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The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Chloe Park, Presentations Managing Editor

All content by Chloe Park
Chinese Teacher Bin He stands together with language teachers from around the country at an event on Capitol Hill. The event is hosted annually in Washington D.C. and serves as an opportunity for language teachers to discuss and meet with legislators.

Chinese teacher makes visit to Capitol Hill for annual Language Advocacy Day event

Chloe Park and Grant Park
November 15, 2023

Chinese teacher Bin He visited the U.S. Congress to participate in the Language Advocacy Day event hosted by the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) on Oct. 16. The event invited 100 language...

School announces new Wellness Plan

Alex Lee and Chloe Park
August 27, 2023

President Rick Commons and Head of School Laura Ross released the “Mental Health and Wellness Plan” in an email to students, parents, faculty and staff Aug. 1. The document outlines the school’s...

A doctor diagnoses a senior with senioritis.

Senior-right-is

Chloe Park
May 24, 2023

At 11 p.m. on a Sunday, Maddie Cunniff ’23 sat staring at the daunting list of school work that awaited on her computer. She had a lab write up, major presentation and several assessments in the coming...

Damar Hamlin collapsed in a game against the Bengals on Jan. 2.

Cardiac Concern

Chloe Park and Caroline Plunkett
February 12, 2023

When Buffalo Bills’ Strong Safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in the first quarter of a game on Jan. 2, it sent shockwaves through the sports community. After a hit from Bengal’s receiver...

Sanders is currently Director of Admission and Financial Assistance at Francis Parker School in San Diego.

Sanders appointed Head of Admission and Enrollment

Davis Marks and Chloe Park
January 19, 2023

Chris Sanders will take over as Director of Admission and Enrollment in July, according to President Rick Commons. Sanders, who is currently the Director of Admission and Financial Assistance at Francis...

The school's emergency broadcasting system notified the community at  6:20 AM that in-person instruction would be canceled Tuesday.

Both campuses closed due to rain storms

Davis Marks and Chloe Park
January 10, 2023

The school canceled in-person instruction on both campuses after heavy rain forced the closure of Beverly Glen Blvd. and Coldwater Canyon Ave. on Tuesday. The storm, which arrived during a heightened period...

Associate Head of School Laura Ross will begin serving as Head of School in July. Prior to becoming Associate Head of School in July 2020, Ross was Head of Upper School from 2017 to 2020.

Ross to become Head of School

Davis Marks and Chloe Park
January 3, 2023

Associate Head of School Laura Ross will become Head of School in July, according to an email sent by President and Head of School Rick Commons on Jan. 3. Following the change, Commons will serve solely...

Six alumni who graduated within the last decade are featured on the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list features alumni

Chloe Park and Grant Park
December 14, 2022

Forbes magazine selected six alumni for its annual 30 Under 30 North America list announced Nov. 29. The six chosen alumni are Lukas Czinger ’12 in the Manufacturing Industry category, Vivien Mao...

School adds weighted GPAs back to transcripts

Natasha Speiss and Chloe Park
December 14, 2022

The Faculty Academic Committee (FAC) voted to include weighted GPAs on student transcripts starting with the class of 2024, following a proposal from the Upper School Dean Team on Dec. 8. The school considered...

Science Teacher Cardin smiles as he works on solving a puzzle while competing on "Wheel of Fortune."

Science teacher Nate Cardin wins Wheel of Fortune

Chloe Park
September 30, 2022

Upper School Science Teacher Nate Cardin won Wheel of Fortune, a game show on ABC, CBS and NBC, Sept. 17. Hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune is on its 40th season and is the top-rated...

LAUSD schools respond to Fentanyl

LAUSD schools respond to Fentanyl

Davis Marks and Chloe Park
September 28, 2022

The Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) issued a health alert Sept. 15 after four teenagers overdosed on counterfeit narcotic pills in Hollywood, including one student who was found dead in...

Reverend Anne Gardner reads from Christian scriptures Walch selected.

School hosts memorial service for Ted Walch

Chloe Park and Hannah Shahidi
September 12, 2022

Community members gathered for a memorial service to honor former Performing Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies Teacher Ted Walch in Saint Savior's Chapel Sept. 9. Reverend Anne Gardner opened the memorial...

The Today Show segment features a clip from the school's event celebrating Walch.

Alumnus honors Ted Walch on NBC Today Show

Chloe Park and Grant Park
September 7, 2022

Jacob Soboroff ’01, a correspondent for National Broadcasting Company (NBC) News and Microsoft National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC), honored former Performing Arts Teacher Ted Walch’s career on NBC's...

