootton PTSA issued a

statement that attacks the effects

of option H, stating the county

is prioritizing operational convenience

rather than educational

stability, along with broken promises

within the Capital Improvement

Plan (CIP) for renovations

for the existing Wootton building.

The PTSA statement also noted a

lack of community engagement

with the proposal, and how it was

added on very late in the boundary

study process.

In January, Wootton parents

protested the study at MCPS

headquarters during a meeting

of the BOE. Parents held up

signs such as “Keep Wootton in

Rockville,” and “Save Wootton,”

referring to Crown’s location in

Gaithersburg and the threat of a

top three school in the state being

closed. BOE members will deby

Owen Smith ‘27

In MCPS, change often can’t

come without controversy. With

Crown High School slated to open

for the 2027-2028 school year,

the school district came up with

eight different boundary studies

to determine which cluster areas

will go to the brand new building.

Heated conflict and backlash

quickly emerged after an option

proposed Crown becoming the

permanent location for Wootton

and its students, rather than a new

high school that pulls students

from overcrowding nearby high

schools such as Gaithersburg.

At a Board of Education

meeting in early February, Superintendent

Thomas Taylor

recommended the closure of the

Wootton building and expressed

his desire to go through with

the option that moves Wootton’s

students permanently to Crown

school building, a 4.1 mile distance

from the current site of

Wootton.

Documents created by the

MCPS Board of Education (BOE)

and released on boarddocs.com

displayed Taylor’s reasons for his

recommendation, citing concerns

about the current building for

Wootton and the lack of a dedicated

holding facility in MCPS

for when schools are closed for

major construction projects and

renovations. Taylor plans to repurpose

the old Wootton build-

Google Images

MCPS released a rendering of what Crown will look like when complete.

termine an official verdict on the

matter on March 26 in a decision

that is bound to ruffle feathers

within the county.

According to its website,

the MCPS board has lettered the

boundaries studies A-H, with A-D

and G aiming to gradually lower

attendance at overpopulated

schools and increase attendance

at underpopulated schools. Studies

E-F focus on making Crown a

holding school for other schools

that are being renovated. These

proposals are a bit inconsistent

with attendance zones, with

some overcrowded schools losing

population while other schools

like Gaithersburg and Churchill

would remain above 100 percent

of its facility use.

Sometime in February the

interface of the MCPS boundary

study page changed so that only

Taylor’s recommendation is visible

to the user. The indications

are that MCPS has decided what

it wants to do with the Crown

building and that the March 26

BOE vote might be a formality.

Martin recently received the MCEA Teacher of the Year for Sherwood.

inhibits people, Martin said, is

not recognizing their own biases.

In automatically shutting down

moments of conversation or discussion

in believing themselves

incapable of making mistakes,

people stop themselves from truly

reflecting inward.

“I think what I realized now

is that I was very much caught

up in the ones I didn’t think I had

reached,” said Martin. “And that

makes me feel angry, enraged,

and consumed with grief. But I

think as I reflect, I start thinking

about the people I did reach.”

Martin is just one piece of

the grander puzzle to make this

world kinder, stronger, and more

connected. Martin’s story, while

distinctly unique to her, is also

reflected by all those others who

have also chosen the noble path

of public service and of cultivating

the next generation of thinkers

and listeners. “I think sometimes

people think that the work

against race bias, religion bias, all

of it…that there’s a finish line,”

said Martin. “It’s a lifelong journey.”

Some days after sitting for

her lengthy interview with The

Warrior, Martin wrote a follow-up

email. Written as eloquently as

she speaks, Martin signed off with

hope for the future of Sherwood

and its students. She holds deep

gratitude for the community that

had been with her over the many

years, both as a student and later

a teacher. As she walks the halls,

her younger self still lingers. A

picture of her when she attended

Sherwood sits in a display case,

just outside the main office. “If

you can’t spot it, I’ll show you,”

she wrote. “Can you imagine that

girl walking down the hallway

seeing the KKK invitations?”

Educating Students about the

Importance of Media Literacy

by Kaitlyn Nardo ‘28

Evelyn San Miguel ‘26

Every year, the media center

comes into English classes to

discuss media literacy with students,

with the lessons differing

depending on the grade-level audience.

In addition, during media

literacy week in the fall, students

complete an online media literacy

lesson for SSL hours. However,

these skills are rarely paired with

teaching students about news and

current events.

While some teachers occasionally

do discuss current events

in class, there is not regular or

sustained coverage of current

events in social studies or English

classes.

“I think it’s very important to

know about events in the news.

Making things current shows students

the importance of events in

their lives,” said social studies

teacher Michael King, who added

that it can be more difficult to

incorporate current events in such

a politically polarizing time. “We

live in a world now where people

treat news and opinions almost

like they do their sports fandom.

Some difficult discussions are

hard to navigate when discussions

become ‘me vs you.’”

English teacher Ashley Graham-Bell

agrees that it is important

for students to discuss the

world today, but she acknowledges

that it’s challenging. “I think

that a lot of teachers kind of shy

away from talking about current

events, because they’re so volatile,

right? And they’re afraid that

there’s going to be a debate that

maybe gets out of hand or something

like that,” she said.

Media literacy lessons have

become a more pressing need as

the emergence of AI has made it

much more challenging to distinguish

between what is real and

what is fake. While AI tools can

be beneficial, it’s important to

view them with a healthy skepticism.

“There’s so much information

coming at us that it’s hard

to question it. They’ve made unbelievable

stuff believable to the

point where believable things are

now questioned, too,” said media

specialist Stephanie Flaherty.

Because of this abundance

of AI, people, especially students

and the youth, lack the required

media literacy skills to determine

credible news. MCPS media centers

partners with Common Sense

Media to create straightforward

lessons that students can easily

understand and pay attention to.

These lessons teach students the

necessary skills they need, such

as identifying credible sources

and identifying AI.

“ I think it’s a great overview to

start the conversation, but I think

that with media literacy, especially

with regards to all that’s happening

with misinformation and

AI, there’s so many ways that we

can be duped,” said Graham-Bell.

“I feel like teachers in all subjects

that relate to the media should be

having those conversations.”


5

March 5, 2026

In more ‘Rebranding,’ Trump

Renames Kennedy Center

symphony show out of the venue

as well, claiming the misalignment

of his own values and the

ones of the administration.“Symphony

No.15 is a portrait of Abraham

Lincoln, and the values of

the Kennedy Center today are in

direct conflict with the message

of the Symphony,” Glass said in

a statement as his reason for the

withdrawal. Along with the withdrawals

of shows, employees

are also leaving, such as Kevin

Couch, the senior vice-president

of artistic programming arts, who

was in the position for two weeks.

In response to this criticism

and upheaval, Richard Grenell,

the president of the Kennedy

Center appointed by Trump, has

said that the performance center

needed re-programming “We

cannot have arts institutions that

lose money because you have

programming that is woke or not

popular. We need popular programming

to sustain arts institutions,”

said Grenell in an interby

Makenna Babcock ‘28

Instagram Represents Major

Source for School Discourse

by Ziv Golan ‘26

In the age of social media,

the way in which official

school-related messaging is disseminated

has changed drastically.

Instagram is now arguably the

largest source of information for

students around Sherwood, and in

high schools across the country,

in regard to school news in general.

Official MCPS messaging

related to school closures is posted

on the platform. Nearly every

school club and sports team has

an account where they post regular

updates about when meetings

are and how to sign up for events.

The platform is truly a one-stop

shop for updates on the ongoings

of the school community.

“Students will tell me they

didn’t see a message I sent to

them through Group Me or Remind,

but they got the information

through my Instagram story,”

explained choir teacher Emily

Chu, who has an active Instagram

account where she posts updates

regarding the music department.

“It helps with communication

and with promoting what we are

doing here.”

School accounts post both

updates about what’s going on in

the building, but also fun engaging

content that can pique student

interest. Social studies teacher

Rob Hiller frequently posts trivia

facts related to U.S. history on the

official social studies Instagram

page. His “this day in history”

content in particular has gained

attention as an interesting way to

better inform students on historical

topics.

“I do think Instagram is a

good way to connect with the students

because so many are using

it. I try to keep the content to history-related

information because

that’s mainly what I teach,” said

Hiller. “I sometimes sprinkle in

other social studies contents, like

personal finance, but U.S. history

consumes most of my brain

and the content. I also will share

things from other school pages

when I can. Fundraisers, school

events, and celebrations.”

School-affiliated accounts

run by students tend to have

Google Images

Sherwood’s SGA Instagram page frequently posts about school events

somewhat stricter guidelines on

what can be posted than those run

by staff, although there are still

no official rules. “If we’re posting

something simple like a reminder

about something coming up then

it doesn’t have to be approved

necessarily,” said senior Stephanie

Rinelli, who runs the main

Sherwood SGA page. “But if it’s

something like a flyer for an event

that is being held, then it needs to

be approved to make sure all the

information is accurate.” .

In addition to official

school-sanctioned accounts,

there also exist accounts run by

Sherwood students that post information

related to the school

but are not officially associated

with Sherwood. The ‘warriorsection26’

account, for example,

posts information regarding

themes for sports games, along

with when non-school sanctioned

events, such as senior skip day,

are taking place. The existence

of such accounts creates a blurred

line between what is representative

of the school and what is not.

Social media is distinct from other

platforms used by school systems

in that it is difficult to monitor

content.

“Accounts are monitored.

Anyone can start an account but

when posting items on behalf of

Sherwood HS or MCPS, those accounts

are closely monitored and

if inappropriate things are posted/

written, the police will inform

the school system,” said Principal

Tim Britton. Although there

is an effort to monitor accounts,

it is difficult to track every social

media account when essentially

anyone can create one.

The question of whether or

not schools and school systems

should be represented on social

media has already been answered

by default, and in the new digital

age it is tough to maintain relevance

as an institution without a

social media presence. Sherwood,

and MCPS, will have to keep

walking the fine line between

keeping up a healthy online presence

while also ensuring that any

information going out is both accurate

and represents the community

well.

In December, President

Trump renamed the Kennedy

Memorial Center for Performing

Arts to the Trump-Kennedy

Center. Over the course of his

second term, he has made several

changes to honor himself. He also

has renamed the U.S. Institute of

Peace to the Donald J. Trump Institute

of Peace, and he reportedly

pushed elected officials to name

New York’s Penn Station and the

Washington Dulles International

Airport after him as well. There

were discussion about putting his

face on a commemorative coin as

part of celebrations this summer

for the 250th anniversary of the

country’s founding.

Trump’s goal when renaming

things, according to the White

House website, is to promote the

heritage of the nation and to ensure

that future generations of

Americans celebrate this history.

While Trump’s supporters appear

to be not concerned about

the expansion of the Trump name

becoming interconnected with

American institutions, critics and

opponents see the renaming of

buildings after himself as narcissistic.

After the renaming of the

Kennedy Center, there has been

significant public backlash, as

well as cancellations by artists

scheduled to perform at the center.

Renée Fleming, a highly celebrated

Grammy winning singer

and actress, as well as a participant

of the National Symphony

Orchestra, chose to withdraw

from all shows taking place at the

Kennedy Center.

