It has been a long, cold winter, but students are ready for some rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation next Wednesday, as the school engages in the quarterly Wellness Workshops. This quarter middle students will take part in a variety of workshops and activities to boost their brains and bodies. Activities include dodgeball and field activities, a workshop on relationships called “Love is Respect, and student choice activities. Choice activities include yoga, neighborhood walks, nail painting, STEM activities, meditation, playing with dogs, storytime in America, creative writing, listening to music, discussion of LGBTQ issues, watching Encanto, Avatar the Last Airbender. Upper school activities include off-campus and Zoom options, like hiking, baking, and bicycling. 

Friday students in Mr. Liu’s government class participated in the DC Circuit Court Historical Society’s Mock Court Program. They presented arguments before real federal judges on a First Amendment case. Besides teaching Chinese and Government at Washington Latin, Mr. Liu is a lawyer who previously advised senators on international policy. The annual event offers students a chance to engage in realistic dialogue with judges on policy and constitutional issues and gain personalized feedback on their performances. Latin’s history and social sciences departments prioritize public speaking, critical thinking, and the chance to engage in authentic and meaningful dialogue about history and the world around us. Students attending included seniors Lily Smeltzer, Benjamin Long, Dainius Antoine, Luca Camponovo Moya, Vivian Pittard, Janika Webb, Morgan Leary, and Jonah Spiva, and juniors Alyssa Wright, Immanuel Gebreyesus, Menkem Sium, Geovanna Diaz, and Maxwell Burton, and sophomores Akilah Jones, Jaden Davis, Jonathan Kuhn. The Government class focuses on all three branches of government and helps students understand civic engagement and America’s history. 

Sixth graders in the Youth Empowerment Seminar hosted a snack sale this week to raise money to send assistance to people in the Ukraine. The initiative was started by Nora Paxson, Daphna Soskis, Genesis Fuentes-Ramirez, June Walsh, Cleo Van Wye, and Iris Vergow with help from  Ms. Crespo, who is the coordinator of student intervention. Students baked and purchased snacks for sale afterschool to their teachers and peers with the goals of making $400. Several teachers assisted with generous cash donations. The proceeds went to Globalgiving’s Ukraine Crisis relief fund. Parents can also donate through the website and selecting “Other Payments,” “Student last name, first name” or “Staff last name, first name,” and typing “Ukraine,” into the “paying for” field. 

The upper school’s February assembly on Monday honored African American History Month. The event was titled, “BLACKNESS is Not a Monolith.” Social worker Hope Foster spoke about the idea of celebrating Black History and not defining or limiting the perspective or stories of black people. Ms. Lee-Bey took a chance to talk about greetings and ways to check in with peers. She spoke about linguistic diversity. She talked about various dialectics and African and Southern and Caribbean ways of speaking. Ninth graders Ana Lu Galaretta, Raimon Nelson, Pilar Gomez won merits for persistence, engagement, and resilience. Sophomores Julia Nixon, Loye Hawkins, Carys Nelson earned honors for tenacity, positive attitudes, and effort. Juniors earned merits for their community service, engagement, and commitment including Kayla Schifferle, Elizabeth Campbell, and Assata Bates. Seniors Christian Souverain, Juliette Warga, Rubi Vela, Teachers also honored their teachers. Carys Nelson honored Mr. Edwards-Stuart for his work in Chemistry. Junior Michela Irving honored her AP Human Geography, Sophomore Jazz band member Brian Guzman gave an award to music teacher Mr. Evans. The Jazz band video showed students performing and being conducted by arts department chair Ms. VerCammen. Junior D’Andre Pearson spoke about art and his ability to express himself through various mediums including the fine arts. Mr. Torrence closed with a description of the history of African American History month and reflections about his own identity and inspirations.

On Friday, the boys’ Varsity Basketball team will play against Burke on Friday in their first match-up of the three day St. Anselm’s Tournament, which will continue from March 4 through 6. The team is coached by athletics director Mr. Eleby-El.