The TidePod

Over the past couple of years, the prices of events such as homecoming prom and sporting events have been a hot topic of debate within the RM community. Although prices for sporting events such as football and soccer are set at a reasonable cost of 5 dollars, with Richard Montgomery’s homecoming price set at 30 dollars, students within the RM community have wondered if SGA events are still worth the cost. Some students have begun not to attend homecoming but rather dress up and take pictures with friends to avoid the hefty price. In order to shed light on opinions about SGA prices we spoke to students in the community about their views on the current prices and also spoke to SGA advisor Mrs. Garrigues to learn more about what goes into deciding the cost for homecoming and how that cost factors into other events for the school year. 

As we wrap up exams and testing and approach the last week of school, many students have been preparing for summer. RM rockets will be doing a variety of things over their break, so we wanted to recap some of the activities and plans people have. 

Starting Thursday, May 2, and continuing until May 9, Montgomery County voting centers will be offering early voting for all voters. In this election, Maryland voters can cast their ballots for the presidential primary along with elections for state senators and representatives in Congress, and delegates to the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention. This year, Montgomery County voters will also be able to vote for members of the board of education, and the race contains a wide variety of candidates from around the county.

Some RM students are getting involved with the elections and they will be working at voting sites the weekend of May 3. To learn more about what this looks like, we had guest host Humsa Tammera talk a little bit about what she will be doing as she works at election centers on the weekend. 

As we approach the end of the year, more and more RM seniors have been committing to the schools they plan on attending after high school, or announcing their post-high school plans in general. One way to share these plans is through the RM Commitments account on Instagram, where seniors can fill out a google form with their name, college, major, and a photo to be featured on the account’s page. For today’s episode, we decided to speak with RM students to learn about their opinions on these accounts, and whether they find enjoyment in seeing the seniors’ accomplishments, or if it creates any stress or anxiety about the college process in general. 

As RM students approach spring break, some have started thinking about the exams they have coming up in the spring. Between AP and IB exams in May, students have plenty to worry about, and some students feel stressed or nervous about studying for everything they have going on. Students typically start studying for exams in the weeks after spring break, so we decided to share some techniques for studying and preparing in this episode. 

For many high school athletes, getting recruited to a collegiate program is one of their main goals. Getting a chance to play at any division is a fun and competitive experience, with some athletes aiming to play for coveted Division 1 schools. While the recruiting process can open up a host of new opportunities for student-athletes, it can also be very stressful. To learn more about what the process looks like in different sports, we spoke with some student-athletes at RM. 

RM has a large variety of student-run clubs, ranging from arts clubs to sports clubs and even social justice organizations. There is something available for every student and getting involved in clubs is a big part of the RM experience for many students. The TidePod wanted to spotlight some of these clubs to make the student body more aware of the options and activities available to them, as well as the diverse variation of topics that RM’s clubs address. Today's episode features the BEAT nonprofit club. 

The TidePod's first episode of 2024 is another installment of Bella and Uma's Breakdowns. They discuss all the snow days from this January as well as MCPS's new Code Purple policy for virtual learning, and what students think about it. 

What we eat is obviously very important because we need food to survive. However, food can be so much more than just nutrients, and for episode four, we talk about what food can mean in our families and cultures, especially with so many holidays around the corner. 

This week, RM celebrated mental health awareness week in a few different ways. At lunch each day of the week, different activities were offered for students to participate in, including therapy dogs, a movie screening of Inside Out, and open gym activities. Another feature was included in morning announcements, when students and staff could share messages or stories about mental health awareness and what it meant to them. We decided to ask students what they thought about RM's actions to address mental health in the community.