Weekly PCR tests suspended

Chloe Park
August 26, 2022

The school announced revised COVID-19 health protocols in its “Return to School” document Aug. 8. Among the policies are compulsory self-testing before returning to campus, optional masking and mandatory...

Alex Lee ’24 (left) poses for a picture with fellow debaters at the 2022 National Speech and Debate Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. Lee and his teammates, under the name West LA Violents, beat out a large field en route to a national debate victory.

Junior receives first-place recognition competing at National Speech and Debate Tournament

Davis Marks and Chloe Park
August 26, 2022

Alex Lee ’24 won the National Debate Championship and a speaker award at the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky on June 18. Lee’s team won the World Schools Debate division,...

2022 Student awards announced

Chloe Park
June 2, 2022

Valedictorian: Ariana Azarbal ’22 Salutatorian: Stephen Purdum ’22 Bishop’s medal and Veritas Award: Shanti Hinkin ’22, Jack Coleman ’22, Joy Ho ’22 Given to three seniors who most...

Maria Quigley '23, who organized the drive, stands with food she collected and will be giving to Westside Food Bank.

Community Council hosts food drive for Westside Food Bank

Chloe Park
May 11, 2022

Community Council held a food drive for Westside Food Bank to combat food insecurity in Los Angeles from May 2 to May 6, where students were asked to bring granola bar boxes for the community service food...

Dance students perform in an outdoor showcase during Multicultural Fair.

Dance students perform in outdoor showcase

Chloe Park and Grant Park
May 7, 2022

Advanced Dance I: Choreography students performed in an immersive dance showcase in the outdoor hallway between Mudd Library and Seaver during the school's Multicultural Fair on May 5. Director of Dance...

Students grab items from the Pink Taquiza food truck organized by Prefect Council.

Prefect Council organizes taco truck

Chloe Park
March 28, 2022

Prefect Council brought a food truck from Pink Taquiza to campus for this month’s Food Truck on March 25. Pink Taquiza served chicken and beef tacos with a variety of toppings during lunch and conference...

Members of Empower Club assist participants in their fundraiser for Women's History Month as they fill out forms.

Empower Club sells Dippin’ Dots

Chloe Park
March 25, 2022

Empower Club sold Dippin' Dots to raise money for the National Women’s Law Center in honor of Women’s History Month on Tuesday. The Dippin' Dots were sold to students from break until the end of lunch...

Simon Lee '23 speaks to the sophomore and junior classes in Taper Gym before the election.

Simon Lee and Yoshimi Kimura elected Head Prefects

Chloe Park
March 25, 2022

Simon Lee ’23 and Yoshimi Kimura ’23 were voted as Head Prefects for the 2022-2023 school year, according to a March 24 email from current Head Prefects Jade Stanford '22 and Executive Editor Quincey...

SLIDE organizes town halls for student input on DEI

SLIDE organizes town halls for student input on DEI

Kriste An and Chloe Park
March 8, 2022

Student Leaders for Inclusion, Equity and Diversity (SLIDE) organized town halls for students to reflect on the school's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work Feb. 28 through March 4. Empower,...

Savannah Shaub '23 sits in her Chinese course surrounded by her classmates masked with surgical and KN95 masks.

Community Health Office announces new COVID-19 protocols

Chloe Park and Tate Sheehy
February 17, 2022

The HW Community Health Office (CHO) announced new COVID-19 protocols regarding masks on Feb.16. Consistent with recently announced Los Angeles Department of Public Health guidelines, masks are no longer...

At the Bring Change To Mind table on the Quad, students write and decorate Valentine’s Day cards for the frontline workers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Students received an hour of community service for every 15 cards.

School decorates cards for frontline workers

Chloe Park and Grace Coleman
February 16, 2022

The Bring Change to Mind club wrote gratitude notes for Valentine's Day to frontline healthcare workers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Providence Saint John's Health from Feb. 9-11 on the Quad....

Students gather in the Ahmanson Lecture Hall to meet with members of HWSAA remotely.

HWSAA holds Alumni in Entertainment event

Chloe Park
February 4, 2022

The Harvard- Westlake Student Alumni Association (HWSAA) hosted the event HW4L Campus: Alumni in Entertainment on Monday. Students had the option of attending the event on Zoom or in-person at Ahmanson...

