Dr. Virginia Smith, Associate Professor of Water Resources in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Villanova University, visited fourth grade science classes to talk about her work in urban flooding and researching mitigation solutions and water management. She spoke to the students about water systems, how rivers change with climate, gardens that help mitigate runoff, and about rain gardens both create biodiversity and decrease the temperature of cities. She engaged the students in demonstrations on rainfall in urban areas and they discussed ways individuals can help the watershed in any area. Dr. Smith also noted that the new Lower School playscape will have rain gardens and is designed for runoff mitigation. Lower School Science teacher Colby Van Alen shares, “Before Dr. Smith’s visit, 4th graders explored how land changes shape without human and animal interference. This led to on-campus walks where numerous discoveries were made, such as signs of water runoffs. It was wonderful to have Dr. Smith in the classroom to deepen their inquiry-based learning in this area.”
Middle and Lower Schoolers recently enjoyed a visit from Tchin, a nationally known Indigenous artist, musician, educator, and storyteller. He shared vivid lessons of how things like colorful flowers and rabbits came to be. During his performance, Tchin also played various rare Indigenous flutes, some of which have not been enjoyed for generations. We are grateful to Tchin for sharing his stories, music, and magic with our students!
Congratulations to these seniors on their National Merit Scholarship (NMS) achievements! Over 1.3 million juniors across the country entered the NMS program and only 16,000 qualify as semi-finalists. Kyle Cui (3rd from left) is a semi-finalist and will continue in the competition. Terry Ma, Steven Zhao, Jacob Liu, Liam Sellers-Johnston, Shawn Xu, Sophia Park, Aveline Heryer, and Katherine Graham (not pictured) have been named Commended Students by the Nation Merit Scholarship Corporation, which means they were in the top 50,000 scorers of students who took the PSAT last fall.
George Lakey gave a rousing presentaion at a recent Upper School Assembly. Lakey is an activist and author who has committed his life to fighting for social justice in many realms: racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and climate justice, among many others. As a Quaker, he has co-founded and led many organizations and campaigns focused on peace and justice. At the assembly, he spoke about his anti-war activism in Vietnam, his work in the civil rights movement, and his recent work fighting climate change. A sociologist and researcher by trade who has studied social movements across world and in Scandivia in particular, he addressed the extreme political polarization in the United States, reminding students that polarization very often precedes progress in societies; that it’s often this tension that propels movements forward. He reminded students that they can can be instrumental in change as well. The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A period.
Upper School religion teacher Lara Freeman, who was instrumental in bringing George to campus, shares, “George visited one of the Environmental Justice classes for an open conversation about social change and his long history of working for a more just world. The students came prepared with questions they wanted to ask. The conversation was rich and could have lasted another hour. Following the presentation in assembly, George also met with students, staff, and faculty in a reception in the South Room. It was exciting to hear from adults who had participated in trainings with George in their youth as well as to see a new generation of people motivated by his joy, humor, and creative engagement in this world.” It is of note that Westtown students who have taken the Peace and Justice classes over the last few years have used the Global Nonviolent Action Database, which Lakey helped to create at Swarthmore College.
Lakey is a member of the Earth Quaker Action Team and columnist for WagingNonviolence.org. You can learn more about Lakey and his work in the documentary film Citizen George, or through his books. He is the author of: Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice; Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Diverse Learners; Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians got it right and how we can, too; and HOW WE WIN: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning.
Angela Wang and Jerry Huynh competed in the 2024 USA Biolympiad National Exam, sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Education. Both Jerry and Angela participated in the first round of exams on February 12. Angela qualified as a semi-finalist, the highest level that she was able to achieve (without being a US citizen).
Here are the happy recipients of their award certificates, along with science teacher Leslie Barr!
Outdoor Education in Middle School this year has been full of exploration, learning, art, and time in nature. Students learned how to build emergency shelters, safely build campfires, identify spring ephemeral wildflowers, carve their hiking sticks in the art studio, and work together. In April, Outdoor Education had a cookout at the fire circle where they cooked a feast of penne pasta with a pesto made from garlic mustard and ramps that were foraged on campus. The feast also included a color-changing lemonade made from violet flowers, homemade bread, and. of course, s’mores! Enjoy photos from their cookout here!
Recently, the Metal Moose robotics team hosted a Women in STEM workshop for female-identifying students in 5th through 8th grades. The workshop, spearheaded by Lucia Sanchez ’24, focused on three main activities: LEGO robotics, Python programming, and an introduction to Metal Moose and FIRST Robotics. Sanchez shares, “The LEGO robotics activity was for elementary-aged students, and Python programming was for middle-school-aged students. During the LEGO robotics portion, we taught students how to build and code LEGO robots step-by-step using Ev3 kits. The Python programming section consisted of the open-source Tech Girlz curriculum, which allowed us to teach students basic programming concepts by creating a digital Mad Lib and a number-guessing game. Lastly, we did a brief presentation for all of the students about what the Metal Moose does and how FIRST Robotics and the competitions we attend work. We then did a robot demonstration of our 2024 robot ‘Clio’ during which we explained the functionality of the robot and let students drive it.”
Sanchez says she was inspired to organize this event because she was first introduced to robotics in elementary school in an all-girls tech workshop. “It inspired me to further pursue LEGO robotics and STEM activities at my own school. So I wanted to run a Women in STEM workshop [here] for middle and elementary school girls to build coding skills and learn about robotics in a safe and supportive space.” Because the workshop was such a success, the Metal Moose team plans to continue holding free STEM workshops in the coming years.
As part of their English studies, each year 7th graders and Primary Circle students collaborate to write books together. They spend time building relationships, learning each other’s interests, learning about the elements of storytelling, and ultimately they write and illustrate a short story together. When finished, 7th graders bring the finished books to their “Book Buddies” and spend time reading their books, enjoying popsicles, and having recess together! You can enjoy more images ofthe Book Buddy sharing day here.
Throughout the year, 4th graders study the history of this continent from pre-European contact through the abolishment of slavery. It is based on the queries, Who’s telling the story? and Whose voices are missing? The culmination of their studies becomes this final project where they share the successes, struggles, and work of many notable abolitionists. They invited family guests and fellow Lower Schoolers to their Living Museum so they could learn about these important historical figures as well. Well done, 4th graders!
The Think, Care, Act Fair is the culmination of a multi-stage project that begins in 7th grade advisories where students identify their strengths, affinities, interests, and talents. They then focus on what they care about in the community and the world around them. In the third step, they try to connect the first two pieces into a service project that helps others by putting passions and skills to good use. The final step is to present their projects to their families, teachers, and 6th and 8th-grade peers. At the end of the year, 7th graders filled the Uptown Lounge with tri-folds and shared their experiences. This annual project, led by teacher and 7th Grade Dean Abby Lausch, is designed not only to incorporate service learning into curriculum, but also to help students discern what is important to them and to give them a growing sense of agency in having an impact in their communities.
