April 29, 2021 | Vol. 20-21, No. 29 A MESSAGE FROM OUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
Karl Miran, Athletic Director, discusses the importance of the positive interactions between our athletes and coaches in his recent blog post. Below is an excerpt:
Although coaches set a common standard for all team members to live up to, the best coaches know that the best way to achieve a shared commitment to excellence is to treat their players as individuals. The smart coach realizes that, if they have 20 players on the team, they have 20 different personalities to motivate, instruct and reward. No less an authority than UCLA's legendary basketball coach John Wooden insisted that each player on his teams "would receive the treatment they earned or deserved." Wardlaw+Hartridge athletes are quick to acknowledge the value of being treated as individuals within their team. Sometimes they focus on how that approach enabled them to maximize their skills and compete more successfully.
SCHOOL CALENDAR SCHOOL NEWS STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS Shiv Tickoo '22 will lead the student body as senior class president in the 2021-2022 school year after winning last week's Student Council election. Shiv is pictured with Annie Gu '23 and Gbemi Olarewaju '24, who were also elected class presidents. Upper School students voted on the officers for next year's sophomore, junior and senior classes. The freshman class election will be held in the fall. Below are the election results:
Class of 2022 President – Shiv Tickoo Vice President – Aarush Dharayan Secretary/Treasurer – Gurinder Singh JBoard president – Shreya Dharayan JBoard senior representative – Abby Newell
Class of 2023 President – Annie Gu Vice President – Aiden Lee Secretary/Treasurer – Chiupong Huang JBoard representative – Aastha Patel JBoard alternate – Anna Lee
Class of 2024 President – Gbemi Olarewaju Vice President – Hannah Yin Secretary/Treasurer – Naomi Valcourt JBoard representative – Diya Patel JBoard alternate – Anushka Dalal
Congratulations to next year's Upper School class officers! MUSICAL, PLAY RECEIVE NOMINATIONS Congratulations to the W+H Performing Arts Department for receiving six nominations from the Montclair State University Theatre Night Awards. W+H earned four nominations for One Stoplight Town, the 2020 fall play, and two nominations for Mamma Mia!, the 2020 spring musical. For One Stoplight Town, W+H has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Virtual Background Design, New Media & Special Effects, Acting Ensemble of a Virtual Play with Cinematic Editing, and Production of a Virtual Play with Cinematic Editing. For Mamma Mia!, W+H received nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography in a Musical and Acting Ensemble of a Musical. EIGHTH GRADERS POISED TO TAKE ACTION Students continued to develop their action plans following the Eighth Grade Summit in mid-April. Some students focused on climate justice, while others concentrated on racial justice. Call to Action Groups were set up, with small groups of students addressing a variety of racial and climate issues. Eighth graders created posters for display around the school and met with Lower School students to educate them about the implementation of many action items. "The action step that I am most looking forward to implement is educating the students regarding recycling, especially hanging up posters on our recycling bins as to what can and can't be recycled," Vinay Karthik '25 said. "This is because many items that don't belong in the recycling bins are being later discarded by our township and placed in landfills. We are guiding the seventh graders and they are now tasked with educating the Lower School and making these posters. Another action plan I am looking forward to is having at least one meatless day every week." STUDENTS EMBRACE EARTH DAY CHALLENGE Middle School students completed an Earth Week Challenge with sixth, seventh and eighth graders taking on different missions to help protect our planet. Representatives from each class reported their progress during last week's Middle School Full Division Meeting. Emily O'Neill '27 provided details on the sixth-grade task of restoring the Middle School garden. Students in sixth grade pulled weeds and cleaned the beds to prepare for another season of planting herbs. Douglas Bonner '26 spoke about the seventh-grade initiative to educate the community about recycling. Students in seventh grade created informative posters to display around campus and share with peers and younger students in Lower School. These posters explain the benefits of recycling and differentiate items that can and cannot be recycled. Kayla Le '25 and Jini Looney '25 described some examples of the racial and climate justice action plans they and their classmates are developing. Examples include a puppet show for Lower School and a fundraiser to purchase a compost bin for the garden. STUDENTS STUDY ENVIRONMENT VIRTUALLY Students in Global Environmental History, taught by Dr. Rachel Lutz, participated in the American Society for Environmental History's Environmental History Week events by attending a digital field trip to the Emerald Earth Film Festival's discussion with the filmmakers of the 2016 documentary Painted Nails. It won't take long to fall in love with the subject of Painted Nails, Van Hoang, a Vietnamese nail salon owner who serves an ethnically diverse group of working class women with acrylic nails and intricate airbrush designs. Through the course of the film, Van unintentionally becomes a contemporary Norma Rae or Erin Brockovich, with an entirely new cause that affects not just factory workers or victims of regional environmental contamination, but nearly every person in America, as well as their families. CLAIRE LU '24 TAKES ARTISTIC APPROACH Claire Lu '24 captured the essence of her signature sport to win the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) Great Junior Golf Design Challenge of 2021. She designed a par-5 hole and named it hOle. Claire's design was selected as the best of more than 85 designs sent in, and she is recognized as the top Junior Designer for 2021. The judging panel was impressed by Claire's creativity, which is also one of her strengths on the golf course as one of the state's top freshman players. One judge remarked: "I chose Claire's design as my #1 overall not only for creativity in the routing, but also for her graphic presentation. Naming it 'The hOle' and having it shaped like an O was clever. Although the center of the hole is water, the left route is primarily guarded by sand while the right route is primarily water. With the strategically placed trees along the fairway, wind would play a major factor in deciding which route to choose. I also like having multiple options not only off the tee, but also again for the second shot." JK STUDENTS RELEASE BUTTERFLIES Our Junior Kindergarten class concluded its lifecycle unit by releasing our Painted Lady butterflies in the Lower School garden on April 28. Our Early Childhood students learned about the lifecycles of ladybugs, chickens, frogs and the butterfly. We received our butterflies as caterpillars and watched them form chrysalis as they continued through the lifecycle, finally hatching into our beautiful butterflies! What a treat to have perfect weather for the release party!