Kimberly West-Faulcon will serve as Scholar in Residence at the Kutler Center this year.

Kimberly West-Faulcon joins Kutler Center as Scholar in Residence

Chloe Park
January 24, 2022

Kimberly West-Faulcon will be joining the Kutler Center program as the new Scholar in Residence for the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year. The Kutler Center Scholar in Residence program brings noted...

Girls water polo wins league openers

Chloe Park
January 22, 2022

In its first two league games of the season, the girls water polo team defeated Marymount High School 16-0 and Louisville High School 16-1 in games both played Jan. 12. In both games, the squad outscored...

Kwaisi France sits at his desk in his new position of Director of the HW Works program. France has worked at several independent schools.

Kwaisi France joins HW Works program

Christopher Mo and Chloe Park
January 19, 2022

Kwaisi France joined the Upper School as the new Director of the HW Works program, which provides summer programs and internship opportunities for students and alumni Jan. 3.  France has served as a...

Students win YoungArts awards in a variety of disciplines, including photography, writing and music.

Students win titles in National YoungArts competition

Chloe Park
December 17, 2021

Six students won Finalist, Merit and Honorable Mention titles in the National YoungArts Foundation's annual competition for the 2021-2022 school year . The annual YoungArts Competition recognizes 15-18-year-old...

Sydney Carmel '23 and Lou Zapata '23 prepare for the holidays at the VIP Community Mental Health center.

HWP spends day decorating Violence Intervention Program’s campus

Chloe Park
November 13, 2021

Harvard-Westlake Parent's (HWP) Community Service club partnered with the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) Community Mental Health Center to host its first school-wide community service event on the...

Students "drop, cover and hold" under their desks  before heading to the field to get into their dean groups.

Students participate in the “Great Shakeout” earthquake drill

Chloe Park
October 22, 2021

Students and faculty participated in the “Great Shakeout” earthquake drill on Thursday morning. Schools across the United States observe the “Great ShakeOut” earthquake drill to raise preparation...

History's Imprint on Modern Chinese Culture teacher Bin He and his class wave to Dr. Yuan Liu, their docent at the National Museum of Asian Art.

Kutler Center course tours Smithsonian museum virtually

Chloe Park
October 21, 2021

Students in the History’s Imprint on Modern Chinese Culture course participated in a virtual tour of the National Museum of Asian Art on Friday. Volunteer docent from the Smithsonian museum Dr. Yuan...

Students face off in a dodgeball match during Community Flex Time in Taper Gymnasium.

School holds dodgeball tournament

Chloe Park and Natasha Speiss
October 12, 2021

Prefect Council announced the middle school dodgeball tournament will come to the Upper School in an email Oct. 5. The tournament will have two rounds, with games held during Community Flex Time and lunch...

Head Fanatics pose by the bleachers while they cheer on the football team against Mary Star of the Sea High School.

Homecoming 2021 features various attractions and varsity wins

Chloe Park
October 6, 2021

The school community celebrated Homecoming on Ted Slavin Field on October 2. This year's homecoming involved the traditional festivities organized by the school, Parents Association and various student...

Upper school students crowd around the booth outside Chalmers to complete their registration and receive Dunkin' Donuts, with their Social Security numbers in hand.

Seniors organize voting registration booth

Lucas Cohen-d'Arbeloff and Chloe Park
September 17, 2021

Several upper school students affiliated with the organization Redefy California ran a booth for peers to register or pre-register to vote Tuesday. They offered donuts to each student who participated...

BUILDING OUR FUTURE: Construction workers continue their development of The Residences at Sportsmen’s Lodge, which is undergoing a renovation from a hotel to affordable housing as part of Project Roomkey. The building will ultimately hold 500 new apartments for residents.

Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel renovates hotel to housing

Chloe Park
September 6, 2021

This article has been corrected. The updated article was published Sept. 6, 2021. Sportsmen’s Lodge, a Studio City hotel built in the 1880s, is undergoing construction to become The Residences at Sportsmen’s...

GLAMOROUS GARMENTS: Sadye Lackman's '22 finished hand-sewn corset, the final product of the research she conducted during her fellowship, is showcased in her backyard.

Junior Fellowship: Sadye Lackman

Chloe Park
September 1, 2021

The Junior Summer Fellowship program awarded Sadye Lackman '22 a grant this summer for her corsetry project. Lackman said the project, titled Victorian to Vogue: Corsetry and Criticism, combined her artistic...

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Chloe Park