Renowned composer Phillip

Glass has taken his premiere

Abbreviated Schedules Next Year

from APPROVAL pg 1

match their internship with their

desired career pathway.”

Students will still have

the option to get an abbreviated

schedule by taking classes at

MC. MCPS covers nearly 700

MC courses, ranging from core

classes to electives. “Students

can take up to two MC classes

per semester, and you must take

at least four classes in total,” said

Alissa Margolis, who was the MC

coordinator at Sherwood until she

changed positions mid-January.

Taking classes through MC can

benefit college-bound students by

allowing them to get a head start,

as all Maryland state schools will

accept all MC credits. Furthermore,

it enables students to earn

college credits in high school and

experience college courses and

professors before graduating high

school.

Many of the current internship

opportunities supervised by

Lynch will still meet the qualifications

for an abbreviated schedule.

Students will still be required

to take a minimum of four classes

at Sherwood before leaving for an

internship. They can leave school

for anywhere from one to three

periods, but their work hours

must be equal to the amount of

time they are not at school during

the week. “The bonuses are that

you get actual hands-on work experience,

build a network of people,

and learn soft skills that will

help you with your future career,

all while doing it in a supportive

environment,” said Lynch.

Another positive of having

an internship is that a weighted

grade is assigned for each period

a student is off, making an internship

a potential GPA booster. The

internship program fosters a positive

climate of career readiness

at Sherwood and shows value in

student experiences. However,

students with a half-day schedule

may miss out on other opportunities.

“There are lots of great

electives here at Sherwood, and

students could take a variety of

interesting electives that they

did not previously have room in

their schedules to take [with a full

schedule],” said Kelly Singleton,

Google Images

Starting in July, the center will undergo renovations for the next two years.

view with PBS.

Abruptly in January, Trump

announced that he would close

the Kennedy Center for the next

two years. He claims that it will

be necessary in order to make

renovations, but the rapid cancellations

and low audience numbers

suggest that it may be a way to

take attention off of the abandonment

of the venue by both artists

and patrons.

Trump comes from an extensive

background in business,

taking over his father’s real estate

company, the Trump Organization.

One of his first endeavours

was naming a hotel in New York

City after himself, calling it the

Trump International Hotel. While

Trump has had many real estate

properties, finance companies,

and several media and entertainment

services named after him,

his actions as president suggest

that he is moving onto a rebranding

of the country itself in his

name.

the current head of the counseling

department.

The process itself for students

to obtain an abbreviated schedule

has had a detrimental impact on

elective offerings at Sherwood.

When students who are interested

in an abbreviated schedule sign

up for classes, they still must sign

up for a full seven classes. This

is to ensure that students have a

backup plan as they confirm their

internship or MC classes with

their counselors and Lynch. Once

they have confirmation, students

will drop the classes they did not

actually plan to take. However,

this can negatively impact class

sizes and affect elective teachers

because there is no true indication

of interest in certain classes.

“If we cannot run enough

classes, then teachers get cut and

end up having to move to another

school,” said Principal Tim

Britton. Additionally, class sizes

turn out unevenly distributed, as

some electives that had previously

shown lots of interest in reality

only end up having a few students

once those with abbreviated

schedules drop them.

6

The Warrior • Opinions

March 5, 2026

theWarrior

the

Staff

Editors-in-Chief ................................................ Ziv Golan ‘26

Evelyn San Miguel ‘26

Managing Online Editor ................................... Cara Farr ‘27

Print

News .......................................................... Andrew Fenner ‘27

Opinions ................................................ Deepika Shrestha ‘27

Pulse ................................................................ Kenzy Duda ‘28

Spotlight ...................................................... Maya Dorsam ‘27

Humor ................................................................ Lilah Boig ‘26

Entertainment ....................................... Matilda Hawkins ‘27

Sports ................................ Cara Farr ‘27, Chase Sondike ‘26

Copy and Content

Director of Copy & Content ......................... Nisha Khatri ‘26

Business

Director of Advertising...................................... Elise Yang ‘27

Social Media

Directors of Social Media ..............................Emma Link ‘27

Molly Schecter ‘27

Photography

Photographer............................................ Oliver LaRoche ‘27

Staff Writers

Taylor Adams ‘27, Madelyn Awwad ‘27, Makenna Babcock

‘27, Maddie Baron ‘27, Tyler Boone ‘27, Emma Cosca

‘27, Reid Duvall ‘27, Gabriel Esteban ‘27, Violet Fujimoto

‘27, Ryan Green ‘26, Kenley Jacobs ‘27, Nicholas Jones

‘28, Roman Khrizman ‘27, Finian Kocsis ‘27, Ryan Lichter

‘27, Leslie Majkrzak ‘27, Kaitlyn Nardo ‘28, Yasmin Sheikh

‘27, Owen Smith ‘27, Rachel Themistokleous ‘26, Charlie

Weigand ‘27

The Warrior Newspaper serves as Sherwood’s

primary news source, receiving numerous state

and national honors over the 48 years it has been

in circulation. With a staff of 35 students under

the guidance of Peter Huck, The Warrior keeps

the Sherwood community informed about local

and national events. All opinion pieces

represent the viewpoint of the writer.

The Warrior invites feedback and corrections

to printed inaccuracies in editions.

The Warrior reserves the right to refuse

advertisements and other promotionals.

Late Grading Affects Academic Performance

by Maya Dorsam ‘27

According to MCPS policy,

teachers are required to return

graded work to students within

10 school days. Those teachers

who violate the policy are negatively

impacting their students,

and the school administration has

a responsibility to ensure that all

teachers are doing their job to

foster student growth. Prioritizing

grading students’ work in a more

timely manner must become the

standard.

For students, approaching interims

or the end of the marking

period means making countless

calculations on our own, figuring

out how well we think we did on

that last test, and learning to focus

on certain classes over others.

It is a stressful time with a lot of

academic and emotional strain.

A senior at the school shared

their experience; “Teachers grading

on time is a huge concern for

me, especially when my grade is

on the verge of an A and B. I am

constantly checking to see if they

grade something and put it in the

gradebook, so I know what my

grade will be. My math teacher,

for example, will wait until the

very last minute to start grading

tests, and it really bothers me how

I could be so close to an A but not

know what my grade is until it’s

too late to try and do anything

about it.”

Students have a willingness

and desire to succeed, and it is

popularly demonstrated through

the use of grade calculators,

which become ever more useful

and resourceful during stressful

school weeks. Spending important

time that could be used to

study or to complete assignments

Content Creator’s Unverified Claims

Should Not Be Accepted as Factual

by Deepika Shrestha ‘27

Daycares in Minnesota are

under scrutiny because an unverified

content creator decided

to investigate “$110 million” in

fraud from Somali business owners.

Despite his suspicious claims

and questionable reporting style,

the federal government under the

Trump administration immediately

decided to listen to this content

creator. The FBI opened an investigation

while the Department

of Homeland Security, under the

direction of Kristi Noem, doubled-down

on Operation Metro

Surge that deployed nearly 3,000

Immigration and Custom Enforcement

(ICE), and caused terror

and resistance in Minnesota.

In December 2025, conservative

content creator Nick Shirely

alleged fraud against day care

owners from the Somali community

in Minneapolis. Shirely went

to different daycares and knocked

on their doors inquiring about

enrolling a child. Some daycares

were not open or refused to talk

to Shirely, who claims he knew

about fraud since June of 2025

while reporting on Islam and

demographic changes. Shirely

to instead attempt to do a teacher’s

job is a waste.

A large number of students

have grown familiar with Grade

Melon, a website that allows students

to enter their student ID and

view their grades. Not only that,

students can enter imaginary assignments

and scores to see how

it will impact their overall class

and semester grades. The county

notably just blocked the website

on school-owned chromebooks.

“A lot of teachers take weeks

to grade multiple assignments,

which is why Grade Melon is

helpful for checking how more

than one test or essay will change

your grade,” voiced a junior.

Synergy, the county-wide

gradebook, just recently added

back a feature allowing students

to calculate grades after removing

it. However, it’s only useful

if assignments with point totals

are uploaded by teachers prior to

being graded, giving students the

opportunity to use a slider to predict

the possible grade outcomes.

However, teachers doing this

is extremely rare. Some people

argue that such calculators welcome

students to slack off once

they realize their grade is safe.

But for many students, it fosters

important life skills.

Emphasizing trying hard on

every assignment of every class is

awfully unrealistic when students

are forced to juggle seven. The

new grading policy has already

made it harder on many students.

While some could argue that it

is in their best interest, teachers

should not be the ones making

it harder by failing to abide by

county rules.

An endless number of students

are fed up. At one point

initiated his “investigation” after

recieving a tip on the subject.

Due to Shirely’s claims, FBI

Director Kash Patel ordered an

investigation of the suspected

fraud in Minnesota. At the direction

of the Trump Administration,

the Department of Human Health

and Services (HHS) froze approximately

$10 billion in federal

child care and family assistance

funds for five Democratic-led

states: California, Colorado, Illinois,

Minnesota, and New York,

citing “serious concerns about

widespread fraud and misuse” of

funds. A federal judge in February

granted a preliminary injunction

against the freeze. The Minnesota

Department of Children,

Youth, and Families found all the

accused daycares are operating

normally.

this year, one of

myteachers was over a month and

100-plus all-task points behind

on grading. To put that into perspective,

all-task points make up

90 percent of students’ grades for

those unfamiliar with the grading

policy. I had no grasp of my

standing in the AP course.

The philosophy that the purpose

of grades is to evaluate a student’s

understanding of content

or skills and learn from mistakes

loses its value when we students

do not receive feedback at or near

the time that we are learning that

material. It is not rare to receive

tests weeks after we have been

taught a topic, making it significantly

harder to retake or re-learn

such objectives. Not only that,

but when we do not receive progress

checks, how are we expected

to perform well on unit exams?

Student growth is stunted by

teachers’ tardy grading.

Some teachers point out that

they have to grade a lot and that

the assignments are lengthy. The

simple solution would be to give

reasonable amounts of work. It

should not hurt us to complete assignments,

yet it often does when

it takes weeks to see our accurate

grades. The frustration with grading

is not one-sided, and something

needs to be done if teachers

want to demonstrate care for the

well-being of their students.

“Waiting a long time for

grades adds unnecessary stress,

especially when an assignment

could make or break a grade. Students

are constantly left guessing

about their performance,” said

another junior. “Quicker feedback

would ease stress and help

students feel more in control of

their academic progress.”

Google Images

Nick Shirely outside a daycare he has accused of fraud in Minneapolis.

President Trump has spoken

negatively about the Somali community

in America. Trump has

called them “trash” and said they

“contribute nothing.” Shirely has

garnered attention online so much

that the Somalian community in

Minnesota is facing harassment

from around the country. The deployment

of thousands of ICE officers

in the city during Operation

Metro caused widespread fear,

protests, and unwarranted arrests.

The Trump administration

should not believe a content creator

with a disputable investigation

to report a federal crime.

The administration should rely on

local, state, and federal law enforcement

agencies to investigate

crimes such as fraud. That’s the

way the rule of law is supposed to

work.


