Washington Latin Middle School Students will be gathering in small cohorts for outdoor Field Days in the coming weeks. On Wednesday, fifth and sixth graders met in small groups for activities on the field, including socially distanced “speed dating” mini-conversations, soccer ball passing, and decorating pumpkins. On the 24th, 8th graders will be meeting to participate in Halloween-themed outdoor activities in small groups, IN COSTUME! For students who are unable to attend, there will also be a virtual component to the activities with a chance to chat, participate in a virtual scavenger hunt or escape room, and play other cooperative games together online.
School social worker Hope Foster, is the club advisor for Red Hearts, which focuses on helping those in need in the District of Columbia. The club is participating in a food drive for So Others Might Eat (SOME). For over 50 years, SOME has been one of DC’s leading organizations in our city’s fight against homelessness, hunger, and poverty. On Wednesday, October 21, members of Red Hearts Accept food donations.
The Washington Latin Class of 2028 will meet for the first time at field day on Wednesday, but this was hardly the first social gathering for Washington Latin’s newest class. In the summer, 5th grade parent Margot Hoerrner organized a Facebook page for parents in the grade, which allowed for a summertime virtual Talent Show, musical, videogame, and chess digital playdates, and some outdoor activities like masked soccer meet-ups in SE and NE and a painting playdate in the picnic table pavilion in Rock Creek Park to create a Welcome to Latin Banner, which Middle School Assistant Director Ms. Bradley picked up to bring to school. Kudos to all the parents for leaning in to help this new dynamic group of students form meaningful relationships that they will undoubtedly develop over the coming years.
The 8th graders are wrapping up an English unit on mystery stories right now. Friday students are turning in the final drafts of original mystery stories that are 3-19 pages long! These stories include a setting, characters, crime, motive, red herring, and surprise twist ending. Students are also finishing The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer and a choice mystery book by Agatha Christie, Varian Johnson, Caroline B. Cooney, Jason Lethcoe, or James Ponti. Next week students will come to class dressed as a character from the shared text, and take a test on the unit the following week. The unit helps students grasp the elements of mystery and how the authors weave together a complex plot and unravel an unexpected solution.
Asynchronous Wednesdays may be filled with work assignments, but there is also a fair amount of time for playfulness and clubs. In Mr. Coleman’s Video Game club there are 12 members who meet regularly on Wednesday afternoons at 2:30 to play games like Fortnite, and NBA 2K21. In between playing, we talk about current events and what’s happening at home/school. Also on Wednesday, Mr. Staten’s Dungeons and Dragons club has 8 kids, with Harvey Craig serving as dungeon master. He helps everyone create their characters.
Students in the LatinX History Club with help from fifth grade math teacher Ms. Figueroa has worked together with students in the club to compile the Hispanic Heritage Month Facts of the Day for the Daily Bulletin. They also researched and highlighted some Indigenous leaders throughout Latin America for this week’s bulletin and discussed current events taking place in Latin America, such as Maduro’s regime in Venezuela. The club is also planning a discussion of the movie West Side Story. In previous years, the club has also taken field trips, including a 2018 trip to the Smithsonian Community Museum and a 2019 trip to the National Museum of the American Indian. Picture from previous year.
