Westminster School has transitioned to distance learning. Please continue to share photos and news with us by emailing
Mrs. Nancy Schuler.
Current parents--please share the Weekly with your children, as they will enjoy seeing what's been going on in our virtual school!
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Classical Learning in the Digital Age
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At Westminster School, there is an emphasis on classical learning, which involves challenging the children to make connections from text to text, text to real life, and text to self. While the children are engaged in online learning, they are continuing to study the ancient and classic literature that is core to Westminster School's classical curriculum, such as Homer's
Iliad
, Virgil's
Aeneid
, and Dickens'
A Tale of Two Cities
. These stories have endured for centuries because they are epic tales that focus on the trials and tribulations of human beings. They highlight human frailties and strengths, their triumphs and their defeats, their relationships, and their emotions. The stories survive because they are relatable across cultural boundaries; they are stories of the human experience.
Check out the video below to see how our students are engaging with these classic tales and making meaningful connections. In-depth discussions are taking place, demonstrating a true understanding for the literature. The blending of these texts, written decades, even centuries ago with the modern technology is both compelling and heartening!
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6th Graders Visit with a Journalist in Math Class
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In Mrs. Uhrnmacher's math class, the 6th grade is learning about percentages and proportions. The students studied and analyzed some examples of graphics in the Washington Post and New York Times to learn how these mathematical representations help the reader to better understand the news. The students also conducted an interview with a journalist (Mrs. Uhrmacher's husband), who is a Graphics Editor at the Post. Mr. Uhrmacher explained what a graphic is, how he uses math in his job, and reassured the students that what they are learning in school (in all the subjects) will help them to understand the news and prepare for their future careers. The students then wrote a reflection paragraph on the interview. Here are a few excerpts from their impressions:
Nailah: On Wednesday our class interviewed a graphics editor for the Washington Post. A graphics editor is someone who uses data that researchers have discovered to create charts, graphs, and other images. Graphic editors use percentages, percent changes, charts, and ratios to show research. During the interview, I also learned that journalists help people make better choices with their health, money, etc. with research.
Onat: [Graphics editors] read a lot and write a lot. They usually find their data from the government or a company. When they are writing something they always have to have at least two credible sources that are true.
Gavin: A graphics editor is a person who changes plain old data into easy-to-understand graphs, charts, and other visuals...I also learned that the graphics editor doesn’t do all of the work of a project. He/she works as a team with other graphics editors and everyone does their part.
Sabrina: A graphic editor's job is to take information and put it into a visual interpretation, or a graph. When the information is interpreted a graphics editor decides how they would like to show the information in the graph, maybe with math tools such as percent, percent of change, or mean, median, and mode. After this information is interpreted, a graphics editor has to use other math tools like measurement and area to display the information.
William: From this interview, I learned that interests can push you to finding the right job, which hopefully will lead to a good future! This interview was really cool and it was interesting to hear about Mr. Uhrmacher’s profession.
Nabeera: I learned that being a graphics editor involves meeting (or emailing) with many people. I did not know that this involved speaking with other sources. In conclusion, a graphics editor creates extremely intricate graphs that help visualize the topics being observed. In the end, I am glad that our class got to have such an eye-opening experience.
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Exploring Probability through Carnival Games
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The 8th-grade Algebra 1, Part 2 class is exploring the mathematical concept of probability. Their task this week was to propose a carnival game, draw or create it, and calculate the compound probability of winning or losing the game. Mrs. Uhrmacher then made a slide presentation of the projects and the students presented them to the class. What a fun way to practice and demonstrate an understanding of this lesson!
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Westminster Grad's Artwork on Display
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It was recently brought to our attention that the spectacular art work on display in the lobby of the new Schar Cancer Institute, which opened last spring, is actually the work of a Westminster graduate,
Valerie Theberge
, class of 1983.
As has been reported, Westminster School has partnered with the Schar Institute in their efforts to promote healing through the arts. In our many visits to the facility, we have often paused to admire this uplifting, spectacular mosaic, never realizing that it had been created by one of our own alumni. When we are able to once again visit in person, what a treat it will be for our students to take pride in knowing that a fellow griffin's work is gracing the lobby!
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Janelle Amo-Yartey
began her Westminster journey in preschool. After completing the 2nd grade, Janelle and her family moved to Ghana; she returned to Westminster when she was in the 6th grade and she will attend South County High School in the fall.
Janelle is a kind-hearted, soulful young lady, whose radiant smile brightens the day of anyone who has the pleasure to encounter her. A quiet presence who is always respectful, optimistic, and hard-working, she is an excellent model of a true griffin.
While in her home country of Ghana, Janelle became interested in helping others. When she was in the 5th grade, she did a project on homelessness in Ghana. She led a group of students at her school, the Lincoln Community School, to raise funds to buy provisions for homeless and at-risk girls. Through bake sales, clothing drives, and other fundraisers, she and her team were able to buy sewing machines for at-risk girls. She remains a member of the Right to Be Free Club, based in Accra, Ghana, which helps to advocate for, and rescue children engaged in child labor.
Janelle continues to volunteer at Westminster through the Builders Club and her church. She is an avid reader and writer, citing history and English as her favorite subjects. She is also an athlete, playing on the soccer and basketball teams, as well as dancing. She has been a member of her church dance group for three years. She also writes for her church newspaper.
