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The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

Margot Durfee

Margot Durfee, Style Editor

Margot is a senior who LOVES food. Nearing her fourth year with The Beacon, she’s written more food articles than she can count (restaurant reviews, alumni cafe profiles, top 5 bagels in Tenley… you name it). Unfortunately, her articles often lack food photos because she gets too excited and eats everything before she can take one (she’s working on it). When she is not caught in a hurricane at crew practice, she’s collaborating with writers and the Wilson community to make this the best edition yet!

All content by Margot Durfee
Photo courtesy of Margot Durfee

Faculty favorites: Dr Moore’s dining

Margot Durfee, Style Editor March 30, 2020

Imagine this: you are out eating dinner with your family and as you sit down at the restaurant you have an uncanny feeling you know the person sitting a few tables away. After multiple (not so) discrete...

“There’s a Fire” shines light on issues of racial discrimation and identity

“There’s a Fire” shines light on issues of racial discrimation and identity

Margot Durfee and Chau Nguyen February 2, 2020

The lights dimmed and the audience went silent. A procession of people dressed in black slowly descended the center stairs of the library. Faces glowed in the light of the flickering candles they held...

Battle of the sections

Battle of the sections

There are eight sections of The Beacon, including visuals, that the average reader diligently scans through as they peruse the paper—and never throw on the atrium floor. For those who ask "ok... but...

Crew Captain finds value in grueling practices

Crew Captain finds value in grueling practices

Margot Durfee, Style Editor December 20, 2019

It’s a winter morning—cold, silent, peaceful. Stepping into Wilson’s main entrance, however, you are met with an explosion of mechanical whirring, blasting music, and yelling echoing from the atrium....

Courtesy of Margot Durfee

Faculty Favorites: Ms. Brown sends me to Heat Da Spot

Margot Durfee, Style Editor November 23, 2019

A few years ago, Wilson social studies teacher Jennifer Brown was driving to work when she passed the grand opening of Heat Da Spot, an Ethiopian cafe and restaurant in Petworth. The cafe quickly became...

August Albums of the Month

August Albums of the Month

Margot Durfee, Anna Gustafson, and Madeline Kessler September 8, 2019

"Angel's Pulse" by Blood Orange Madeline Kessler 8/10 “Angel’s Pulse,” the latest from British artist Blood Orange, is beautiful. When playing the leading song, titled “I Wanna C U,” for...

Courtesy of Margot Durfee

Faculty Favorites: Brunch at Little Coco’s

Margot Durfee, Style Editor June 11, 2019

As a previous restaurant owner, Wilson math teacher Patricia Milikin knows how to single out a good restaurant. Like, a really good restaurant. So when she told me one of her favorite DC spots is Little...

Faculty Favorites: Ms. Thompson crowns Caribbean Palace her go-to

Faculty Favorites: Ms. Thompson crowns Caribbean Palace her go-to

Margot Durfee, Style Editor May 5, 2019

Maureen Thompson first stepped through Wilson’s main entrance in August of 1998.  She had just moved from her home country, Guyana, located on the northeast coast of South America between Venezuela...

Widespread copier issues undermine teacher planning

Widespread copier issues undermine teacher planning

Margot Durfee, Style Editor March 30, 2019

Wilson English teacher Joseph Welch stood in front of the copy machine, exasperated. What should’ve been a two-minute process had ended up taking over fifteen minutes. It was a Monday morning, and...

Faculty Favorites: Ms. Chang sends me to Chalin’s Restaurant

Faculty Favorites: Ms. Chang sends me to Chalin’s Restaurant

Margot Durfee, Style Editor March 30, 2019

When you think of Chinese food, what comes to mind? Lo mein, orange chicken, and fortune cookies? If so, you’ve been missing out. Many of the typical “Chinese” dishes people eat in America are adapted...

Social studies retold: Women’s History teaches from the female perspective

Social studies retold: Women’s History teaches from the female perspective

Margot Durfee, Style Editor March 10, 2019

When you think of Wilson electives, what comes to mind? Overcrowded classrooms with uninterested students, or specialized courses with a heavy course load? While there are many rigorous electives like...

Faculty Favorites: Dr. Sharma sends us to Sala Thai

Faculty Favorites: Dr. Sharma sends us to Sala Thai

Margot Durfee, Zara Hall, and Ella Pearlman-Chang March 2, 2019

Despite just moving from Delaware to DC this summer, Poonam Sharma, a Wilson physics and engineering teacher, is already up on the District’s restaurant scene. While Sharma has a knack for stumping students...

Photo courtesy of Margot Durfee

Faculty Favorites: Mr. Welch sends me to Daikaya

Margot Durfee, Style Editor January 25, 2019

Finding a tasty and affordable restaurant in DC can be hard. I want to help. This month I asked students and staff at Wilson about their favorite restaurants and chose one to review: Daikaya, a small...

