The Owl Post - First Edition - June 2023

End of Year Edition

THE OWL POST SAYING GOODBYE TO MR. POWERS Number of kids: 3 ( 1 daughter and twin boys ) Favorite color: blue Favorite animal: golden retriever Favorite food: French food Favorite thing to do: golf Fun Fact: He was born on Friday the 13th, and he can do a really good Kermit the Frog impression.

WELCOME TO DR. PALLADINO The faculty and students at The Woods Academy have had many opportunities to meet our new head of school over the past few months. We look forward to getting to know Dr. Palladino further as she begins her role as the new head of school in the fall. Make sure you give her a great Woods welcome when you see her around the school.

June, 2023

AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. POWERS

By Daisy Kerpen And Asha Schulick

When we saw that we were able to write for the school newspaper, we thought that it was a great idea to interview Mr. Powers because it’s his last year here at the Woods. Mr. Powers has welcomed us each morning with fist-bumps, ran welcome Zooms during Covid, taught 5th graders business, and helped 8th graders with their high school decisions.

How long have you been at Woods? Twelve years What will you do next? I will be joining the Waterside School in Stamford, Connecticut.

Will your children be joining you? My daughter is in college in California. My twins will be going off to college. Jack is going to California and Andrew will be playing baseball in Virginia.

What is your favorite thing to do with the students? Teach them, learn from them, and sometimes even play a little recess with them.

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“YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE SICK TO GET BETTER”—AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. PALLADINO

By Dylan Manrique-Johnson

It is fitting that for the first ever issue of the Owl Post, we feature an interview with our new head of school, Dr Jessica Palladino. Currently she is the principal of Rolling Terrace Elementary School in Takoma Park. She is an amazing person who began her career tasked with writing the Montgomery county language arts learning curriculum. She received her PhD from the University of Maryland specializing in curriculum and instruction.

The main thing that stood out to me during our interview was her love of challenges. She enjoys being pushed to become the best by searching out new opportunities and thrives on learning new things in different fields of work. One of favorite quotes came from one of her old principals, “You don't have to be sick to get better.” She sees this as an inspiration for her time at the Woods. She can strive to make it better while trying not to completely change the school in the process.

When asked about why she wanted to take the position she replied that the Woods has a reputation as a very strong school with a welcoming community. Since accepting the position as head of school she has heard many great stories about the Woods from colleagues, friends and neighbors.

One thing that I have been wondering about was the fate of our business class that Mr. Powers has taught to upper school students. Dr. Palladino has not yet made a final decision about the course but she talked about the important lessons learned in a business class, especially leadership skills.

Dr. Palladino has a strong interest in leadership training and plans to continue to make sure this is part of our curriculum. Some traditions won’t change. At her current school she greets every student upon arrival just like how Mr.Powers greets us every morning. She is looking forward to bringing her own new traditions to the Woods and developing new ones with us.

For my final question I asked her what kind of legacy she hoped to leave at the Woods. She answered this by again referencing the sense of strong community at the Woods. Dr Palladino wants to add to this community by helping the students to become more involved in the voice of the school, creating a place where students can feel heard and can appreciate the importance of other opinions.

Overall I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Dr Palladion better. She brings a wealth of experience and energy to our school and I am definitely looking forward to seeing her next year.

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Another group saw The Raft of The Medusa. After an exciting morning exploring the museum, we had lunch at the Garden of Tuileries. We took the metro to go see the L’Opera Garnier. We then started to make our way to the Galeries Lafayette to shop and browse around. We started to make our way to Brasserie Baroche for dinner.

EIGHTH GRADE TRIP TO PARIS

By Andrew Kamine and Harper Rushton

In March 2023, the eighth-grade French students went to Paris, France for a week. During our trip we had a lot of experiences from visiting museums, visiting world-famous monuments, and we even got the chance to meet some kids our age at a Catholic school in Paris. We have a few highlights that we want to share with the rest of the school.

On Sunday the 12th, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport. We were tired but happy to be in Paris. Most of us had never been to Paris before. Except for being tired, we had a good time climbing the Arc de Triomphe to the top. It had a spectacular view of the Champs Elysees, The Eiffel Tower, and The Seine.

The next day, we went to the Louvre and we saw the Mona Lisa then divided into three groups to explore the museum. One group saw the apartments of Napoleon and another saw the Wedding of Cana and Liberty Leading People.

