Friday, June 3, 2016

Calling All Grade Five Poets!


It was a poetry showcase for the fifth grade as poetry flowed from an array of students each sharing a poem that either the student wrote themselves or chose from a favorite poet. Mrs. McFadden encouraged her students to share their poetry portfolios, which contained three original poems, two of their favorite poems from well-known writers, and a reflective portion on what inspired them to write their own poetry. The students were also asked to write figurative language, such as hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and onomatopoeia, to name a few.

The poetic themes ranged from music, war, laughter, fear, lacrosse, chocolate, and even one Lower Schooler wrote a poem about her best friend at Holton, and fondly hugged her after the poem was read (what a nice showing of Holton love!).

  

"People are like stars, different but the same," one Lower Schooler expressed, while another gave encouragement, "When all is lost, have faith."  

This collaborative day ended with smiles and hugs as everyone shared in the happiness of sharing poetry.



Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Holton Lacrosse Represents DC Region

Taylor Lawrence '19
Over Memorial Day Weekend, Taylor Lawrence ’18, Kaitlyn Pham ’18, and Christine Padalino ’18 competed against some of the country’s top lacrosse players while representing the DC Metro region during the US Lacrosse National Tournament in Bethlehem, PA. 

The girls tried out for the DC Metro region back in April, after being recommended by their coach. During their first tryout, they competed against over 200 local girls for a spot on one of the five DC Metro teams. After making team two last year, Taylor made the top team this year. Kaitlyn made team two and Christine made team three. Freshmen Maddie McCormick ’19 and Hadley Nolan ’19 were also selected as alternates. Holton lacrosse coach, Whitney Groseclose, served as the head coach for team four.  Head varsity coach, Janet McCormick, also serves as the US Lacrosse Regional representative for the tryouts and DC Metro teams.  
Coach Groseclose, Christine Padalino '18, Taylor Lawrence '18, and Kaitlyn Pham '18

Following the Lacrosse National Championship over Memorial Day Weekend, Holton students, alumnae, and coaches volunteered for the Tewaaraton Foundation who put on clinic for the DC area with the Tewaaraton Award finalists. The Tewaaraton Award is given annually to the most outstanding college lacrosse player. 
Stephanie Hong '19
with Taylor Cummings
This year was a particularly exciting year as Taylor Cummings (University of Maryland) became the first player – man or women- to win three Tewaaraton Awards! Stephanie Hong ’19 was particularly excited to meet this outstanding player face to face. The girls not only volunteered their time for the clinic, but came back to assist the Tewaaraton Foundation with the awards ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. Thanks to Catie Mulligan ’16, Stephanie Hong ’19, Hadley Nolan ’19, Annie Holm ’19, Maddie McCormick ’19, and Virginia Asher ’19 for volunteering. Special thanks to alumnae Elizabeth Bragale ’15 who came back as the stage manager for the awards for the second year in a row. 

Virginia Asher '19, Maddie McCormick '19, Annie Holm '19, Coach McCormick,
Stephanie Hong '19, and Catie Mulligan '16

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Holton's Arcade is now OPEN!

Members of our community can check out Holton's Physics Arcade for a limited time during today and tomorrow! All of the games are created by 9th grade Physics students, who were tasked with the assignment to conceptualize, create, and design arcade games. The goal of these games are to give students exposure to coding in a fun and educational way. Some of the fun games involved dodging Cheetos, Donald Trump, fighting ghouls, and keeping basketballs away from the hoop!

Play and visit this special, fun arcade event! 


This game used a camera to track the participant's motion. 

 "Falling Trump" game where Trump gets saved by the American flag.

Tons of other fun games for you to try. 


Friday, May 13, 2016

Lauren Zoltick '07 Talks Tech with Middle School


On Wednesday, May 11, Lauren Zoltick '07 spoke to the Middle School about her experience working in STEM. Lauren is currently a content strategist at iStrategyLabs (ISL) which "invents digital and physical experiences for the world’s biggest brands. [Their] designers, developers, marketers and makers build everything from apps, to connected devices, to wildly creative campaigns that reach audiences globally." Her work at ISL involves planning, managing, and writing content for different brands. Some of the recognizable companies she has worked with include Volkswagen, Kroger, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to name a few.

Lauren always had an interest in STEM. However, when she was younger she thought she wanted to work in medicine. When it came down to the gruesome aspects of medicine, Lauren realized that she did not have the stomach for it. Lauren then interned at her father's law firm where she realized that law was also not a perfect match.

"One of my favorite things about Holton is that they encouraged you to pursue what you are passionate about," Lauren expressed. Soon enough Lauren's passion shined through as she pursued her undergraduate degree at Hamilton College with a focus on psychology and new media. After graduating Hamilton, Lauren held many jobs involving video production, marketing, editing, and writing; all of these skills lead her to her current career at tech company, iStrategyLabs.

Lauren encouraged the students to follow their own passions because the perfect job might not exist now, but as the world continues to change, opportunities may arise where your dream job will finally be realized.



Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Dr. Krug to Compete on Jeopardy!

