Lower School Morning Gathering is typically fun and informative...but the girls were especially delighted with a Bollywood dance lesson from a featured guest on Monday. Yamini, a cousin of a Holton fifth grader, is visiting from Bangalore during her summer vacation and presented a lesson on traditional Indian culture.
Following her presentation, she kicked off her shoes and performed a modern Bollywood dance. After catching her breath, she asked if any of them would like to give it a try and in true Holton fashion the girls jumped to their feet and were ready to go. (As if there was ever any doubt they would want to dance?)
Take a look and see if you can catch on as quickly as they did.
Together with the Washington Middle School for Girls, we have developed a pilot program to bring the two schools together in a collaborative experience involving the arts in Ghana. This project came about as a result of strategic initiatives on the part of both schools to forge meaningful connections with other schools in the Washington area.
An integral part of the Holton experience is for our students to make meaningful connections – sometimes with others or sometimes with themselves - and both were happening in Middle School during Mini-Mester. Students spent the last week taking a risk and exploring something new in a 
The 10th grade students had a memorable learning experience over these past few months as they conquered a long-time Holton rite of passage – the 10th grade term paper and then celebrated with s’mores in Centennial Garden. The paper is a major project demonstrating writing and research skills, but the awesome aspect is that each girl is allowed tremendous flexibility to explore any topic of interest to her. Some of the titles this year included: Organ Trafficking, Autism, Puppy Mills, The Cultural Revolution of China, Assisted Suicide, Birth Order, Princess Diana and the Evolution of her Fashion Sense, Interpretation of Dreams, Steroids in the Olympics, Muppet Diplomacy, and The Impact of Rent on Musical Theater. Talk about some interesting beach reads for the break...
the Landon/Holton Egg Drop. A tradition in the Middle School, this curricular collaboration gives our students an opportunity to work as a team, problem solve, and create a vehicle for an egg to descend safely from the top of a ten foot ladder to the concrete floor below. The students were given masking tape, drinking straws, paper, and 20 minutes to prepare their egg for its downward journey. Holton Middle School Director Tony Shawe and Landon Middle School Director Doug Norry had the honors of "ceremoniously" dropping the eggs from atop side-by-side ladders. Mr. Shawe reported, "There was definitely some training in the off-season, but in the end, the winning team relied on brains, not brawn to get the job done." 
The event was in conjunction with their "Animals on the Edge" research project inspired by their Social Studies curriculum. The girls were most interested in how animals are affected by environmental issues, how they could help, and baby sea turtles. (Because, really...who doesn't love baby sea turtles?) Ultimately, they learned that in order to protect endangered animals, they must protect their habitats. Get ready to see some new habits forming - saving water, recycling, composting, and don't be surprised if she asks you not to idle in the carpool line.
In Upper School 9th and 10th grade students learned some cool, new moves on their graphing calculators during flex time on Monday. The math department put together activities that integrated mathematical modeling with graphing calculator skills. The girls in the Algebra 2 and Trig classes looked at and modeled data on the number of hours of daylight for several cities around the globe. The goals of this activity were to fit models to data, make predictions, and think about periodic functions. After learning more about the functionality of the graphing calculator, the girls in Algebra 1 and Geometry conducted an experiment with a spring apparatus and weights. By adding weights to a suspended spring they were able to write a mathematical equation that modeled the length of the spring for a given weight added. 
When you think of what you love, what do you think about? Family? Long walks on the beach? Dark chocolate? Well, ask any of the Lower School girls and besides Holton, of course, their favorite things tend to be of the four-legged kind. And really, who could resist these two furry little friends? Meet the newest members of the Holton Community - Signore Valentino and POTUS (Piggy Of The United States). These little piggies came all the way from a shelter in D.C. on Monday and have found their forever home in the Lower School. Stop by for a visit, but be sure to bring fresh parsley (their favorite snack) and a clear agenda since POTUS is all business. (As he should be.)
