A World at Our Door

A World at Our Door

This week a number of visitors came to speak to students about studying foreign languages. Wednesday Yoko Eshita, a teacher for the Globalize DC language program Japanese Plus came to speak to students.  She also watched first year classes in French, Chinese, and Arabic to learn about our language program. The same day Jennifer Chen and Damilola Akinyele from the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program provided an info session in Mr. Porcelli’s room for students interested in applying for the summer IYLEP or DYLEP digital program this summer. Mr. Porcelli has participated in the program, as did 2016 graduate Niara Tarleton-Allen. On Thursday, Ya Hui, a Taiwanese Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant at Catholic University visited Chinese classes to answer questions about Taiwan. Foreign language department chair and Chinese teacher Ms. Stouder has been mentoring Ms. Eshita, and has collaborated with a number of language educators from around the world to bring language to our doorstep.

Middle Schoolers Take a Bow

Middle Schoolers Take a Bow

Middle school theater classes are performing scenes from various plays including “The Diary of Anne Frank” and Neil Simon’s “Fools.”  The seventh and eighth grade performance by students in Mr. Birkenhead’s theater classes was this past Wednesday, and the fifth and sixth grade showcase from students in Mr. Baldwin’s classes will be next Wednesday.  Students in Ms. Kolb’s eighth grade theater elective will perform scenes from “Macbeth” in February at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Order in the Court

Order in the Court

Students in eighth grade English are working on a unit on courtroom justice, featuring the historical fiction play “Inherit the Wind,” written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The book, which focuses on the Scopes Trial of 1925, looks at the timeless conflict of teaching evolution or creation. Students are also reading books that focus on famous and fictional trials, including the Salem Witch Trial, cases involving police brutality, juvenile crimes, freed slaves, and rebellion by a Hitler Youth.  The various cases show students continued conflicts between individual freedoms and societal norms, and give students a chance to examine more deeply the role of bias in the justice system. The unit will culminate with a mock trial based on a short story by Ray Bradbury.

Music to Warm a Winter’s Night

Music to Warm a Winter’s Night

At last Wednesday’s sixth annual Winter Dinner Concert, students in the performing arts department treated their families and teachers to a variety of culinary and musical delights. The event, orchestrated by arts department chair Ms. Nevola, featured songs by the Jazz Band, including “The Lady is a Tramp” by Richard Rogers. The Latin Voices choir performed three songs including “Rockin Robin” by Leon Rene. The Concert Choir performed “The Cloud” by Cynthia Gray, and “Let the Day Find You,” by Cynthia F. Bernon. The Honors Choir performed “Hush! My Dear, Lie Still in Slumber”by Stephen Caracciolo and “Veni, Veni Emannuel” by Michael John Trotta. The evening culminated with a performance of “My Soul is a River,” by Ben Allaway.

Coffee and Creativity

Coffee and Creativity

Students in upper school art classes exhibited their work at The Flying Fish coffeehouse in Mt. Pleasant. Fourteen works of art from Ms. Stephens’ classes will appear at the exhibit through February 7.  Featured students include seniors Allegra Hatem, Lou McDonough, Maggie Dalzell and Sam Mader, juniors Jay Antoine, Kevin Macario, Eric Wright, and Elayna Birch-Smith, and sophomores Makayla Gray, Nathan Cobbs, Ciara Hovell, and Chloe Cattaneo.