Preparation Makes Perfection!

Post by Alyza Weinberg
Not even the snowy weather could stop 9^th graders from boarding buses and heading to Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins and Foley & Lardner on January 28th. Upon arrival at the firms, students sat down and learned about advocacy. Students participated in a number of exercises aimed at teaching students that the most important part of an argument is the preparation beforehand. Students learned what steps they should take to prepare an argument. They had to visualize and think about their opponents’ perspective and think about how they would counter their arguments. Students prepared different scenarios and arguments. In one scenario, ‘Morgan’ was trying to convince her parents to allow her a later curfew like her older sibling. In another case, students were stakeholders at a new school, Johnny Cochrane Public Charter High School. They had to play the role of students, teachers and parents articulating their opinions about school uniforms. Students and Volunteer Lawyers both had a great time.

A huge thank you to all the chaperones, Law Day Coordinators and Volunteer Teachers for making Law Day run so smoothly!

Champions On and Off the Court!

Last week was a very exciting week for TMA.

On Tuesday the TMA Warriors beat Booker T Washington 60-52 at the Verizon Center! The team was able to play on the same court as the Wizards and afterwards took pictures with several Wizards team members including John Wall. The boys were supported throughout the game by the TMA cheerleaders. Many students, faculty and staff also came out to support the team as well!

On Saturday the Debate Team under the coaching of Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Jayne participated in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Washington DC Public Debate Tournament. The topic for the debate was: the effect of gentrification on Washington, DC. Congratulations to the Debate Team for receiving the following honors at the tournament:

• Team 3 (Seren Snow and Mo Ho Bae III): Overall competition winner and ranked #1 team for the tournament!
• Ke’Von Miles: 2nd place top speaker!
• Mr. Mitchell: Top Coach!

We are all very proud of the basketball and debate team for their accomplishments last week!

10 Questions, 2 Minutes is Back!

10 Questions, 2 Minutes is back! Our ever popular vlog makes its 2011 debut. Watch Junior Allanxandria Hall talk about athletics at TMA.

Icecapades

On Saturday, January 8^th, TMA’s Mentor Program boarded buses and headed to the National Sculpture Garden. Upon arrival, students and mentors alike put on ice skates and showed off their skills! The sun was shining and everyone worked together to ensure it was a successful outing. Whether we were doing triple axels or shuffling along the boards, everyone had an amazing time. Upon returning to school, chipotle burritos and chips were waiting to enjoy for all to enjoy. The afternoon ended with cake and a rousing version of Happy Birthday to celebrate all of the birthdays since the last Mentor Day. The Programs Office cannot wait until February 5^th, when the TMA Mentoring Program takes on the Newseum!!

Legendary!

TMA Homecoming 2010 has arrived and it’s LEGENDARY! Students are dressing down to wear their school colors today and their class shirts tomorrow. On Friday the Pep Rally will be held in the gym from 1:30 to 3:30 pm followed by a girl’s and boy’s homecoming basketball game versus IDEA at 6:00 and 7:30 pm respectively. Last but certainly not least the Homecoming Dance on Saturday night will feature music from TOB and UEB. The next few days are sure to be fun and exciting for the students and teachers alike!

December Law Day

On Friday, December 3rd, the freshmen boarded buses and headed to either the Newseum or the U.S Capitol.

At the Newseum, students reveled at the Berlin Wall. Students were surprised that life on the East and West sides of the wall could be so different. Our students were moved by the 9/11 exhibit. The ninth graders were very young in 2001, and the exhibit really captured the horror of that day for Americans. The students were captivated by the newspaper headlines from around the world and listened intently to the documentary about how journalists tried to react and capture that day for the world to witness. Another favorite exhibit was the 4D movie about the evolution of journalism.

At the Capitol, the students’ excursion began by watching a movie about the United States of America. Afterward, the students participated in a guided tour. They had the opportunity to see 49 statues which represent each state. They were surprised to find out that there is no statue representing the district. They were shown the Old Supreme Court Room and the United States Capitol Dome which is 88 meters in height high! Another memorable spot on the tour was a special corner where if you whisper into the ground, it bounces off the wall and you could hear the whisper repeated at the other end of the room.

