June 10, 2021 | Vol. 20-21, No. 35 LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS SHARE MUSICAL TALENTS
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID
Gerard Gonnella '89, Director of Admission and Financial Aid, takes pride in Saluting Our Teachers for Their Creativity his June blog post. Below is an excerpt:
As this most unusual school year heads into its final week, I'm proud of how our faculty and staff was able to adapt to the pandemic and continue providing an excellent education with minimal disruption. We learned how to work from home with children as they coped with new ways of learning, struggling at times not only with online learning but also with wearing a mask and not seeing their friends. The pandemic made all of us learn how to be more creative in our approach to daily tasks and how we conduct ourselves and live our lives.
SCHOOL CALENDAR SCHOOL NEWS BUSY FINAL WEEK WRAPS UP YEAR With just one week remaining before this year's Commencement Ceremony on June 18, the school year is winding to its conclusion. Here's a look at the major events taking place in the final week of the school year: June 11 – Rams Recognition Night – 5:30 p.m. June 14 – Kindergarten Graduation – 12:30 p.m. June 14 – Senior Dinner – 5:30 p.m. June 15 – Lower School Moving Up Ceremony – 10:30 a.m. June 15 – Senior/Junior Prom – 5 p.m. June 16 – Middle School Stepping Up Ceremony – 6:30 p.m. June 18 – Upper School Commencement Ceremony – 10:30 a.m. STUDENTS INDUCTED TO CUM LAUDE The Wardlaw+Hartridge School inducted 14 new members into the Cum Laude Society in a ceremony held Friday, June 4 in the Berry Performing Arts Center. Andy Webster, Head of School, Dr. Bob Bowman, Upper School Head, Dr. Corinna Crafton, Middle School Head, Christine Cerminaro, Dean of Students, and Upper School faculty members Nicole Nolan, Don Kluizenaar, Liz Rooney and Maggie Reiter led the presentation as faculty and staff who are Cum Laude members. Senior members Noah Apter '21, Ariana Di Landro '21, Anna Razvi '21, Rihan Sajid '21 and Neil Shah '21 welcomed the 14 new members, some of whom participated remotely from as far away as China. Congratulations to the new W+H inductees: seniors Kynise Dixon '21, Samantha Gordon '21, Jason Kisare '21, Jiaxin (Lisa) Li '21, Michele Peruzzo '21, Mohan (Scarlett) Ying '21, Heng (Henry) Yuan '21 and ZhiXing (Mark) Zhang '21, and juniors Aarush Dharayan '22, Faizah Naqvi '22, Grace Lu '22, Shiv Tickoo '22, Bo (Oliver) Zhao '22 and Jia Rui (Garry) Zhu '22.
SENIORS ANNOUNCE COLLEGE PLANS Congratulations to the seniors in the Class of 2021 who recently made their matriculation plans official after accepting admission offers from colleges and universities at the May 1 deadline. For the remainder of the school year, the WHEN will include spotlights on seniors who have made their choices. Meet Camila Martinez '21, who will be matriculating to Carnegie Mellon University and majoring in architecture. Camila was drawn to CMU's five-year NAAB-accredited program that will allow her to work in the field upon graduation. She also appreciates the School of Architecture's focus on sustainability, technology, race and inclusion. Camila feels well-prepared for college and credits the Capstone course for providing her with many useful academic tools. She recently delivered an insightful Capstone presentation covering students' beliefs, behaviors and perceptions of tap and bottled water. "The Capstone class within the Global Scholars Program at W+H has prepared me for future success in college. It provided me with the opportunity to conduct original research that I never thought I would be doing during my time in high school," she said. "It has given me an early start to conduct research which I hope to continue at Carnegie Mellon. Besides the research itself, Capstone has taught me how to contextualize data and speak about research in an academic manner that will be beneficial in college."
Click here to read more about Camila and view more college acceptance profiles MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WIN NAQT Middle School students recently competed in a National Academic Quiz Tournament in their classrooms. Eight teams of three students competed for prizes and the individual and team winners have been announced. Congratulations to Vinay Karthik '25, who won the individual competition with 120 points. Vinay and teammates Tanvir Virdi '27 and Manat Grewal '27 won the team competition to earn a cupcake party for their advisory. Individual runners-up were Anushka Patchigolla '27 and Aava Joshi '27.
3RD GRADERS SHARE STATE PRESENTATIONS States from all over our great nation were on display at last week's Third Grade States Presentations, held outdoors under the AP Room Tent for the first time. Faculty, staff and students visited the displays and learned about many states and their customs and traditions from expert guides who were dressed to represent their state. The assignment included a variety of components. The students were asked to construct a model depicting either a map of their state or a landmark found there in addition to completing a packet of fascinating facts about that state. Each state "expert" also dressed up as a famous person from his or her state, while others represented an occupation from their area. The activity was designed to enrich a social studies unit about the United States.
