2020 Fall Newsletter

Fall Newsletter 2020 Distance Highlights Enjoy a snapshot of our physically distant events from this past school year. Our wonderful community made an incredible effort to remain connected despite the circumstances!

Message from Julie Galles The flexibility and creativity of teachers, repeatedly reinventing their curriculum, inspires us and reminds us of what is possible.

FALL NEWSLETTER 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Physically Distant Highlights ...................................... Page 3 Welcome from Julie Galles .........................................Page 4 Lower School News

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Middle School News ............................................ Page 8 CODI Corner ................................................ Page 10 Student Council Spotlight ........................................ Page 12 Parents' Association Update ........................................Page 14 Board of Trustees News

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Coach's Corner ............................................... Page 17 Development Office Update ....................................... Page 18 Admissions News ..............................................Page 19 Communications Update ......................................... Page 20 Campus Kudos .......................................... Page 21 Middle School Elective Showcase

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Physically Distant Highlights First Day Parade The first day of school looked a little different this year. However, we were able to recreate some of the magic with our physically distant parade! Students, parents, faculty, and staff were all full of smiles as families drove through the parking lot to kick off the school year!

City-Wide Scavenger Hunt No picnic, no problem! During our first (and hopefully not last) City-Wide Scavenger Hunt, families drove around Los Angeles listening to and gathering clues before finishing with the grand finale on campus. Students were asked to write messages on rocks regarding what they love about Wesley, which now reside in our beautiful main courtyard.

Halloween Parade We managed to make Halloween fun this year by inviting families to another physically distant parade! Almost everyone dressed in costume, and Mrs. McGregor made sure to provide the perfect soundtrack as we celebrated the spooky season safely together!

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Welcome From Julie Galles Dear Wesley Families Connection.

From the Latin ‘con’ meaning together and ‘nectere’ meaning to bind. Literally, ‘to be bound together.’

This is how I started my last newsletter article back in September, and it’s so important to continue returning to it as we move through this most challenging year. We remain bound together in this unique situation created by the pandemic, even as each family and individual lives their own version of how that plays out for them. As a speaker I heard recently stated, we are not all in the same boat, but we are all in the same storm. A storm that, unfortunately, keeps raging and bringing new hurdles to overcome.

And yet, throughout the storm of this fall, the Wesley community has stayed connected in some remarkable ways. Children and teachers have formed strong and productive relationships even through our distance learning platform. Teaching teams have collaborated over new technology and new teaching techniques to increase engagement across screens. Parents have connected with each other at parent coffees, virtual potlucks, and other fun events like poker nights or cooking classes. And the entire community has enjoyed drive through celebrations for Halloween and, more recently, the winter holidays.

As we look forward to widespread distribution of the new vaccine in the coming months and the slow but inevitable re-emergence of life as we used to know it, we also continue to model grace and resilience for our children and for each other. Children and adults alike still wrestle with frustration, sadness, and loss. However, the joy on the faces of students returning to school, even in limited fashion, uplifts us all. The flexibility and creativity of teachers, repeatedly reinventing their curriculum, inspires us and reminds us of what is possible. Increased time with family in our own households can present its own challenges, but also provides opportunity to bond and share in new ways.

We have enjoyed some wonderful successes in the past few months, including moving student-generated Community presentations and our Middle School Mock Trial team championship. Our Kindergarteners are writing books and our 8th graders are impressing high school admissions offices. Together, we are reassured that this storm will ultimately pass and that we are stronger together. I could not ask for better traveling companions!

In connection, Julie Galles Interim Head of School

Lower School News On the Other Hand: What We’re Learning and How We’ll Grow Chris Thinnes, Head of Lower School Way back in March, right before we closed our campus for distance learning the first time, I very nearly flipped my lid like everyone else: together we realized that we’d need to reinvent the education system and redefine ‘school’ by the following Tuesday. Without interruption since that morning, we at Wesley and you at home have been devoting all of our time and efforts to cultivating and sustaining the best possible conditions for your children’s learning and wellness during a fantastically frightening, surreal, and relentless series of disruptions to the very basic structures, relationships, and fabric of our lives.

