Sophomore Zoe Edelman and junior Luke Tewalt both traveled to New York City to compete in the High School National Indoor Track and Field Championships with coach Jamille Callum. This was the final meet of the indoor season and athletes from all over the country had to qualify to compete. Both Zoe and Luke competed in the Championships 5000m (5K). They each ran a personal record, with Zoe running 17:44.98 and Luke running 15:23.00. The top 6 finishers are named All-Americans. Zoe earned All-American status, Latin’s first ever All-American and the only All-American in Washington, D.C. runner for Indoor Track and Field this season.
Our science fair winners at the annual upper school science fair last week included freshmen Ashay Amam, who studied the Life Straw and the Brita Filter for their effectiveness at purifying water. Vivian Claire studied the effects of road salt on bioretention. Changa Anderson measured the impact on G-force on gymnastics, and Ife Akinsanya and Vivian Pittard studied a hybrid water filter. Ja’Niece Austin-Lindsey evaluated the start of gender-based stereotypes. Runners up included Luke Lowenfish, Camsey Noonan, and Lana Coulon and Juliette Warga. Honorable mentions included Lily Smeltzer, Luca Camponovo and Owen Nadler, Morgan Leary, Nina Jobanputra, Casey Montrey, Molly Parker, and Sheridan Easterling. The winners will move on to the STEM fair in the spring and will compete against students from other Washington, D. C. high schools to showcase their research and public speaking skills.
The Jazz Band will be hitting the road for New Orleans, Louisiana in April. The trip, which will occur two weeks after spring break, will last April 10th through 13th. They will have the chance to perform and see other jazz musicians in the city made famous by such greats as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Fats Domino. This will be the longest field trip that the Jazz Band has taken, and the music department has put a lot of effort into fundraising for this trip through Jazz Band performances, and publicity on radio stations and television appearances. Play on!
A dozen juniors will attend the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Georgetown University this week. They will have the chance to see key note speakers like Dr. Lucile Adams-Campbell, the associate director for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown. Other speakers will include Alexander van der Horst, assistant professor of astrophysics at GW, who will talk about modeling of cosmic sources called transients. Dr. Kostadin Kushlev, assistant professor of psychology at Georgetown will talk about his research on online behavior and well-being. Biology teacher Ms. Jost will escort the students for the two-day symposium.
Mr. Anderson hosted Kathryn Zickuhr, deputy director of policy at the D.C. Policy Center in his health class last week. Zickhur was also a research analyst at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & Technology Project. She has studied such topics as the role of public libraries in American communities and the digital divide. She spoke about health and communication policies and how technology can play into public awareness and public health.
Former Head of School Martha Cutts, rejoined the school on Monday for a celebration in the library. She unveiled her portrait, completed by artist Maud Taber-Thomas. Washington Latin board member and classics scholar Hunter Rawlings first learned about the artist several years ago and decided that she must paint the one and only Ms. Cutts. Taber-Thomas, based in Maryland, is a painter who specializes in oil paintings and charcoal. The former English major has also painted characters of classic literature.
