Latin parent Robert Wilkins spoke Wednesday to students and faculty about the founding of the National Museum of African American History and culture. He will speak on the subject again for parents the night of March 15th at 7pm. Wilkins worked as a law clerk for Judge Earl Gilliam and at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia as chief special litigation before going into private practice and becoming a Circuit Court Judge. He was part of George W. Bush’s presidential commision on the establishment of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. His book titled Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture was published in 2016.
Students in the middle school hosted an afterschool open mic coffee house, complete with poetry, jokes, dance, singing and musical instruments. Sixth grade English teacher Ms. Bloomfield coordinated again after successfully bringing this tradition to the middle school last year.
Tenth grader Felicity Ryan won the school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition. She performed “The Children’s Hour,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and “A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky” by Louis Carroll. The competition was judged by Mr. Anderson, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Richardson, with Ms. Seid serving as the accuracy judge. Second place was a tie between freshmen Nick Mazza and Aviel Honey, and third place was freshman Zoe Edelman. Poetry Out Loud also sent a teaching artist named Nubia Kai who assisted with the competition and helped English teachers in their classrooms. Felicity will also compete at the citywide competition in March.
On Tuesday the Girls Varsity Basketball team defeated Friendship Collegiate, nabbing a spot in the quarter finals of the DCSAA State Championship playoffs against St. John’s College Prep.