West Ashley High School

This week, we celebrated our six assistant principals as part of National Assistant Principals Week!!

The week was designated to honor associate and assistant principals and acknowledge their key role in the achievements of schools and students nationwide—particularly through the unique challenges created by COVID-19.

We appreciate Dr. Aldridge, Mr. Brandt, Mr. Reece, Ms. Robinson, Ms. Turner, and Ms. Wilson for all that they do each and every day!! Thank you for your dedication to West Ashley High, its staff, and its students.

Congratulations to the January 2022 Female Athlete of the Month, Ja’Lyn Fyall!!

Ja’Lyn, a member of the women’s basketball team, averaged nine points per game and was the second leading scorer this season.

“Ja’Lyn has always been an asset for this team,” said Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach Holly Wierenga. “She was chosen to play at the first annual Lowcountry All-Star game to highlight basketball players in the Lowcountry. J is a gifted point guard and we will miss having her next year!”

Congratulations to the January 2022 Male Athlete of the Month, Jahleel Porter!!

Jahleel, a member of the men’s basketball team, averaged 12.7 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game.

“Jahleel led our basketball team and became the focal point of the second half of the season,” said Head Men’s Basketball Coach Ben Snyder. “Great job Jahleel!”

Congratulations to senior Peter Holtzhausen, who recently enlisted with the United States Coast Guard!!

Holtzhausen will leave for boot camp in Cape May, NJ in August and will be an E-2 (Seaman Apprentice) upon graduation.

“The U.S. Coast Guard was the best choice for me because of the opportunities the experience will provide me with,” said Holtzhausen. “Plus, I’m able to go to college for free afterwards and will make a decent salary straight of high school while learning valuable skills.”

Peter, thank you for your comment meant to serve our country!

The West Ashley High Band hosted their Spring Band Concert recently where they performed pieces such as “Alamo March” by Karl King and “Ammerland” by Jacob de Haan.

The group also used the event as preparation for their Concert Performance Assessment (CPA) which took place the next day (where they received a Superior rating) and closed the concert with several Grade 3 and 4 sight readings.

Congratulations to the December 2021 Female Athlete of the Month, Kristen Jenkins!!

Kristen, a member of the women’s basketball team, averaged 21 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game, and 2.3 steals per game this season.

“Kristen has always been an outstanding player for this team,” said Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach Holly Wierenga. “She reached a personal milestone in her basketball career during the month of December. Kristen surpassed 1,000 points before Winter Break, which is an achievement very few players have the experience of reaching. She ended the season with a total of 442 points, which brought her career total to 1,314 points. Kristen was named Region 8 Player of the Year and the 5A Player of the Year for the state. Congratulations Kristen!”

Congratulations to the December 2021 Male Athlete of the Month, Brandon Mungin!

Brandon, a member of the men’s basketball team, averaged eight points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assists per game.

“Brandon had a great season on the hardwood,” said Head Men’s Basketball Coach Ben Snyder. “We were short handed at the point guard position and Brandon led us in minutes and was a leader on the floor! He always brings a positive attitude to practice and to our locker room!”

Students in Ms. Shields’ Spanish 3 classes recently studied renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

After learning about her painting style (many of her pieces are self-portraits with elements of realism and fantasy which represent major influences in her life), the students painted their own self-portrait in the style of Kahlo.

They were encouraged to exaggerate their portraits as well and include a meaningful background, their spirit animal, or an exaggerated physical feature.

Wildcats WIN!!

Today, members of the West Ashley Men and Women’s Basketball teams competed against the Charleston Police Department in the 2022 Anti-Bullying Basketball game.

The event helped raise awareness about the effects of bullying and encouraged building healthy relationships with everyone.

The Wildcats scored the winning point at the buzzer, ending the match up 52 - 49.

Thank you to the CPD for helping us put on a fun event for our student body!!

Shout out to the WA NJROTC Drill Team for performing at halftime!

Our next 12th Grade Student of the Month, is Grace Sanchez!!

“Grace can put a smile on ANYONE’s face at any time,” said School Counselor / Volleyball Coach Kristan Willis. “She gives out compliments like we were handing out masks at the beginning of the year! She also helped out the Volleyball team tremendously in washing, sorting, folding, and delivering clean jerseys to the girls! Grace is so deserving of this recognition!”

Congratulations to the February 2022 12th Grade Student of the Month, Hayden Watkins!!

“Hayden is a great student who is excelling at AP Chemistry,” said Science teacher Stacey Ancona. “He is helpful and has helped maintain and create a community feel in our class. Hayden is also a Lunch Buddy volunteer and consistently helps create an inclusive environment here at West Ashley. I have truly enjoyed teaching Hayden the past two years.”

Congratulations to the January 2022 12th Grade Student of the Month, Miracle McCoy!!

“Miracle is a consistent source of light and we mercy both in and outside of the classroom,” said Visual Arts teacher Mimi Tierney. “She has made an impact on our school community, in our theater department, and NJROTC Unit. Miracle is willing to take on a challenge and is ready to take on whatever comes her way.”

Students in Ms. Hill’s Biology classes just finished their “Build-a-Bug” project as part of their Protein Synthesis unit.

The students were tasked with taking a DNA sequence and turning it into an actual organism.

As part of the project, they got to show off the bugs they created and vote for the class favorite.

Beetlejuice took the top prize!

Congratulations to the WA Speech & Debate Team for their recent performance at the SCFCA State Competition at Riverside High!

This was the only team’s second major in-person competition since COVID-19.

Special recognition goes to Ne’Veah Walker for taking 3rd place in Novice Impromptu Speaking and Morgan Epinger who placed 6th in Extemporaneous Speaking!!

Congratulations to the March 2022 11th Grade Student of the Month, Easton Schwerin!!

