Math teachers will take part in Muffins and Math for the second year in a row, starting the week of September 18. The half-hour long bonus math sessions will include morning activities that starts at 7:20, and an afternoon session that starts at 4. Students can get help with homework or assistance with test and quiz preparation. Students may bring their own work or get practice worksheets from their teachers.
In the second annual Convocation, the students in all grades met in the gym to welcome the new school year. The Jazz Band performed, and student speakers included senior Jay Antoine, tenth grader Kimberly Montpelier, ninth grader Niko Davis and eighth grader Luca Camponova. Mr. Anderson addressed the students about the challenges and importance of maintaining a thriving diverse community, even in times when events like the protests in Charlottesville divide the country and cause rifts in communities. Ms. Smith asked our students to think about how they could find answers to the complex problems that our society faces, and help teach the adults in the world lessons about sensitivity and kindness. (Watch this video filmed and produced by Mr. Neil Berment of the Convocation.)
This annual event helps build school pride and a sense of unity among the eight grades that attend Washington Latin. It is also a chance for students and administrators to broach difficult and important topics for further discussion. Our school also hosts quarterly assemblies which provide students a chance to speak publicly in front of their peers on a designated topic and offers teachers a chance to commend various students for their kindness and support of the community.
On Tuesday students celebrated their hard work over the summer staying screen-free as part of Ms. Smith’s No Tech Tuesday Challenge. In a middle and upper school assembly, 38 eighth and ninth graders were commended and rewarded for living tech-free on 11 Tuesdays. The students watched a video of several interviews with students who participated, and Ms. Smith highlighted the ways students can spend time off their screens, including time in nature, time with family, and time reading. She also highlighted some of the dangers of technology overuse including poor sleep and bullying via social media. Student participants in the challenge included eighth graders Dainius Antoine, Allison Bleimehl, Luca Camponovo, Eliza Cattaneo, Vivian Claire, Lana Coulon, Elliot D’Alessandro, Cian Fitzgerald, Alex Kirk, Brendan Kirk, Kofi McFadgion, Estelle Monti, Ava Pugh, Ezinne Ukaegbu, Caroline Watterson, and Janika Webb. In ninth grade, Fiona Campbell, Nikolas Davis, Zoe Edelman, Helena Ikenberry, Oliver Krisetya, Ketan Mampara, Lydia Moore, Sucha Mulholland, Ella Norlen, Sebastian Oosterveld, Joshua Perrin, Max Regardie, Lucas Roemer, Alexander Roodman, Griffin Smith, Amaya Tatum, Daniel Voss and Una Yarsky triumphed over the tech-free challenge. Four additional students – Rebekka Stewart, Adriana Torero, Juliette Warga, and Vladimir Zadorojny – succeeded in the challenge but chose not to receive the $100 prize. Instead, Ms. Smith donated the money to the school in their names. Later that night about 100 parents and students assembled in the MPR for the PA meeting to watch the documentary, “Screenagers.” Released last year, this film explores the risks young people face of failing in school, suffering social isolation and becoming digitally addicted, due to excessive use of smart phones, gaming systems and other tech devices. Read more on the Challenge, including a great video from the Assembly produced by Neil Berment, as well as parent resources on our No Tech Tuesday page.
Upper School English teacher Ms. Collins visited Europe to enjoy the thrills of new knowledge and the open road. First, she attended the 19th annual International Conference on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Paris, France, where she took classes about “Educational Delivery Modes: Tools for Making Sound Decisions in an Age of Increasing Technology,” “Linguistic and Cultural Human Rights for Indigenous Peoples in Education,” and “Class Size Effects on Reading Achievement in Europe: Evidence from Progress in International Reading Literacy Study” with presenters from around the world. After finishing the conference, she traveled by train to Germany. In Frankfurt she rented a Honda CBF 600 and rode on the Autobahn to Castle Weikersheim and some small towns in rural Germany. Latin has encouraged teacher travel during the summer through grants directed at expanding a teacher’s knowledge and skills.
