Washington Latin students have busy days, complete with rigorous classes, electives, and clubs. Whether students choose to play sports, participate in the school musical, “The Music Man,” write for the newspaper Sumus Leones, or the literary magazine, “Open Mic,” or prepare an act for the middle school talent show, there are many creative outlets for students during lunch and after school. However, many students eagerly pursue outside endeavors, despite their heavy workloads.
Sophomore Miles Tiller is one of those students. Besides a full slate of honors and AP classes and his volunteer hours in the makerspace, Miles has indulged an interest in screenwriting and video production for several years, producing several movies of his own. As an eighth grader, a project that he worked on with his classmates Ketan and Lucien, called “99 cents,” won an award at the environmental film festival. Since then, he has worked on lengthier efforts, including the 48-minute movie “Green” – the product of his company “District Pictures” and featuring several other sophomore actors like Nick Mazza, Ketan Mampara, and Lucas Roemer as actors. You can view his movie here.
Many other students participate in creative writing activities outside of school and have won awards for their work. Junior MK Wilson and freshman Kayla Freedman were both honored by Writopia. High schoolers Chloe Cattaneo, Christina Spraggins and Micah Gans and sixth grader Clarke Oglesby all had original work published last year in an anthology of young writers.
While for some the arts awaken their passions, others pursue athletics in a variety of arenas outside the school. We will talk about some of these students in a future Legenda. I am awed and excited by the hard work of our students each day, but always amazed to find students who find the time and energy to continue to pursue and cultivate their passions outside of the classroom. If your child has a unique hobby or interest, feel free to drop me a note about it! Our diverse and talented student body help build the unique and rich culture of our school.
Valete!
Peter