The first few weeks of necessarily vexing questions (How can we possibly teach reading to 6 year olds online? How will we keep our community connected? How will we advance children’s learning while protecting their emotional welfare? How will parents facilitate so much of their children’s work at home? How will we build authentic relationships between children and their teachers, if not face to face? And how long does this have to go on?!) found me feeling defeated: all I could imagine was the damage this period might cause to teaching, learning, and school. I remember closing the lid of my laptop, muttering something under my breath, and pulling out a piece of paper. Then I started to write a list of things we just might learn from this experience. I was literally willing myself to believe--telling myself to act as if I believed, because I didn’t really believe it just yet--that we just might come out far stronger on the other side of this experience as a school, as a community, and as a profession.

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Lower School News Cont.

Every once in a while, on particularly maddening days, I pull that list of what we’ve learned out of its file and take a quick peak. Here are a few of the seven or eight items I wrote down in March, verbatim: Every teacher in the United States has had to think with more discernment about traditional curriculum planning, teaching practice, assessment strategies, engagement tactics, and priority goals for student learning than at any point in the history of American schools. Transposition of teaching and learning to the virtual classroom space is not an incremental refinement or adaptation, but a wholesale transformation of school design. Never in the past have we had to be clearer about our principles or our priorities; or to adopt a common philosophy, program, language, and goals. Never again will we be uncertain about what matters most.

Personally and professionally, teachers will need each other now more than ever not only to survive but to thrive: the effectiveness of virtual and especially hybrid learning will depend almost entirely on deep, rich, transparent, collegial, and persistent dialogue and cogenerative design. On the other side we’ll have a stronger faculty professional culture, morale, solidarity, and collaborative practice than ever before.

I’m not sure if the kinds of things that bothered us two years ago will worry us ever again.

Parents will have a window into the experience of their children’s education they’ve never had before.

Never have parents witnessed what their children experience between 8 and 3 on school days: they hear highlights and lowlights about it from their children or their teachers on the evenings or weekends. Imagine what parents will learn about their children! Imagine how peculiar it will be for parents to ‘be’ in some of the virtual classrooms with students and teachers. And imagine how this will transform dialogue and partnership between parents and teachers to support the children’s needs!

It’s been three or four weeks and 8 year olds are using Google Classroom like champs. This is impossible but it’s happening. Those students who are thriving online are those who are cultivating relationships with peers, friends, and families online, whether we like it (‘screen time’) or not. The students’ malleability and adaptability vis-à-vis digital skills exceed all expectations; keep an eye on their vulnerability to screen time and proper digital citizenship, but watch them and let them teach us what works and what doesn’t for them. Yeah, they haven’t done this before--but neither have you.

What started as a list of seven or eight items has grown to more than thirty, as the evidence of our school’s learning and growth streams in. Countless vexing questions and pressing tensions have been identified, examined, and addressed, not only those unique to distance or hybrid learning but those at the core of school practice for years. Students, teachers, and parents have risen to an unimaginable level of flexibility, resilience, proficiency, and grace, well exceeding our expectations of ourselves and each other. And we are indeed seeing not only that we will become “a better school” as a result of all this work in time of crisis, but that we have already become a better school during the worst of the crisis itself.

As it turns out, a psychological and neurobiological research base substantiates the fact that some forms of traumatic adversity can lead to transformative growth under certain conditions and with appropriate support. Post-traumatic growth theory (‘PTG’) posits that profoundly positive psychological changes can take place for individuals as the result of adversity that requires rising to higher levels of function: “these circumstances represent significant challenges to the adaptive resources of the individual, and pose significant challenges to their way of understanding the world and their place in it” (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). I choose to believe that this is true not only for our psyches but also for our school and its community.

Lower School News Cont.

More recent research confirms there are some reasonably reliable predictors for meaningful and positive adaptive growth during and after certain traumatic experiences: related conceptual, existential, and practical challenges can be grappled with, adapted to, and overcome. The first was coined “acceptance coping” (Tedeschi, 2005), namely an individual’s capacity to accept situations or events outside her or his locus of control: “coming to terms with reality is a significant predictor of post-traumatic growth” (Haas, 2015). The second is spirituality: spiritual beliefs correlate with a high level of statistical significance to post-traumatic growth, and deeply held spiritual beliefs often develop as a result of trauma (O’Rourke, 2008). In addition, high levels of social support, particularly when they are cultivated before exposure to trauma, are well documented as precursors to post-traumatic growth in the psychological literature; in addition, there is recent neurobiological evidence that social support affects neurohormonal responses to stress (Ozbay, 2007).

