Distanced and Different

Distanced & Different

But Still Westridge at Heart

During remote learning, we miss many things about our regular school life that we have taken for granted in the past — from hands-on group projects and field trips to live productions, competitive athletics, playgrounds, and spontaneous conversations between teachers and students on campus.

In this unusual time, however, essential elements of Westridge have kept us going and kept us together, including a creative and dedicated faculty and staff who have gone above and beyond to ensure the best possible education for their students, a community that surrounds our students and school with support, and Westridge traditions.

Here, we reflect on and celebrate the many ways people from all corners of the Westridge family are keeping the school, its students, and each other in their hearts during COVID-19.

FACULTY & STAFF STEP UP

In March, every member of the faculty and staff pitched in to ensure that our school could be rebuilt online with only two weeks’ notice. Emphasis was placed on ensuring educational continuity and supporting student wellness in a new and frightening time. There was trial and error and evolution in the first weeks of the emergency campus closure. Yet faculty and staff fought to keep students learning and connected and to keep special elements of their year intact, from tech support drop-in sessions and support groups for parents, to the 8th Grade Radio Play, the 6th grade’s online World Women of Courage and Character Wax Museum, rocketry competitions, and a slate of yearend events for seniors.

With time over the summer to evolve our remote learning playbook, teachers developed curricula specifically designed for remote learning. Based on experience from the spring, the academic team revamped the schedule to build in additional regular opportunities for community connection and social emotional learning — even more critical when students can’t be together on campus. Extra time was added for advisory and homerooms, and “Westridge Wednesday” launched to create a day without classes devoted to student-life activities and much-needed time to do homework or meet one-on-one with teachers.

In addition, a fuller complement of co-curricular programming was re-instated or expanded this fall, including:

Ceramics teacher Juanita Jimenez sent students home with pottery wheels and provides clay refills at monthly supply pickups so students can continue their ceramics studies from home.

• Regular assemblies • An online after school program • A full slate of performing arts online productions and a new professional speakers’ series in the Theatre Department • College Counseling events • Upper School Writing Center • Middle School online athletic team skill building • And even full-blown ceramics classes, because the inimitable Juanita Jimenez (see page 6) figured out a way to get pottery wheels and clay to the homes of students.

Of course, a significant part of the Westridge experience lies in personal connection and community interactions. This presents a challenge in remote learning when the serendipity of impromptu interactions on campus is lost and everyone needs a break from screen time after a day of online academics. Special kudos to student leaders in all divisions and to our deans of student activities who went the extra mile to create community from afar this year! Here is a sampling of the ways campus connections were forged during remote learning:

Big & Little Sisters get to know each other on Teams.

STUDENTS

• Tell-A-Tiger. Upper School students have offered their ears to

Lower and Middle School students in need of peer support while remote. Most Tell-A-Tiger buddies meet weekly.

• Big & Little Sister groups. Many Big & Little Sister groups have ongoing “chats” and impromptu meetings in Microsoft

Teams, the platform Westridge uses for remote learning.

• Peer-to-Peer safe space. In February, Peer-to-Peer, a group of students who are trained to provide peer support, began hosting office hours of sorts — an online space for students to drop in when they need to talk to someone.

• Lower School student clubs. The introduction of Lower

School clubs this year has created great opportunities for students to make new friends and socialize.

• 9th grade lunch buddies. Freshman class leaders have formed drop-in lunch tables on Microsoft Teams for students to virtually hangout with peers over lunch.

FACULTY

• 4th, 5th, and 6th grade social hour. When parents of our youngest students requested more opportunities for social interaction, Lower & Middle School Dean of Student

Activities Farrell Heydorff established an afterschool social hour. She kicks off each event with a few questions such as

“what are you reading?” or “share a favorite pet story,” and the students take it from there.

• Lower School art drop-in. In normal times, the Lower

School art room often fills with students at lunch and after school, when they make great art and great conversation. This year, Ms. Trimarchi is recreating that experience for 5th and 6th graders online (and it is still a popular place to hang out)!

• Math help sessions. Teachers in the Lower and Middle

School, Susi Pettersson, and Kenzie and Val Brownsmith, offer online drop-in sessions for math assistance.