March 5, 2026

Grock AI Pumps Out Deepfakes

by Lilah Boig ‘26

At the start of this school

year, while most students were

settling in, a 13-year-old in Louisiana

was dealing with an absurd

reality in which peers had

AI-generated nude images of her.

Another classmate was found to

have made explicit pictures of

nine female students, including

her and two adults, sharing them

across the school in one day. As

AI advancements make it easier

to generate realistic images,

this scenario is one of hundreds

across schools and America.

Most recently, there was an

outburst of X’s Grock AI being

used to undress millions of images

of unconsenting women and

children following X CEO Elon

Musk’s response to the initial

outrage that his AI bot was being

used for deepfakes. Musk himself

posted two AI photos of UK

Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a

bikini after Starmer called for an

investigation into it, leading to a

1411-percent increase in Grock

AI being prompted. In a span of

nine days, 3 million sexual images

of people were created online,

with many being of children

by children. The response from

Musk and the U.S. government

to the continuous instances of

non-consensual AI pornography

is disgusting and reveals yet another

way AI proves to be dangerous

when unregulated.

Through generative AI, the

easy ability to create this type of

content is directly a gateway to

those looking to harass children

explicitly, without real consequences.

During the explosion on

X, 23,000 of the images created

were of minors, leading to inci-

dents such as the one in Louisiana.

Furthermore, adult women

online are having their childhood

photos targeted more than their

photos as adults. Even those such

as Ashley St. Clair, an influencer

who had a child with Musk, recently

had one of her childhood

photos “nudified” on X, and faced

the terrifying reality of not being

able to control who those images

went to. In the real world,

this would be easily viewed as

the child pornography that it is,

but Grock AI quickly produced

the fake images when prompted,

and X allowed for the sharing of

them, regardless of any policies.

Even as backlash hit Musk,

the first “restriction” was that the

creation of explicit images was

only allowed for subscribers to

Grock AI on X. This regulation

had no regard for actually helping

the cause, as it turned deepfaking

people’s nudes into a premium

service. It was only after the state

of California launched an investigation

that Musk added regional

regulations to Grock AI, which

still do not completely limit its

abilities.

The contrast between America’s

response to this incident and

the rest of the world illuminates

Google Images

Grok AI on X created image of Abraham Lincoln using a VR headset.

how AI in America could be dealt

with better, but is not. After the

flooding of explicit deepfakes

from Grock AI, Brazilian officials

immediately called for a ban of

X, Indian regulators demanded

policy changes, and UK Prime

Minister Starmer spoke out for

an immediate investigation that

led to regulation on image-generation.

When President Trump

was asked about AI regulation, he

proclaimed that there would be

none in the name of free speech,

and already in December had

created an executive order that

barred states from limiting it.

Free speech should be protected

but using it as a defense to not

regulate AI cultivates a society in

which women and children are

unsafe. Grock AI and many other

advanced AI systems demonstrate

how easily AI can be misused,

and with the limited desire

for regulation, its potential to

continue harming people across

the country is extremely likely.

American leaders are allowing

this in the name of advancing

technology but without serious

federal regulations against it, AI

will progress in ways that risk the

privacy and safety of individuals

of all ages.

Is Dual Enrollment Setting

Students up for Success?

by Yasmin Sheikh ‘27

7

Montgomery College (MC)

has partnered with MCPS for

the past few years to offer Early

College (full day) and Jumpstart

(half day) classes either virtually,

asynchronous, or in person at

MC. The advertised benefits are

experiencing college-level classes,

saving money by earning college

credit, or accessing classes

that aren’t available at your high

school. Although these factors

may make dual enrollment enticing,

there are shortcomings to the

offerings.

One drawback of the dual

enrollment route is that most

classes offered have a virtual

option. This virtual instruction

draws in students that have busy

schedules or do not want to commit

to in-class learning at one of

the Montgomery College locations.

As many students experienced

during the covid pandemic,

virtual classes involve less

student-teacher interaction. Student-teacher

interaction promotes

engagement, a huge part of effective

learning in any subject. According

to an article by the New

York Times, “online students tend

to do worse than students who attend

courses in person.”

Another type of class offered

by MC are asynchronous classes.

These are classes that are selfpaced

and involve no meetings

with professors. Even more so

than virtual classes, asynchronous

classes allow material to be

easily misconstrued without faceto-face

interaction with an educator.

Teens who take these types of

classes miss out on crucial learning

experiences, as studies have

shown that adolescence is one of

the most critical periods for brain

development. Although virtual or

asynchronous classes may be enticing

for teens, these classes are

not the best way for teens to learn,

especially for those who take dual

enrollment to replace in-person

high school courses.

Cheating is also a problem

within dual enrollment because

of how much freedom students

are given. There are take-home

exams, and classes are often selfpaced.

This freedom is a great

way for college students to manage

their time and their own education,

but this freedom given

to high school students can give

way to plagiarism and cheating.

Additionally, AP classes

have proven to be more helpful

than dual enrollment when applying

to prestigious and out of

state institutions. AP classes are

recognized by thousands of universities,

as many high-level institutions

prefer the consistency

of the College Board system over

dual enrollment. Although dual

enrollment potentially is helpful

if students are aiming to go to colleges

in-state, many out of state

and private colleges don’t accept

dual enrollment credits.

According to Sherwood students

involved in dual enrollment,

there appears to be no available

survey to assess student satisfaction

of the program. Without

garnering feedback from students

or without careful monitoring of

the courses by MCPS, there is no

way to ensure the quality of education

that students receive is up

to par.

Olympians Speak Out

by Leslie Majkrzak ‘27

As the 2026 Winter Olympics take off in Milan, U.S.

athletes grapple with politics back home. Freestyle skier

Hunter Hess expressed his conflicted feelings about competing

in the Olympics for the U.S. Hess voiced his opposition

to the current activities of the Trump Administration

regarding Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). In

response, President Trump called Hess “a real loser” on

Truth Social. Many American athletes previously avoided

speaking in direct criticism of specific institutions, but after

Hess spoke out, others followed suit. Figure skater Amber

Glenn believes she should be able to use her platform

during the games to communicate her political opinions

and inspire other Americans, such as speaking about the

current struggles of the LGBTQ+ community.

American Olympians should be able to represent their

country without having to agree with everything it does.

They should also have the opportunity to use the Olympic

Games as a platform to express their opinions and beliefs.

Retaliation from the government, including through social

media, is unacceptable. As Americans, these athletes have

the right to free speech, which includes expressing their

political beliefs openly. Even if the government does not

agree or is being criticized, it has no right to try to guilt or

bully the athletes into staying silent.

Walk the Talk

by Madelyn Awwad ‘27

Students across MCPS have decided to take part in

larger national debates over the Immigration and Customs

Enforcement (ICE). In the past few weeks, walkouts have

taken place at schools such as Wheaton, B-CC, Gaithersburg,

Montgomery Blair, Quince Orchard, Walt Whitman,

Watkins Mill, Northwest, and Sherwood. Each protest has

been student-led and organized, and spread through social

media. These walkouts continue as ICE expands arrests

in neighborhoods, work spaces, and holds more people in

detention centers across the United States. Families are being

separated and protests are happening in different places

throughout the country. What students saw online and

on TV is now spreading through their own communities.

As national attention around immigration grows, so

does the emotional impact on local communities. For many

students, this debate feels personal because it connects to

classmates, friends, and family. Many do not know what

someone’s family may be going through or who is being

affected by these policies. The students who chose to walk

out showed unity and support for one another during this

time of uncertainty. Their actions reflect the idea that love

and standing together as a community carry real strength.

As Bad Bunny said: “The only thing more powerful than

hate is love.”

Court Limits Trump

by Nisha Khatri ‘26

On February 20, the Supreme Court officially overturned

President Trump’s recent tariff policies, deeming

them both illegal and unconstitutional. The expanded tariffs,

which went into effect on April 5 of last year, imposed

significant taxes between 10 and 15 percent on goods from

nearly all countries globally. However, these tariffs lacked

the necessary congressional approval. While a few alternative

statutes exist that allow the president to independently

impose tariffs, none cover the full extent of his actions,

prompting the Supreme Court to strike them down in a 6-3

ruling. This decision marks the first time during Trump’s

second term where the justices have overturned one of his

policies.

Although the ruling was not unanimous, the overall

response of the Supreme Court reveals the power of

checks and balances to combat a blatant overreach of executive

authority. The majority of the Supreme Court is

conservative, but the justices were clear in their respect

for the Constitution’s separation of powers and the limits

it places on the president’s actions. With the growth of the

power of the government in recent years, decisions like

this remain highly significant and highlight the importance

of preserving the balance of power and ensuring accountability,

regardless of political affiliation or policy goals.

8


March 5, 2026

‘Donroe Doctrine’ Reveals Trump’s Imperialistic Mindset

by Taylor Adams ‘27

The idea of acquiring Greenland

was originally thrown around

in 2019, during Donald Trump’s

first presidency. His claim was

initially dismissed and mocked,

even when he revisited the idea at

the beginning of his second presidency.

However, when he stated

in January that he would not rule

out using force to obtain Greenland,

many around the world became

troubled over his intentions.

Trump’s accosting of Greenland

exposes his harmful imperialistic

and entitled mindset.

Located just northeast of

Canada, Greenland sits right on

the shortest path for missiles

to fly between Russia and the

U.S., making it perfect for early

warning systems in the event of

an attack. Arctic shipping lanes

allow European vessels to navigate

through the Arctic towards

America, and many of these

lanes go directly past Greenland.

With Russia conducting practice

military maneuvers in the Arctic

lanes, and the opening of new,

more direct lanes due to global

warming, Greenland’s position

becomes key to American defense.

There is already a U.S.

military base in Greenland utilizing

these benefits, Pituffik Space

Base, which was built in the

1950s. Greenland openly accepts

the advantage of the base and allows

America to station there.

Along with its strategic placement,

the land is believed to hold

large oil and natural gas reserves,

which are resources that America

never fails to pounce on. Trump

sees the assets that come with

owning Greenland, but has failed

to consider the island’s autonomy.

Greenland is a self-ruling

territory of Denmark with its own

parliament, government, and the

ability to control its own domestic

affairs. Applying imperialistic

control over it would scramble

its existing government and economics,

which rely heavily on

the annual block grant of approximately

$630 million they receive

from Denmark. Without Danish

support, Greenland’s economy

will quickly collapse. Trump’s

ignorance towards this expresses

his unrealistic hope to profit

from Greenland without putting

any effort towards upkeeping

the conditions of the territory. As

well, Trump doesn’t need to own

Greenland to reap the benefits of

its placement as Pituffik has already

been established. His initiative

towards owning Greenland is

nothing more than a yearning for

more control.

Trump has already begun

interfering in other places in the

Western Hemisphere. In early

January, the U.S. army and Central

Intelligence Agency carried

out a special operation known as

“Operation Absolute Resolve”

that involved capturing Venezuela’s

President, Nicolás Maduro,

and his wife, Cilia Flores. The

kidnapping was a result of the rising

conflict due to the U.S. conducting

several strikes on Venezuelan

boats accused of carrying

drugs. The Trump administration

claims taking Maduro was an action

of policing dangerous drug

activity and government corruption

in Venezuela. However,

Google Images

Trump has repeatedly trolled European leaders on his Truth Social account, generating AI images of himself.

it’s obvious that Venezuela’s oil

industry was a large motivator.