I hold in all of this more than enough to anchor my belief that even through our suffering we are already becoming better versions of ourselves, individually as well as collectively as a community. No matter how tired, scared, disappointed, surprised, frustrated, sad, or angry some of us get from time to time, I know we’ll draw from what’s left of our inner reserves. We have already proven to ourselves, more often than not, that we can tell each other the truth, and listen; that we can be mindful and compassionate, for ourselves and for each other; and that we have much to share with and learn from each other. Together let’s expand our thinking from how hard all of this has been, to how well we’re all doing and how amazing this is all going to be.

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Middle School News Joey Campanella, Head of Middle School

As we continue to progress through our distance learning program, one of my favorite quotes about education, from Greek philosopher Plutarch, resonates more deeply with me than ever: “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” I have the pleasure of witnessing this “kindling” of the mind in my occasional virtual visits to Zoom classrooms, where dynamic and enthusiastic teachers engage with curious and active learners.

Despite the inherent limitations and challenges of distance learning, teachers have worked diligently to create, modify, and refine their curricula and pedagogical strategies to effectively connect with and even inspire their students. And our amazing Wesley students deserve their share of recognition for the dedication, fortitude, and grit they have demonstrated through their efforts in distance learning. They are progressing, even thriving, and the teachers and I could not be more proud of them. None of us willingly “signed up” for distance learning, but I am immensely proud of how we have all, idiomatically, “made lemonade” from the lemons dealt to us by the pandemic.

One of the many challenges of shifting to distance learning has been rethinking our middle school enrichment and elective program, which we refined three years ago in order to offer students broader exposure to learning opportunities in art, music, technology, design, and presentation. How do we effectively facilitate the students’ experience in these classes to encourage their creative exploration and expression in the virtual space? Guided by this fundamental question, our talented enrichment and elective teachers have successfully shifted their classes to the distance learning format, fostering students’ creativity in unique ways, and I am compelled to offer my praise and gratitude to these teachers.

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Middle School News Cont.

Under the direction of our Enrichment and Elective Coordinator, the amazing Andrew Dinh, these fabulous teachers–Mr. Kaitz, Ms. Singletary, Mrs. Moser, and Mrs. Anderson– continue to provide unique and stimulating learning experiences for our students. On page 23, through the virtual Middle School Electives Showcase, you will be able to explore highlights and students’ creative content from the range of trimester 1 classes: 6th grade Drawing & Painting and Scratch Animation; 7th grade Theatre Arts, Production & Publication, Advanced Google Apps, and Inspiration Workshop; and 8th grade Illustration, Creative Workshop, Dance, and Mock Trial (Los Angeles County Champions!).

The middle school faculty and I remain committed to most effectively engaging, stimulating, challenging, and supporting each student with ongoing communication, collaboration, and enthusiasm.

It is a pleasure and privilege for us to work with your children everyday, and we know how fortunate we are to steward your children’s educational experience through middle school.

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Community of Diversity & Inclusivity (CODI) Corner Trisha Singletary, Coordinator of Diversity & Inclusivity/K-8 Art

Our new normal has had its challenges. We are missing those up-close connections with others in the Wesley community. The school is doing what it can to create opportunities for everyone to stay connected. CODI has come up with ways for this to happen that we are excited about. Wesley Connections, which was imagined and launched last year by CODI member Jackie Lay, mother to Jackson in 3rd grade, and Melanie Elliott, mother to MJ in 5th grade, is going strong. For those that do not know, groups have been created based on interest and identity. There are 8 resource groups being offered currently including: LGBTQ+ Families, Adoptive Families, Single Parent Families, 50+ Families, Black/African-American Families, Latino/Hispanic Families, Asian-American/Pacific Islander Families, and Families with Learning Differences. We will continue to expand our groups and invite you to explore whichever feels right for you! This safe space allows for people who identify the same or have interest to meet via Zoom and share with one another. Sometimes the event is social while other times topics are discussed that are of importance to the group. One of the comments people often mention is that they like having the opportunity to connect with other people from different grades, that they might never get to know otherwise. I am excited to announce the addition of the New Wesley Families groups.

