Community Celebrates Culture |
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR LOWER SCHOOL HEAD |
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It’s time to reimagine “data” for the next generation of schooling with everyday qualitative data that is rooted in the student experience. We must work in partnership between home and school to become ethnographers, rather than statisticians. Earlier this school year, data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed significant dips in student math and reading scores. All over the United States, we have been hearing a story of “learning loss” and the need to fill student “gaps.” This framing echoes almost 20 years of test-centered solutions that fail to take into consideration the complexity of learning.
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Friday, February 10 10 a.m. - Lower School Assembly in Berry Performing Arts Center Sunday, February 12 4-8 p.m. - Upper School Musical Rehearsal in Berry Performing Arts Center
Monday, February 13 6-9 p.m. - Upper School Musical Rehearsal in Berry Performing Arts Center Thursday, February 16 8:30 a.m. - Lower School Coffee and Conversation in Oakwood Room
7 p.m. - Booster Club Meeting in Oakwood Room - ZOOM LINK Friday, February 17
9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Lower School Random Acts of Kindness Dance Party in Laidlaw Gym SCHOOL CALENDAR |
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| Community enjoys cultural celebration at
annual International Family Fun Night |
The LA community gathered for an evening of fine food, crafts and wonderful entertainment at International Family Fun Night on Feb. 3 in the AP Room. Students and parents from all three divisions participated in cultural dances, many dressed in festive attire representing cultures from around the world. The Desi Moms again capped the evening with a fantastic performance in the finale. Other event highlights included henna art, Brazilian crafts and Origami for all to participate and enjoy.
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| Angelina Vargas '23 commits to Brown U. |
Angelina Vargas ’23 is driven to succeed. Her parents noticed that quality in their daughter from a very young age and Angelina has continued to work hard as a determined student-athlete. The WardlaLAartridge senior soccer standout will reap the rewards of her dedication and talents and continue her academic and athletic career at Brown University in the fall.
On Feb. 6, Angelina was joined by her parents, Liz Espinal and Ticio Vargas, and school administrators at a ceremony to celebrate the signing of her commitment letter to attend Brown, where she plans to study psychology and make an immediate impact on the Ivy League championship women’s soccer team. |
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| LA hosts NJAIS Global Ed conference |
The Lena Archuleta School hosted a New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS) professional development conference on Feb. 7 for service learning coordinators and global educators. More than 40 school leaders from around the state attended the program titled Inspiring Community and Belonging through Service Learning and Global Education Programs.
The day-long experience brought together service learning coordinators and global educators to learn, reflect, and grow. With an emphasis that NJAIS schools teach their students the responsibility that comes with the privilege gained from a great education, this experience was designed to bring awareness and authenticity to the service and travel programs afforded to our communities. |
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| LA celebrates Black History Month |
The Middle School kicked off its recognition of Black History Month on Feb. 1 with the first of four division meetings dedicated to celebrating Black achievements and cultural contributions. Seventh-grader Chelsea Hunter ’28 (pictured) hosted last week’s opening presentation on Black contributions to music. Chelsea covered the origins and key influencers of various genres, and the impact these artists have made on our culture. Featured artists included Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Tupac and Prince.
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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 several weeks, the WHEN will include spotlights on seniors who have earned Early Decision admission.
Among the first to receive the good news was Amy Sun ’23, who will attend Rhode Island School of Design, where she will be majoring in illustration. Amy, a talented fine artist, caught her first glimpse of RISD during the holiday season in 2021 while spending a week in Rhode Island. She really liked the environment and atmosphere of the school, which lived up to what friends and teachers had told her about it. Click here to read more about Amy and view other early decision college acceptance profiles |
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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. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE |
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| Model UN team excels at conference |
On February 2-3, a group of 12 Model UN members competed at AMUN, a Model United Nations competition at Bergen County Academies. Delegates debated as members of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, CIA Directors of the Iranian Hostage Crisis, countries on the ethics of drone warfare, the energy crisis of Russia v. Ukraine War, and many more.
The LA delegation came home with two awards: Alex Mischel ’26 with Honorable Mention in the ECOFIN Committee and Annie Gu ’23 with Best Delegate in the Ad-Hoc Committee. |
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| Lower School students shine at cabaret |
Students in Grades 4-5 shared their talents with the LA community at the annual Lower School Cabaret on Feb. 3 in the Berry Performing Arts Center. Guided by Lower School music teacher Shannon Sari, the students provided a variety show including vocals, piano, poetry, clarinet and comedy.
The students who performed were: Alizeh Nazir ’31 (piano), Grace Gonnella ’31 (piano), Sanaya Joshi ’30 (clarinet), Samay Jain ’31 (piano), Lexington Donahue ’30 (vocal), Shivani Sundar ’31 (piano), Maddy Levy ’31, Riyan Nihalani ’31 and Anika Patchigolla ’31 (comedy skit), Austin Li ’31 (piano), Giselle Charles-Marc ’31 and Vivienne Leu ’31 (vocal) and Addison Terrell ’31 (spoken word poetry).
LOWER SCHOOL CABARET PHOTO GALLERY |
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| Seniors share insightful stories in speeches |
Four seniors delivered their speeches within the past week in the Berry Performing Arts Center. Congratulations to Anthony Cortese ’23 (pictured), Claire Chen ’23, Nisa Siddiqui ’23 and Jack Silver ’23 for sharing their stories and addressing a variety of themes.
SENIOR SPEECHES PHOTO GALLERY | |
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Community enjoys creative winter treats |
The WardlaLAartridge Admission Office hosted students, parents, families and faculty for the annual Cookies, Cupcakes ‘n Cocoa on February 6 in the AP Room. Attendees brought their sweet teeth and creativity to enjoy the fun. Students and families from all three divisions participated in the event, and they were joined by division heads and Dr. Corinna Crafton, Acting Head of School.
COOKIES, CUPCAKES N COCOA PHOTO GALLERY |
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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 |
Spring Gala - Save the Date and Share Your Thoughts Please save the date: Saturday, April 29, 2023 from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. for our annual Spring Gala!
We need your input . . . What would you like the theme to be?
Please answer this one question survey: https://forms.gle/diqmn2Xoc328VjQD9 The survey will be open until Feb. 13. Thank you and stay tuned for more details soon! |
Thank You for Supporting Last Week's Events We wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all that volunteered, attended or supported the Annual Book Fair, Super WINter Raffle and International Family Fun Night. All three events were a great success and it was so wonderful seeing many of you! Make sure to email us any pictures or videos to be shared with the community. We raised over $11,000 in our raffle and the lucky winners of our 50/50 were:
Jennifer Rose $4,051.25 Joseph Gassoso $1,157.50 Fred Allen $578.75 Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all for their participation! |
Booster Club Meeting - Thursday, February 16
The LA Booster Club invites LA parents to join its next meeting on Thursday, February 16 at 7 p.m. in the Oakwood Room. If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, please see the Zoom link below to join virtually.
BOOSTER CLUB MEETING ZOOM LINK Meeting ID: 889 5221 5753 |
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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 8, 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: FEBRUARY 21
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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