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March 2, 2023

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Featured News

Online Auction
Scholarship Auction This Saturday Night

Potomac’s 2023 Scholarship Auction, Casino Royale, comes to life this Saturday in the Spangler Center for Athletics and Community. A joyful celebration of the Potomac spirit, the auction supports student scholarships and faculty professional development.

Wine auction now open! Whether you are attending or not, we invite you to bid now on our fabulous silent auction items and our incredible wine collection. And there are still some spots available for our Buy a Spot parties; this is a great way to try something new, have fun, and meet great people!

If you can’t be with us on Saturday evening, please consider raising your paddle virtually to support Potomac’s amazing students and teachers, and make your gift online.

FAPS Ice Skating
A Great Day on the Ice!

The Fathers Association of The Potomac School (FAPS) hosted their annual family ice skating event at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington this past Sunday. The event drew more than 275 members of the Potomac community, and everyone enjoyed their time on the ice. Thanks to FAPS for organizing this well-loved annual event!

See photos from the afternoon.

FAPS and PCCC to Host Meal Packing Event for Ukraine

The Fathers Association of The Potomac School and the Parent Cultural Competence Committee will host a family meal-packing event on Saturday, April 1. Students from the Upper School’s Global Perspectives and Citizenship (GPAC) program will also partner on this service event, which will take place in the Spangler Center from 1:00 to 3:15 pm.  Potomac families are invited to help assemble rice and bean meals to be delivered to individuals and families impacted by the crisis in Ukraine. Learn more and register.

Announcements

CONNECTdmv Event at Potomac This Sunday

CONNECTdmv will host a Career Networking Event and Reception for area students of color this Sunday, March 5, 2:00-5:00 pm, in the Langstaff Auditorium. The event will include a keynote address, a panel discussion featuring professionals from a variety of fields, and a reception with giveaways. Participating students will also meet with the speakers in small groups. This is a great opportunity to gain career insights and make connections that could potentially lead to internships and employment in the future. There is still time to register; visit this page for more details and to sign up to participate.

Resources from "Challenging Conversations"

On February 21, Dr. Heather Tedesco, Jennifer Weaver, and Amy Killy presented Challenging Conversations: How to Start and Engage Your Child at All Ages and Why It’s Worth It. Thank you to everyone who participated in this informative program. The presentation resources can be found here.

Safe Community Coalition Program

The Safe Community Coalition, in partnership with the McLean Community Center, presents Helping Your Family’s Emotional Health: Practical, Strategic Skills and Solutions for Managing Anxiety, Enhancing Flexibility, and Creating Well-Being on Wednesday, March 15, 7:00-9:00 pm, at The Alden Theatre in McLean. Parents are invited to hear from Lynn Lyons, licensed independent clinical social worker and best-selling author of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents and the newly-released The Anxiety Audit. Learn more and register.

Check Out Llama Notes

Llama Notes is Potomac’s e-newsletter for alumni – and we invite parents, students, and faculty and staff to read it as well! The latest issue of Llama Notes features alumni profiles and interesting updates, including...

  • Leading, with Taste: Sasha DiGiulian’s Newest Adventure
  • Niya Watkins Takes a Path of Her Own
  • Isabel Froemming and the Future of Sustainable Fashion
  • A Message from the Alumni Governing Council
  • and more! 

After-School Activities

Spring Break Camps

Spring Break is a great time to have fun with friends! Potomac’s Spring Break Camps still have some openings; limited space is available in our S.T.E.A.M Camp and in Coach Barb Mays’ Panther Sports Camp. Register today!

Register Today for Spring ETC Classes

Spring ETC class and sports clinic registration is open. This is a great opportunity for students to finish out the school year with fun after-school enrichment activities. Space is limited but still available in Chess, Speech, My First Lemonade Stand, and more. Spring into action and register today!

It’s Not Too Early…

Potomac’s August Academics classes will run in-person August 14-18 for Upper School students, and August 21-25 for Lower, Middle, and Intermediate School students. Registration opens today, Thursday, March 2, at 9:00 am, and will run through Friday, July 7. Registration for August Academics is on a first-come, first-served basis, so don’t delay!

Pawz Corner

Last Call for PA NominationsThe Parent Association’s spring nominations cycle closes on March 10. There’s still time to nominate yourself or another parent for one of the open leadership positions. Visit the PA Nominations page to learn more, and contact one of the Nominations Committee chairs, Mary Leigh Morrison and Jen Graham, if you have questions.

Week Ahead

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Potomac Social

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    Lower School News

    Lower School

    Grade 3 Science Fair
    Young Scientists Excel!

    Last Friday’s Grade 3 Science Fair was a day of discovery, learning, and excitement. Over the past month, our third grade scientists worked on perfecting their experiments in preparation for their presentations to the Potomac community. Some of the project titles included Bubble Bounce House, Bacteria Paradise, The Great Cookie Dunk, and Keep Me Warm. Check out the photos.