Following the kidnapping, Trump

stated the U.S. would tap into

Venezuela’s oil reserves, which

are the largest in the world. The

imperialistic mindset has already

set in towards Venezuela, a country

the U.S. doesn’t even own. It

doesn’t stop at wanting to own

and exploit just Venezuela for its

resources, as Trump has even stated

he wants to add Canada as the

51st state. He claims rather than

using military force, he would

enact harsh tariffs and economic

pressure to force Canada to allow

the annexation.

The Monroe Doctrine, created

in the early 1800s and named

after James Monroe, the fifth

president, was designed to warn

European powers away from the

newly independent nations in the

Americas. Trump coined the term

“Donroe Doctrine” in January to

describe the U.S.’s recently developed

aggressive foreign policy,

involving challenging foreign

influences and securing resources.

Trump’s idea of this doctrine

suggests using direct action to

restore American power. The

belligerence towards Greenland

and other resources-rich areas reveals

the administration’s desire

for dominance over the Western

Hemisphere. Both the “Donroe

Doctrine” and the deal Trump

hopes to achieve with Greenland

expose the raw logic of American

superiority and entitlement

Trump is employing in his foreign

policy. He is following closely

behind the precedent of Manifest

Destiny, which benefitted the settlers

but destroyed native populations

and led to wars.

The mindset that favors this

deal only encourages more global

instability, while completely

ignoring the possibility of partnership

with other countries to

get a similar economic benefit.

Paired with the American government’s

kidnapping of Venezuela’s

president, wanting to overtake

Greenland conveys a lack of consideration

for other nations and

keeping the peace. It’s become

clear through this pursuit that

Trump has developed a fixation

on land and power, and his hunger

for it is now becoming harmful.

If he already feels he deserves

the Western hemisphere and all

its resources, where does his entitlement

end?

Healthy Standards in School Lunches Require Healthy Funding

by Rachel Themistokleous ‘26

In early January, the Department

of Health and Human Services

and the Department of Agriculture

(USDA) revealed new

dietary guidelines for Americans,

along with a new food pyramid.

These new guidelines are focused

on promoting proteins and

healthy fats, while cutting back

on highly processed foods. The

new food pyramid now puts red

meat and dairy at the top of the

food pyramid as a top priority

and pushes whole grains toward

the bottom. The new guidelines

likely will significantly affect the

offerings for school lunches in

cafeterias.

School lunches are very important

for supporting children’s

nutritional needs, often leading to

an increase in food security and

boosts in academic performance.

Students from low-income families

rely heavily on school meals

as a primary source of daily nutrition.

For some, school meals may

be the most balanced meals they

receive during the day. Expecting

schools to meet stricter standards

without new funding ignores this

reality. If schools cannot afford to

properly implement the new standards,

students may begin to face

limited options and meals that

technically meet the new guidelines,

but lack quality. When food

isn’t adequate for a child, it ends

up in the trash and ultimately defeats

the purpose of improved nutrition.

While most Americans may

or many not choose to disregard

these new rules, this change is

highly influential in determining

what can now be served in school

meals, as it sets federally mandated

new school nutrition standards

with a limit on processed

foods. The agencies vaguely call

for replacing highly processed

foods with “nutrient-dense food

and home-prepared meals,” but

include no specifics on food types

or meals. The majority of school

meals currently consist mostly of

ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat meals

that come from highly processed

sources. However, schools will

likely be forced to change this

soon with the updated rules, especially

with the strict added sugar

guideline that states one meal

should contain no more than 10

grams of added sugars, and for

children ages 5-10 recommend

no added sugars at all. Without

a significant increase in federal

funding for school lunches, these

new standards risk becoming an

unfunded mandate that schools

cannot meet.

That urgency is only growing.

Health leaders, educators,

and farmers have already warned

that recent cuts of more than

$600 million to USDA programs

that helped supply fresh food to

school could harm students’ nutrition

and learning. Proposed

cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program (SNAP)

are projected to remove free

school meal access from roughly

18 million children nationwide.

Tightening nutrition rules while

millions more students may depend

on school meals is not just

unrealistic, but also irresponsible.

Nutrition researchers have also

highlighted the uncertainty these

guidelines bring, as they emphasize

full-fat dairy and red meat,

while still recommending a tight

Google Images

Robert F Kennedy Jr. introduced a new model for the food pyramid.

saturated-fat limit.

There are two main ways to

reduce the reliance on ultra-processed

food in school meals.

The first being to hire staff with

advanced culinary training in

order to serve food that is made

from scratch, and therefore less

processed. However, cooking

balanced meals with whole ingredients

that follow the precise nutrition

guidelines requires trained

cafeteria staff. This would require

time and resources that many districts

simply do not have. Many

school nutrition workers are underpaid

and overworked already,

and schools cannot be expected

to attract or retain experienced

cooks without proper funding.

With the right funding and necessary

steps taken, it is not impossible

to start working towards this

change.

The second way is installing

adequate kitchen equipment

to prepare meals from scratch.

The problem is that many school

kitchens were designed decades

ago to reheat and serve prepackaged

meals. Large ovens, proper

refrigeration, and food prep stations

are not guaranteed in every

school building. Without investments

in better infrastructure,

districts will struggle to meet the

new expectations.

Some nonprofit groups are

already helping districts transition

to scratch cooking through

training and kitchen upgrades,

but these programs can’t make

this change on their own. If the

federal government believes in

healthier futures for students,

then it must invest accordingly.

Increased reimbursement rates,

grants for kitchen upgrades, and

funding for culinary training

programs would be a good start

to make the USDA’s new guidelines

achievable rather than aspirational.

Strong standards paired

without strong funding will only

burden schools.

How would you rate your average level

of stress throughout the school year?

The Warrior • Pulse

March 5, 2026

9

The Pulse

Finding Balance

How much do you agree with the

statement, “If I’m not overwhelmed,

I’m not trying hard enough?”

Medium

32.29% Low

51.5%

20.3%

High 29.4%

Don’t know

15.6%

27.3%

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Unsure

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

61%

of

students

Get 6 or less hours of

sleep on school nights.

Students were asked about the

things they normally use AI for.

Here are some of their answers:

“Helping with college and pure random

questions. It’s the new Google.”

“What to bake at home.”

This pie chart represents how much students

felt they were pressured to achieve, even at

the expense of their mental health. The

responses were mixed, showing that a variety

of students either feel the need or don’t

to stress themselves out in order to succeed.

How quickly do your teachers

grade assignments?

They go too slow

Depends on the teacher

They go at a fine pace

“Asking for advice or how I can

make something better, without

asking for something directly.”

“Helping me with other problems and

questions I have in my life that need

more personal information to answer,

such as gym tips and questions.”

INSTRUCTION

MANUAL

LECTURE FORMAT: INEFFECTIVE

THE TEACHING

TOOLBOX

CLOSE TEACHER RELATIONHIP: EFFECTIVE

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

Do you succeed more in classes when you have a

close/cofortable relationship with the teacher?

(From a survey of approximately 230 Sherwood students)

The professional development focus for Sherwood teachers

this year is “student engagement.” In addition to various

team meetings a source was shared with staff from

SimpleK12 about the levels, purposes, and methods of

increasing student engagement.

OBJECTIVES

- Creating a lively and motivating learning

environment.

- Fostering communication between students

and faculty.

- Promoting student success through

hands-on support.

HOW TO INCREASE

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

1. Make class time valuable

“Good teachers do not merely ‘deliver content’ to students, but wake them up,

throw them on their feet, and pull the chair away.”

-Wendy Brown, Heller Professor of

Political Science, UC Berkeley

10%

Reading

20%

Audio Visual

30%

Demonstration

50%

Discussion Group

75%

Practice By Doing

90%

Teaching Others

Source: National Training Laboratories, Bethel, Maine

Average Learning

Retention Rates

5% Lecture

“A new study finds that undergraduate students in classes with

traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are

1.5 times more likely to fail

than students in classes that use more stimulating, so-called active learning methods.”

-Aleszu Bajak, director of data visualization at the Urban Institute

4%

No

8%

Not

Sure

15%

Depends

GROUP WORK: EFFECTIVE

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success."

-Henry Ford

Fosters teamwork

73%

Yes

“These early connections significantly influence not only academic

achievement, but also absenteeism, social, emotional and behavioral

development and executive functioning skills, which are

critical for educational sucess.”

-Arya Ansari, associate professor of human development and family science,

and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania

Benefits

Improves communication skills

Develops conflict resolution techniques Builds leadership and responsibility

Enhances creativity

2. Value student input

3. Collaborate with students

on their success

4. Utilize technology

5. Ask open-ended questions

LEVELS

1. Engagement

2. Strategic compliance

3. Ritual compliance

4. Retreatism

5. Rebellion

COLD-CALLING: INEFFECTIVE

What are your thoughts on teaching tactics such as cold-calling

(randomly calling on students for participation)?

(From a survey of approximately 230 Sherwood students)

21%

They are effective and don’t bother me

29%

They make me nervous,

but they are helpful

49%

They make me extremely nervous and are

more detrimental than helpful

“‘Failure is accompanied by a variety of emotions:

embarrassment, anxiety, anger, sadness, and shame, to name a few. Those feelings

are uncomfortable, and many people will do anything they can to escape feeling

emotional discomfort.’ This suggests that by calling on students, they’re

pushed towards giving up

instead of trying again.”

-Grace Lee, Great Neck High School, The Southerner

12

The Warrior • Humor

March 5, 2026

HUMOR DISCLAIMER: This section is intended as satire and uses the tools of exaggeration, irony,

or ridicule in the context of politics, current trends, recent school events, and other topical issues.

First Alien Contact

By Kenzy Duda ‘28

Wow! Earth

has so much

wild stuff!

Indeed. Look at all

these Earthling video

feeds!

UNC-HEATED

RIVALRY

Incredible! I have

never seen anything

like it!

We should trust everything

it tells us!

How could it not be

true?

Where is all

this informtion

coming from?

Both of you

are fired!

NOW!

It’s from a app

called “Sora AI”

Look, a Labubu

is riding an

elephant!

Look! A duck

racing a cow

with a jetpack!

Didn’t they have

a world takeover

recently?

BREAKING NEWS: 6-7!!!!!!

by Ryan Green ‘26

Ryan Litcher ‘27

As professional writers for

The Warrior newspaper, we have

done our research. After completing

projects and taking quizzes

on various global events during

the class, we have concluded

that TikTok has better sources

for news than the brainwashing

channels that only normies watch.

Through hours of hard work

of doomscrolling and scavenging

the lengths of TikTok, we

have learned more about the

world than being in the Newspaper

elective or by reading

… anything. Even our current

events, study guides, tests, and

charts still don’t compare to the

amount of knowledge on TikTok.

It is like a bible that anyone can

edit, making it super reliable.

National TV news outlets

like CNN and NBC only share

what they want the viewers to see,

which almost always are about

so-called big new items like the

economy, or wars, or immigration.

They will not report on important

trends like 6-7 on national

television. TikTok allows you to

stay young and never turn into

your aging and corny parents.

