• News

    A Conversation With The Alexandria Health Department Director

    The acting director said that the AHD will recommend targeted closures if the Covid caseload becomes unsafe. Nikki Harris On Thursday, September 16, Theogony spoke to Anne Gaddy, the acting director of the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) about the management of the pandemic in Alexandria schools. According to ACPS’s Covid-19 Dashboard, there are 64 cases in ACPS as of September 20. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Nikki Harris: How are Alexandria schools broadly managing the containment of Covid and in-person learning so far?  Anne Gaddy: So the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) makes recommendations to schools in Alexandria, both Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and private schools about…

  • News

    Mark Eaton, TC Journalism Teacher And Former School Board Member, Retires

    Kamilah Lawson will teach Journalism I and advise Theogony next year as Eaton’s replacement. Nikki Harris Mark Eaton, an AP Literature/Journalism teacher and Theogony advisor at T.C. Williams, is retiring at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.  Kamilah Lawson, a T.C. English teacher and 1995 graduate of T.C., will replace him as the Theogony advisor and Journalism I teacher next year. A graduate of VCU’s communications program, Lawson taught journalism outside ACPS for eleven years before joining T.C. to teach English 10 and 12 in 2019. Before that she worked at ESPN for three years as a production assistant.  Lawson, who is Black, said she has recently started making…

  • News

    Spotlight on the TC Cosmetology Program

    A Look Into the World of Cosmetology at TC! Abigail Ernst On the first floor of TC, there is a lively classroom where students not only learn skills that they will be able to use their whole life, but also learn a profession that they can begin practicing immediately after graduation from school (and passing a licensing exam).   The classroom is the home of the T.C. Williams cosmetology program, a two-year program where students can earn three high school credits a year and acquire hair, makeup, and nail skills. After completing the program, students are able to test for the state board exam (which the state pays for), allowing them…

  • News

    TC Students Make the All-Virginia Jazz Ensemble

    The All-Virginia Jazz ensemble is a selected group of musicians from all over Virginia that perform in concerts together. Junior Brendan Putnum on drums and senior Patrick Kenny on bass both made the ensemble, while junior Tucker Stone on trumpet, junior Ellie Lo on piano, and freshman Zacharia Stover on bass are alternates.

  • Feature,  News

    Student Guide to the June 8 Alexandria Democratic Primary

    Ethan Gotsch and Jacqueline Lutz On June 8, Alexandria City voters will head to the polls for the Democratic primary election to choose the Democratic mayor and City Council candidates. The winners of the primary will appear on the ballot in November along with Republican and Independent candidates running for office. All registered voters in the City of Alexandria are permitted to vote in the primary at their assigned polling place on June 8. Voters can choose one mayoral candidate and up to six City Council candidates. Also on the ballot are the Democratic candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and House of Delegates for the 45th district.  Theogony…

  • News

    Theogony Staffers Larsen and Lutz Named to 2021 National Scholastic Press Association Honor Roll

    Theogony, the T.C. Williams High School student-run media organization, announced that junior Jackie Lutz and senior Lauren Larsen have been named to the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Honor Roll. The NSPA, the nation’s largest association for high school, junior high and middle school journalists, has inducted approximately 1,400 high-school scholars and student journalists into its 2021 Honor Roll. “These outstanding students excel in both the classroom and in their school newsrooms,” NSPA Associate Director Gary Lundgren said. “The future of journalism is bright if these students are any indication.” In addition to serving for at least two years on a student media staff, in broadcast, newspaper, magazine, online or…

  • News

    Alexandria’s Vaccination Process

    On May 10, the FDA granted Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine emergency use authorization for kids ages 12-15. The CDC signed off on this two days later. This marks the beginning of kids getting vaccinated, which helps the United States reach its goal of herd immunity.

  • Feature,  News

    Five Seniors, One Junior Named 2021-22 Theogony Editors

    Theogony, the T.C. Williams High School student-run media organization, announced its editors for the 2021-2022 school year.   Five rising seniors—Abigail Ernst, Ethan Gotsch, Nikki Harris, Jacqueline Lutz, and Katie Vastola—and rising junior Nora Malone will lead publishing activities for Theogony on four platforms: print, online, television, and social media. Ernst will continue her coverage of school and Alexandria news. Gotsch’s well-received coverage of the Alexandria music scene will continue along with a focus on local politics and culture. Harris, an Editor this year, will maintain her investigative news coverage. Lutz, a member of the National Scholastic Press Association Honor Roll for 2021, will remain focused on news and feature-writing.  “Our focus…

  • Feature,  News

    Do Teachers At ACPS Reflect The Diversity Of The Student Body?

    The school district has had more success recruiting Black teachers than it has Hispanic teachers. Nikki Harris Hispanic students represent 36.9 percent of the total student population in ACPS, as of 2020. But according to the 2017-2018 report from the School Board, only 7.2 percent of the teachers at ACPS are Hispanic. This contrast reflects a nationwide trend of Hispanic teachers being underrepresented in schools: Only 7.8 percent of the nationwide teaching field is Hispanic, while Hispanic students represent around a quarter of the country’s student population in public schools, according to a 2015 report from the Education Department. (ACPS employees are not required to self-identify their race/ethnicity, and they…