Deep Dive Certificates

Sam Amadio on June 11, 2026

The Deep Dive Certificate Program honors Upper School students who are engaged in an intentional, organized, and well-documented arc of immersive learning and focused scholarship. This program offers students the opportunity to explore study in particular areas of interest and Deep Dive certificates are offered in: Data-Driven Change; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice; Global Leadership; and Sustainability Leadership.

Each of the Deep Dives are individually designed by each student, but have a common framework such as, building a portfolio of specific interdisciplinary academic requirements, off-campus immersive experiences, extracurricular activities, and a capstone project that ties together their learning and experiences into a cogent, reflective whole. They present their projects to peers and the community at the end of the year. The Deep Dives represent a tremendous amount of independent scholarly work and are a significant academic achievement that is reflected on their transcripts.

At the end of the school year, 16 members of the Class of 2026 were awarded Deep Dive certificates. Our congratulations to the following recipients!

Data-Driven Change: Ben D’Alessandro, Quinlan McLear
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice: Lucy Li, Logan Luo, Gabriela Poyo, Betty Savage
Global Leadership: Camille Bley, Sage Brown, Melissa Freeman, Catherine Ingino
Sustainability Leadership: Miguel Wenderoth Bachiller, Insaaf Imtiyaz, Tessa Kipnis, Mia Saks, Max Zhang

Spring Musical

Anne Burns on June 11, 2026

The Upper School musical The Little Mermaid was fabulous! Congratulations to the wonderful cast crew and many thanks to set designer Jack McManus and director Shawn Rowley, Director of Theater, and who made the production come to life!

The Cast
ARIEL-Gigi Auguste ’27
PILOT-Michael Ireland ’29
PRINCE ERIC-Soph Butch ’27
GRIMSBY-Tiantong Hu ’26
FLOUNDER-Arial Xiong ’28
SCUTTLE-Ryan Seeley ’28
WINDWARD-Christine Natour ’28
LEEWARD-Odaris Garcia ’28
KING TRITON-Yang Yue ’29
SEBASTIAN-Jeff Kim ’28

Mersisters/Princesses
AQUATA-Esther An ’28
ANDRINA-Emily Reick ’28
ARISTA- Leslie Jimenez ’29
ATINA- Mary Chen ’27
ADELA-Helena Gordon ’28
ALANA-Angela Feng ’28
FLOTSAM-Folasade Beckett ’27
JETSAM-Alex Moschella ’27
URSULA-Mari Villa ’27
CHEF LOUIS-Leila Alobeidy ’28

Fabulous Creatures of the Land and Sea (The Gulls, The Chefs, The Sea Creatures!)
Megan Mou ’28
Felicia LiuChang ’28
Mari Zakarian ’29
Melodi Raymond ’29
Bonnie Zhu ’29
Olivia Hansen ’29

The Crew
Jackie Cogswell ’29
Maddie Edwards ’27
Shelby Kreiling ’29
Noah Komarinski ’28
Abby Sellers-Johnston ’29
Kay Stephan ’26

Enjoy the entire gallery of cast and crew photos here!

The Living Museum

Lynette Assarsson on June 11, 2026

At the end of the year, fourth graders transformed the Lower School into a Living Museum, inviting families and fellow students to step into history through the voices and stories of influential abolitionists. As the culminating project of their yearlong social studies curriculum—spanning history of this continent from pre-European contact through the abolishment of slavery—students brought historical figures to life through research, storytelling, and performance.

From courageous acts of resistance to powerful movements for freedom and justice, the museum highlighted the work, struggles, and lasting impact of abolitionists whose voices helped shape history. We are proud of the work and care our students put into this project under the guidance and leadership of fourth grade teachers Marion Dear ’83 and Shelagh Wilson ’85. See more in the museum gallery here!

Middle School Spring Concert

Lynette Assarsson on June 11, 2026

Congratulations to our Middle School musicians on their wonderful concert performance this week! A variety of groups performed, including the newly formed jazz band, choral ensembles, string ensembles, and band ensembles. You can see more pictures from the performance here.

Green(est) Restaurant Award

Lynette Assarsson on June 11, 2026

The Green Restaurant Association has named Westtown School’s Dining Room the Greenest K-12 School Cafeteria in the country! Our on-site composting program, sustainable waste management practices, locally (and hyper-locally, from our minifarm and greenhouse) sourced foods, and vegan and vegetarian meal options were all factors in this designation. Westtown’s Dining Room was awarded a Four Start Green Restaurant designation in 2024, and this latest award is a testament to ongoing improvements in our program.

We are very proud and thanks go to Dining Services Director Beth Pellegrino and the amazing Dining Services team, as well as Director of Sustainability Francine Locke and the Sustainability Committee who work diligently to foster sustainable practices across our community!

