December 2024 - News & Notes

Traditionally, December is a brief yet significant month in high schools. We have fifteen engaging school days leading up to the Winter Break. During this period, students will commence Winter athletics, complete another academic benchmark with the marking period two interims, and begin the process of course registration for the 2025-2026 academic year. This month also presents numerous opportunities for celebration as our instrumental and choral programs host concerts.

In the spirit of the season, we extend our gratitude for your unwavering support of our phenomenal students and dedicated staff. The involvement of parents and caregivers is a recognized driver to school success, and we are exceedingly fortunate to benefit from such a supportive community.

On behalf of the Whitman staff, we wish you a safe and delightful holiday season and Winter Break with family, friends, and loved ones. We look forward to seeing you in 2025!

Wednesday, December 4: Winter Pep Rally - Double Walt Wisdom Time - Main Gym

Friday, December 6: Class of 2025 Cap & Gown orders due

Wednesday, December 11: OneWhitman; Electives Fair for students 6:00-7:30 pm

Thursday, December 12: Instrumental Music Concert 7:00 pm - Auditorium

Tuesday, December 17: Choral Concert 7:00 pm - Auditorium

Wednesday, December 18: Senior Parent Meeting 7:00 pm - Auditorium

Monday, December 23 - Wednesday, January 1, 2025: Winter Break, no school for students or staff

Thursday, January 2, 2025: Return to school after break

Over the next two months, December and January, our counselors are working to finalize second semester schedules for students. Counselors will meet with students who have missing periods in their schedules to discuss course offerings for the spring.

WWHS leaders have begun the process of preparing for course registration for the 2025-2026 school year. More information will be shared later this month. On Wednesday, December 11, there will be an Electives Fair from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Students and parents/caregivers will be given the opportunity to explore and learn about the wide variety of elective courses that we offer. Don’t miss this wonderful evening!

On Thursday, December 18 at 7 pm we will host our Senior Parent Meeting. This meeting will provide senior parents/caregivers on Prom, Post Prom, and Graduation.

Important Dates:

• Prom: Friday, May 2, 2025 from 8 pm until midnight at the Bethesda North Marriott

• Post Prom: Saturday, May 3, 2025 from 12:30 am until 4am at Walt Whitman High School

• Graduation: June 9, 2025, 2:30pm at DAR Constitution Hall

Check out our Class of 2025 webpage for additional information.

Staff to contact with any questions regarding the Class of 2025:

• Kristi McAleese, Assistant Principal, Grade 12 Administrator - Kristi_McAleese@mcpsmd.org

• Marisa Del Savio, Class of 2025 SGA Sponsor- Marisa_M_Delsavio@mcpsmd.org

• Anne Fletcher, Resource Counselor - Anne_H_Fletcher@mcpsmd.org

• Joselin Hunzelmann, Counseling and Career Information Coordinator - Joselin_Hunzelmann@mcpsmd.org

• Suzy Johnson, Graduation Coordinator- Suzanne_M_Johnson@mcpsmd.org

Beginning in November, students and staff are required to wear their school-issued ID visibility at all times while on school grounds. We are pleased to share that we have gotten off to a wonderful start, and students are adapting well to the new Student ID policy. We kindly ask for your support in encouraging your student to remember to wear their ID each day. For students who forget their ID, they will need to visit the main office to receive a temporary "ID for the day" or to replace a lost ID. Please note that there is a $5.00 fee for replacing lost IDs or lanyards.

For the safety of all, we would greatly appreciate your assistance in reminding your student to take their ID with them when they leave home and to wear it around their neck throughout the day. Thank you for your cooperation!

Starting on December 10th, we will begin our fall make up MCAP testing for students that did not take them last year. Please review this memo for more information.

A separate email will be sent to all families and students that will need to participate in these make up sessions.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jena Mejia, Assistant Principal and Testing Coordinator at Jena_K_Mejia@mcpsmd.org.

