The beloved tradition of Middle School canoe trips, which now spans more than four decades, kicked off this year with the seventh grade’s trip to the Delaware Water Gap. Students prepared for the trip on campus before taking off on the water where they paddled well, developed new friendships, and laughed a lot! Director of Outdoor Education Chris Costa shared that they had beautiful weather and saw multiple Bald Eagles—including several that were circling over them during their floating Meeting for Worship. Students worked together to set up camp, cook dinner, practiced Leave No Trace principles, read maps, and navigated their canoes over 20 miles on the Delaware River. They were challenged and grew in many ways that will continue to strengthen their class and our community back at Westtown! We offer a special shout out to the many enthusiastic teachers who accompany students on these trips, ensuring that they have a safe, educational, and fun experience. Have a look at the entire gallery of photos from this trip here!
On November 3, Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Williams ’75 met with students for a Town Hall about gun control legislation as well as funding for education/access. The visit was proposed and organized by Tessa Kipnis ’26 and Lucy Smith ’26, club heads of the new Westtown School chapter of Students Demand Action with the support of Joseph Daniels, Chair of the History and Religion Department, who also serves as the club’s faculty adivsor. As Williams arrived on campus, he was greeted by Head of School Chris Benbow ’90 and classmate Jay Farrow ’75. Afterward, he spoke at two Town Hall sessions with students and answered questions.
Students Demand Action Club Heads Tessa Kipnis and Lucy Smith with PA State Senator Williams and Joseph Daniels Senator Williams with students and faculty advisors of Black Student Union
Seven Upper School students, along with teachers Elson Blunt, Tom Berrian, and Director of Outdoor Education Chris Costa, traveled to the Delaware Water Gap for the Outdoor Education Fall Backpacking Trip. They hiked on a section of the Appalachian Trail with heavy packs on steep and rocky terrain. During their unplugged weekend, they learned how to live and travel in the backcountry including how to work within a group to set up camp, build a fire, protect their food from bears, navigate with a map and compass, and cook delicious food. Costashared that despite the rain and cooler temperatures, students layered up and stayed positive while reflecting together and laughing a lot. They showed great leadership in their support for one another and their ability to meet and push their edges. And, she added, “All of the students expressed so much gratitude for the opportunity to challenge themselves in this way.” You can see more from their mountain adventure here!
Students in teacher Abby Lausch’s seventh grade English class had the wonderful opportunity to have a conversation with Amy Sarig King, author of Attack of the Black Rectangles, which they are reading in class. The students are having conversations about censorship and access to books. Lausch shares, “We’ve talked about lists of books that are banned in some schools and reasons why, and students have reflected (in writing) on whether they agree with this censorship. We are focusing mostly on the activism that we read about in the book and are learning persuasive communications skills. In the novel, the main character and friends write persuasive letters, protest in their town, and speak at school board meetings. We are practicing all of those same skills: practicing debates, preparing presentations for a school board/town council meeting, and writing persuasive letters. We will also be doing some research about young activists in the real world and studying some of their strategies.”
It was an engaging visit with Sarig King and she spent time answering students’ questions.
Our Lower School artists participated in a beloved Westtown tradition—our Mask Parade! Students designed and created their one-of-a-kind masks in their art classes then showed them off to cheering families and friends. We loved seeing frogs, unicorns, hot dogs, and more parading by! Enjoy their creativity here!
School-sponsored international trips resumed over spring break, a welcome return to global experiences and signature programming for our students.
The program to Central Europe explored cities and sites related to the Holocaust. This trip aimed to provide a foundation for understanding genocide both broadly and locally, exploring one of the greatest atrocities of the western world. The group went to Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, and Austria and visited historical and cultural sites such as: The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Theresienstadt Ghetto Museum, Eagle’s Nest, Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, Schindler’s Factory Museum, Lidice Memorial, Nuremberg Documentation Center, The Ringelblum Archive, and the Warsaw Jewish Historical Institute, among many others. The group considered a range of people (individual and collective), ideologies, places, monuments, documents, memorials, archives, cities, primary and secondary sources as well as voices and views on various social levels, and they examined the choices victims, bystanders, and perpetrators confronted and the (in-)actions they took.
The trip was organized thematically, with focus on local, regional, and international spheres, so that students could move beyond the parameters of the Holocaust period and have ample discussion about the aftermath and representation of the this period and genocide in general—which continues to have ramifications for contemporary global society. One of the trip leaders, Upper School history teacher Joseph Daniels, shares, “Our trip to Central Europe had a challenging focus, but one that we felt was incredibly important for young people today. The students accepted the challenging emotional aspects with grace and leaned on each other. They formed a supportive group network among each other that allowed them to care for themselves and connect as a group in the lighter, fun activities and explorations of modern Europe. It was a memory of a lifetime for all of us!”
At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany
Another group traveled to the village of Breman Esiam, Ghana, the home of Heritage Academy, our sister school. Westtown students taught a variety of classes for Heritage 7th graders and led reading groups. After school, the group engaged in their service project: making cement blocks. After the last Westtown group visited in 2019, Heritage used the blocks made by our students to begin constructing a new middle school building. They have named it Westtown Hall in honor of all the Westonians who have been visiting and supporting Heritage through the years. Leaders at Heritage asked this year’s group to continue making blocks as their service project. They made 227 blocks, which will go a long way toward completing the building!
