Harvard-Westlake • Studio City • Volume 35 • Issue 3 • December 11, 2025 • hwchronicle.com
School completes self-study
Alumni attend Le Bal 2025 By Abby Ryan
By Chloe Kim
Bronwyn Vance ’24 and Ruby Kemper ’24 were presented to society at Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris on Nov. 29. Vance’s dress was made by Stéphane Rolland, a French fashion designer. Kemper’s dress was made by Chrome Hearts. Vance and Kemper were among 20 girls invited by Le Bal to be a part of this event. Kemper said she dreamed of going to Le Bal for years and was thrilled to be able to go. “The first time I went to the ball, I was ten years old,” Kemper said. “ Every year, I would see the ball and the girls who would do it in their beautiful gowns. I would just think to myself, ‘I can’t wait to do this.’ I would always dream of what my night would look like. They invited me at the beginning of the year and I was so excited.” Vance said her mom and the founder of Le Bal helped pick her designer, but she helped him design the dress. “First, we had to choose the designer, which was mainly my mom’s choice and the woman who started Le Bal’s choice,” Vance said. “We picked Stéphane Rolland. Then, I went to Paris and met with the designer who was going to make my dress. I asked him for a flowy dress, and he said it had to be big. He started drawing a dress right in front of me. He took maybe five minutes to draw. Then he came back and I saw the dress and I said, ‘This looks perfect.’ It was a white, fluffy dress with gold flowers on it.” Kemper said she chose to wear Chrome Hearts because of a personal tie to the owners. “I grew up wearing Chrome Hearts, my family and I have been close with the owners forever,” Kemper said. “Even though this was an edgier approach, I never hesitated in choosing Chrome Hearts. When I decided to wear Chrome Hearts, [the designers] were so excited. Not only was it an honor for me, but they were so excited to do it because no one had ever done it before.”
The school turned in their self-study to the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), a nonprofit organization that accredits independent schools across California, on Dec. 1. All private schools in California are required to spend six months creating and drafting a self-study document, evaluating themselves in 16 different CAIS-mandated categories to maintain standards of good educational practice. In early March 2026, a visiting team consisting of ten educators from around the state will come to campus for three and a half days. During that time, they will interact with students, faculty and staff to write an accreditation and recommendation document based on the self-study and their observations. President Rick Commons, who was a main contributer to the study, said the self-study helps the school reflect on past struggles faced by the school and future priorities in handling those issues. “For us, it might be even more important because we do not have a formal strategic plan,” Commons said. “Responding to things like the pandemic, which no one anticipated, and the crisis that we faced when we had student deaths by suicide [required us] to be strategic in our responses. The purpose of this is for us to be outlining what our strategies are, how we’ve addressed various things over the course of the last seven years and how we will address the most important things that we see in front of us, [such as] artificial intelligence, the opening of River Park and the cost of living in Los Angeles.” The self-study document said that the school’s financial aid is an institutional strength because it supplies support for families in need.
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POSED PHOTOGRAPHY BY ILA BAKAYA
FIGHTING FLU SEASON: The Los Angeles County Health Department mandated a 21-day surveillance period for the school after a case of Pertussis was found.The image above does not relfect the affected student.
School put under mandated 21-day surveillance after Whooping cough
By Jihan Park
The school sent out an email regarding recent cases of colds, the flu, COVID-19, RSV and pertussis, commonly referred to as Whooping cough, on Dec. 2. Pertussis is a highly contagious infection that can start with a runny nose, mild cough and a mild fever, but within a few weeks can cause vomiting, severe coughing and difficulty breathing. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) informed the Harvard-Westlake Health Office that at least one individual with pertussis was present on the Upper School campus in November. In the days following the school’s notice about pertussis, many students have stepped up their precautions and are still absorbing the news. Students are considering how the isolation might affect grades or academics and are looking into the safety measures the school is taking. The health office said they want to make it clear that the infection is not spreading rapidly around school but is still highly
contagious. Students should be aware of the presence of the infection but not worry as the infection has not spread around the school. Students should stay cautious and are advised to wash their hands frequently and to cover their mouths when they sneeze. Community Health Officer Milo Sini said students should be aware of the recent infection and are advised to stay home and recover while parents should stop pushing students to attend school when they are sick. “Like most airborne illnesses, there is an incubation period,” Sini said. “Even so, everyone in the community should remain alert, and when showing flu or cold-like symptoms should be attentive and seek medical advice. Now that they are aware, they should suspect it could be pertussis and take immediate precautions, seek medical advice and inform the practitioner that the school has notified them of pertussis on campus. If confirmed a contagious illness, they should inform the school immediately.” Levi Schwartz ’26 said he un-
derstands the academic pressure at the school and empathizes for the students who are told to quarantine. “It depends on your perspective about it,” Schwartz said. “I know I would be pretty frustrated if I had to miss five days of class or 21. I would definitely feel like I was getting behind and would have to do a lot of catch up work, which can be annoying. But, I’d much rather the school be overly cautious than under-cautious because nobody wants it.” Maia Blackman ’28 said she believes the school is taking the right measures to prevent an outbreak. “It’s a very scary situation to be in,” Blackman said. “I understand people can be afraid for their health as I am also nervous, but I think if the school takes the necessary precautions, everything will be fine.” Calder Glass ’26 said he hopes the school will notify classmates of the person infected. “I’m not aware of who has it, so I don’t know whether it affects me or my friends,” Glass said. “I do hope the school notifies the people who share a class with whoever has the infection so they can stay safe.”
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IN THIS ISSUE
A4
A11
B4
C3
D1
Evaluating Community: In efforts to build more connection, the school instated mandatory all school Comunity Time events.
Defending Ourselves: Kara Jazaeri ’27 discusses the importance of implementing self-defense courses for students at the school.
Affirming our Honor: The school community discusses the tradition of honor at the school and how the Honor Code upholds it.
And It All Turns Red: Under the band name “im so sunsick,” Calder Glass ’26 and Max Lee ’27 released two singles, “RED” and “SICK.”
Girls Take the Lead: Under new coaching leadership, the girls volleyball team won their first CIF Division I championship since 2021.