Second-semester parking applications will be available starting on Monday, December 9. Approximately 270 student parking permits are available to academically eligible students without financial obligations. The application will remain open until Friday, January 17 at 3 pm. Please refer to our informational letter to begin preparing your application.

Whitman had an outstanding fall season and we want to thank all of the student-athletes, their families, and coaches for making it so successful. Congrats to all of our teams/student-athletes who won a championship at any level, including our four-time State Champs, our girls soccer team and our boys cross country team who won a State Title! Also, Mateo Gros-Slovinsky won the 4A Boys Individual Cross Country State Championship.

Winter sports have officially started, and we’re looking forward to another great season. Please visit our website at https://whitmanathletics.net/ to see schedules for our teams. We will be charging admission for boys' and girls' basketball games and wrestling. No cash will be accepted at games, and all tickets must be purchased through Go Fan at Walt Whitman High School Events and Tickets by GoFan. We offer single-game tickets, or you can purchase a pass for the entire winter sports season at WWHS GoFan

All boy's basketball games will be a Tier I game. This means that students must show their ID at every home and away game. Only home and visiting students may attend the games. Middle and elementary school students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Only two guests per adult will be permitted to attend Walt Whitman High School games.

SPORTSMANSHIP

We also want our fans and teams to practice good sportsmanship at all of our contests. A condition of entry into our games is that all spectators agree to model appropriate behavior. We want our events to be a positive environment for our fans, visiting teams and officials. Let's applaud and support everyone involved!

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @whitmansports and on X @WWHSAthletics

As the holiday season approaches, it's a perfect time to reflect on the importance of mattering — both to ourselves and to others. Mattering means knowing that we are significant and valued and that our actions make a difference. Take a moment during the holidays to appreciate the people in your life who make you feel seen and appreciated. Also, remember to express gratitude to those who have positively impacted your life. Reflecting on these connections can bring warmth and joy, reminding us that our presence and actions have meaningful effects. Let this season be a time to cherish the bonds that make us feel valued and to strengthen our sense of belonging and purpose.

Please note that the Walt Whitman High School Counseling Website (linked here) contains lots of great resources for students and families. Recently, MCPS created grade level checklists for each grade. These are terrific resources to guide students and families through the process for both high school and post-secondary success. Each grade levels’ checklists are linked below.

Grade 12-Seniors’ Checklist

Grade 11-Juniors’ Checklist

Grade 10-Sophomores’ Checklist

Grade 9-Freshmen Checklist

The English Department welcomes Daniel Engler! He joins us from BCC and is teaching Honors 10 and Honors 12 classes. He also supports one section of US History. We are thrilled he is part of our team!

We are proud of the various clubs the English Department staff sponsors for our curious and ambitious students. The diverse array of clubs includes: Jewish Student Union, Ethiopian and Eritrean Student Association, Black Student Union (BSU), Shakespeare Club, Film Club, Small Things Matter, Quiz Bowl, Students Demand Action, Yallah Club, Breaking the Stigma, Philosophy Club, Book and Film Club, WhitManna, Creative Writing Club, Fashion Club, Once Upon a Time, Origami Club, Sewing Club, Whitman Wish, and Vike 2 Vike Peer Tutoring.

Please join us in gratitude this season! Here is a collection of seasonal poems selected by The Poetry Foundation.

The Visual Arts Department is excited to share that two of our Studio Art students were selected for the annual University of Maryland Global Campus High School Juried Art Exhibition from submissions by high school art students across Maryland. We extend our congratulations to Sahana Thyagarajan for her colored pencil piece entitled Woven into My Identity, and to Olivia Zhao for her acrylic painting entitled Moon Kissed.

Our Visual Art Student of the Month is Jasper Murray, a senior in Ms. Mulholland’s AP 3-D Art and Design class. He worked on this work entitled Ceramic Chain in between required pieces. Before firing, it was six feet long. Once bisque fired it was soaked in mason stains and water. The entire process took approximately one month of his time and shows how hard work dedication and preserving effort lead to success!

