On Monday the fifth grade will take its annual trip to Calleva. The Poolesville, Maryland adventure camp features various ropes and activities courses designed for trust and team-building activities. This event kicks of the year for fifth graders, helping the class bond outside of the school and providing interactive activities that will build on the cooperative learning we use in our classrooms.
Children’s book author Emma Otheguy read to fifth graders Friday from her book Marti’s Song For Freedom. The bilingual story was published in 2017 and describes the experiences of a Cuban freedom fighter. Her debut middle grade novel, which is about two Latin American cousins, will be published in 2019. A former Spanish teacher and current History PhD student, Otheguy took a class in Children’s Literature at Swarthmore College with acclaimed children’s author Donna Jo Napoli. Our fifth graders asked her insightful questions about the history of Cuba, and made connections to their reading in history and English classes. She is also a former seventh grade student of Ms. Breitman’s!
Thursday was a day of wearing sports gear for students to help ramp up their excitement and spirit for Friday afternoon’s pep rally and homecoming game. In our annual spirit week, cut shorter due to the SATs and College Fair, students will also wear their class colors on Friday. The week will culminate with a homecoming game Friday and the Homecoming Dance Friday night from 8-11 pm.
The Upper School college fair was Wednesday from 2-3:15. Students had the chance to meet with over forty different visiting college representatives and ask questions about the unique experiences at various schools. Schools in attendance included Fairleigh Dickinson, Denison, The New School, Tufts University, Ohio State, Wesleyan, Georgetown and DePauw. Our students also attend college fairs at other schools, and over spring break, several children attend a chaperoned trip to college campuses. These events help students get a taste of college life to help make decisions and set goals for their futures.
Juniors and seniors in the Upper School took the PSATs and SATs during the school day on Wednesday. Our school made great care to provide quiet, organized testing conditions in the MPR, library, and in small groups. This important day of testing gives students a chance to show colleges the skills they have developed in middle and high school. Our eighth, ninth, and tenth graders will take the PSAT later in the year as practice so they are well-versed in the test by the time their junior year comes around. Also, this gives us a benchmark to assess student progress over the course of a career at Latin.
