October 29, 2020 | Vol. 20-21, No. 8 A MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS Rudy Brandl '83, Director of Communications and Publications, shares Green and Gold Magic in his debut blog post. Below is an excerpt: Maybe it was something about the green and gold. There was clearly something special in the air last Friday when students and teachers in all three divisions spent quality time outside on a beautiful mid-autumn day. Of course, there was plenty of fun and games in Lower School physical education classes, Middle School recess and the Upper School Ram Rivalry competition. While those interactions showed wonderful camaraderie and spirit, I was equally impressed with the academic activities conducted in our 36-acre outdoor classroom space. Read Mr. Brandl's full blog post - Rudy's RAMblings Friday - October 30, 2020 All day 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Front Field (Plumeri as backup) Friday - November 6, 2020 6TH GRADERS APPRECIATE AUTUMN DAY On Friday, the W+H campus was transformed into a home-made version of the sixth grade's traditional trip to Frost Valley Environmental Center in Claryville, NY. Sixth grade students rotated in three groups between the activities of orienteering all around the campus, a nature trail sustainability lesson, nature writing in the woods, team building on the front fields, leaf rubbing design in the AP Room's outdoor tent and service learning at the Middle School garden. At the end of the day, the whole grade met for a rousing, socially-distanced game of Ship to Shore. The special day was designed by Sixth Grade Coordinator Andrea Barnett and inspired by the types of experiences the students would have enjoyed at the camp. The annual September trip was canceled due to the pandemic, but the students received a very suitable substitute right here at home. Joining Mrs. Barnett in leading the rotation of activities were Tanda Tucker, Ian McElroy, Thomas Chavez, Dina Congregane, Zoe Bongiovanni, Eileen Valentine and Dr. Corinna Crafton. All Middle School teachers supported the day and a special shout out to the sixth-grade parent liaisons and Anibal Rodriquez and his Sage staff for helping to provide the fresh apple snacks. "On reflection about our day, we filled in a most vital part of the sixth-grade education," Mrs. Barnett said. "Every positive association with the natural world is one that teaches our students to care about science, care about our planet and therefore care about each other. Our beautiful campus lends itself to a world of opportunities for growth." AUTUMN DAY PHOTO GALLERY 5TH GRADERS ENJOY LEADERSHIP DAY The fifth-grade classes of Mr. Tim Head and Mrs. Liz Stillman participated in a special Leadership Day on October 23 with a series of challenges designed to promote teamwork and collaboration. Challenge No. 1 was to create a campsite for the day using nonverbal communication. After three attempts and much collaboration, the students completed the challenge. The second and last non-verbal activity required students to line up by birthday. One student took charge in getting everyone organized by month in a fantastic leadership moment. Task No. 3, in which the students attempted to spell the "W+H" with their bodies, proved to be a chore. The students and their teachers spoke and reflected a lot on how verbal communication, if used correctly, can be a powerful tool. Other activities included an Escape Room and a Dragon's Castle, a blindfolded search and find test of non-verbal communication, verbal communication and listening. Every activity concluded with a reflection talk, during which the students and teachers discussed their own strengths and weaknesses with communication, trust, collaboration, leadership, bystanders vs. upstanders, and active listening, among other things.
MS STUDENTS PERFORM ON LATIN EXAM Several Middle School students were recognized for their performance on the 2020 National Latin Exam. Ian McElroy, Middle School Latin teacher, announced the names of nine students who earned certificates. Congratulations to Arya Chhabra '25 and Vinay Karthik '25 (pictured), who earned the rare distinction of completing a perfect paper by answering all 40 questions correctly on the Introduction to Latin test. Other W+H students who received Certificates of Merit included Phoebe Kaplan '25, Ruhee Hegde '25, Caleb Rothrock-Steinfeld '25 and Luke Zuzovsky '25. Three current ninth-graders earned recognition on the test taken in the spring when they were eighth-grade students. Hannah Malko and Shachee Kumar '24 received silver medals, while Naomi Valcourt '24 earned a Certificate of Merit. THIRD GRADERS EMBRACE FALL DAY The third-grade classes of Ms. Katherine Heiss and Mrs. Donna Pedde ventured outdoors for some meaningful autumn lessons last Friday. The students participated in a wide range of activities, starting with weeding and planting bulbs in the garden. They also wrote in their journals using fall prompts, collected leaves and then showed their creativity with some leaf rubbings. The classes also went on an Autumn Scavenger Hunt and concluded with their fall poetry readings while sipping hot apple cider and eating some festive cookies. FALL DAY PHOTO GALLERY SENIORS PREVAIL IN MODIFIED SPIRIT WEEK The seniors made it two Spirit Week victories in a row with a close win over the juniors last week. Early in the week, the seniors won the TikTok contest and the juniors came back with a victory in the social distance photo competition. Friday's Ram Rivalry finale on the turf fields was close again, with the juniors and seniors trading victories in the ring toss and dizzy