TMA Track Competes at Cronly Invite

The TMA Track and Field team wasted no time making use of their spring break. After Friday's shortened class day, Coach Addison and Coach Scogin took the team to Episcopal High School in Alexandria to compete against several private league teams.

Captains Ke'Von Miles and Delonte Nash led the boys team to a 3rd place team finish while captains Nakiah Ferrell and Nadean Talley drove the Lady Warriors to 4th in the women's standings.

The day was filled with many highlights, but TMA's first ever individual wins were particularly noteworthy. In the first race of the afternoon, Nakiah Ferrell took the early lead in the 400 and never gave it up, running 65.64 and crushing the rest of the field by more than three seconds.



On the boys' side, Rashad Hartridge captured the 200 meter dash in a much tighter finish. He and Christopher Ridout duked it out in the home stretch, coming across the line in 24.24 and 24.84, respectively.

To cap the day off, Coach Scogin awarded the Meet MVP Warrior Pride T-shirts to Courtney Jones and Christopher Ridout.



The Men's 100 Meter Dash. From left to right: Markel Lucas, Maurice Ogletree, John Brinson, and Stewart Gray. John won the heat and finished fourth overall, with a time of 13.00

TMA Track will be hard at work over break in preparation for their next meet on April 26.

And stay tuned for soon to be released details about a TMA vs. Teachers/TMA Community meet on May 21!

Photos and video shot by The TMA Brief Chief Reporter Moo Ho Bae II

Mentor Program Day of Community Service!

Saturday, April 9th was a busy at Thurgood Marshall Academy. Mentors and mentees in TMA's own Mentor Program spent the day working on four different service projects. Throughout the day, they made sandwiches that were delivered to the Gospel Rescue Ministries of DC, made 8 care packages for soldiers serving overseas that together weighed over 150 pounds , created over 60 door tags and picture frames for seniors and planted flowers, painted signs and repaired raised beds in our garden.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

The TMA Brief Reports Live from the USPS Stamp Event

Aaron Long, Associate Reporter and Entertainment Guru for The TMA Brief, conducted the following interview with Sean Miller, Education Director at Earth Day Network.

The Brief: How long have you been working with TMA? And how has it been?
Sean Miller: Close to 4 years with Mr. Ullery, it’s been phenomenal. We’ve seen a lot of change. There was no Green Club until after Mr. Ullery arrived. Basically we’ve been able to make TMA one of the greenest schools in the entire country.



The Brief: Do you think students actually take something away from you all?
Sean Miller: I do because going green is easy to do. However, students want to have good jobs when they get out of school so learning about it now is a good thing.

The Brief: Does Earth Day Network Have any job or volunteer opportunities for TMA students?
Sean Miller: Yes, especially with the summer coming up. We’ll be happy to have any TMA student help out this summer or even the fall. The email is education@earthday.org. All you have to do is send your information.

The Brief: Earth Day Network is big with TMA are there any other partners you have worked with?
Sean Miller: Yes, we work with schools across the country. For example, this week is National Environmental Education Week and thousands of schools across the country are going to use the curriculum for that.


The TMA Brief reporter Aaron Long speaks with Sean Miller

The Brief: Earth Day is right around the corner, what big things is Earth Day Network doing to celebrate?
Sean Miller: We are constructing several other school gardens around the year. Our first is Templeton Elementary School in Prince Georges County. We’re also putting biodiesel production facilities in two other schools.

The Brief: Any final words you would like to give to the TMA Brief?
Sean Miller: TMA should take a sustainability stand so that one person can be in charge of the sustainability efforts and we’ll be willing to help.

Special thanks to Sara Passaro for her help with this post!

TMA Juniors go to Virginia

A special report by Ms. Levine, TMA's Upper School Student Advisor and Alumni Coordinator.

