by Brad Matthews ’11

You never know the interesting things some students do outside the brick walls of Sherwood. Some people party; some people do sports. Junior Brett Melnick attends film festivals such as the MCPS Student Film Festival on March 31^st; sophomore Joe Gruber competes regionally in men’s gymnastics.

Gruber, a male gymnast, competes in Region 7 at Level 9 of the USA Men’s Gymnastics Championship, a region consisting of competitors ages 14-15 from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Gruber competed this weekend and won the competition, making Gruber the regional champion for 2011. During the competition, Gruber also won the floor events (with choreography), the rings, and the parallel and high bar events. Due to his age, he is unable to advance to the national championships, but he will be eligible next year when he reaches Level 10.

Melnick, meanwhile, is a budding student filmmaker. At the MCPS festival, Melnick submitted two short films for judging, mainly for personal comparison with the work of other students. Despite not winning in any category, Melnick said it was “a good experience” and that “it was interesting to see the work of other people my age.”