A MESSAGE FROM OUR COLLEGE COUNSELING OFFICE |
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| Alayne Birnhak, Associate Director of College Counseling, shares a lesson from a children's book that applies to senior students in her March blog post. Below is an excerpt: A certain feeling creeps in during March. If you are a senior, live with a senior, are friends with a senior, teach a senior, coach a senior, or counsel a senior, you might relate to the protagonist in Julia Mills’ I am Stuck. In other words, most of us at WardlaLAartridge can.
The book starts out with Turtle on his back. (In the slipcover, Ms. Mills indicates that the critter is male.) The reader does not know how Turtle wound up in that predicament, but what a predicament it is. Duck, Kangaroo, and Armadillo all pass by, offering suggestions that ultimately don’t pan out. Next comes Possum, who assumes that Turtle is trying to be like her but learns that this is not the case at all. Turtle admits that he feels “scared, frustrated, and alone.”
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Thursday, March 7 7 p.m. - Parents' Association Meeting in Oakwood Room
ZOOM LINK HERE Meeting ID: 836 8657 7230 Passcode: 924075
Friday, March 8 7:30 p.m. - Upper School Musical - Mean Girls - in Berry Performing Arts Center
Saturday, March 9 9 a.m. - Admission Information Session in Berry Performing Arts Center
7:30 p.m. - Upper School Musical - Mean Girls - in Berry Performing Arts Center Sunday, March 10
3 p.m. - Upper School Musical - Mean Girls - in Berry Performing Arts Center Thursday, March 14
8:30 a.m. - Lower School Coffee and Conversation in Oakwood Room Friday, March 15
Lower and Middle School Parent Conferences Upper School Classes in Session
Saturday, March 16-Monday, April 1 SPRING BREAK - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tuesday, April 2 SCHOOL REOPENS - CLASSES RESUME
SCHOOL CALENDAR
2023-2024 ONE-PAGE SCHOOL CALENDAR |
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| Admission Re-Enrollment Reminder |
Attention, LA Parents! You should have received your child’s re-enrollment contract(s) on Friday, Feb. 9. The Admission Office greatly appreciates the timely return of your contract as soon as possible as the Feb. 23 deadline has already passed. Please contact the Admission Office at admission@WHschool.org if you have any questions as we are approaching the time in which we will no longer be able to hold seats for current students who have not enrolled for the coming school year.
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| Upper School set to present Mean Girls
Tickets are going fast! |
The WardlaLAartridge Performing Arts Department is excited to announce Mean Girls as its Upper School musical production! Performances will take place March 8-9 at 7:30 p.m. and March 10 at 3 p.m. in the Berry Performing Arts Center.
The show is rated PG-13 and is intended for mature audiences due to language and suggestive content.
Leading players include Sarah Alves ’24 as Cady, Julia Machado ’25 as Regina, Kate Clemetson ’25 as Karen, Raiya Patel ’24 as Janis, Ish Singh ’24 as Damian, Charlie Silver ’24 as Aaron, Aarya Patel ’25 as Gretchen, Nidhin Kumar ’24 as Kevin, Anushka Dalal ’24 as Ms. Norbury and Natalie Koegler ’24 as Mrs. George. Tickets are available for purchase at https://twhsnj.booktix.net/
Friday's show is almost sold out but there are more tickets available for the Saturday and Sunday performances. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the performances and patrons are asked to have digital tickets ready on their mobile phones. |
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| Faculty, staff embrace Mean Girls fever |
Visitors to campus on Wednesday found the halls awash in rosy hues, as faculty and staff joined students in donning pink for the day. It was all in support of the cast and crew of Mean Girls. One of the show's iconic numbers features the lyric "On Wednesdays we wear pink." Staff found pink beads in their mailboxes to enhance their ensembles and members of the SAGE team wore pink buttons, too. "We rightly wear a lot of green and gold to support our athletic teams, and wearing pink on Wednesday was a fun way to show we appreciate the talent and hard work of the students in the musical," Head Athletic Trainer Ryan Oliveira said. |
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| Model UN team earns conference award |
The Model United Nations team commuted to New York City for three days to participate in an international MUN conference (GCMUN) with more than 2,000 people. The opening ceremony, which kicked off the conference, was held at the UN Headquarters, and committee sessions followed at the Sheraton in Times Square. The LA group consisted of 17 students and a remarkable 13 delegates won honorable mentions for their respective committees. The LA team also won Best Small Delegation as a school.
