January 2025 Newsletter
A New Year of Growth & Learning

Fall 2025 Enrollment Deadline: January 24
For current families to re-enroll and new families to apply.

Discover how WHPS is setting the stage for a bright 2025 with innovative programs and a focus on building confident, empathetic leaders.

• 💡 Special Edition: Fresh Ideas from Educational Research

• 📚 Elementary News: New Year, Lifelong Readers

• 🎨 Preschool News: Building a Kinder Tomorrow

• 🐮 Barnyard News: Exciting Discoveries to Kick Off the Year

• 📅 Calendar of Events: Full WHPS Calendar

Seth Pozzi, Head of School

As a progressive school, WHPS uses evidence-based practices to connect classroom learning with real-world skills, equipping students for success now and in the future. Explore insights from some of 2024’s most significant educational studies and see how they shape our program.

💡 Key Insights from Educational Research in 2024:

• High Expectations & Supportive Classrooms: Students excel when high expectations are paired with trust and care. At WHPS, we foster resilience and confidence through strategies like goal setting, celebrating small successes, and teacher looping. Classrooms where students co-create norms and feel safe taking risks achieve higher engagement, minimize disruptions, and promote deeper learning.

• Science of Reading: Neuroscience research has clarified the decades-old phonics debate, emphasizing the need to balance foundational skills with broader comprehension. We blend phonics instruction with comprehension strategies, rich literature, and creative writing. In Lower Elementary, personalized phonics pacing maximizes learning, especially in a school like ours, where many students exceed basic expectations. Adding knowledge-rich content in history and science builds vocabulary, deepens understanding, and fosters lifelong learning.

• Outdoor Learning: Time outdoors reduces stress, boosts creativity, and enhances vision health. We bring these benefits to life with outdoor classrooms, immersive field trips, and hands-on experiences at our Science & Nature Center, making learning engaging and memorable.

• Learning from Mistakes: Mistakes are powerful growth opportunities, and our teachers help students analyze errors to build resilience, collaboration, and deeper understanding. Workshop-style classrooms provide a safe space for taking risks, giving/receiving feedback, and “teaching for transfer,” connecting lessons to real-world applications for future success.

  [Read the Full Article →]

Elementary News

Melanie Henson, Principal | Cynthia Baroudi, Dean of Students

At WHPS, each child’s reading journey is a personalized adventure. By combining research-based practices with engaging instruction, we ensure every reader thrives in 2025 and beyond.

✨ Highlights:

• Personalized Progress: Students advance through a research-backed Developmental Learning Progression, guided by teachers who set clear, individualized goals to ensure steady growth in reading skills.

• Beyond Basal Readers: Students dive into rich, high-quality texts, practicing strategies like predicting, summarizing, and making connections—skills that go beyond basic recall to foster deeper comprehension.

• Phonics Meets Fun: Tailored instruction and pacing meet each child’s needs. High-interest books aligned with individual goals and tools like Jump Rope Readers replace traditional, dull “cat on the mat” practice with vibrant, diverse narratives that make reading engaging—even when focusing on foundational skills.

• Reading & Writing Connection: By studying the craft of accomplished authors, students develop their own unique writing style, seamlessly blending reading and writing in a dynamic, creative process.

At WHPS, every student’s reading journey is carefully crafted to inspire growth, confidence, and a lifelong love of literature.

[Read the Full Article →]

Preschool News

Robin Gee & Kat Alvarado | Collins Campus Directors
Christine Chiché-Lopez & Roxana Mackey | Oxnard Campus Directors

Empathy is at the heart of learning at WHPS, and the start of a new year is the perfect time to help preschoolers deepen their understanding of kindness and connection. By fostering empathy early, we lay a strong foundation for children to build meaningful relationships and contribute to a compassionate, caring community.

✨ How WHPS Fosters Empathy:

• Model Empathy: Children learn by example. When adults validate and support others, preschoolers mirror these behaviors in their interactions.

• Teach Emotional Awareness: Recognizing and naming emotions is a key first step in helping children understand the feelings of others.

• Encourage Perspective-Taking: Guiding children to consider how others feel and what they might need builds social awareness and thoughtful connections.

• Go Beyond ‘Sorry’: A forced apology doesn’t teach empathy. We help children take meaningful actions to repair relationships and demonstrate genuine care.

• Celebrate Kindness: Highlighting and celebrating empathetic behavior reinforces its value and encourages children to make kindness a daily habit.

These strategies are seamlessly woven into everyday interactions, creating a nurturing environment where empathy thrives. By equipping preschoolers with these essential skills, we empower them to build strong relationships and make a lasting, positive impact on the world around them.

[Read the Full Article →]

Science & Nature Center News

Cameron Foots, Animal & Nature Specialist | Mary Ida Williams, Animal Keeper

January is full of fresh discoveries at the WHPS Science & Nature Center! From population bottlenecks to ecological interdependence, our students are exploring the connections that keep our planet thriving.

🐮 What’s Ahead in January

• 4th & 5th Grade—Population Bottlenecks: Students will delve into population bottlenecks and their effects on biodiversity, gaining insights into how species adapt to environmental challenges. They will also begin studying animal anatomy and analyzing structures and adaptations that support survival.

• 2nd & 3rd Grade—Substrates: Students will investigate the role of substrates in creating habitats and explore how different surfaces affect ecosystems. They will also learn how to care for reptiles by understanding the specific environmental conditions they need to thrive.

• 1st Grade—Ecological Interdependence: Students will learn how animals adapt to winter through hibernation and migration and explore how plants store and utilize energy. These lessons will deepen their understanding of the interconnectedness of living organisms and their environments.

• Preschool - Kindergarten—Ecosystems: Our youngest learners will explore their local environment, examining the earth beneath their feet and observing how seasonal changes influence plants and animals. These activities will help them develop an early understanding of ecosystems and natural cycles.

[Science & Nature Center on Instagram →]

📅 Important January Dates

See the Full WHPS Calendar

Both Campuses

• 1: New Year’s Day – School Closed

• 2: School Reopens

• 11: Campus Preview Day at 10 AM

• 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day – School Closed

• 24: Fall 2025 Registration Deadline for Current Students & Application Deadline for Prospective Students

Oxnard Campus

• 6: Elementary Classes Resume

• 8: PAWS Meeting on Zoom at 6:30 PM

• 15-17: 4th & 5th Grade Astrocamp Overnight Trip

• 21: Elementary Group Tours at 10 AM

• 23: Lunar New Year Celebration

• 24: Snow Day, Sponsored by PAWS

• 29: Spelling Bee at 10 AM

Collins Campus

• 7: PAG Meeting on Zoom at 7:30 PM

• 15: Snow Day, Sponsored by PAG

• 22: Rooms 7 & 8 Science & Nature Center Visit at 9:30 AM