One of our new parents and CODI members, Janett Meyer, mother to 3rd grader Emma and 4th Grader Nathan, introduced the idea of offering cooking classes. This will be a great community builder. Many are cooking more at home due to the current situation. I know for myself, there are some dishes that I have been afraid to approach. I love the idea of learning how to cook certain dishes with others. This allows for the home chefs to share what they know and any stories related to their dish. The first Cooking Series event was on December 17. The Meyer Family taught us how to make tamales and there were 37 families in attendance. In January we’ll discover Jamaican- inspired food hosted by the Bennett/Pinnock Family, in February we will learn to cook an Indian-inspired dish with the Larson Family, and in March, we'll learn the basics for Italian cuisine with the Godi/Buckley Family. Please check out the Wesley website for more on our CODI Cooking Series.

CODI is also planning on starting a story corps project. While we know that the adults need to connect with one another, we are also always looking for ways to get students involved as well. Storytelling is a way for us to share various aspects of our identity. For this project, students will be able to interview an adult they look up to or feel close to. A list of questions will be provided but students can also add their own. Students can create a video of their interview to share. In hearing these stories we may see connections or learn about people’s experiences that may be very different. In the end, we look forward to highlighting and learning from each other. Stay tuned for more details.

PoCC is a conference that Wesley staff attends every year. The mission of the conference is to provide a safe space for educators of color and white allies to learn, share, and network with identity, diversity, and equity in mind. Thousands of people across the country participate in the conference with the goal of taking time to do the internal work needed and bring lessons, ideas, and experiences back to their school. This year’s theme was New Decade, New Destinies: Challenging Self, Changing Systems, and Choosing Justice. I attended with Olivia Brown (3rd Grade), Kristin Brown (middle school Science), LeLoni Bass (5th Grade), and Geo Wilson (Senior Admin). Although we participated online, which is a very different experience, we still got so much out of the conference and look forward to sharing some of the highlights at the next CODI meeting, January. 12th at 7pm on Zoom.

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CODI Corner Cont.

In Wesley's Pillar 3 - Include, from the Long Range Plan, one of the goals of the school is to provide professional development on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts to all. We know that in order for us to make progress in DEI work, we have to do the work. It is crucial that the whole community moves forward together. The Wesley staff had some powerful discussions in affinity groups about our summer reading, White Fragility, before school began. Plans are being set up for further staff discussions building on the topic in January and March. In order for us to grow, we need to actively work on our understanding of ourselves in relation to this work. This learning will ultimately strengthen our ability to educate the children that look to us for answers. We are also looking at the possibility of providing space later for our parent community to discuss the book.

In conclusion, I am excited about the various ways in which we are connecting with each other despite the pandemic. It is very purposeful. Each person in our community has something special to bring and share, “each of us adds a unique ingredient which makes our school so incredibly special.”

While the situation we find ourselves in is not anything we would have wanted, it is allowing us to find creative new ways of fostering community that we may not have considered before. If you have any other community- building ideas please email us at CODI@wesleyschool.org.

We also hope that you have received your gift from CODI. If you haven’t, be on the lookout for a small delivery that will arrive at your home! Best wishes for a happy holiday season!

Join the CODI Committee The CODI Committee is a Board committee comprised of parents, teachers, staff, admin, student reps, and Board members. By being a part of our Wesley Community, you are automatically a member of CODI and are welcome to join the Committee officially by signing up HERE! The CODI Committee conducts surveys, helps market guest speaker events, participates in panel discussions, and hosts the annual Multicultural Potluck Dinner (date TBD, pending our circumstances). All are welcome!

"In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.”

-Marianne Williamson

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Student Council Spotlight Madisyn G., 8th Grade Student/Student Council President Hello! Madisyn, your student body president, here!

Here are some updates from student council!

