On Thursday, April 20, Westlawn families and the community were invited to visit the Westlawn campus in the evening for Family Adventure Night, a night filled with fun and learning in the areas of math, reading, library, and STEAM. 

The STEAM tent featured our partners from Northrop Grumman who lead stations in making and testing paper airplanes as well as a hand washing experiment. We were also joined by volunteers from Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation who ran a station for coding and flying drones.  We appreciate our partners tremendously and thank them for their continued support!

Westlawn also fielded in-house activities related to math, reading, and library. At the library station, students were invited to make book worms out of craft sticks, pom poms, and googly eyes. Students enjoyed the chance to be crafty and to build a really cool bookmark!

Students who visited the reading stations engaged in activities such as make-a-word bracelet, spinner winner, word dash, and scratch bookmarks. They also participated in free book giveaways and took turns reading to Westlawn’s most popular four-legged student, Scotty!

Students visited myriad math stations where they had the opportunity to participate in student-built (probability) games of chance, add their mark to a math graffiti wall, and design a math city with graph paper.

Finally, especially for our youngest community members, we also had a visit from a fire truck! Firefighters from Station 18 brought their truck and medic unit to the event so students could get an up-close view of these incredible machines.

Of course, students and families also loved the free pizza provided at the event. According to student Asa K., “It’s fun to play the games and eat good food--and it’s free!” Asa’s reaction mirrors that of many families who appreciated the free pizza and free shuttle buses provided by the school to ensure that families from the Monticello apartment complex would be able to attend without needing to drive.

“We want to make sure that all families have equitable access to participating in life here at Westlawn, regardless of income or location of their home,” said Principal Hill. “Our goal for this event was to give all families the opportunity to enjoy a meal while participating in hands-on activities that highlight the major themes, ideas, and Portrait of a Graduate skills that students explore each day while in school. I am grateful to our staff for organizing and volunteering at this event, our families for taking time out of their evening to attend, and for our wonderful partners at Northrop Grumman who spark curiosity and a drive to engage in STEAM with our students.”