Blocks for Westtown Hall
The group also took excursions to explore the life, landscape, and history of Ghana. One of the most important aspects of this experience is learning and reflecting on history. Students visited Elmina and Cape Coast Castles—both significant posts during the trade of the enslaved—which are reminders of the brutality endured by millions of Africans forced through the “doors of no return” onto ships headed to Europe and the Americas.
“Students are given a rare opportunity to have personal exposure to sites that mark the beginnings of the West African diaspora and to learn in acute detail the history of the trade of the enslaved. To stand in—and understand—these haunting spaces is a powerful and potent experience.” shares Lynette Assarsson, one of the trip leaders. “Students also have immersive, authentic encounters with the culture. They live in the village, go to markets and haggle for goods, savor Ghanaian foods, learn to speak some Fante, and develop relationships with our neighbors and friends at Heritage. These are intense, rich, and joyful experiences for students, and it’s immensely rewarding for us adults to witness their understanding of the world expand and deepen in real time.”
The Westtown group on their final day at Heritage dressed in the clothing made for them by a local seamstress.
Another group of students embarked on a tour through Portugal, Spain, France, and Monaco. They visited a host of cities and cultural and historical sites along the way. Led by Bei Zhang, several faculty members, and partners at EF (Education First) Tours, students explored the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Castelo de São Jorge, Belém Tower, and other significant sites in Lisbon. From there, they traveled down the Algarve, stopping in Evora on their way to the Costa del Sol. In Sevilla, students got to appreciate the Andalusian culture and lifestyle (and, of course, the food!) and marvel at the cathedral, Plaza de Toros, and Plaza de España. After a quick stop at Gibraltar, the group traveled to Granada where they toured the Alhambra, a stunning and magnificent example of Moorish architecture. They continued to Valencia where they visited the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias and enjoyed a walking tour. The next stop was Barcelona where they witnessed the brilliance of Gaudí at La Sagrada Familia and Park Güell, and soaked in this art lover’s dream of a city. Finally, the last legs of the trip were spent along on the French Riviera, including tours of Nice and Monaco.
The Westtown School Chapter of the National Chinese Honor Society was pleased to induct 14 new members into the society and renew 12 students’ memberships this spring. The National Chinese Honor Society was established in 1993 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. Please join us in congratulating the following students:
Induction: 14 new members
Alex Delgado ’24 邓凯
Melanie Flynn ’23 冯莹
Tim Gatto ’24 高艺轩
Taehyung Kim ’23 金哲彬
Lucia Sanchez ’24 孙灵
Nico Lippiatt-Cook ’24 李一鸣
Tyler Greenberg ’23 小猫
Oliver Hart ’24 韩耀辉
Jessica Schottland ’24 石玥琪
Maggie Shirk ’24 石敏佳
Ellen Jang ’23 张智元
Amelia McDonough ’24 麦熙卉
Abdullah Sabir ’24 孙志杰
Zeon Waterhouse ’23 吴怡龙
Renewal: 12 members
Jahlil Gary ’23 葛正雷
Eric Ochis ’23 欧阳恺
Kate Eriksson ’23 宋可人
Sophia Hammond ’23 韩颖
Cat Le Febvre ’23 范诗琪
Ali Zahm ’23 郑彦琳
Giacomo Acciavatti ’23 艾烨
Zach Blumenfeld ’23 毕志诚
Sydney Kostal 李欣玫
Tee Johnson 钟俊潇
Savannah Peischl 潘静雯
Mallory Peters ’23 彭心恬
Join us in congratulating these students! A gallery from the induction ceremony can be found here.
Late in the spring semester, the 7th Grade held their annual Think Care Act Fair, an integration of service learning into curriculum. The Fair is the culmination of a multi-stage project spanning several months that begins in advisories, where students consider and identify their strengths, affinities, interests, and talents. They then focus on what they care about in their communities and the world around them. They then put those passions and skills to use by engaging in a service project that reflects those interests. The final phase of the project is the Think Care Act Fair, where they present their projects to their families, teachers, and 6th- and 8th-grade peers. This year they even had a special visit from their Primary Circle Book Buddies! Combined, the 7th grade class participated in over 400 hours of community service. Well done, 7th graders! Enjoy the gallery from the Fair here.
The Upper School Environmental Justice class recently visited the recycling plant where our waste goes to gain a greater understanding of the role they could play in mitigating waste. Environment Illuminated is one of the three priorities of our Strategic Vision, and educating our students about issues impacting the environment in classes such as this —in which students consider the complex connections between our environment, our material life, religious purity, and colonization—is just one of the expressions of this priority.
Environmental Justice is a course offered by the Religion Department at Westtown. Harvard Divinity School wrote a piece that considers the intersection of climate justice and religious literacy, and how teacher Lara Freeman, who earned a Masters of Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, incorporates their Religion and Public Life (RPL) learning resources into her work in the classroom. You can read it here.
Second graders had an out-of-this-world Space Day! Astronauts, outfitted in their space jumpsuits, participated in activities to give them a taste of life in outer space. They simulated working with space suit gloves on, practiced communication strategies, tested jumping distances with different weights, worked with robots—including a special appearance from our Upper School Robotics Team – the Metal Moose—and even tried astronaut food. Special thanks to our families who helped run the stations! You can see more of Space Day here!
