In light of the recent teen suicides in the DC area, students all over the city posted a heart emoji on their Snapchat story to stand in solidarity with the friends and family of the lost loved ones in our community. Although not everyone that posted the heart knew these students personally, the sudden loss affected students in many different ways and sparked conversations about mental health, a topic that is widely ignored in schools. This lack of the previous conversation prompted the start of the new school club LOVE (Listen Observe Value Educate), whose goal is to have candid
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In late November, a passionate group of GDS students and faculty attended a DC Board of Zoning Adjustment meeting to express their support for the plan to merge the two GDS campuses. The transfer of the campus to the empty lot will be a very practical and beneficial option, especially for parents who have children in different grade levels, but it will also be a large adjustment that both the GDS and Tenleytown communities will have to get used to. This current separation does not allow the younger and older members of the school to interact with each other and,
Taking place every Friday, assemblies are an integral part of GDS’s culture and mission. Assemblies present an opportunity for the community to both share experiences and exchange ideas without leaving the campus. While GDS offers a host of different assemblies each year, there are five core assemblies that occur annually: the Harvest assembly, the Christmas assembly, the Passover assembly, the MLK assembly, and the Pride assembly. The purpose of having an assembly is to expose students to different ideas. However, many students ditch assemblies because attendance is not taken. When a student misses an assembly, they could forego a potentially
This marks the first year the GDS high school did not hold traditional midterm exams. In a November letter to the GDS community, high school principal Katie Gibson wrote, “This change in our schedule will allow students and families to enjoy their winter breaks, with a firm end-date to the first semester falling prior to the departure for winter vacation. In addition, it allows us to add seven more teaching days to the calendar.” In the spring of last year, when Quinn Killy announced that GDS would not be holding midterms for the following school year, it seemed pretty surreal.
America has an undeniable obsession with celebrities. Thousands of news sites and magazines trace the movements of movie and TV stars, publishing them doing mundane activities like walking down the street and shopping for groceries. Our obsession with fame and famous people, however, does not need to—and should not—leak into our political system. Celebrities tend to be charismatic and know how to appeal to a specific audience, which is wonderful for a TV show in need of ratings, but not ideal for the chief executive of a diverse country. As junior Revati Mahurkar says, a “lot of [celebrities’] success depends
Every single GDS student knows a peer struggling with their mental health, whether or not they are aware of it. Although mental illnesses do not always have obvious physical manifestations, mental health issues can affect people in a variety of seen—or invisible–ways. Still, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, at least one in five high school students around the country battle with a mental health illness—and GDS students are no exception. While recent student-driven actions have begun to shed light on mental health issues in our community, the school itself needs to step up and meet its students
At this point in Washington Nationals history, it almost seems normal to watch the divisional competition come to a stop while the Nats sprint away from the pack in hot pursuit of yet another 90-plus win season. Despite offseason improvements made by divisional foes Atlanta and Philadelphia, the Nationals, especially Stephen Strasburg, observed as 2017 National League Most Valuable Player, Giancarlo Stanton, who has a career .313 batting average along with three home runs against the Nats pitcher, departs for the New York Yankees as just one of many casualties of the Miami Marlins’ fire sale. Unlike the Yankees, the
Don’t sleep on freshman Ellie Sepúlveda. She is quietly one of GDS’ most elite and top-tier athletes, even though most GDS students don’t know it. In fact, most people don’t fully understand the nature of her sport, rock climbing. But Ellie doesn’t let this lack of recognition discourage her. As a member of the Sportrock Alexandria climbing team, and part of GDS’ own rock climbing team, she trains for over 20 hours a week. She also competes year-round in the USA Climbing youth program, in all three categories of competition: bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. Still, Ellie aims even
When one thinks of video games, they usually think of immersive, fantastical worlds and stories so outlandish as to only be possible within the digital world. Sports video games, however, occupy a niche for gamers hungering for a more realistic experience without sacrificing any of the immersiveness provided by other video games. For many years the sports gaming scene has been dominated by EA (Electronic Arts) Sports. The company’s long-running franchises include FIFA Soccer, Madden NFL football, and NHL hockey. In addition, EA produces a line of basketball titles under the name NBA Live, but California-based 2K Games prevails as
Ask anyone what the most important part of a winning team is and you’ll likely receive a few different responses. Some will immediately say that a strong defense is essential to success. Others will counter with the classic (paraphrased) George Washington quotation that the best defense is a strong offense. But what if even the combination of these two factors isn’t enough to propel a team to victory? Meet the 2017 GDS varsity volleyball team, where a culture of teamwork and supportiveness is preached above all else. Of course, pretty much all team sports are based around the concept of
GDS students honor the lives of all lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As they observed seventeen minutes of silence, the names of those whose lives came to a tragic end were read aloud, and they were remembered.
On February 28, dozens of GDS students from the middle and high school marched to end gun violence and show their support for gun control. All Photos by Derek Oliwa.