Next Wednesday September 5 college counselors will meet with seniors and their parents in the MPR to talk about the application schedule and expectations for the year. The following week juniors will also meet with college advisors to discuss the first steps of the college application process, including visiting schools and creating a junior portfolio. Many students have already attended Ms. Latham and Ms. Richardson’s Application Boot Camp in August. Students will also have the chance to work with English teachers throughout the fall semester to perfect their college essays, and students should already be reaching out to teachers about recommendations. Many seniors this week also took the chance to interview for the Posse Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship offered by several colleges. Previously, Washington Latin students have won Posse Scholarships to Pepperdine, Bucknell, University of Wisconsin, Lehigh, and Rochester.
Yesterday marked 72 days since the 2018 graduation, the last official day of our previous school year. It was great to see many of you at our first ever beginning of the year parent-advisor conferences. If you were unable to come in, feel free to reach out to your child’s advisor to schedule an alternate meeting time.
We begin Year 13 in the school’s history full of hope and excitement. Teachers and students are still buzzing about fun summer experiences, including school-sponsored travel, fellowships, panel presentations and so much more. We have added several new positions. New courses have started to meet. We now have four alumni on our full-time staff. And we are looking forward to our convocation ceremony in two weeks.
This year, we hope to engage you in parent book clubs, our re-launched mentoring efforts, our career awareness and classroom guest programs and our dialogues across difference. You can take a look at our volunteering listand get started on one or more projects this fall. Do you want to help out in the library? Do you want to know how to benefit the school while you shop? Do you have a terrific idea for the fall festival? Visit the Latin website parents’ home page often for continually updated ideas for how you can get involved or support the school. And watch this space for more information on our upcoming speaker series.
We also strongly encourage all of you to attend our first PFA meeting of the year next Thursday (August 30) at 6:30 p.m. at the school. We will begin with my welcome to you all and some information about the school’s strategic priorities and various initiatives for this year. Dr. Diana Smith will then offer an updated version of her study skills workshop. And we might have Councilmember Todd as a special guest.
Many Washington Latin students traveled abroad this summer to learn language skills or volunteer. Rising junior Owen Fox-Whelpton studied Arabic in Morocco, traveling with his teacher Mr. Hamd. Sophomores Ketan Mampara and Alicia Campbell participated in the MMLA Arabic program. Seniors DJ Okuleye and Jania Clare and Tate Wright took part in the Living Latin in Rome program, and junior Kim Montpelier studied Greek in Greece. Senior Dyllan Cole travelled to Jordan and senior Chandler Brossard visited China through the NSLI-Y program. Meanwhile, sophomore Lydia Moore visited Tanzania to volunteer in an orphanage, and senior Kyle Wood went to Zambia with a church group working in an orphanage. Studying language domestically were sophomores Li Qian Shoag, Jia Fleming, and Catherine Sherman, who attended Concordia Summer Language Camp in Chinese and sophomore Theo Greiff, who attended the camp in Japanese.
Rising junior Luke Tewalt competed in June at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor. Tewalt attended the national track competition for the second year in the row, with the help of his coach Mr. Callum. Tewalt, who runs both distances and relays, has previously set a record for the 3000 meter race at track meets, and earned accolades in the 1500 meter national race last summer.
At this summer’s All Star Game at Nationals Stadium, the Washington Latin Honors Choir and the arts department chair Melissa VerCammen took part in singing the National Anthem. The event was broadcast nationally on Fox News, and Mr. Anderson was so excited to see Washington Latin singers he took photos of his television screen! In June these talented singers were also featured in a choir performance at LincolnCenter. The choir included 2018 graduates Nate Crystal, Alim Wilkins, Anna Krebs and Noah Logan, rising seniors Shelby Griffith, Sebastian Smith, Isaiah Mays, Steven D’Alessandro, Ava Tiller, and Rodney Goldring, rising juniors Nona Douglas, Nora Butler, Justin Burgon, and Will Geist, and rising sophomores Lydia Moore and Helena Ikenberry.