Janelle's passion for writing motivates her toward her future goals of becoming a journalist or lawyer, and perhaps writing a novel. We have no doubt that she will achieve her dreams!
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Janelle's math teacher, Mrs. Uhrmacher describes Janelle as "
a diligent student who never fails to have a smile on her face. Beneath her calm and quiet demeanor lies a young woman with a great sense of humor, a witty comeback, and a great set of dance moves!"
History teacher, Mrs. Jacobson had this to say about Janelle, "
Janelle is one of the sweetest souls ever to grace the halls of Westminster. She is unfailingly kind and takes such pride in all her work. Her copperplate handwriting is a marvel, and its beauty and artistry are reflected in Janelle's personality as well."
We are so proud to have a young lady of Janelle's caliber among our graduating class and we will miss her tremendously. We send her off, secure in the knowledge that she will have a positive impact on the world through her charity work, her dancing, her writing, and her positive outlook on life.
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Kai Wang
came to Westminster in kindergarten and began to make his mark on many facets of the Westminster experience right from the beginning. Kai is a multi-talented young man with gifts in every category-academics, athletics, and the arts. Kai will attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology next year, which was recently ranked the number-one high school in the United States by the U. S. News and World Report.
Kai is indeed a dedicated student, having earned the "highest achievement award" so many times over years that we have stopped counting! However, Kai is much more than just a very smart kid. His friend, Owen, describes Kai this way: "
Kai is very nice to everyone, he always has a lot of energy and is fun to be around. Kai is also probably the smartest person I know; and he studies very hard. He also loves music and makes his own beats for songs which are awesome."
It's true that music is a passion of Kai's. He is an accomplished cellist who consistently ranks among the top musicians in the area. Kai says that he was "drawn to the amazing instrument and its beautiful tone and decided to commit to it" when he was eight years old. Kai's membership in the Westminster orchestra is certainly a boon to the entire group, and Ms. Crespo often refers to Kai as her "unofficial assistant" as he helps her organize events and does so much more than just play his cello magnificently.
Kai not only plays music, but composes it as well. He has shared some original works during the talent shows, and also regularly performs classical pieces. However, Kai is also interested in all kinds of music, and last year, he and classmate, Abbie Lee, put together a memorable collaboration of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," which brought the house down.
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A further demonstration of Kai's well-roundedness is that he is a top swimmer, and has placed in both the backstroke and freestyle in the Northern VA swimming league, and was a Junior Olympic champion this past year. He says that his favorite place to be is the pool because "there is nothing that is not fun there."
Mrs. Uhrmacher, says that "Kai has a brilliant mathematical mind that is able to think logically, reason through the steps of a complicated problem, and arrive at an elegant solution. He applies this precision and creativity to all aspects of his life, from his passion for all forms of music to his entertaining character-acting to his enthusiasm for all academic disciplines. I am proud of his accomplishments at Westminster and cannot wait to see the great things he will do at Thomas Jefferson High School."
Mrs. Jacobson describes Kai as "a brilliant musician and an inquisitive thinker. His drive to learn and his passionate intellect will lead him down the most interesting paths in his life; and I look forward to hearing about his many achievements in the future."
When asked about his future aspirations, Kai responded, "Academically, I am very interested in becoming a linguist and pursuing my dreams in physics, chemistry, and history of every continent. My big ambitions include starting a car company, pursuing my dreams in governmental strategy through balance, filtering polluted water and ridding the world of trash, establishing an American colony on Mars, and supporting Area 51 scientific testing."
Which of these lofty goals will Kai achieve? Only the future will tell, but our bets are on all of them! We will miss Kai dearly, but we are confident that he will represent Westminster well as he moves on to high school and beyond.
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co·nun·drum
/kəˈnəndrəm/
noun
He is faced with the
conundrum
of trying to find a job without having experience.
--a question or problem having only a
conjectural
answer
"… the political
conundrums
involved, particularly the problem of how the richer areas … can be made to subsidize the poorer." (Douglass Cater)
--a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun (as in "Why didn't the lost hikers starve in the desert? Because of the sand which is there.")
Did You Know?
The exact origin of conundrum isn't known with certainty. What is known is that the word has been in use since the early 1600s, and that it had various spellings, such as conimbrum, quonundrum,conuncrum, and quadundrum, before the current spelling was finally established sometime in the mid-17th century. One theory of origin suggests that the word was coined as a parody of Latin by students at Oxford University, where it appears to have enjoyed particular popularity in its "word play" or "pun" sense. While the prevalent sense in this century is that of the seemingly unanswerable question or problem, frequently applied to heady dilemmas involving ethics, sociology, or economics, the word is sometimes so loosely applied to anything enigmatic as to be synonymous with puzzle or mystery.
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With students spending more time than ever on screens out of necessity due to the COVID-19 crisis, parents are urged to engage in monitoring their child's internet use more closely. It can be an overwhelming task, especially when parents themselves are working from home and spending more time than they'd probably like sitting in front of a computer. This week, we provide a link from Trip Wire that gives some free options parents might find helpful.
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Westminster School | 703-256-3620
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