d o o w t s e W f O e r u t The Fu REDHAWK TIMES
A & Q
by Katie McCarthy, senior editor
What a difference four years makes! But what’s next for Westwood? by Angel Salley, writer
Inside:
Four years ago, the doors of Westwood opened to students, adding a fifth high school to a diverse district. However, many families zoned for Westwood chose not to start here because they’d heard “bad” things about a school that, until August 2012, had only had construction crews in it. The rezoning even prompted many to refer to it as “Westhood”. Since the school opened, the students, faculty, and staff have worked hard to prove the school is nothing like it was assumed to be. One of the biggest positive movements at the school is its dedication to community service,“Westwood Serves”. Over the past three years, programs like Wishes of Westwood aid those who are less fortunate. Non-perishable food, clothes and other items are donated and collected to help those who need it most. Other Westwood Serves events include HOSA’s Blood Drive, Brett’s Rainbow, Harvest Festival and, most recently, the “One Can Make a Difference” program created by junior Xavier Vereen. The school community makes a great effort to provide its students with unique experiences, programs and top-notch technology. “I think we’ve done a very good job so far of really trying to meet the needs of students, of finding out what students are interested in, and developing clubs and teams that are a response to that,” said Dr. Cheryl Guy, principal. “We’re starting a lacrosse team this year because we have students who have expressed interest and we’ve gotten a coach for it. We also have great clubs here like Anime Club and all of these different programs like Globalize 13.” She added, “I feel like there are so many things that there has to be something that would interest just about everyone here. Mrs. Frick is always open to that - if there’s a club that we don’t have but that people want, you just have to have 10 people and an adult who’s willing to sponsor it and we’ll start that club. We’re starting up Mock Trial this year which we haven’t had before. We’ve got a few new things going on and we’ll continue to add to these as students express interest.”
p3: WHS News
p4: After the Flood
This is also the only school in the district to offer a firefighting program, which trains and certifies future firefighters. “In the next five years, I want Westwood to be the high school that all the parents want their children to go to,” said Guy. As part of the iRED magnet school, teachers create project-based lessons to yield “real-life” work experiences, helping students prepare for life beyond their high school years. “I don’t know if our students are aware, but we had a 100% pass rate in AP Studio Art, Chemistry, and in several other subjects,” said Guy. “I think there are a lot of students who could be in more rigorous classes than what they’re taking, and I want to work on pushing people to step a little higher than where they might feel comfortable.” She added, “Maybe we need to do a better job of publicizing and promoting those programs and making sure that students know they are accessible.” Beyond creating a strong academic core, the school continues to focus on “We Are Family” and building a community known for positive spirit and accomplishments. For example, the varsity football team has come a long way since 2012, and there’s no doubt they have improved drastically, moving from the bottom of their division to one of the top teams in the state. Guy said, “I have said this many numerous times and I will continue to repeat it. In high school you have to find your place, you have to find your niche. You need to find a club, a team, an organization, a program where you belong and where you find like-minded students who are your friends and that you work together with for some common cause. And I think that’s the biggest thing that I see with students who are successful in school and successful after school is that they found their place and I worry about students who just come, sit through class, and go home and don’t feel like they’re really connected and that’s what I want everyone to feel like they’re connected and that’s apart of that family atmosphere.” The future is indeed bright for the Redhawks of Westwood High School.
p7: #Mark5trong
p8: Prep for College
with Dr. Cheryl Guy, WHS’s new principal
When former principal Ralph Schmidt announced he was leaving Westwood last spring, many students and teachers were shocked by the news and worried about who would take his place. So when Dr. Cheryl Guy, our former assistant principal, was announced as his replacement, students and teachers alike were glad to learn that a familiar face would be in charge. But questions still loomed - what changes would Dr. Guy bring as a part of her new role as principal?
Redhawk Times: What are some challenges we face here at Westwood? How do you plan to resolve them? Chery Guy: I think our biggest challenge continues to be misperceptions in the community. We’re going to continue to work on getting good publicity about the school, getting the community to know more about Westwood, who our students are, what they’re all about, and all of the great things that go on here. RT: What makes Westwood unique? CG: There are a lot of things that make this school unique. I’ve been in education for 31 years, and I’ve worked at a lot of different schools. There’s a much stronger sense of family than in any school I’ve ever experienced. I feel like teachers care for each other, teachers care for our students, and students care for each other, and I think that makes this a very special place. And I think we’ve seen it in action this year with how our family has responded to a football player who was injured. We also have some unique programs here - we have Fire and EMS and Studio D, both of which are special programs unlike anything else in the district. Our Convergence Media program, yeah I know there’s another school that has one, but I still think ours is pretty special. And special events like our Ren Faire and Senior Citizens Prom are some things that we do different from what people experience at other schools. RT: Mr. Schmidt really helped create a sense of family and community with the “We Are Westwood”chant. How do you plan to keep this atmosphere going? CG: Well I will admit that my greatest fear when I became Principal was that I would have to go out in front of everyone at the pep rally and yell “We Are” and trust that all of the students would yell back “Westwood”. So I was very relieved when we had the first pep rally and that went very Dr. Cheryl Guy, WHS’s new principal well. And we will continue to carry on that tradition of having that. And I think there are some new things we do here that give a sense of family. The mural in the gym this year with the words to the Alma Mater and when I heard students sing the Alma Mater at the end of the pep rally and sing it together. To me are the moments that will make people feel united as a Westwood family. RT: How do you plan to “leave your mark” at Westwood? CG: Well, I think that if we reach my goal of being the school in Richland 2 that everyone wants their students to go to that I will feel I have really accomplished something amazing. So stay tuned and come back in 2020 and see if we’re there. RT: What are you looking forward to the most this school year? CG: There are a lot of individual moments that I am looking forward to, but the biggest one for me would be giving my daughter (Marilyn Guy) her diploma.