Quakers and Working Toward an ABAR Community
By Louisa Egan Brad, Dean of Equity, Justice, and Belonging

At a parent speaker series talk and at a faculty/staff Opening-of-School session this fall, I opened with the following quote from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). After you read it, I’d like you to guess what year it was written.

The need for [action beyond nondiscrimination] derives from the fact that discrimination is embedded in our societal patterns of education, housing, employment, social interaction, and political participation. These patterns are so pervasive that frequently neither their perpetrators nor their victims realize when and how discriminatory acts are being committed. AFSC is part of this society and has, generally unwillingly, fallen into some of the very activities and behavior patterns it seeks to avoid in itself and to change in others. In these circumstances, policies of nondiscrimination alone are inadequate to achieve inclusiveness and full participation. Special efforts and procedures to reach out to previously excluded groups are necessary…AFSC believes that the greater inclusiveness which is the goal of [action beyond nondiscrimination] is necessary for us to do our work effectively as a Quaker organization seeking to understand and address questions of oppression, empowerment, justice and peace…The objective of the plan is to change those patterns which have not so far produced the inclusiveness we seek and to try new ways to reach long established goals.

When do you think the text above was written?

To me, this statement reads as though it could have easily been written sometime after the murder of George Floyd. The recognition of discrimination throughout American society, the acknowledgement that individuals may participate in and perpetuate discrimination unconsciously, the appreciation that inaction itself reproduces societal inequities–all of these ring true as realizations that have dawned on many in our country only since the summer of 2020.

And yet, Quakers stated these truths plainly over 40 years ago. Is this simply an accident of history? The introduction of the affirmative action plan indicates not, stating that “Implicit in both Quaker faith and practice is the belief that God is an active force, using men and women as instruments in order to bring society to a more perfect state…To be instruments of Divine Will, men and women need to be free of the weight of oppression and harmful discrimination.” Such sentiment underlies a long history of Quaker social activism–while certainly not every Quaker has always been on the right side of history, Quakers have been trailblazers with respect to social justice, with respect to abolition, women’s suffrage, gay rights, and other issues.

At Westtown, our Quaker identity and mission guide our equity, justice, and belonging work and our commitment to working towards an anti-bias, anti-racist (ABAR) community. This work for us is not a digression from our purpose or a mere reflection of broader American culture in our time. Rather, it is central to the work and privilege of teaching and learning in a Quaker school. 

Art and Faith Exhibit

This fall Westtown’s Center for the Living Arts Gallery hosted the “Art and Faith” Exhibit to mark the 70th anniversary of Fritz Eichenberg’s Art and Faith Pendle Hill pamphlet, which considered the role of art at Westtown School. The exhibit featured original prints by Eichenberg from Westtown’s permanent collection, and works by Quaker artist Todd Drake, students, and faculty. 

In 1954, Fritz Eichenberg, a German-born committed Quaker—and one of the most prominent visual arts educators of his time—visited Westtown’s campus to speak about the arts as an extension of the school’s essence. Two years prior, Eichenberg published his thoughts in a Pendle Hill pamphlet, Art and Faith. This is the 70th anniversary of that radical little work. 

Fritz Eichenberg (b. 1901, Cologne, Germany; d. 1990, Rhode Island) was a popular German-American illustrator, speaker, and educator. Eichenberg held prominent posts at the Pratt Institute in New York City and the University of Rhode Island. He fled the rise of Nazism in 1933 and was involved in the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Arts Project during the Great Depression. A committed Quaker, Eichenberg’s art often focused on social justice topics. As a writer, Eichenberg composed radical pamphlets for the nearby Quaker education and retreat center, Pendle Hill. As a teacher, Eichenberg was well-known for his “The Art of Teaching Art” lecture. Perhaps, though, Eichenberg is best known as an illustrator of classic novels and for Dorothy Day’s The Catholic Worker radical newspaper. In the 1950s, Eichenberg visited Westtown’s campus as part of his ongoing participation in The Society of Friends and arts education.    

Todd Drake (b. 1961, North Carolina) is an American interdisciplinary artist, activist, and educator who lives in New York City. The recipient of multiple grants and fellowships, Drake has traveled globally to facilitate social justice-oriented arts projects. Alongside his wife, Drake is the co-operator of a Quaker intentional community in Manhattan, Penington Friends House. Drake’s most recent solo exhibition was “Rising,” a series of prints and pen and ink drawings dealing with the issue of Global Warming. His surrealistic imagery links his experiences growing up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with his concerns for what will be lost due to the rising tides of the Climate Crisis. Recently, Friends Journal published Drake’s “The Leading of Hope.” 

