Eighth graders played tourists in their own town this week, viewing several monuments, the Capitol, Archives, and Supreme Court. Students took a trolley tour down Pennsylvania Ave and learned about the history of each monument and a variety of historical tidbit and trivia about each building. Finally, students got to practice the oath of office, as if they were new presidents being sworn in. The annual two-day field trip, which alternates with a trip to the Washington, D.C. Superior Court, allows students the chance to get a closer look at some of the city’s most famous spots to connect history with literature, philosophy and politics.
Senior Sarah Wu is a semi-finalist for the Merit Scholarship. About 16,000 students nationwide earn this honor, based on performance on standardized tests, and have the chance to apply for the National Merit Scholarship, based on test scores and academic performance and leadership. In February, Wu will learn if she advances to the next round of finalists. Meanwhile, three seniors have been named finalists for the Posse Scholarship. The scholarship provides free tuition for several schools. This scholarship helps build a “posse” or supportive group of students who help each other persist and gain leadership skills in college. Finalists include Serena Jones, Hamadi Brewer, and Alex Hagen. They will learn in the next few weeks, after additional interviews, whether they will be awarded the coveted scholarship. Previous Posse scholarship winners from Washington Latin include 2016 graduate Conor Moore, 2015 graduates Maddie Galvez and Olivia Boyd, 2013 graduate Desmond Miller, and 2012 graduate Farris Nabih and Anaka Osborne.
Students in the AP Literature and History of Jerusalem classes will travel together New York City this Friday. All students will eventually meet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Jerusalem exhibit. The exhibition explores various cultural traditions and artifacts associated with the medieval city of Jerusalem, featuring 200 works of art from 60 lenders worldwide. The AP Literature class will also go to The Morgan Library and Museum to see the Bronte manuscripts and part of the permanent Austen collection. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a portion of the original manuscript of Jane Eyre, on loan from the British Library life portraits of Brontë, on loan from London’s National Portrait Gallery. Other highlights of the trip will include a tour of some Holden Caulfield sights from The Catcher in the Rye, including the lake at Central Park.
Last week, Washington Latin’s Model UN team participated in American University’s WIRC Model UN conference, which is a training conference for Model UN. Senior Dominique Cravins represented Australia on DISEC. Junior Javiera Galarce ’18 represented India on East Asia Summit. Sophomore Tyrica Miller represented France on UNODEC, and freshman Zander Shoag represented Italy on SOCHUM. The team is advised by Arabic teacher Mr. Porcelli.
The upper school hosted its first school-wide mock election this week on Tuesday. Seniors represented the the “candidates” with prepared speeches that would focus entirely on the issues. Student speakers used letters to represent them, so students voted exclusively on the issues, and were not focused on the characters’ profiles. Donald Trump was presented by Alex Davis (known as Candidate A), Hillary Clinton’s policies were presented by Ned Yarsky (known as Candidate D), Jill Stein was performed by Carmaya Humble (known as Candidate B) and Gary Johnson was represented by Max Micheli (Candidate C). They squared off in a race that was not as tight as the national elections. Candidate D came in first place, followed by Candidate C. The voters were also treated to a musical performance by Rock Band club musicians, Teddy Ammon, Aaron Figueroa, Ned Yarsky, and Mitchell Shapiro. Later Ben Roodman, Sophie Collier, and Elias Demian each performed music as well. Students were also commended for hard work, commitment, kindness, and friendship. Ninth graders who earned merits included Justin Burgon and Eva Antoine. Tenth graders Talia Flores and Jake Stocker were lauded for their effort and energy, and juniors Jay Antoine and Kirby Monterey earned merits for hard work and collaboration along with seniors Sam Anderson and Abeselom Abraham. Mr. Hagerty and Ms. Smith reminded students of the importance in careful, well-thought-out and moral choices, and asked students to listen with an open mind.
