Weekly Reflections February 1, 2018

February 1, 2018

Scholastic Art and Writing Award Winners!

Our visual arts and photography students recently competed in regional level of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This year, the Travis County Art Region received over 2,000 submissions that were adjudicated by a panel of creative professionals. We are pleased to announce that WHS had 13 gold key winning artworks, 19 silver key winning artworks, and 26 honorable mentions.

GOLD KEY WINNERS (pictured above)

Claire Boatman (ceramics), Brooke Cimino (ceramics), Dana Mulligan (ceramics),
Kai Jones (ceramics), Anna Ringwood (drawing), Ashlee Hampton (painting),
Audrey Hollingsworth (2 drawings), Helen He (digital art),

Isabel Burke (drawing & 2 digital art pieces) and Laura Cho (drawing)

(Gold Key artwork is currently being reviewed at the national level in New York City by panels of creative professionals. National winners will be announced in March.)

SILVER KEY WINNERS

Claire Boatman (ceramics), Haley Respass (ceramics), Holden Smith (ceramics),

Jennifer Lee (2 ceramics pieces), Kai Jones (ceramics), Libby Brookshire (ceramics),
Audrey Hollingsworth (painting), Bicken Ceren (drawing), Chloe Martin (drawing),

Emma Wheal (drawing), Saira Mukherjee (drawing), Isabel Burke (2 digital art pieces),
Sam Kartiganer (digital art), Chloe Mantrom (photography), Helen He (digital art - 2 pieces)
and Veronica Mieres (photography)

HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS
TK Kim (drawing), Libby Brookshire (ceramics), Jumana Fakhreddine (ceramics),
Haleigh Mojica (ceramics), Connor Cunningham (ceramics), Claire Winters (drawing),
Claire Boatman (2 ceramics pieces), Sebastian Najera (2 drawings),
Emma Nebeker (drawing), Dorothy Childs (drawing), Ashlee Hampton (painting),
Anna Ringwood (drawing), Akshay Patel (drawing),

Finn Lowden (5 photographs, 1 senior portfolio), Sam Kartiganer (digital art),
Chloe Mantrom (photography) and Helen He (digital art - 3 pieces)

MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL STEVE RAMSEY

Some of our finest.....

As I have been visiting English classes over the last few months, I have observed some lessons that have had a deep impact as our teachers try to bring personal relevance into our students' lives.

Read more here.....

KUDOS

Senior Theatre Student

Senior Caleb Dukes traveled to Galveston this past weekend to rehearse and conduct a staged reading of his original award-winning play, "Virginia," at the Texas Educational Theatre Association's annual convention. Caleb worked with actors from Panola College to stage his play, and received praise and feedback from playwright, Brian Quijada (Drama Desk Award Nominee 2017).

Pictured right:Brian Quijada and Caleb Dukes

CERT Students Have a Successful Fire Safety Training Day with the

Fire Department

SCHOOL NEWS

Information from Balfour to Seniors and Senior Parents!

The deadline to get your Cap & Gown and other 2018 Graduation items ordered is February 7th. All orders received after this date will be charged a

$25.00 Late Fee.

You may place your order online at www.balfour.com or you can visit our office at

9951 Anderson Mill Road, Suite 104, Austin, TX 78750. Our office hours are Monday through Thursday from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm and Wednesday from 11:00 am - 7:00 pm. You may also mail your order to our office at the address listed above. All orders must be postmarked on or before February 7, 2018 or will be subject to the $25 late fee.

If you have questions or need assistance navigating the website, please call us at

512-996-9082 during business hours.

ANYTHING GOES

WESTLAKE COMMUNITY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Westlake High School

4100 Westbank Drive

FEBRUARY 8 and 9, 2018 at 7:30 PM

FEBRUARY 10, 2018 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM

Tickets: $20 each and $1.75 processing fee– Reserved Seating

TICKET SALES:

Online ticket sales can be found at www.westlakechoir.com

If available, tickets will be sold at the door one hour prior to

each performance at the

WCPAC Box Office.

Register HERE

Westlake Theatre will host the 2nd Annual 12-Hour PlayFest

on Saturday, February 17. There is plenty of space for students to sign up as a team of 5-6 to:

brainstorm, write, direct, rehearse, and perform

...original 10-minute plays in the span of only 12 hours!
7:00 am-7:00 pm on Saturday, Feb 17

More info for students can be found here.
Direct sign up can be found here.

The shows on 2/17 will be free and open to the public at

6:00 pm in the Black Box Theatre.

Join us if you can!

Coming to the WHS Library!

Mark your calendar!

The library will be hosting the YA author, Susan Dennard, on February 20th.

She will be discussing her new novel, Sightwitch, the third book in her fantasy series, "The Witchlands" with some of the freshman English classes.

Books purchased will be autographed.

Please use this order form for your purchases.

Thank you for your support of the library.

FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE

St. Andrew's Episcopal School will host the fifth annual Austin-wide USA Gap Year Fair on Saturday, February 3, 2018 from noon to 3 pm. About 45 gap year programs will be present at the fair, representing a wide variety of domestic and international gap year experiences.

The program will begin from noon-1 pm with a panel presentation in the St. Andrew's Upper School Chapel. Speakers will be presenting various perspectives on gap years and identifying what to look for in a program and how to find a good fit. Following that presentation, the USA Gap Year Fair will be open from 1-3 pm in the Upper School Cafeteria.

St. Andrew's Episcopal School is located at 5901 Southwest Parkway in Austin. Parking will be available in the main lot and in the gym lot.

For further information, please contact Elizabeth Guice at St. Andrew's Episcopal School (eguice@sasaustin.org, 512.299.9736).

Food for thought: why are we pushing out kids to excel at just about everything? Read about it here!

Mark your calendars for the next Speaker Series, February 8th! As a reminder you can access video and handouts from past presentations.

Be sure to scroll through the Speaker Series section for more wonderful, free learning opportunities in the community! Upcoming opportunities range THREE different book studies; learning how to set healthy habits; workshops for girls and the adults in their lives; and yoga therapy groups!

Stay healthy, Chaps!

FROM PTO

WHS OFFICE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!

We are in need of two or three more front office volunteers this semester.

Office volunteers, mainly, sort and deliver mail and packages.

If you are interested in taking a regular shift (or filling in from time-to-time), please text Marcia Elm at 512/296-7360 for schedule and training information.

Thank you for considering joining the office volunteer team!