Cooper Campus Students in Ms. Maclay and Mr. Evans’ advisory have chosen Cerberus, the mythical protector of the Underworld as the mascot for their advisory, complete with a plush 3-headed canine stuffed animal. Cooper student journalists Eli Cort-Stone and Matteo McFarlane reported on it in their school newspaper. The newspaper, advised by Ms. Cox, dropped its third issue of the Mercury Press this past week. 

At Second Street, fifth graders in Ms. Spence and Ms. Mujal’s Geography Classes are writing letters to pen pals in Madrid, Spain, using snail mail. The students are receiving responses from students at Colegio Santa Ana y San Rafael. Students noticed the differences in the idioms students at the school used, as they were being taught British English. So they refer to parents as mums, and describe their “favourite,” things, which includes European football of course. High school World History teacher Mr. Goff helped connect Ms. Spence with the teacher in Spain.

Second Street students in the middle school celebrated African American History Month with an assembly on the theme Black Excellence. Eighth grader Johnie Thomas served as the MC. Upper School math teacher Mr. Love gave a beautiful keynote speech about his experience graduating high school at 16 and attending Princeton. Mr. Wills gave examples of historical and modern figures including many in the Washington, D.C. area who exemplify Black Excellence to him. The upper school cheer team performed. Students in each grade received merits. Fifth grader Tuiren O’Donovan honored Mr. Baldwin for his work in the theater class, seventh grader Nora Paxson honored her Latin teacher Dr. Bonner for his enthusiasm in class, and eighth grader Selah Brown honored her history teacher, Mr. Byrd for his positive energy in class and advisory. 

All three sections of Honors English 10 at Second Street are participating in Shakespeare Theater Company’s residency program, in which a teaching artist from the theater frequently helps the class to explore acting, theatrical design, Shakespearean text, and King Lear, which both the 9th and 10th grades will be attending at Shakespeare Theater Company in March.

Sixth graders at Cooper Campus in Ms. Adeosun’s English classes are starting a non-fiction unit focusing on research through the lens of climate change. The class is reading Climate Change for Teens: Your Future is Green. The class plans to have a future outdoor activity to accompany their research.