The Column

Thank you to junior correspondent Bryant Perez for attending this event at A/D/O, a creative space in Greenpoint that has partnered with WHSAD on past projects. Last Saturday, A/D/O, in Greenpoint, held an event regarding Icelandic Design. This event consisted of "The Iceland Design Centre" coming over to “The States” and introducing their design and ideas such as using design to make the world a better place. This event began with the speaker, Halla Helgadóttir, Managing Director of the Iceland Design Centre, emphasizing how Iceland is a spacious place full of harsh weather with a small population of 350,000 people.  The speaker continued by talking about the economic crisis that Iceland had 10 years ago, which slowed down all … [Read more...]

Last week, WHSAD student correspondent Jeremy Ceballos went to a practice of the Van Arsdale Cardinals girls volleyball team to get a feel for how the team is preparing for the upcoming season. Jeremy interviewed head coach Ms. Huguet and team captain Milana Baldizzi, a senior at WHSAD. Please keep an eye out for the season schedule and support your teams! Ms.Huguet: “Our First game was amazing. Our girls came through. We started off a little sketchy. The first match was 25 to 23. The second match was in our favor 25 to 22. But in the third match, the girls really showed their talents by leaving them with 10 points. They really pulled through and got themselves together in the third match. Our biggest challenge last year was our defense. … [Read more...]

By Antonio Perez On September 25th, 2018, WHSAD’s Intervisitation team had the privilege to host its first intervisitation of the year. Students on the team took guests from The Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering and East Williamsburg Scholars Academy to classes of their choosing to examine the overall environment and feel of each classroom. Most importantly, visitors observed students at work to get a sense of how engaged students were in discussion and whether they were actively listening. These observations allowed teachers to gain valuable feedback regarding what they can do to enhance the experience for students and improve discussion and how to integrate autonomous values into the roots of the class. An example of this … [Read more...]

Thank you to WHSAD Junior Bryant Perez for this article, his first contribution to the WHSAD student reporting team. We look forward to future stories from Bryant. SVA (School of Visual Arts) x AREAWARE x WHSAD Entrepreneurial Product Lab!, or “Incubator” for short, is a program that is new to WHSAD this year. The goal is to help juniors develop skills in designing, marketing, branding and much more. Incubator consists of instructors coming to the school once a week in order to guide the students to sketch and develop a product of their own making. D'andra Gordon, one of the students currently participating in Incubator, described the first day of Incubator: “In our first meeting, we created a thumbnail of our own design and then we … [Read more...]

According to Ella Fitzgerald, in the summertime, "the livin' is easy," and for students and staff alike, it is an opportunity to recharge, refresh, and reflect. However, for others, it is a prime time to pursue activities for which one does not have time during the hurly-burly of the school year. This past summer, many WHSAD students took part in internships and experienced the potential rigors and rewards of the workplace. Other students took advantage of the new SYEP program and worked for various organizations, gaining valuable experience as well as a nice paycheck every couple of weeks. In its first year at the school, the SYEP program was a major success as all 150 spots allocated to WHSAD were filled and retained over the summer, and … [Read more...]

Design Initiative for Community Empowerment (DICE) is an after school program that introduces students to the challenges of creative thinking and problem-solving through studio classes in design. Students investigate their communities through various design disciplines such as fashion design, architecture and urban design, and entrepreneurship. While increasing civic education and social responsibility, students also learn about educational opportunities and career possibilities in design. DICE classes are developed in collaboration with the Schools of Art, Design, and Architecture, and are taught by faculty. WHSAD students are invited to apply for the DICE program at Pratt Institute -- you can find more information about the program … [Read more...]

Building relationships between the future stewards of our society and those who are currently charged with great responsibility is a cornerstone of a WHSAD education. Many students take advantage of opportunities that allow them to work alongside and gain insight from professionals in various fields. Such experiences permit students to develop a greater awareness of the world outside of their daily lives and also build confidence in communicating with individuals on a more sophisticated and professional level. In addition to the numerous internships and career-oriented opportunities the school has developed over the years, WHSAD’s work as a community school this year has students engaging in projects that serve area needs.  On Wednesday, … [Read more...]

Graduation is a time of tremendous sentience. The throwing of caps holds both excitement and anxiety. The months, weeks, and days leading up to commencement are filled with anticipation, and when it's time to walk across that stage and move that tassel to the left, emotions crescendo into euphoria. There's something of an instantaneous transformation that calls for celebration, reflection, and separation. WHSAD's class of 2018 demonstrated how emotions run the gamut during the ceremony as there was plenty of laughter, quite a bit of smiling, and a few sentimental tears.  There were also words of wisdom provided by speakers such as Master of Ceremonies, Ms. Kimberley McCollum; Salutatorian, Kenneth Nelson, Jr.; Keynote speaker, Mr. … [Read more...]

  On Monday, June 11th the Van Arsdale Cardinals baseball team took on the Bathgate Bulldogs in the PSAL AA Baseball City Championship at Yankee Stadium. Both teams played well, and while Bathgate defeated Van Arsdale 6-1, the Cardinals’ 2018 season is one to be celebrated. Part of the team are three members of the Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design student body: Seniors Isaiah Jimenez Brice and Christopher Maldonado and Freshman Christian Centeno.  Isaiah and Christopher will graduate and move on to Bryant and Stratton in Virginia and Florida International in Miami, respectively, while Christian will have three more years to make his mark at WHSAD for the Van Arsdale Cardinals. Below, Isaiah and … [Read more...]

The Rohan Levy Foundation @rohanlevyfoundation was founded in honor of Rohan Levy, a promising 15 year old young man and student at WHSAD, who was killed by gun violence in his Brooklyn community. The following is an interview student correspondent Antonio Perez conducted with Ms. Nadine Sylvester, Rohan’s mother, regarding the foundation, its evolution,  and how it has provided her with a source of hope in the aftermath of such a tragedy.  After Rohan passed last February I knew immediately that I was going to give back to the community. I didn't initially think I was going to start a foundation, but I spoke with the Principal Cornell and told him that I would do a scholarship for that year. for a young man of color to go … [Read more...]