March 23, 2018
Welcome to the second edition of The Westminster Weekly! We welcome news from alumni, students, parents, and staff to include in our upcoming e-newsletters. Share your news with us by emailing Mrs. Nancy Schuler .
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming Events

March 27
6th/7th Grade Parents' Coffee
Click here to RSVP
March 29
1st Grade Play--Where the Wild Things Are
STAFF TALENT SHOW
March 30-April 7
Spring Break!!
5th Graders Celebrate Roman Day
A highlight of the 5th-grade studies of the Ancient Romans is Roman Day. Mrs. Klein planned a great day for these lucky students. A typical “day in Rome” for the students means making Roman shields, eating Roman food, playing Roman games, and finally, watching that quintessential movie about Rome, Spartacus . The shields turned out better than ever, with silver painted half spheres embellishing the front (a new touch!), and bright yellow eagle’s wings contrasting with the orangey red of the shield. Students also made something they can actually use (not too much need for shields today, thankfully!) -- decorated wooden coasters with various Roman themes. They used pictures cut from comic books featuring Roman gods and goddesses, glued them onto a wooden disk, covered the bottom with felt, and finally, decoupaged the face to make it hard and shiny. They turned out really well!

The feast was delicious, typical Mediterranean fare, including chicken, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, salad and a variety of tasty desserts. Games Romans played were not all that different from the games we play today, and the children played them in their fabulous Roman garb -- gladiators, noblemen and women, and some plebeians filled the gym with hoots and hollers as they dodged, chased after, and caught “Roman” balls. Fifth-graders ended the day watching Kirk Douglas as he battled the Roman legion in an effort to escape a life of slavery in Rome. When the day came to an end, each student went away with a slightly new understanding of what it meant to be a Roman.

Congratulations to the WPC and to Mr. Dillon for the success of "Hook"
Congratulations to the entire cast of "Hook." The show featured everything from charming songs to swordfights and lots of humor. The story of a grown-up Peter Pan reconnecting with his time in Neverland is a great twist on the classic tale; and the WPC Players brought it to the stage with lots of love and good cheer. Special expressions of gratitude and congratulations go to James Dillon, who has been a dedicated player for nine years and has directed a total of seven shows. Mr. Dillon will be stepping down and Mrs. Hannaway (Westminster graduate and mother of two current students) will take on the role of director next year. If you want to have fun and make some friends, sign up for the WPC Play!
Students Celebrate Pi Day
The 6th graders discussed what Pi is and why it is always 3.14..... They explored circles and the relationship between the diameter and the circumference of every circle. 

Mrs. Fowler read the 5th grade the story “The Dragon of Pi” and held the Pi competition to see who could memorize the most digits of Pi. The results were quite impressive! In 5th grade, Hussain came in first place with 181 digits and Santhony came in second place with 79 digits.

In 6th grade, first place went to Hudson, who memorized an astonishing 1,067 digits! Second place went to Jibril, who memorized 346 digits.

The 5th and 6th graders also all celebrated Pi day during lunch with special treats- cookie pies!
4th Graders Visit the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD
As a celebration of their study of the Ancient Greeks, the 4th graders visited the spectacular Walters Art Museum earlier this week. They saw a fine collection of Greek pottery, sculpture and other artifacts.
After the tour, the students had an opportunity to study red-figure and black-figure pottery and to create their own amphora designs. It was a great day, as always. Thank you to Miss McIntyre for inspiring the children's love of history and for arranging such a memorable trip.
Alumni News
The first-ever Alumni Basketball Game was held after the Varsity Girls played the Moms and before the Varsity Boys played the Dads. Fifteen grads from various classes showed up to play. The grads loved getting the chance to hit the griffin court again. The game was a real nail-biter, going down to the last buzzer. In the end, the purple team won by just a single basket. This is sure to become a popular annual tradition!
Divya Kumaran, Class of 2015, recently competed for her high school, W. T. Woodson, in a State DECA Competition held in VA Beach. DECA is an Association of Marketing Students that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. 

Divya's performance at the competition was impressive! She earned the following awards: Overall First Place in Accounting Applications, National Qualifier, Top 10 in the Test, Role Play 1, and Role Play 2. Divya will now go the National Competition in Atlanta, GA at the end of April.

When contacted about Divya's accomplishment, Mr. Kumaran said, "Classical education has its benefits - her confidence level and ability to speak extemporaneously really shone through."

Congratulations, Divya and best of luck at Nationals!
Food for Thought
"Why Children are More Entitled and Lonelier than Generations Before"
Each week, we'll feature an article or blog in the "Food for Thought" section of the Westminster Weekly. An article from yourmodernfamily.com is your food for thought this week.
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