Director of Visual and Performing Arts Alex Ates was instrumental in bringing this exhibit to life, and the idea came to him during his visit to Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat and conference center. “The exhibit was inspired when I read Eichenberg’s Pendle Hill pamphlet Art and Faith while I was on retreat there,” says Ates. “I was stunned by the clear and vigorous way that Eichenberg connected Quakerism and art. I was further surprised to learn that Eichenberg has strong ties to Westtown, as the school invited him to speak on campus in the 1950s and purchased several of his prints for our permanent collection. When I visited the pieces in Westtown’s Archives, I was struck by the fact that Westtown has been exploring the relationship between artistic creativity and faith for quite a long time—and the past can help embolden our future as we continue those conversations today. And, it just so happened, this year marked 70 years since Eichenberg’s pamphlet was published! Immediately, I knew to pull in my colleague Lizzy Oxler, who just completed her doctoral research on Folklore, to support this exploration as curator.”

The Art and Faith exhibit ran from September 16 through October 22, 2022.  The exhibit’s opening celebration included remarks from curator English teacher Lizzy Oxler, Head of School Chris Benbow ’90, and Pendle Hill Executive Director, Westtown trustee, and parent Francisco Burgos, along with an original piano composition entitled Looking for the Light, by Mandy Zhao ’24. During the exhibition, students from across divisions had interactive experiences with the work, from an image scavenger hunt and question series for Lower School students to reflective writing prompts for Upper School English classes. 

As highlighted in the exhibit’s opening note: “Eichenberg wrote that while he lives in the Age of the Atom ‘under the shadow of the Terrible Cloud,’ he remains hopeful at the promise of art and what art can do, noting that art itself ‘has survived all cataclysms.’  In our own community, we reflect on our own version of the ‘Age of the Atom.’ We continue to live in a world of nuclear volatility and political vulnerability. And, not to mention the ever-present hum of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, we came together during Meeting for Worship, we still created productions; those practices continued and they can live together—they do right here, right where you stand. This exhibit is a timeline of the progression of these twinned spaces of art and faith, a meditation on the relationship as perceived by members of the community.

The arts have flourished at Westtown. We live in a space where art and faith are intertwined and cohesive. Bold arts education will grow at Westtown because the seeds have already been planted. So, we invite you to look forward to our past and our present.” Please enjoy photos of the exhibit here. 

Serving the Community

At Westtown, service learning is an integral part of curriculum and all students have a variety of opportunities to engage in service projects throughout their school careers. In the Upper School, Service Network, a co-curricular offering, provides regular and ongoing projects for students. This fall, students in Service Network and a group of upper-level Spanish students took on some special community projects. 

Last spring, Service Network students worked with Farmer Bill on the Chester County Food Bank farm (grown on the Westtown School farm in partnership with Farmer Pete Flynn). They planted kale, beets, and a variety of greens—about 900 plants in total. Just before Thanksgiving this year, the plants were harvested providing quite a bounty for the CCFB.

The Service Network’s partnership with  Cradles to Crayons has also continued. Students recently spent an afternoon at the Philadelphia location to rehabilitate and clean used shoes to be distributed to children in the area. Service Network Coordinator Lara Freeman shares, “The work was tedious and required much elbow grease but the students were joyful and committed to the task!” 

Throughout the fall, Service Network offered donation boxes around campus collecting items in support of the West Chester Food Cupboard. Students drop off donations a couple times each season. So far this year, over 150.5 pounds of food and personal care items have been donated. If you’re on campus and would like to contribute, there is a box on the East End of the Main Building. 

Service Network co-curricular students also provide tutoring for the New Directions Program at the Melton Center in West Chester twice a week, they work at the SPCA in Brandywine once a week, and they make regular visits to volunteer at the Habitat ReStore on Saturdays to support the fundraising leg of Habitat for Humanity. Upcoming service opportunities will include a build project with Habitat for Humanity and a seed sorting project through the Cooperative Gardens Commission in which students will sort and make small packs of seeds for individual gardeners that will be sent to Seed Hubs around the country. Last year, this volunteer-led effort provided food for 20,000 people. 