Holton's very own, Dr. Hannah Krug, will appear on Jeopardy's Teachers Tournament on Wednesday, May 4! Filmed in Los Angeles between February 22 and 25, Dr. Krug was one of 15 teachers from across the country who were chosen to put their knowledge to the test and compete to win $100,000! Tune in ABC 7 at 7:30 p.m. on May 4 to see Dr. Krug in action!


Check out this Jeopardy! promotional video with Dr. Krug!

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Ready, Set, Code in Lower School!

For the first time this year, Lower School participated in a competitive Blue and White Hour of Code! The girls had a a chance to code within different coding games and win points for each level passed for each respective Blue and White team. After the hour of code, each girl received an hour of code certificate for the inaugural event.








Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Stephanie Hong '19 Makes Lacrosse Impact


Freshmen Stephanie Hong '19 is attracting location attention for her impact on the lacrosse field. An article published by The Washington Post notes, "Hong is part of a talented five-member freshman class that is already pushing Holton-Arms (9-4) toward the top of the Independent School League standings again. The Panthers began the year with eight wins in their first nine games, and Hong is second on the team with 34 goals, 12 assists and 20 groundballs behind junior Annelise Kotz (41 goals). They also feature sophomore midfielder Taylor Lawrence, a Stanford commit….“Everybody was really accepting and it’s been a really great experience so far,” Hong said. “My personal goal is to win the ISL one of the years while I’m at Holton, so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Click here to read to read the full article and be sure to check out the varsity lacrosse schedule to cheer on Stephanie and the Panthers!

Monday, April 18, 2016

Middle School Enjoys Science and Engineering Festival in DC!


On April 15, the Middle School traveled down to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the national Science and Engineering Festival. Students explored what seemed like acres of floor space covered in over 3,000 hands-on exhibits. Thankfully, the Festival’s layout was organized into different sections, each featuring a specific category – e.g., Energy, Sustainability, Space Exploration, National Security, Health & Medicine, Math & Computer Science, Engineering, Earth Sciences, etc. It was great to see our students in small groups with Festival map in hand, as they canvased the landscape and tested, designed, created, observed, tinkered, and experienced the incredible array of activities. 

Enjoy all of the pictures below!









Friday, April 15, 2016

Exploring the Living Traditions of Two of the World's Major Religions

The Upper School students taking the "What is Religion?" semester-long course enjoyed an eye-opening field trip! During this semester, the girls have been studying the five major religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The course addresses these religions as living traditions observed by a majority of the world’s population, with consideration given both to the enduring appeal of religious devotion in modern contexts and to recent and contemporary issues of religious conflict affecting our global society.

Although the course is primarily discussion-based with an emphasis on class participation, student presentations, and personal-response writing assignments, the girls also watch films, listen to podcasts, and venture on field trips to local museums and places of worship as supplements to the course reading materials.

On last week's field trip, the girls visited the Washington National Cathedral and The Islamic Center of Washington.



Regarding the field trip, one Upper School student wrote:

I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to compare the National Cathedral and the Islamic Mosque. The architectural grandeur of the National Cathedral is unparalleled. The high ceilings, monumental towers, and sheer area of the National Cathedral works to make visitors feel in awe of almighty God. It seems like a less personal/less intimate relationship compared to the Mosque. This type of relationship is also illustrated by the fact that the Cathedral was made for group worship rather than individual worship. Rows and rows of pews face toward the east end of the Cathedral, the focal point. The seating at the focal point is both segregated and slightly elevated from the rest of the seats and also looks more grand. I thought that this was an interesting manifestation of the church hierarchy. Visual depictions of the Bible fill the entire Cathedral: on tapestries, in sculptures, and in the stained glass windows. All of these visuals are indicative of the history of Christianity.


Monday, April 11, 2016

The Great Outdoors with LS Grade 6 Field Trip!

The Sixth Graders participated in Outdoor Ed day at Northbay Adventure Camp in North East, Maryland. Below are some snippets of activities that the girls were involved in from Language Arts to Science.

Ms. Fields (Language Arts): During their outdoor adventures, I asked the girls to jot down observations about the natural world around them in preparation for our first poetry unit, the study of Emily Dickinson and her writing style. Dickinson is best known for her light and witty verses about ordinary subjects from nature. For their first poems, students are creating their own Emily Dickinson stule poems to illustrate and present to the class. Our poetry unit will continue through April, and students will learn to identify and apply poetic sound devices and develop their creative writing skills.



Ms. Eby (Science): What a terrific trip we had to Northbay Adventure Camp! Although the weather was a little cold and rainy, it did not dampen the girls high spirits. Between hiking to a spectacular scenic overlook, navigating high and low ropes courses and swinging on the giant swing, we were so busy the time just flew by. While at Northbay, the girls practiced taking data and interpreting it just as a field biologist would, We learned how to test water quality, evaluating the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem by measuring the water's temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, phosphate, and nitrate levels. We also cataloged the variety of plant and animal species found in both a man-made and a natural wetland area. 


Thursday, April 7, 2016

Sixth Grade Chinese Class Gets a Tea Lesson!