We collaborated with CODI (Community of Diversity and Inclusivity), and we created a diversity project that was presented in community on December 7th.

It was a celebration of the diversity among our school community. We are very thankful for the differences between us all. It gives us perspective and helps us learn more about each other.

Student Council representative Henry created the “Kindness Board” last month and it’s still up on our website, so everyone please feel free to add a sweet message to it! Maybe you can share some kindnesses over the winter break, and share some news about your holidays!

Now, thanks to our environmental officer, Isabella, we've been able to create new ideas to help our environment! Here's a message brought to us by her: Hello, My name is Isabella and I am here to urge you to stop using non reusable masks. Non reusable masks are very harmful to the environment. Endless amounts of masks are currently floating in the ocean and up to shore. The masks can also carry the Corona Virus for 7 days, making it unsafe for litter pickers. Animals and plants are also negatively affected. Masks can pollute environments, and break up ecosystems. Some animals may not know the mask is not edible. The masks can choke them and even entangle smaller animals. Instead of contributing to this, you can wear reusable masks. Wesley masks are even available through the Wesley Store!

Click HERE To Visit The Student Kindness Board

Click HERE To Watch The Diversity Community

Student Council Spotlight Cont.

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After the winter break, student council will begin fundraising for the American Cancer Society who runs the Relay for Life. Get ready to put on your mask and physically distant walking shoes! Here's a message from Henry, our Relay for Life ambassador: Hello there! My name is Henry and I have been involved with the Wesley School’s Relay for Life team since kindergarten. Relay is an event sponsored by the American Cancer Society that brings survivors and caregivers together to celebrate recovery, remember those we’ve lost, and to make a renewed commitment to fight back against cancer. Relay used to be a 24 hour event but exciting/dramatic changes have happened in the last year and now Relay is just that…..a 27 mile relay race across the San Fernando Valley! Teams start in Burbank and end up in Woodland Hills. Due to Covid, our event date for 2021 isn’t set yet but we are already building a team! More information will be available as the year progresses but you can sign up now and help the Wesley Warriors to make a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer.

Now, especially since the holidays are approaching, I would urge all of you to bring cans to the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry. If you can please take a moment and bring some cans, even if it's just one, it helps a lot and you are making a difference!

I hope everyone has a happy holiday and a wonderful New Year, and I hope to see everyone on campus very soon!

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Parents' Association Update Jenny Hollier & Marissa Seeman, PA Co-Chairs

Happy Holidays Wesley Families!

Well, we have already had quite the year, and we are only 4 months into the 2020-2021 school year!

First off, we want to thank the entire Wesley community for all of their support. The beginning of a new school year already comes with a handful of challenges, before adding in distance learning and a global pandemic, and yet, we’ve seemingly done the impossible and found a number of out-of-the-box ways to stay connected.

Going into this year, we looked at every Parents’ Association event from the past and asked “what is the intent?” Working very closely with Lindsey Drasin, the PA then tried to reimagine these activities in an environment where families felt safe and could still have fun participating in them.

Usually, the students have an orientation day, where they meet their new teachers, hear about their classes, and for many, struggle to get their lockers open! This year, a Welcome Back Parade was held for each grade via a drive-thru, so that each student could get their books, meet their teachers, and get some treats from the school and the PA. The adult-only Potlucks have been a back-to-school tradition for years, so this year we took it virtually and teamed up with local restaurants who gave Wesley a percentage of the sales for those nights. The Wesley Rewards Program also got off to a great start! AmazonSmile Shopping and Menchie's Tuesdays are still going strong, and we partnered with places for one time events that gave back to Wesley (ie. Barnes and Noble for a virtual Book Fair, Chipotle, and Lemonade Studio City).

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Our annual Family Picnic has always been an afternoon filled with families gathering together to swim, play games, and catch up with friends. Due to restrictions, this event has been pushed, so instead we decided to hold our first Wesley Scavenger Hunt! Families were given audio clues and drove around town finding stops that are pertinent to our school’s origins and philosophical beliefs. Participants were able to see other Wesley families in their cars and ended up back on campus with some surprises waiting for them!

