Last Thursday and Saturday, WHSAD students continued their hard work in beautifying the Harry Van Arsdale campus hallways. Working with representatives from City Year, a not-for-profit volunteer organization, WHSAD students sanded and primed the hallway and stairwell walls in preparation for the Starbucks Service Day on April 26th.  Several of WHSAD's students also worked on designing banners designed to welcome over 500 Starbucks employees to the Harry Van Arsdale Campus during the big mural design day. Pictured on the left are juniors Kyla Gardner and Jared Soto designing welcome signs for these volunteers. City Year also trained these students on leadership skills that they would apply on April 26th, when each of them … [Read more...]

  Forty-two of WHSAD's top juniors participated on a day trip to Washington, D.C. last Saturday with Ms. Basilio, Mr. D'Amato, Ms. Wilson, Mr. Bruno, Dr. Wiprovnick, and Mr. Harris. The purpose of the trip was three-fold: (1) as an incentive to WHSAD's top performing students, (2) to link the monuments with what they are currently learning in Mr. Bruno's United States History and Government classes, and (3) to work on a photographic essay on the architecture of Washington, D.C. to display at our annual Night at Park Avenue Armory. The itinerary included the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and a long walk to see monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, to name a few. Mr. … [Read more...]

On Wednesday afternoon, WHSAD students along with volunteers for City Year began preparing the fifth floor hallway walls in preparation for City Year's Starbucks Service Day on Saturday, April 26th. On that day, WHSAD students will act as team leaders to help facilitate the design of murals along the hallways, the auditorium, and the gymnasium of the Harry Van Arsdale Campus.  Before the big day, however, a lot of preparation needs to be done. The preparation includes scraping and sanding the walls, priming the walls, sketching the designs, and painting banners that are to be hung in the gymnasium. On behalf of the staff and students of WHSAD, we are grateful for the support City Year has provided us and are looking forward to the big … [Read more...]

On Wednesday, March 19th, forty of WHSAD's top students went to the Barclay's Center to see the Brooklyn Nets take on the Charlotte Bobcats. This marks the second year in a row that WHSAD rewarded their top students by taking them to see the Brooklyn Nets solidify their rank on the Eastern Conference en route to the NBA Playoffs. Each marking period, WHSAD students who achieve honor roll status are invited to participate in free incentive field trips.  Field trips range from basketball games, Broadway plays, day trips, and concerts. The next field trip will be a day trip and lunch at a local bowling alley. In order to be part of the honor roll, students must earn a minimum of an 85 average without failing a single class. … [Read more...]

A big "shout out" goes to WHSAD twelfth grader Darien Gilgeours in engaging in political advocacy. On Tuesday, March 4th, Darien will be going to Albany, NY, with members of the Osborne Association's Youth Advisory Board to participate in their Advocacy Day. Darien is slated to meet with state senators and members of the state assembly to raise awareness about children of incarcerated parents. The Osborne Association's Youth Advisory Board consists of adolescents aged 14 to 18 whose goals are to minimize the trauma to children when a parent is arrested and to stress about the importance of maintaining a healthy parent-child relationship. On behalf of WHSAD, we wish Darien the very best when meeting with members of our state's … [Read more...]