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.
Teacher Ryan Black engaged Environmental Science and Biology 2 students in a biodiversity study, employing a variety of technologies to collect and analyze data. Black explains, “iNaturalist is a community science app that allows users to share and record biodiversity information with a database which can be used for scientific research. The goal of iNaturalist is to connect people to nature and create a living record of life on Earth. Environmental Science and Biology 2 students used the app to contribute to our Westtown Biodiversity Studies. The overall project, the Westtown School Biodiversity Study, pulls all of the observations recorded on campus. Anyone with the iNaturalist app can contribute to these projects.
“There are sub-projects that pull data from different parts of campus that Environmental Science students use to compare the biodiversity of different areas. All of those projects can be viewed via the “umbrella project” that shows all of our projects on one page: Westtown School Biodiversity Studies. Some of the Environmental Science students set up trail cams and recorded those observations on our Westtown Trail Cams project. And since there are a lot of avid birders on campus, we also set up the Avian Diversity Study. We may add more projects next year to show the diversity of other taxonomic groups.”
We encourage you to visit these links to learn about our campus biodiversity yourself. Remember that anyone in the community with the iNaturalist app is welcome to contribute to these ongoing projects as well!
Black also took his Environmental Science 2 class to the Jersey shore for a day of service and learning. Students worked with reTURN the Favor, an organization that “…works to rescue horseshoe crabs on beaches open to the public, it primarily concentrates on rescuing crabs stranded on beach areas seasonally closed during shorebird migration and horseshoe crab spawning season occurring in May and June. Many horseshoe crabs spawn on these closed beaches and oftentimes become stranded, overturned, or even impinged behind natural or manmade structures. The reTURN the Favor program works with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection so that horseshoe crabs stranded on closed beaches can be rescued by sanctioned volunteer groups.”
Black shares, “Students witnessed the awe-inspiring spectacle as hundreds of thousands of Atlantic horseshoe crabs gathered along the Delaware Bay shore to engage in their annual spawning ritual—a tradition that has endured for hundreds of millions of years! The ecological significance of this event cannot be overstated. The eggs laid during this mass spawning serve as a vital food source for numerous species, including endangered migratory birds such as the red knot. However, the future of horseshoe crab populations hangs in the balance. Threatened by habitat degradation, overharvesting for pharmaceutical purposes and fishing bait, and historically utilized as fertilizer, these ancient creatures face significant challenges.
In an effort to safeguard this invaluable species, students took partk in a meaningful initiative known as the “Return the Favor NJ” walk. Our mission? To rescue trapped horseshoe crabs along the beaches of Cumberland County (NJ), flipping over stranded individuals to ensure their survival. Through this hands-on community science activity, students will also gather crucial data on the gender distribution of the rescued crabs, which will be reported to reTURN the Favor NJ for further analysis.
“The students had a very successful day, working hard to rescue a total 348 horseshoe crabs. While the abundance of crabs was fairly low, it is still early in their spawning season. The students also witnessed a great abundance of shorebirds at a few beaches which limited our ability to conduct rescues at these locations (the shorebirds take priority and we are careful not to move them). So while the horseshoe crab numbers were low, it was great to see robust shorebird activity. We collected data on the numbers of flipped/trapped male and female horseshoe crabs as well as deceased Diamondback terrapins (turtles). All of the data we collected was reported to reTURN the Favor.” If you’re interested in their findings, here is some of the data.
“This year’s third graders had a contagious passion for civics! After learning about forms and branches of government, rights and responsibilities of citizens, and civic engagement, we ended the unit with a class election as the culminating project. Students formed campaigns that championed causes, rather than people. Within each campaign, students took on various roles such as designer, creative director, speechwriter, and public speaker. Students then presented to their classmates in hopes of rallying support for their cause. These campaigns aimed to raise awareness for a range of topics including animal welfare, endangered species, pollution awareness, bullying prevention, and climate change. We then set up a private voting booth in our classroom, with a sample ballot inside, and students enjoyed casting their ballots and tallying up the votes (students could vote for any issue except their own).
