The week before Thanksgiving, the Girls on the Run club hosted a virtual 5K, run by the club advisor Director of Recruitment and alumni liaison Ms. Eleby-El. While the students socially distanced, and conducted the race virtually, they all started together and ended together. The club, which includes students in the middle school focuses on fitness, community spirit, and emotional support.
The college counseling office hosted a virtual “Instant Decision Day” in mid-November. Washington Latin collaborated with 5 other local high public charter schools and 16 universities to have applicants meet with college reps via Zoom and receive a decision on the spot. College counselor Mr. O’Brien kept the whole event moving by rotating students and college admissions staff through various Zoom breakout sessions.
Seniors gathered via Zoom for a virtual Thanksgiving lunch last week. The event, organized by math teacher and community council advisor Ms. Raskin, follows on the heels of a yearly tradition for seniors to gather for lunch right before the holiday in the library. Seniors had a chance to catch up, laugh, and joke in an informal environment and took a Kahoot quiz about some of their memories from middle school and high school, highlighting the playful hijinks of their classmates’ escapades over the years. Every senior also received a letter from a classmate, highlighting a special contribution they made to the class.
The school hosted more than 1000 conferences on the last two Wednesdays. Parents will have a final chance to meet with their children’s teachers on Tuesday November 24. Both Monday and Tuesday classes will be asynchronous to allow teachers a chance to speak with parents about the first quarter, reflect on students’ strengths and growth opportunities and plan for the future. This is an excellent time to get to know your children’s teachers and hear about what they are learning in class. It is also a wonderful space to discuss strategies for distance learning and independent study. Parents can register for conferences on the website pickatime.com. Once on the website they should select “Washington Latin-Fall 2020 Conferences 11/23/2020.”
The Theatre department will livestream a presentation of Anna Deavere Smith’s play Twilight Los Angeles, 1992 on Friday the 20th and 27th at 7pm. The play was composed from the 300 interviews Deavere completed to cull reactions to the 1992 riots that followed the trial of police officers in California involved in the beating of Rodney King. The various roles include police officers, politicians, jurors on the trial, victims and participants in the riots in South Central Los Angeles. Several upper schoolers and two middle schoolers memorized and performed the roles, and Mr. Birkenhead and Mr. Baldwin helped direct and edit the production. Students will also engage in a “Talk Back” reflection on the roles after the performance on the 20th. While the events of the play took place almost 30 years ago, the topics are still timely and help students tap into the concepts of listening, discussing conflicts and completing research, areas that are central to the development of opinions that are informed, flexible, and reasoned.
Physics and AP Environmental science teacher and wrestling coach Mr. Torrence will be teaching a Wrestling Wednesdays event every week at 4pm for any interested students. The class will include self-defense, boxing, wrestling, and elements of mixed martial arts. He will join several other coaches and athletes around the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area to meet leaders in combat sports, talk to Division 1 athletes, and win prizes for attendance and completing light workouts. Interested students should fill out this Google form. Mr. Torrence leads a weekly Zoom call with wrestling coaches in the area to engage isolated athletes, encouraging students to stay in shape via pushups, situps and miles run or biked. The organization also started a campaign and hashtag #PullUpAboveRacism and mailed pull-up bars to 20 kids who set about doing 846 pull-ups to honor George Floyd. Washington Latin senior Jalen Richardson did over 1200 pull-ups this summer! Guest speakers on his meetings have included NCAA athletes, an Olympian, and the wrestling coaches from American University, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and Princeton, among others.