Category Archives: Academics

SWS in the City of Brotherly Love!

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Filed under Academics, Community, Students

An important part of Wheatley’s SWS Program is its annual retreat at the beginning of the year. This year’s trip was to Philadelphia, PA, where students enjoyed a visit to Independence Hall, the Eastern State Penitentiary, a hike at the Wildlife Refuge and a visit to the Franklin Institute.

In addition to spending time learning about our nation’s culture and history, the students had time during the trip to forge the types of bonds that make for a strong and successful democratic organization.

Thanks to the SWS faculty who accompanied the students on the trip: Mr. Pat Clarke, Mr. Stephen Collier, Mrs. Gena Topping, Mrs. Birthe Seferian, Mr. Michael Dunn and Mr. Todd Henao.

[Thanks to Mr. Clarke for some of the photos!]

Six Wheatley Students Recognized as National Merit Semifinalists!

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Filed under Academics, Community, Competition, Guidance, Students

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has named six Wheatley seniors as Semifinalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program. The students earning this prestigious honor are:

  • Antony Deluxe
  • Amanda Kim
  • Vedant Singh
  • Kenton Wu
  • Camellia Ye
  • Brandon Zhu

As Semifinalists, these students scored in the top one percent of the more than 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools who entered the program by taking the PSAT last year.

The 16,000 national Semifinalists are now eligible to compete for Merit Scholarship awards worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements and advance to the Finalist level of competition.  About 15,000 of the Semifinalists are expected to become Finalists, and approximately half of the Finalists will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners.

Congratulations and good luck to Tony, Amanda, Vedant, Kenton, Camellia and Brandon!

Frederick Lin Finds Success in Germany!

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Filed under Academics, Competition, Student Clubs, Student Performances, Students

This past summer, freshman Frederick Lin earned the distinction of participating at the International History Olympiad hosted in Berlin, Germany. The 2018 International History Olympiad was attended by over 200 students with more than 30 global affiliations. In the competition, he finished 2nd place in art history and 3rd in women’s history. At the closing ceremonies held at Charlottenburg Palace, he was awarded a silver medal (art history) and bronze medal (women’s history).

The International History Olympiad is a biennial week-long competition of history, attended by some of the best young history students from around the world.

Congratulations, Freddy!

First Few Days of 2018-19 School Year a Hot Success!

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In the midst of our region’s heat wave, the Wheatley hallways are hot and filled with excitement on these first few days of the 2018-19 academic year! Members of our Class of 2019 returned to school wearing their Senior shirts with pride, and students in other grades oriented themselves to the rhythms of a new year. Classrooms and hallways were filled with students getting reacquainted with each other and with their teachers.

For members of the Class of 2019, the year began with the Senior Sunrise. Most of these students then returned to school in the evening in order to attend the “Driving in the Safe Lane” presentation.

It is going to be a wonderful school year!

Orientation for the Class of 2023!

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Each year, we are fortunate to welcome a new grade to our learning community. On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, members of the Class of 2023 participated in an orientation program designed to familiarize them with the school, their schedule, their lockers and many of the teachers that they will have during the year. There were also activities designed to help them connect with each other, set goals for the year and ask questions about their fears or concerns. They also competed in the Guidance Olympics (at the end of which Ms. Meyer’s students earned the victory).

Assisting us with this orientation program were our Guidance Department and our Wheatley Welcomers, students who assist new students as they transition to Wheatley.

[Thanks to Ms. Varela and Mrs. Silverstein for some of the photos and videos!]

 

Class of 2018 is Celebrated at the 61st Annual Commencement Exercises!

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Filed under Academics, Community, Parents, Student Performances, Students

Earlier today, Wheatley held its 61st Commencement Exercises — this year in celebration of the Class of 2018! The 10:00 am ceremony included four wonderful musical performances and four impressive student speeches. It was a moving ceremony befitting this remarkable graduating class.

Congratulations to all of the graduates and their families!

You can view a copy of the Commencement Program here: Graduation Program 2018

English TenP Talks Highlight Student Passions!

