Certain about Certamen

Certain about Certamen

Ms. Rose took our school’s Certamen team to a tournament in Virginia this week. Our team of fifth and sixth graders, many of whom were some of the youngest participants in the event, scored well in their divisions, with one team earning a first place finish in the final round. The tournament was at the Flint Hill School. After the first three rounds, the team of Jack Pearson, Henry Dunne, Wesley Freed, and Michael Tichy placed 4th out of 10 teams, and the team of Niamh O’Donovan, Alice Pittard, Sophia Smith, Liam Saxon, and Ben Fisher placed 1st. The classical trivia based tournament included facts about classical civilizations and its peoples, languages, and cultures.

Teachers as Readers

Teachers as Readers

Our library teacher portraits have grown with beautiful new photos by Students Support Services teacher Yule Pieters. The photos depict several teachers reading their favorite books, whether they are math textbooks, memoirs, historical texts, or works of fiction. These are display in the hallway inside the library, showcasing teachers’ love of reading and the joy that a book brings to every moment.

Portrait of Our Students as Young Artists

Portrait of Our Students as Young Artists

Upper school students in Ms. Stephens’ art class made self-portraits from photographs, using various media and colors to depict aspects of their identity. Students enlarged photos using the grid method to get an accurate representation of their faces, and then chose three different medium to use for shading to convey a mood. The portraits are hanging in the central hallway, and along the wall of the entryway. Come take a look inside the minds of our young artists!

Math in the Morning

Several teachers will meet before school this Friday to discuss the book Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You Had: Ideas and Strategies for Vibrant Classrooms. Throughout the year, teachers have joined several educational reading groups to learn more about reaching students, understanding the adolescent brain, and making content exciting.

Laoshi Returns!

Laoshi Returns!

Chinese teacher and World Languages department chair Ms. Stouder returned from maternity leave after the vacation. Over the summer she gave birth to her son Isaac. She was visited on her first week back by several Washington Latin graduates during the week who reminisced about how they use Chinese in college and in their work, inspired by their time in her classroom and the trip to China she chaperones every two or three years.