Students took the day off work to indulge in a day of self-discovery, creativity, and health. Teachers taught multiage workshops on creative writing, poetry, painting, origami snowflakes, collage, baking, yoga, exercise, counseling, and other topics to help soothe our souls as we head into winter. The time spent with our students in this more casual setting allowed teachers to focus on socio-emotional health, and connect to some students who we don’t work with on an everyday basis. It also gave students a chance to practice self-acceptance, self-love, and self-expression in a small group. The chance to reconnect outside the typical classroom setting brought your teacher so much joy and inspiration today!
The upper school biannual arts performance took place over the weekend. The event, which was organized with the help of club advisee Mr. Hotchkiss, broadcast on Zoom. Before virtual learning, the event was generally held in the library, but the last two have been online, and still widely attended. Senior Hawa Sturr performed “The First Time, Ever I Saw Your Face,” by Roberta Flack. Sophomore Paulina Inglima performed the song “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. Junior Camsey Noonan performed “Achilles Come Down,” by Gang of Youths. Sophomore Owen Doherty performed “Reaching Out,” which he also wrote. Junior Jonah Spiva performed “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane. Senior Lydia Moore sang “I Have a Dream,” by ABBA, and junior Kayla Park shared a recorded performance. Senior Chloe Megeath did an interpretive dance and a poem, and junior Eliza Cattaneo performed a pre-recorded song. Finally Mofoyinsola Adekola performed, as did Mr. Hotchkiss, who read a poem.
Latin teacher Bryan Whitchurch taught a classics seminar about an epic poem from 1453 before Thanksgiving break. He used Zoom’s webinar platform organized by Schola Humanistica, an institute that operates out of Padova, Italy under the direction of Dr. Giuseppe Marcellino and his colleague/assistant, Paolo Pezzuolo. Mr. Whitchurch researched an Italian humanist from the 15th century, Ubertino Posculo. Schola Humanistica hosts regular seminars on a variety of authors with special attention to the texts of humanists between the 14th and 16th century.
Seniors Lucas Roemer, Rob Mirabello, and Cooper Davenport competed in It’s Academic, a quiz. Dylan Paglee was our alternate. The team faced off against Wakefield and Falls Church public schools. Combining all three teams’ scores, it was the highest total score of the competition this year and in recent history. The show was taped last Sunday but will not premiere on NBC on January 16th.
For the last three years, Washington Latin upper schoolers have had the opportunity to complete community service hours at the Hattie Holmes Senior Wellness Center near campus, with the help of school social worker Hope Foster. Even though physically distant, students are maintaining those relationships through virtual platforms. This week Washington Latin senior Joshua Perrin and freshman Willa Roemer played a spirited game of Zoom bingo with seniors from the Wellness Center, keeping their spirits high.
Ms. Dobler’s 6th graders completed an introduction to physical and chemical changes this week in science class. Students discussed their observations with three mini experiments to determine if each was a physical change or a chemical change. One experiment involved melting a chocolate chip between their fingers and then using their senses to see it is still chocolate. Also students worked at dissolving salt in water and using their senses plus a molecule model to see it is just mixed together. Finally, students were also mixing baking soda and vinegar and using their observations plus a molecule model to see that new molecules were created. One of the new molecules created is the carbon dioxide that fills the balloon. These kitchen chemists were excited to see all the ways they could interact with the world in their home to experiment and understand physical and chemical changes.
