Two Takes on Conferencing

        

Julia Hwang, Sophomore Boarder from Seoul, South Korea

Wendy Butler, History Department Chair & Teacher

Julia Hwang – Conferences with teachers at Westover are unique. When there’s something you do not understand well, or if there is something you want to go over with your teacher, you sign up for a conference. However, even if you just want to talk to your teacher or seek advice on a particular subject, teachers are enthusiastic and eager to spend fifteen minutes or more with their students. I once conferenced with my history teacher, Wendy Butler, and told her that I did not seem to understand the textbook well. Over the Christmas break, she lent me one of her personal books that helped me understand the subject better. Conference times are also flexible: teachers are always willing to come early to school or stay late after sports practices. Even during lunch or dinnertime, they gladly help out students who are struggling. Every time I have a conference, I feel as if I understand not only the subject, but my teacher better.

Wendy Butler – Conferencing with a student is one of the best parts of my job because I get to really focus on one student at a time. It is a great time to listen and to see what is happening with a student’s learning. From our point of view as a teacher in a class we think we know how our students are learning. In conferences we have the opportunity to see how learning looks from their point of view. That’s when it all begins to click together. We can diagnose, explain, elucidate, challenge, and, most importantly, listen. That’s when deeper learning happens.

 

Westover introduces a theme every academic year for its faculty, students, and staff to reflect on. Teachers are also encouraged to integrate the theme in ways that make sense within their curriculum. An introductory coverage of Human Rights led to a more in-depth investigation of our interfacing with others, when, in 2013-2014, we focused on the theme of The Face of the Other. Similarly, first we must be mindful of who we are and a patient, slowing down of our lives can lead us to the point where it is then necessary to look outward once again to reflect on our interactions with those around us. This shift towards a recognition of our interconnectedness with those around us brings with it a responsibility to one another and to our surroundings. We must not only be aware of this responsibility but also act on it. Justice offers a meaningful framework for how we can responsibly interact with the world around us. In 2015-2016, this will be done by an exploration of responsible action through the lens of the four Rasin Center programs: Community Service, Diversity, Environmental Sustainability, and Global Programs. We will deeply investigate the terms “global” and “justice” and delve into what it means to be a neighbor and to whom. Faculty and students will reflect on the theme year through this blog.

 

 

Global Girls: Best Decision I’ve Ever Made

Rebecca Rashkoff, Senior Boarder from Lakeville, Connecticut

Hi my name is Rebecca Rashkoff! I’m a senior boarder from Lakeville, Connecticut and since January 3rd I have been living and going to school at Colegio Bienaventurada Virgen María Irlandesas de Bami in Sevilla, Spain through one of Westover’s many global exchange programs. So far my experience has been great. For the first month I lived with the family of Ana Iglesias and I am currently living with Arancha Perez de Teluda and her family. Ana and Arancha are the two Spanish exchange students who attended Westover for three months in the fall.

Daily life in Spain is pretty different than at Westover. School starts at 8am Monday-Thursday and starts at 8:30am on Fridays. Unlike at Westover, there are no free periods here. Instead we have classes from 8/8:30-3pm every day with a thirty-minute break called Recreo at 11:30am every day. During Recreo we are allowed to go off campus and buy snacks or walk around the neighborhood that the school is in. The weather here is usually between 45 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit and it is usually pretty sunny. After school I walk home and eat lunch. Sometimes in the afternoon I take a nap or go into the center of Sevilla. I love having so much free time in the afternoon to do whatever I want! Then around 10pm we have dinner. Both my host mothers are great cooks. If any of you ever come to Spain you will love the food, it’s so good! My favorite dishes are tortilla, which is a Spanish omelette made of eggs and potatoes, Spanish jamón, and choco frito, which is fried fish. I also love having the chance to share American culture with Ana and Arancha’s families. Last week I made American pancakes for Ana and her sister Marta and they loved them!

I miss Westover, but I am so happy to be experiencing this exchange! I was very nervous to go out of my comfort zone, but it has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I highly recommend you consider going on exchange during high school!

Unraveling Our Motto: The Lessons of Dorm Life

Kayla Ntoh, Junior Boarder from Lower Macungie, Pennsylvania

Living in a dorm at boarding school is an experience that I would never want taken away from me. Although it has its ups and downs, which is to be expected when living in a school of 200 girls, it can also be amazing! The girls that I live with have, over time, become my closest friends and confidantes.

Dorm life can be a hard adjustment after living at home with your parents for years because you are dependent on everything that your parents do for you and take advantage of seeing your parents everyday without fail. I think that the hardest adjustment for me was having to do my own laundry (I think that speaks for most of the girls here). But honestly what made the adjustment not as difficult was that there are other girls here who had gone through exactly what I was going through, whether it be laundry or just plain homesickness. I was so glad that my student proctor on my corridor was always available anytime that I needed her.

Now for roommates, which I think was my scariest thought about living in the dorm. If I am being completely honest, it can be nerve wracking having to live with another girl who you most likely have never met before, but know that everything will turn out great! The best piece of advice that I can give is to try to find something that you have in common with your new roommate and build your friendship from there. Some roommates hit it off very quickly and others have to put some effort in to build those bonds. My roommate now, Lizzie, and I get along perfectly and I think once you find THAT person, dorm life moves beyond being great and it becomes the best thing ever! Your parents will have to drag you home every break!

 

Hello! My name is Samantha Mallette, and I am one of the Assistant Directors of Admission at Westover School as well as a graduate of the Class of 2009. As a part of our blog initiative this year, I have asked our Westover Community to reflect on the school’s motto of “To Think, To Do, To Be.” I hope you enjoyed our nineteenth student blog under the series “Unraveling Our Motto.” It was a reflection on “To Do and To Be.”

Westover Traditions: Dorcas Fair

Claire Donovan, Junior Day Student from Brewster, New York

Every year, the junior class puts together the Dorcas Fair to raise money for different charities. I am one of this year’s three Dorcas heads with Nola Iwasaki and Isabelle Morrissey. We had our annual fair on January 11^th, and the secret theme was “The Wizard of Oz.” We raised $14,181.71!! (The extra 71 cents is very important!) The charities we donated to include the Shriners Hospitals for Children, The Alzheimer’s Association, Doctors without Borders, The Petit Family Fund, The Meghan Beebe Fund, UNICEF, and Girls Inc.

The junior class has been working hard since last year when we had our first meeting in the Common Room to discuss the themes and charities, and it has been a fast, crazy ride ever since then! Our class met once or twice a month starting in September to work on posters, crafts, silent auction items, vendors, and all other activities that were available at the fair. I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into junior year as to how much work the fair would be. At our very first meeting at the end of sophomore year, I was so nervous that I broke my pencil in half midsentence! There was so much to do! People to call! Baskets to make! Shirts to sell! I had absolutely no clue how the past junior class managed to do it; however, I also didn’t realize how much easier all of this would be with the help of our class. Every single girl in our class wanted to make the fair a success. There were times when I was completely overwhelmed, doing my math homework while simultaneously calling bakeries asking for cookie donations, but there were other times when I felt nothing more than complete joy and pride to be a part of such an amazing group of girls!

On the day of the fair right before the seniors came in, I just remember being blown away, thinking of where we started with our first meeting in the Common Room to being here: popcorn popped, posters hung, bouncy house blown up, and everyone at their booths in their costumes excited to get started and see all of our hard work finally come together. It was amazing to see all of the families, faculty, and other Westover students enjoying such an entertaining fair that has a tremendous impact on all of those charities.