LEADERSHIP AND CO-CURRICULARS
Leaders, Thinkers, and Doers
Co-curricular opportunities in the Upper School are all about letting students spread their wings. Students encounter the joys and challenges of teamwork and leadership while expanding their skill sets and finding new passions. Plentiful formal and informal leadership roles provide students with a sandbox for experimenting with and refining their own leadership styles.
The Leadership Journey
Upper Schoolers grow into leaders as they pursue their academic, artistic, and athletic goals. Westminster offers a wide range of programs to help students learn and apply the skills needed to lead in their communities now and in the future.
Ninth Grade Leadership and Wellness Program
All ninth grade students participate in our Wellness and Leadership program, which meets each week throughout the school year. The curriculum includes programming around identity and belonging, leadership development, resilience, physical health and mental wellness, innovation, neuroscience, and learning. From here, students have the foundational skills to excel in the next levels of Upper School leadership.
Academic Fellows
The Upper School Fellows Program provides a unique academic framework for service-learning and leadership development rooted in scholarly work. Each year-long program has limited enrollment, is application-based, and receives academic credit.
- Writing Fellows
- Innovation Fellows
- Civil Dialogue Fellows
- Civic Engagement Fellows
Civic Engagement
Westminster’s philosophy and culture encourage and engage students in being civic minded, including engaging in thoughtful, purposeful work to create a better community for those around them. The Glenn Institute offers activities including tutoring at elementary schools, building houses in underserved communities, sharing music with the elderly, serving as ambassadors for our school for admissions and other events, and growing vegetables in our garden to share. Through the Glenn Institute, students may also receive guidance and resources for pursuing independent service and philanthropy projects.
Arts and Athletics
Most Upper School students participate in athletics, performing arts, or both. In addition to learning team skills, students can gain leadership training and practice through being a variety of roles:
- Team captains
- Team managers
- Student athletic trainers
- Student Athletic Council
- Stage managers
- Student directors
Leadership Councils
The leadership development journeys of Upper School students often culminate in higher-level positions on one of our leadership councils. Council members help lead the Upper School community and take the benefits of these experiences and the skills they develop with them beyond the school.
- Honor Council
- Discipline Council
- Service Corps
- Christian Life Committee
- Student Diversity Leadership Council
- Social Change Leadership Council
Student Government
Members of the Upper School student government represent the student body in communications between administration and students and promote a spirit of community. Class officers are selected by their grade-level peers and serve for one school year. With the guidance of grade chairs, they plan and execute social events and endorse service projects that knit their grades together and serve the common good.
Vibrant Student Life
Academic Competitions
The Upper School offers numerous academic competition teams to match students’ varied interests. Through their participation, students gain knowledge and skills within specific disciplines in a competition-based setting. Academic teams often earn spots at national and international competitions. A sample of our Upper School teams:
- Academic Quiz Team
- Debate
- Model UN
- Robotics
- Science Bowl
- Science Olympiad
Publications and Studio Works
Students interested in media have a variety of co-curricular opportunities to hone the necessary skills. Our studio and publication groups have won various local and national awards. Groups include:
- WCAT
- Studio W
- Yearbook
- Student newspaper
- Evolutions literary magazine
- Embryo arts journal
- Science magazine
Student-Led Clubs
Upper School students may design clubs based on nearly any interest! Clubs meet three to four times per semester during the school day. Some hold optional meetings outside of school hours as well. Clubs are led by students who engage a faculty member as an advisor. Clubs run by Upper School students in recent years include:
- Active Minds
- BBQ Club
- Brain Power
- Chemistry Club
- Circle of Women
- Dance Cats
- Eco Club
- Films & Food
- Spectrum
- Sports Analytics
Affinity Groups
Affinity groups at Westminster are spaces in which members share a particular identifier (such as race or sexual orientation). In the Upper School, affinity groups focus on historically excluded groups and additional groups that promote equity and inclusion for marginalized peoples. Groups include:
- AWARE (Alliance for White Anti-Racist Education)
- Café con Leche
- Cocoa Conversations
- The Distinguished Hue-Mans
- Jewish Student Group
- Mooncakes
- Neuro-Diverse Affinity
- SAAG
- UNITED
In this environment, everybody has something they can bring to the table. It’s about being outgoing, being willing to put yourself forward, and having the confidence to try to contribute.”Kate Harley, Class of 2024