W+H wrapped up its celebration of Black History Month with another round of events and activities in all three divisions this week.
More author visits and read alouds in Lower School kept students from PreK-Grade 5 engaged in wonderful literature and meaningful lessons. Andy Webster, Head of School, shared Come On, Rainwith students in grades 1-5 as part of the series. Several W+H parents and professional authors also participated in guest readings, including some tailored for the younger students in the Early Childhood program.
Middle School students continued their series of presentations about famous Black American achievements during last Friday's full division meeting. Highlights included a tribute to Oprah Winfrey by Mohisha Jha ’26, an overview of the Civil Rights Movement and presentations about game-changing events and lesser known activists. Abigail Ibironke ’25 represented Student Government and led the presentation.
Upper School students joined a webinar on Feb. 19 with Mr. Joe Watkins, the host of a program titled The State of Independence and author of The New PC – Practical Consideration.Throughout his career, Mr. Watkins has promoted the concept of civil discourse, something that is extremely important during difficult conversations. Questions for discussion included: What ideas from Practical Consideration can you apply to your daily life? How are Civil Discourse and Practical Consideration tied together? How can we use both to strengthen our community.
In a Feb. 22 webinar with Junius Williams, a civil rights activist and advocate for disadvantaged families in Newark, Upper School students inquired about the similarities and differences between the civil rights and Black Lives Matter movements.
“I see the same desire for justice and the same desire to beat back injustice. As the BLM movement continues to mature, it will become more like the civil rights movement,” Mr. Williams said. “We didn’t have the internet, we didn’t have social media. That’s a big difference right there. That’s how conversation is carried on now. In my generation, you had to go out and talk to people and establish a personal relationship. I don’t think you can do that on Facebook or Instagram. You might get an immediate response but you need to know who you can count on in the long run."