We invite you to attend the Whitman Music concerts in December, where all performances are free and accessible to the public.

• December 12 (Thursday) at 7 pm: Winter Instrumental Music Concert

Featuring: Symphonic Band, Concert Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, and Jazz Ensemble

• December 17 (Tuesday) at 7 pm: Winter Choral Music Concert

Featuring: Freshman Choir, Tenth Grade Treble Choir, Advanced Treble, Tenor/Bass, Chamber Choir, and student-led a cappella groups

Please join us in congratulating our 24 Whitman Music students selected for the 2024-2025 MCPS Honors Ensembles! These musicians earned a spot in these groups after a highly competitive audition process and will be rehearsing and performing with students from around the school district over the next two months.

In Health, our students are building their ability to respond effectively to health-related emergencies. They are building their problem-solving skills and training to assess the circumstances rapidly, prioritize actions, and implement safety measures to protect themselves and others.

In PE, students explore the "health-related components of fitness" and practice a variety of exercises to help people be healthy & fit in different ways. Net Sports students continue their Volleyball unit. Weight Training recently covered goal setting and how to find or calculate a 1-rep max.

Congratulations to the following students for scoring high enough to qualify for Part II of the University of Maryland Mathematics Competition: Sean Wang, Alexander Toker-Katskee, Simon Yohannes, Jonas Udoff and Roy He.

Do you still need help outside of seeing your teacher at lunch? Come to the Math Workroom on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 2:30-4:00 pm in Room 347. There is a teacher as well as peer tutors to support all courses up to Honors PreCalculus. AP Calculus help on Wednesdays!

November in the LASJ program was a busy month! It started with a field trip for the Environmental Justice class to Red Wiggler Farm in Germantown, an organic sustainable care farm that employs people with disabilities and helps support families experiencing food insecurity. Students took a tour of the farm and even got to work planting garlic and pulling up tomato stakes.

LASJ students also made their voices heard at the Superintendent’s listening session on November 7th, explaining the very important need for transportation for our students living outside of the Whitman cluster. Three 9th grade students shared their experiences and put our core principle of Action to work.

Our November monthly seminar hosted State Senator Sara Love who spoke about how social justice can be achieved through public policy at the state level. Senator Love inspired a good deal of great questions from our students, specifically after the November 5th election.

Finally, students from the LASJ program are looking forward to collaborating with students from BCC and Blair on a project called “Power Dreaming” that will involve three events hosted by the schools and culminate in author visits by Dr. Bettina Love and Dr. Clint Smith.

This November the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland recognized Walt Whitman as a Top 25 Engineering Source School for producing students who major in engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. UMD is not the only place where students go to further their studies in engineering. Whitman is only behind the Blair and Poolesville magnet programs for producing students to major in engineering from MCPS. Not a bad accomplishment! Alumni return and share stories about what prepares them well for the rigors of college engineering and college life in general. Most of these future engineers participate in one or more of the classes in our Project Lead the Way (PLTW) engineering program. Whitman offers six PLTW classes and has the largest program in the county. More information about the PLTW classes and pathway will be shared with students as we get closer to registering for the 2025-2026 school year.

https://eng.umd.edu/2024-2025

MCPS PLTW link https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/career-readiness/plans/engineering/

The following information can always be found on the Whitman Science webpage:

• Whitman Science Registration/MCPS Course Requirement Quick Guide (PDF)

• Whitman Science Course Registration presentation (Google Slides)

• An updated list of science internships, events, and competitions (Google Doc)

You are invited to be a judge at the Montgomery County National History Day Competition! This event is an exciting opportunity to be a part of Montgomery County’s students’ scholarship and creativity. The National History Day (NHD) program was started in 1974 as a “science fair” for history, giving students a chance to become real historians. This year, students participating in NHD nationwide are researching topics based on the theme, “Rights & Responsibilities in History”

At the contest, students present their research in one of five categories: exhibits, performances, documentaries, websites, or papers. Judges evaluate entries based on historical quality and effectiveness of presentation. The evaluation of projects utilizes a national rubric and all judges will be trained prior to the event via a Zoom session.

