March 2026 Accolades

We are sharing Student and Faculty Accolades from:

Mock Court >>

ESU Shakespeare Competition >>

Outstanding Performer Awards >>

Faculty Shout Outs >>

Mock Court

In early March, GDS students in Susan Ikenberry’s U.S. Political History class journeyed to the D.C. Circuit Courthouse to participate in the 21st annual Mock Court Program. 

Organized by the Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit, the program provides students of participating schools the opportunity to learn about constitutional law issues in an intensive three-week study. They then experience first-hand what it’s like to be a litigator, presenting their arguments in a courtroom before a judge.

Volunteer attorney mentors visited Sue’s classroom on two occasions before the courtroom visit to coach students on how best to present their arguments before the judges. 

GDS was one of six participating schools, which also included School Without Walls, Cardozo, Maret, Washington Latin, and Georgetown Visitation. 

Please join us in congratulating the GDS mock court team for their hard work and courage: 

• Raza Kandel ’27
• Alicia Kim ’27
• Rowan Magnell ’27
• Adam Riker ’27
• Alrick Tougma ’27
• Maya Tyson ’27
• Rafia Yeerken ’27

View gallery of Mock Court images »

ESU Shakespeare Competition 

Please join us in congratulating Leo Moreland ’29 for winning the ESU Shakespeare competition at GDS last month. The competition, in which students perform one Shakespeare monologue 

and one sonnet recited from memory, is open to students in grades 9-12. Leo was the only freshman participant at the DMV competition!

Outstanding Performer Awards

Please join us in congratulating our GDS students who were recipients of the Elon and Carolina Outstanding Performer Awards:

Elon Jazz Festival Outstanding Performer Award:

• Ella Kang ’28
• Oliver Malkin ’26
• Julian Shishkin ’27

Carolina Jazz Festival Outstanding Performer Award:

• Alec Donath ’26
• Alex Hughes ’27
• Mad Lee ’26
• Gavin Leonard ’26
• Julian Shishkin ’27
• Paul Smith ’26

Faculty Shout-Outs

Please join us in congratulating GDS’s Lower School mathematics specialist Holly Balshem and her students who heard from internationally renowned math educator Jo Boaler for their work with the Struggly program. This digital supplemental math curriculum helps students build number sense, confidence, and a love of math. 

During the month of January, Holly’s Lower School students in grades 1-4 participated in a "Struggly Challenge" to boost enthusiasm for one of our new math subscriptions. Each grade competed to earn badges and complete practice rounds, and Holly shared their progress through a bar graph on the bulletin board outside of the classroom. 

Boaler is a Nomellini–Olivier Professor of Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and the author, co-author, or editor of eighteen books on mathematics. She is also involved in promoting reform mathematics, which challenges students to make sense of new mathematical ideas through explorations and projects in real-world contexts. She also writes about equity in mathematics education.

Hear accolades from Jo Boaler