Community Building

Student athletes on a field running through a paper banner.

Throughout the school year, Westmark School offers many opportunities for students to build community with one another. 


Affinity Groups

Middle and Upper School students may participate in affinity groups with other students in their division. The affinity groups available each year vary depending on the makeup of the student population. Meeting two to three times per month during the school day, members explore issues of their shared identity to reduce isolation, discomfort, and marginalization; affirm emotional and intellectual responses to inequity; and celebrate their differences. In addition to engaging in social justice issues, students in affinity groups develop critical thinking and social-emotional skills, learning how to make a difference through self-advocacy and allyship.

Clubs

Once a week—during Electives period in the Lower School and Advisory period in the Middle and Upper School—students have the opportunity to choose from a variety of clubs based on their interests and affinities. Lower and Middle School clubs are run by teachers and staff. Upper School clubs are primarily run by the students, who can also propose new clubs. Popular clubs have gathered to play kickball, participate in Model United Nations, engage in film critique, practice yoga, solve escape rooms, and work on puzzles. 

Halloween Parade

A favorite Westmark tradition, the all-school Halloween Parade takes place annually on the Sports Field, where families, faculty, and staff watch students show off their creative costumes. Lower School students enjoy candy-free trick-or-treating and other Halloween-themed projects and activities throughout the day.

Homecoming

In the fall, the entire Westmark community gathers for this beloved school tradition. Families enjoy delicious food from the Lions’ Grill and Westmark Parent Association Bake Sale, artful activities, live performances by our talented Westmark student musicians and actors, and other carnival games. Everyone gathers to honor fall sports teams and senior athletes. An Upper School Flag Football game typically closes out this day of spirited fun.

Social Events

Middle and Upper School Student Councils organize and host student gatherings to bond with one another outside of school hours. Middle School Socials, with themes ranging from “Cookies and Karaoke” to “Glow in the Dark,” take place throughout the school year. All Upper Schoolers are invited to the Homecoming Dance in the fall and the Winter Formal on campus. In the spring, Grades 11–12 students venture off campus in their finest formal attire for Prom.


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