Speaking of parents, they

watch the news every night or

read printed newspapers but it’s

about political junk that no one

under the age of 20--or probably

even under age 30--cares about.

You certainly won’t learn about

the new brainrot slang you’ll

find while scrolling on TikTok.

Oldies think that the new slang

isn’t important but forget it’s crucial

for understanding modern

culture and connecting with the

new generations. Their “totally

tubular” and “gnarly” is our “ferda”

and “bussin.” Without our

slang, the uncs are left behind.

Speaking young is not only

important for communicating

with friends but when you get

old and have to work with the

newer generations. Being able to

communicate with employees is

key in the workspace, especially

with the social media teams.

Way back when they were

kids, adults used a rope and a

cup to communicate with their

friends. It’s true--you can see

videos of it on TikTok. Today

kids use social media to communicate

with friends. Parents are

just salty they didn’t have this

high level technology back in

their day, which tempts them to

hate on the new style of living.

Old-time news reporters and

sports analysts are not reliable

anymore, which is why we have

by Lilah Boig ‘26 and Matilda Hawkins ‘27

Dylan Page and Noah Glenn Carter.

These are influencers who

share current trends and are the

new philosophers of our generation.

These influencers grab the

attention of the new generations

to spark deep intellectual discussions

in the comment section. Just

take a look for yourself.

Nowadays adults complain

that it is the phones ruining

the lives of children, but to us

it’s our way to understand the

world. Telling a kid that Trump

is trying to take over the world

or something like that is boring.

Saying “POV: Trump speedruns

world takeover” with an explanation

with minecraft parkour at

the bottom with the soothing AI

voice helps keep kids up to date

with the world. Same knowledge,

just a whole new method

to keep the kids interested.

As we continue and become

editors in chiefs, interviewing

Presidents and high level political

figures, we will thank TikTok

for the knowledge and wisdom

we now possess. If we were to

say one thing to the younger

generations, it would be to follow

TikTok and not the news.

As renowned scientist Albert

Einstein once said, “Life is like

a bicycle. To keep your balance,

you must watch TikTok.”

The Warrior • Humor

March 5, 2026

13

HUMOR DISCLAIMER: This section is is intended as as satire and uses the tools of of exaggeration, irony, or or

ridicule in in the context of of politics, current trends, recent school events, and other topical issues.

Current Events Crossword

1

2

4 5

3

6

7

8

9

19

15

18

10 11 12

13 14

17

20

Across

2. This major newspaper recently underwent significant

staff and budget cuts in an unprecedented move

5. Name of the current first lady of the United States,

the subject of a recent documentary

9. This man, a former royal, was recently arrested

in connection with the investigation into sex-offender

Jeffrey Epstein

10. This country’s hockey team lost to both the US

men’s and women’s team in the recent Olympics

12. This trade policy has been heavily pursued by

President Trump in his 2nd administration

13. This DC performing arts center was recently

announced to be shutting its doors for 2 years starting

in July

16. The Mexican state that recently saw the assassination

of a major cartel leader, descending the region

into chaos

18. This country recently marked a somber anniversary

of 4 years at war

19. Identify this A-list female singer was recently

nominated to be inducted into the Songwriter Hall of

Fame

20. Name the Midwestern city currently experiencing

significant protests as a result of ICE presence in the

city

16

Down

1. This popular HBO Max series that took the

world by storm about two hockey players descending

into romance

3. Name the weather phenomena that swept

through the East Coast of the United States in

February

4. This woman recently became the first female

governor of Virginia, delivering the response to

Trump’s State of the Union address

6. This upcoming awards show will honor achievements

in the film industry over the past year

7. This sporting event just recently had its closing

ceremonies in the Italian city of Milan

8. The name for the annual speech given by the US

President, recently delivered by President Trump

11. The first name of the top American figure skater

who recently won gold in the winter Olympics

14. Name this sci-fi movie, based on the hit novel,

set to be released at the end of March

15. This famous Puerto Rican singer performed at

the 2026 Superbowl halftime show

17. This country faced recent protests against the

authoritarian government, and is now in conflict

with the US

To See Answers Check The Warrior Online

(thewarrioronline.com) -Lilah Boig ‘26 and Ziv Golan ‘26

DITL of America’s Lackeys

by Ziv Golan ‘26

The Trump Administration

works tirelessly every single

day to show up for the American

people. As a way of building

transparency with the public, a

few administration officials have

written out a day in their lives:

RFK Jr. (Secretary of

Health and Human Services)

“As one of the foremost professionals

in America’s medical

field, I of course wake up every

morning to nature’s ice bath, taking

a dip in the beautiful brown

water of Washington DC’s Rock

Creek. Pro tip: think of the raw

sewage as bath toys and all will

be well! After my refreshing

swim, I go home to a nice breakfast

consisting of raw cow liver

and beef intestine, the entire food

pyramid represented in a single

meal. After breakfast, I must

apply my daily beef tallow ointment

and inject a nice serving of

steroids to feed my ever-growing

mind. Follow this routine, and

you can be as healthy as me!”

Kristi Noem (Homeland

Security Secretary)

“As America’s leading border

protector, I cannot be seen eating

any of these “ethnic” foods. Casadillas,

Borittos, Tacoes– all of

that is out of the question. My

breakfast every morning is a

pound of raw hamburger meat, a

real AMERICAN meal. After eating,

I go to work on a daily ICE

patrol. I park outside of a local

elementary school, looking for

shifty 7-year olds to pick up off

the street. This country was built

on 67 year old American men, and

it must stay that way. To close out

the day, I return to my platform

where I plug myself back into the

ballroom wall for the night, excited

for another day as a minion!”

Pam Bondi (Attorney General)

“I wake up every morning

at 3 a.m. to head straight to Capitol

Hill, megaphone in hand,

Google Images

ready to berate elected officers

as they arrive at work. Anyone

who questions my tactics gets

body slammed and choked out,

no exceptions. After this, I go to

my office where I take a spin of

my wheel of Democrats to decide

who I will charge next. All

enemies of our glorious president

must be put in their place.

To wrap up my day, I call Supreme

Leader Trump while kicking

my feet in the air to receive

my orders for the next day.”

JD Vance (Vice President)

“I wake up at 8 p.m. for a

busy day of getting booed at and

serving my bff Donald. He tells

me the boos are just a sign of

endearment, and this kind of inspiration

is why I keep his poster

up on my wall– much better

than the Backstreet Boys. After

waiting on Donnie for dinner,

he finally lets me go out for my

daily walk. On the walk, I encounter

a squirrel, which I chase

through the park. I call that a win!

Following my walk, I return to

the Oval Office, where Don Don

gives me a treat for being a good

boy. After my long, hard day of

work, I curl up in a ball and fall

asleep. Damn, I forgot to check

in with my wife and kids again!”

Stephen Miller (Presidential

Advisor)

“As I lay awake at night in

my coffin, I consider what diabolical

plans to institute next.

I read my daily affirmation, a

statement from Project 2025, to

get me all riled up. On my walk

to the office I tear down as many

“woke” posters I can find. Peace

for all, Anti-Murder– none of

these movements have a place

in Trump’s America! As I arrive

at the office, I kiss the picture

hanging of Emperor Trump,

promising him another day of

greatness. Some people like to

read the sports scores from the

day before, but there is nothing

that I enjoy more with my lunch

than seeing the daily numbers of

how many people got deported.”

14

The Warrior • Entertainment

March 5, 2026

Send Help Is a 2026 Must-See

by Finian Kocsis ‘28

Sam Raimi’s Send Help is an

exciting new film for horror fans

everywhere. It mixes survival,

thriller, comedy, and horror all

in one movie that keeps the audience

guessing what will happen

next. Horror is a genre that has

been around for decades, and it’s

hard to come up with a unique

idea that hasn’t been done before,

much less execute it properly and

keep it from being predictable

and boring. While it may not be

entirely original, Send Help is

carried out excellently and is full

of surprises that keep the audience

on the edge of their seats.

At first, the film follows a

similar premise to other movies of

being stranded on an island with

no way off. It is very reminiscent

of Cast Away and Gilligan’s Island.

But as the film progresses,

it diverges from the typical formula.

Several twists and turns

make the film stand out from

other survival and thriller films

that follow a similar premise.

Another highlight of the film

is the two main characters, Linda

Liddle (Rachel McAdams) and

Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien),

portrayed by exceptional performances.

McAdams, especially,

is a standout. Even though this

was her first horror film, she was

the star of the film and give one

of the strongest performances in

horror in 2026. O’Brien is also

excellent in the movie; he had a

wide emotional range that made

me feel bad for him even though

he was portrayed as the antagonist.

Although there was worry

that both of these actors are so

big and both very accomplished

that it would be hard to see them

as their individual characters,

both McAdams and O’Brien do

very well to absorb themselves

into their characters. They make

their stories more believable,

something other actors might

not have been able to do as well.

The addition of secondary

characters is a pleasant surprise.

Even though the dynamics between

McAdams and O’Brien

were very enjoyable, it’s nice

to have other characters to push

the story further than it might

have if it were only the two main

characters. Edyll Ismail, in her

role as Zuri, Bradley’s fiancée,

is both shocking and a pleasant

surprise. Her role, along with

Chris Pang, who plays Chase,

one of Bradley’s friends, is another

highlight for the film and

elevates the story, helping add

depth to the main characters

and making the audience both

hate and love them even more.

Send Help delivers the audience

a unique twist on the survival

genre with its mix of both

horror and satirical elements. The

casting choices are what push

the film to its maximum potential,

and without McAdams and

O’Brien, the movie might not

have been what it could have

been. While it may not reinvent

the survival or horror genres, it

does expand what movies like

this may be in the future. It’s

definitely a must-watch for anyone

looking for a fun thriller with

some horror elements mixed in.

Grade: A

Electronics Show Launches

an AI-Powered Innovation

by Nisha Khatri ‘26

From January 6-9, Las Vegas

featured the largest and most

impactful consumer electronics

trade show. With the surge of AI

in recent months, the show spotlighted

a variety of AI-related

products, as well as other major

reveals and announcements

from major tech companies.

The event itself drew over

148,000 attendees from across the

world, with more than 400 conference

sessions and more than 1,300

speakers on recent and upcoming

projects. A Consumer Electronics

Show (CES) spokesperson said in

an interview with NBC Las Vegas

that AI is the big story sparking

discussion and innovation.

The show served as a true

global stage and a reminder of

growing global rivalry, and the

importance of investment in

terms of shaping innovation and

the future. The rise and advancement

of technology particularly

links to countries which have

made substantial investment in

AI and digital infrastructure.

The United States, United Kingdom,

and China are among the

countries leading in selected

technology and AI capacity, according

to the Federal Reserve.

Combined, the United States and

China possess 60 percent of all

existing AI patents and produce

a third of global AI publications.

CES further reflects a shift

from experimental AI to everyday

consumer AI, prompting both

intrigue and concerns. According

to Circana, a market research and

technology company, a third of

consumers resist AI on their devices,

with the top reason being

they “do not need AI capabilities.”

Others view AI products

as gimmicky and superficial.

