Before spring break, our Fifth Graders took to the stage in the Barton-Test Theater to perform Fairy Tale Fixer Upper, a collection of classic fairy tales reimagined and re-written by the students themselves. Students also helped to create and design the set. Fifth grade teachers Andy Fetzer and Audra Deprisco rounded out the cast and Theater Director Shawn Rowley directed the show. Bravo, 5th Graders! Check out photos from their performance here!
Congratulations to the ten 5th and 6th graders who were selected to perform in this year’s Chesco Band Fest hosted by Phoenixville Area Middle School! The Fest brought together over 100 5th and 6th grade band students from around Chester County representing 25 elementary and middle schools. Students spent the day rehearsing with a guest conductor in preparation for an evening concert that same day. This year, students got to work with Dr. Scott Watson and premiered a new piece titled “Legend of the Blue Flame.” Well done, musicians, and thank you, teacher Jason Wu!
Congratulations to 8th graders William B., Daniel D., Cass H., Rylan K., Nandan N., and Abby S.! Their artwork is featured in The Youth Art Month (YAM) Exhibit . This statewide online art exhibition, organized by the Pennsylvania Art Educators Association, is part of the nationwide Youth Art Month administered by The Council for Art Educators and The National Art Educators Association.
Art teacher Marta Willgoose Salo shares, “As 8th graders, this is a special honor. Their featured art works and their studio habits as artists, reflect creativity, artistic risk-taking, persistence, development of craft, and their attention to the expression of their ideas. They each represent the power of an arts education at Westtown and are role models for their peers in our Middle School art studios.”
The Council for Art Education administers Youth Art Month. Youth Art Month encourages support for quality school art programs and promotes art material safety. The program provides a medium for recognizing skills developed through visual arts experiences unlike any other curriculum subjects, including problem-solving, creativity, observation, and communication.
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!
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.
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!
The Second Grade turned the Lower School Gathering Room into an aquarium! Each student researched a sea animal and wrote a book about their topic, then made dioramas or stop motion videos in art class to show the animal in its habitat. Other Lower School classes came to learn about the different sea creatures, ask questions, and admire the projects. Great job, junior marine biologists! Enjoy the whole photo gallery here.
Students in all divisions celebrated Lunar New Year, including a special Community Dinner in Upper School. Students worked with Dining Services to create a delicious meal that included special performances and even a dragon dance!
We thank the parents who decorated the Lower and Middle School lobbies, and the Lower School parents who came in as guest readers and did special activities for students! During Gathering, Lower School students and teachers had an incredible time donning their red clothing, symbolizing good luck. They listened intently to 6th grader, Stella, read a selection about Lunar New Year. Fifth grader, Chris, explained the folklore behind the tradition of children receiving an envelope of lucky money. Lower School students Bowen, Tiarra, Chris, Charles, Cali, Cami, Jeremiah, Carolina, and Amelia shared their traditions in this video. Immense joy filled the room as students saw their classmates sharing an incredibly important part of their heritage with the greater community.
Enjoy more photos of Community Dinner here and of Lower School activities here!
Students across all three divisions learned about and honored the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by engaging in a variety of activities both on MLK Day and throughout the month.
In Lower School, students rotated through various activities and special programming focusing on reflection, art, service, and action planning. Students worked in multi-age groups and 5th graders acted as assistant teachers. They read and reflected on the book The Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson. For their service project, students created bags of toiletries from the donated items from Lower School families and wrote cards to include with the bags that were then donated to Circle of Giving. (Watch the 5th grade EJB team video to learn more about the service project!) Singing has long been a form of social justice movements, so in Gathering, students and faculty sang “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” an historical protest song, and “If You’re Out There,” a modern empowerment anthem by John Legend. The Lower School community worked on a collaborative visual arts project—a large-scale 3D flower that was installed in the main lobby. Finally, groups discussed how individuals and communities can plan to take action to make positive change in the world, then made empowerment posters that reflected messages of affirmation and action. Later that week, Lower Schoolers took their handmade protest signs and marched from the Lower School, down the Granolithic, entered the West Collecting Room, marched the entire length of Main Hall, exiting the East Collecting Room, and ending at the Meeting House for their weekly Meeting for Worship. Although many Upper School students and faculty were in classes, they paused to line Main Hall to cheer on the Lower Schoolers. Enjoy the photos here and here.
In Middle School, students studied Dr. King’s legacy throughout the month of January. In 6th grade, students engaged in learning experiences to understand the importance of service within the Quaker community and to learn about the historical factors that have caused economic inequities in the areas served by various organizations. They hosted Executive Director Richona McKnight from CityTeam in Chester, who spoke about the organization’s mission to “restore lives and rebuild communities through innovative programs that provide food, shelter, clothing, training, and spiritual transformation.” Additionally, Cory Long, Executive Director of the Making a Change Group (MACG), shared how MACG supports individuals and families in Chester, PA, and surrounding municipalities in their pursuit of positive change. After hearing from these impactful leaders, many 6th graders were inspired to continue their service work, which they undertook in February. Seventh graders explored the interdependence of the Westtown community by asking questions such as, “How do we impact others, and how do they impact us?” This inquiry involved learning more about the Civil Rights Movement, reaching out to people beyond their usual “circle of concern,” and understanding how their signature 7th-grade service program, Think, Care, Act, connects to both their Westtown community and external communities. Eighth graders focused on the work of individual activists while learning about sustainable solutions to injustice and violence in our world. This work ultimately aims to create the Beloved Community, where “injustice ceases, and love prevails.”
In the Upper School, students gathered in advisory groups for discussion on Dr. King’s teachings, and enjoyed a special Community Collection, an assembly, and workshops. The Assembly featured “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” poetry recitations by students Nia Foote ’25, Liana Jimenez ’25, Tiantong Hu ’26, and Mari Villa ’27, a snippet of Dr. King’s speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” and a virtual tour of Dr. King’s life in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta, Georgia. The remainder of the day included two workshops. The first asked students and faculty to discuss quotes and queries based on Dr. King’s speeches and writings. Conversations were rich, and some advisors shared that students continued these conversations throughout the week in the halls, dorms, and dining hall. The second workshop involved the creation of dream boards inspired by Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. These boards helped groups to continue the conversations that started before lunch. Students were able to hone in on their personal dreams and individual responsibilities to our community.
March was Disability Awareness Month, and before spring break, we were honored to host both Aimee Ruben and Karla Gilbride. Aimee is the owner of Game On State, a non-profit business in Media that models inclusive hiring practices. She spoke at Lower School Gathering, then with Middle School students before Meeting for Worship. Later in the week, Karla, a lawyer and activist who was the General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the first blind lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court (she won her case 9-0), spoke with Middle and Upper School students at assembly about how blindness has shaped her life’s work, and why the scope of her work includes not just advocating for people with disabilities, but for everyone facing discrimination. Our thanks to Aimee and Karla for speaking to our students, and to Dean of Equity, Justice, and Belonging Louisa Egan Brad for bringing these speakers to campus.