Photo courtesy of crumbsandwhiskers.com

Cats and coffee: Georgetown cafe fuses fun and felines

Margot Durfee, Style Editor December 19, 2018

On a typical Sunday night, I’m at home, grinding through endless amounts of homework for hours. Going out on a Sunday night would be unheard of. Until I found out about Crumbs and Whiskers. Located...

Photo courtesy of songbyrddc.com

The caged bird sings at Songbyrd Cafe

Margot Durfee, Style Editor December 10, 2018

It was a cold, brisk Thursday evening. People huddled behind foggy windows in restaurants and the streets were mostly empty. My friend and I rushed down the street to a small, brick building with a purple...

Margot Durfee

From monsters to espresso: Wilson alumni take on DC restaurant industry

Margot Durfee, Style Editor November 12, 2018

Located in Northeast DC next to Union Market, The Village Cafe is in a converted warehouse with tall ceilings. The cafe is cozy and welcoming; warm sunlight floods through the windows near the front door...

Photo courtesy of Margot Durfee

A taste of the East while staying home in the West

Margot Durfee, Style Editor October 24, 2018

The first time I drove along 16th street, I gazed out the window in awe. Countless places of worship crowded together on a few blocks regardless of a difference in beliefs. One thing these churches do...

Photo courtesy of gelatofestivalamerica.com

Ciao gelato! Say hello to your American connoisseurs

Margot Durfee, Style Editor October 7, 2018

Adriana Tinto had recently divorced and needed to find a job to support her and her son. “I didn’t want a desk job. I wanted to do something very creative. I realized that there is almost no gelato...

Musical podcast “36 Questions” is worth a listen

Musical podcast “36 Questions” is worth a listen

Margot Durfee, Style Editor September 8, 2018

Have you ever heard about a musical, started listening to the soundtrack, and then looked at ticket prices and think, ‘two-hundred dollars?’ This is my feeling every time I discover a new musical,...

Truckeroo Festival: overpriced and mediocre

Truckeroo Festival: overpriced and mediocre

Margot Durfee, Style Editor August 31, 2018

If you’ve been to a Nationals game, you’ve likely tried the food at Nats Park—it’s typical, run-of-the-mill, stadium food. Truckeroo, a monthly food festival hosted near the stadium, boasts food...

Photo courtesy of Aaron Besser

Students and teachers remember summers past and present

Amelia Bergeron and Margot Durfee June 10, 2018

When sophomore Caroline Durr took a summer job working at a local farmer’s market, she figured she’d learn to tell a McIntosh apple from a honeycrisp, and parsley from parsnip. Instead, she found herself...

Beating the heat: Trying ice cream in DC

Beating the heat: Trying ice cream in DC

Margot Durfee, Style Editor May 30, 2018

After school has winded down, what’s better than sweating under the beating sun and suffocating in DC’s swampy humidity? A lot of things, but ice cream sure makes the situation better. DC boasts a...

Wilson teachers reflect on experiences at other schools

Wilson teachers reflect on experiences at other schools

Margot Durfee, Style Editor May 9, 2018

In the fall of 2015, hundreds of students nervously filed through the main entrance of Woodrow Wilson High School. Clarence Alston, a new social studies teacher to Wilson at the time, was just as anxious....

Oki Bowl is more than ok

Oki Bowl is more than ok

Margot Durfee, Style Editor April 18, 2018

When I moved to DC a few years ago, I decided I was going to find the best ramen restaurant around. I’ve tried out many places, but my favorite one so far is Oki Bowl @ Georgetown. Oki Bowl @ Georgetown...

Buredo: Sushi and burritos wrapped into one

Buredo: Sushi and burritos wrapped into one

Margot Durfee, Style Editor March 13, 2018

Are you tired of eating at the same few restaurants in Tenleytown? Buredo, a local restaurant chain specializing in burrito-sized sushi rolls, is guaranteed to bring excitement to your meal. I had been...

A guide to the best bagels in Tenleytown

A guide to the best bagels in Tenleytown

Margot Durfee, Style Editor February 14, 2018

Wilson students have nearly unending options when it comes to breakfast, lunch, or after-school snacks. But it can be hard to know where to go if you are looking for something in particular, especially...

Tenleytown eats: best bang for your buck

Tenleytown eats: best bang for your buck

Margot Durfee, Style Editor January 29, 2018

In the past couple of years, many restaurants have opened up in Tenleytown. With so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide where to go. To help you out, I have found three restaurants that are the...

Local restaurants serve international tastes

Local restaurants serve international tastes

Margot Durfee, Style Editor August 10, 2017

Summer tends to make people wistful for travel. In an ideal world, we could all jet off around the globe to the paradise of our choosing. Unfortunately, it’s unrealistic for most of us. Fortunately,...

Spring break trips for adventurous students

Spring break trips for adventurous students

Margot Durfee, Style Editor March 26, 2017

Every year, Spring break comes around right when students need it most. For students, the third advisory seems to have dragged on forever, with only more and more homework piling up. By the time spring...

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