The upper school celebrated the onset winter with a celebration of light. The assembly started with a performance of “Superstition” by the Jazz Band. Upper school director Ms. Brady spoke on the symbolism of light and reflected on the Golden Hour, before sunset. Art teacher Ms. Coleman also reflected on light in her speech, sharing the light of inspiration in her artwork. She also encouraged students to “be the light” by doing acts of kindness, from helping the elderly to cleaning up trash. Student speakers seniors Ishmael Cabading and Joshua Perrin reflected on the role of light in science and faith. The Honors Choir performed the groovy musical favorite “Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In,” all decked out in 1960s gear from last night’s concert. Government and Chinese teacher Mr. Liu and history and math teacher Mr. Stiff performed with senior Oliver Krisetya on a production they called “Winter Song.” Several students were honored for their kindness, humility, and community spirit by their teachers with merits. Ninth graders Willa Roemer and Alexander Kelly were honored by their teachers. Tenth graders Elisha Adams and Omare Omatete were also honored, along with juniors Christian Souverain and Camsey Noonan and seniors Jalen Richardson and Samara Porter.  Freshman Janiyah Basil honored Mr. Liu with a faculty merit, and sophomore Madison Cerkey-McFaddin honored her advisor Ms. McBride. Ms. Smith expressed gratitude for the enormous light that Ms. Brady brought to the school, and thanked Ms. Hamd, Mr. Baum, Ms. Raskin, and Mr. Torrence for their work shedding light and reminded students that the light would return and we will be together again. 

For the last ten years, the school’s various choirs have celebrate in an annual fall concert. This decade-long event features performances from the 8th Grade Choir, the upper school choir known as Latin Voices, the Honors Choir, and the Jazz Band. The endlessly talented Ms. VerCammen, who is also chair of the Arts department, has led the various bands and choirs for several years after teaching other subjects including math at Washington Latin. Thursday’s concert included a virtual performance of songs like “Aquarius,” “Moondance, “ and “Imagine,” along with songs in Latin.  Students practiced their performances and then the individual videos were combined to produce a complex and beautiful harmony. The concert will remain available on the YouTube for two weeks.

Students took the day off work to indulge in a day of self-discovery, creativity, and health. Teachers taught multiage workshops on creative writing, poetry, painting, origami snowflakes, collage, baking, yoga, exercise, counseling, and other topics to help soothe our souls as we head into winter. The time spent with our students in this more casual setting allowed teachers to focus on socio-emotional health, and connect to some students who we don’t work with on an everyday basis. It also gave students a chance to practice self-acceptance, self-love, and self-expression in a small group. The chance to reconnect outside the typical classroom setting brought your teacher so much joy and inspiration today!

The upper school biannual arts performance took place over the weekend. The event, which was organized with the help of club advisee Mr. Hotchkiss, broadcast on Zoom. Before virtual learning, the event was generally held in the library, but the last two have been online, and still widely attended. Senior Hawa Sturr performed “The First Time, Ever I Saw Your Face,” by Roberta Flack. Sophomore Paulina Inglima performed the song “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. Junior Camsey Noonan performed “Achilles Come Down,” by Gang of Youths. Sophomore Owen Doherty performed “Reaching Out,” which he also wrote. Junior Jonah Spiva performed “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane. Senior Lydia Moore sang “I Have a Dream,” by ABBA, and junior Kayla Park shared a recorded performance. Senior Chloe Megeath did an interpretive dance and a poem, and junior Eliza Cattaneo performed a pre-recorded song. Finally Mofoyinsola Adekola performed, as did Mr. Hotchkiss, who read a poem. 

Latin teacher Bryan Whitchurch taught a classics seminar about an epic poem from 1453 before Thanksgiving break. He used Zoom’s webinar platform organized by Schola Humanistica, an institute that operates out of Padova, Italy under the direction of Dr. Giuseppe Marcellino and his colleague/assistant, Paolo Pezzuolo.  Mr. Whitchurch researched an Italian humanist from the 15th century, Ubertino Posculo. Schola Humanistica hosts regular seminars on a variety of authors with special attention to the texts of humanists between the 14th and 16th century.