For the final assembly of the middle school year, students reflected on the concept of Carpe Diem. Retiring school principal reflected on the history of the quote from Horace, which can be translated as “pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one.” Seventh graders J.D. Miller and Mikey Cooper reflected on their own experiences with choosing to seize the day in a speech to his peers, as did ninth grader Carys Nelson, who joined Washington Latin last year and fifth grader Quinn Frankiewicz. Students honored each other for being a supportive, kind, and cooperative classmates fifth grader Simon Riedel, sixth grader Sadie Greenhalgh, and sixth grader Karinna Meier, and also honored their teachers with “Faculty of the Month” merits. Teachers noted the hard-work, humor, tenacity, resilience, and kindness of this month’s merit winners, fifth graders Maxwell Gross, Mila Simpson, and Musa Dansby, sixth graders Lorelei Tarleton, Miles Johnson, and Selah Brown, seventh graders Carys Gill, Coruan Nunn, and Kai Pfeuffer, and finally eighth graders Bethel Gebreyesus, Dean Herst, and Shayla Greaux. The meeting ended with encouragement from upper school students to their younger peers to consider joining Latin Voices and Jazz Band in high school. There is no better way to seize the day than through music and performance!
The girls’ varsity softball team batted like champs their first game of the season, beating Paul Public Charter School 17 to 3. The team is coached by history teacher Mr. Staten and dance teacher Ms. Kolb. The two captains are seniors Hawa Sturr and Jia Fleming. Freshman catcher Eva Ventura won the game ball for her stellar catching, persistence, and resilience int he face of being battered and whacked a few times by the batter and ball!
We are delighted to announce that Meg Kovach will serve next year as the Assistant Director of the Upper School. Working with Director of the Upper School Kara Brady, Ms. Kovach will build on her work as the 9th Grade Lead and work with all Upper School grades to ensure our students have what they need to succeed as students and grow towards adulthood during their four years of high school.
Ms. Kovach joined Latin in 2019-20 as a Math teacher. A gifted educator, she balances high expectations with a huge heart. Even during the pandemic, she has demonstrated an unflagging passion for working with high school students and ability to connect with them. Ms. Brady was one of those impressed with Ms. Kovach: “Working with her more closely in her role as the ninth grade team leader this year made it abundantly apparent to me how valuable she is to both students and faculty alike.” At some schools, a move into the administration might suggest a move away from student-facing work. This is not the case at Latin generally and certainly not true for Ms. Kovach. In fact, she is excited about her new position increasing opportunities to work with students and help meet their needs, whether through formal programs and initiatives or through individually crafted solutions.
Meg started her career as a math teacher and worked most recently in a large comprehensive high school in Prince George’s County, where she served as the Chair of the Math Department. In spite of her success and continued passion for working with high school students, Meg came to see the size of the school (with about 700 students per grade) to be an impediment to meeting the varied needs of her students. At the urging of a friend on the Latin faculty, she met with Principal Smith and could instantly feel a difference. “It was immediately clear to me that Diana – and by extension Latin – was a place that wanted to understand me as a person rather than a resume. That focus on the individual is of course what Latin is all about and the reason I wanted to teach here.”
We are so glad she did make that move to come to Latin! Please join us in congratulating her on this new role.
As the school year winds down, upper schoolers are preparing for a new hurdle, with students practicing for the SAT and AP tests. Juniors took the SAT on Wednesday, and last week several AP classes practiced for their exams. Starting in May, upper school students will begin a process of AP testing, in classes including English Language and Composition, English Literature, Computer Science, Earth Science, and many others. Several teachers generously volunteered to help students with practice exams last Saturday.
At the faculty meeting, teachers reflected on lessons they learned during a year of distance learning. Teachers took the time to evaluate how the schedule, pacing of a school day, and interactions with students had changed. Experiences in what was both a tumultuous and inspiring year will help inform our plans for next year as we consider scheduling, academics, homework, and other matters with the new information gleaned from many changes, including learning to use Zoom, posting asynchronous work, using breakout groups, evaluating class size, teaching outdoors, and using academic pods.
Honors US History was visited Monday, April 26th by a guest speaker, Frank Sesno, former CNN White House Correspondent. The eleventh grade class got to speak to the former White House correspondent, anchor and Washington Bureau Chief about a range of subjects, from politics and conventions to international summits and climate change. The talk focused on the 1980s, including Reagan’s foreign policy, the Cold War, and the Berlin Wall. The class, which is taught by Ms.Gifford, is currently under the care of Ms. Feist during Ms. Gifford’s maternity leave. Ms. Feist previously covered Ms. Foley’s maternity leave, and was a teacher at Ms. Foley’s high school.