A number of innovations

were introduced by major tech

companies at CES, many of

which have caught the attention

of industry experts and consumers

alike. AI now powers several

of these inventions, from a beauty

mirror and toothbrush to dinner

plates and tennis-playing robots.

Other features include smartphone-sized

e-readers for reading,

music, and note-taking, and

Xreal sunglasses that connect to

phones for streaming and gaming.

AI products differ from others

in that they are more adaptable.

Known as adjunctive AI,

it can also be used as a tool in

oncology and hand surgery.

Rather than following the strict

rules of other machinery, this

AI subset is often more personalized,

with reactive behavior

and the ability to independently

automate complex decisions.

Trade shows like CES are

additionally becoming more

popular in 2026, with the Tech

Supershow in Ft. Lauderdale

this month, TechAdvantage in

Nashville in March, and CEDIA

Expo in Denver in September being

other top shows coming up.

The global AI market has

made waves, already having

reached $189 billion and projected

by the United Nations to

reach $4.8 trillion by 2033. Although

debate continues over

if AI will become the standard

or not, consumers can expect

AI to be a constant presence

throughout industries worldwide.

The Pitt Continues To Deliver in Season 2

by Emma Link ‘27

The second season of the

critically acclaimed medical

show The Pitt returned with a

new season full of drama, intense

moments, and medical emergencies.

This new season is quickly

becoming a hit as the show is designed

to be realistic and accurate,

allowing viewers to experience

what it is like to work an exhausting

15-hour shift in the emergency

center of a major city hospital.

Viewers are introduced to a

new character who significantly

impacts the hospital’s dynamics.

In the previous season, the show

revolved around the main attendant

at the hospital, Dr. Robby,

played by Noah Wyle. This season

has brought in a new attendant,

Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi)

who will take over Dr. Robbie’s

position when he goes on a threemonth

sabbatical break. As the

beginning of the season kicked

off, Dr. Al-Hashimi caused waves

as she introduced the use of AI

tech to the protocol. As the season

is progressing, however,

the character is showing more

complexity as the show hints

at the past trauma she is facing.

Google Images

Google Images

Season 2 depicts complex characters like Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi and Dr. Michael Robinavitch.

The Pitt’s unique structure

is that each episode is only

portrayed as one hour of the

shift. This narrative device really

allows viewers to see and

feel like they are experiencing

the constant stress, communication

skills, and work ethic it

takes to survive being a doctor.

Many viewers, including myself,

wish that the season came either

all out at once, or once a day,

rather than once per week each

Thursday evening. In an age of

binge-watching, it is challenging

for people to remember where the

story left off and how the plot of

the story shifts. The season should

have come out all at once because

that aspect of watching it all at the

same time will enhance the idea

of a real-life workday. When they

separate the release dates, it separates

the hours of the day, altering

the whole idea of each episode

only being an hour of the day.

The season started slowly,

with small emergencies and the

reintroduction of the first- and

secondary-year residents, who all

have their own interesting backstories

and relationships. Viewers

never know with each new patient

if it will be a case that is run-ofthe-mill

or one that might be fatal.

By the mid-point of the second

season, cases that carry over

multiple episodes build in intensity

and mystery. Like the doctors

themselves, the audience doesn’t

know if a patient will be okay or

not. This sense of mystery solidifies

why The Pitt has become

one of the best shows on TV.

Grade: A

The Warrior • Entertainment

March 5, 2026

15

New Rom-com Romanticizes Infidelity

by Matilda Hawkins ‘27

The popular rom-com book

People We Met on Vacation has

recently been adapted into a

movie and released on Netflix

on January 9. The movie follows

its two main characters, Poppy,

played by Emily Bader, and Alex,

played by Tom Blyth. When both

need a ride home from college,

Poppy and Alex’s mutual friend

brings them together to carpool

back to their hometown, Linfield,

Ohio. The two come to realize

they’re complete opposites, but

still, through the road trip, they

find a long-lasting friendship and

start a tradition where they go on

vacation together once a year.

As their friendship grows,

so does the underlying romantic

tension, causing a falling out

between the two as Alex has a

long-term relationship during

their friendship. The movie goes

through the aftermath of this

fallout and how the two rekindle

their relationship through a

trip to Alex’s brother’s wedding.

Recently, many romance

movies, including this one, have

begun incorporating the cheating

Prejudiced Awards?

by Maddie Baron ‘27

When Michael B Jordan lost

in the Critics’ Choice Awards for

his performance in Sinners to

Timothee Chalamet, many fans

and critics alike were surprised.

Jordan’s portrayal of two distinct

characters showcased intense

emotional depth and immense

skill, as he was able to demonstrate

the difference between the

two twins in the film at an emotional

level while simultaneously

shedding light on a dark topic

through a vampire allegory.

Many who tuned in for the award

show reported they felt the loss

was more than just an ordinary

award result. Instead, many see

his defeat as reflecting a larger

pattern in Hollywood where

Black performers often receive

extensive praise for roles but

are overlooked when the time

comes to pass out major awards.

Award shows are celebrations

of artistic excellence, but

they also play an important role in

shaping careers and opportunities

for actors and actresses. Being

nominated for an award, let alone

winning one, can lead to larger

roles, higher pay, and greater influence

in the film industry as a

whole. For black actors and actresses,

recognition for something

so prestigious is especially important

because they have historically

faced limited opportunities

for leading roles due to prejudice.

The controversy surrounding

Jordan’s loss is not new, as

black performers have long been

overlooked despite delivering

powerful performances. The scarcity

of Academy Award Oscar

wins, especially for lead roles,

for black performers, emphasizes

ongoing issues with diversity

trope that usually includes some

sort of affair that leads to the main

relationship. Although this trope

and inclusion. Discussions often

point to institutionalized racism

within the Academy, making it

difficult for black actors, particularly

darker-skinned women, to

find multifaceted lead roles. In

1993, Angela Bassett delivered

an outstanding portrayal of Tina

Turner in What’s Love Got to Do

With It, yet she did not receive an

Academy Award, losing to Holly

Hunter for her role in The Piano.

Similarly, Denzel Washington’s

performance in Malcom X in

1992 is widely considered one

of the most iconic and influential

biographical portrayals in film

history, yet he also lost an Oscar

to a white actor. This issue still

stands after more than 30 years.

It was universally speculated

that Chadwick Boseman would

win Best Actor in 2021 for Ma

Rainey’s Black Bottom, but the

award instead went to Anthony

Hopkins. These repeated outcomes

have fueled conversations

about fairness and representation

in major award institutions.

The issue came to a head

with the #OscarsSoWhite movement,

starting around 2015, when

no actors of color were nominated

in acting categories for two consecutive

years, highlighting a systemic

lack of recognition for black

actors and actresses. Halle Berry

remains the only black woman

to win Best Actress for performance

in Monster’s Ball in 2001.

The 98th Academy Awards

takes place this March 15. Sinners

has a record-breaking 16 nominations,

including Best Picture, Best

Director, and, much anticipated,

Best Actor. Will Michael B Jordan

walk up to the stage and become

the 6th black performer to win an

Oscar for best male performance?

If past patterns hold, it’s unlikely.

has been around for a while, it

has gained popularity, like in the

recent movie Regretting You and

Google Images

now People We Met on Vacation.

Infidelity that leads to love may

grab the attention of watchers, but

it romanticizes an aspect of toxic

relationships that in real life often

are harmful for its audience. Many

of these movies could still have a

solid plot and character development

without this trope, including

People We Met on Vacation.

The movie uses flashbacks

to previous trips that Poppy and

Alex have taken to give the audience

context of the issue they’re

dealing with, which helps build

up to the resolution in the story.

Furthermore, the characters are

complex yet relatable, and their

contrasting personalities create a

relationship between them that is

often not seen in romance movies.

The movie has its humorous

effects while still being heartfelt

and a captivating watch. Oftentimes,

romance movies are very

heavy and emotional, which can

be interesting, but having this

switch-up to a more lighthearted

feel while still hitting those

emotional scenes makes this

movie a nice comfort watch for

those who need a little uplifting.

Grade: B+

16 The Warrior • Entertainment

March 5, 2025

Dear Debbie Is Only Decent

by Violet Fujimoto ‘27

by Kaitlyn Nardo ‘28

New York Times bestselling

author Freida McFadden is

known for her easy to read, captivating

thrillers. She has gained

a lot of fame from her trilogy

The Housemaid, which has been

turned into a major motion picture.

A physician specializing in

brain injury, the name Freida Mc-

Fadden is a pseudonym, and she

disguises herself with a wig in interviews

to establish a barrier between

her two careers and to protect

her patients’ confidentiality.

She released yet another

thriller called Dear Debbie on

January 27. The main character,

Debbie, is a stay at home mom

with two teenage girls. Her husband

is the breadwinner, which

allows her work as an advice columnist

part time. She provides

sympathy and advice for women

who have grievances about their

husbands. After hearing about a

particularly controlling and abusive

husband, she advises the

troubled wife to leave him. A

resulting lawsuit brought by the

husband leads to a conflict between

Debbie and her boss, and

she is fired. The incident is her

breaking point, and she starts to

follow her own advice to the extreme,

executing dangerous and

life threatening actions against

the people that have harmed her.

This book is similar to many

of the books in McFadden’s catalogue,

but there are notable differences

that make Dear Debbie

unique. The main character is

written to be unstable and causes

the majority of the conflict that

arises throughout the book. Most

of McFadden’s protagonists are

trying to solve the conflicts rather

than creating them. The reader has

to figure out the intentions of other

characters as well as why Debbie

is so vengeful. As the novel progresses,

drafts from Debbie’s advice

column are shown between

chapters. This “advice” encourages

wives to harm or even murder

their husbands. These drafts

are different from the advice she

would publish, which reveal how

deranged Debbie’s character is.

The plot twist is somewhat

unexpected but not as jaw-dropping

as McFadden’s fans might

expect. The underlying reason

for her revenge outbursts is not

revealed until towards the end,

which builds suspense and raises

questions about Debbie’s character.

Even when things seem resolved,

another twist causes readers

to question what they were led

to believe about the characters.

McFadden is renowned for adding

an ending that contradicts what the

reader previously thought about

Google Images

the narrative. Even when the story

seems to be concluded, more

small details reveal themselves

and change the trajectory of the

story. McFadden also includes an

epilogue to Dear Debbie to show

how the conflict has resolved and

the lives of the characters in the

near future. Questions continue to

arise about how things will turn

out until the very last page. These

twists make the book a page turner

and help the reader connect the

dots as the book comes to a close.

Though Dear Debbie is

well written, it is nothing special

compared to her other thrillers.

Once the main plot twist is

dropped, readers can use prior

knowledge to predict what happens

next. She is known for trying

to trick her readers into following

the obvious storyline,

but drops a plot twist to keep

the reader hooked. Dear Debbie

may not spark interest to those

unfamiliar with her work, but is

intriguing for frequent readers.

Grade: B

Mrs. Marvel’s Immersive Tale

Ms. Marvel: Remnants of

the Past by Saadia Faruqi is a

light, heartfelt, and surprisingly

thoughtful addition to the Ms.

Marvel canon that balances superhero

adventures with cultural

exploration and self-discovery.

