On June 11, 2022, the Class of 2022 received their diplomas in the Greenwood and joined our vast, global network of alums. You can see videos of the student speakers, photo galleries, and learn about their college destinations on this page of our website. Take a moment to check it out! Watch the full Commencement ceremony below.
The Common Market recently presented Westtown School — our Food Services Department in particular — with a Certificate of Support. This certificate recognizes Westtown’s efforts to purchase sustainably farmed local food. Rachel Terry, National Partnerships Director at Common Market, writes, “Congratulations on a tremendous year of supporting local farms! 2021 came paired with undeniable challenges, making your innovation and dedication to getting your communities nutritious, local food all the more inspiring. Your support has also translated to deeply meaningful commitments to our supply chain partners—our sustainable family farms located throughout our region…As local food advocates, you have an enormous opportunity to strengthen the health and wealth of our communities. And your purchases contribute to a food system that works for all. We thank you for choosing to buy local with us. I’m excited to present your organization with a Certificate of Support that highlights your local procurement efforts in 2021, including: The number of regional, family farms your community helped support, the dollar amount your community invested in the local economy, and, the number of pounds of local food your community purchased.”
As you can see on the certificate, Westtown School supported 34 local farms, invested $41,753 in the local economy, and purchased 30,132 pounds of food locally. We extend our congratulations and thanks to Beth Pellegrino and the entire Food Services team who partner with Common Market and are dedicated to nourishing the community with nutritious, locally sourced, sustainably produced foods!
April was Earth Month and the community celebrated by demonstrating their commitment to our sustainability practices! A few highlights include:
The Lower School is learning by living by invigorating their composting program. Lower School science teacher Amanda Jeanne Strode and her students explore lessons about food waste, recycling, and evaluating data. You can learn more here.
Our librarians encourage all ages to celebrate Earth Month with a book! Find one you or your child might enjoy here.
The Sustainability Committee created a calendar with environmentally focused activities for families to enjoy.
The Facilities Department continues their work to find new and environmentally-sensitive ways to keep our campus looking beautiful. They have started using electric, battery-run equipment that not only helps in the efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and air pollution, but also reduces noise pollution.
And finally, Westtown was well represented at the Growing Greener Summit for teachers and administrators on Earth Day at Tower Hill School. Organized by ADVIS, PAISBOA, and PAIS, the Growing Greener Summit had over 180 participants.
Westtown science teacher Dana Jensen and Mary Ann Boyer of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants presented “A Carbon Footprint Challenge©: A Real-World, Solutions-Based Climate Change Project” and Westtown’s Case Study. Boyer provided an overview of the program and background information. Jensen shared examples of student work where students collected campus greenhouse gas emissions, identified solutions and curated a plan to reduce emissions.
Senior Isabel Yuste gave a presentation about her “Sustainability Deep Dive Certification and Green Coalition Project.” Green Coalition, a student-run environmental advocacy club, connects students with the natural world around them, as well as exposing students to climate justice efforts both locally and globally. Yuste described Westtown’s student-facilitated clothing swap drive that promotes “thrifting” shopping on campus instead of promoting “fast-fashion.” (See more below.)
Westtown’s Director of Outdoor Education, Chris Henwood-Costa, presented “Connecting Students with the Natural World – Critical Step Toward Sustainability” where she focused on outdoor experiential and sensory activities, group discussion and individual reflection. Henwood-Costa sees place-based nature connection work as a critical step toward sustainability.
Although photos featured in eCollections and other school publications come from a variety of sources, we’d like to give special thanks to Nan Yiljep ’11, Sports Information Coordinator, Shannon Moriarty, Upper School Photography teacher, and students Coco Chen ’25, Wilson Kuang ’24, and Eric Li ’24, whose work you will find featured here and in many of our school galleries.
For those who want to learn more about Westtown alumnus Samuel L. Allen who attended Westtown in the 1850s and is the inventor of the Flexible Flyer sled, check out this article currently featured on the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office. It contains several references to Westtown School and includes photographs from the Archives.
One of the pillars of our Strategic Vision is Environment Illuminated. To continue our crucial work in the area, Westtown has engaged with Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants to review our sustainability goals and vision. One of their recommendations was to reassemble the Sustainability Committee. This committee — comprising administrators, faculty, staff, and students — has been reconvened and meets monthly. At their kickoff meeting in October, they discerned their charge:
The Sustainability Committee shall advise the school on matters related to campus-wide sustainability and environmental issues and work with faculty, staff, administration, and students to develop policies and practices that promote an equitable reduction of resource usage and create a culture of sustainability practices on campus. The Sustainability Committee shall additionally advise the school on creating educational events and addressing other issues on the campus that relate to sustainability.
The Committee’s first steps are to collect data/conduct an audit, develop an action plan, review the sustainability mission statement, and monitor progress and results. Their broad goals are to reduce the campus carbon footprint; increase awareness of environmental issues, and to enact institutional and behavioral change toward these goals. Stay tuned for updates in this and other Westtown publications. If you have any questions about the Sustainability Committee, please don’t hesitate to contact Mary Ann Boyer of Boyer Sudduth Consultants, or Carolyn Hapeman, Dean of Finance and Operations.
Pat Seagers, former Health Center Head Nurse, retired in 1996 after caring for Westtown students for more than 20 years. Pat was honored on October 23, when friends and family joined her on campus for a plaque dedication. The plaque was installed in the waiting room of the Health Center, which used to be Pat’s office. This plaque honors Pat’s devotion and dedication to the health and well being of generations of Westonians. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you, Pat!
A few weeks ago, Interim Head of School Chris Benbow ’90 and the Board of Trustees sent a letter to the community with the results of the Institutional Equity Audit, performed by the Glasgow Group. It includes important discoveries we have made in this process and steps we are taking in response to what we have learned. If you have not read this communication, we encourage you to do so. You may find the letter in full here which contains a link to the audit.
College Shirt Day is one way we celebrate our seniors’ college choices. They donned their gear and stopped by the South Room for a photoshoot on May 2, the day after National Decision Day. They had a lot of fun with this visual celebration of the next phase in their lives! Check out our College Shirt Day gallery to see where some are headed!
