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The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

A snow-covered road seen a day after the light snowfall on Jan. 19. Lots of roads and sidewalks throughout the county had similarly snowy and slick conditions multiple days after the initial snowfall.
Does MCPS have a snow day problem?
Finn McArdle, Staff Writer • Feb 13, 2025
Freshman enterpreneur Renu Vijayaraj balances school with her business. She owns a business called “Shop Oleanders” where she sells accessories and gifts.
Freshman entrepreneur balances business, school
Araetha Campbell, Special to the Pitch • Feb 13, 2025
Sophomore Elanor Saybolt swims freestyle in the Metros Championship. Saybolt was one of three swimmers who placed individually on the podium to help the girls' team win Metros with a final score of 346 points. (Courtesy Marcus Chen)
Girls’ Swim & Dive win metros, Boys’ place third
William Murphy, Print Sports Editor • Feb 14, 2025
Latest in Print
Meet the Staff
Jeremy Silberglied
Jeremy Silberglied
Print Sports Editor

Jeremy Silberglied is a Junior who is thrilled to be in his second year with the Pitch as a Print Sports Editor. Jeremy runs track and cross country for WJ and also is class treasurer for his grade.

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Best Buddies hosts karaoke dance party
Xavier Alexander-Pounds and Olivia Korita
Superintendent proposes $3.61 billion budget
Seyun Park and Hugo Conquet
Injured athletes discuss if the risk of sports are worth it
Xavier Alexander-Pounds and Olivia Korita
Trio of new Board members sworn in
Seyun Park, Editor-in-Chief
Screen time impacts productivity
Screen time impacts productivity
Orit Vainstein, Special to the Pitch
Teachers have widely varying views about whether simple tasks should be graded for completion, accuracy, or not at all. Some see them as a waste of time, while others believe they can be valuable opportunities. (Courtesy Egor Rukavitsin via Wikimedia Commons)
AT vs. PP: Working smarter not harder
Madeleine Simmons, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Editor
Frederick Delello lectures his fourth period Advanced Placement Government class on the executive branch on Jan. 27. Delello is retiring this year and still pushes his students to do their best. "He pushes us a lot with pretty harsh grading on things like concept cards and assignments, especially at the beginning of the year to get people to understand what they can achieve," freshman Abby Keehn said. “It gets people who aren’t as good to understand their full ability and I feel like that’s really great."
Delello announces retirement after 20 years at WJ
Mia Magone, Business Manager
With the increased use of AI in schools and society, AI detectors are becoming much more common. With them being used more often, the accuracy of the detectors are very much in question.
How accurate are AI detectors?
Jonathan Bahat, Print Opinion Editor
Dr. Michael Helgerman leads the Symphonic Band, one of the five ensembles that performed at the instrumental music department's winter concert on Thursday, Dec.12. The performance was highlighted with many Christmas classics such as "The Polar Express" and "Let It Snow."
Photo Gallery: Instrumental music performs winter concert
Mateus Bouquet, Online Managing Editor
Squid Game returns after three years with a new line-up of players, while starring old favorites like former winner Seong Gi-Hun (Player No. 456) and the Front Man (Player No. 001). (Photo via Netflix, reproduced via Fair Use)
‘Squid Game’ raises the stakes in thrilling second season
Seyun Park, Editor-in-Chief
(Courtesy Juliescribbles via Wikimedia Commons)
The Pitch’s 2024 Gift Guide
Bea Roberts, Copy Editor
Grammy Awards are lined up and ready to be received by their winners. The 2025 Grammy's will be on Feb 2, 2025. (Courtesy of Wiki Commons)
A deep dive into 2025’s Grammy nominations
Vania Charo, Online A&E Editor
The struggles of being a first-generation immigrant
The struggles of being a first-generation immigrant
Karen Cedillo Gutierrez, Special to The Pitch
TikTok is simultaneously an addictive time-suck and a great source of entertainment, making the question of whether or not it should be banned a tough one to answer. Despite its great features, I believe it should be banned.
I’m a TikTok user. Here’s why I wouldn’t mind it being banned
Leila Singer, Special to the Pitch
As the rise in technological use within schools continues, physical documents will remain an integral part of WJ's curriculum as of now. For English classes, students are still preferring physical books/excerpts to digital copies.  (Courtesy Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay)
The digital divide: paper vs. digital schoolwork
Aviva Katz, Copy Editor
Books rest in the English department book room, hoping to move into the hands of a new generation of students. However the books stay resting because even if assigned to someone, people aren’t reading anymore.
Unopened books: a growing trend at WJ
Hugo Conquet, Film Editor
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