Monday, February 29, 2016

Seventh Grade Latin America OTB Day!

The seventh graders explored Latin American culture with a special Latin American "Outside-The-Box (OTB) Day" on Friday, February 26. The girls actively participated in activities during the day including topography, leyendas, and birthday glyphs.

The girls worked together to create maps of South and Central America, according to the appropriate survey of the land. Parts of the topographical map surveyed areas of mountains, water, and desert. 

   

In another classroom, girls expressed their creative writing skills by crafting leyendas (legends) with Ms. Voulgaris and Ms.Laco and drawing birthday glyphs with Ms. Mandel and Bosc. The birthday glyphs were written in Mayan numbers and engraved in metal in a method called repousse. 


The girls were also fortunate to experience part of the day outside of the classroom at the Museum of the American Indian and visited the Inka Road: Engineering an Empire exhibit. 

 

The day finally wrapped up in the Beebe Black Box Theater for a viewing of "Cracking the Maya Code" and closed with personal reflections from the day. 

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Black Student Union Assembly in Formation!

On Thursday, February 26, Upper School Black Student Union (BSU) had their yearly assembly celebrating Black History Month. This year, the club members decided to focus on  Beyonce's "Formation" music video and correlate different scenes of the video with current topics within the black community.

Below are the topics and presenters from the BSU assembly:
  • Cultural Appropriation - Taylor Butler '16
  • Black Beauty - Mimi Chouikha '16
  • Civil Rights and Women in the Movement - Acacia Overstreet '17
  • Police Brutality - Kayla Covington '16
  • The Kalunga Line - Savannah Chatman '18
  • Black Culture - Taya Lowery-Williams '18
  • What Black History Month Means to Me - Megan Hunter '17 and Aisha Marston '18
Upper School Director Lisa Pence commented in an email, "You really made us all think and see in Beyonce's video so much more meaning than we would otherwise have understood or appreciated. You went straight ahead and addressed essential topics with credibility and command. That was awesome." The girls' candid presentation made an impact on the audience as the pop culture world intersected with present-day black history and culture. 





   

Donuts and Books! Middle School Book Share Breakfast

In the early morning right before the first bell rings, a group of Middle School girls gather monthly with Middle School Librarian Joy Colburn and other Middle Schoolers to chat about books that the girls are reading in their own free time.

Today's breakfast was special in particular because it was World Read Aloud Day and the girls not only talked about their favorite books, but they read and shared a paragraph with the entire group. Watership Down, Illuminae, The Hunger Games, Counting by 7s, and even a classic that we all know, To Kill A Mockingbird, were among the few books the girls discussed.

Laila Holland '20 enjoys coming to Book Share and expressed, "We share books that we like and what personally interests us."

Look out for the next Book Share Breakfast in Middle School Medley or you can contact Joy Colburn for the next date. 

   

Monday, February 22, 2016

Panther Skate



On Wednesday, February 17, the Holton Middle School and varsity ice hockey teams welcomed members of the Holton-Arms community to join them on the ice during Panther Skate.

Lower, Middle, and Upper school students, parents, siblings, teachers, coaches, and even a Brown House student made up the over 50 people in attendance. The ice hockey teams demonstrated some of their favorite drills before inviting everyone to join them. Tri-captain Olivia Thomas ’16 commented that it was, “great to see so many young girls unafraid to step on the ice and try a new sport.”

Head varsity hockey coach Shannon Voulgaris said, “I love the Panther Skate because it is all about the Holton Family. It is the Middle School and varsity teams getting on the ice to teach, work with, and play with their community. The players seem to really enjoy getting to know the young hockey players in the Lower School.”

Tri- captain Jaden Liu ’17 echoed the excitement for the afternoon and added that she, “would like to thank all the girls who came. In my opinion, hockey is the best sport in the world, so sharing it with others means the world to me. I had so much fun, and I hope that everyone who came had a good time too.”

Friday, February 19, 2016

Kayleigh McCormick '17 Stands for Thailand Human Rights

Photo credit: Coachella Valley Weekly
Kayleigh McCormick '17 attended a protest in Coachella, California to highlight Southeast Asian issues, specifically human rights and democratic issues. Kayleigh and her father, who is of Thai descent, attended the protest with hopes to awareness against Article 112 in Thailand.

Article 112 states that any offensive or critical speech against the King and/or Royal Monarch of Thailand is punishable by law. Kayleigh and her father wore red shirts that stated "Democracy Now" and was joined by other Southeast Asian protesters from mostly Thailand and Cambodia.