October brought along some spooky scenes at various houses around the valley and culminated with the parking lot on campus getting a ghostly transformation. Lower school students were invited to drive around campus, get a caramel apple making kit, and see some of their favorite teachers dressed up. For the middle schoolers, some of the wallflowers were relieved when the annual fall dance had to be cancelled, but instead we created a spookily good Movie Night for them to watch virtually either on zoom or as an avatar. Most importantly, we wanted to give the kids an opportunity to Trick-or-Treat. Twelve Wesley families generously volunteered their houses to be on our drive-thru trick-or-treat route on 10/31.

Everyone remained in their cars, while families at the houses got creative with ways to safely pass out candy. One family even had someone on stilts tossing candy into the cars!

In November, we had our physically distant Book and Puzzle Swap, which was a fun way for families to exchange new books and games. Additionally, returning families will all know about the famous Smashburgers created by our Gobblers’ Fest chairs! This year, they made a video with fellow fathers in the community including clips of dads being dads and instructions on how to make these beloved burgers!

In lieu of the Children’s Holiday Boutique, we felt the focus this year should be about giving back to our local community. The first week of December, we created an online shopping boutique, where parents could shop local small businesses and Wesley received a percentage back. Also, working with Midnight Mission and the Interfaith Food Pantry, we held a toy drive to help benefit these organizations. It culminated with a festive holiday driving route where families listened to an audio playlist of songs and stories, while checking out fellow community members’ decked out houses; with one of the stops being our very own Wesley Giving Train where toy donations could be dropped off.

Weaved throughout each of the above events, we have created PA boxes that offer activity kits for kids and more adult-themed ones for the parents (think wine and cheese)!

Over the last few months, we’ve done our best to show that the challenges of COVID could be creatively overcome. We have come together, pivoted continuously, and have shown time and time again, that we are Wesley Strong!

We look forward to the second half of the year and bringing you new and creative ways to keep making our community connected.

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Board of Trustees News Board Communications Group

As the year draws to a close, the Board of Trustees gives heartfelt thanks to our Faculty, Administration and Staff for their continued effort, flexibility and imagination with our children’s education and Wesley’s treasured traditions. With their creativity we have watched videos by our children on Diversity, held student council elections and sung Happy Birthday with a delightfully dissonant abandon that sends us off into our day smiling. Our children’s days are spent in thoughtful instruction taught by our caring faculty who keep their minds curious and interested.

This autumn has been a busy one for the Board. The trustees gathered with the Administration virtually for our annual Board Retreat on November 14th. This was a day to stretch our leadership as we listened to a presentation on Development, reviewed our Long-Range Plan and began our exploration of the recommendations made by the Finance Committee for the 21-22 budget. Board members and Administration spent time together as a group and in break-out rooms communicating about our eventual return to school and ideas of Wesley’s post-pandemic goals.

On November 19th Interim Head of School, Julie Galles, and Board Chair, David Hookom, hosted The Wesley School’s first-ever State of the School. Julie shared her initial impressions of our school, spoke of the many factors that are involved with reopening our doors again and what our community can do collectively to make our school thrive. David answered many of the questions parents have about the Board of Trustees, how one becomes a trustee and the work ahead for the Board this year.

Alex Young, our Treasurer, discussed the financial state of affairs at Wesley and how tuition dollars are spent. This important opportunity for our community will be an annual event at our school and the Board very much looks forward to a State of School presentation held in person on campus.

This moment has affected everyone in different ways. As we look forward to returning to our busier lives, perhaps we will also find gratitude for the things we discovered during these days: the slower pace, the extra family time, how we found laughter in the face of sorrow and frustration, the wonderful ways Wesley has stayed connected. The Board of Trustees wishes everyone joy and safety this holiday and in the new year; may that joy shine brightly as we begin with hope to step away from the pandemic’s shadow.

Coach's Corner Winter Sports Recap

JoAnn Neil, Director of Athletics/Middle School PE

Despite trudging through a pandemic, with its inherent trials and tribulations, we managed to find a way to gather students outside after school this past fall for some conditioning and training. Physically distanced and with masks on, the joy we all felt seeing life on campus was palpable. Every afternoon, at least one teacher would creep out from their classrooms to experience the reason we teach in the first place: we love kids!

