Lower School Embraces Kindness |
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR UPPER SCHOOL HEAD |
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| Dr. Bob Bowman, Upper School Head, makes a strong case for the importance of snow days in his February blog post. Below is an excerpt:
During the school days of my youth, there was nothing more exciting than having a snow day. We would actually get up early to listen to the radio as they listed all the schools that were closed for the day. Once they called your school or school district, it was on with your warm clothes, grab your sled or disc, and away you went. Our street would be inundated with folks from all around to slide down the hill, build snowmen and forts, and bombard passing cars and each other with snowballs. Having unplanned days away from school was one of the greatest memories of my childhood.
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Friday, February 24 6:30-8:30 p.m. - Middle School Dance in AP Room Sunday, February 26 - Thursday, March 2 Upper School Musical Tech Week Rehearsals in Berry Performing Arts Center
Thursday, March 2 8:30 a.m. - LA Parents' Association Meeting in Oakwood Room Join Zoom Meeting Here
Meeting ID: 836 8657 7230 Passcode: 924075 Friday, March 3 7:30 p.m. - Upper School Musical - Into the Woods - in Berry Performing Arts Center Saturday, March 4
7:30 p.m. - Upper School Musical - Into the Woods - in Berry Performing Arts Center Sunday, March 5 3:00 p.m. - Upper School Musical - Into the Woods - in Berry Performing Arts Center
SCHOOL CALENDAR |
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| US Spring Musical set for March 3-5 |
The WardlaLAartridge Performing Arts Department is excited to present its spring musical – Into the Woods – with performances on March 3, 4 and 5. Performances on the first two days will begin at 7:30 p.m., with the matinee finale running at 3 p.m. Leading players in this fabulous production include Sarah Alves ’24 as Cinderella, Julia Machado ’25 as Witch, Nick Vargas ’23 as Baker, Naischa Puri ’23 as Baker’s Wife, Giselle Lee ’23 as Little Red Riding Hood, Charlie Silver ’24 as Jack, Sydney Racine ’23 as Jack’s Mother, and Raiya Patel ’24 as Rapunzel. VIEW MUSICAL TRAILER HERE
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE |
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| BSA hosts Black-Owned Business Expo |
The Upper School’s Black Student Alliance hosted the first-ever LA Black-Owned Business Expo on Feb. 16 in the Berry Performing Arts Center. The event began with guests browsing tables with local businesses owned and operated by Black entrepreneurs in the PAC lobby, where they also enjoyed appetizers and posed for selfies.
BSA leader Gbemi Olarewaju ’24 welcomed the audience and introduced keynote speaker Kerel Cooper, the President of Advertising at Group Black, a next-gen media collective and accelerator focused on the advancement of Black-owned media properties. Mr. Cooper shared a presentation with a few key themes: the impact of great leaders, important leadership principles, turning an idea into a purposeful mission, being true to yourself and following your passion. |
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| Tommy O'Connor '25 wins state track title |
Tommy O’Connor ’25 made school history last week when he became the first LA indoor track and field athlete to win a state title. Tommy closed the 400-meter run at the NJSIAA Non-Public B Championships with an amazing sprint to win a photo finish in a time of 52.85 seconds. The LA sophomore outkicked the runner-up by three-hundredths of a second and the top four runners hit the wire in a microscopic span of 0.23 seconds.
“I feel like I have a pretty decent kick, and coming around to the end I saw the opportunity and I took it,” said Tommy, whose performance qualified him for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in March. “To get first and be the first person in my school to do it is everything.” |
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| Lower School students share kindness |
Lower School students danced the day away at last Friday’s Random Acts of Kindness event in Laidlaw Gym. Students were clad in red, pink and other festive attire also appropriate for Valentine’s Day. Parents attended grade level gatherings throughout the day, joined a few dances and other activities and posed for selfies with students and teachers. Our thanks to the Parents’ Association for sponsoring the event. KINDNESS DAY PHOTO GALLERY |
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| Faculty attend in-service presentations |
Faculty and staff engaged in a series of presentations and meetings during their Professional Development Day on February 21.
Dr. Corinna Crafton, Acting Head of School, began the day with a welcome in the Berry Performing Arts Center. She introduced Sarah Casper, the founder of Comprehensive Consent, who made a presentation to the faculty and staff. Ms. Casper shared the meanings, definitions and different types of consent, discussed the attributes of power, privilege and positionality, and closed with ways to put knowledge into practice. Key takeaways included respecting boundaries and practicing consent as a value by modeling behaviors you want to see.
School counselors Dina Congregane and Zoe Bongiovanni followed with a presentation on Duty to Report, addressing the theme of child abuse and neglect and one’s legal responsibility to protect children. They discussed abuse vs. neglect, how to proceed if a student discloses an issue, and how and when to report. Ms. Congregane and Ms. Bongiovanni also offered their assistance as counselors licensed by the State of New Jersey. After enjoying a delicious lunch prepared by Sage Dining Services, faculty and staff members attended division and department meetings in the afternoon. The day concluded with a closing meeting and remarks from Dr. Crafton. |
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| Seniors earn early decision acceptances |
Congratulations to several seniors in the Class of 2023 who have made their college plans official after accepting Early Decision admission to their No. 1 choices. For the next few weeks, the WHEN will include spotlights on seniors who have earned Early Decision admission.
