National Chinese Honor Society Inductees

Anne Burns on June 12, 2025

The National Chinese Honor Society was established in November 1993. Its objective is to acknowledge the superior achievement of secondary school students studying Chinese as a second language. Like other honor societies, the National Chinese Honor Society not only recognizes high scholastic achievement but also good character, leadership, and service. National Chinese Honor Society members should exemplify all these standards. The Society’s goal is to promote enthusiasm for Chinese language and culture learning, commitment to advanced study, and greater cross-cultural understanding. In addition, the National Junior Scholars for Excellence in Chinese award is to recognize our eligible Middle School 8th grade Mandarin students’ achievement in the study of Chinese language and culture.

After reviewing their Chinese course work throughout their middle school and high school years, examining the national standards set forth, and discussing the many qualifications of gifted students, the Westtown School chapter of the National Chinese Honor Society was pleased to induct 12 new members into the society and renew seven students’ memberships, as well as award four Middle School students into the National Chinese Junior Scholar in Chinese.

At an induction ceremony in the South Room this spring, teachers Jie Song, Nina Li, and World Languages Chair Bei Zhang presented the students with their certificates. Congratulations!

Upper School Newly Inducted Members

Alondra Garcia Almonte 顾明兰
Camille Bley 林可芯
Payton Corp 孔沛萱
Ben D’Alessandro 邓杰
Evan Holgate 侯昱
Insaaf Imtiyaz 张先尧
Catherine McDonough 麦熙婷
Fernanda Paredes 潘悦珂
Celia Perkins 彭静
Victoria Potts 潘诗颖
Ayla Riley 阮庆玲
Miriam Smith 史幂

Upper School Renewed Members

Sofia Burgos 包慧珍
Parker Coates 寇晓洁
Aveline Heryer 何美琳
Emily Kessler 艾明兰
Grace Malavolta 马悦晴
Liam Sellers-Johnston 孙俊
Auden Vosburgh 王嘉奇

Middle School Newly Inducted Members

Abby Sellers-Johnston 沈佳怡
Sam Marsini 马珊珊
Molly Kramer 康明慧
Kayla John 蒋敏静

Enjoy the whole gallery here!

Think, Care, Act Fair

Lynette Assarsson on June 12, 2025

The seventh grade Think, Care, Act project is the culmination of students identifying their strengths, interests, and talents, focusing on what they care about in their communities and world around them, then choosing a service project or organizationto donate time to related to these strengths and interests. Each student does 10 hours of service, which together makes 400 hours of community service performed by seventh graders! The Think, Care, Act Fair is the culmination of these projects and was held in the Uptown Lounge where students presented tri-folds describing their services projects and shared their experiences with parents, teachers, and fellow students. Well done, students, and shout to teacher Abby Lausch who created and shepherds this project!

Enjoy the gallery of photos from the fair here!

Biolympiad

Anne Burns on June 12, 2025

As the premier biology competition for high school students in the United States, the USA Biolympiad (USABO) enriches the life science education of nearly 12,000 talented students annually. It provides the motivation, curricular resources, and skills training to take them beyond their classroom experience to the level of international competitiveness. Westtown students have competed in the national exam for the past two years.

This year, five students took the exam, administered on February 6 after school by science teacher Leslie Barr. They are:

Max Zhang ’26
Jerry Huynh ’25
Anqi (Angela) Wang ’26
Ela Mitra ’28
Mary Chen ’27

Of these students, Angela Wang qualified for semifinals. This semi final exam was during our spring break, (and only open to US residents). Angela has qualified for this honor for two years now, and has represented our school very well.

Please join us in congratulating all of this year’s participants in this national academic competition!

Environmental Science Students Visit Stroud Water Research Center

Lynette Assarsson on June 12, 2025

Students in teacher Ryan Black‘s Advanced Environmental Science classes visited the internationally renowned Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, PA. Located along the pristine White Clay Creek, the Center offered an ideal environment for students to conduct chemical tests of water quality and assess aquatic biodiversity using a biotic index. The experience allowed students to observe what a healthy local stream should look like and compare it to the more impacted streams on our campus.

During the visit, students toured Stroud’s Platinum LEED-certified facility, which features vermiculture composting toilets and a streamhouse—an indoor laboratory where stream water is circulated for algae growth and controlled experiments. They also met with Stroud’s entomology team to gain a deeper understanding of macroinvertebrates and their role as indicators of stream health. Independent study student Mira Hartmann ’25 was able to tour their entomology lab and speak directly with the entomologist to gain insight into advanced analysis methods for the macroinvertebrate data she has been collecting on campus.

This immersive field experience enriched the students’ classroom learning and emphasized the importance of real-world, field-based research in understanding and protecting freshwater ecosystems.

Book Buddies

Anne Burns on June 12, 2025

Every year, as part of the teacher Abby Lausch‘s English Language Arts class, seventh graders learn about writing and storytelling and then work with the Primary Circle students—their “book buddies”—to co-author and illustrate a book. At the end of the year, the book buddies had a “publish party,” where they read their final books together, had a cool treat, and shared recess time. See more photos here!