The students and chaperones had a great time in both locations. As always the day could not have happened without the help of our faculty and staff!

Bronfman Amitim Fellows Visit TMA

On Wednesday, December 1^st, twenty Israeli students visited TMA. The students come from all over Israel and are in the United States for two weeks to learn about the country and to meet American Jews. Over the past five years the Bronfman Fellows have always made a trip to Thurgood Marshall Academy to participate in a dialogue with our students. This year, Mr. Hendricks’s Street Law class participated in the discussion. Our students and the Israelis talked about their lives and the differences between their schools. Our students were surprised that in most Israeli schools there is no prom or homecoming dance. The Israelis, meanwhile, thought our school building was beautiful and exchanged Hebrew slang with our students. Our students were surprised to learn that in Israel, there is mandatory military enlistment for both boys and girls.

However, the discussion did not focus solely on differences. On both sides, the students were surprised at how much they had in common. Many of the students liked similar television shows and music. Our students realized that Israel was not so different from the United States. At the end of the day, no one wanted the conversation to stop. Facebook names and email addresses were exchanged so that the conversation could continue.

A special thank you goes to Julie Dougherty for coordinating the visit. We would also like to thank the staff of the Bronfman Program! This amazing opportunity would not have happened without them.

The TMA Brief's First Issue

Thurgood Marshall Academy’s student newspaper went online today! The TMA Brief’s first ever issue is now posted on the school website. Students who are part of the Newspaper club (see full list of members on page 8) stay after school on Wednesdays to work on each issue. Expect three more before the end of the school year.

Inside you’ll find our Student Government President’s State of the Academy Address, Ask Dwayne – our advice column, Armoire – our fashion column, a creative writing section and more!

Click HERE to check it out!

Print copies will be passed out to students and faculty on Monday of next week.

Just another day at TMA

11^th grade students used Tuesday’s Law Firm Tutoring session to work on homework ranging from math problems for Algebra II to a take home exam on the Scarlet Letter.

Tomorrow 9^th grade students will be heading to either the Newseum or the Capitol for the third Law Day. Stay-tuned for a post about tomorrow’s Law Day!

The Spoken Word

The entire Thurgood Marshall Academy came together last Tuesday for a school wide assembly. Students listened to recent alumni give tips on how to take advantage of the resources available to them at TMA and how to make a smooth transition into life at college.

Afterward, senior John Tucker performed a spoken word poem he wrote for the DC-CAP “Why I Want to go to College” contest. John won the entire competition and received a $1,000 scholarship for his entry! Watch him perform below:




John (holding the mic in the video) also combined with fellow senior Ke'von Miles (on the drums) to produce a song version of his poem, which you can listen to here:



Senior Moo Ho Bae II also dabbles in the spoken word world. Below is his poem “Lost”:



A print version of Moo’s poem will appear in Volume I, Issue I of The TMA Brief, our student newspaper. Look for it after Thanksgiving!

Grease is the Word

After the school day ends, many of the classrooms are still filled with students participating in various clubs. Our clubs are wide spread, some of them include: Art Club, Green Club and Pep Squad. Every Thursday afternoon twenty-five students gather in Mr. Llyod’s classroom for Drama Club. This spring, Thurgood Marshall Academy will be putting on the production, Grease. The students are tremendously excited and are working hard to perfect their acting, singing and dancing skills. The cool moves performed on stage will be thanks to Ms. Ogunnaike’s award-winning choreography skills. The Dance Club will also be performing throughout the show. We are excited to see how the show develops in the next couple months!

Mentor Program Scavenges for Clues at the Zoo

On Saturday, November 13th the Mentor Program traveled to the National Zoo for a digital scavenger hunt. Congratulations to Team ALL STARS (Elana, Earica, John, Chris, Michael, DaQuan, and Roneisha) and Team DeNiyka, Kathryn, Mario, Justin, Tervon, LaQuan, Jazmin and Jordan who tied for first place!

