Eighth graders recently started a student-run art club, which meets weekly on Mondays in room 234 at lunch. The club allows students to take their lunch period to work collaboratively in various mediums and discuss their artistic interests with peers. The club started with colored pencil sketches of cartoons that depict current political events. At Washington Latin, student-run clubs allow children a chance to share their interests, passions, and hobbies with peers during lunchtime and after school sessions, with the help and guidance of a faculty advisor. The club will publish an art magazine in the spring depicting favorite selected works from the year.

In seventh grade English class, students in Mr. Green’s class moved from various stations in the hallway to consider ethical issues around human and animal experiments. Students considered what they would do if they were involved in various science experiments or studies in the context of the short story “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keys. In the story, the main character participates in a scientific study that increases his IQ dramatically. As students moved between the various scenarios, they decided what they would do if they were faced with each experimental situation. One hypothetical experiment included “a new technology has been created that allows people to have one painful memory erased. You have been given an opportunity to get one memory erased, and the process is free and painless. What would you do?” By examining stories in the context of moral and ethical issues, students ground their readings int he real world and also consider the impact of various technological innovations on the world.

Students in eighth grade history engaged in a simulation of the Triangle Trade Route during Ms. Coppola-Klein’s class this week. Various student tables represented different geographical regions including Europe,  South America,  North America, and Africa.  As students traded various goods including slaves, molasses, and rice through their captains, they faced real life challenges like shipwrecks and capture by pirates. The simulation allowed students to reflect on how the historical trade route disadvantaged various regions based on geography and resources. These kinds of simulations allow students to take an active role in their education and evaluate and solve real life problems, rather than simply reading about and memorizing historical lessons.

College Counselors Ms. Latham and Ms. Richardson and Alumni Liaison Ms. Eleby-El attended the National Association of  National Association of College Admissions Counseling National Conference in Columbus, Ohio last week. They had the chance to meet with other high school counselors and college admissions counselors including Vincena Allen, Chief College Success Officer at The Seed Foundation, Karen Felton, former Dean of Admissions at GWU and current Director of College Counseling at Georgetown Day School, and Brandi Smith, Assistant Dean of Admissions at Emory University, among other professions.  The counselors attended courses like “Advising Students Toward Health Professional Programs,” “How to Improve A Personal Statement in 20 Minutes!” and “Beyond the Obvious: Shaping the College List.”

Indwelling Language founder Justin Slocum Bailey visited Latin classes Tuesday and held a workshop for 40 teachers from nearby private, public, and public charter schools. The event was organized with the help of the  nonprofit the Paideia Institute and a grant from the Classical Association of the Atlantic States.  Bailey highlighted the need to simultaneously explore ancient educational practices used when native Latin speakers learned the language and to use modern research about brain development to optimize students’ ability to access the language.  The event allowed teachers from different schools to meet and discuss their educational methodologies in a collaborative format.