Beginning in September, 10 students have participated in a unique service partnership at the Iglesia Buen Samaritanos in West Chester. The members of this church are primarily Spanish speaking and a number of them wanted to either improve their English or begin to learn English for the first time. Students involved in this project are: Alena Zhang ’24, Luke Cogswell ’24, Dane Clunk ’23, Noah Bay ’23, Chloe Costa-Baker ’23, Melanie Flynn ’23, Antonio Ubiera ’25, Bailey Tuckman ’25, Helena McConatha-Rosle ’24, and Maya Jain ’24, all of whom have completed Level 4 or above of our Spanish program and wish to practice both their linguistic and cultural competency in Spanish in the local community.  

Each Monday evening, these students met with Spanish teacher Cynthia Voorhees to reflect on the previous week, and make their lesson plans for the week. On Tuesday evenings, they went to the church to teach English from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Voorhees stresses that this is a significant time commitment for students on top of their regular course work.  

Eight students were paired with adults or children at the church to teach them English, and two students also taught a basic technology skills class to the Spanish-speaking adults in the community. These classes were to help adults become more comfortable with creating gmail accounts, sending emails and files, and creating Google slide presentations. All teaching in this program was done in Spanish. The tech class has now concluded, but the English classes will continue through mid-January. In February, our students will be volunteering as child-care givers while adults in the church community are engaged in another course at the church. 

Voorhees shares, “The mutually beneficial partnership that we have formed with this church is truly a beautiful thing. We are serving them, but they are also serving us by allowing us to learn more about their culture, practice our Spanish, and to grow as teachers and care-givers. Some really beautiful friendships have evolved between our students and the folks at the church. I love that our kids are making friends outside their age-bracket, socio-economic bracket, and their own culture.” Just before Winter Break, students gathered with the members of the church enrolled in the English program for a holiday dinner sponsored by Lara Freeman and the Service Network program.

Opening of School

It is a marvelous thing when students return to campus each fall. Student return is incremental and happens in stages  —athletes arrive for presesaon, then international students, then student leaders, then new students — until at last all students have returned; in all this year, 696 students!

The Opening-of-School process includes orientation sessions, team-building exercises, and fun events for students and families to get to know the school and one another, such as the Lower School Sneak-A-Peak  and the  Middle School Ice Cream Social.

In the Upper School, great care is taken to make students feel welcome and at home, especially those coming from great distances. This year we welcomed students from 21 states and 18 countries! Check out some of  activities offered to students, from special orientation sessions for internationals students to team-building, to a special BBQ, to a night out at Ice Line for ice skating.

Lower School Mask Parade

During Lower School art classes, students have been working hard on designing and creating masks for our Halloween Mask Parade — a Westtown tradition that is over forty years old.  Students’ families lined the parade route, cheering on our masked artists. While our parade coincides with Halloween, it is more than just a spooky surprise. The parade showcases our young artists and their creativity.  See the parade of masks here! 

Mid-Autumn Festival

Students in Middle and Upper School Mandarin Chinese classes learned to make one kind of mooncakes as part of the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In China, Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of the rice harvest and many fruits. Ceremonies are held both to give thanks for the harvest and to encourage the harvest-giving light to return again in the coming year. Mooncakes are offered between friends or at family gatherings while celebrating the festival. Check out the beautiful (and delicious) work of our students here!

7th Grade Canoe Trip

In September, 7th graders traveled to the Delaware Water Gap for their canoe trip. These annual trips have been a signature program in the Middle School for over 40 years, and students experience a trip in each grade of Middle School, with the challenges deepening as the students get older. The placement of the 7th grade tip at the beginning of the school year is intentional, as this trip is often a formative experience for students, resulting in deeper relationships with peers and faculty, an increased sense of self-confidence and a belief in their ability to overcome obstacles both individually and as a group. This canoe trip is also an integral component of community building as they enter their 7th grade year.

The students  paddled a section of the Delaware River located in the beautiful Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They carried everything with them on the river and camped as they traveled downstream. All students were engaged in the meaningful work of: traveling as a large group down the river, tent setup, preparation and clean up of meals, fire building, packing and unpacking of canoes, etc. Students learned navigation skills and had several opportunities to practice leadership in small and large groups. Students also continued their understanding of Leave No Trace (LNT) wilderness travel practices that they began working on in their 6th grade Outdoor Education. Director of Outdoor Education Chris Costa said of their experience, “We had a fantastic time that included lots of animal sightings (Bald Eagles, too!), delicious food, just enough wind and rain to develop some resilience and grit, plenty of sunshine, and lots of laughs and community building!” 

Enjoy the entire gallery of photos from this fun trip here.

