Fall Frolics - October 22: Potomac’s eagerly anticipated Fall Frolics carnival will be held on Saturday, October 22, 11:00 am-2:00 pm. This annual event brings our community together for a day of fun and friendship. There will be rides and inflatables; games, including the ever-popular Musical Cakes and Candy Counter; the chance to snag some great bargains at Nearly New; and much more. Enjoy a delicious lunch or snack the day away – and when your sweet tooth calls, be sure to stop by the Intermediate School's Bake Sale booth. The carnival will end with our annual raffle drawing for some amazing prizes. Don’t miss the fun!

VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED! Please share your time so we can keep the carnival attractions running! A huge thank you to those who have already signed up. We still need to fill 226 volunteer spots over five shifts between 10:45 am and 2:45 pm. Please volunteer to help ensure that this year’s carnival is the most successful ever!

Learn about the 2022 raffle prizes and purchase tickets - Raffle tickets are on sale online through 6:00 pm on Sunday, October 16. Tickets will also be sold on campus next week and at the carnival. 

All Fall Frolics proceeds benefit student scholarships and faculty professional development.

Watch your inbox for an invitation with more Friday Night Lights details. 

Yesterday, our K-12 students relaunched Potomac's 33-year Sandwich Day tradition to support Martha’s Table and Cornerstones, by making 1,058 sandwiches. Our school-wide tradition returns with a focus on learning about and addressing food insecurity and achieving food equity in our local community.

New this year, our students will use compostable sandwich bags, eliminating up to 18,000 plastic bags used for packaging donations each year. This environmental initiative was inspired by a project by Matt Brow '24. This year’s compostable bags were generously provided through a Green Grant from Potomac’s Office of Stewardship, Sustainability, and Outdoor Education.

Watch the kick off video that our K-12 student leaders created and view the schedules for the divisional Sandwich Days from October through May. Thank you to Parent Association Service Learning Committee Co-chairs Gretchen Speigel and Tiffany Butler and our K-12 parent volunteers for spearheading yearlong Sandwich Day logistics, and to Potomac families for donating sandwich-making supplies. We will share more information, including Potomac’s Sandwich Day history, throughout the school year. Enjoy photos!

Please join us tomorrow, Friday, October 14, at 11:00 am, in Ramsey Assembly for our next LS Sharing Assembly. The program will feature Mrs. Harper’s and Ms. Morrissey's kindergarten class, Mrs. Berke's first grade class, and Mrs. Jackson's and Ms. Webster's second grade classes. For those who are unable to attend, here is the livestream link.

Please note that, due to our Halloween Assembly practice, there will be no LS Sharing Assembly next Friday, October 21.

On Thursday, October 27, at 11:00 am, the Langstaff Auditorium will be transformed! LS students will present spooky songs at our annual Halloween Assembly. Parents are welcome. Please check your child’s Bloomz page for special instructions about clothing for that day.

Save the date! The Kindergarten Halloween Parade will begin in the K-1 hallway at 8:30 am on Monday, October 31. Head of School John Kowalik and LS Head Donnette Echols will lead the procession of superheroes, princesses, and more through the halls. The best photo opportunities will be on the LS playground and at the front of the US Tundra Building.

Please have kindergarten students come to school dressed in their costumes. After the parade, our costumed kids will transform (change!) back into kindergartners and resume their day. Kindergarten parents, please send regular school clothes for students to change into, or have them on under their costumes. Please note that only kindergarten students will be allowed to dress in costume on October 31.  

The MS Autumn/Halloween Assembly will be held on Thursday, October 27, 1:45 pm, in the Langstaff Auditorium. Parents are welcome to attend. Please note the following special dress request for the day of the show:

• Top: plain long-sleeved shirt, all black or dark navy; please, no logos, text, or other decoration
• Bottom: solid black or navy long pants (uniform navy pants are fine), leggings, or skirt with solid dark tights; no shorts
• Footwear: dark socks (uniform navy socks are fine) or dark tights

Students should wear their usual uniform or PE clothes to school that day and bring their assembly outfit along to change into after lunch and recess. They will not need their special clothes for the rehearsal the day before the show.

We had gorgeous weather for our Field Day extravaganza on Wednesday. Students moved through seven stations, which included playing gigantic-ball volleyball, soccer, and ultimate football, running through a fun obstacle course, and taking on the ball relay challenge. We rounded out the day with our traditional Tug-of-Fun! Enjoy the photos. 