On Friday, April 8th, Thurgood Marshall Academy juniors visited Virginia State University and the University of Richmond. At Virginia State, a historically black college in Petersburg, VA. TMA juniors met with VSU students, who shared their experiences at the school and discussed both their favorite and least favorite things about VSU. The juniors also went on a tour of Virginia State, followed by lunch in the school's cafeteria. Following lunch, juniors traveled about an hour to visit the University of Richmond, a predominantly white school in Richmond, Virginia, where they heard from an admissions representative and went on a tour of the school. While some students like VSU better and others liked U or R better, both schools gave students a sense of the different types of colleges and the varying requirements at two colleges.

TMA is going to Host the "Go Green" Stamp Ceremony!

At 11 am on Thursday, Thurgood Marshall Academy is hosting the launch of a new series of stamps based on the ways people can "Go Green". They chose TMA because of our wonderful garden! We are so thankful for the work that Mr. Ullery, Ms. Lee, Luis, the mentor program volunteers, Earth Day Network and the Green Club have done to prepare the garden for it's national debut! The event will be a short ceremony and in attendance will be Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the new Deputy Postmaster General. We hope to see you there!

Here is a preview of the brand new "Go Green" Stamps!

TMA Students Giving Back to the Community

Last Wednesday and Thursday, while the rest of the school was either taking the DC CAS, practice exams, or preparing for graduation, the majority of 11^th graders participated in community service projects at Martha’s Table, Bright Beginnings, Food & Friends, Bread for the City, Behrend Bulders at the DC-Jewish Community Center, Metro Teen Aids, and the Wright House. Students helped out these organizations in many ways from playing with toddlers and preschoolers, to packing grocery bags for people with life-challenging illnesses to making and serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless. Students really enjoyed volunteering and getting to learn more about the challenges that many people across DC face every day. Thanks to all of the organizations who hosted our students!

Springing into Spring at TMA

The past week has been a busy time for Thurgood Marshall Academy students. On Thursday, students in Mr. Hendrick’s Street Law class participated in the first round of an annual mock trial competition with other local area high school students. The presiding judge, a federal prosecutor at the Department of Justice, told the students, “I was blown away with how well you did as attorneys. The witnesses also did a superb job. Overall this was one of the best mock trials, if not the best, I’ve ever seen.” Several students were given recognition for their work including:

Moo Ho Bae—Best Defense Attorney
Shaunise Stewart—Best Plaintiff Attorney
Marquia Monroe—Best witness for the defense
Tiana Long—Best witness for the plantiff.

On Monday, students participated in the second round of the mock trial competition at the D.C. Superior Courthouse, and again did a fantastic job! Again several students were recognized for their work:
Best Plaintiff Attorney-Jessica Perry
Best Plaintiff Witness-Natalia Austin
Best Defense Attorney-Moo Ho Bae
Best Defense Witness-Marquia Monroe

Congratulations to all of the participating students for their exceptional work and dedication, it paid off!

On Saturday the TMA Warrior Debate team participated in their final debate tournament of the year. The team finished in 8th place overall and are busy preparing for the Urban Debate League Championship in May!

National History Day at TMA!

Last Wednesday, Thurgood Marshall Academy juniors participated in National History Day. This year’s theme was Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures, and Consequences and students selected an original research topic to write about and present to the TMA Community at Wednesday’s fair. Students presented their work and exhibit boards on topics ranging from the Gay Rights movement to the Death Penalty to US Relations with Cuba. During the fair students showcased the results of the research and work they had done since October. Thank you to Ms. Otrasina for organizing the event and congratulations to the students, all of your hard work paid off!

Mentor Day at Georgetown University!

On Saturday, March 5 the Mentor Program visited the beautiful campus of Georgetown University. Led by mentor Kathryn Cogswell and TMA Staffer Jess Joswick mentors and mentees got a tour of the university that included tips and special information they learned from the guide’s time at Georgetown. The groups got to explore the library, visit a dorm, see the student fitness center and the newly built Business School. After the tour, the group sat down for a panel discussion with current TMA Mentors where they learned what college life is really like. They also got some tips on what they need to do to end up at the right school for them. The day ended with lunch at the Leavy Center. We hope everyone had a great time and that all the TMA students will be ready to return to a college campus soon as enrolled students!

