DC STEM Fair on Saturday, March 24 at Wilson High School

We are happy to pass along this invitation to attend the expo of DC students' science, technology, engineering, and math projects this Saturday at Wilson High School:

Ward 2 State Board of Education Representative Mary Lord with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education would like to extend a special invitation to the District of Columbia's Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fair (DC STEM Fair).

In its 66th year, the fair will give students in grades 6-12 a chance to showcase their research skills and compete for a variety of awards and prizes offered by various government agencies, businesses and professional associations. The Fair is an excellent opportunity to see the District's next generation of innovators, learn about STEM programs, camps, and jobs from field professionals, and explore the exciting world of science and engineering.

Coordinated by DC Public Schools and the DC Science Teachers Association, the DC STEM Fair will occur on:

Saturday, March 24th, 2012
Wilson High School
3950 Chesapeake St, NW
STEM EXPO: 9:30am-12Noon & 1:30pm-4pm
Awards Ceremony 4:30pm-6pm

For More information, please contact: Camise McAdams, Camise McAdams a@ dc.gov or call
202-645-8952.You can also visit:  DCSTEMFair.

Support Wilson High School by Shopping & Dining, March 3 & 4

We are delighted to pass along this suggestion for neighborhood dining and shopping this weekend to benefit Wilson High School,  our neighborhood's public high school:

Mark your calendars for March 3rd and 4th:  Shop at Politics & Prose, dine in the neighborhood, and help provide important financial support to Wilson High School. Present a Wilson Coupon at check out, and Politics & Prose will donate 20% of all sales to Wilson.

To get a Wilson Coupon, meet Wilson parents downstairs at P&P, check the teacher wish-lists while enjoying baked goodies. The Wilson Librarian and Teachers' Wish List is a great way to make specific book donations to the school. Buy books for the school, or for home, and support the Wilson learning experience! Extra Bonus: that same weekend, nearby restaurants Comet Pizza and Terasol will donate a portion of Wilson Supporter tabs to the school. Come shop, dine, and support our neighborhood businesses and our excellent local high school!

"Oliver" Wilson High School Musical Tickets on Sale Now

Tickets for Woodrow Wilson High School's musical Oliver! are now on sale!

Based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, the story takes place in London, 1850. Familiar songs include "Where is Love," "Consider Yourself," "Food, Glorious Food", and "Who Will Buy?" and "As Long as He Needs Me".

Performance dates and times are:

Friday, November 11 at 7:30pm
Saturday, November 12 at 7:30pm
Friday, November 18 at 7:30pm
Saturday, November 19 at 2:00pm - Special Matinee Performance
Saturday, November 19 at 7:30pm

Ticket prices are:

Adults $15.00
Students/Children $5.00

Please use the email address wilsondramatickets @ gmail.com (reformat to close up the spaces!) to order tickets -- and be sure to specify the type and number of tickets you are ordering. This musical, which features students from local elementary and middle schools in its opening scene, is sure to be a family favorite. Because Wilson's musicals are extremely popular and Oliver is the premiere production in Wilson's new theater, sellout crowds are expected. Please reserve your tickets early!

Wilson HS 75th Anniversary Music & Art Fair Today!

Wilson High School is having its music and art fair today from 10:00am - 5:00pm to celebrate its 75th anniversary! Lots of great music and food. You may also tour the building and see the beautiful new state-of-the-art facility. You can see all the details here: http://75wilsonhighdc.org/festival-flyer/

Kids' Audition for "Oliver!" at Wilson HS on Tuesday

We saw this casting call for short middle-schoolers to be in the orphans ensemble of Wilson High School's fall production of "Oliver!" and we thought we'd pass it along:

Woodrow Wilson High School is looking for children to play orphans in the opening scene of "Oliver!," this year's Wilson fall musical. "Oliver!" will celebrate the opening of Wilson's beautiful new theater!

We are looking for DC elementary and middle school boys and girls, 5th grade and up, who are 4"11' and under, can sing soprano, and can follow simple choreography. The Orphan Ensemble will be in the first
scene of the show only.

Rehearsals will be scheduled at the following times:

Music Rehearsals - September 30 & October 6 from 3:45-5:00 pm
Staging and Dance Rehearsal- October 15 from 1:30-5:00 pm
Run throughs: October 29 and November 5 - 10-12 am
Tech Week - November 8,9 & 20 - 4pm-6:30pm
Brush-up Rehearsal - November 18 - 4-5 pm
Show dates are November 11 & 12 and 18 & 19 at 7:30 pm
Matinee & evening performance on November 19

All students auditioning must be able to attend all rehearsals and performances.

Students planning on auditioning should prepare a short song and be ready to learn simple choreography.

Auditions will be this Tuesday, September 27 at Wilson from 4:30 - 5:30 in the Wilson Black Box Theater. Students should be accompanied by an adult. Please come in through Wilson's main entrance and look
for the OLIVER! sign in the atrium. You will be directed to the Black Box Theater for the audition. Each student must have an audition form signed by a parent.