UPPER SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Karl Miran, Athletic Director, announced the Upper School Athletes of the Week. Congratulations to softball pitcher Sarah Alves '24, baseball player Luke Tan '24 and tennis player Nidhin Kumar '24. Freshman pitcher Sarah is quickly establishing herself as one for best pitchers in the GMC Gold. She struck out 20 batters in her first varsity game and followed that with 17 strikeouts in her second game. Luke got his first varsity hit Friday in the team's season opener vs. East Brunswick Tech, while pitching 3 1/3 innings in his first varsity appearance on the mound. In his first year at the varsity level, freshman Nidhin has won the second singles slot on the boys' tennis team. In his first four matches, he has been extremely successful, winning five sets without dropping a game. His success has contributed to the team's current winning record. Showing his dedication to the team, he often remains after practice, working on his game. MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Karl Miran, Athletic Director, announced the first Middle School Athletes of the Week of the spring season at the full divisional meeting. Congratulations to baseball player Dharren Culver '26 and track athletes Gabby Silver '26 and Anika Vasani '27. Since Day 1, Dharren has been a committed and supportive teammate in this early season. Despite being one of the youngest players on the team, Dharren has jumped right in. He has become one of our most consistent contact hitters and has shown off a reliable glove in the field. In a recent game vs. Montclair Kimberly, Dharren caught a sinking line drive in center field with the bases loaded and two outs to get the Rams out of a big jam. Gabby is a worthy Athlete of the Week because she works very hard at practice; not just her physical effort, but concentrating on mastering her technique. She had an outstanding day in the team's first meet, getting better with each throw, finishing the day with a toss of 22 feet, 3 inches, a very mark for a Middle School athlete. Sixth-grader Anika has been leading by example on the Rams' sprint squad. Her enthusiasm, positivity and work ethic in practice has pushed her teammates to get better. Because Anika is so reliable, and also very fast, the team depends on her to anchor one of the girls' relays. SUPPORT W+H DAY OF CARING - MAY 5 Generous donations to The W+H Fund have helped the school achieve its goal of in-person learning this school year. The continued support and commitment of our community is so greatly appreciated. Working together has enabled us to welcome faculty, students and staff in-person, which we all know is best for our children to flourish.
Thus, we are asking that you join us on May 5 and support our Day of Caring, by clicking here
Thanks in advance for your generosity. CHECK OUT W+H SUMMER PROGRAMS Wardlaw+Hartridge is offering a robust array of summer programs in 2021! The year's programs include Camp Funshine, Adventure Camp, Brain Boosters Junior Academics, Summer Scholars, Teen Leadership Camp and Summer Sparks Enrichment. Other special camps including Drama, Egypt, Technology and Entrepreneurship, Dungeons & Dragons, and Marine Biology will also be held. To learn more, visit WHschool.org/summer
From the W+H Parents' Association Give Mom a Box of Love!
The WHPA has a great way for you to show the moms, grandmas, aunties, and favorite people in your life how much you love them, just in time for Mother's Day. Order a Box of Love, $10 each, by visiting WHPA.givsmart.com. Each festive, beribboned box will contain two hearty, blooming annuals in grower's pots, kid friendly recipes and tips for making Mother's Day treats, and a special gift tag for you to personalize. There is no deadline, but please get your orders in as soon as possible so we can make sure we have enough boxes prepped! Moms: make sure your kids and partners see this so they can "surprise" you!
Check in with Administrators at Virtual Meeting - May 6
Here's a great way for you to hear about plans for year-end celebrations and look ahead to the 2021-2022 school year: the W+H Administrative team will headline the next WHPA virtual meeting, Thursday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. We'll also share news about the PA leadership slate and other plans for next year. Please join us by logging into our Zoom meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3198110157?pwd=bmUxYXdlMUtUYVFPek53cDN0UVR2UT09 IMPORTANT REMINDERS Giving Thanks for Our Wardlaw+Hartridge Fund Parent Donors
The Development Office would like to thank the W+H community for supporting The Wardlaw+Hartridge Fund. Click here to view a list of W+H parents who have contributed to The 2020-2021 W+H Fund between July 1, 2020 and April 28, 2021.
Join Doorstop Donations to Help Serve Those in Need
Doorstep Donations is a nonprofit organization founded by a group of New York high school students committed to serving underprivileged and food-insecure families. We are starting our own chapter here at Wardlaw+Hartridge!
Donors will receive a Doorstep Donations reusable grocery bag, filling it every other month with non-perishable food items and either leaving items at their doorstep or bringing it to W+H. Every two months, a volunteer driver will pick up the bags of non-perishable food from outside the donor's door and take them to a local food pantry.
Our school's next pick-up and drop-off is Monday, May 24. If you have any questions, please reach out to Nicole Nolan, Director of Global Scholars and Community Outreach, at nnolan@whschool.org.
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