Kayleigh was quoted in Coachella Valley Weekly for her reason to protest:

In 2014, there was a military coup which successfully overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister of Thailand who was exiled and replaced with someone who is basically a military dictator. The King is nothing but a pawn of the government. He is close to 90 years old, in poor health and hasn't been seen in months. Technically, the Prime Minister, judges, military leaders, etc., are all supposed to report to the monarchy which is why there are no check and balances. They are able to control everything in ways that are of no benefit to the people. They make decisions that benefit the 1% and the government officials are getting rich while doing nothing for the citizens of Thailand.

My issue with the stance taken by those in the yellow shirts is that they are here in the U.S. now enjoying the freedom democracy brings, yet they want to deny those same rights to those still in Thailand.



Thursday, February 11, 2016

Happy 115th Birthday Holton!


"Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Holton, Happy Birthday to youuuu!"

Holton celebrated its 115th year with the annual tradition of blue and white cupcakes and a DJ at lunch for all the girls to dance with their friends, and even some teachers :)

An added bonus this year was that everyone received a custom-designed t-shirt for all students, faculty, and staff! It was a great day filled with Holton spirit!





Wednesday, February 10, 2016

The Results from our Lower School and Middle School Spelling Bee!


Second place winner Divya Dervarkonda and winner of spelling bee Esther Kim 
with Mr.Shawe and Mr.Bane.

The 2nd annual Lower School and Middle School spelling bee occurred on February 10 with representatives from grades three through eight. One could feel the kinetic energy in the room as the girls were excited to represent their grade and have a chance to win the annual spelling bee.

The first word "upshot" kicked off the spelling bee with pronouncer and Middle School Director Mr. Shawe and judge and Lower School Director Mr. Bane moderated the event. As spellers one-by-one stood for their moment to spell the words, some words proved to be harder than others, such as aloha, mirthful, balderdash, winsome, beret, apoxie, and more. 

The spelling bee lasted for eight intense rounds with grade seven Esther Kim and grade five Divya Devarkonda as the last two spellers left. Esther claimed the top spot at the spelling bee with the correct spelling of the championship word, force majeure. 

For those who are wondering what the championship word means: 

force majeure : noun: superior or irresistible force; an event or effect that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled. 

Monday, February 8, 2016

Sweet Treats Galore!

Thanks to our Parents Association for all the delicious sweets treats on Monday, February 8. Every year, the Parents Association bakes homemade goodies and sweet treats for our much deserved faculty and staff.

Check out the video of all of the mouth-watering goodies below:


Holton Hosts Exchange Students from China


Holton-Arms collaborated with Landon to welcome Upper School students from Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai for a Chinese exchange program from January 25-February 6. Director of Global Education Melissa Brown explained that the students were here to experience the life of a Holton student and attend special classes, such as Ceramics, Drama, English and Chinese language, and even explore Holton's Maker Space.
Besides experiencing the day-to-day life of a Holton student, the exchange students also experienced life in the DMV area, especially landmarks around Washington, D.C. They visited the Capital, local mall for some shopping, and even the White House! 
Jordan Fues '17 remarks, "My favorite part of hosting a Chinese exchange student was being able to relate so much with someone who lives far away. It always surprises me how similar we are even though we have very different backgrounds."
In addition, Landon hosted its annual China Roundtable of Washington at Landon for a seminar on China: Economics, Culture, and Language in the 21st century and beyond. At the roundtable, Dr. Jianping Zhou, senior economist at the IMF monetary and capital market department, spoke about China in the global economy and Ms. Anne Henochowicz, translations editor at China Digital times, shared her personal story as having once been an exchange student and host has impacted her life.
It was a memorable two weeks for both Holton and the exchange students and all though it was hard to say goodbye, the girls will always have memories and new friendships for a lifetime


Friday, February 5, 2016

S[o]uper Bowl Week in Lower School!

Who are you rooting for this Sunday at Super Bowl 50? The Broncos or Panthers?




Well, our Lower School Community Service club has been preparing for Sunday's event with their own S[o]uper Bowl by collecting canned and dried goods to support the Capital Area Food Bank. Throughout the week, each student has been bringing in goods to support and vote for her favorite team. The Community Service Club has been organizing the goods from both teams and will send them off on Friday to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Wondering which team our Lower School thinks will reign supreme?

Drumroll, please... The BRONCOS! (I guess we will have to see if their prediction is right)