    Sharing Assembly Tomorrow

    Please join us tomorrow (Friday), 11:00 am, in Ramsey Assembly for our next LS Sharing Assembly. We will be featuring Mrs. Harper and Ms. Morrissey's and Mrs. Mendoza and Ms. Malik's kindergarten classes and Mr. Gustavson's and Ms. McIntire's first grade classes.

    Grade 2 Takes the Stage Next Friday

    We will kick off our Lower School plays season on Friday, March 10, 11:00 am, in Ramsey Assembly. The second grade students will perform three stories that highlight the essence of service learning. We hope you will enjoy Verdi, The Quiltmaker's Gift, and Wanda's Roses. A cast party for second grade students and their guests will take place on the LS Science Deck following the performance.

    Kindergarten Seed Planting
    Planting Seeds of Caring

    This Tuesday, our kindergarten classes planted tomato seedlings with members of the Upper School’s Students for Environmental Action Club as part of a grade-level service learning project focused on the environment. The seedlings will be grown in the US Greenhouse and donated to Potomac's community partner SHARE of McLean later in the spring, to be shared with community members experiencing food insecurity who would like to grow their own fresh produce at home.

    View photos here.

    Spirit Week - Spring Break Countdown
    Spirit Week has become a popular pre-Spring Break tradition in the Lower School! Next week, students and teachers are invited to participate by wearing the color or theme for the day. The goal is to use things you already have at home. Note that wigs, dyed hair, and face paint are not permitted. The themes for next week are…
     
    • Monday, 3/6: Mix-it-Up Monday (mix & match)
    • Tuesday, 3/7: Panther Pride (blue, orange, white)
    • Wednesday, 3/8 - Rainbow Day; each grade wears a different color of the rainbow OR you can wear every color of the rainbow!
      • Red (Kindergarten), Orange (Grade 1), Yellow (Grade 2), Green (Grade 3), Blue (Special Subject Teachers), Indigo (Specialists), Violet (Staff)
    • Thursday, 3/9: Pajama Day
    • Friday, 3/10: Green and jeans...in honor of St. Patty's Day
    Second Grader Wins Music Contest

    The 2023 Young Musicians Contest (YMC) took place at the Bloomingdale School of Music on February 12. First held in 2008, the contest fosters the development of pre-collegiate flutists by exposing them to a healthy competitive environment and constructive comments from professional flutists. Potomac second grader Lucy Kessler won in the eight and under category. Lucy began playing flute when she was four years old and studies at the Levine School. She is one of six winners from a pool of 41 contestants and will perform at the Flute Fair YMC concert on March 18.

    Lower School Dates

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    Middle School News

    Middle School

    Robotics Students Headed to State Tournament

    The MS is bursting with pride for the fourth and fifth graders who will travel to Doswell, VA, on March 3 to represent Potomac in the State Robotics Competition! The students have worked together to build their robots, learn how to drive them, and program them to accomplish a series of challenging tasks. Congratulations to fourth graders Arman Aggarwal, Kayan Gajendragadkar, Henry Lettow, Gates Marwell, Liam Marwell, and Sophia Saltiel and fifth graders Will Cillizza, Erik Eggers, Drew Gudenberg, Ben Levin, Veer Mathur, and Sina Mirali. 

    Congratulations also to sixth grade robotics team 10227G, made up of students Jayden Yoo and CJ Lee. They have performed well all season and have qualified for the Virginia State Robotics Tournament; they will compete on March 4, the second day of this two-day event. Good luck, Jayden and CJ, and Go Panthers! 

    Special thanks to Jenni Ashley, Beth Brundage, Sabrina Gooptu, and Estarlin Jimenez for their leadership of the MS robotics program.

    Vision Screening Follow-Up

    Middle School students were screened on February 15 by The Prevention of Blindness Society. Families of children who did not pass the screening were notified by the Health Services Office. Blue "Pass" slips for all other students will go home in your child's backpack by Friday. 

    Ms. Armstrong's Fourth Grade Play Date Change

    Due to the previously mentioned Robotics Tournament, Ms. Armstrong's class will now perform their musical, Newsies, tomorrow, Thursday, March 2, 9:30 am, in the Langstaff Auditorium. We look forward to welcoming JA4 parents to this rescheduled performance, which can also be enjoyed via livestream.

    Ms. White's Fourth Grade Play

    On Friday, March 10, CW4 students will present Ferdinand, The Bull to the Middle School. Based on the classic book by Munro Leaf, this play is always a crowd pleaser and is a perfect choice as we head into Spring Break. As Ferdinand is known for stopping to smell the flowers, we hope that our students will do the same during their break. Parents are welcome to join us for the play at 9:30 am in the Langstaff Auditorium.

