This year, Valentine’s Day fell on the Friday before Mid-winter Break - perfect timing for Westside Jr./Sr. High Academy students to build school spirit with play. Many students and teachers wore red or pink in celebration of the holiday. Prizes were given for best outfits. Groups of students got together for a social lunch of pizza, and then broke out into several classrooms for special activities. In the gym, teacher Aida Kuhlkin led a fast-paced kickball game, which included a few brave participants from Westview for Exceptional Children. Students created their own hand-crafted Valentine’s Day cards in Tom Carpenter’s art lab. Competitive teachers and students alike played Apples to Apples vocabulary card game in English teacher Ed Mongold’s room.
“Social activities like these bring us all together,” said Principal Martha Willis. “We help students build trusting relationships. They learn that they can count on us and on each other for support. It is one of the biggest benefits of a small school like Westside Jr./Sr. High Academy.”