school news Eleven students represent Wheeler at a New England High School Students of Color Conference.
News of note and congratulations • Five teachers and 11 students represented the school at the Association of Independent Schools of New England High School Students of Color Conference. In the photo above are front: Sol Taubin and Jay Lopes, center: John Goncalves, Blanca Zevallos, Shady Reyes, Jiawen Tang, Genetta Kah and back: Cathleen Williams, Jay Andrade, Sophie Lo, and Elizabeth Gao. At this year’s conference Cathleen Williams ‘10 and Sol Taubin ‘11 presented a workshop entitled “Yes We Can: Confronting Old Prejudices with New Hope,” looking at where we are as a society post-Obama election. The pair were the only student workshop presenters this year. The 18 Wheelers made a special performance appearance Sunday morning of the conference. • The Chazan Gallery was nominated in the Providence Phoenix’s ‘Best of 2009’ as the Best Gallery in Rhode Island. The awards event took place in April. • Freshman Emily Silverman had a one-act play — written and performed in Wheeler’s annual One Act Festival — chosen to be performed professionally this summer at the Young Playwrights Festival in Rhode Island. • 8th grader Ruby Stenhouse was one of three essayists selected to give a live reading by WRNI Public Radio to recognize and thank all who participated in the “This I Believe Rhode Island” segment. The audio essay was also one of several music, audio and video features spotlighted during the year on Wheeler’s website. • Art teacher and Chazan Gallery Director Sue Carroll was invited by RISD to review the portfolios of graduating seniors at their RISD FINE ART PORTFOLIO REVIEW. • Freshman Christian Sadler was featured in a Providence Journal article about garments made by teenagers from recycled materials designed for a “trashy fashion” show. The event capped an eight-week course in innovative design taught by Elana Carello, a veteran of the garment industry. Sadler began designing clothing at 13. • The 18 Wheelers have made it onto the international compilation CD, “Best of High School A Cappella” for the fifth time in seven years. The singers earned the 2009 spot with a cover of “Be Good to Me” (original performing artist, Ashley Tisdale). The group earned similar honors in 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007 as well. Only 14 selections make the final cut. You can hear the track on the Wheeler website’s Wheeler School Portal page. 26
Now & Then @ Wheeler
More than 400 grandparents visited campus in May, including Norah Hojman, grandmother of 8th grader Nicole Hojman. Mrs. Hojman made the trip to Wheeler from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Admission Director Jeanette Epstein accepts the ‘09 Board of Trustees Award from Dan Miller and Board Chair Alan Litwin. Previous recipients include Mike Edwards, Gary Esposito, Mark Harris, Jerry Del Signore, Ben Baker, Barbara Staples, Alan Tate, Miriam Kenney ‘53 and Vera Wayne.
This year’s Newport Film Festival screened a Wheeler student-made film created for an 8th grade Chinese class taught by Isabel Purdy. The filmmakers were Max Schoenfeld, Austin Collier, Dylan Igoe, Taber Gifford and Larry Chan shown with Alex Collier who attended the screening. The students will all be juniors next fall.