Teachers and students showcased playful headwear on Thursday in preparation for Halloween. Students and teachers were invited to wear wigs, hats, cat ears, or other Halloween paraphernalia as accessories to their school uniform. We hope everyone has a safe and creative Halloween long weekend!
Students engaged in an active but relaxing Wellness Day on Wednesday. The half-day, which focused on exploring new skills, learning to handle stress, and enjoying the great outdoors featured activities like cooking, drawing, coloring, crafts, jigsaw puzzles, stand-up comedy, creative writing, newspaper reporting, hiking in Rock Creek Park, and Shenandoah National Park, playing with puppies, riding bikes, playing kickball, ultimate frisbee, and capture the flag, painting pumpkins, taking nature walks, taking photographs, drawing with chalk, making Chinese food. At the end of the day, students reflected on the chance to have a loose and positive day to engage with friends and relax with their teachers outside of the classroom.
Ninth graders in Ms. Barroso’s World History class are studying medieval Europe and completed a simulation to practice their knowledge. Students were randomly assigned a social ranking and manor: peasant, knight, noble, or king/queen (the monarch wasn’t assigned to a manor though—she was in charge ultimately of all manors). The kids were given five minutes to rearrange furniture and set up their manors—with blankets and sheets to build forts or something. For each round of play, students did various tasks according to their social position. Peasants “farmed” grain by drawing bushels of barley as fast as possible. Knights strategized with their nobles about how to extend their land and power. At times, knights from different manors could “battle” each other, using dice as “weapons.” At the end of each round, nobles collected the grain peasants had drawn and paid the different people on their manor for their services. They also paid large amounts to the queen. Afterwards students reflected on the classroom experience versus historical reality. Did, for example, peasants revolt? Were there benevolent lords? Who had the “easiest” job?.
Upper school volleyball beat Thurgood Marshall on Monday, and Girls Global on Tuesday, winning in two sets. Middle school girls’ volleyball also lobbed and spiked their way to a win over DCI on Wednesday, beating the team in two sets, 27-25, and 25-23.
Middle School soccer dominated in their games last Friday. The boys’ team won 14-0 against E.L. Haynes last week, and the girls’ team won 3-0. The boys’ team also beat St. Anselm’s Abbey this week 2-0, with two goals scored by eighth grader Simon Baldwin. The boys’ team is undefeated in three games, and has not given up a single goal! Kudos to the quick-footed goalies, 8th grader Tate Meier, and 6th graders Musa Dansby and Nick Beggs. The boys’ team plays St. Andrew’s on Friday as part of a tournament.
Mr. Day’s Honors English 10 students have just finished paragraphs comparing or contrasting their own personalities with those of characters in Homer’s Iliad. They considered the heroism and human frailties that plagued characters in classical texts, and how those same challenges may affect humans in the modern world.