Please email Jill Roos, Assistant Director, at  jill.roos @ gmail.com for information and to confirm your audition. She will send you the auditionvform.

Come be a part of this exciting show!

Harriet Bronstein, Director
Ginny Curtin, Musical Director

Wilson HS Fundraisers at Politics & Prose and Comet Ping Pong March 5 & 6

Next Saturday and Sunday, March 5th and 6th, Politics & Prose Bookstore and Comet Ping Pong will be supporting the Wilson High School Book Fair.  The bookstore will donate 20 percent of all book fair revenue to the Wilson Parent Teacher Student Association. In addition, the store will have lists compiled by Wilson teachers and librarians of books the school needs.

Bookstore customers can either purchase books for themselves, or purchase books from the Wilson staff wish list -- either way will result in donations to the school. Politics and Prose is located on Connecticut Avenue near the intersection of Nebraska Avenue.

Finally, there will be coupons at the book fair that you can use at neighborhood pizza restaurant, Comet Ping Pong. Comet Ping Pong will donate to Wilson 15 percent of its revenue from customers with coupons who dine any time on Saturday or Sunday, March 5 and 6.

Cincinnatus on Connecticut Avenue: DC Opportunity Scholarships a Win for Our Children.

by Peter Brusoe

I count myself lucky to have had a wonderful educational experience. I went to the best elementary school in the country, William H. Barkley on De Stafno street in Amsterdam, NY. The school was amazing because it focused on excellent teaching, nurturing students, and strong communitarian values that stressed service, compassion and character. Not a day goes by that I don't think of something amazing I learned from one of my teachers like Mrs. Yurkawecz, Mrs. Hoyer, Mrs. MacDougal, Mr. and Mrs. Blance -- the list could go on. I count myself truly blessed to have been able to attend such a great public school. If every child in the country had a Barkley experience, we would be beating China, Europe and every other nation in the world in academic performance.

When it came time to go to middle school, my family and I opted out of the public schools and into my parish's school, St. Mary's Institute of Amsterdam. I loved my St. Mary's Institute experience. I made lifelong friends and had exceptional teachers who continued the education I began in the public schools, and then the switch to St. Mary's reinforced the values that I learned at Barkley.

I remember a lunchtime conversation at St. Mary's in which a classmate asked me, "Which did you like better, public or private?" Perhaps in a sign of my future study of politics, I answered, "both." Fifteen years later I still think the answer is "both." The choices I made with my parents were focused on what was right for me at the time. Barkley was great for me. St. Mary's was great for me. My parents are the hardest working people I know, and they sacrificed so I could attend St. Mary's Institute; I should thank them every day for having done that.

However, not every child in the country can attend a school as amazing as Barkley and not every child has the chance to make a choice between public and private schools. Tuition at schools near my apartment building costs more than my bachelor's degree ($30,000, $32,600 and $34,000), while the lowest cost private school in DC is in the $10,000 range. In comparison, in zip code 20020 the median household income is $24,905.

Hairspray at Alice Deal School

Photo by David Schexnaydre

The Wilson High School Fall musical is Hairspray and tickets are now on sale. You may order tickets using email address wilsondramatickets at gmail dot com. This year's production will be held at Alice Deal Middle School, a stone's throw away from Wilson.

Performance Dates and Times:
Thursday November 18th 7:30
Friday November 19th 7:30
Saturday November 20th 2:00 and 7:30
Sunday November 21st 2:00

Ticket prices are $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for students. Please order early. The Wilson musicals are immensely popular and we are expecting full houses at every show!

Wilson HIgh School's Future Shown in a 9-Minute Movie

Wilson High School is DC's best-performing regular high school. ("Regular" means it's not a specialized school in the arts or sciences, nor is it a public charter school.)  Wilson students are currently using classrooms at UDC while the 75-year-old school undergoes a total renovation of the old building and construction of several brand new state-of-art additions at a cost of $115 million.

This animated video is the designers' vision of what it will be like when it's done, complete with cleancut animated students enthusiastically rushing to class through pristine, uncrowded halls. All set to classical music. Enjoy this 9 minute and 45 second movie.

Want to watch the real time construction in progress? Not sure why you would, but if you do, you can make use of the three web cams that monitor the work. Just click on this link, enter "guest" as the user name, leave the password field blank, and click on "login."

Bathroom Robbery at Wilson High School

Last Thursday, September 16th, a Woodrow Wilson High School Student was robbed in a bathroom by other students at the school. As with other District of Columbia high schools, students have to pass through a metal detector before entering the school.  Here is the police report:

[Thursday] at approximately 11:15 a.m. a Woodrow Wilson 9th grader was robbed while inside a bathroom at Wilson High School. Three fellow students held him against a wall and searched his pockets. They stole $10 and fled from the immediate area. A short while later, two of the three juveniles were identified while still in the building and were subsequently arrested by MPD School Resource Officers. We are currently investigating the identity of the third suspect who is also believed to be a Wilson student and expect to bring complete closure to this offense in short order.