Next week, the Middle School will join Potomac’s other divisions in celebrating Homecoming and Fall Frolics. Along with our fellow Panthers, we will show our school spirit by coming to school in specially-themed outfits Tuesday through Friday. MS students may choose to wear their uniform or dress up according to the following themes:

Monday: regular day
Tuesday: pajama day
Wednesday: wacky hat/hairpiece day (note that this differs from other divisions)
Thursday: represent your favorite sports team
Friday: school colors or a Homecoming t-shirt

Fourth grade students began the semester by exploring the Middle School Art studio. As the students experienced how the studio functions, they developed greater independence to easily access materials, set goals for themselves, and guide their works through the process of creation. The students experimented with a variety of processes and materials, including a favorite activity - Zentangle. Zentangle is an abstract work of art created from a collection of patterns on a small paper tile. Incorporating the skills of refinement and detail into small abstract paintings, the students converted letters from their names into galaxies of design while playing with color, line, shape, and texture. Continuing our practice of letter design, the students used studio resources to create their Illuminated Initials, pictured above. 

The IS online store will be open on Monday, October 24, at 10:00 am, for anyone who would like to place an order for their IS student’s athletic uniforms. Director of Athletics Erica Woda will include the link in her weekly communication. 

If your child’s transportation to or from school changes, please update SchoolPass and send an email to Joleen Hyde, as well as your child’s advisor and coach. For example, please update SchoolPass with your child’s transportation for ALL athletic games. This helps our Transportation Office keep track of changes.

As all Potomac families know, we are required to limit the amount of traffic entering and leaving campus. With this in mind, If your child forgets something, please do not bring the item to school. We can help the student find a solution and brainstorm steps they can take to better manage their materials. Please have your child pack their school bag with their binder, chromebook, athletic wear, and water bottle each evening, in preparation for the next school day. 

On Wednesday, IS students spent their Community Time in affinity/alliance spaces and chatting about their WAY-R (What Are You Reading?) books. Affinity/alliance spaces are opt-in gatherings that allow students with shared identifiers and causes to come together. Wednesday’s first meetings were opportunities to foster community, plan ideas for future meetings, and have fun. In addition, many IS students spent the time catching up on their WAY-R books. Now in its fourth year, WAY-R is the IS’s independent reading initiative that started in English classes and is now woven through the school day.

This year, the Alumni Office and the Upper School’s Career and Professional Skills Committee (CAPSC) are hosting a series of Career Labs. These interactive, student-led panel discussions will take place throughout the school year and focus on a variety of professions and industries, from finance to engineering, computer science, medicine, journalism, the arts, and more.

Potomac's first Career Lab featured Drew Durbin '04, CEO of Wave, a mobile money company. Mr. Durbin shared his experience and insights on everything from opening his first startup to the music he listens to. He challenged the juniors and seniors to think about college as a giant petri dish within which they can incubate their interests and align them with possible career paths. Seniors Arya Kumar and Alex Christ moderated the event. Both are members of CAPSC, along with seniors Arya Bansal, Erika Castellano, Genevieve Harris, Alex Hekmat, Grace Lee, Caelan McCormack, Alden Smallwood, and Shelby Willcox. The Alumni Office and CAPSC plan to host five more Career Labs this year. Read more about the Career Lab program here.

Last week, students from all four US grades participated in conversations facilitated by our Peer Leaders, a group of juniors and seniors who support counselors Josie Woods and Paul Singleton in leading our division’s mental health and wellness efforts. The Peer Leaders began by reminding students of the resources on campus. The conversations then explored stressors, coping mechanisms, and achieving balance. The Peer Leaders will share feedback from these conversations with the US Administrative Team.

Potomac’s Speech and Debate team has earned a number one state ranking from the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) after competing in three early-season events. The Panthers took the speech championship at Duke this past weekend, while finishing third overall in debate events. The team was paced by a championship performance from Hannah de Souza ’25 in oral interpretation. The varsity debate team of Sophia Calkins ’24 and Armaan Sethi ’26 finished fourth, and the novice team of Cabot Fisher ’26 and Aidan Trapasso ’26 earned a second-place finish. Finalists in the speech tournament included Taylor Burris ’24, Elizabeth Forster ’24, and Abigail Woldgebriel ’24. Complete results for the team this season can be found here.

Two newly minted clubs, the Middle Eastern - North African Student Alliance and Virginia Teen Democrats, joined forces last week to host a robust lunchtime conversation about current events in Iran. Their meeting began with a brief overview of the death of Mahsa Amini, followed by a review of the global media coverage surrounding the protests. The discussion touched on the topic of women's rights in Iran and the required wearing of the hijab.