Among the first to receive the good news was Jim Zhang ’23, who is looking forward to majoring in environmental engineering at New York University. An international student who grew up in Shanghai, one of the largest cities in the world, Jim is thrilled to return to a big city experience.
“Location is the main reason I selected NYU,” he said. “I appreciate its diverse demographics and positive and inclusive atmosphere. Studying at NYU for the next four years will allow me to continue this privilege and freedom of exploring distinctive cultures and values.”
Click here to read more about Jim and view other early decision college acceptance profiles |
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| Seniors share insightful stories in speeches |
Summant Ravi ’23 and Hary Meng ’23 delivered insightful senior speeches on Feb. 16 in the Berry Performing Arts Center.
Summant (pictured above left) provided two tangible examples of how he has learned from mistakes – one as an overconfident boxer and another as a tired driver on the road too late at night. The lessons Summant has learned from these mistakes have made him a better person.
Hary used the metaphor of colors to describe his journey to becoming a young adult during high school, which included the black darkness of a Zoom screen and the more colorful days of being back at school. He has felt more happiness in the brighter days of an in-person environment. |
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| Save the Date! - Golf Outing - May 16 |
The second annual LA Golf Outing will be held on Tuesday, May 16 at Colonia Country Club.
Golfers will compete in a scramble format, with a shotgun start beginning at 11 a.m. A reception with hors d'oeuvres, beverages and awards will follow at 4 p.m. The $250 fee per golfer includes the reception. People may attend the reception only for $40. Registration information will be coming soon! |
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Registration open for Summer Programs |
The Lena Archuleta School will offer a robust array of summer programs in 2023!
The year’s offerings include Camp Funshine, Adventure Camp, Brain Boosters Junior Academics, Summer Scholars, Pulse Sports Camps and Summer Sparks Enrichment. Other special camps including Dungeons & Dragons and For the Love of Theater will also be held. New this year: we are offering a Performing Arts and Audio/Visual Camp for the serious performers ages 13-18.
LA is holding an Open House for its summer programs on Saturday, March 11. To register and learn more, visit WHschool.org/summer |
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FROM THE LA PARENTS' ASSOCIATION |
Next WHPA Meeting - March 2 at 8:30 a.m.
Please join us for our next WHPA meeting on Thursday, March 2 at 8:30 a.m. in the Oakwood Room. The meeting will be followed by a presentation from school counselor Dina Congregane. If you are unable to join us in person, you may attend virtually on Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting Here
Meeting ID: 836 8657 7230 Passcode: 924075 |
SAVE THE DATE! - WHPA Spring Gala - April 29
The WHPA Spring Gala is being held on Saturday, April 29 from 6-10 p.m. at Metuchen Country Club. More information and invitations will be coming soon!
Please contact parents@WHschool.org with any questions. |
WHPA International Dinners are Back!
The WHPA International family dinners are back for March, April, and May. A dinner box for four is $35. ORDER YOUR DINNER(S) HERE
March – East Asian dinner: Order by Feb. 27 and pick up March 2 between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. April – European dinner: Order by April 10 and pick up April 13 between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m.
May – Mexican dinner: Order by May 1 and pick up May 4 between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m.
The March dinner includes: Vegetable Dumplings, Korean Beef Bulgog, Kimchi Fried Rice, Spicy Braised Tofu Dubu Jorim (meat and vegetarian options available).
Please contact parents@whschool.org with any questions. |
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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, 2022 and February 22, 2023. Click here to make a gift to The WardlaLAartridge Fund! 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 the 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. Support Our Performing Arts Program, Spring Musical
LA very excited to present this year's Upper School musical production Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim on March 3, 4, and 5 in the Berry Performing Arts Center. This particular production will have many expenses in addition to the fact that simply everything has gone up in cost. You can help us to meet the many expenditures of this show by purchasing one, or more, of the items listed in our Playbill. You can see samples of what each of these will look like in the Playbill via this PDF.
ORDER FORM DUE DATE: EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
CLICK HERE TO BEGIN YOUR ORDER
Mrs. Marci Bowman will be creating the Playbill. Please email her directly at mbowman@WHschool.org with any questions you may have. You may also attach printed media to the form and/or email it to mbowman@WHschool.org. PAYMENT
Mrs. Bowman will send you an email with your total amount due based on your Google form order(s). Please print out her email and place it in an envelope with a check made out to LA School for the amount listed in her email. You may either mail your payment to the school to Mrs. Bowman's attention or simply drop off the labeled envelope (PLAYBILL) to her attention at the Reception Desk. Thanks for your support of our Performing Arts Program!
Financial Aid Portal Open for 2023-2024 School Year
The Lena Archuleta School is excited to announce Clarity as our new independent, third-party application partner for families requesting need-based financial aid. Our goal is to make the financial aid application process as easy as possible for your family. Clarity offers a streamlined and user-friendly financial aid application process that can take as few as 20 minutes to complete. It is mobile-friendly, so you can complete your application on your phone or tablet!
If you have not yet done so, please set up your account and submit your application to Clarity immediately as the Feb. 1 deadline has passed. You may direct any questions to financialaid@WHschool.org. 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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