race. All four Upper School classes enjoyed the friendly competition but ultimately the seniors prevailed. "First, a big thank you to Mr. Modes for helping organize the events and going above and beyond while working with the student council morning and night to set up games and challenges for every day of the week, especially Ram Rivalry," Student Council president Neil Shah '21 said. "Next, I want to also thank Dr. Bowman, Mrs. Borzumato, Mrs. Nolan, and Mrs. Cerminaro for all your help in putting together such a wonderful week of fun and games. This week, and especially Ram Rivalry, would not have been possible without the help and support from so many of our Upper School faculty." RAM RIVALRY DAY PHOTO GALLERY SENIORS DELIVER REFLECTIVE SPEECHES Four seniors delivered fine speeches within the past week in the Berry Performing Arts Center. Henry Yuan '21 expressed appreciation and gratitude to his parents for allowing him the independence and freedom to study in America without applying constant academic pressure. Taliyah Williams '21 explored the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and encouraged her peers to focus on what they really want to do instead of trying to satisfy others. Simone Erachshaw '21 shared an emotional account of her struggles with depression and anxiety and has learned that although she's becoming more independent, she's never alone thanks to her mother and best friend. Saleem Ibraheem '21 reflected on his high school experiences and many wonderful memories, which he believes may come at the price of not feeling he put forth his best effort. UPPER SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Karl Miran, Athletic Director, announced the Upper School Athlete of the Week. Congratulations to tennis player Cami Martinez '21 (pictured) and cross country runner Vineeth Reddy '23. Cami, a senior co-captain, clinched a crucial victory at third singles to give the tennis team a win over the Highland Park Owls from the Blue Division. Cami has also remained undefeated in the Gold Division, where she has not dropped a set. This is Cami's first season playing singles on the varsity team she has performed most admirably. Vineeth was a member of the Middle School Cross Country team back in fifth and sixth grades. He moved onto soccer but now is back running the W+H campus trails. Through hard work he has gotten back into running shape and has become a dependable member of the top seven. This year he has twice lowered his personal best including a time of 22:02 at last Saturday's 7-On-7 Invitational at Thompson Park. Athletes of the Week can be viewed on our website at: https://www.whschool.org/athletics/athletic-directors-blog COLLEGES VISITING VIRTUALLY THIS FALL The College Counseling Office is pleased to welcome an impressive list of more than 100 college and university representatives who will meet virtually with our students this fall. Representatives from Wesleyan University, University of California-Berkeley, Gettysburg College and Kenyon College highlight the upcoming week's calendar. To view the list of colleges and universities visiting W+H virtually this fall, click here KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS EXLORE OUTDOORS
From the W+H Parents' Association Our WHPA Executive Board welcomes everyone to the 2020-2021 school year! Be in the know: Join the WHPA General Meeting on November 5 The WHPA General Membership meetings offer a wonderful way to hear first-hand from school administrators and have an opportunity to get your questions answered. Our next meeting is Thursday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3198110157?pwd=bmUxYXdlMUtUYVFPek53cDN0UVR2UT09 In addition to the latest school news, we will share plans and ask for ideas regarding a planned early December virtual event. We will not be able to hold our traditional Book Fair or Holiday Boutique at that time and are looking for fun ways to replace those events with plenty of school-wide community engagement. See you on November 5! Follow W+H on Social Media and Share News with Community Wardlaw+Hartridge has a vibrant, active presence on social media with daily content posts highlighting our academics, athletics, arts and extracurricular programs. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and check out our Vimeo page! You can assist us in promoting the school by sharing our content within your network and posting it on your local town pages and feeds. Support W+H and Sustainability at Local Stop and Shop Supporting local non-profits has never been more important than it is right now! Give back to your local community by purchasing a $2.50 reusable Community Bag at the Stop & Shop located at 1083 Inman Avenue in Edison throughout the month of November. We will receive a $1 donation for every reusable bag sold in November. If you do pick one up, be sure to practice standard safety protocols. Just like you need to wash your hands regularly, always wash your reusable bags before and after use. If possible, bag your own groceries at checkout when using a reusable bag. Thank you in advance for your support! Ram Run Postponed from November to Early 2021 The annual Ram Run is not only an avenue to help raise much-needed funds for our students and the school, but is also a wonderful time for our entire community to come together. Given the current state of affairs and the recommendations by health officials, we have decided to postpone the Ram Run until early 2021. More information and an exact date will be released soon. We hope you will continue to support The W+H Fund in any way you can and we look forward to updating you soon. |