Potomac Stories

The award-winning Upper School Potomac Theatre attended and competed at The Virginia Thespian Festival at Capital One Arena in Tysons Corner earlier this month. They performed a stunning production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." For the second year in a row, Potomac Theatre was awarded the festival's top awards in Acting and Music and received the most awards of any competing independent school in the DMV. In addition to performing, theatre students also attended workshops where they participated in lighting design, choreography, script work and acting intensives. Congratulations to our incredible Potomac Theatre students for all of their hard work!

Congratulations to seniors Kate Choi, Anaahita Kaashyap, and Erim Ozcan, who were named Top 300 Scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2025! All three are students in Potomac's Science and Engineering Research Center (SERC) program. This contest is the nation's oldest and most prestigious science/math competition for high school seniors. Under the mentorship of Dr. Isabelle Cohen and others, they've spent the past two years researching their projects.

• Choi is recognized for her research on "Improving Racial Equity in Skin Cancer Detection: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence-Driven Synthetic Image Generation, Cascading Convolutional Neural Networks and Affordable Diagnostic Hardware for Accurate Cancer Screening Across All Skin Tones."
• Kaashyap is recognized for her research on “Development and Evaluation of HMPB-Cur-Pip Nanoparticles as a Novel, Cost-Effective, Anti-Inflammatory Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis.”
• Ozcan is recognized for his research on “Parametric Optimization and Discovery of a Low-Noise Toroidal Quadrotor Propeller With a Leading Blade Height Offset for Responsible Wildlife.”  

Read more.

On Monday, the first rotation of Foundations 9 came to an end. Ninth grade students in the Personal Agency and Community Responsibility Module made their way down to the Middle School for a cross-divisional social event with the entire fifth grade. In preparation for the meet-up, ninth graders considered what it means to be leaders in the Potomac community and how they can serve as role models to students in the younger divisions. Students were paired up and had a chance to connect over hot chocolate and marshmallows. It was a wonderful experience for all involved. 

Starting in January, grade 9 will begin the second rotation of Foundations, engaging in a new round of interactive sessions and activities connected to our three Foundations modules: Personal Agency, Civil Discourse, and Ethics. Enjoy a gallery of photos.

As part of the food and culture honors class, students explored the Columbian Biological Exchange—a crucial period when products from the Old and New Worlds were exchanged, sparking an agricultural revolution. To deepen their understanding, the class enjoyed a lunch outing to Pisco y Nazca, a Peruvian restaurant in Reston, VA. Peru is renowned for its gastronomy, which blends Native American, Asian, and European influences. Chef Eric hosted a Q&A session, sharing insights about his culinary journey and the unique elements of Peruvian cuisine. Students had the opportunity to savor traditional dishes such as ceviche, chaufa, papas a la Huancaína, and suspiro de limeña, a delightful dessert made with dulce de leche.  

Before the Thanksgiving Break, Zal Batmanglij ’98 stopped by the Upper School to share his experiences beyond Potomac. Batmanglij is an Iranian-American filmmaker and screenwriter celebrated for his innovative storytelling and genre-defying works. Among the many projects he’s worked on, Batmanglij co-created and directed the FX miniseries A Murder at the End of the World (2023), the movie The East (2013), and the Netflix series The OA (2016–2019). Zal participated in an assembly discussion with Director of Student Life Austin Davis, answered questions from students, hosted a lunchtime conversation, and visited one of the US film classes. Read more about Batmanglij in the Winter 2024 issue of Llama Notes. Thank you, Zal, for generously sharing your time, advice, and talents with us. Enjoy photos from his visit.  

On Tuesday, the Class of 2025 engaged in their final Community Action Day at Potomac, supporting 15 community partners across the DC metro area, including Cameron's Chocolates, Food & Friends, Culpepper Garden, and Higher Horizons. In the afternoon, the students served many different departments on campus, including helping with a video for Admission, helping set up for an event with Building and Grounds, and reading, writing, and playing with Lower School students. It was a meaningful day of service to others. Check out photos from the day.