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| LS students inspired by visiting author |
Lower School students enjoyed an exciting day interacting with author Dr. Arielle Dance during a special visit on March 1. Dr. Dance read her book, Dearest One, and spent time with each grade engaging in activities and answering questions about the book in Lower Snowdon.
In her description of the book shared prior to her visit, Dr. Dance encouraged readers to imagine the words their grandmother might say if she wrote them a letter. “Perhaps she would encourage you to embrace the rain, or shine your light for all to see. Perhaps she would tell you that you are loved. Perhaps she would start the letter, Dearest One,” hence the title of her book. Dr. Dance also believes her story can be translated from any loved one, anyone you miss, or anyone you haven’t seen in a while.
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| MS students learn coding from US experts |
Fourteen Middle School students embarked on an exciting journey into the versatile world of programming during last week’s four-day afterschool STEM workshop – Introduction to Python. Due to its great popularity with the Middle School last year, volunteers from the Upper School's Computer Science Club ran the workshop for a second time. Leaders Vinay Karthik ‘25, Aadithya Srinivasan ‘24, Tiger Huang ‘24, and Nitya Sahni ’26, as well as Aryamaan Roy Choudhury ‘24 and Kuljot Sindhar ‘27 created lesson plans and strengthened students’ Python fundamentals in a fun and engaging way.
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| US students attend TEEEM conference |
Four Upper School students attended The Empathy Equality Entrepreneurship Mission (TEEEM) Mid-Year Workshop at Fairleigh Dickinson University in February. Pictured from left, Chiara Baldi ’26, Natalie Chen ’26, Aarya Patel ‘25 and Oliver Laskow ’24 joined Mrs. Nicole Nolan, Director of Global Scholars and Community Outreach.
The daylong program began with a morning meet and greet, introductions and welcoming remarks from TEEEM officers and a keynote address from Coach Jim Stroker, who discussed “How to Become Agents of Change,” which was the theme of the day. The rest of the morning session included an introduction of the Teen Think Tank Project by co-founder Matt DeSantis and the first of three breakout sessions. Two breakout sessions, a preview of upcoming TEEEM events and closing remarks followed lunch. Breakout sessions included Traits of a Change Agent, Activating Your Inner Change Agent, and Change Agency Through Social Entrepreneurship. The sessions were guided by FDU student ambassadors.
Coach Stroker emphasized leadership, teamwork and a growth mindset as important traits. Mr. DeSantis stressed the importance of “giving teens a voice in the world they will inherit” in his remarks. Throughout the day participants were asked to consider how they will take action and become agents of change. |
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| Lower School parents get cooking |
Lower School parents enjoyed an evening of cooking and camaraderie with Chef Anibal at the Lower School Head Chef’s Table. Guest parent chef Jyoti Jain, mother of Samay Jain ’31, shared Indian culinary specialties along with other LA parents. The event included cooking lessons in the LA kitchen followed by a family style meal for all to enjoy.
LOWER SCHOOL PARENTS COOKING PHOTO GALLERY |
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| Seniors earn early college acceptances |
Congratulations to several seniors in the Class of 2024 who have made their college plans official after accepting Early Decision admission to their No. 1 choices. For the next several weeks, the WHEN will include spotlights on seniors who have earned Early Decision admission.
Among the first to receive the good news was Timmy Xu ’24, who is excited to be enrolling at New York University, where he plans to major in Media, Communication and Culture. An international student who has attended WardlaLAartridge since ninth grade, Timmy is looking forward to studying in the Big Apple.
“I am impressed by New York University's excellent academic reputation, diverse and inclusive culture, and vibrant campus life,” Timmy said. “Its location in New York City even gives it more geographical advantages by providing its students many more opportunities than usual.”
