News

Parents, don't miss the Annual Art Fair and WorldWonder Showcase, "Coral & Color," on Thursday, May 1, in its new location, Hub 1 and Hub 2.  Your child's tour will last one hour. Parents and students will meet in the courtyard according to the following schedule: 

Grade 3: Mrs. Riccio's Class	8:05 a.m.
Grade 3: Mrs. Dopazo's Class	8:15 a.m.
Grade 3: Mrs. Brito's Class	8:25 a.m.
Grade 5: Ms. Cline's Class	8:35 a.m.
Grade 5: Mrs. Gordon's Class	8:45 a.m.
K5: Mrs. Belvedere's Class	8:55 a.m.
Grade 4: Mrs. Taylor's Class	9:05 a.m.
Grade 4: Mrs. Lopez's Class	9:15 a.m.
Grade 4: Mrs. Simril's Class	9:25 a.m.
K5: Mrs. Fosselman's Class	9:30 a.m.
K5: Mrs. Kenney's Class	9:35 a.m.
Grade 5: Ms. Kyzer's Class	9:45 a.m.
Grade 5: Mrs. Cocchiaro's Class	9:55 a.m.
Grade 1: Mrs. Galvez's Class	11:35 a.m.
Grade 1: Ms. Barboza's Class	11:45 a.m.
Grade 1: Mrs. Abbey's Class	11:55 a.m.
Grade 2: Mrs. Forjan's Class	12:30 p.m.
Grade 2: Mrs. Berteletti's Class	12:35 p.m.
Grade 2: Mrs. Goodrich's Class	12:40 p.m.

Join us for the Senior Awards and Cords Ceremony on Tuesday, April 29, at 7 p.m. in The Lighthouse. Attendance is required for the class of 2025. All students will receive their caps, gowns, and honor society cords. Select students will be receiving awards. 

Light refreshment and desserts will be available following the event. Dress is formal business attire. 

I have a friend who has thousands of cactuses! No, seriously, thousands! You might have an aloe vera plant mixed in among your landscaping, or a prickly pear you have to prune back twice a year, he has thousands of different varieties of cactuses and succulents. When I went to his house, I was blown away by the whole operation.

While he was giving me the tour, he said, “cactuses don’t do well with too much water so they really need soil that drains well.” My friend’s connection between the health of the plant and that of the soil is an excellent analogy for what it looks like to prepare the soil of our hearts.

As we wrap up billing for the 2024–25 school year and begin billing for 2025–26, we want to share a few important updates with you:

• Final Step Up payments for this school year have started to come in, and we will continue applying the funds to your 2024–25 accounts as we receive them. Please note that parents must log into their Step Up EMA portal to approve the payment. Once approved, it may take 5–12 business days for the funds to be reflected in your Blackbaud Tuition Account.
  
  
• Any credit balances on your account due to overpayment will be automatically rolled over to your 2025–26 tuition management account.
  
  
• If your child is a graduating senior with no siblings returning next year, or if your child is not re-enrolled, a refund check will be issued and mailed once the final Step Up payment is received, and an overpayment of tuition has been confirmed.
  
  
• If you would prefer to donate your overpayment to the Warrior Fund and help enrich the experience of Westminster students, we would be deeply grateful for your generosity. The Business Office can assist you in making this meaningful contribution.

Easter is not just about a break from school, a set of random traditions, or chocolate bunnies and dressing up for grandma.

Easter is the single most important event in human history, and the most profound revelation of God’s love and intentions for humanity ever revealed, because it is the central event when the “super” natural took on a fully natural form to rescue us from our sin. Easter celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Passover lamb of God.

One way you might take some time to appreciate the depth of God’s wisdom this Easter is by studying this angle on the Easter story: Jesus was crucified on the Day of Preparation for the Passover as indicated in all four gospels (Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14).

When you’re hanging out with your school friends there’s usually a little competition involved. You’re always wondering if you’re wearing the right clothes, using the right words in the right way. You’re worried if you’re going to be invited to the next thing or start in the next game. Why is this? What is the insecurity that always seems to be lurking behind the scenes of our relationships, even our closest and/or most intimate ones? There is a nagging fear baked in all of our human interactions that we will not measure up, or for some of us, that others will fall short and let us down. This is evidence of the limitation of our fallen nature – it’s not how it was supposed to be.

We encourage you to complete your child's Step-Up application HERE at your earliest convenience. Applications from renewing students will be prioritized if submitted by Wednesday, April 30.
 
After your application is processed, use the following form to submit your new award ID so we can enroll your student(s): 2025-26 Step-Up Award ID. Please note that if you have multiple children, you’ll need to complete a separate entry for each child.

Alcohol abuse is an issue. Alcohol impairs judgement and produces results a sober person would never have allowed. This is a case where the natural thing (alcohol) is being used in a way it was never intended to produce results it does not have the power to deliver.