Here is a description from Chinese Teacher Amy Liao:

On Tuesday, April 5, the sixth grade Chinese class visited Ten Ren Tea in Rockville, Maryland. TenRen's Tea is the largest, best known tea manufacturer in the Far East with over five tea factories and more than 2000 stores in Asia and North America. During the field trip, our sixth grade Chinese class observed the Chinese Tea ceremony demonstration, sampled Chinese tea, and learned Chinese tea drinking customs. 



Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Lacrosse Welcomes Walthamstow Hall



During spring break, the varsity lacrosse team welcomed visitors from across the pond. After returning from their spring break trip to Richmond, members of the varsity lacrosse team opened their homes to host girls from Walthamstow Hall, an all-girls school from Kent, England. 


After some friendly, yet rather competitive games of dodgeball, the girls got to know each other over dinner at Uncle Julio’s in Bethesda. Dinner was followed by exploring the area and the girls making sure they shared their cultural favorites such as Sweet Frog and Georgetown Cupcakes. When everyone had more than enough to eat, it was off to the host families to get settled in.


The next day was packed with lacrosse as Walthamstow Hall played back-to-back games against the varsity and jv teams, before heading off to spend the afternoon at the Sandy Spring Adventure Park. 

Before heading off to their next destination, Walthamstow Hall joined the team for class meeting and a brief tour of the School. Captain Annelise Kotz ’17 commented, “I had a lot of fun hosting the girls. They were all so friendly and it was fun playing dodgeball with them. It was also fun to show them American foods and show them around Holton (they thought our school was so similar to high school musical which was funny!). I hope we can do this again!”

The girls exchanged numbers, usernames, and hugs before heading back to class. Click here to read more about Walthamstow Hall's USA tour. 


Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Wind Energy Expert, Alex Karsner, Speaks to Sixth Grade


Alex Karsner P ’20 ’22 ’25, founder and chairman of Manifest Energy and senior executive at Google X and the Emerson Collective, spoke to sixth graders about his career in wind energy and the past, present, and future of wind turbines for “Show What You Know” Outside-The-Box (OTB) Day. His engaging conversation included ways that wind energy is captured and future Google X projects, such as energy kites.

Mr. Karsner has been involved in the business of wind energy for over 30 years and has constantly been at the forefront on the innovation of wind turbines. While serving as Assistant Energy Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under George W. Bush presidency, he highlighted the importance of wind turbines,which lead to Bush's introduction of the 20% wind energy initiative by 2030 and the Green Grid. 

He remarked the complexity of dealing with natural resources with minimal impact, "Every source has an impact with an upside and downside." He also shared multiple charts including one that showed which forty states generate wind energy and the current progress on emissions control. 

With multiple giveaways of Invenergy renewable energy science kits, the girls participated in conversation about ways to solve common wind turbines problems and suggested different perspectives to Mr. Karsner. 

It was a captivating day for the sixth graders as their classroom lesson came alive. 


Mr. Karsner with daughter, Jenny Karsner '22, after presenting to the sixth grade. 

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Biodiversity Day with Seventh Grade!


Grade seven participated in an STEM-focused "Outside-the-Box (OTB)" Day exploring all aspects of Biodiversity.

The girls started the day watching a part of Attenborough: 60 years in the Wild. The film follows English broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough as he recounts the past 60 years of his life and the undeniable changes that the natural world has succumbed. The film encouraged questions on acceptance of all species of animals, not only the fuzzy, cute animals that are typically featured on the news and social media.

As the day continued, a rotation of three activities ensued as the girls explored specific aspects of biodiversity. Listed are some of the engaging activities:
  • Squid dissection: This activity was led by the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the girls paired together to dissect, classify, and identify the anatomy of a squid. 
  • Biodiversity in Action: While gathered in the Beebe Black Box Theater, the girls played a game called "Which Eukaryote Am I?" and they had to guess what type of eukaryote each girl was labeled as. Also, the girls read and discussed what invasive species currently populate our local community. 
  • Observation activities: This hands-on activity allowed our scientists to circuit around the room to view live and dead specimens under microscopes, in beakers, tanks, and even metal trays. A few of the species examined were dead sea cucumbers, cockroaches, tapeworms, and even more species. 
At the end of the day, the girls reflected on this hands-on day and expressed artistically on a puzzle piece what they learned from this exploratory day.









Monday, March 7, 2016

Fifth and Sixth Graders Volunteer at Fox Hill!


Helen Poon, Assistant to Lower School Director, chaperoned a volunteer service trip to Sunrise at Fox Hill, an assisted living home, with fifth and sixth grade volunteers. Ms. Poon shares details of the community outreach:

On Friday, March 4, fifth and sixth grade Lower School volunteers joined in an afternoon of games with residents of Sunrise at Fox Hill, our neighbor on Burdette Road. Fox Hill is working with the National Institute on Aging to establish a regular schedule of opportunities for intergenerational activities. Residents of Fox Hill and Lower School students, alike, enjoyed playing bingo and Apples to Apples. We look forward to more chance to interact next year!

We love new partnerships with local community members! Hooray fifth and sixth grade!