Next week, the Potomac Upper School Theatre Arts department will present William Shakespeare’s classic tale, Romeo and Juliet! Set during the 1980s and infused with iconic rock and pop music, Shakespeare’s timeless tale of star-crossed lovers unfolds as a bitter family feud sends the pair on a race against an ill-fated destiny. Showtimes are Friday, February 23, at 6:30 pm and Saturday, February 24, at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. All are welcome to join! 

On Tuesday, students from the Upper School's Black Student Union and Sister's Collaborative, an affinity group for Black girls and women, hosted the annual Black History Month Assembly. The program was wide-ranging, including skits to demonstrate the meaning behind handshakes in the Black community, moving personal narratives, a rousing faculty address, and a final performance of SZA's "All the Stars." The theme of this year's assembly was "Unity," and presenters emphasized that theme in all its forms, both at Potomac and beyond. After the program, students enjoyed a soul food lunch sponsored by our Parents of Black Students group. The assembly and lunch served as a powerful way to honor our Black community at the Upper School and call the entirety of the division into a celebration of unity and inclusivity. View a photo gallery.

The Potomac Model United Nations club held a conference on campus this past weekend. Named PSMUNC, this was the first conference held at Potomac in many years. Since last spring, our club leaders, especially our general secretary, Anna O’Sullivan ‘24, worked tirelessly on creating this exciting opportunity. The focus of the conference was “The Year of the Woman.” Our Model UN members served as the coordinators for each committee in various sessions. In that role, they were in charge of more than 100 students from nearby schools and guided them through a range of simulated scenarios. The conference was a success, and we were happy to host such intelligent, fun, and diplomatic students. We look forward to hosting the second iteration of PSMUNC next year! 

Six Upper School teams competed at the “Day at the Mall” VEX Robotics Competition on February 10, including teams 12A, 12C, 12D, 12G, 12X, and 12Z. Team 12X “Tropix” (Ritvik Bandi ‘25, Ava Moazzez ‘25, Ben Muhlendorf ‘25, Brayden Nelson ‘25, Erim Ozcan ‘25, and Elaina Song ‘25) earned the Finalist Award for their performance in the competition and for the second time this season were presented with the Design Award for the most effective and efficient robot design process. 

12C “Chips ‘N Fish” (Tony Diller ‘26, Nikhil Kothari ‘27, Julian Mankovsky ‘27) finished second in the skills challenge competition and won the Excellence Award, the highest award presented to the team that best exemplifies overall excellence in building a high-quality robotics program.

On Monday and Thursday of this week, Dr. Metz's grade 10 English classes met with residents at one of our community partners, Vinson Hall in McLean, as a culminating testimony project following their reading of the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Students interviewed older adults who lived through significant historical events and testified from a first-person perspective. Each student was paired with a resident from Vinson Hall to learn from the rich histories they were sharing. Among the participants were two ambassadors, an Emmy-winning sports producer, and even former Potomac teachers. The conversations were rich and lively. Students took notes while recording their interviews using the otter.ai app, creating a voice-to-text transcript. The reciprocity and engagement were meaningful and enriching for all, and our students embodied our core values of respect, integrity, and generosity of spirit.