The novel follows Kamala Khan,

a Jersey City teenager, Avengers-level

fangirl, and neighborhood

superhero, when she accidentally

comes into possession

of a powerful ancient artifact.

What begins as a familiar superhero

chase quickly turns into a

globe-spanning mystery, pulling

Kamala from Jersey City

to the markets of Lahore, Pakistan,

all while dangerous forces,

including the Kingpin and

a new adversary, race to claim

the treasure for themselves.

At its core, this is very much

a Kamala Khan story. Kamala

worries about grades, navigating

her friendship with Bruno, and

struggling with the responsibility

of protecting others while

staying true to herself and her

values. Faruqi captures Kamala’s

voice with warmth and humor,

making the book an excellent

choice for old and new fans.

While there are fun nods to the

comics, such as iconic visual moments

fans would recognize, the

novel stands firmly on its own

and doesn’t require prior knowledge

of Ms. Marvel to enjoy.

One of the book’s greatest

strengths is its cultural depths.

Faruqi paints Lahore and Jersey

City for the readers, creating a

clear image in your head and a

more immersive reading experience.

Readers are introduced

to Pakistani culture, family dynamics,

and history, including

elements of the Mughal empire

as well as the lasting impacts of

colonialism in today’s world.

The artifact that Kamala discovers

becomes a center point of

the plot, opening up meaningful

conversations about colonial loot,

ownership, and inherited history.

These themes elevated the story,

making it more than a standard

superhero adventure story.

The supporting cast is particularly

well written. Kamala’s father

is written with nuance, moving

beyond the trope of the strict

immigrant parent and instead

showing vulnerability, nostalgia,

and emotional depth tied to Lahore.

New characters like Maleah

and Asraar are compelling

and thoughtful, especially in how

they reflect different responses

to history, anger, and injustice.

Ultimately, Ms. Marvel:

Remnants of the Past is a fun,

educational, and emotionally

rich read. It captures what makes

Kamala Khan special. Her desire

to save the world while still

trying to discover who she is,

where she comes from, and what

it truly means to do the right

thing. Full of heart and humor,

the novel is an excellent read

recommended for old and new

fans of the Ms. Marvel character.

Grade: A-

The Warrior • Advertisement

March 5, 2026

17

Stressed? Stressed is desserts

spelled backwards.

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breakfast with coffee! We can make any design.

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CALL US: (301)-570-4583

18

Senior Connor Flickinger gets ready to take down an opponent in a win.

Flickinger Looks To Cap

Off Career with State Title

by Roman Khrizman ‘27

The career wins record for

Sherwood wrestling stood since

2010 at 137 victories, but not

anymore. Senior captain Connor

Flickinger broke this unbelievable

record with around a month

left in the wrestling season with

a win in a meet against Glenelg.

After winning a county championship

by defeating a Damascus

wrestler in the 157-lbs weight

class, Flickinger wants to finish

his career in storybook fashion

with a state title.

“[The career record] obviously

is an amazing accomplishment,

but that’s not my main focus

right now. My job here as a

wrestler is not finished yet,” said

Flickinger. When asked about his

goals for his senior season, he

was quick to answer: “To win a

state championship; that’s it.”

The record for career wins is

a testament to Flickinger’s dedication,

not for just a few meets

The Warrior • Sports

March 5, 2026

Gary Peters

or for a season but for four years.

“It’s extremely significant, not

just because of the record but

because of the consistency, discipline,

and commitment that goes

into breaking a record like this. It

doesn’t happen by accident,” said

coach Nick Arnone. “Sherwood

has had a ton of great wrestlers

come through the program, and

for Connor to etch his name at the

top of those with this record is an

extremely special achievement

that you don’t see every day”

The 2026 MPSSAA Wrestling

State Championships begin

today and run through Saturday

at the Show Place Arena in Upper

Marlboro. Whatever happens,

Flickinger has already left his

mark as one of the great wrestlers

in school history. “I’ll definitely

miss it,” Flickinger said about

wrestling for Sherwood. “But I’m

satisfied with my accomplishments

and super proud of how far

I’ve come in these four years.”

Girls’ Basketball Finds Their Identity

by Madelyn Awwad ‘27

and Kenley Jacobs ‘27

Girls’ basketball wrapped up

regular-season play with a 14-6

record while building momentum

heading into playoffs. In their first

regional playoff game on February

27, the Warriors crushed Altholton,

finishing with a 66-26

score. Despite a rough finish to

the regular season, the Warriors

were able to move the ball well

and play lock down defense,

both of which helped them sail

smoothly past Atholton. Junior

point guard Aubree Thompson

had an incredible game, scoring

26 points, with 8 steals and 7 assists.

In round two this past Tuesday,

the Warriors faced Reservoir.

After some early-season challenges,

the Warriors found their

rhythm. The team has shown improvement

from game to game,

developing stronger chemistry

and adjusting to new roles. “Replacing

four starters and six seniors

who played significant minutes

is a large chunk of the team,

which means there are a lot of

people who needed to play a lot

more minutes, take on a lot more,

and totally new responsibilities,”

said coach Tammy Ross. “We

spent the first part of the season

finding ourselves and learning

what our new ‘normal’ looked

like.”

The Warriors responded with

a string of wins over conference

opponents in the middle of the

season, proving their ability to adjust

and compete. A narrow 44-43

win against Gaithersburg on December

12 highlighted the team’s

composure in pressure situations.

“We move as a unit now unlike

the beginning,” said Thompson.

“Everyone knows who can do

what so, it’s been working out

pretty good.”

The Warriors faced a setback

against Broadneck in tournament

Senior guard Annelyn Webb looks to pass in a big win over Magruder.

Oliver LaRoche '27

play in December, and a fivegame

winning streak in the regular

season came to an end in the

49-35 loss to B-CC on January

20. More recently, Sherwood fell

to Richard Montgomery, Whitman,

Gaithersburg, and Walter

Johnson near the end of the season.

Despite the losses, the girls

continued to compete, earning

key wins over Magruder, Blake,

Paint Branch, and Blair to stay

competitive in the region standings.

Thompson has led the team

in scoring in multiple games,

including a career-high performance

against Paint Branch,

while also making a major impact

on defense with her rebounding

and ability to force turnovers. Her

outstanding performance earned

her Maryland Girls Basketball

Player of the Week for the third

week of January.

“Aubree’s leadership and scoring

ability has been a steadying

force for us throughout the year,”

said Ross. “She was our lone returning

starter and she knew that

she needed to step up for us in a

big way for us to be competitive

most nights, especially in the beginning

of the season. Knowing

every night that she was going to

put up 15-20 pts. was really calming

as we looked for others to find

their way and join her in the scoring

column.”

Senior Annelyn Webb continues

to provide leadership as one

of only three seniors on the roster.

As Webb plays her final games in

a Sherwood jersey, her impact on

the underclassman remains clear.

“Annelyn’s energy is unmatched;

she brings good vibes to practice

and her hustle is amazing, especially

on the defensive end,” said

Thompson.

After winning their playoff

opener, the Warriors played X

on … “We’ve asked our team

to focus on being consistent with

their mental focus, their energy,

and their habits,” said Ross. “Just

because one [opponent] has a certain

record, or may look a certain

way, doesn’t mean we should not

give our best, try our hardest, and

be there for our teammates every

possession - good or bad. If we let

these standards slip, we’ll eventually

break apart and fail. And

that is an outcome that none of us

want to see happen.”

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The Warrior • Sports 19

March 5, 2026

Hockey’s Unforgettable

Run Comes to a Close

by Chase Sondike ‘26

After a thrilling season with

a plentitude of highs and lows,

the Sherwood hockey team’s historic

state playoff run has concluded.

The Warriors on ice fell

to Urbana in a heartbreaking 7-3

loss in the state semifinals. After

entering the third period with a

3-2 lead, the Warriors eventually

broke down against an extremely

well-rounded Urbana team that

was controlling possession for

most of the game. Senior captain

Cam Calandro delivered the

game-tying and game-leading

goal, both in the second period,

which gave the Warriors the lead,

but ultimately didn’t last. The

semifinal appearance marks the

furthest the team has ever made it

in its deep-rooted history.

The Warriors entered the

state tournament as the last possible

seed in the tournament, 16th

out of 16. Prior to even getting

there, they had to win a playoff

game against rival B-CC, which

they did in a narrow 5-4 victory.

They then advanced to a play-in

game in order to punch their ticket

to the state tournament against

Queen Anne’s. They again escaped

with a win in a 4-3 thriller

and entered the state tournament,

where they would face off against

the 1-seeded River Hill on their

side of the bracket.

After toppling River Hill

in a dominant 8-5 win thanks to

4 points each from sophomores

Vaughn Teeter and Dominic Romano,

they moved on to the state

quarterfinals. Their run continued

when they beat La Plata in overtime

after senior Ryan Green tallied

two goals in the third period,

and Teeter netted the game-winner

late in overtime. Sophomore

goalie Aidan Pesek showed up

when it mattered most, playing

outstandingly the entirety of the

Warriors’ playoff run. The transfer

from St. John kept the squad

in every game they played. He

Sophmore Vaughn Teeter celebrates a great goal with the student section.

made big save after big save and

stopped a couple of near goals

late in overtime against La Plata

with the season on the line. The

miracle run was put to an end

with the Warriors only one period

away from a state championship

appearance.

The future is bright for the

Warriors on ice, though, and

there is lots to look forward to

for the players and their growing,

committed fan base. The current

sophomore class is very strong,

and the freshmen defensemen

proved themselves this year to

be solid on the back end. Junior

Roman Khrizman will likely take

the helm as captain next year,

leading both on and off the ice.

This season set a high bar for success

but with the returning talent,

the Warriors can definitely make

another run at states. For now,

though, history has been made,

and the boys should be proud of

themselves for a one-of-a-kind

season.

NCAA Basketball Must-Watch

College basketball is the best sport to watch. One loss or win can be

the difference between making March Madness and missing it. The

crazy rivalries and packed arenas are unlike anything in any other

sport. There are games to watch every night, and the slate is filled

with upsets and down-to-the-wire finishes. College basketball is a

must-watch sport from the beginning of the season, through tournaments,

to conference play, to March Madness. There’s nothing better

than college basketball.

- Reid Duvall ‘27

The Orioles will have a successful season and make a deep playoff

run. After a dreadful and disappointing 75-87 record last season, the

Orioles will be back. They have had the biggest spending offseason in

recent memory with additions such as Pete Alonso and Ryan Helsey.

Alonso adds an elite bat to this already stacked lineup, and Helsey

has shown he can be one of the strongest closers in the league. New

manager, Craig Albernaz, will also bring a fresh style. This Orioles

team has improved its roster and the results will show.

- Tyler Boone ‘27

Skier Lindsay Vonn should not have competed in this year’s women’s

Olympic downhill event. Vonn ruptured her ACL a week before

competing, when she then crashed and endured a complex severe tibia

fracture in the same leg. Reports soon emerged that Vonn’s injury

was so severe that it risked an amputation. The decision by Vonn and

her coaches to participate in the Olympics sent the wrong message

to athletes at any level or age. There is no doubt of Vonn’s talent and

determination, but sometimes it’s more heroic to know when to call it

quits.