“Easton is fully involved and committed to learning every day,” said Science teacher Suzanne Muoio. “He has a positive attitude and an intrinsic motivation that is to be admired. He is open to all new ideas and asks questions to promote understanding. He is kind, considerate, and comes to class every day ready to learn.”

Congratulations to the February 2022 11th Grade Student of the Month, Aryan Patel!!

“Aryan is such a great student,” said World Language teacher Angel Fross. “He cares a lot about doing a good job, and he has a great work ethic. I am so glad to be his teacher!”

Congratulations to the January 2022 11th Grade Student of the Month, Ryder Jackson!!

“Jackson is new to West Ashley this year and I am impressed with his positive attitude,” said Science teacher Stacey Ancona. “In Physics, there is a lot of group work and Jackson is willing to work with anyone. He is kind and works hard and is a great addition to our school and my class.”

Members of West Ashley High’s chapter of the National Honor Society volunteered in several different ways recently to help the community around them.

They participated in a litter sweep at Francis Marion National Forest, hosted their third blood drive of the year, and volunteered at the Cupid Chase 5K.

Thank you NHS!!

The Junior Civitans have been working to make their corner of the world a better place by striving to be active participants in the West Ashley Community.

They helped sort items donated at Citadel Mall for those affected by the Palms Apartment fire and recently partnered with Keep Charleston Beautiful to help pick up trash on our campus.

Thank you Junior Civitans!!

If the catchy lyrics “I’m gonna live forever, I’m gonna learn how to fly…” make you want to dance in the aisle then you do not want to miss FAME: The Musical at West Ashley High School!!

The show runs May 5 - 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the WAHS Auditorium.

Tickets are on sale now through the GoFan app.

Congratulations to Enuka Taylor for signing to continue his athletic career at the post secondary level!!

In the Fall, Enuka plans to play soccer for Guilford College.

Congratulations to Jordan Hoppes for signing to continue her athletic career at the post secondary level!!

Jordan plans to play softball for Columbia College in the Fall.

Have you ever wanted to travel outside of the United States?! Now is your chance! Ms. Bayne and Ms. Merriman are taking students to Japan in the summer of 2023! If you are a current Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior, then you are eligible to attend!

There will be an information meeting on Thursday, March 24th at 6:00 p.m. at West Ashley High School.

Scan the QR Code or visit the website for more information and to RSVP.

Congratulations to the March 2022 10th Grade Student of the Month, Rosa Svendsen!!

“Rosa is an absolute pleasure to teach,” said Science teacher Lindsay Tucker. “She always gives me her utmost attention during lessons and puts a great deal of effort into her assignments. She creates beautiful projects / posters that always exceed expectations. Rosa includes extra slides to define vocabulary terms in her presentations and makes visually stunning posters with perfect headings and formatting. She is very self-motivated and works hard to succeed, and it shows!"

Congratulations to the February 2022 10th Grade Student of the Month, Lillian Yi!!

“Lillian is a diligent worker,” said Career & Technology Education teacher Kandi Young. “She completes all assignments with the utmost effort and to near-perfection. Lillian complies with all expectations without the need of reminders and focuses her efforts on successfully completing this course."

Congratulations to the January 2022 10th Grade Student of the Month, Briar Ellenberg!!

“Briar is an exceptional student in class and on the baseball field,” said Science teacher Emily Sandifer. “He is so polite and always greets his teachers with a smile. Briar works hard in class to get his work done to the best of his ability and is willing to help out his peers when needed. Despite having long hours of baseball practice, he always gets his work done. Having him in class brightens everyone's day!"

Congratulations to Calib Thompson for signing to continue his baseball career at the post secondary level!!

In the Fall, Calib plans to play baseball for Spartanburg Methodist College.

Congratulations to Matthew Smith who signed to continue his baseball career at the post secondary level!!

Matthew will play baseball for Spartanburg Methodist College in the Fall.

Congratulations to the March 2022 9th Grade Student of the Month, Jason Anderson!!

“Jason is a joy to teach and know,” said Science teacher Julienne Suttle. “He is punctual, kind, well-mannered, responsible, and self-motivated. He transferred into our school after the semester was underway; he has not only kept up with the current work, but made up all the work that was covered before he arrived.”

Congratulations to the February 2022 9th Grade Student of the Month, Trinity Jones!!

“Trinity is a steady, dependable fixture in my class,” said Social Studies teacher Jessie Mintz. “No matter what we are doing or what topic we are focusing on, I know Trinity will find a way to make the connections others often miss. She is a team player and is honestly hilarious, and she’s not afraid to help her classmates when they’re struggling. She’s quick to set the record straight, is easygoing with everyone in her community, and is a truly sharp student.”

Congratulations to the January 2022 9th Grade Student of the Month, Jackson Welch!!

“Jackson has been a great role model from the very first day of school,” said World Language teacher Angel Fross. “He requested to sit up front because he knows that he focuses best that way. Jackson is great at advocating for himself and asking questions when necessary. He is a really hard worker and I appreciate that very much about him. He is able to maintain great grades even while have a part-time job! Keep it up!”

SAME (Students Advocating Multi-cultural Education) invited all students to participate in Holi, an annual Hindu festival which celebrates the arrival of Spring, on Friday.

The event is marked by people of all ages playing with vibrant colors and the throwing of colored powder.

Congratulations to the West Ashley High Band!!

They participated in the South Carolina Band Directors Association’s Concert Performance Assessment (CPA) and took home a Superior rating!!

Shout outs also go to sophomore Ben Schell and junior Makayla Stewart who made the Region 4 Honor Band recently!!

Schell was a trumpet player for Clinic Band and Stewart played the flute in the Senior Band.

Great job Mr. Hubbard and all members of the Vanguard of West Ashley!!