    Pre-Spring Break Spirit Week
    Along with our LS friends, MS students will celebrate the coming of spring next week with a variety of fun clothing options:
     
    • Monday, 3/6: Mix-it-Up Monday (Mix & Match)
    • Tuesday, 3/7: Panther Pride (Blue, Orange, White)
    • Wednesday, 3/8: Colors of the Rainbow Day
    • Thursday, 3/9: Pajama Day
    • Friday, 3/10: Green, in honor of St. Patrick's Day 
    Solo and Ensemble Festival Coming Soon

    Middle School Dates

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    Intermediate School News

    Intermediate School

    PCW Student Leaders Breakfast

    On Tuesday morning, the Parents Council of Washington hosted their annual Middle School Student Leaders Breakfast at The Langley School. This was the first time since 2020 that the breakfast was held in person. Seventh graders Julian Nagoski and Maddie Woo represented Potomac, participating in discussions with student leaders from other schools. The discussion topics included stress, expectations, and social media. Julian and Maddie shared that the breakfast was a great experience and expressed appreciation for being invited to participate.

    Solo and Ensemble Festival Coming Soon

    Band and orchestra students will soon have the opportunity to demonstrate their musicality for a professional player of their instrument and receive feedback on their performance! The Solo and Ensemble Festival will be held at Rocky Run Middle School on April 28 (orchestra) and 29 (band). Our ensemble directors will share further information, including how students can participate. If you have questions, please contact Adela Wynn or Henry Heidtmann.

    Course Grids Due March 10

    Eighth grade students received their ninth grade course grids this Monday, February 27. On Tuesday, they attended an assembly to learn about co-curricular opportunities in the Upper School. Please note that the course grids must be returned to Miss Cahill by Friday, March 10. If students have questions, they can reach out to their advisor or Miss Cahill. As a reminder, the Upper School Course Catalog is posted on CampusNET.

    IS Musical Showcase

    Students finished their musical season with a showcase of skits. The skits were student-selected, directed, cast, and choreographed. Selections included scenes from shows like Six, High School Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, and Mean Girls The Musical. Other scenes included skits based on the tv show Barbie and the Dreamhouse, the movie Mean Girls, a monologue from Reddit, and a Progressive commercial. 

    In addition, eighth grader Mary Parker Stump created a block print poster for every cast member. She used old-fashioned techniques like hand inking to print more than 40 posters. Great job!

    IS/US Band and Chorus Concert Tonight!

    We are looking forward to this evening’s chorus and band concerts. The Choral Concert will begin at 6:30 pm in the Lower School’s Ramsey Assembly Room, and the Band Concert will begin at 7:30 pm in the Engelhard Performing Arts Center’s Langstaff Auditorium. Chorus students should report to the choral room at 6:00 pm, and band students should report to EPAC at 6:45 pm. Both concerts will be livestreamed.

    Intermediate School Dates

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    Upper School News

    Upper School

    IS/US Band and Chorus Concert Tonight!

    We are looking forward to this evening’s chorus and band concerts. The Choral Concert will begin at 6:30 pm in the Lower School’s Ramsey Assembly Room, and the Band Concert will begin at 7:30 pm in the Engelhard Performing Art Center’s Langstaff Auditorium. Chorus students should report to the choral room at 6:00 pm, and band students should report to EPAC at 6:45 pm. Both concerts will be livestreamed.

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    Potomac SERC Students
    SERC Students Present at National Conferences

    Two seniors in Potomac’s Science and Engineering Research Center (SERC) program recently had opportunities to present their work at national conferences.

    In December, Lulu Tierney was invited to present her research at the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Conference in Chicago, IL. Lulu’s research focuses on planetary habitability – specifically, how planetary habitability varies as a function of inhabitance. One way to investigate this question is through a quantitative analysis of planetary atmospheric chemical reaction networks. Lulu used the Caltech/JPL KINETICS photochemistry model to simulate a suite of CO2–N2-dominated (Mars-like) atmospheres with different levels of habitability and inhabitance by varying the H2O and CH4 content of the atmosphere, to obtain a clearer picture of what truly contributes to a planet's habitability. Lulu was one of only two high school students presenting at the conference.

    In February, Lauren Foster presented her research at the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) Conference in Dallas, TX. Her project focused on creating a decellularized tissue scaffold for volumetric muscle loss to support muscle regeneration. ORS is an organization of professional surgeons, researchers, and other orthopedics professionals. Lauren was the only high schooler to present a poster among nearly 1,000 presenters from universities and organizations around the world.

    Lulu's and Lauren's poster presentations can be found here.