- Molly Schecter ‘27

Rule Change Reshapes NCAA Basketball

by Reid Duvall ‘27

During the 2023-2024 season,

21-year-old Thierry Darlan

played in the G-League with

Ignite. After two seasons in the

NBA’s developmental league,

Darlan is now playing at Santa

Clara University. Lately, there has

been a surge of former G-League

players and international pros getting

the green light to play NCAA

basketball, sparking outrage from

fans, coaches, and players across

the country. Michigan State’s

Tom Izzo called it “embarrassing”

and “ridiculous.” Izzo is one

of the most respected coaches in

the nation and has been highly

vocal about his displeasure with

the ruling, saying it reflects poorly

on coaches who take advantage

of the decision.

According to NCAA rules,

basketball players can make a

case for college eligibility if they

maintain amateur status, which is

five years or less removed from

high school graduation. In the

past, any player who had played

professionally would be ineligible

for college. However, NIL and

revenue sharing have changed all

this. Once players get paid, the

line between amateur and pro

has been blurred. G-League players

earn an average of $40,000,

which the NCAA considers low

enough that G-League players aren’t

truly professionals in the way

the old rule had defined it.

Joining Darlan from the

G-League are Louisville guard

London Johnson, BYU big man

Abdullah Ahmed, Alabama big

man Charles Bediako, and Ole

Miss commit T.J. Clark, with

other former G-League players

Oliver LaRoche '27

O’s Will Make Waves

Lindsay Vonn Too Ambitious

Curling Is Best Olympic Sport

Curling is the most exciting Winter Olympic sport! A lot of people

write curling off as a silly “non-sport sport,” but curling uses a combination

of communication and strategy to achieve maximum precision.

In curling every single decision and move matters, and one slip up

could lead to a team losing. Even though curling might not be as fast

paced as other sports like hockey or skiing, it relies on team intelligence

and good team work. These factors play into curling’s unexpected

but very real intensity.

expected to follow. This marks a

major shift in college basketball.

One of the most eye-opening applications

of the rule change came

when former NBA second-round

pick James Nnaji signed to play

for Baylor on Christmas Eve.

Nnaji’s first appearance came

against TCU on January 3, when

he came off the bench and played

16 minutes in a 6-point loss.

Normally, part of the rule was

that players who went through the

NBA Draft process would not be

allowed to use it, which is what

makes the ruling on Nnaji so

confusing. Bediako’s comical return

comes at Alabama, where he

played during the 2021-2022 and

2022-2023 seasons. This brings

up the question of why leave a

school if you’re going to go right

back? Also, Bediako is the first

former G-League player with previous

college experience to return

to collegiate basketball, raising

more eyebrows.

However, in a sign of hope

for basketball fans on February

9, an Alabama circuit judge ruled

Bediako ineligible. Bediako was

playing under a temporary order

that allowed him to join Alabama

midseason. “Common sense won

a round today,” said NCAA President

Charlie Baker. According

to Judge Daniel Pruet, Bediako

“failed to demonstrate that he is

entitled to the injunctive relief

that he seeks.”

It’s hard to figure out how far

the NCAA will let these rules

bend, but if it continues much

longer, it will have an even bigger

effect on incoming high

schoolers trying to get recruited.

If 21- and 22-year-old former pro

players are available, every coach

- Charlie Weigand ‘27

would prefer one of them over an

18-year-old with no experience.

Some of these guys are getting

up to four full years of eligibility.

These constant rule changes and

rule-maneuvering are pushing the

point of college sports.

College players are meant to

be in college to try to get to the

G-League or the NBA, so how

does it make sense that players

who were once playing at a higher

level than the NCAA are being

granted eligibility? What the

NCAA is doing here is essentially

letting players who thought they

were good enough at one point

to move on from college, but

know they can just go back because

they weren’t actually good

enough. This is part of the road to

ruining college basketball, and it

has gone way too far.

The Warrior • Sports

March 5, 2026

Basketball Sails Through First-Round Playoffs

by Andrew Fenner ‘27

After a tough start to the season,

boys basketball is hoping to

shake off the doubts and make

noise in the playoffs. Losses to

Poolesville and Damascus in the

first few weeks of the season

were among the most painful. But

Sherwood picked things up in early

January, with a 53-51 win over

a good Paint Branch team and a

55-46 win against Seneca Valley.

Both opponents are solid, boasting

winning records, and while

losses to Blake and Magruder

may seem demoralizing, the Warriors’

9-11 record isn’t reflective

of their season as a whole.

Regardless of Sherwood’s

record in the regular season, the

slate is wiped clean now that the

playoffs have arrived. The Warriors

have experience on their

side, with a handful of their returning

players having played

meaningful minutes in their run

to the state championship last season.

This maturity was on full display

in the Warriors’ game against

Reservoir in the first round of the

playoffs. Sherwood dominated

the Gators 85-47 in their matchup

on February 27, with 19-point

outings from both junior bigman

Jamar Nix and senior Tyler

Gramling. Sherwood consistently

performs well on defense, but

when the offense clicks, as it did

against Reservoir, they are a team

to watch out for.

Girls Swim Continues To Pile on Success

by Cara Farr ‘27

Over the past decade or so,

there have been seasons when

Sherwood’s girl swim team has

been among the very best in the

entire DMV. The girls have won

first place in different events at

the state championships 15 times

in the past decade, with many individual

phenoms such as Morgan

Hill, with 5 different school

records, Melissa Bartlett with the

500 free school record that from

1999 that still stands 27 years later,

and Lilia Atanda setting two

different diving records in 2022

and 2023, having ended their high

school careers as legends.

This season’s edition of girls

swim is looking to make their

mark as one of the strongest

teams in school history. As the

season comes to a close, the girls

swim team has had an extremely

successful regular season going

undefeated with a record of 5-0.

Captains of this season’s girls

team are seniors Maya Quiroga

and Jill Williams, and junior Ella

Costolo. The team’s talent carries

much further past their captains,

and part of their success this season

comes from the depth of excellent

swimmers on their team.

“Our team was very deep and

had a new hero each week really.

Someone new seems to always

step up each weekend to earn our

team a win,” said coach Ryan

Burnsky. This claim was substantiated

when 11 girls qualified for

the state championship.

On the defensive side of the

floor is where Sherwood is most

impressive. In their loss to Blake,

the Warriors were able to hold

their regional rivals to 60 points,

which is noteworthy considering

the Bengals consistently drop

70-80 points on their opponents.

The cornerstone of the Sherwood

defense is Nix, who, standing at

6’6”, is an imposing obstacle in

the paint. The junior wing was

named to the Montgomery County

All-Defensive First Team and

All-County First Team this season.

Sherwood’s interior defense

runs on Nix, which is why most

of the time when he is on the

floor, the Warriors run a man-toman

defense. “Man defense” is

a scheme that sacrifices defense

around the rim, a deficit which

Nix mitigates with his interior

presence.

Head coach Jeff Holda says

that the defensive scheme the

Warriors run is determined by

their opponents’ skill set. “If our

opponent doesn’t shoot well, we

often play zone, or if we are in

foul trouble, we will try to protect

our guys in a zone,” Holda says.

“Otherwise, I prefer to play man

to man, pressure the ball, and

force bad shots and turnovers.”

Sherwood also has great

depth at the guard position, with a

talented core and good additions

off the bench. Between seniors

Gramling and Roman Smith,

the former of whom was named

Burnsky saw the potential

for this team early in the season

to achieve their goal of bringing

home the division title. “Our girls

have a very legitimate chance to

win,” Burnsky said last November.

This held true as the girls

were crowned division champions

for the first time in eight

years. “We’ve done really well,”

said Williams. “We’ve never

won the division during my high

school years before.” With all

of the young talent that will be

to the second-team all-division,

there’s not a whole lot more from

the guard position you could

want for your backcourt. In Sherwood’s

second matchup against

Magruder on February 4, Smith

took over late in the fourth quarter,

helping the Warriors storm

back against their division rivals

and force overtime. To round off

Sherwood’s guard depth, juniors

Kyle Silberman, Kieran Andrews,

and Jackson Dankmyer

bring great guard-skills whenever

they sub into the game.

Among the losses, there are

20

Junior guard Jackson Dankmyer plays good defense on an opposing guard in a tough 60-49 loss vs Blake.

Gary Peters

Freshman Brooke Lakso races through the water as she tackles a freestyle event, finishing first against QO.

Oliver LaRoche '27

plenty of close games to talented

teams where Sherwood couldn’t

come up with the win late. In both

of Sherwood’s games against

Blake and Magruder, the Warriors

kept pace with their opponent for

most of the first three quarters. It

was in the fourth quarter of these

games that their opponents would

pull away with the win. However,

this is the story for many of the

Warriors’ losses; in Sherwood’s

first loss of the season against Damascus,

the Warriors were down

by just 1 point going into the

fourth quarter, before being outscored

by 7 points.

If there’s one thing to take

away from watching them this

past season, it’s their immense

passion and heart for the game of

basketball. On any given night,

whether the Warriors win or lose,

they will most certainly out-hustle

their opponents. “Our guys play

so hard,” Holda says. “The most

frustrated I’ve been this season is

watching them play with passion

and toughness on defense, but

then fall short on the offensive

end of things. For how hard they

play, they deserve to win.”

staying with the team, Burnsky

is hopeful that the our girls will

compete for Division titles for

years to come.

Three seniors are continuing

their swimming career past Sherwood

into college. Williams is

committed to Rowan University,

located in New Jersey. Elle Floyd

is staying in state to continue her

athletic career at Salisbury University.

Corinne Blachere is going

up north to continue swimming

for Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster,

Pennsylvania.

Along with these seniors

bringing experience, three freshmen

swimmers have stood out

and represent the future of the

program. Emi Cooper, Brooke

Lakso, and Mia Velasquez are all

making a big impact in just their

first year being on the team. “The

bulk of our points came from our

underclassmen,” said Burnsky.

“Having three freshman at States

is more than any other team in

MCPS this season” said Burnsky,

showing that He specifically

mentioned Lakso and how consistently

good she was throughout

the season. She went undefeated,

meaning she did not lose in any

individual events.

One of the biggest events of

the season, the Washington Metropolitan

Interscholastic Swim &

Dive Championships (Metros),

which took place from February

4 through February 7, is where

the best swimmers from the DMV

compete to see who comes out on

top. The Warriors once again had

a strong showing, with junior Mia

Fecko and Floyd both finaling in

500 free. Lakso had an impressive

couple of days, placing 3rd

in 100 Breast and 12th in 200 IM.

Putting up such an impressive

performance as just a freshman,

she will be a crucial component

to this team’s success in the next

couple of years. “Brooke Lakso

absolutely crushed her freshman

season. To be a freshman and get

3rd at Metros and 2nd at States

is unbelievable. We are lucky to

have her for three more years,”

said Burnsky.

With such young talent performing

so well this past season,

the best is yet to come for this

swim team. “Next year we will

return a lot of our top swimmers,”

mentioned Burnsky, “it should

be fun and fast for the next couple

years.” Once experience is

combined with the talent already

present in this group of swimmers,

they will have no where to

go but up.

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