Greater Debater

Greater Debater

At the final debate tournament of the year. seventh grader Jackson Lewis debated maverick (by himself) and won fifth place in the overall debate.  The debate team is advised by reading specialist Ms. Lee-Bey, and features individual and partnered debating opportunities to grow students’ rhetorical skills.

The Pride of Our Pride

The Pride of Our Pride

The eighth grade will celebrate the Advisory Olympics on Thursday, and the Upper School will hold Lion Day activities on Friday. Students will dress in class colors for for Lion Day and advisory colors for Advisory Olympics.  The eighth grade Olympics is an all-day event of sport and spirit, complete with advisory cheers, races, and tests of strength and agility. Lion Day will happen in the afternoon and will include musical chairs, can jam, face painting, an obstacle course, three-legged race, and other playful events. Let the games begin!

 

 

 

 

Fabulous Freshmen

Fabulous Freshmen

Ninth graders Jalen Richardson, Alicia Campbell, and Helena Ikenberry were awarded prizes for their science fair research at a banquet at the Elephant and Castle downtown this week. The Federal Water Quality Association honored high school students for cutting edge science fair projects in water quality. Richardson earned an award for his project using a magnetic fluid to clean oil spills, and Campbell and Ikenberry won for their project on the effectiveness of oyster filtration compared to a Brita filter. Students attended an awards banquet with physics teacher Mr. Torrence. This was one of several awards these students earned from the work they presented at the citywide STEM fair.

Running to Great Lengths

Running to Great Lengths

This week, upper school track athletes competed in the PCSAA Championship. And, on Sunday, several of our students, teachers, and parents plan on participating in the Capitol Hill Classic 3K, 10K or Fun Run events. This got me thinking about the importance of athletics and running in the classical tradition.

Competitive running evolved out of religious festivals and military training as far back as the second millennium BCE. The modern-day marathon was named after a run undertaken by a Greek soldier, from a battlefield near a town called Marathon to Athens in 490 BCE. The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece featured several running contests, including the “preeminent test of stamina and speed:” the stade race (which was about 200 meters).

Beyond the clear origins of this athletic endeavor in Greek history, it is not a surprise that Latin has terrific track and cross country programs, because so many of our teachers run for pleasure. Running is affordable, accessible, and requires stamina and persistence, with a focus on meeting long-term goals – all skills we value as a school.

Our coaching staff works to push our athletes beyond where they feel comfortable, spurring them on to greater speed, strength, and endurance. And, while we might think of running as an individual pursuit, teamwork is critical to our program. The athletes and their coaches go to great lengths to work together and support each other.

For a small school with limited facilities (such as no onsite track), we have had remarkable success in our cross country, indoor and outdoor track programs. We have a nationally ranked long-distance runner. We have been the number one or number two school in the public charter school league each of the past three years. We have had students qualify for nationals each of the past two years.

While these teams show just how far (and fast!) students can go with strong coaches, we are lucky at Washington Latin to have so many talented teacher coaches, in several different sports, who coordinate daily practices, supervise workouts (often on their own time), and manage games and meets that go late into the evening and on the weekends. I salute their commitment to continuing their teaching outside the classroom, helping facilitate wellness, camaraderie, and self-esteem.

Valete!

Peter

Head of School

Our Spirit Runneth Over

Our Spirit Runneth Over

Eighth graders took part in a week and a half of Spirit Week activities this year to end their year on an exciting note. Last week students celebrated at the Flower Power Themed Dance. Best dressed winners included eighth graders Wyatt Grimm and Juliette Warga and seventh graders Zaire Jackson , Elle Waters, and Amirah Taliaferro-Brunn. On Monday, students showed their Latin Pride in team and school spirit-related outfits. Tuesday was Matchy Match day for some serious twinning. Even the 8th grade teachers got into the action with Ms. Haywood, Ms. Berment, Ms. Breitman, Ms. Coppola-Klein, and Ms. Stephens making a team of quintuplets. On Wednesday students dressed to impress, sporting fancy ensembles like suits and sequins. On Thursday, the advisories competed in Advisory Feud, and on Tuesday of next week, students will finish strong with Advisory Olympics, complete with athletic events that test their advisory endurance, speed, hand-eye coordination, and cheering abilities.