It All Adds Up

Anne Burns on June 11, 2026

All students in math classes with the Advanced designation take the American Mathematics Competition (AMC), either 10 or 12. This is the first step in the process to qualify to train for the U.S. national team that competes in the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO). After the AMC 10/12, students who score around the top 10% nationally of AMC 12 and top 5% of AMC 10 qualify for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). The AIME is a three-hour, 15-question exam that took place on February 5 this year. Finally, those whose combined scores from the AMC 10/12 and AIME are exceptional qualify for the United State of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), which this year was on March 21 and 22, with two 4.5 hour sessions over two days to answer six questions.

Westtown students did well and the following students were the top performers this year. For the AMC 10, which comprises freshmen and sophomores, Megan Mou ’28 and Brian Kim ’28 both scored in the top 25% nationally. Eric Shen ’29 scored in the top 10% nationally. The top three scorers at Westtown were: in third place, also scoring in the top 10% nationally, was Arial Xiong ’28. In second place, scoring in the top 5% nationally and qualifying for the AIME, Richard Xie ’28. And, in first place, also scoring in the top 5% nationally and also qualifying for the AIME, was Kai Xu ’28.

For the AMC 12, comprising juniors and seniors, the top three scorers at Westtown were: In third place there was a tie between Tessa Kipnis ’26 and Charlie Liu ’27. In second place was Tiantong Hu ’26. And, in first place, scoring in the top 10% nationally, qualifying for the AIME, and qualifying for the USAMO was Angela Wang ’26.

Westtown math students also particiated in the the Purple Comet math competion and won first place for small high schools in Pennsylvania. (Notably, they just narrowly defeated George School!)

The team members were: Anqi Wang ’26, Tiantong Hu ’26, Jerry Rao ’27, Jamie Lee ’27, Jayden Qin ’28, and Megan Mou ’28.

In other math news, Westtown math students earned first and third place at the West Chester University Integration Bee on Thursday, April 23. Angela Wang ’26 earned $150 for first prize and Jerry Rao ’27 earned $50 for third place.

Congratulations to these students on their math acheivements!

From left: Math Department Chair Susan Waterhouse, Richard Xie, Kai Xu, Jayden Qin, Jamie Lee, Jerry Rao, Anqi (Angela) Wang, Brian Kim, Tiantong Hu, Charlie Liu, Eric Shen, Tessa Kipnis, math teacher Jacob Norton

Scientific Research Poster Sessions

Lynette Assarsson on June 11, 2026

Students in the Upper School Scientific Research class pursued areas of study such as biomedical research, molecular biology, animal physiology, biomechanics, and more. Throughout the year, students reviewed primary literature, developed protocols, and analyzed data. This course culminated in the preparation of a formal lab report written in a style suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and the presentation of a scientific poster at the end of the year.

This course requires a great deal of initiative, follow-through, and independent work, both in and out of the lab and the research presented at the poster session represents an immense body of work. See more of the poster session here!

Arts & Writing Awards

Anne Burns on June 11, 2026

This year, several Westtown students submitted work for the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards, a national program and recognizes teen creativity with awards and scholarship money.

Writing awards were presented to Preston Morefield ’27, who earned two Silver Keys and one Honorable Mention 1 Honorable Mention for his work, and Jamila Burgos ’27, who was awarded one Silver Key and one Honorable Mention for her work.

Arts awards were granted to Peter Li ’28, Lucas Gong ’29, Laila Atkins ’27, and Oliver Daughenbaugh ’27, all of whom earned Honorable Mentions. Congratulations to all!

*Clockwise from top left: Preston Morefield, Jamila Burgoa, Laila Atkis, Peter Li, Oliver Daughenbaugh, Lucas Gong*

Alums Weekend 2026

Lynette Assarsson on June 11, 2026

Alums Weekend was a wonderful success! The sun was shining across campus and the Westtown spirit was truly palpable. From the informative Annual Meeting to the faculty-led Explore Westtown Sessions, the weekend was packed with deep engagement and learning. We also shared plenty of fun and celebration—whether playing hard in the alums field hockey and soccer games on the turf fields, enjoying a peaceful afternoon canoeing on the lake, diving into our shared history at the Alum Storytelling Booth, or visiting with friends old and new at the Belonging is Sweet Reception. Thank you to all who brought their warmth, their stories, and their authentic presence back to Westtown! For more about Alums Weekend, stay tuned for the next issue of The Westonian! Check out photos from the weekend here!

Lower School Spring Concert

Lynette Assarsson on June 11, 2026

At the end of year, Lower School students entertained their families, faculty, and staff at the Lower School Spring Concert. From the fourth and fifth grade band and string ensemble to the third grade bucket drummers to the choral renditions of favorite songs by kids of all ages, students lit up the stage. Well done, everyone! Enjoy more photos of the concert here.