• Supply surprises. A number of teachers, Eric Libicki and

Barbra Chabot among them, have taken to including small goodies in monthly class supply packets — items that have nothing to do with class but let students know they are thinking of them.

Alumna Andja Budincich ’10 joined the Theatre Department’s new guest speaker series to give students a glimpse into the career path of a costume designer.

PARENTS & ALUMNAE

• Alumnae “campus” visits and mentoring. Remote learning makes it possible for Westridge alumnae outside of Los Angles to join classes as guest speakers, and many have stepped up in classes from biology to theatre. In addition, Westridge alumnae from coast-tocoast have offered to mentor BIPOC students as we work to increase support and representation. • Online events. Westridge Parent Association (WPA) leadership and grade-level representatives have focused on creating connection for both students and parents.

Their creative offerings have ranged from escape rooms, movie nights, and art classes for students, to happy hours and trivia nights for parents.

• Cooking classes. As evidence that Westridge remains

Westridge, food is still an essential part of the Westridge experience, even in the pandemic. Many students,

parents, and alumnae have had a taste of the beloved Westridge Commons with virtual cooking lessons from Chef Brandon Worrell. Students at Westridge of African Heritage Group (SWAHG) brought in Chef Roslyn Spence for an afternoon of cooking. And author and senior cooking editor for The New York Times and NYT Cooking Genevieve Ko ’96 made a special appearance during the Yam Festival.

• Community business listing. Early in the spring lockdowns, the school and the WPA compiled a directory of businesses owned and run by Westridge families and alumnae that would benefit from business from the Westridge community during the pandemic.

• Financial support. Current parents, former parents, and alumnae have approached the school to ask how they could help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the school and its families. Support came in many forms, including:

- Giving to the annual fund. Knowing that others may be impacted financially and might not be able to give this year, many stepped up to make their own contributions to the annual fund. This includes a generous $100,000 anonymous challenge gift from a current family, which successfully inspired fellow parents to support the school. - A $500,000 anonymous gift from an alumna to support our short-term Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). TAP helps families who traditionally do not qualify for aid but have been impacted in the short-term by the pandemic. - COVID-Relief Funds. Special gifts from alumnae families helped Westridge offset the financial impact of the pandemic on school operations, such as increased technology costs, and work to prepare the campus for a safe return to in-person learning. This included an anonymous gift of $100,000.

WESTRIDGE TRADITIONS

In addition to just plain bringing joy, traditions connect us to a greater whole, create shared memories, and create a sense of belonging. Westridge traditions — and the staff members, parents, and students who have worked so hard to reimagine them — have helped keep students connected during the pandemic. • Senior events. The Class of 2020 was treated to a nearly full, though virtual, slate of traditional year-end events including an online Commencement ceremony followed by an in-person car parade. This fall, senior parent gradelevel representatives organized a monthly series of creative senior breakfast care packages and a series of spring events is being planned for the Class of 2021.

• Yam Festival. Yam Festival became Yam Week in 2020, complete with a yam latke-making cooking class with

Brandon Worrell, a Big & Little Sisters event including an

“Our YAMily” worksheet, and an after-school session on how to grow sweet potatoes, complete with 3-D printed planters. • Big & Little Sisters. Not only has Big & Little Sisters survived during the pandemic, it has thrived and expanded to four activities in the first four months of school!

• Greek & Roman Initiation. It may have been a bit quieter than when hosted in Hoffman Gymnasium, but

ASB leaders worked hard to make this year’s initiation memorable, including sending blue or yellow confetti poppers to new student and faculty members' homes for the big reveal.

• Junior Ring pick-up. Although their celebration was delayed until the fall, the Class of 2021 was presented with their class rings and a white rose in a virtual ceremony in September. Senior parent grade-level representatives created an amazing experience for students to collect their Ring Ceremony kits in the State

Street parking lot, including a giant balloon ring photoop, a cotton candy stand, and beautiful kits containing their rings, roses, and cupcakes.

• Grandparents & Friends Day. Our virtual Grandparents & Friends Day provided a glimpse into students' everyday lives at school, with video messages and performances, photos, and news stories showing what they have been working on at “Westridge Without Walls.”