If you ask any of the girls in the Middle School what they love, they will tell you Holton teachers, food and their friends! And sometimes they are lucky enough to take part in an activity that involves all three! Like these past few weeks…MS students have collected spare change to raise money for a cause near and dear to a fellow classmate’s heart – 
It only happens once a year and it will be here in just a few short days! The Holton-Arms Spring Gala will be on Friday, March 8 and promises to be an evening filled with dining, dancing, and delights! Our beloved Gala committee knows how excited you are so starting this Sunday, February 24, you can preview all of our fabulous auction items on our 
It may look like Saturday Night Fever, but the girls above are blowing off some 'mid-term exam steam' during a much-needed session of Zumba. The Upper School students were treated to a study break last week that included 
Sixty-eight Lower School students and family members found themselves making sandwiches as part of the 
Amato during assembly and several music classes last week. Mary spent time with the girls sharing her secrets to writing a great song. 1. Brainstorm 2. Find a Chord 3. Choose a tempo 4. Develop the "hook". And voila...they will be well on their way to Grammy greatness! (Or at least, well on their way to exploring a new passion for songwriting.)
Everyone knows that Holton is all about inspiring girls to lead lives of positive influence. And did you know that the kind of influence we are talking about can be as simple as sharing your passions with those around you? It's true! And the Panther Hockey team is doing just that on Monday! The players and their coaches will share their passion for hockey with an open skate for the entire Holton community at the Cabin John Ice Rink. 
Can you remember what you were doing at 3:28 a.m. on Saturday, November 17, 2012? More than likely you were sleeping, but these Upper School girls along with some very brave teachers and administrators will always remember what they were doing at that exact moment. They were huddled together on the Holton track gazing at the sky and watching an annual astronomical event known as the Leonid meteor shower. This "star-studded" event started around 10 p.m. with telescope lessons, planet spotting, and a vivid display of the Big Dipper. And in case you don't recall, the temperature dipped below freezing that night. Thankfully, the girls bundled up and were warmed by the sheer excitement of spotting meteors as the Earth passed through debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
Our visitors from Spain aren't just passing through...they are committed to experience all that Holton has to offer. These students and teachers visiting from Colegio Mirabel in Madrid, Spain are attending classes in a variety of subjects and arts disciplines, as well as engaging with our World Language students. If you are thinking, 'this is so cool. I would love to learn more about all of the things Holton does on a daily basis', then you should most definitely follow 
‘Tis the season for beautiful music and the beloved Holton-Arms Winter Concerts will be here before you know it...literally. Everyone has been busy preparing for all of the upcoming performances and Holton’s Chamber Orchestra had a distinguished guest at their rehearsal last week - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra cellist, Chang Woo Lee. 
Holton's Young Democrat and Young Republican clubs hosted an assembly for the Upper School last week on varying political views and how the media can impact public opinion of candidates through parody. Following the assembly student leaders hosted round table discussions about the power of media and tried to foster an awareness for the responsibility we have as media consumers.
The Panthers have also been busy...busy winning ISL titles! Holton-Arms 
Faster, Friendlier Carpool
Upper School students 
Sister Mary Owens humbly shared her 
A community that plays together, stays together! And if you haven't noticed...we really like spending time together in the Holton Community. Which brings us to the Hot Topic of the week - calendars. Paper, digital or somewhere in-between, we all have to stay on top of our activities and we hope 
As far as class retreats go, we hope your Upper School girl has told you all about her adventures last week. Each class bonded in different ways…balloon sculptures, bowling, ropes courses and even community service. The Class of 2013 spent the day at Shaw Community School in Northwest D.C. painting, cleaning, and repairing. It just goes to show that even in our 112th school year we are still living out Mrs. Holton’s vision of “committing to others.”
Head of School Susanna Jones spent time telling stories about Mrs. Holton, Ms. Arms and lots of other men and women who are vital to the history of our beloved school. In true Holton girl fashion, they were filled with curiosity and asked loads of questions. But, the one question the girls couldn't stop talking about was, “What was our mascot before the panther?” Do you know? (Hint: it shares the first three letters of the last name of a Holton founder.) Did you get it? Armadillo! Yes, at one point we were the Holton-Arms Armadillos. Try spelling that out in a cheer!
Give me an S! Give me a K! Give me an I! Give me a T! What’s that spell? SKIT! If you haven’t noticed, we love to have fun at Holton. And anytime there is an opportunity to convey a message in skit form, we are all over it. The Middle School faculty and staff put on several skits during assembly to teach the girls about the various ways you should NOT act and dress at school. The girls had fun playing “Name that Violation” and from the looks of it, the teachers enjoyed it, too.
Student-centered learning, blended learning, experiential learning…there are all sorts of “learnings” out there. And if you are a little confused that is perfectly ok, because at Holton we are lucky to have some of the leading experts on innovations in teaching and learning. In fact, Lower School Design Tech Teacher Linda Caleb is currently featured in the