Students selected to represent their schools compete at the county event and the top entries chosen by judges advance to the Maryland History Day State Contest at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in May, 2025. History Day judging is a one day commitment from 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 8, 2025. This timeframe includes an orientation to the judging process, the evaluation of students’ research and presentation, and time to draft comments. Judges have a profound impact by providing an opportunity for students to discuss their work and receive feedback from an outside resource. Volunteers also have a tremendous amount of fun in the process.

To volunteer to judge, please create a Z Fairs account using this link and select the “Judge” dropdown menu selection. Your friends can volunteer with you — just pass along a copy of our letter. About four weeks prior to this event, we will provide information about the judging process and the overall day. If you have any questions, please contact Kelli Champagne (kelli_m_champagne@mcpsmd.org) or Abbie Lamb (abbie_lamb@mcpsmd.org)

On Friday, November 8th 54 students tested to earn the Maryland Seal of Biliteracy. The Seal of Biliteracy measures students’ level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in one or more languages other than English. We will be hosting a make-up testing session on January 10th. Please contact Rebecca Zatz with any questions.

Thank you to the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and World Language Cafe for organizing the Muslim Cultural Potluck in the Commons.

Thank you to Yuki Moorman and the Japanese classes who organized a rice ball event called “Onigiri Action”. It was very well attended with so many wonderful volunteer students and the Japanese parents.

The SGA and MoCoCAP will host two career days in January, featuring guest speakers from a wide variety of fields. If you are interested in presenting or know someone who might be, please contact Kathleen_E_Bartels@mcpsmd.org. Interested speakers can choose one of two presentation times: Monday, January 13th - 8:15 am - 10:15 am or Tuesday, January 14th - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.

We are excited to celebrate our winter sports season with a pep rally during the school day on Wednesday, December 4th. We will also begin planning for “Feb/Mar” - Whitman’s annual charity month. Students in our class will propose charities to support, and we will solicit feedback from the Whitman student body. From mid-February through mid-March, look forward to a series of fun events to raise money for the selected charity!

Our next PTSA meeting will be in 2025 on Tuesday, January 21st at 7 pm in the Media Center. Have a wonderful winter holiday break!

Citrus Drive distribution will be December 5th and 6th. If you are able to help unload the truck between 1-3 pm please reach out to kshorelevin@yahoo.com

On Friday, 6th Dec, Paraguayan members will host a cultural awareness session celebrating Paraguayan Culture, Cuisine, and Music. Friday, December 13th, WhitWorld will be hosting its Annual Holiday.

Chipotle Dine Out on Wednesday, December 4th, from 4-8 pm at the 7600 Old Georgetown Rd in Bethesda. Online Ordering Code is RH6ZCP8. All proceeds go towards our Post Prom costs.

Also, we are hosting an event on Saturday, December 7th, at Kendra Scott at Bethesda Row from 1-3 pm. If you cannot attend the event, we have you covered! You can shop online at www.kendrascott.com and use the code GIVEBACK-IEXTA at checkout or order by calling Kendra Scott Bethesda at 240-743-2428. This is a great way to shop for the holidays and help our 2025 Seniors with their Post Prom!

Senior Class Meeting on Wednesday, December 18th at 7 pm, where parents and guardians will hear exciting details of what will come in the next few months leading up to prom and graduation. Also, many details about Post Prom (theme is Whit-Chella) and how you can contribute to making this a fun and SAFE night for our seniors and their dates.

Walt Whitman High School remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering a supportive and welcoming environment for all students.

Sincerely,

The Walt Whitman High School Administrative Team

Go Vikes!