Living Museum

Lynette Assarsson on June 12, 2025

At the end of the school year, fourth graders invited family and fellow Lower Schoolers to present their Living Museum, part of a research project centered on the lives of historical abolitionists. The project is a culmination of their social studies curriculum, which focuses on the history of this continent from pre-European contact through the abolishment of slavery. In this final “living museum” project, students share the work, struggles, and successes of many notable abolitionists. Well done, fourth grade! You can see more photos here.

Down the River

Lynette Assarsson on June 12, 2025

Our eighth graders participated in a beloved Westtown tradition—the last Middle School canoe trip! The Class of 2029 went on a three-day/two-night adventure on the Potomac River in western Maryland. This hallmark experience is marked not only by skill-building in nature and on the water, but also by community-building and growth. Students learn to push themselves and encourage each other, work as a team, as well as to canoe and practice “Leave no Trace.” As Middle School Principal Will Addis shared, “The canoe trips and the training that goes with them provide real-world applications for the skills and understandings we strive to teach our students while also providing lessons that reflect those skills. If you are ever around the students as they prepare for a trip, you will see how evident this is. Phrases like ‘We can do hard things and ‘There are no passengers, only crew’ are uttered frequently. This is true on the river but applies to the classroom, playing field, Dining Room, and so on.” Our thanks to Chris Henwood-Costa, Director of Outdoor Education, and all the Middle School faculty who support these important trips each year! Photos of this year’s adventure are here!

Third Grade African Dance

Anne Burns on April 11, 2025

Now in its twenty-third year, the partnership with Jeannine Osayande and the Dunya Performing Arts Company continues! During their six-week residency, teachers Charis Fisher and Kristin Hayman and third graders worked with Jeannine and company as part of their studies on the continent of Africa, its cultures, and its art. During the residency, the students learned the movements, origins, stories, and symbolism of the African dances and Capoeira. They also learned about West African adinkra symbols which they incorporated in their batik costumes that they made in their art classes. The studies culminated in the wonderful African Dance performance. At the finale, teachers took the stage and the audience joined in as well! Enjoy the whole gallery of photos here!

Black History Month Archives Museum

Lynette Assarsson on April 11, 2025

Just before spring break, The Fifth Grade EJB team hosted a Black History Month Archives Museum in the South Room, an exhibit open to the whole school community. Each group worked with Westtown Archivist Sara Mullen to review archival materials and research Black pioneers at Westtown, and then, over the course of two days, gave presentations as visitors came to their tables during the exhibit.

“I launched the Fifth Grade Equity, Justice, and Belonging team three years ago to ensure student voices consistently connected to Westtown’s mission-aligned approach.” shares Kelly Yiadom, Director of Equity, Justice, and Belonging for Lower and Middle Schools. “At the beginning of the year, students have the opportunity to volunteer their time in an effort to do a deeper dive into social justice while developing their advocacy and presentation skills.

“For the Black History Month Archives Museum, students diligently researched Black Westtown pioneers, narrated their stories, and designed the exhibits to bring their stories to life. Their parents and several Westtown community members filled the South Room to learn about Charles Hammond (the first Black man to graduate from Westtown), Mervin Hutton (the first full-time Black teacher), Siggy Howard (the first Black woman to graduate from Westtown), and Grace Cunningham (the first Black student to attend Westtown), and Sonia Simmons (one of the first five Black students admitted to Westtown). Nothing is more rewarding than witnessing the journey of a project through its completion. To that, well done, Jordan, Eric, Dania, Jackson, Chloe, Nora, Lucas, Sam, Tommy, Kennedy, and Evvia!”

You can enjoy a gallery of photos of their exhibit here.

National Science Bowl

Anne Burns on April 11, 2025

This year was Westtown’s first time sending a team to the National Science Bowl competition. This competition is a tense and fast-paced Jeopardy!-style competition in which teams compete to answer science questions faster than their opponents. Questions can include topics in biology, chemistry, earth science, astronomy, physics, math, and energy science, often about extremely technical concepts.

Science teacher and faculty advisor of the team Niral Desai shares, “On February 22, five intrepid science students on the team traveled to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, and competed for the very first time against some of the top Science Bowl teams in the nation. Ben D’Alessandro ’26, Quinlan McLear ’26, Jamie Lee ’27, and Angela Wang ’26 joined captain Tessa Kipnis ’26 as our inaugural team, making Westtown history. The competition was fierce, and these five are looking optimistically toward next year’s competition.”

On March 2, eight Westtown students also attended the Johns Hopkins Invitational Science Bowl Tournament with science teacher Niral Desai and history teacher Marissa Colston in Baltimore, Maryland. “Dividing into two teams, our students competed in five rounds during the round-robin portion of the competition, with one of the two teams advancing to the double elimination bracket,” says Desai. “Our first team consisted of Tessa Kipnis, Quinlan McLear, Jamie Lee, and Angela Wang; on our second team, Ben D’Alessandro served as captain with teammates Leila Alobeidy ’28, Sarah Lan ’27, and Jerry Rao ’27.”

The Science Bowl program is thriving in its first year and team members are already eager to start studying for next year’s competition. Westtown is very proud of the hard work that our Science Bowl teams have shown in such a short time. The program aims to expand to the Middle School as interest in competing continues to grow. We look forward to continuing to showcase Westtown’s excellence in the National Science Bowl! Go ‘Town!