TMA Track Team Runs in First Ever Meet

This past Sunday, the Thurgood Marshall Academy track team competed in its first ever meet. 11 Warriors ran the 3.1 mile course in Woodley Park, braving rain, wind, and a field of over 500 runners.



Senior co-captain Delonte Nash finished first for TMA, and 5th overall in his age group. He was followed closely by fellow captain Ke’von Miles and Rashad Hartridge, Maurice Ogletree, John Brinson, and Stewart Gray.

Nadean Talley led the Lady Warriors; the co-captain finished 24th in her age group. Crossing the line not far after her were Courtney Jones, Justice Long, Darylquisha Hill, and Shandale Scott.

Today it was back to business as usual with 7:30 AM practice before school. If you want to support the track team, stop by the Banneker track this Saturday morning at 10:00 AM. The team will be working out in preparation for the soon to be released track schedule.

Law Day Takes on Consumer Rights

The situation: a brother and sister buy used bikes from an online retailer for a low price. After their 5 day warranty expired the bikes fall apart. Can they get their money back? Is the website responsible? What rights does a consumer have? This is the issue that TMA students debated in February’s Law Day.

Students took on roles as consumers, parents and the website to debate the issue and come to a resolution. Each group had the facts of the case and relevant laws at their disposal to formulate their position. A panel of students, acting as the better business bureau, listened to each side of the argument and then decided on a resolution. In one group, the panel decided that the website would replace only one of the bikes, in hopes that both sides would be a happy.

Students learned that as consumers we have rights that we need to know so they are not infringed upon. Law Day Students improved their critical thinking skills and learned techniques to advocate for themselves. The next Law Day will be Friday, March 25th. A big thank you to the chaperones and volunteer lawyers. A special mention goes to ,Eleanor Lewis and Mike Mazer, the authors of this brand new Law Day lesson.

Issue II of The TMA Brief!

Newspaper students have been hard at work on the second issue of the school newspaper, The TMA Brief.

Click HERE to check it out!



Inside you’ll find an article about student uniforms, 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!

Print copies will be passed out to students and faculty today at lunch!

10 Questions with Marquise Williams

Watch Ms. Fried interview Junior Marquise Williams about his dance and rap performances across DC.

Celebrating Our Roots

On Saturday, February 5^th, students, faculty, staff, and the community came together at THEARC to celebrate Black History Month. The event focused on sharing African culture through literature, poetry, song and dance. Many of TMA’s students performed and volunteered to help make it a tremendous success! Thank you to THEARC for hosting this event, Ms. Shabazz and Ms. Ogunaike for organizing the wonderful event, and to all of the participants and volunteers!

Be sure to check-out the photos on the slide show from the event!

University of Maryland Physics Visits TMA

A special report by Thurgood Marshall Academy Physics teacher Kena Allison:

On Friday, February 4, University of Maryland physicists Luis Orozco and Jeff Grover spoke to TMA physics students about waves, light, and the application of light to historical and modern technology. Dr. Orozco shared his work with lasers to slow atoms and explained how applying this to fields like telecommunication helps our cell phones and iPods become smaller and faster.

Additionally, students were provided with demonstration kits that allowed them to explore lenses and the polarization of light. Students were engaged and impressed to learn how polarization applies to sunglasses and transition lenses. They were equally intrigued by their use of magnified lenses to create a telescope that allowed them to read a sign with small print on the far end of the basketball court from the stage.



Students were impressed, calling the presentation “awesome.” They were also wowed by the physicists themselves; “Luis’s explanation of how light travels in waves was very detailed and comprehensive.” Another student added, “I appreciate the speakers speaking to us like we were young adults or college students,” and “they showed us how physics applied to everyday life…I loved the interactive kits.”

Luis and Jeff not only generously donated their time and expertise, but also gave the kits to each student and a Galileoscope (model of Galileo’s telescope) to the school. Luis ended the event by reminding students that science is changing the world. He encouraged them to always stay informed about science, even if they pursue careers in other areas.

TMA hopes to work with the duo again during the electricity unit.