Outdoor Education Hiking Trip

This fall, 10 Upper School students hiked 14 miles with heavy packs on steep and rocky terrain on the Appalachian Trail during the Outdoor Education Fall Backpacking Trip. Students carried everything they needed for the weekend on their backs, and learned how to live and travel in the backcountry, including how to work within a group to treat their water, set up camp, build a fire, protect their food from bears, and navigate with a map and compass. Chris Costa, Director of Outdoor Education reports, “Our overnight/morning temperatures were in the low 40s to mid-30s and students layered up and stayed positive. They spent time 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.”  See more from their experience here.

Arts and Activism

In teacher Megan Rose’s Middle School class “Arts and Activism,” students explore artists who use their mediums for expressions of activism and to bring attention to social issues. They studied artists like Andy Goldsworthy, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Michelle Angela Ortiz and others. They created their own stencils, posters, and natural art works inspired by these artists.

Some of the projects in this class supported Fairhill Burial Ground including field trips where students deepened their acknowledgement of Lenape culture and heritage.  

Creating leaf art inspired by artist and environmentalist Andy Goldsworthy
Field trip to Fairhill Burial Grounds

Upper School International Festival

Sunday December 3, 2022  was our annual International Festival. This long-standing event celebrates our diverse community at Westtown. Our students, families, and faculty set up stations in Main Hall classrooms and offered snacks, games, presentations, and opportunities for connection and conversation about their cultural heritage. Our thanks to teachers Bei Zhang and Rose Koenig, International Student Coordinators, who made this event possible, and to all the students and families who shared their cultures, foods, and languages with us! Visit the gallery here to see more!

National Merit Scholars and Commended Students

Congratulations to our National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists (left to right): Sean (Zihan) Dong ’23, Milo Salvucci ’23,  Eric Ochis ’23, and Chloe Costa Baker ’23! Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Program “recognizes individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”

We also offer our congratulations to the  National Merit Scholarship Commended Students, seniors Sahil Mitra, Taehyung Kim, and Sam Tan!  These students are recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program for “exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test.”

Twelfth Night

The Upper School production of Twelfth Night was amazing! This new, energetic adaptation of Twelfth Night — Shakespeare’s beloved comedy of mistaken identity, love triangles, music, and mischief — was a delight. Kudos to all the students, both center stage and back stage, who brought this play to life!

Westtown commissioned this original adaptation by the New Orleans-based writer and actor James Bartelle. Bartelle came to campus to have conversations with students about Shakespeare, acting, playwriting, and the process of adapting Twelfth Night. He stayed on campus for the run of the performances and engaged with classroom activities and events along with teacher Alex Ates, Theater Director and Director of Visual and Performing Arts. Our thanks to James Bartelle for sharing his time with our students! 

Enjoy the gallery of photos from the production here. 

Falling Back Into Dance

In case you missed the Fall Dance Concert, you can see a gallery of our talented dancers performing here! 

Ancient Seeds

Descendants of ancient watermelon seeds were cultivated by the Jordan family and shared with third graders this fall. This seed story actually begins in the last centur —and across the country. In the late 1920s, plant expert Art Combe was exploring a cave in Arizona’s Mogollon Rim. He found a small clay pot filled with watermelon seeds believed to be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years old stored by Native Americans in the area. Combe planted some of the seeds he found and the fruit the plants bore were small and crook necked, but very flavorful. Over decades, these seeds were cultivated and seed-saving preserved and propagated this particular type of watermelon. Fast forward to last summer when Upper School science teacher Steve Compton obtained some of the seeds descended from those found in the cave and gave them to Associate Director of Admission Samantha Jordan ’01 and her family who planted them. Sam and her son, Tommy ’ 32, shared some of their watermelon harvest with Tommy’s classmates in third grade earlier this fall. The students learned about these heirloom seeds, and Farmer Tim Mountz used the opportunity to teach the students about seed saving and heirloom plants. Finally, they all got to see the “big reveal” when the watermelon from the Jordan’s garden was cut open, and they all got to share in tasting it. Students reported that it was “very sweet, even though it was light pink inside.” When the tasting was complete, third graders collected the seeds from the watermelon to continue the seed-saving process for this unique variety of watermelon. Enjoy the gallery here!

Metal Moose Specialty Drive Team!

