This school year has been one of transition, renewal, and resurgence. WHSAD staff and students have enjoyed being back in-person, getting the opportunities that were sorely missed during remote schooling. One such opportunity is field trips, and one trip that occurred on an on-going basis was the Staten Island Greenbelt in which students worked at High Rock Park to refurbish the trails. During these Wednesday excursions, students collaborated to apply the instruction they received from High Rock environmental educators Christopher Ricker, Karen Roos, and Angel Ehlers. Filled with moments students will remember for years to come, the days provided ample occasions not only to learn about flora and fauna that were a novelty to many of our city … [Read more...]
WHSAD Junior, Marc Joseph
Throughout my years at WHSAD, I have seen myself transformed from a quiet little kid to a more ambitious public speaker. During my freshman year like most others I lacked confidence, but as time went on from during many different projects like Battery Park, Staten Island Signage project, and many others I have learned to step out that shell. WHSAD has also really been the stepping stone to help start my career in design and architecture with the different software available and the different machines such as the 3-D printer, 3-D scanner, etc. There’s always something new to learn here like currently in our 4th marking period learning how to make self portraits. Making a portrait might seem difficult at first but our great teachers came … [Read more...]
Alexander Diaz’s Residential Home Design Project
One of the first assignments in the class was to design your own floor plan. How has the project developed since then? In what way do you think that initial floor plan will play a role in your final design? The first sketch was a bit confusing as I didn’t know how rooms were connected and how they all “interacted” with each other. Right after developing an initial sketch, we started working on our site plan, drawing and analyzing the environment in our site and drawing the space for our house and our house size. This whole Autocad site plan project lasted approximately 2-3 months as we all had to learn basic commands so that the project could be completed properly. After this all students were required to make a metahuman. We could … [Read more...]
WHSAD’s March 9th Trip to Staten Island’s High Rock Park
Camila Paulino The day was Wednesday, Mar 9, 2022. It was a very cold, windy, rainy, and snowy afternoon. The people were tired and the time dragged on to feel like years. I woke up that morning ready to work and accomplish something that I had never done before. I was ready to have fun and learn something new. Little did I know it would be one of the hardest days of my life. Getting to school and the bus ride there were all easy, if anything it started off great. I felt great. Once the bus had stopped, and I saw that we were in the woods, I knew that I didn't fully know what I had signed up for. I felt the rain drop on my face one by one as the cool breeze filled my lungs. The mud gripped my boots as I took each step with my heart … [Read more...]
WHSAD Senior, Aaron Ortega, in Co-op Tech Carpentry Program
The first day I stepped into this school, the environment was so much different from my regular high school. Similar to how we have art pieces all over the school of things that were designed by students, Co-op has as well. The only difference is there are different trades in that school and so the art pieces are completely different. I applied for carpentry because it goes hand and hand with my career goal of being an architect. When I walked into the class, the sounds of drills, hammers, and all types of other noises greeted me. This surprised me because I did not think that people would be getting straight to work. My teacher, Mr. Fernandez, is honestly one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. He teaches the class more … [Read more...]
Seniors Showcase AutoCAD and Photoshop Holiday House Designs
In senior year, students in Mr. Codio's Business of Architecture class focus on developing a mastery of two crucial software applications: AutoCAD and Adobe Photoshop. Learning these two programs will provide students with a leg up when entering architecture and design programs at the college and university level. Additionally, the continued advancement of their knowledge base provides students with the fundamentals to further their ideas and inspirations, gaining a greater sense of autonomy so that they can realize creative visions attuned to their own styles. The following house design projects are perfect examples of students processing the basics of AutoCAD and Photoshop and then turning that understanding into original designs that … [Read more...]
Leins Barthe, Class of 2022
What are your strengths and what areas of yourself would you like to improve? I believe that my strengths are my communication skills, my knowledgeable nature, my maturity, and my ambition for success. However, everyone has their Achilles heel and I believe mine is my lack of organization. This lack of organization has been an issue for me and has caused me to lose track of some important deadlines. What are you looking forward to in your senior year at WHSAD?This year I am looking forward to spending my final year at WHSAD with my peers and my wonderful teachers. I have a lot of plans for this year and some of those may/may not be around the holidays of this year. I am also looking forward to the senior activities that are planned … [Read more...]
Magaly Aspiroz, Class of 2022
What are your strengths and what areas of yourself would you like to improve? I like reading, drawing and helping others. Many times I've done characters of my own and even characters of different anime. Usually, if my friends are having trouble with something, I try to help them out in the best way I can. Some of the things that I'd like to get better at are doing things that get me out of my comfort zone, such as interacting more with other students and participating more in different ways. What are you looking forward to in your senior year at WHSAD? I look forward to having a fun year and making the most out of the time I'm in school. One of the main things I'll definitely look forward to is creating memories with my friends … [Read more...]
Arely Cortes, Class of 2022
What are your strengths and what areas of yourself would you like to improve? I think one of my strengths is being able to focus. I know a lot of people who get distracted easily, and it's hard for them to focus and get their work done. As for me, I'm able to focus and get my work done on time, and I'm able to multitask. Something that I would like to improve is being social. The reason why I would like to improve in being social is because I'm a very quiet person and due to that I might not make connections with other people that can help me later on. What are you looking forward to in your senior year at WHSAD? What I'm looking forward to in my senior year at WHSAD is being able to get the yearbook, sweater, T-Shirt, … [Read more...]
WHSAD Senior, Gennaro Rovello, in Co-op Tech Web Design Program
My aspiration of wanting to be an architect wouldn’t have become what it is without attending WHSAD. From the countless projects throughout all four years of high school, it has prepared me for whatever I have in store for the future. From learning about two point perspectives to house plans in AutoCAD, I am certain that this is what I want to pursue in college. However, I do have other interests with environmental sustainability and computer science. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with architects at firms like Perkins Eastman, DHD Architecture and COOKFOX NYC. COOKFOX NYC hosted us at one of their greenhouses in Central Park where I was intrigued by the combination of art, design and environmental sustainability. Using … [Read more...]