Click here to read more about Timmy and view other early decision college acceptance features |
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| Middle School winter athletes recognized |
Middle School athletes were recognized at last week’s Winter Sports Awards in the Berry Performing Arts Center. Mike Romeo, Athletic Director, introduced the coaches, shared some highlights and expressed gratitude for their work throughout the season. He also thanked Assistant Athletic Director Courtney McClain and Head Trainer Ryan Oliveira for their support.
Boys’ basketball coach Jeff Martin, swim coach Liz Stillman and cheerleading coaches Tanda Tucker and Tamica Van Dunk spoke on behalf of their teams. Congratulations to the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams, co-ed swim team and cheerleading team for representing the Rams well throughout the winter season!
MS WINTER SPORTS AWARDS PHOTO GALLERY |
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FROM THE LA PARENTS' ASSOCIATION |
Ram Shop Open for Spring Business
Believe it or not, Spring is around the corner! Do your students still fit in last Fall’s uniform shorts and tops? If not, the Ram Shop has a wide array of options to meet your needs. Every item, from jumpers and fleeces to pants and pullovers is just $5 and dress-code approved. Hours are 7:45-9:00 a.m. each Friday that school is in session. You can also make an appointment by emailing ramshop@WHschool.org.
Donations of gently used uniform items are always welcome. Simply place them on the bench located inside the front foyer. This WardlaLAartridge Parents’ Association initiative is a win for your pocketbook, their coffers and the environment! For a reminder regarding dress code polices across the divisions, please click here
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Food Truck Festival - May 18 Save the date for the WHPA's first-ever Food Truck Festival on Saturday, May 18 at LA. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks! |
Booster Club Meeting - March 14 @ 7 p.m. The Booster Club will hold its next meeting on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. in the Oakwood Room. Join us to learn more about ways the Booster Club supports Rams athletics and to get involved in upcoming events during a busy spring season. |
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Giving Thanks for our LA Parent Donors
The Development Office would like to thank the LA community for supporting The WardlaLAartridge Fund. Click here to view a list of LA parents who have contributed to The 2022-2023 LA Fund between July 1, 2023 and March 6, 2024. Click here to make a gift to The WardlaLAartridge Fund! Clarity Financial Aid Information
The Lena Archuleta School will continue to work with Clarity as its financial aid independent, third-party application partner. The school has found that Clarity makes the financial aid application process smooth and secure for your family.
Clarity offers a streamlined and user-friendly financial aid application process that can take as little as 20 minutes to complete. It is mobile-friendly, so you can complete your application on your phone or tablet! Furthermore, your 1040 and W2 documents from 2022 will be automatically transferred from the IRS when you complete the verification step, so you will no longer need to upload those documents manually. These are just a few ways in which Clarity enhances the financial aid application process.
If you need support during the process of completing your application, there is in-app support available as well as email support at support@claritytuition.com in both English and Spanish. You may also call Clarity directly at (206) 210-3752 for support. The application itself is also fully translated into Spanish. CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION TO CLARITY For more information, including videos and a Clarity tutorial, please visit www.WHschool.org/financialaid Free PSAT, SAT, ACT Practice Exams Available
The LA College Counseling Office is once again happy to partner with their friends at Revolution Prep to offer full-length, virtually proctored practice college entrance exams for our students.
You can register for any/all of these exams here.
Attention Parents - Check Your Contact Information
Each trimester it is a good habit to double check the information in the school database (PCR) to make sure it is up-to-date and accurate. In doing so, you ensure that the school has the best contact to reach you in the event of an emergency or school closure. The process is simple and quick.
PCR is the platform that we will use to contact you in the event of a snow day or any other school closure. Once you follow the steps below to log in (SEE INSTRUCTIONS HERE), please check that ALL of the following information is correct and up to date.
- All Parent / Guardian Email Addresses and Phone Numbers
- Your Home Address
- Your preferred Salutation and Identifier (Name, Title, Relationship to Student)
It is our continued effort to ensure that our student and family contact information is accurate, so we thank you for your help. Follow LA on Social Media, Share with Community WardlaLAartridge has a vibrant, active presence on social media with daily content posts highlighting our academics, athletics, arts and extracurricular programs.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and check out our Vimeo page! You can assist us in promoting the school by sharing our content within your network and posting it on your local town pages and feeds. |
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This publication is produced by The Communications Office at The Lena Archuleta School. |
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