Maret students make an intensive study of Thailand
by Maret Second Grade Students
Recently, we spent four days learning about Thailand during Maret’s Intensive Study Week (ISW).
In our cooking class, we learned about Thai ingredients and cut up vegetables to make a chicken-coconut soup. Some of us bravely tried a sliver of Thai chili pepper, which really made our mouths tingle! In Thailand, people have rice with most meals. For our dessert, we made sticky rice with mango. The mangos were a hit!
We did some paper folding to create flowers for Loi Krathong, Thailand’s new year, and made flower lanterns for Lunar New Year. In Thailand, they celebrate three different new years: the Lunar New Year, the Thai New Year, and the international New Year.
We took three field trips. First, we went to a Thai restaurant for a yummy lunch. We also went to the Freer/Sackler Museum to learn more about Buddhist art. We went to a Buddhist temple called Wat Thai Washington, DC, where we saw some traditional Thai musical instruments and learned about Buddhism.
In assemblies at school, we practiced meditation, listened to Thai music, saw Thai dancing, and learned about Asian elephant conservation.
We all learned a traditional Thai game called takraw. It’s a little bit like volleyball, but you aren’t allowed to use your hands to get the ball over the net! At the end of the week, we held a tournament and different classes played against each other. The winning class then played against the teachers (the teachers won, 9-8).
ISW is amazing!
CYO sports popular in the Our Lady of Victory community
by Skye B., Our Lady of Victory fifth-grader
CYO sports are very popular in the Our Lady of Victory community. More than half of the students participate in at least one CYO sport. Many grades are involved in CYO, ranging from early elementary through high school. Even some students who do not attend OLV participate in CYO sports representing our parish. Each sport has a season in which they are played: Soccer in the fall, Basketball in the winter, and Track and Field in the spring. Sadly, the basketball season has just ended.
The Basketball Championship Game for both the U14 Boys and Girls teams was on February 17 at Georgetown Visitation. Many people came to support the players. Everyone was cheering for the team they wanted to win. Some people even made huge posters for the athletes.
In the U14 boy’s game, OLV played against Holy Redeemer. By halftime, the score was 11-13 in Holy Redeemer’s favor. Sadly, in the end our team lost to Holy Redeemer 27-32. The boys definitely played a strong game.
In the U14 girls’ basketball championship game, OLV played against Our Lady of Lourdes. By halftime, the score was 7-8. We were winning by one point. In the end, the U14 girls came out ahead with the final score of 14-17. They have made the championship successfully two years running! Everyone at Visitation was proud of both teams; each team put a tremendous effort into the game and played well. It was a really amazing afternoon of CYO sports.