On Tuesday, we made our way over to the Musee d’Orsay, which is an old train station converted to house art from 1848 to 1914. We saw Van Gogh’s self-portrait, Starry Night, The Tiny Dancer, and other Impressionist paintings. We went to a French school for lunch and enjoyed some traditional French foods, such as Crepes and Pate. Our afternoon was spent walking up the Eiffel Tower, where we had some Macarons and Hot Chocolate, and were able to look at a fantastic view of Paris.

On Wednesday we went to a different type of museum, history instead of art, Hotel des Invalides, where we were able to see the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. As well as Napoleon’s tomb, Hotel des Invalides also has a small museum dedicated to the French Resistance during World War Two. We saw military uniforms, weapons, spy gear and more. After leaving Invalides, we stopped to get a quick continued on page 4

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lunch and then took an hour-long drive to Versailles, the home of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, who were King and Queen of France during the French Revolution. Versailles is a huge place with 2300 rooms, so it was impossible to see them all, but we saw The King and Queen’s room, the Hall of Mirrors, and the large gardens. At the end of the day, we returned to Paris.

were happy to meet us. We all had a great time and the day was not over yet. We had dinner and had an evening cruise around the Seine River.

On Thursday, we ate breakfast at the Hotel and started making our way toward the Metro. We started at Sainte Chapelle and even though Notre Dame is closed for renovation, we were able to walk past it on our way to a famous bookstore, Shakespeare & Company. Once it was late morning we went to Jardin d'Acclimatation. The time went by fast and everyone had a lot of fun.

On Saturday, unfortunately, our time in Paris was coming to an end, but we had one more day of fun. In the morning, we went to Montmartre, a neighborhood known for its street artists, and The Basilique du Sacre Coeur, which was our first stop. We admired stained glass, a large mosaic of Jesus, and many other things before leaving to do some shopping. In Montmartre, several students got portraits done, and all of us bought matching Paris sweatshirts. For our final stop, we split into two groups, one went to The Catacombs and one went to Ciemetaire Pere Lachaise, which has the graves of many famous artists, musicians, and authors. Our dinner at Astaire on the last night was very fancy, and we had many French delicacies like escargot and frog’s legs.

On Friday, we ate breakfast and we took the Metro to visit a school called Notre Dame des Oiseaux. We met several students and they

We departed on Sunday and the voyage was fun, we all enjoyed it, and had many great experiences.

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JV SOFTBALL CELEBRATES A FUN SEASON

By Zalina Gormley

The JV softball team had a great season with 1 win, 1 tie and 2 losses.

The team competed against McLean and Maryland School for the Deaf, playing each team twice. Unfortunately, their last game was canceled, but their coach, Megan Mullally, made it a great and fun practice. They had a scrimmage with the whole team which provided a chance to have fun, improve, and to even try something new.

The team’s two captains were Madison Mullally and Zalina Gormley.

They were in charge of leading warm-ups and starting cheers. They did a great job of leading their team and supporting their teammates.

The team had multiple pitchers and catchers. The pitchers were Emma W, Gaby Y, and sometimes Ruby S. They did a great job of pitching for our team. The catchers were Maeve M, Greta S, and Gaby Y. They also did an amazing job. Thanks to both our pitchers and catchers.

Again, the team had an amazing season, worked very hard, tried new positions, and improved their skills. Great job to Daisy Kerpen, Madison Mullally, Maeve McCarthy, Mollie Wisecarver, Greta Sun, Ruby Sclafani, Emma Waterman, Zalina Gormley, Gabriela Ybarra, Kylie Ricca, Raphie Jantio, Sammy Stanton, and McCanna Faught for an amazing season!

Photo Credit: Wills Byford

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FIELD DAY

By Andrew Kamine

On May 5th, 2023 the Woods Academy hosted an event known as Field Day. The students have been preparing and looking forward to Field Day. A month before field day PE teachers Mr. Parker and Ms. Ricca have been making the field day events and playing the games so students can have a feel. In addition, there is a white team and a green team. Field day is held for everyone from first grade to eighth grade.

Unfortunately, you can not choose what team you want to be on.

Unfortunately, the Field Day had to come to an end. However before we leave you, it is time for the big reveal and to see who won Field Day for 2023. When a team wins, the team will run up to the hill and celebrate.

The Green Team won and they were very happy to win since they lost two years in a row. Unfortunately, the fun time ended and it was time for dismissal. Everyone shook hands and said “good game.”All of the grades showed perseverance and sportsmanship which made Field Day inclusive for everyone.

Every year Field Day is held outside and there are all sorts of games to do. The games that people played were; Dodgeball, Kickball, Tug of War, Prisoner Ball, Chicken Run (Lower School only), Ultimate Frisbee (Upper School only), Borderball, and Flag Tag. During Field Day pizza and snow cones were available for students and teachers.

