Harvard-Westlake • Studio City • Volume 33 • Issue 2 • September 21, 2023 • hwchronicle.com
Annual Giving record set
Campus closes due to leakage By Hannah Shahidi and Connor Tang
By Connor Tang
The Upper School experienced a water main leak that resulted in campus closing Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 as announced in an email from Head Upper School Beth Slattery. Teachers had the choice to conduct classes through Zoom or assign asynchronous work until maintenance and the Los Angeles (LA) Department of Water and Power fixed the leak. Slattery said the leak was first reported by security guards who discovered a small puddle in the main driveway. “The night before [Labor Day], security had noticed that there was a puddle on the ground in the main driveway,” Slattery said. “It hadn’t rained or anything, [and] it was just a small puddle, not big flooding. What they realized was that there was a water main leak that was leaking three to four gallons per minute underneath the ground. All that was showing on the surface was this little puddle, but there was water all underneath that.” Slattery said the maintenance team repaired the leak on campus quickly, but in-person instruction was cancelled for a second day out of caution. “[Maintenance] had to excavate the whole thing to figure out where the leak was,” Slattery said. “[They had] to shut off the water, secure the pieces of the pipe and take out the piece that was broken. The repairs were done by around 10:30 in the morning on the second day that we cancelled classes, but because we had to tell everybody the day before, and we didn’t know, it was just better that we [cancelled classes again].” Upper School Latin Teacher Bradford Holmes said he wanted to avoid using Zoom and assigned work for his students to complete on their own instead. “I chose to give everyone asynchronous work which meant class did not meet,” Holmes said.
tonomy and parental guidance. “It was a really big game for the field hockey team, and Taylor wasn’t playing as well as she could so the coach pulled her, and Taylor was devastated,” Jones said. “The coach had every right to pull her because she wasn’t playing as well. [Even though] they ended up winning, Taylor was in tears and we [were] sort of trying to consult her, but I never looked at that field hockey coach sideways. Sometimes you’re going to feel like the disappointment is justified and sometimes you’re gonna feel like it’s completely unfair, but just allowing [kids] to sort through and read through those issues on their own ideals is extremely helpful.” Wimbish said parents can learn more about their children’s interests by remaining present in their lives. “[Parents should] stay curious about [their] children,” Wimbish said. “I have learned so much from my kids who have taken and are taking a different journey through their lives than I took.”
The school raised over $40 million dollars in total donations in the 2022-2023 school year with gifts pledged to support River Park, financial aid and new mental health initiatives. Annual Giving, the school’s organized effort dedicated to raising funds for the school’s operations, raised over $10 million, breaking the record set of $9.7 million in the 2021-2022 school year. The program accounts for 11% of the annual operating budget. Head of Advancement Eli Goldsmith said part of the money raised will be dedicated to the school’s Wellness Plan and the construction of River Park. “Annual Giving is helping the school realize its comprehensive Mental Health and Wellness plan by enabling the hiring of additional counselors, deans and learning specialists,” Goldsmith said. “This total was in addition to many large gifts for Harvard-Westlake River Park, as well as our endowment.” Goldsmith said the money will also be dedicated to continued missions of expanding financial aid and teacher salaries. According to Goldsmith, the financial aid budget, which allows students unable to afford tuition to attend the school, has grown to $14 million dollars with the help of annual giving donations. Additionally, the support has allowed faculty and staff salaries to rise at a higher rate than tuition, which allows the school to recruit and keep staff. Goldsmith said all faculty and staff members donated to Annual Giving, which represents their dedication to the community. “In 2022-2023, 100% of faculty and staff made a gift to Harvard-Westlake for the 15th consecutive year,” Goldsmith. “Teachers, coaches, staff and administration give so much to students every day, and it’s really inspiring that they go a step further to contribute to the school financially.”
• Continued on A2
• Continued on hwchronicle.com
B4-B5
C1
D3
Military Memories: With national enlistment at a low, past students reflect on the military history of the school and its legacy.
Creative Conflict: Community members reflect on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and the changing entertainment industry.
Match Moments: This season, the varsity girls’ tennis team is filled with underclassmen and off to a 2-2 start.
NATHAN WANG/CHRONICLE
SCHOOL STATUS UPDATE: Following a speech from President Rick Commons, Head of School Laura Ross poses a question to a panel of leading administrators during the 2023-2024 State of School Address.
Administrators speak about student well-being at State of School Address
By Nathan Wang
Leaders of the administration kicked off the 2023-2024 school year with the Harvard-Westlake Parents’ Association (HWPA) sponsored State of the School Address and introductory reception at the Middle School on Sept. 14. Around 500 parents attended the reception which highlighted themes of student mental health and parental involvement in students’ lives. The event began with opening remarks from HWPA President Katerina Minevich (Julian ’25, Lola ’22), followed by a speech consisting of three reflections of the summer from President Rick Commons. After Commons’ remarks, Head of School Laura Ross, Head of Athletics Terry Barnum, Head of Middle School Jon Wimbish, Assistant Head of School for Community and Belonging Janine Jones and Head of Upper School Beth Slattery continued the address with a pre-prepared question and answer (Q&A) session. Commons said he wanted par-
ents to feel a sense of trust in the steps school leaders take to improve the wellbeing of students and know that the school cares. “I would like parents to take away that the school leaders care [and] that there’s an immense care for the experience of students,” Commons said. “I gave an opening talk and then I sat down as a parent of two Harvard-Westlake students looking at that array of panelists who were answering questions, and they were funny and wise and deeply caring. For me as a parent, sitting in the audience at that moment, I felt like my kids were very well taken care of, and I wanted the community to feel that way.” Ross moderated the Q&A portion of the address, while Barnum, Wimbish, Jones and Slattery reflected on lessons from their personal experiences parenting former and current students. Using an anecdote about her daughter’s experience in a field hockey state championship, Jones said it is important for students to feel a balanced sense of au-
• Continued on hwchronicle.com
IN THIS ISSUE
A3 Fanatic Frenzy: Prefect Council announced the new Junior and Senior Head Fanatics for the 20232024 school year.
A11 Finance Fundamentals: Sabrina Hamideh ’25 and Max Turetzky ’25 outline their opinion on having a financial literacy class.