If you tried to hang from a small branch of a tree, for example, you would hardly be surprised when it snapped, and you ended up with an injury. But isn’t this exactly what we’re doing when we expect spiritual results (joy, fulfillment, peace, satisfaction, love etc...) from natural things?

We are physical beings living in a physical world with natural desires, but that’s not all we are. We are also spiritual beings with souls and eternal needs that can only be satisfied in supernatural ways. Jesus says in John 15:1, “I am the true vine...”. Vines, the ones he’s referring to produce grapes. Grapes, when pressed, fermented and stored for an appropriate amount of time in the right conditions produce wine. Wine, for those living in the United States who are over the age of 21, is part of the meal. It’s also part of traditions, and ceremonies. It represents investment, love, and time. It indicates that this meal is not just for sustenance, it’s for enjoyment.

Congratulations to the students pictured here for being named the third-quarter Writing Warriors! Students in kindergarten through fifth grade have continued to work on their writing skills. They have learned the difference between an opinion and an expository paper, all while using different pieces of literature to provide proper evidence. These students have done an amazing job this quarter!

Join our 2nd Annual Green Challenge and make a difference—it's never too late to start! Since October, students have been earning points by completing fun, eco-friendly activities that help care for God’s creation. This year, Mr. and Mrs. Heetderks have been inspiring us with lessons about coral reefs in their WorldWonder and Art classes as part of the Everglades Foundation Challenge. We’ve all become obsessed with the Coral City Camera livestream, watching day and night as fish, manatees, dolphins, sharks, and stingrays bring the reef to life! We've even added exciting coral reef activities, like creating a Minecraft biome to explore the beauty and importance of these ecosystems. Click here for details, and don’t forget—student journals will be proudly displayed in the Nature Center! 

• Students need to arrive at the auditorium by 5:30 p.m. to line up for the ceremony.
  
  
• Choir, Band, and Orchestra seniors must arrive at 5 p.m. for rehearsal and sound check. 
  
  
• Doors will open for parents, families, and friends with tickets at 6:15 p.m. Please note that only ticket holders with assigned seats will be admitted. There is no general admission seating. Graduation will last approximately two hours. 

Westminster HOSA students, Future Health Professionals, are hosting a blood drive on Wednesday, February 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the high school circle (main entrance). You must be at least 16 years old. Consent and ID are required. Students, staff and parents may donate. 

Donors may receive:

• Refreshments
• Long-sleeved t-shirt
• Wellness checkup (including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, iron count, and cholesterol screening)

Appointments are encouraged. Please visit oneblood.org/donate-now.

I will never forget the moment while we were remodeling our house in Charlotte, NC, and my wife walked in to where I had pulled up floorboards in the kitchen so that she could see the dirt under the house. With a look of horror and discouragement on her face she said, “I didn’t realize that vaulting the ceilings meant gutting the house.”

Julia Tuttle’s orange blossoms, sent to Henry Flagler during a particularly harsh freeze in the winter of 1895, played a significant role in the oil-baron-turned-railroad-tycoon’s decision to bring his trains south. In reality, Flagler had always had his sights set on Key West, believing it would be a great city and shipping port. With the failing health of his wife, and the mounting frustrations and costs of building railroad tracks through the swampy everglades, however, he may have simply stayed in Palm Coast. But for Tuttle’s creative persistence, Flagler came south! Three years later, Miami was incorporated.Today, it is everything Julia thought it would become and more, as one of the premier cities of the U.S. and a gateway to Latin America. And Flagler too, spurred on by an irrational drive, made it to Key West cutting the path that would become what is now U.S. 1 on the first “railroad across the sea.”

Did you capture the excitement when you received your acceptance to Westminster? Whether it’s a joyful video, a candid family photo, or a fun celebration of this milestone, we’d love to see it! Share your special moment with us by sending your photos or videos to itorres@wcsmiami.org, and you could be featured on the school’s social media. Be sure to include the student’s name and graduation year along with your submission. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your excitement with the Westminster community!

• Step Up will receive funding from the Department of Education on the following projected dates: September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1.
• Step Up will deposit the funds on a quarterly basis in the student’s EMA account.
• School invoices will be generated in EMA (Education Market Assistant) for schools and parents/guardians to approve. Parents must approve quarterly payments in EMA.
• Once approved by the parents/guardians and the school, Step Up will initiate quarterly payments to the school within seven (7) business days.

• September funds will be deducted from your October tuition payment. 
• November funds will be deducted from your December tuition payment.
• February funds will be deducted from your March tuition payment.
• April funds will be refunded in May 2025. 

• September funds will be deducted from your November tuition payment. 
• November, February, and April funds will be applied to your Blackbaud account and refunded in May 2025.

• In May 2025, the credit balance will be refunded.