STUDENT MUSICIANS EARN ACCOLADES Shourya Chhabra '25 and Luke Tan '24 recently performed with the Region Jazz Band Dizzy Gillespie Virtual Ensemble. Students who participated in this performance were accepted through a stringent audition process in the spring. Both Shourya and Luke are featured as soloists, so please feel free to click on the link below to watch their performance! http://www.njaje.org/region-jazz-bands1.html As a result of receiving the top rating of Gold on both snare drum and drum set performance for the Arts Ed NJ Solo and Ensemble preliminary round, Luke also participated in the State Festival Gold Star round and received a Silver rating on Snare drum and the top rating of Gold on drum set. Luke's performances were adjudicated by master musicians and educators including the legendary John Riley of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. STUDENTS NAMED SALC LEADERS After numerous Zooms with candidates for next year's Middle and Upper School Student Ambassador Leadership Council representatives, the decisions have been finalized! Congratulations to next year's SALC members: Middle School: Class of 2026 Chair: Braelyn Brandl Class of 2027: Emily O'Neill Class of 2028: TBD Upper School: Class of 2022 Co-Chairs: Izabel Korycki and Gurinder Singh Class of 2023: Naischa Puri and Natalie Chavez Class of 2024: Anushka Dalal Class of 2025: Vinay Karthik The SALC members will assist the Admission Office – Gerard Gonnella '89 (Director of Admission and Financial Aid), Ana De Leon (Associate Director of Admission) and Bernadette Lambertsen (Administrative Assistant) – as liaisons with new students and families. "I want to thank each and every one of you who expressed interest in being a member of next year's SALC," Ms. De Leon shared in an email to the student ambassadors. "I loved speaking with all of you, learning about your love for W+H and your enthusiasm for welcoming new students to our school family." SCENES FROM 2ND ANNUAL RAM RUN The Wardlaw+Hartridge Board of Trustees thanks the many participants, volunteers and sponsors who made last week's second annual Ram Run a huge success! Students from all three divisions participated in the event, which raised funds to provide scholarships and grants, purchase new equipment and technology for academics, support athletics, and service learning opportunities and community outreach for our students. Many parents also joined in the fun by walking or running with their children. All participants received a drawstring goodie bag after the event.
W+H STUDENTS NAMED SCHOLAR-ATHLETES W+H seniors Zane Lee-Briggs '21 and Ariana Di Landro '21 were honored at last week's Greater Middlesex Conference Scholar-Athlete Dinner at The Estate at Lake Farrington. The Rams joined representative from all Middlesex County schools at the event, which was attended by parents and athletic directors. W+H athletic director Karl Miran was among those introducing the award recipients. Below are the bios for the two Wardlaw+Hartridge GMC scholar-athletes: Ariana Di Landro's athletic talent and leadership skills became apparent early in her high school career, and she has only validated that impression during her junior and senior years. A lifelong soccer player, Ariana led the Rams' two-time Blue-division championship defense. She also made a strong impact on the basketball program, solely on the basis of her hard-work and competitiveness. A captain of W+H's soccer team, she also served as Wardlaw's representative for the GMC's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She has been chosen to All-Blue Division Soccer team. Academically, Ariana is a member of the Spanish Honor Society, Cum Laude, and was nominated and accepted to the Governor's School of Engineering and Technology last summer. She will be matriculating at Princeton University, where she plans on playing club soccer and pursuing a Chemical Engineering Degree. Zane Lee-Briggs has exemplified the term student-athlete all 12-seasons he has been enrolled at Wardlaw+Hartridge. Zane runs track and field and cross country, serving as captain of both teams. His fast times on the track and the course have earned him All-Division honors. Academically, Zane is a member of the Spanish Honor Society, and has maintained a high GPA. In his school community, Zane serves as a Peer Leader, a highly sought-after role in which committed seniors meet every week with their group of freshmen, to help them adjust to high school. Zane will be going on to attend Amherst College in Western Massachusetts. His plans include his pre-med coursework and competing in track and field. W+H SUMMER PROGRAMS START SOON Wardlaw+Hartridge is offering a robust array of summer programs, starting Monday, June 28. 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 HOMESTAY FAMILIES NEEDED FOR 2021-2022 Hosting an international student can be a rich experience for all family members. We are seeking host families for new W+H international students. These students are placed by Wardlaw+Hartridge or by one of the many educational agents with whom the school partners. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, contact Gerard Gonnella '89, Director of the International Student Program, at international@WHschool.org or 908-754-1882, Ext. 156.
From the W+H Parents' Association WHPA Transitions to New Leadership
The WHPA is transitioning to their new Executive Board for the 2021-2022 school year. Several were able to attend an in-person installation ceremony on campus Wednesday afternoon. Outgoing Board members, along with graduating Senior parents who have served in leadership roles and/or contributed many volunteer hours were recognized with tokens of appreciation. The WHPA's annual contribution to The Wardlaw+Hartridge Fund was presented to Andy Webster, Head of School, and Bill Jenkins, Assistant Head for Institutional Advancement, by outgoing WHPA President Marci Bowman. Thanks to your generous support throughout the year, the WHPA was able to meet their goal for this important endeavor.
Click here to read the text of the installation ceremony, which includes all new officers and positions listed.
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 June 2, 2021.
Help Wanted in Lower School Garden
Anyone who's willing to adopt a gardening box or help with the Lower School garden in any way, please contact Katherine Heiss at kheiss@WHschool.org. Ms. Heiss would like to work with a group of dedicated volunteers to be sure the garden survives the summer.
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