WHS Family Newsletter
January 10, 2022
Back in the Swing of Things!
Take some time to take a look at the events coming up and the celebrations highlighted below. I continue to be amazed at the success our students are having and the ways in which our school is shining! A special shout out and congratulations to our Boys Basketball team who defeated cross-town rival, Carmel, by a score of 43-42 on Saturday night! To say we were all on the edge of our seats watching some great basketball is an understatement! It's great to be a Rock!
New Information This Week
10th Annual Play For the Cure Pink Out Basketball Games
Our 10th Annual Play for the Cure Pink OUT Game is THIS WEEK!! This year it will take place during the boys and girls basketball games vs HSE THIS Friday, January 14th - a doubleheader with the varsity girls game beginning at 6 pm and the boys to follow at approximately 8 pm.
We are doing a modified version of our normal pink game activities. We will have a PINK OUT that night, a hospitality room for survivors, a Wall of Hope, a 50/50 drawing, and will be accepting donations for the IWIN Foundation. We will also honor survivors/fighters between the games.
Please invite Breast Cancer Fighters & Survivors to fill out this form (send it to sumptst@wws.k12.in.us) and attend the game!
New Mask/Quarantine District Guidelines
In accordance with our current COVID-19 protocols announced on November 8, since all but two schools (Monon Trail Elementary and Westfield Intermediate School) went above the 1.75 percent threshold of positive cases, masks or face coverings are now mandatory at all Westfield Washington Schools buildings for all before, during and after school activities – including BAC, TOTS, and All-Aboard. Masks will remain highly recommended for spectators of all sporting events. We will remain in a district-wide mask mandate until all nine schools simultaneously have a positivity rate below 1 percent. Per federal mandate, masks will continue to be mandatory on school buses.
We will continue to conduct contact tracing and notify families if their child has been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. In masked situations, close contacts do not have to quarantine as long as they do not show symptoms. In unmasked situations, like lunch, close contacts will need to quarantine, regardless of showing symptoms or not, unless they are fully vaccinated or have had COVID-19 in the past 90 days. With this update in masking protocol, any student who needs to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19 may return to school on day 6, regardless of vaccination status.
Other mitigation measures -- including regular sanitization, promoting hand-washing, monitoring of symptoms, cohorting and distancing -- will continue as well, when appropriate and available.
Thank you, again, for your continued support and flexibility as we continue to provide your children with a safe and educational environment.
2022 Winter Homecoming
Winter Homecoming Week is right around the corner (January 24th-29th)! There will be spirit days, mini-pep sessions in the Learning Center each morning, a class Scavenger Hunt that takes place all week, the 2022 Mr. Westfield competition, and some big sporting events!! Be sure you know the scoop and Let’s Go Rocks!!
Class competition
“Scav Hunt 2022” - players create teams and compete throughout the week by earning points for completed tasks. The top team from each grade participates in the final showdown for the class cup.
Scav Hunt 2022 starts Monday, Jan 24 at 12:00am.
Teams can earn points in the Scav Hunt challenges through Thursday, Jan 27 at 11:59 pm
The top team from each grade will receive the clues on Thursday at 11:59 pm for the trophy, and they will have until Friday, Jan 28 to find the final item(s)/complete final task(s).
Morning pep sessions
Each morning we will have an individual group perform (Battle of the Bands winner/runner-up, Cheerleaders, Dance Team, Drum Line, Band) in the Learning Center!
Spirit Days
Monday: Pajamas
Tuesday: Country vs Country Club
Wednesday: Twin
Thursday: Senior Citizens (11 &12) vs Babies (9 &10)
Friday: Class Colors (9 - Yellow, 10 - Red, 11 - Blue, 12 - Black)
Submit photos DAILY via Instagram and Twitter for a chance to win a prize and to be featured! (@whsstugov)
Events
Tuesday: Girls at Ben Davis Basketball Game JV 6 pm - Varsity to follow at approx 7:30 pm
Thursday: Mr. Westfield Competition in the auditorium at 7 pm - cost $5
Friday: Winter Hoco Boys JV/Varsity Basketball game vs. Avon. JV 6pm - Varsity to follow at approx 7:30pm
Saturday: Wrestling Sectionals @ Frankfort High School and Boys JV/Varsity Basketball game vs. Liberty Christian (home) JV 6 pm - Varsity to follow at approx 7:30 pm
*The Sadie Hawkins Dance is postponed to a later date. More info to come!
Congratulations and Good Luck To Our Own Coach Gilbert!