Starting in early November, we welcomed 4th through 8th grade students, one grade per afternoon, for either football or volleyball training and conditioning, on the sport court or turf field. We were not permitted to play actual scrimmages or even have more than two students share one piece of equipment, but no one seemed to care much. It was just so nice to come out from behind our Zoom screens and run around with each other in person, break a sweat, laugh together, and release some pent-up energy. Fun also to see the middle schoolers, after a summer away, emerge mostly taller and more athletically capable.

By now, everyone is aware that, due to the spike in Covid cases recently, we have chosen to postpone our “Season 2” of after-school training. I think I was as disappointed as parents and students. Coach Freddy and I reap the benefits of the program in different ways, perhaps, but fully.

We are hopeful to resume sometime after winter break. Between now and then, I hope your children will all take advantage of living in Southern California with its temperate weather, and get out walking, running, throwing, biking, or whatever you enjoy doing that gets the body moving and the heart rate up just a bit.

I continue to attend the regular league meetings with peer schools and we continue to plan for some type of sports season in the spring. Of course, no one really knows anything, so it’s purely aspirational, but no harm in being optimistic, while managing expectations.

Wishing you all a healthy holiday season. I join you happily in saying goodbye to 2020.

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Development Office Update: The Annual Fund

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Dyllan Fernandez, Development Associate The Annual Fund kicked off a bit later than usual this year, for obvious reasons, but that certainly hasn’t stymied it. We launched the campaign -“Educate for Good”- with a beautiful video and impassioned letter from Interim Head Julie Galles right before Thanksgiving Break.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. 2020 has been a year of curveballs and there has been so much uncertainty in the air—financial and otherwise. So, to say I was overwhelmed when the gifts started pouring in over break doesn’t quite cut it (I may have teared up a little while checking emails over a slice of leftover pecan pie). Not only were people giving to the school, they were giving enthusiastically. Multiple families increased their gift substantially from last year, and even more heartening were the notes some people attached. They expressed gratitude for the very aspects of Wesley that our theme this year celebrates -- remarkable educators who enable Wesley to provide a lasting education of “academic excellence and character development.”

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all who have made a gift or pledge already, and thank you in advance to those of you who haven’t yet participated. There’s still time and all gifts received by 12/31 will receive a charitable receipt for 2020. Everyone at Wesley appreciates your support so much.

I’ll leave you with some excerpts from those sweet notes I referenced.

Thank You!

“It’s been a challenging year for sure, but the Wesley teachers and faculty have rallied and done a terrific job keeping the children and the community connected and engaged.” ~6th & 8th Grade Parent “We're so excited to be part of the Wesley community and are very impressed with how you have approached this year. We couldn't feel luckier!” ~1st Grade Parent

“Just want to say THANK YOU for everything!!! Can’t even imagine how hard all of you have been working to make returning to campus possible. Balancing those still at home, those coming to school, and all of the nervous energy from us parents too!!! You all have done an incredible job and we are so very thankful for each of you. Thank you [for] being the bright spot during this dark time for all of our children and the parents too! We APPRECIATE you more than you’ll ever know.” ~K & 2nd Grade Parent

Click Above For the Annual Fund Video!

To make your gift or pledge to the 2020-21 Annual Fund, please click HERE or mail a check to Annual Fund • The Wesley School • 4832 Tujunga Ave. • North Hollywood, CA 91601

Admissions News: Enrollment Update

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Verena Denove, Associate Head of School/Director of Admissions & Financial Aid

While we all continue to talk about the challenges this year has presented us, and how very different an experience we are all having, there are also some constants in our daily lives. One such constant for us in Admissions is that we hear the same comments from prospective parents, day in and day out, about why they are choosing to consider Wesley for the next step in their child’s education.

They talk about the warmth, the feeling of community, the strength of our academic program, the confidence with which our current students share about their Wesley experience, and the general kindness they receive from all the Wesley folks they have had the opportunity to hear from. It really is no different than in years when we can open our gates and have them join us on campus.

So how has this been possible when our opportunities to share about Wesley this year are so different than in previous years and often can feel inadequate?

