TRADITIONS
Over the years WIS has developed a number of unique traditions.
Students look forward to special rites of passage such as the Grade 5 student/parent/staff competition (basketball or soccer), the Grade 8 immersion trips, and a number of activities for seniors.
| Founder’s Day |
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Established during WIS’s 50th Anniversary celebrations in 2016, Founder’s Day honors Dr. Dorothy Bruchholz Goodman, who founded WIS in her basement in 1966. She continued to live in the same house until her death in 2023. Founder’s Day 2024 was a memorial celebration held in her honor. |
| 21 Society |
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At the conclusion of the 2009-2010 school year, WIS introduced a new tradition: The Twenty-One Society. Plaques on the wall of the Mansion Foyer celebrate the faculty and staff who have worked at WIS for 21 years or more.
21 Society Members
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| First Day of Senior Year |
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On the first school day of their final year at WIS, Seniors dress to impress! The "uniform" of the day is all white or jackets and ties. |
| Sports Day |
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Sports Day was created in 1983, with the goal of building community across grade levels at the secondary school. Color-themed teams participate in a variety of games and activities to try and win points and bragging rights for the rest of the year. While new activities are added each year, the most popular games are building a human pyramid and the final game of the day: tug-of-war.
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| Primary School Halloween Celebration |
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This long-standing tradition has taken various forms, but common to all is children and faculty/staff dressed in their Halloween costumes, delighting parents and neighbors during a brief parade.
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| International Dinner |
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This all-adults gathering in the Tregaron Mansion is perhaps the most unusual potluck in town. Attendees are asked to bring an entree, side dish, or dessert that represents their culture, creating a feast of nations. |
| Tregaron Grill |
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A dedicated group of parent volunteers cooks and serves lunch to the Tregaron community. Even poor weather doesn't stop them; much like the U.S. Postal Service, they are there through rain, sleet, snow, and overwhelming heat to sell burgers, hot dogs, salmon, salads, desserts and more to our students, faculty, and staff. |
| Special Persons Day |
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On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Primary School students welcome special guests to their classrooms. Students can invite their grandparents or other special people in their lives for an assembly and a classroom activity that they complete together. |
| WISPA Lunches for Faculty and Staff |
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WISPA (WIS Parents Association) provides lunch for the WIS faculty and staff on both campuses on conference days and organizes luncheons and gifts for faculty and staff prior to Winter Break. |
| Valentine’s Day |
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WIS Seniors like to spread cheer and love (and maybe disrupt classes) throughout the Tregaron Campus. They dress in varying shades of red and pink, decorate their faces, and accessorize to deliver candy, flowers, balloons, and songs to students and staff.
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| Flower Day |
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To brighten the lives of the teachers who dedicate so much time and energy to our primary school students, one day each spring parents bring in armloads of flowers and arrange a vase to deliver to each classroom. This tradition was expanded to the Tregaron Campus beginning in 2021. |
| Grade 8 Trips |
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A Middle School rite-of-passage is the annual language trip, which takes place right before Spring Break. Students and faculty depart for ten days of immersion in France or Spain. Students are hosted by correspondents who visit Washington for their own language trips! Students often cite these trips as one of the highlights of their WIS careers. |
| PS Principal for a Day |
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This special treat is auctioned off at the annual Financial Aid Fundraiser. The lucky winner spends the entire day with the Primary School Principal, learning what it's like to run a successful school. Typical leadership decisions include calls for extra recess and a temporary homework ban.
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| Grade 5 Parent/Faculty vs. Student Game |
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On a Friday afternoon in May, Grade 5 students and their families have historically headed to the Tregaron Campus for the annual basketball or soccer game against their parents and WIS faculty members. The students also raise money by selling snacks and asking for donations.
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| Heads’ Brunch and Primary School Visit |
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The Class of 2022 helped to launch a new end-of-year tradition during the week leading up to Graduation. All seniors attend a Brunch with the Head and Associate Head of School; the brunch includes a look back at lifers' experiences from their Primary School days. Then, with the fresh reminder of their younger selves, the seniors spend time with the Early Years students.
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| Graduation |
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As their last official event at WIS, Grade 12 Graduation is full of students' personal touches. Each year, the students vote on the color of the gowns they will wear, the processional and recessional music, and the members of their class who will speak and perform during the ceremony. Flags representing the graduates' nationalities are hung throughout the gym. After receiving their diplomas, graduates sign "the book," which contains the names of every WIS graduate in the School's history.
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