5 minute read
Around Campus
Around
CAMPUS
Head of School Elizabeth J. McGregor to Retire June 2022
In November, Head of School Elizabeth J. McGregor announced that she will retire in June 2022 after 13 years at Westridge. Mrs. McGregor will be greatly missed, but her legacy will remain in the community she fostered and innovative programs that were inaugurated or expanded under her leadership, including the STEAMWork Design Studio, college counseling, theatre, speech and debate, Peer-toPeer, and work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. We look forward to celebrating Mrs. McGregor and all she has contributed to our community over the next year and a half until her retirement in 2022.
Newly Renovated Lower School Playground Honors Beloved Westridge Educators
Thanks to donations from alumnae, trustees, current parents, and faculty and staff, the Lower School playground was renovated this fall and awaits the return of students to bring it to life! New features include a zip line, rock-climbing structure, expanded swing set, gaga ball pits, table tennis tables, and a deck and benches around Ranney Tree. The playground is dedicated to former Director of Lower and Middle School Mary Tuck, who retired in 2019 after 19 years at Westridge. The area surrounding Ranney Tree was constructed as a reading space in memory of Carol van Zalingen, the late dean of Lower and Middle School student support who passed away last year.
Congratulations to Upper School History Teacher Sandy de Grijs, who is celebrating 25 years at Westridge this year!
Global Initiative Program Awards First Distinctions to Seniors
This fall, seniors Sosi D. and Leily R. became the first Westridge students to earn Global Initiative distinctions for their work taking on an interdisciplinary, independent study of a modern-day global issue. Sosi explored how vital early education is for child development and Leily explored how colonialism paved the way towards the current political landscape between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Global Initiative program allows students to pursue global interests by combining coursework, experiential learning, and volunteer work. Sosi and Leily completed the program by presenting and defending their final portfolios of work to a panel of Westridge faculty and staff, earning distinctions on their diplomas at Commencement.
Author Sandra Cisneros Discusses Writing as Activism with the Westridge Community
In January, the English Department welcomed acclaimed author Sandra Cisneros for a conversation with students and families about writing as a form of activism. In this year’s All-School Read, which took place the same day as Cisneros’s visit, students in grades 4-12 gathered online for cross-divisional conversations to discuss selections from her classic coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street.
Peer-to-Peer’s Love Your Mind Week Prioritizes Mental Health in Time of Crisis
Every year, the Peer-to-Peer student support group hosts “Love Your Mind” Week to destigmatize discussions about mental health. During a global pandemic, this tradition became more important than ever. Peer-to-Peer students got creative to reimagine “Love Your Mind” events on virtual platforms while still ensuring that students were given time and space to talk about their mental health and provide support to their peers.
Students Learn to Bake, Woodwork, and Build Microscopes in New Online After-School Program
The new Tiger Club program, introduced for Lower and Middle School students this fall, provides an exciting variety of online, after-school activities taught by Westridge faculty and staff that engage students intellectually, get them moving, and add some fun, social time to their afternoons. Just a few of the activities to date include cooking sweet potato latkes, constructing wooden jellybean dispensers, building digital microscopes, practicing yoga, and participating in book discussions!
Students Controlled the Narrative in the Theatre Department’s Online Fall Festival
Students took unprecedented control of the production and narrative in the new Fall Festival this year, proposing selections from plays they wished to produce and then collaborating with peers to bring their creative visions to life. Students worked as actors, directors, writers, designers, and technicians, ultimately presenting a compilation of 10 performance pieces from contemporary plays and original works by Westridge students.
Around
CAMPUS
New at Westridge: Lower School Clubs
After introducing their first-ever club last year (the Earth Club), Lower School students launched seven new clubs this fall, including Baking Club, Black Lives Matter at Westridge, Da YouTubers, Photo Life Club, Lower School Witches Undercover Club, Dancing Tigers, and Sports Mania. Sixth graders may propose and lead clubs, which are open to all Lower School students.
Public Health Education 7th Grade Style
After learning about viruses, the immune system, and vaccines, Barbara Chabot’s 7th grade science class turned its attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working in groups, students tapped their creativity to help educate our community in fun and engaging ways through videos, animations, presentations, infographics, websites, and comic strips. Topics included the benefits of face coverings, how vaccines work, how the pandemic is affecting different minority groups, and how other countries have lowered transmission rates.
Ms. Houser’s 5th grade math class took a virtual field trip to New York City to visit the National Museum of Mathematics — the only museum in the country dedicated to math! The program, titled “Mind-Blowing Division: See How Long Division Can be Made Exceptionally Clear,” included a presentation about long division with mathematician and educator Dr. James Tanton. Dr. Tanton’s goal is to bring “joyful math” to students all around the world, sharing his love for the beauty and creativity of the subject.
Student Tech Partners Provide Support in New Age of Remote Learning
The Student Tech Partners program, which pairs current and new students to help ease the transition to Westridge educational technology, became indispensable this year as the pandemic kept school in remote learning and tech demands skyrocketed. The 34 Student Tech Partners in grades 6-10 spent time over the summer virtually meeting with new students, and creating video tutorials that were used in school-wide trainings to prepare the whole community for the new world of remote learning this fall.
