The Red Hearts Club continued its tireless service to the community on Thursday working with Interfaith Works. The organization handles housing and the homeless community, vocational and employment services. The organization’s Women Center serves meals to several hundred temporary residents. Interfaith Works also provides free clothing and household items. The group of volunteers included Luisa Zwing, Willa Roemer, Idrisah Janneh, Dami Akinsanya, Kai McFadgion, Juma Buba, Celia Servaites, Esther Espinosa Dilone, Brandon Souverain, Natalie Timberg, Ellie Laville, Micah Shuford, Izzy Morris, Caroline Ball. The club is led by school social worker Hope Foster. 

The Underwater Robotics Team, advised by physics teacher Mr. Keller, is raising money to construct their high tech robots. The team will host a field day after school next Wednesday from 2:10 to 4:00. The fundraiser will raise money for an upcoming competition in May. The competition asks students to take on the engineering challenge of creating a robot that can swim in water. The competition also highlights the importance of environmental science. The goals of creating these robots is to provide them with the sensors and tools to support and combat climate change, provide clean energy sources, and monitor ocean health and maritime history.

In the AP Human Geography class, Urban Planner Amanda Huron, a professor at UDC, shared an overview of her career with students. The class is taught by Sander Porcelli and Parag Bhuva for upper school students. Eighth grade teacher Maya Barlev introduced Ms. Huron to the teachers. Ms. Huron spoke about using data visualization to help further social justice causes. She highlighted how you could understand some of the changes in DC, see the importance of urban planning, and decide what to build or where to build it. This planning affects gentrification, urban renewal, and brown fields. 

Children’s book author George O’Connor visited fifth and sixth graders on Tuesday, sharing highlights from his new graphic novel Dionysos. O’Connor is the author of the popular and hilarious series called “The Olympians,” including Hades, Hephaestus, Ares, Poseidon, Zeus, Apollo, Hermes, Hera, Athena, Artemus, and Aphrodite.  He answered students’ questions about his upcoming series that will focus on Norse mythology.  Students also asked about his motivation, his artistic process, and inspirations.

While Monday is the actual Pi Day, students celebrated early during Wellness Wednesday. After each math class held a competition to see who could memorize Pi the farthest, the winners and their classmates gathered in the MPR to celebrate the fruits of their victory on Wednesday. The Annual Middle School Pi Day pieing ceremony involved the winners and several contest entrants had the chance to throw a pie at the teacher of their choice. Mr. Kelly, Mr. Green, Mr. Birkenhead, Ms. Kolb, Mr. Starnes, Ms. Jones, Ms. Spence, Ms. Minera, Ms. Moore and Ms. Friedman bravely volunteered for a face full of whipped cream. The pi winners were fifth grader Evie Paisner, sixth grader Will Hocine, seventh grader Madelyn Zeller!and eighth grader Alice Lin.