To influence is to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone. To say that Coach Jake Gilbert influences the lives of students at Westfield High School, past, present, and even our future Rocks in a positive way is an understatement. From the football field to the mentoring program, to the random student he talks with as he makes his rounds through the halls of WHS, Coach Gilbert is inspiring and motivating to all. He has influenced not just students, his colleagues, and the community, but the culture of Westfield for the better.
You may have heard that he was recently named the winner of the prestigious Power of Influence Award for the Midwest Region for the second consecutive year - one of the highest honors a football coach can attain. What you may not know is that this honor qualifies him as one of only five nominees for the NATIONAL Power of Influence Award given out by the American Football Coaches Association® and the American Football Coaches Foundation® this week at their National Convention. We wish Coach Gilbert the best of luck. We can’t imagine a more deserving nominee!!
To read Current in Westfield’s interview with Coach Gilbert about the award, click here.
To read more about the Power of Influence Award and the Regional Winners click here.
Photo Credit: WHS Senior, Madison Niehaus
Rocks Spotlight
WHS Winter Sports Having Spectacular Seasons!
Girls Basketball: The Varsity Girls Basketball team is currently 14-3. They are ranked in the top 10 in the state and as mentioned above, were also invited to play in the Raymond James Hall of Fame where the girls were the Hall of Fame Runner Ups. Coach Ginny Smith also earned her 100th win as a coach in December.
Wrestling: Our wrestling team has had a great season this year. They are currently ranked 13th in the state and have wins over 4 top-20 teams. This team is lead by a fantastic senior class, with four seniors ranked in the top 20 in the state. Mike Platonov is currently 24-3, and ranked 5th in the state. Mike won the Al Smith Tournament, a 32- team 2-day tournament that is the toughest in the state. Mike beat four top-20 wrestlers in his pursuit to a championship. Braxton Vest is 24-4, ranked 7th in the state. Braxton placed 6th at the Al Smith tournament, and went undefeated at Calumet, Penn, and North Central Duals. Austin McClure is currently ranked 12th in the state. He is 12-2 and won his first ten consecutive matches to start the year. Thadeus O'Neill, currently ranked 20th in the state is 22-6 and also brought home a 7th place finish at the AL Smith Tournament. Thadeus also has 16 pins on the season.
Also pictured below are our boys and girls swim teams. We wish them the best of luck as they finish their 2021-22 season. Go Rocks!
Reminders
Rock Strong Award
Westfield Washington Schools is proud to announce a new staff appreciation initiative: the Rock Strong Award presented by the Westfield Education Foundation! This is a quarterly award, given out at each school plus operations and student support programs, to recognize teachers, instructional assistants, instructional coaches, building secretaries, bus drivers, substitute teachers, food service staff and operations staff for the great work they do for our children and our community!
Each quarter, all schools plus operations and student support programs (BAC/TOTS/All Aboard) will review your nominations and select someone who represents its values and culture to receive the Rock Strong Award. Westfield Education Foundation will present the award winners with a commemorative plaque and a $50 Amazon gift card as a way to show appreciation for all that they do.
Staff, students, families and the public can submit nominations. In order to facilitate this, the submission form will be a constant on the Shamrock Blast and physical submission forms will be available at the front desk of each building.
The first Rock Strong Awards will be given out at the February 8 school board meeting and the submission window for this quarter will close on January 25.
Click here to nominate someone now. It only takes a minute!
Rock Talk
Our second trimester Rock Talk will be held this Thursday, January 13th at 7pm in the Learning Center. Rock Talk is our WHS version of a TED talk where students share their expertise and passions. The event is sponsored by Mr. Joel Bruns and although there is no admission fee, the group is partnering with Dance Marathon so monetary donations will be welcome. Please join us for a fun evening of Rock Talks!
Jostens Final Cap and Gown Order Day
Jostens will be in our main Shamrock Cafe during all lunches on Friday, January 14th to take FINAL orders for graduation items (seniors) and class rings (freshman and any other interested students). Orders may also be placed at Jostens.com.
Senior Families: The cap, gown, and your 2022 tassel are the only required purchase. You are also free to check out Jostens.com to see several senior class items like announcements, jewelry, and clothing items.
About Us
Email: webmaster@wws.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.wws.k12.in.us/whs
Location: 18250 North Union Street, Westfield, IN, USA
Phone: (317)867-6800
Facebook: facebook.com/westfieldhighschool
Twitter: @WWSWHS