The Write Side

PWHS Choir is wrapping up their performance-filled holiday tour with the last show of the season on Dec. 17 at the Scioto County Courthouse in Portsmouth, OH. During and in preparation for the tour, choir members spent countless hours perfecting their performance as they were committed to gifting the community with their amazing talent.

Tentative schedule of upcoming events:

Concert Featuring the music of Abba Feb 17, 18, 19

Perform the National Anthem at Rocket Mortgage Arena Feb 23

Toronto trip April 8-11

Spring Musical May 6, 7, 8

Spring Concert May 18

The Senators Sideline store is now open. Get your West gear here and any profit will be used solely for PWHS students academic endeavors. This funding recently helped with the purchase of lunch for senior students who went on a college visit to Ohio University.

Students in Mrs. Artrip's class learned about speed, momentum, centripetal force, and potential energy and kinetic energy while designing their own roller coasters.

Dr. Harvey's 1st and 3rd period students (pictured right and below) are learning about and implementing the Focus 3 strategies. Students discussed "Why school is important" and "how we can have better lives when we make better choices." Dr. Harvey also covered the six R Factors and students completed a sorting activity matching inspirational quotes with the six R factors, and, then, they summarized the R factors by making hashtags like R1 = Press Pause (#Breathe).

Mr. Cox's and Mrs. Distel's classes (pictured directly above and below) worked on a collaborative project to create an altitude tracker, a device used to estimate the angle of elevation to the top of an object. This angle can then be used to calculate the approximate height of an object that is otherwise too tall to measure, like the height of trees, buildings, and flag poles so they can be estimated. The Engineering class made the altitude trackers with the 3D printer to replace the cardboard altitude trackers that were being used by Mrs. Distel's class.

Mrs. Bazler's Anatomy students have been testing the strength of skeletal bones and preparing for their skeletal lab practical exam. Meanwhile, Biology students (pictured below left) are learning about different genotype and phenotype traits while constructing a baby.

Portsmouth West High School students recently traveled to Columbus, Ohio to participate in Ohio Model United Nations, "a three-day global education simulation experience that allows students in grades 5-12 to learn about the complete operations of the United Nations and its role as the world’s largest international peacekeeping and humanitarian organization. Through the process of role-playing, students become delegates of a selected nation in order to write, present and debate issues affecting the nations and peoples of the world. Additionally, students present culturally based talent, participate in global education contests and debate current issues from the agenda of the United Nations." (Ohio Leadership Institute)

Senior John Jones served as Human Rights Council President. Junior Macie Jones was elected 2022 Council President and was awarded the Outstanding Delegate award. Central African Republic won Runner-Up in Outstanding Talent and won the Outstanding Cultural Nation Award.

PWHS Beta students attended the Leadership Summit in Sevierville, Tennessee, in December 2021. Students qualified for national competition in the Project Proposal, the Lead Outside the Box, and the Collaboration Connection competitions.

Pictured below in the larger image are Natalie Mershon, Mariah Smith, Hannah Deaver, Sharon Macias, Kara Carter, Emily Scaff, Macie Jones, and Cianna Newman

CRUSH students (pictured below) continue to spread cheer to their community as they made Christmas cards for a local nursing home. Corps for Rural & Urban Success in Health (CRUSH) is an AmeriCorps program.

Mock Trial teams work with an at­tor­ney to pre­pare their court case – from both the plain­tiff and de­fense per­spec­tives. Members of Mock Trial have been practicing at the Scioto County Courthouse with Jay Willis, legal advisor, for seven hours each week in order to prepare for the Mock Trial Invitationals at the University of Cincinnati College of Law on January 8. The 2022 Ohio Mock Trial High School District Competition is January 14. Members of the competition team “The Citations” include: Attorney: Taran Willis, Gabe Kouns, Emily Scaff, Noah Williams; Witnesses: Alexa Leist, Cianna Newman, Macie Jones, Kara Carter, Tabitha Johnson, Erika Hammonds; and Connor Gray as the Timekeeper/Bailiff. Kaydence VanDyke also joined Mock Trial this year. ~ Mrs. Sites, teacher/advisor

Email: kristie.copley@westsenators.org
Website: https://www.westsenators.org/o/portsmouth-west-high-school
Location: 15332 U.S. 52, West Portsmouth, OH, USA
Phone: (740) 858-1103
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePWHS