Feb 13, 2020
Students in 8th grade English completed a Comedy Unit this week. The unit included a comedic memoir, several satires, two parodies, and an ironic twist story. For the project, students created their own original comedic pieces in each of these genres. The brave souls shared funny stories about times they lied or were misunderstood, satirized their teachers and the behavior of the adults in their society, created song parodies, and wrote stories with surprising ironic twist endings. The culminating quiz featured gun control editorials, Weird Al song lyrics, and a Shirley Jackson story complete with a surprise ending.
Feb 13, 2020
The school’s Environmental Club was featured in “Sprout It Out” a monthly newsletter for the city’s garden programs published by the State Superintendent of Education. The Environmental Club, which is advised by Mr. Torrence, helps to maintain the school’s hydroponic tower gardens and monitors the pH of the indoor towers, helping to harvest the greens the school grows. The club is also working to replace paper towels in the science and art classes with reusable towers and beautifying the grounds.
Feb 13, 2020
The Indoor Track and Field Team ended the season at the DCSAA Championships. Senior Luke Tewalt won the 3200m, 1600m, and 800m races, and set a new record for the city in the 1600m. He was named the meet Most Valuable Player, the first male winner of the MVP award for our school. The girls’ 4X200 team of senior Cecily Bufkin, sophomore Ezinne Ukaegbu, freshman Isabel Charles, and sophomore Ife Akinsanya were named All-State. The boys 4X800m relay took 3rd place, featuring a team of senior Oliver Spiva, sophomore Casey Montrey, junior Robbie Mirabello, and senior Luke Tewalt. Spiva finished 2nd overall in the 1600m race, earning his personal best time for the indoor season.
Feb 6, 2020
Tenth graders went on a field trip this week to see poets perform their work. The event was done by an organization called Day Eight. The event was called “DC Stories Performed by DC Poets.” The group provides access for communities to participate in the arts, through production, publication, and promotion of creative projects. The students watched four local Washington, D.C. poets perform their work at THEARC in Southeast. The English 10 classes will be performing their Poetry Out Loud poems in two weeks for the annual competition.
Feb 6, 2020
For the Annual Winter Dinner Concert, the 8th grade choir, Honors Choir, Latin Voices, and Jazz Band performed Wednesday. The songs included “Howl Like a Winter,” by Ruth Morris Gray, “Drink to Me Only,” “Lacrimoso,”by Mozart, “Armor,” by Sara Bareilles, and the Spanish song “Saludo.” The event is a fundraiser for the performing arts department, complete with dinner and performances.
Feb 6, 2020
The middle school science fair is Friday. The event, which will feature the hard work of the 5th and 6th graders, will include original scientific experiments. Students in Ms. Dobler and Ms. Dorsey’s classes have been conducting original experiments, using various household materials to test their hypotheses. They have collected and analyzed their data and created graphic illustrations of the results to present to outside visiting judges on Friday. It is a great chance for children to boost their public speaking skills and see science at work.