    Read More about SERC Students Present at National Conferences
    EFEB Welcomes Speaker

    The Economics, Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Business concentration hosted its third speaker on Tuesday, February 28. Robby Moser, CEO of Clark Construction, delivered a talk on the theme of innovation. In a very engaging and interactive presentation, Mr. Moser discussed the fundamental factors for business success, from having a quality product to a "super talented team," and highlighted how innovation creates a variety of opportunities. He also said that a culture of innovation requires a deliberate and systematic approach, in which innovation is seen as the responsibility of every team member. Students asked several questions, from what it takes to be successful in business ("say yes!") to what the typical day of a CEO looks like (every day is different). This coming summer, a few students in the EFEB concentration will have the opportunity to do an internship at Clark Construction and learn firsthand about the business.

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    Building on the Cornerstones of Cultural Competence

    Last week, the US community came together for Family Group activities to continue work on two of our Cultural Competence Cornerstones, Identity and Connection. In these groups, students engaged in an activity that helped them to know more about one another through various identifiers. They also worked on a connection activity, identifying commonalities that connected people in the group. These connections challenged the students to consider the elements that are most important to their own identity. For some, this was race or religion; for others, it was their family structure or a mental health diagnoses; for others, it was a particular activity or hobby. It was encouraging to see everyone in the Upper School getting to know one another better and building our empathy and sense of community. We look forward to another Family Group session in April, when we will build on the remaining two Cornerstones of Cultural Competence, Justice and Action.

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    EFEB Speaker
    Writer Ret Talbot Visits the Upper School

    On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Ret Talbot, “an award-winning independent journalist and writer who covers ocean issues and fisheries at the intersection of science and sustainability,” visited Potomac. In addition to talking with students in the Writing Fiction and Biodiversity and Conservation classes, Mr. Talbot spoke with our ninth grade biology students on the role of indigenous knowledge in published, peer-reviewed science and the importance of including data in scientific writing. He also hosted two lunchtime conversations, one focused on being a journalist and one on sustainability. The students enjoyed connecting with him and found his presentations both engaging and informative.

    Read More about Writer Ret Talbot Visits the Upper School
    Solo and Ensemble Festival Coming Soon

    Band and orchestra students will soon have the opportunity to demonstrate their musicality for a professional player of their instrument and receive feedback on their performance. The annual Solo and Ensemble Festival will be held at Rocky Run Middle School on April 28 (for orchestra) and 29 (for band). Our ensemble directors will share further information, including how students can sign up to participate. If you have questions, please contact Adela Wynn or Henry Heidtmann.

    Read More about Solo and Ensemble Festival Coming Soon

    Upper School Dates

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    US T208 Tiered Classroom

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    Athletics

    Athletics

    Potomac Swim Team
    Varsity Squash Teams Excel at National Championship

    The boys and girls varsity squash teams both exceeded their predicted rankings at this past weekend’s U.S. High School Squash National Championships in Philadelphia.

    The girls team, seeded last in their division, upset higher-ranked St. George’s School from Middletown, RI, by a score of 4-3 and finished 30th in the nation (out of 85 teams). Individual highlights include Layah Nasr ’23’s dominating 3-0 win in the #1 slot against St. George’s School, Sophia Calkins ’24’s dual wins against St. George’s and Middlesex School, Meera Vadlamani ’24’s three wins at the demanding #3 position, Haley Coon ’24’s wins over Middlesex and St. George’s, Yabbie Maelaf ’23’s and Anya Aggarwal ’25's amazing five-game battles against their opponents from Middlesex, and Sami Krilla ’25’s come-from-behind win against Seven Hills School. Substitute player Cici Miliaras ’23 gave her teammates confidence to risk full-out play throughout the weekend.

    The boys team, expected to finish in 15th place, upset local 10th seed Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 4-3 and finished in 12th place in boys division III (44th nationally, out of 102 teams). Playing four matches in just three days, every player contributed to the team's success, and each faced their share of victory and adversity. Notable results include Ben Levy ’25’s dominating 3-0 win playing in the #1 slot against SCH Academy, co-captain Jeffrey Nuechterlein ’23’s two come-from-behind wins over higher-rated opponents, co-captain Jack Wigmore ’23’s diving saves and relentless determination, Jackson Mackney ’23’s nearly hour-long battle to prevail against SCH Academy, and Alexander Zhou ’23’s 3-1 record at the pivotal #5 position throughout the weekend. Will Scribner ’25 and Graham LaForce ’25 both went 2-2 overall and notched impressive wins against skilled opponents. Aidan Corwin ’24, our substitute player, provided excellent coaching and support to teammates throughout the weekend.

    All Potomac squash players, including those unable to travel this past weekend, share in the teams’ successes this season. Special thanks to our squash team parents for their provisions, support, and encouragement, and to U.S. Squash for organizing the world’s largest squash tournament with nearly 1,700 players competing across 13 divisions at five venues.

    Athletics Dates