A day before Field Day, teachers were given T-shirts that were green and white. On the day of Field Day, students go all out with their team colors and can be seen dying their hair or painting their faces in their team color. Each grade gets competitive when it comes to Field Day which makes the event fun.

After everyone was done with the activities and had pizza, the 8th grade received the tradition of playing eighth grade versus faculty kickball.

The teachers scored a lot of runs and home runs. While the eighth grade had a good time and played competitively, the faculty ended up winning the game.

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The War in Ukraine

By Ze Deane Ryan

On February 24th, 2022, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. These troops were given orders by Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. Putin wanted Ukraine for many reasons, but the main one is that he wanted to recreate Soviet Russia. Putin thought Ukraine would be a relatively straightforward victory, but it hasn’t gone to plan.

Russia launched multiple assaults on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, but thanks to Volodymyr Zelensky and his army, were repelled every single timesomething no one saw coming. Now Russia has been devastated with many deaths and lost battles, and have started to concede. But the problem is that Putin cannot fully surrender because he has wasted so many lives and so much money that to stop would be a bad look on him, especially given the fact that he started the war with zero provocation.

the same way they won the battle in Kharkiv. While the battle is still going on, Ukraine has not backed down, and they are doing very well.

In fact, they are probably doing better than their opposition.

One of the main tactics that Ukraine have implemented is the element of surprise. They used it to successfully repel the Russians from Kyiv, and on offense as well in Crimea. And they continue to use it to good effect.

So it is a war that continues to unfold and stun us with our events, but what has happened has truly been staggering. Not too long ago, it looked dire for Ukraine and now they have come back with a fire in their stomachs. With both sides doing what they can, and getting help from ally countries, no one can predict when or how this unpredictable war will end. We can just pray and hope that it ends peacefully.

A few months ago, Zelensky said, “Ukraine is alive and kicking.”

Now, I think it’s fair to say that they are alive and fighting.

Another thing is that Putin never had a backup plan. As I said earlier, he was confident that his army would just march in and take Ukraine in a matter of days. When this didn’t happen, Putin was out of ideas and has since been taking defeat after defeat. It’s gotten to the point where it’s now become a war of attrition, with many battles being fought and each side trying to get the upper hand.

One of them being in Kherson. Kherson is a city in the south of Ukraine that, in the last few months, has seen quite a bit of action. In Kherson, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive against Putin’s army-

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MUSIC AND RIDES

By Riaan Ahuja

Most people go to Kings Dominion just for the rides, but on May 26, the Woods Academy Upper School Choir went to Kings Dominion to sing in an adjudicated festival called the Festival of Music and celebrate their hard work this year. About 30 kids met early in the morning to board the coach bus that headed to Doswell, VA. At the festival, they sang the Korean folk song “Arirang” and an African American Spiritual called “Turn Me ‘Round”. They did amazing and received an Excellent Rating from the judges. The choir teacher Ms. Pabon said, “This was an amazing score considering the choir only meets once a week on an early Thursday morning.”

The rest of the day was spent having fun and riding rides. One ride all of the kids rode was called the Twisted Timbers, a wooden roller coaster with lots of loops. They also went on Intimidator, the eighth-highest roller coaster in the world with an astonishing 307 ft. drop. Sixth grader Dylan Manrique Johnson said, “I loved at the beginning of the ride when the announcer screamed, “GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES!” After lunch, most kids went on a ride called the Flight of Fear, a roller coaster in the dark.

Sixth grader Zalina Gormley said,” I loved the start and when my head got knocked back on the headrest.” Their final ride was the

Berserker, a pirate ship that flips you upside down. The ride malfunctioned and they were stuck upside down for about a minute before they could come down.

After that incident, the choir kids felt like they were done for the day and left.

The choir returned to school around 6:30 pm after a wonderful day of singing and fun!

SECOND GRADERS’ OPINIONS ON THEIR FIRST COMMUNION

By Fred Kerpen

Second grade students celebrated their First Holy Communion at The Woods on May 31. “It is fun and brings you closer to God“ said Charlie Kerpen when asked about his First Communion.

As you all know, it's the end of the year, so that means it is time for the second graders to receive their First Holy Communion. The second graders technically celebrated their First Communion at various churches already, but this time they celebrated it in front of the school.

Mrs. Phelps, one of the second-grade teachers, had this to say about the event. “I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to prepare my first communioners.”

Some second graders at their church ceremony.

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Interviews with Upper School Teachers

By Lilly Kerpen and Lizzie Basil

Mr. Kalas- 5th/6th Social Studies Teacher Q: What inspired you to become a teacher?

