A Taste of West Ashley (High)

Recently, West Ashley High School hosted A Taste of West Ashley, a community event designed to give everyone a chance to see all of the opportunities the school has to offer. A Taste of West Ashley promoted many Wildcats’ sports teams, such as football and volleyball, as well as some of the programs the school offers, such as Drama and Culinary Arts. More than 500 people were in attendance at this event, which allowed the opportunity to see many of the school’s various programs.
Parents and students were welcomed into the cafeteria where they had the opportunity to view various art displays that are a part of The Art Studio and get hands-on exposure to all the school’s Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs.
Visitors were able to play with robots built by the Robotics teacher Nick Holmes and several of his students who were on hand to demonstrate how everything worked. They brought out robots that plays basketball and a conveyor belt that sorts objects by color or by the type material of which they’re made. They also had their trebuchet on display and shot small pumpkins in the breezeway to close out the event. Some of the pumpkins flew further than 250 feet.
Other programs within CTE that were there included Nail Tech, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Game Design. All of the groups involved set up tables displaying what their group does.
One of the bigger hits of the evening was the Culinary Arts class and the various desserts and entrees that they prepared for anyone to sample.
The Fine Arts Department put on a show during the event in an effort to demonstrate the skill level and commitment of anyone that gets involved with their programs. During a 25-minute performance, the chorus opened by singing a beautiful rendition of The National Anthem. The Drama Studio previewed songs from their upcoming musical program, Let It Shine (full performance Nov. 17) before the Chorus finished with a moving rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
Entrepreneurship student Caleb Alexander closed out the evening’s entertainment with performing a few magic tricks. Alexander recently placed in the top 12 at the national level for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s National Challenge in New York City. The Travel Cats, WAHS’s pep band, didn’t miss a beat, performing outside during one of the many rain showers that night.
The NJRTOC program set up an Air Rifle Competition in the small gym where visitors were able to shoot the air rifles and compete against those on either side to see whose skills were better. NJROTC students were there to teach future Wildcats how to safely handle and operate their air rifles.
The event also showcased talent on the athletic side as well. Both the volleyball and football teams beat their competition and won their games.
Next year the school plans to add several more exhibits to showcase the academic side of WAHS, so that potential students and community members can have the opportunity to see more of what it’s like to be a WAHS Wildcat.