Living and Learning: Student Life at WSD
Parents often imagine what it might be like to be a “fly on the wall” and observe their student in action on a typical school day. Any parent who could actually achieve this would be a busy fly indeed, and…
The Periodic Table: No Piece of Cake
It’s finally been done. Sixth grader Devin Dalby amazed his peers and teachers as he recited — through song — the entire Periodic Table of Elements from memory! Middle School science teachers, Megan Hurster and Maria Lee, issued a challenge…
The Kindness Challenge
Lower School Director, Melissa Shunn-Mitchell, used the Lower School assembly on January 6 to promote a “Kindness Challenge” to students. “Our PE teacher, Amy Newman, was the one who shared the idea with me,” explains Ms. Shunn-Mitchell. “She had given…
Electromagnets Are Super!
At WSD, we believe the nature and process of developing scientific knowledge is based on actually doing science in the classroom. This past term, 7th grade was deep into its unit of Physics, studying invisible forces by building their own…
WSD’s Rough Riders
WSD’s Middle School Mountain Biking team finished up a very successful season. This year we competed in three major racing events and saw our team increase to 24 riders! Our first race took place on a warm, dusty morning in…
Small Acts of Kindness Day
Wednesday, October 12, was declared “Small Acts of Kindness Day” at WSD. Conceived and organized by the Middle School Hope Squad, it was the first of many–we hope–similar events to come. Students in all grades accepted the invitation to “complete…
Where Will Your Mark Take You?
Lower School Art teacher, Mariah King, begins the school year by reading her favorite picture book aloud to each class of students. The name of the book is The Dot, by author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, and it explores, in its…
Beyond Measure – Schools at the Heart of Change
Every day we hear stories about America’s troubled education system. And we’re told that in order to fix what’s broken, we need to narrow our curricula, standardize our classrooms, and find new ways to measure students and teachers. But what…
Embracing a Growth Mindset
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” ~ Frederick Douglass As students in fifth grade explore this year’s school theme*, they are learning the difference between a “growth mindset” and a “fixed mindset.” According to Carol Dweck, a…
“If There is No Struggle, There is No Progress.”*
When Frederick Douglass spoke these words, they were fighting words, anticipating the Civil War, and in some ways, the Civil Rights Movement. As a consequence of his own long and arduous struggle for freedom, Douglass understood that in physical and…