October 7, 2021 | Vol. 21-22, No. 5 A MESSAGE FROM OUR LOWER SCHOOL HEAD
JohnEric Advento, Lower School Head, introduces his new blog - The Lambkin - to the W+H community. Below is an excerpt:
Now that I am officially a member of the Wardlaw+Hartridge Rams family, I would like to introduce this space to share some food for thought with you. The dictionary definition of Lambkin is the following: Lamb·kin /ˈlamkən/noun a small or young lamb. used as a term of endearment for a young child. It has been an incredible honor to begin this school year as the Head of the Lower School, an advocate and supporter of our 154 Lower School lambkins, an instructional leader among our talented faculty, and a partner with you in our collective mission at W+H.
SCHOOL CALENDAR Thursday - October 14, 2021
8:30 AM Front Courtyard / Lower Snowdon Saturday - October 16, 2021
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Front Courtyard / Amphitheatre SCHOOL NEWS FALL FAIR - THIS SATURDAY - OCT. 9 Fall Fair and Homecoming Day is back! Join the W+H community for a safe, fun-filled day of outdoor activities on Saturday, October 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Scroll down to the W+H Parents' Association section for more information about the day's events, volunteer and sponsor opportunities. Click here for the flyer with pricing information. Visit WHPA2021.givesmart.com to purchase wristbands, game tickets, plants and make donations. BOOSTER CLUB SEEKING VOLUNTEERS The Booster Club is in need of volunteers at Fall Fair on Saturday, Oct. 9. We will be supporting our athletes by hosting the grilling station and selling food and drinks. No experience is needed and no amount of time to help is too small. Come out to support our students and meet other parents. It is always a fun day. Please contact Rich Brogan at bigshoes834@comcast.net if you might be able to assist. Thank you! FEISAL KIIRU '22 EARNS COLLEGE BOARD NATIONAL RECOGNITION Congratulations to Wardlaw+Hartridge senior Feisal Kiiru '22, who is one of 32,000 students from across the country to earn academic honors from the College Board's National Recognition Programs! These National Recognition Programs grant underrepresented students with academic honors that can be included on college and scholarship applications and connect students with universities across the country, helping them stand out during the admissions process. Colleges and scholarship programs use these honors to identify students from underrepresented groups through College Board's Student Search Service. Feisal, who is pictured with Sarah Honan, Co-Director of College Counseling, earned this recognition by excelling on his PSAT/NMSQT Exams and in the classroom. Students who may be eligible for this honor have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and have excelled on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10, or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams; and are African American or Black, Hispanic American or Latinx, Indigenous, and/or attend school in a rural area or small town. Eligible students are invited to apply during their sophomore or junior year, and are awarded at the beginning of the next school year. "By awarding students who excel academically with honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs, our aim is to create pathways to college for underrepresented students," said Steve Bumbaugh, College Board senior vice president of College & Career Access. "We hope this inspires many more students to work toward this recognition." Feisal will be able to share this honor with his intended colleges as he pursues a degree in Economics. We wish him and all the seniors the best as they continue their college process! MS ELECTS STUDENT GOVERNMENT OFFICERS The Middle School elected its Student Government Executive Board officers and Homeroom Representatives last week. Congratulations to the following students: Executive Board: CJ Strauss '26 and Braelyn Brandl '26 – Co-Presidents Alyssa Ji '27 – Vice President Duaa Noor '27 – Treasurer Corelle Lee '27 – Secretary Homeroom Reps: Grade 8: Julian Martinez '26, Mackias Ysaac '26 (Chavez); Debra Adetola '26, Sabela Malki '26 (Del Rocco) Grade 7: Aadya Jha '27, Cameron Williams '27 (McElroy); Aarna Vachhrajani '27, Kimberly Zhang '27 (Rogers); Anna Bao '27, Emily O'Neill '27 (Tucker) Grade 6: Anish Rangavajjula '28, Shiloh Sharma '28 (Barnett); Veer Kansal '28, Diya Kothari '28 (Thompson); Jordan Barker '28, Malec Malki '28 (Van Dunk) US FALL PLAY ANNOUNCES CAST LIST The Wardlaw+Hartridge Performing Arts Department announced the cast list for its Upper School Fall Play – These Shining Lives – with performances set for November 12-13 in the Berry Performing Arts Center. Leading players include Rose Kassam '22 as Catherine Donohue, Naischa Puri '23 as Charlotte Purcell and Krishna Patel '22 as Frances O'Connell. The rest of the cast consists of Giselle Lee '23, Jack Silver '23, Charlie Silver '24, David Flatau-Jones '24, Carter Huang '22, Timothy Oligino '24, Sasha Chernyak '23 and Aarya Patel '25. Ticket information will be coming soon. Hope to see you at the show! ADMISSION INFORMATION SESSION - OCT. 16 W+H will host its first in-person Admission Information Session in nearly two years on Saturday, Oct. 16. The event will run from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Please share this opportunity with your family, friends and neighbors who may be interested in a W+H education for their children. W+H SUBSCRIBES TO FIGHT HUNGER As part of The Wardlaw+Hartridge School's ongoing efforts to fight food insecurity in New Jersey, we invite you to join W+H Subscribes to Fight Hunger, a monthly donation program run by our Upper School student leaders. Families who subscribe will commit to donating a bag of food once a month. Donations can be left at the reception desk, and reminders will be sent prior to each date. All donations will go to Starfish Food Pantry in Plainfield, a partner of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. We hope you will join this community-wide effort to support families in need in the Plainfield community.