Well, no different than before, we know that our number one marketing source always has been and always will be our current families. You are our daily ambassadors out in the world of children, whether at preschool, ballet class, your pediatrician’s office, or your neighborhood. And even while much of it is over Zoom and not in person right now, we love that you are spreading the word.

We have been able to include prospective families in so many of our community events from the Halloween Parade to the Book Swap and Service Sunday to the Giving Train. In addition, many of you have graciously volunteered to be a part of our outreach to prospective families, whether that is by allowing them to reach out to you directly with questions or by joining us for a virtual event where you have shared about your Wesley experiences. Even a number of our students have volunteered for these opportunities and we are so grateful to you all. These are invaluable ways that you have helped us connect with families outside our community.

If you have any friends still wondering about The Wesley School, please encourage them to reach out to the Admissions Office via phone or email or go online to complete an inquiry form or sign up for our last virtual open house in January. We look forward to meeting them all!

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Physically Distant, Not Socially Distant Darryl Oliver, Communications Associate & Social Media Coordinator Throughout this pandemic we at The Wesley School have tried our best to retain the sense of community which so defines Wesley. As many may have heard, we’ve unofficially adopted the mantra of “Physically distant, not socially distant.” Connectivity and communication are more important now than ever. If you follow us on social media (and if you don’t you should!) you likely have seen some of these efforts. On Instagram we’ve embarked on a four month campaign to introduce our teaching staff to the wider community. Staff were asked to provide images and fun facts about themselves which allowed parents and students an additional opportunity to get to know their teachers. On Facebook and Twitter we’ve highlighted alums, shared interesting articles, and kept the community up to date on our latest events and activities. If you’re not following us, type in @TheWesleySchool on the three major platforms to find us!

Apple Users Find the App HERE!

Android Users Find the App HERE!

Additionally, in an effort to make connectivity even easier, we have an app! The Wesley School app will allow you to access and stay connected with everything going on at the school right from your phone. The app is linked directly to our website and on it you can find everything from the school’s google calendar to the latest news posts which appear on the homepage. In this virtual era of automation and streamlining, we encourage everyone to download the app for an additional layer of ease. You can find the app in both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store by typing The Wesley School.

Thank you all for your past, present, and future participation on our social media platforms. Without you, there would be no connection, no laughs, and no smiles. We look forward to remaining socially active and can’t wait for what the new calendar year will bring! Go Lions!

Campus Kudos!

It's definitely been an interesting year for us all. Let's find out what some members of our faculty/staff have been up to during this unusual time!

From Lee Siwek: Mrs. Siwek is expecting baby #2 in April! It’s a girl! David is excited to become a big brother, and dada and mama are looking forward to watching their family grow.

From Laura Cespedes: Mr. and Mrs. Cespedes are so proud to introduce their newest bundle of joy, Milan Adrien Cespedes! He was born on November 8th, and they are currently enjoying all of the newborn snuggles this holiday season!

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Campus Kudos Cont.

From Hannah Newman: Several weeks ago I became engaged to the love of my life... who I just so happened to meet while we were teaching together at Wesley!

From Mary McGregor: THE WESLEY BUNCH (Sing the Brady Bunch theme song in you head Karaoke provided

)

Here’s the story Of a man named Darryl Who also goes by Darryl Oliver He’s the new one - in Social Media Communications - TOO. It’s my story Of our Holiday Carole This production needed help and here he came!

He’s a great guy With such talent He really is a pro!

So this one day when this lady met this fellow And she knew that it was much more than a hunch McGregor knows that Oliver deserves this KUDOS -Thank you from our entire WESLEY bunch Our Wesley Bunch Our Wesley Bunch Thank you from our entire WESLEY bunch! ❤

Middle School Digital Elective Showcase Welcome to the Middle School Electives Showcase!

The students and teachers had a blast in Trimester 1 of our Middle School Enrichment & Elective Program! Please click the image above to view a "trailer" previewing the various classes and collections of work that our middle school students have created since the first day of school.

Current families, please click HERE to view the fuller (password-protected) site featuring all of the student work.

Enjoy!

Fall Newsletter 2020

4832 TUJUNGA AVENUE

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA 91601

818.508.4542 COMMUNICATIONS@ WESLEYSCHOOL.ORG