Washington Program Connects to the Classroom
The school year’s second Washington Program coincided with the ninth-graders’ return from the Burch Outdoor Program. While the freshmen were given the afternoon to catch up on much-needed rest, students from the sophomore and junior classes were immersed in curriculum-based activities tied to their theology, health, and biology classes, and seniors participated in college counseling workshops.
The four sophomore biblical theology classes took part in a poverty simulation, hosted in Flippin Fieldhouse and facilitated by the Steinbruck Center at Luther Place, wherein students assumed roles in families or at various agencies visited by the families. “We found the simulation to be challenging and chaotic,” said Betsy Gonzalez, theology teacher and head chaplain. “Students found this small slice of trying to live life on the edge economically to be lonely and frustrating.” This experience joins with the students’ study of “how the biblical narrative drew many who were marginalized, oppressed by civic systems, and living at the edges of communities with no economic or social power, while seeking messages of justice from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels.”
The sophomores who are enrolled in health participated in a “healthy choices program” intended to arm them with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their short-term and long-term wellness. Prior to the session, students submitted anonymous questions about substance abuse and addiction, and those questions were used to help to create the agenda for part one of the program. Part one consisted of an educational session led by Beth Kane Davidson, Director of the Addiction Treatment Center at Suburban Hospital, and Captain Gregg Ladislaw, Commander of the Criminal Investigations Section of the Alexandria Police Department.
Part two of the healthy choices program, led by Episcopal’s student wellness coordinator, Emily Straight, presented students with healthy coping strategies for managing stress. Emily led students through a guided meditation and several mindfulness activities, and introduced the use of essential oils to help manage mood and stress.
The eleventh-grade biology classes ventured off campus to Great Falls Park, a series of rapids and waterfalls on the Potomac River. There the students observed first-hand some of the ecosystems that they have been studying in class.
Seniors participated in a college application “boot camp,” where they were given dedicated time and space to work on their applications. They each selected an area of focus for the two-hour sessions which were hosted by college counselors. Sessions were offered for the application (common application, University of California application, coalition application, or UCAS application), essay writing for the personal statement, and supplemental essay writing.