United Against Hatred

On Monday, November 15th , seven of our ADL peer trainers went to the Kennedy Center for the Anti-Defamation League’s Concert Against Hate. The concert recognizes individuals who have stood up against all forms of bigotry and injustice. This year five individuals were honored for their courage and compassion. The National Sympony Orchestra performed in between the honorees’ stories. The Orchestra played selections from South Pacific and several local high school choirs joined in to sing ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story.

The evening ended with two peer trainers from Maryland talking about the World of Difference Institute. The two students led the entire auditorium in an exercise called ‘Here I stand’. The exercise began by asking people to stand if you agree with or belong to the statement. TMA students were among the 150 students in the auditorium who stood when the students were asked to rise if they are a peer trainer. This was an exciting moment for our students to be able to see how they were a part of a much bigger movement than our own peer training group here at TMA. The most powerful question was when the students asked the audience to rise if you were committed to eradicating hatred and violence everywhere. The entire auditorium rose. This was an incredible moment for students to see thousands of people standing and publicly declaring their commitment to make the world a better place.


Our students enjoyed themselves and were thrilled to have this amazing opportunity!

For more information about the Anti-Defamation League or the concert, check out this clip:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/mornings/popular-tv-show-cast-members-take-a-stand-against-bullying-111510

Anti-Defamation League Peer Training Begins at TMA!

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, 23 students gathered to learn about discrimination, and prejudice. These students are participating in the Anti-Defamation League’s ‘A World of Difference’ program. Thurgood Marshall Academy is one of the only schools in the district that participates in the World of Difference Institute.

Our students participated in diversity training which teaches students how to address intolerance and bullying amongst their peers. This 18 hour workshop is the beginning of the Peer Training Program. Eventually, these students will go into classrooms at Thurgood Marshall Academy and work with their peers to talk about bigotry and promote diversity.

The two day training brings students in different grades and social groups together. The training enables students to become friends and build trust. It is a great experience to have our students discuss their own biases and acknowledge that they want to create a world without hate. Some topics of discussion included: what is discrimination and how to find our commonalities. Our students got particularly heated in a conversation about cyber bullying.

A special thanks to our ADL trainers: Allison and Mr. B for leading our training!

Fighting for Individual Freedoms

Last Friday, all 170 9^th grade students boarded buses and headed to three different law firms across D.C. They went to these firms (Hogan Lovells, Foley & Lardner, Latham & Watkins) to participate in the second Law Day of the year. Law Day is a program we run every month for our 9^th grade students to teach them basic legal lessons and skills. This Law Day focused on the individual rights and freedoms entitled to us by the constitution. This was the first time that this particular lesson had ever been run! We were able to introduce two new lessons this year due to our new partner firms, Latham & Watkins and Foley & Lardner!

The lesson began with lawyers informing students that a new president was elected and that he or she was governing the country in a dictatorial manner. In order to try and prevent a revolt, the president was going to allow the citizens (the students) to choose three rights that they would be able to keep. The students had 15 rights to start with and every round they had to forfeit a certain number of rights. The Law Day coordinator at Foley & Lardner, Marilee Miller, remarked that our “students were thoughtful, engaged, and really interested in learning about their rights and picking which ones to forfeit”.

Students at Foley & Lardner decide with volunteers, Marilee Miller and Dineo Mplea-Thompson, which rights to forfeit.

The next part of the lesson involved the students applying their new knowledge of rights and freedoms. The students were given a scenario that described when individual rights come into conflict with one another. The particular scenario was about a religious club in a public school. The rights that were in conflict with each other were freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination. In this portion of the lesson, the students had to use their creativity and come up with a campaign commercial that lobbied their position. The students were either students for the club, parents for the club, students against the club or parents against the club. All of the students enjoyed using their dramatic skills to sell their position.

Students discussing how to best pitch their position with our volunteer lawyer, Jim Bierman.

Overall, the day was a great success. A special thanks to Eleanor Lewis, our Law Day Consultant, who wrote our new Law Day lesson. Another special thank you goes to all of our Law Day teachers and chaperones! The day would not have happened without you!