February 2026 Accolades

We are sharing Student and Faculty Accolades from:

Climbing Competitions >>

GDS International Academic Competitions >>

Cross Country Student Accolades >>

Scholastic Awards >>

Faculty Shout Outs >>

Climbing Competitions

Early this month, the GDS Men’s Climb Team took second place in the Washington Area Interscholastic Climbing League (WAICL) competitions with a total score of 269! 

GDS led for most of the competition, then Episcopal pulled ahead in the last 20 minutes by 3 points, for a close finish. Individually, Nico Abbate ’26 took home a 3rd place medal, and Sebastian Butts ’26 placed 4th overall.

The GDS Women’s Climb Team had strong finishes by seniors Sid Debgupta ’26, Rachel Lee ’26, and Arohi Narayan ’26. Sid took home a 2nd place individual medal overall for the women.

Please join us in wishing them all congratulations!

–Reported by HS Science teacher and Climbing coach Elaina Berres

GDS International Academic Competitions 

Please join us in congratulating the GDS students who competed in the International Academic Competitions (IAC) Washington, DC Winter Regionals.

GDS hosted the tournament, which featured History Bees, Science Bees, and Geography Bees, on Saturday, January 31, with a total of 23 GDS students in grades 3–8 competing across 47 events, and supported by 12 GDS high school student volunteers who helped run the tournament smoothly. 

Approximately 200 students attended from across the region and beyond. Kudos to Haughton Neppl whose nonprofit, QB4ALL (Quizbowl for All), funded approximately 40 registration fees for economically disadvantaged students in DC, helping ensure that financial barriers did not prevent participation.

In the Science Bee’s 3rd and 4th grade divisions, Jack Treanor ’35 and Laytha Ahmed ’34 were each finalists in their division and both qualified for Nationals and Internationals. In the 5th grade division, Logan Shaw ’33 won a gold medal. Elliot Myers ’33, Avi Rockmore Saurkar ’33, and Sanjay Ramiah ’33 were also finalists and qualified for Nationals and Internationals. Josh Fuzesi ’33, also qualified for Nationals. In the 6th grade division, Oskar Gonzalez-Liu ’32 and Hugo Gonen ’32 placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively, and Cian Shangguan ’32 and Hugo Rosen ’32 were finalists. All four students qualified for both Nationals and Internationals.  

In the History Bee's 4th grade and under division, Rohan Narayan ’35, Laytha Ahmet ’34, and Toby Fontana ’34 were finalists and all qualified for Nationals and Internationals. In the 5th grade division, Avi and Logan won a gold and silver respectively, and Sanjay, Elliot, and Josh were finalists.  All six players qualified for both Nationals and Internationals. In sixth grade, Hugo Gonan ’32 and Oskar won silver and bronze, respectively, and both qualified for Nationals and Internationals. Jackson Lopez ’32 was also a finalist and qualified for Nationals. In the 8th grade division, Jake Teitelbaum ’30 was a finalist and qualified for both Nationals and Internationals. 

In the Geography Bee’s 4th grade division, Toby was a finalist and qualified for both Nationals and Internationals. In the 5th grade division, Sanjay won a bronze medal, while Abe Kaplan ’33, Avi, Elliot, and Logan were finalists. All five qualified for Nationals and Internationals. Josh also qualified for Nationals. In the 6th grade division, Hugo G. and Jackson were finalists and qualified for Nationals and Internationals. Oskar also qualified for Nationals. In the 8th grade division, Jake was a finalist and qualified for both Nationals and Internationals.

A special thanks to GDS faculty HS Latin teacher Abigail Lund and HS History teacher Sue Ikenberry, who volunteered their time to make this tournament possible.  

–Reported by Randy Sargent Neppl, GDS Elementary & Middle School Quizbowl Coach

Cross Country Student Accolades

Please join us in congratulating GDS junior Shira Wenthe '27 who has earned First Team designation for the "All DMV women's Cross Country Team Awards." She also earned second team all Southeast Regional Women's Team awards from Nike, and was a finalist for the Gatorade Player of the Year award for Women's Cross Country in the District of Columbia.

Shira currently holds every GDS school record for women's running from the 800 meters and longer!

Scholastic Awards

Please join us in celebrating our student artists who earned 57 Scholastic Art Awards this year! We are so proud of the creativity, dedication, and skill our students have shown. 

View list here » 

Please also congratulate GDS student writers, including Creative Writing student Ivy Sand ’26 (an American Voices Nominee), for their Scholastic Awards: 

Bloodlust by Eliana Elias '29 (Gold key)

War-sick by Eliana Elias '29 (Honorable mention)

I AM TIRED / GO #### YOURSELF by Karrie Hu '28 (Honorable mention)

Loyalty or Truth? by Elspeth Patten '28 (Honorable mention)

Hide and Seek by Ivy Sand '26 (Gold Key + American Voices Nominee)

Faculty Shout-Outs

Please join us in congratulating LMS Music Teacher Christine Ballenger on her article published in the American Orff-Schulwerk Association’s national digital publication, Reverberations.

Read her article here »

Please join us in congratulating HS Music Teacher Brad Linde, whose album Ups and Downs received honorable mention in the “Local Sounds” section of this month’s Washingtonian magazine.

Link to Local Sounds page »