Back in September, a contingent of the Metal Moose Robotics team traveled to an off-season competition which featured all-women drive teams. Westtown’s Metal Moose ran the field and won the competition! Team faculty advisor Steve Compton says, “The event offered both returning and students new to robotics opportunities to learn to drive, operate, and fix the robot. The operators for this competition: were Liana Jimenez ’25, Lucia Sanchez ’24, Emily Kessler ’25, Aveline Heryer ’25, Jessie Wang ’26, and Zoe Malavolta ’23. Congratulations!! 

Fall Sports Roundup

Girls Soccer
Congratulations to the girls varsity soccer team, Friends Schools League Champions! The team were also semi-finalists in the PAISAA State Tournament. We offer our congratulations as well to the Friends Schools League All-League honorees and Honorable Mentions (HM): Brianna Bartsch ’26, Olivia Bley ’24, Juliana Del Beato ’26, Lacey Jackson ’25, Berta Grohmann Llinares ’24, Camille Bley ’26 (HM), Lucy Smith ’26 (HM). Olivia Bley was also named an All-State and All Southeastern PA player! 

We celebrate the following student athletes who were named Friends Schools League (FSL) All-League players and Honorable Mention (HM) in their respective sports: 

Field Hockey

• Grace Malavolta ’25, Grace Rhile ’23, Zoe Malavolta ’23 (HM)

Boys Soccer

• Josiah Moore ’23, Carlos Salazar ’25, Tee Johnson ’23, Leo Salvucci ’24 (HM)

Cross Country

• Jamilla Derga ’24 and  Santi Benbow ’23

Girls Tennis

• Leah Stern ’23, Sasha Khalo ’24 (HM)

At the fall sports award ceremony, two students were given the Waring Award: Josiah Moore ’23 (soccer) and Mariana Ortiz ’24 (soccer).  The Waring Award is given at the culmination of each sport season to the student athlete(s) who have dedicated themselves day in and day out, in service of their school, teammates, and coaches.  This award is intended to lift up those who constantly strive for improvement, who persevere when things are tough, and who lift up those around them with their tireless effort and positive attitude.  This award is for those who never took a drill off, always received constructive feedback with a smile, and poured their heart and soul into their sport and their team.  The Waring Award is for those athletes who may not necessarily have the titles and the accolades but go out and grind for the love of the game.  The recipient(s) of this award are nominated by their coaching staff and selected by the athletic department. Congratulations, Josiah and Mariana! 

Alums Weekend 2023

On Wednesday, June 8, 2022, eighth grade families gathered in the theater for the Eighth Grade Closing Ceremony. Each student was presented with a certificate and a “SPARK jar.” SPARK—an acronym for Spirit, Participation, Academic Excellence, Respect, and Kindness— represents important community values. Each jar was filled with slips of paper with messages from faculty, family members, and friends honoring their unique gifts. As the students were presented with their certificates and SPARK jars, recordings of each students’ reflection on their time in Middle School were shared.  Enjoy the entire gallery of photos from the closing ceremony here. 

On Thursday, June 9, 2022, families, Lower School students, and faculty gathered in the Meeting House for the Fifth Grade Closing Meeting for Worship— the Meeting to celebrate their graduation from Lower School. From the facing benches, each fifth grader stood and spoke about their time in Lower School, as is tradition, and families and teachers spoke out of the shared silence in the worship time that followed. Visit our gallery to see more photos from this special day! 

Congratulations to all our students who are moving on to the next phase of their academic careers!

College Shirt Day 

College Shirt Day is one way we celebrate our seniors’ college choices. They donned their gear and stopped by the South Room for a photoshoot on May 2, the day after National Decision Day. They had a lot of fun with this visual celebration of the next phase in their lives! Check out our College Shirt Day gallery to see where some are headed!

Inspired to Act: Third Grade Ukraine Project 

The third grade was studying the geography of Europe when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February. The day after the invasion, students approached Teachers Vicki Shelter and Kristin Hayman and told them they wanted to find a way to help the people in Ukraine — and so began discussion of a fundraiser. But first, the teachers and students educated themselves. The students read articles about the situation on Newsela, a news website for young students, and discussed what they were learning. 

During this learning phase, third grader Madison Long received a letter from her great aunt who lives in Kraków, Poland. She described the influx of refugees and how the Polish people were helping the Ukrainian people. This letter — described as “poetic” by the teachers — further motivated the students. They decided to make and sell buttons to raise funds for Ukraine, and formed committees to concentrate on specific aspects of the project:  letter writing to administrators to ask permission to undertake the project and to update them on their progress; button design and crafting; advertising; research and goal setting to set fundraising goals, explore organizations to which they could send the money; and, presentation — a committee that created a presentation for the Lower School to describe what and why they were launching this service project. 