UPPER SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Karl Miran, Athletic Director, announced this week's Upper School Athletes of the Week. Congratulations to cross country runner Luca DiGirolamo '25, volleyball player Izabel Korycki '22 and tennis player Ariel Wang '24. Luca made his 2021 debut at the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel on Saturday. He finished with a time of 23:16, which matches his non-Holmdel personal best (PB). The Holmdel rule of thumb states that Holmdel PBs are 30+ seconds greater than normal PBs. If this is true, there should be more fast races in store for Luca before the end of the season. Although it is only her second year with the program, Izzy has filled multiple roles for the Rams including setter and right side, along with being the emotional leader of the team. She has a developed a tough float serve which has been a weapon for the Rams to keep other teams out of their system. The team will miss her spirit and versatility on the court next year. Ariel competed at third singles for the first time on the varsity tennis team. Previously, Ariel, a sophomore, had been playing in the second doubles position. Ariel contributed to her team's victory over the Dunellen Destroyers with a 6-0, 6-0 win. MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Karl Miran, Athletic Director, announced this week's Middle School Athletes of the Week. Congratulations to cross country runner Julia Gonnella '29, soccer players Ethan Pierre '26 and Jordan Barker '28, and tennis player CJ Strauss '26. Julia ran her first home meet last Thursday and she was not intimidated by the huge team from Crossroads. She finished the race as part of a Ram pack that included three older teammates. She was the eighth W+H girl across the line with a time of 16:51 and was also the 18th girl overall in a race that had 50 girls. Ethan has shown great athletic strength during the team's competitive matchups recently. He stands so strong in his physical presence and that has partnered well with a solid defensive line. His flexibility in playing different positions has helped the coaches move players around the squad while keeping a strong lineup. Ethan's game IQ is high and his attitude is perfect for the soccer field. As a new arrival to W+H, he is making an immediate contribution. Jordan is a very competitive player on the field who makes the most of his opportunities during the game. He leads the team with four goals after the first few games. Anyone watching those goals knows how determined and relentless Jordan can be. His humble, hard-working approach to practice helps make him a great teammate. Last week, CJ played two doubles matches, with two different partners, winning both. Her outgoing personality makes her well-suited to set the tone for practice every day, as she leads the team's warm-up drills with enthusiasm. The Rams look forward to more solid performances as CJ grows into her leadership role. COLLEGE ADMISSION CASE STUDIES PROGRAM Attention Upper School families! Please join us for an Admission Case Studies program with Grant Gosselin, Director of Undergraduate Admission at Boston College, on Thursday, Oct. 14 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. During the evening, you will see how the pieces of an application do or do not add up to an offer of admission. Our guest is a veteran leader of admissions offices at different sizes and types of colleges, and he will use those varied experiences to provide the fullest sense possible of how your applications for admission will be read, discussed, and evaluated. Please be sure to use this link to register for the event and receive the Zoom link. COLLEGE REPS VISITING VIRTUALLY W+H is pleased to welcome many of the finest colleges and universities making virtual visits with our students this fall. Next week's list includes Bryn Mawr College, Dickinson College, Georgetown University, Penn State University, Boston College, Carnegie Mellon University and Muhlenberg College. For more information about colleges and universities visiting W+H this fall, go to https://www.whschool.org/academics/college-counseling/colleges-on-campus From the W+H Parents' Association Join in the Fun! - Fall Fair Set for Saturday, Oct. 9
On Saturday, October 9 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., you will have the chance to enjoy games including Car Racing, Rock 'em Sock 'em, Archery and more, carnival games with a chance to win prizes, lots of art and crafts including pumpkin painting, lanterns and more, an inflatable corn maze, a DJ playing music and dance game, giant backyard games, a balloon artist, Henna artist, glitter tattoo artist, farm fresh stand, flower and plant stand, raffles, a student luncheon fundraiser, Booster Club food options, coffee, tea and bakery goods and sports games - Go Rams! This is an outdoor event to keep everyone safe and enjoying a beautiful day on the W+H campus.
Of course, all of this takes a lot of hands to make it a success. We would love for you to join us and possibly volunteer for a small period of time. You can go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094ca8ab29a57-fall3 to choose a time slot(s) that works for you :)
The event is also made possible by generous donations from our families. We are still in need of a few sponsors to help cover the costs of all these wonderful events and attractions! We hope you can help us by choosing one of these levels:
$250 Game Sponsor (family or business will receive recognition for helping to pay for a game)
$500 Attraction Sponsor (family or business will receive recognition for helping to pay for an attraction)
$1,000 Green Level Event Sponsor (Signage announcing your family / business name)
$2,500 Gold Level Event Sponsor (Signage announcing your family / business name all around the event as well as online)
Visit WHPA2021.givesmart.com to purchase wristbands, game tickets, plants and make donations.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
The WHPA Executive Board
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WHPA MONTHLY DINNER PROGRAM
Each month on the day that coincides with our meeting, you will have the option to purchase a fabulous dinner made by our amazing Chef Anibal and staff. These dinners we so popular last year that we are going to offer them monthly as well as on special occasions. Watch the WHEN, social media, and your email for the current month's offering.
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