The Walls halls echo with many languages, the trilled “r” of Spanish, the “xia” of Chinese, and, of course, the familiar sounds of English. But for some Walls students, language is not heard, but seen. In order to educate more of the Walls student body about the language used by many who are deaf or hard of hearing, Walls student Lorena Diamond (‘28) established the American Sign Language (ASL) club after two previous iterations in 2020 and 2021 had died out. 

From ziplining, to rock climbing, the sky’s the limit at Adventure Park. The Class of 29’ embarked on a field trip to Adventure Park at Sandy Springs on November 7th as a way to immerse team-building into their class. The trip cost $35, and 140 of 150 people went on the trip. “The point of the trip,” said Ms. Pace, one of the trip coordinators and counselor for the class of 29’, “was to have a team building exercise for the ninth grade class.”

The England exchange trip coming in the fall of 2026 is an exciting international trip for current freshmen. It involves going to the city of Sunderland and spending two days in Walls’ sister school. There are field trips on many days, including visits to George Washington’s family’s home and to a castle where Harry Potter was partially filmed. The aim of the trip is to connect students with peers their age in another culture and to widen their understanding of the world.

As colder temperatures and cloudier skies quickly approach, many students at Walls experience something known as seasonal depression. Weighing in on the aspects of seasonal depression, SWW school psychologist Dr. Lori McDowell described the occurrence with the term “Seasonal Affective Depression,” or SAD. “When the time changes, people might begin to feel some internal and psychological changes.” She explained how this can cause mood fluctuations, fatigue, prolonged sadness,

New Walls students soon come to dread a certain pile of papers: copious homework assignments. Students turn this dreaded part of the day into their own routine to maximize efficiency. After a few months of school this year, students from all grade levels have figured out what works for them. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors take similar and different techniques with some long and short homework tasks:

Gleaming new banners, the smell of warm mozzarella sticks, and shiny bright yellow wallpaper. A new off-campus lunch spot has opened for SWW students in our own Western Market.  Gigi’s Pasta is the latest venture from Constantina Economides and Stephanos Andreou, a Greek-American couple well known in D.C. 's dining and nightlife scene. The pair previously ran Barcode and Sakerum and currently operate Tokyo Pearl. Gigi’s marks their first Italian restaurant, inspired by their

When you enter into a School Without Walls open house, one of the first things you see is that it is truly a school, without walls. The city is our classroom, but not just the city, the world. This might sound appealing in the moment, but after closer consideration, it might not be as plausible as before. As of January 2nd, DCPS established a new policy regarding field trips. All educational overland travel now needs to be executed through the new central field trip policy wh

In the media, lunch managers are often portrayed as distant and careless to what is being put on student’s lunch trays. There is no question: lunch managers often have a bad reputation. But in the corner of Commons A, Ms. Ashly leads the cafeteria at Walls. While she creates a welcoming environment that students get school lunch from, she also breaks stereotypes about what a “lunch lady” should be.

When Wall’s senior, Lucy Crino woke up on October 15th, she didn’t know that by the end of the week she would become a national champion.

On Nov. 4, School Without Walls’ Bike Club hosted its first bike to school day of the year. Around twenty students participated, meeting up at different points along the Rock Creek Multi-Use Trail or at Lincoln Park. On November 20, they held another, less successful one, with half the amount of students participating.

On November 8th, 2025, the Recording Academy revealed the nominees for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Kendrick Lamar leads this year’s nominations with 9, largely for his album GNX. Close behind is Lady Gaga with 7, and Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, and Leon Thomas with 6 each. 

Debuting this year is the brand new SWW math tutoring program. Founded by Ms. Kelly, this tutoring program gives students taking higher math classes the opportunity to earn community service hours by providing a little extra help to peers who may need it. Her goal? To provide anyone who wants it with another outlet to master tough subjects on a flexible schedule.  The program officially kicked off in early November, but the idea has long been in the works. “We’ve been, as a

As Thanksgiving break draws near, Walls Spanish students eagerly explore a sprawling 15th-century-inspired staircase with vibrant, three-story fresco backdrops that frame the entrance of the once-embassy turned cultural institute. On November 21st, 2025, Ms. Ana Martinez took both of her Spanish 4 classes to a very special location, the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, DC.

It started out simple. A taste test. Some friends, some chicken, a few fries, and a mission to figure out whether the spot was worth our lunch money. We weren’t expecting it to get philosophical.  But then the sauce hit the fan. One question kept resurfacing: can you enjoy Chick-fil-A without thinking about the controversy behind it? The recent opening of a Chick-fil-A on the GW campus brought that question a little closer to home. For a lot of students, it was a win. It’s

College brochures, picture by Sadie Greenhalgh Every year, college representatives travel to Walls to meet with students and share what their campuses have to offer. These visits give sophomores, juniors and seniors a chance to ask questions, learn about the admission process, and explore opportunities without leaving the building. For many, it’s the first step in discovering which college might be the right fit. Ellianie Kalala (‘27) explained that college visits “helped m

Buried under interviews, forms and essays, applying to high school can feel like stepping into the unknown. Nerves and stress are common as 8th graders complete the process, all the while wondering if they will walk through the halls of SWW next school year.