The goal of the election was to come up with one cause students could unite behind, and then raise awareness for that cause as a whole grade. Animal welfare won the class election, and third graders then decided on a method for raising awareness. Students landed on creating posters and scratch presentations to raise awareness about this issue, working individually or in pairs on their final projects. It was fantastic to see our students apply their curiosity and passion for civics throughout this project, using their collaborative and conflict resolution skills along the way, in an effort to turn that passion into action.” ~Charis Fisher, Third Grade Teacher
For Earth Day 2024, students in the Green Coalition, Dining Services staff, and Outdoor Education leaders created a program for immersive learning, one that got many students outside. Earth Day began with an all-school Meeting for Worship in the Greenwood, with special queries to reflect upon.
In the Upper School, Mary Ann Boyer of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants gave an assembly presentation. Then students engaged in a wide variety of workshops and activities ranging from a TED talk on Doughnut Economics, to nature writing, to tree measuring, to invasive plant pulling, to planting a butterfly garden, weaving plarn, and building seed bombs, among many other activities. Students enjoyed time canoeing on the lake, the open ropes course, volleyball games, and even an ice cream truck! Our thanks to Green Coalition, Dining Services, student leaders, and the Sustainability Committee for making Earth Day 2024 a memorable one! Check out images from the day here!
All-School Meeting for Worship in the Greenwood to kick off Earth Day
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.
This spring, the Westtown School chapter of the National Chinese Honor Society was pleased to induct 11 new members into the society and renew six students’ memberships. This year, they were also happy to add the “National Junior Scholars for Excellence in Chinese” award for our eligible Middle School 8th grade Mandarin students to recognize their achievement in the study of Chinese language and culture. Please join us in thanking their teachers Nina Li, Jie Song, and Bei Zhang, and in celebrating the achievements of these students!
The third annual World Languages Week took place in April. As Bei Zhang, Chair of the World Languages Department, shares, “Some of our goals include promoting language acquisition, building cultural competency, providing students a platform to celebrate their success in their language education, and helping students envision their future career paths where they can apply their language skills and cultural knowledge.” Highlights of the week of special activities included captivating musical performances by Upper School language students in Community Collection, and a wonderful presentation by Kevin Wang ’18 on the power of language learning and his journey in app development (which includes Polaris, an app still used by Upper School students today). Wang’s career has combined technology with language—he now works for Duolingo. The Language Olympics were thrilling, with Team Chinese emerging victorious and Team Latin winning the Team Spirit award! Check out photos from the week here!
Students of Spanish sing at World Languages Week Assembly
Lower School’s annual One Story Week is a celebration of an author and their work. This year, we welcomed award-winning author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, who gave an engaging presentation to students and shared her journey from being a teacher to becoming a children’s book author. Her book, Your Name is a Song, was the featured story, and students also read several of her books with Lower School librarian Heather Tannenbaum, including Abdul’s Story and Mommy’s Khimar. Throughout the week, students spent afternoons in mixed-aged groups collaborating on writing, music, and art activities, and ended with group reflection and sharing. Students love One-Story Week, and the opportunity for working with students in other grades and in enjoying special activities. You can see theentire gallery of photos from this special week here.
Congratulations to this year’s Deep Dive Certificate recipients! The Deep Dive Program offers a multi-year, multi-disciplinary approach to a particular subject area. The program empowers students to design an intentional, organized, and well-documented arc of immersive learning and focused scholarship. The goal is for them to explore topics across disciplines, to be active participants in their own learning, and to become empathetic, confident leaders. This year, students completed Deep Dive Certificates in Data-Driven Change; Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice; Global Leadership; Multidisciplinary Arts; and Sustainability Leadership. In May, these students presented to the community about their studies and their impressive Capstone Projects. The recipients, all members of the Class of 2024, are:
