Message from the Head of School

Dear Westminster family:

Scott Jones

Head of School L ater in 2021, Westminster will celebrate its 60th anniversary. This milestone allows us to look back and to remember, and to give thanks to God for all He has done throughout Westminster’s history. This issue of Then & Now reflects on the past, highlights the activities of some of our alumni, and shares news about the challenges and successes of this highly unusual school year. We also hope to leverage this anniversary to build upon our foundation to secure a strong and sustainable future for Westminster and to fulfill our mission for at least another 60 years!

The 2020-21 school year was challenging but amazing at the same time. Westminster was the first school in South Florida to open with on-campus, in-person instruction in August 2020. We concurrently offered live synchronous options through Westminster Connect for students who could not be on campus or who preferred to learn remotely. Our teachers embraced the challenge of teaching students on campus while simultaneously supporting students who were online. Though many schools put their arts and music programs on hold during the pandemic, we were able to offer our full fine arts program. The Lighthouse, our new performing arts center, was completed in November and we were able to offer Christmas concerts in this amazing facility as well as use it for the second half of the school year for weekly chapels and regular performances by our students. Be sure and check out the photos in this issue from performances in this new facility. There were certainly restrictions in place throughout the year which prevented us from offering some of our student activities. However, our athletics program was in full operation, had a record number of teams win regional championships, and Westminster athletes and coaches stole the show in the Miami Herald All-County Awards. We finished the school year with a live in-person graduation during which we honored our very first group of graduating Emerald Scholars. You will find a report on our new Emerald Scholars program in this edition.

Westminster has been successful in achieving its mission this past year and for many years, in part thanks to the fine teachers who faithfully serve on our faculty team. All of our teachers had to stretch and learn new things during this year. This issue features an article about two of our outstanding teachers who come from a long line of educators and

who honor this legacy by serving at Westminster. We also feature the Kaplan family, one member of which continues to serve on our staff, and their long involvement with Westminster. Many of our staff members have served Westminster for many years, even decades, and we highlight nine who retired this year in this issue.

Looking back always includes our incredible alumni. This year we anticipate hearing more stories from our alumni about their experiences at Westminster (then) and their lives today (now). This issue of Then & Now features a story about an alumna from decades ago, Adrianna Cuevas ‘97, and an article about a more recent alumnus, Andrew Hays ‘11. Be sure to read about other alumni in the Roll Call section, and if you are a graduate of Westminster, please keep us informed of what you are doing by submitting an update for Roll Call or connecting with us and other alumni on Warrior Alumni Connect, our networking platform exclusively for Westminster alumni.

Sixty years ago, a small group of dedicated Christian people at Shenandoah Presbyterian Church sensed a calling to start a small Christian school characterized by excellence and devoted to a biblical philosophy of education. In the founding charter, they stated that “we pledge our efforts toward the establishment of a School and an educational program propounding the highest of academic standards, so as to prepare covenant youth for purposeful Godliness in any vocation or entrance into leading institutions of higher education.” Today, we are beneficiaries of that faithfulness, dedication, sacrifice, and vision. As we reflect on all that God has done through Westminster these past six decades, I trust that we will be faithful and generous to further strengthen this fine school so that it will continue to be a Christ-centered institution of the highest standards, fulfilling the mission of developing ambassadors for Christ for generations to come.

Thank you for being a part of the Westminster community.

Mr. Jones came to visit Mrs. Loveless & Mrs. Fosselman’s PK4 class during outdoor centers! It was so fun to watch him build the magnetic blocks with one of our students.

Scott Jones Head of School