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Filed under Academics, Curricula, Presentation, Students

On Wednesday, 6 June1 May, students in our English 10P Honors courses invited friends, family and special guests to the second annual “Ten P Talks.” Modeled after the well-known Ted Talks, these student presentations aimed to answer the question, “What Matters?” Students chose topics that reflected their passions and interests, aiming to educate and inform the audience in under ten minutes.

The topics and presenters were quite impressive! Congratulations to the students, and thank you to Vanessa Mahnkens and Stephen Collier, who organized and helped the students through their presentations!

My one regret was that the format of the evening prevented me from seeing more than nine presentations!

The students and topics presented include:

  • Rahul Ajmera: LMFAO: Why It’s imperative that we laugh
  • Alison Amarain: Punch Stress in the Face
  • Kaya Amin: The Simple Step to Dealing with Stress: Mastering your Mindset
  • Kavina Amin: Listening and Learning from the Other Side
  • Zach Azevado: How Bad Decisions Lead to the Greatest Life Lessons
  • Alyssa Belle: Are Doctors Killing Us?
  • Robert Boubour: Observe, Question, Analyze, Reflect: Getting More Out of Less
  • Patrick Brady: Lost in Translation
  • Maggie Caroddo: Surfing Your Stress Away
  • Eric Chu: The Influence of Cinema
  • Matthew Cornacchia: A Thermostat for the Earth
  • Aidan Cozzolino: The Beauty of Video Games
  • Peter Cuomo: Memes: Ubiquitous and Potent
  • Deana Druz: My Anxiety Gives me Anxiety
  • Kaitlyn Ducroiset: Unequal Education is Barbarous
  • Sofia Fuertes: The Inspiring Power of Dance
  • Derek Gilbert: What Diseases Can You Smell on your Breath?
  • Mariam Goher: Let me sleep just 5 more minutes
  • Katie Gold: How Physical Activity Affects Stress
  • Elizabeth Ho: Hey Moms! Don’t Ban Me from Fortnit
  • Alex Horowitz: The Power of Words
  • Eileen Huerta: Should the Private lives of Famous People be off limits
  • Hitangee Jain: The Misconceptions of the Vegetarian Diet
  • Ansh Jhaveri: Why I’m Brown
  • Megan Kaye: The Dangers of Initiation
  • Sanjana Khanna: What the US could learn about learning
  • Teddy Koutsoftas: Riddle Me This
  • Hema Kumar: Are You Self-Diagnosed with Mental Illness?
  • Rachel Lee: Let’s Celebrate Procrastination…Later
  • Eliana Li: Feigned Ignorance is Bliss
  • Karen Li: How Are You?  I’m Busy!
  • Ilana Nimkoff: Food Allergies:  The effect they can have on people
  • Natalia Potrapeluk: The Power of Color
  • Madison Ramos: Why You should and shouldn’t be a Hermione Granger
  • Orell Rayhan: Seeking Discomfort
  • Brenden Resnick: Human Transit: Change Your Perception of Public Transportation
  • Diya Shah: So, You Think You Can’t Dance
  • Kiran Shaikh: Small Hands, Big Responsibilities
  • Dean Sheinman: The Power of Superstitions
  • Rebecca Sparacio: Does Starbucks Make Star Students?  The Coffee Diploma
  • Amanda Ustick: Striding for Success
  • Ashley Vincenzo: I Swear I’m Normal:  Only Child Syndrome
  • Aidan Wong: Play With a Purpose
  • Trenton Wong: College Applications: Are they too competitive
  • Erin Wu: The Key to Happiness
  • Emily Yagoda: How to Change the World with a Single Dollar
  • Alia Yamin: Why We should turn back time
  • Aaron Zachariah: Internet of Things and Future of Technology
  • Becca Zeltsman: We are More than just a number
  • Allison Zheng: Art’s Life Lessons
  • Brenda Zhong: Post-Colonial Obsession: America’s Fascination with the British Royal Family
  • Sharon Zhong: Community of the Not-So-Future