After obtaining permission to move the project forward, the Design Committee presented their designs,  third graders selected a few designs to focus on, and button making began. The Advertising Committee began to make posters to place around Westtown’s campus. The Presentation Committee made announcements at Lower School Gathering. The Research and Goal-Setting Committee determined that Save the Children would be the recipient of their fundraising efforts. They set a goal of $2500.00. 

The Writing Committee got busy and secured permission to have a table at Spring Fest; they also wrote to parents asking them to help make baked goods. Head of School Chris Benbow came to third grade to share his support for the project. Finally, the day arrived. The students sold buttons, baked goods, lemonade, and jewelry that they had made in Metalsmithing, an afternoon club taught by Martin Moon ’09. It was a busy and successful day. 

The fundraiser, which also included bake sales and a table with buttons and baked good at Spring Fest,  was highly successful as well, with third graders making nearly $2300.  The Long family decided that they wanted to buy the remaining buttons and send them to Poland to give to the Ukrainian children now living there. The students were very excited to have their buttons sent to Poland and the family’s contribution helped them reach their goal. Teachers Shelter and Hayman recently received word that the buttons have arrived in Poland. The class also received  matching donations from GlaxoSmithKline, so, in the end, they collected $4500.00 for Save the Children. Well done, third grade! 

Third Annual Westtown School Chapter of the National Chinese Honor Society Induction Ceremony

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. 

After reviewing students’ Chinese course work, examining the national standards set forth, and discussing the many qualifications of gifted students, the Westtown School chapter of the National Chinese Honor Society was pleased to induct 25 new members into the society this spring. 

1. Puddy Boonkongchuen 白振宇
2. Sierra Brewer 白欣怡
3. Taj Donald 董俊
4. Jahlil Gary 葛正雷
5. Eric Ochis 欧阳恺
6. Kate Eriksson 宋可人
7. Sophia Hammond 韩颖
8. Cat Le Febvre 范诗琪
9. Livia Resnik 任瑾
10. Stellablue Robinson 罗梦莹
11. Ali Zahm 郑彦琳
12. Giacomo Acciavatti 艾烨
13. Zach Blumenfeld 毕志诚
14. Sydney Kostal 李欣玫
15. Tee Johnson 钟俊潇
16. Savannah Peischl 潘静雯
17. Ada Palacios 潘彩婕
18. Mallory Peters 彭心恬
19. Camden Chin 陈欣崇
20. Christina Wilson 李娜
21. Rylee Boles 鲁晓洁
22. Carluccio Horton 何斌
23. Jaydan Riggs 任琪
24. Nyala Tolfree 童谣
25. Gab Neal 倪心怡

Congratulations to all!

National Latin Exam Honorees 

Westtown’s Latin students participated in the National Latin Exam, and we celebrate those with special recognitions!  Beginning Latin exam: Nat Schroeder ’25 – gold medal, summa cum laude; William Bradley ’25 – silver medal, maxima cum laude. Intermediate Latin exam: Peishan Huang ’24 – magna cum laude. Advanced reading comprehension exam: Jake Richards ’22 – magna cum laude. 

Fourth Grade Living Museum 

The 4th grade’s final project last spring was a presentation of a Living Museum — a culmination of their deep dive into the lives of historical abolitionists. Throughout the year, their social studies curriculum focuses on 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? Whose voices are missing?” and seeks to amplify the voices in history that have often not been heard. From the beginning of the year, teachers Shelagh Wilson ’85 and Colby van Alen build a strong foundation with fourth grade students and lead in-depth conversations with them. They clearly articulate the impact of a young learner embodying the spirit of a person who fought for human rights and, because of this, Westtown fourth graders have access to true and accurate history. Furthermore, they have firsthand knowledge of how people sacrificed their lives to progress towards a fair and just society. At the Living Museum, students portrayed 36 abolitionists they studied sharing their work, struggles, and successes. Well done, fourth graders!

National Merit Scholarship Winner

Alums Weekend 2022  

In May, we welcomed alums back to campus for Alums Weekend for the first time since 2019. It was wonderful to see old friends reconnect with each other and the school,  to see a full theater for the Westtown Alumni Association Annual meeting, and to witness the traditional roll call of classes. Look for the Alums Weekend and reunion recaps in the next issue of The Westonian.  In the meantime, please enjoy the gallery of photos from the weekend here, and the gallery of reunion class photos here!