A: “My father was a college professor so growing up it was always in the back of my head. Coming out of college, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I did a year of Jesuit Academy service where I taught at an intercity charter school in Newark, New Jersey and I joined and moved back to this area. I got a job teaching at Little Flower and just kept on going from there.”

Q: Was your major education or did you just pick it up?

A: “I was a history major in college and a film minor. I got my teaching credentials about 10 or so years ago while I was working.”

Q: What is your favorite part of teaching?

A: “My favorite part of teaching is imparting a love of history, a love of learning, and a love of the past. There are so many interesting stories that I like to share, cool stories about generals, about battles, just looking at how life was 5,000 years ago and what we are doing nowadays. I’m looking forward to next year. I'll be teaching my son for the first time and so that will also be exciting.”

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Mrs. Mullally- 5th/6th Grade Science Teacher

Mr. Mclaughlin- Upper School Aide and Substitute

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher?

A: “I was definitely inspired to become a teacher by my family members who were teachers. Both of my parents were teachers, and 3 of my 4 grandparents were teachers so that inspired me to follow in their footsteps.”

Q: What inspired you to become a sub?

A: “That’s a very interesting question, Lillian. So, last year, l did extended care, because that was an open position. I was with the three-year-olds. But l just kind of wanted to be with older kids because like my ideal job would be a religion teacher. So, this way l can meet the upper schoolers and also spend more time with Mr. Bednar watching him teach religion. So, it just kind of worked out better than me doing extended care, even though l liked extended care.”

Q: What has been your favorite part of teaching?

A: “My favorite part of being a teacher is connecting with the students. I love to see new students every single year. I continue learning from them and seeing them learn is an experience as well.”

Q: What is your favorite memory teaching?

A:“My favorite memory teaching was when I used to teach 4th grade at the Woods Academy and we would have read-aloud time after recess and there were several times when we would get to a cliffhanger in the book and the kids would beg that I would keep reading and we ended up skipping a whole period of social studies to continue reading our read aloud book because it was just that much fun and we just had to finish it.”

Q: What is your favorite part of being a sub?

A: “Another excellent question, Lillian. I believe my favorite part of being a sub has been getting to know so many people around the school, like Luca, whose birthday it is today. See, l wouldn’t have been able to know Luca if l hadn’t been a sub for his class when his teachers were missing. So, l really got to pretty much know everyone in the school, which has been nice. I even still get to see the Montessori kids on Fridays.”

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Mrs. Golforth- Art Teacher Q: What inspired you to become a teacher?

A: “For starters, I never wanted to be a teacher. I had aspirations for being an artist; however, as you guys know from my basketball coaching the parents were impressed and asked if I wanted to teach. I said sure because l had availability to teach and it was easy, one at the time. So when I started teaching, I realized I was good at it and got to teach what I love about art.

Q: What is your favorite part of teaching?

A: “My favorite part of teaching is when I have a student that claims they don't like art and after they take my class they realize that they love art more than they think.”

Q: What has been your favorite memory teaching?

A: “I have a few. My favorite memory teaching. I have a top three. My favorite memory is teaching high school, the AP studio class, and the kids made me feel like an artist. It was the most amazing studio place. We would blast music, they were responsible. It was only the top five students so it was a fun place to be.

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LOCAL FOOD REVIEW—HOW GOOD IS KIM’S YIRASAI IN POTOMAC?

By Maria Manzano

When you walk in, an employee will greet you and sit you down.

They will then bring out the menu. Once you know what drinks you want, they will take your order. Overall the service is decent. One of the dishes we ordered was the shrimp gyoza. The gyoza had a toasted outside but the shrimp was soft and delicious. The teriyaki chicken was soft and the teriyaki sauce was perfectly made and it was absolutely delectable.

Now for the star of the show, the sushi. Both me and my sister ordered two kinds of sushi each so they asked us if we wanted it all on one plate and we agreed. I didn’t know what they meant. I simply thought it was going to be a large plate, but when the sushi got to the table, it was plated on a wooden boat. The details on the boat were absolutely stunning and the sushi was just as pleasant. Now I did not expect how good the crab imperial roll was going to be, but when the flavor hit my tongue, I fell in love with how good it was and it became my favorite sushi that I have ever tried.

Kim’s Yirasai at Park Potomac

Overall the experience was very enjoyable and the interior design was lovely, and I had a lot of fun overall. I would give it a 4.7 out of 5. I do wish they would have attended to us faster, but the food makes up for it.

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STUDENT ART & COMICS

All artwork by Sara Holmes, 7th grade

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