Thank you, York Prep Students and faculty raised over $400 for “Pennies for Patients” to help The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) support blood cancer research and patient services for local New York City blood cancer patients.
A special congratulations to 11-1 (Mr. Roper and Mr. Steinberg), the winning fundraising homeroom!
Five Senior Scholars graduated in June 2009 having completed the rigorous and challenging Scholars enrichment sequence. By that time, most of them had taken, over the course of three years, a total of 20 special 6-session seminars in an impressive variety of subject matter. In addition, they all fulfilled the requirement of designing and completing a Scholars Thesis in their senior year. These seniors received diplomas “with honors.”
Here is a sampling of past years’ thesis topics:
· The Wonderful World of Phi: The Golden Mean in Classic Rock Music
· Going Home: A Cinematic Exploration of My Family History
· Sweat for Nets: Service Learning and Its Impact on My Life
· Through the Looking Glass and Into the Rabbit Hole: A Dizzying Exploration of Being a Buddhist in the Modern World
· The Unaffecting Daydream: Five Scenes from a Drama
· Grand Theft Auto III: The Art Behind the Controversy
· Behind Closed Doors: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
· The Chic Shack: A Hotel Business Plan
· Can Dogs Think? An Inquiry Into Animal Learning
The York Prep Scholars Program offers the most motivated and able students a marvelous opportunity to work in small groups to explore exciting topics that are not part of the normal curriculum. Each Scholars Seminar is taught by a faculty member who has a particular passion for his/her subject matter. This year’s graduating Scholars will have participated in a rather remarkable set of classes that has included such representative topics as Art of the Italian Renaissance (a two-part series); Fantasy, Dada, and Surrealism; Performing Shakespeare; An Introduction to Organic Chemistry; Multi-variable Systems of Equations; An Introduction to Neuroscience; Thinking Like Leonardo Da Vinci; and Topics in Philosophy (with Mr. Ronald Stewart, York Prep’s Headmaster).
York Prep remains very proud of its Scholars and continues to take great satisfaction in watching them stretch their academic and creative muscles. In addition to the intrinsic benefits of their enhanced curriculum, participants are also receiving a gratifying degree of recognition in the form of college acceptances. Scholars who have engaged the full three-year sequence are now attending such schools as Barnard College, Brown University, Cornell University, Harvard College, Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Pomona College, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Williams College, among others.
This is the second year in which York Prep has expanded the program by offering an enhanced pre-Scholars curriculum to qualified 8th and 9th graders. They participate in a two-year pre-Scholars sequence that closely mirrors the established one for the 10th through 12th graders.
English teacher Paul Sturm serves as the Director of the program. He follows the progress of all participants closely; troubleshoots any problems they may be having in any of their classes; and provides support, counseling, and encouragement.
York Prep congratulates Science teacher Nicole Grimes! The Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) has selected Ms Grimes’ research paper, “Exploring multiple outcomes: Using co-generative dialogues and co-teaching in a middle school science classroom,” for Award V: Implications of Research for Educational Practice. She received a plaque from ASTE at the 2010 Annual ASTE International Conference in Sacramento this January along with a $1,000 check.
January 26, 2010 — York Prep congratulates Science teacher Nicole Grimes! The Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) has selected Ms Grimes’ research paper, “Exploring multiple outcomes: Using co-generative dialogues and co-teaching in a middle school science classroom,” for Award V: Implications of Research for Educational Practice. She received a plaque from ASTE at the 2010 Annual ASTE International Conference in Sacramento on January 16th, 2010, along with a $1,000 check. In addition, the paper will appear in a Springer book entitled Co-teaching in International Contexts, which is the awards issue of the ASTE Newsletter to be published this spring.
“I am beyond shocked yet thrilled at this honor,” said Ms. Grimes. Ms. Grimes looks forward to undertaking her doctoral defense in the very near future.
Ms. Grimes is an asset to York Prep School and her work in the classroom helps York Prep Students develop a competitive advantage in the sciences. Ms. Grimes received the award as part of her ongoing doctoral studies at the Graduate Center, the City University of New York (CUNY) where she is a full-time Ph.D student in the urban education program.
About ASTE. The Association for Science Teacher Education is a non-profit professional organization composed of over 800 members from countries across the globe. The mission of the ASTE is to promote excellence in science teacher education world-wide through scholarship and innovation. About York Prep School. A private coeducational and independent college preparatory day school offering a traditional curriculum for grades 6-12 with a challenging yet supportive atmosphere enhanced by the diversity of New York City. York Prep School is one of Manhattan’s top private schools encouraging diversity and academic achievement in a supportive private school environment. More information can be found at www.yorkprep.org
York Prep’s Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team culminated its 2009 extraordinary volleyball season with a decisive win against the United Nations International School (UNIS). The victory concluded a second undefeated season for the girls’ team in the Girls’ Independent School Athletic League (GISAL) and secured York Prep’s position as the league champions for the fourth consecutive year.
Along the way to winning the overall GISAL Championship, the girls also won the Big Apple Conference with a perfect record. In the combined GISAL tournament, York Prep swept Calhoun in two games and defeated UNIS in one of the best volleyball matches ever played by a York team.
Team captain Julia Dolan led York Prep throughout this winning season. Julia was the best setter in the league and provided exceptional leadership to the squad on and off the court. Veteran Tal Levy had an outstanding season, and her experience helped the younger players develop a strong sense of team play.
Madison Pappas and Marissa Velasquez led York Prep’s offense with unstoppable spiking. Both hitters were relentless and York Prep’s opposition never could withstand their killer hits. Anna Lieberman proved to be a hitting threat from anywhere on the floor but was especially effective at the service line, leading York in service aces. Honour Masters, Taylor Brown, and Rebecca Siegel rounded out the squad’s offense while playing stellar defense. Willa Baker, Nikki Slesin, and Isabella Arizin all came into games and made big contributions to the team.
Seniors Julia Dolan and Tal Levy have been a big part of the team for the past four years and really will be missed next year, but our younger players like Isabella and the girls from the Junior Varsity team are eager to prove they can keep York’s winning tradition alive.
“The girls became an amazing team and pulled together to play great volleyball,” said Coach Chris Durnford. “They worked very hard this season and earned their success. They are unbelievably dedicated, and I am really proud of everything they have accomplished. The GISAL Championship game against UNIS demonstrated how well they worked together and how truly great a team they are.”
Congratulations to the Girls’ Varsity Volleyball Team, the 2009 GISAL Champions!
A good History teacher brings alive the events in our nation’s past, and a good tour guide can point out the places where they actually happened. At York Prep in NY we are very fortunate to have both—in the same person. That person is Mr. Michael Roper, who illuminates subjects from World History to Constitutional Law and is also a licensed New York City tour guide.
Weekends in autumn and spring find Mr. Roper leading groups of students (he often hosts teachers and parents as well) on tours ranging from the Battery in lower Manhattan to Brooklyn Heights to as far north as West Point and Hyde Park. His “Little Old New Amsterdam” tour includes the Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington resigned his commission after the Revolution, as well as the oldest Jewish place of worship in America. “Little Italy to Cooper Union” is just that, including the Cast-Iron District, Washington Square, and the place where Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that many say “made him president.” Both tours end with a sumptuous lunch at McSorley’s Tavern.
When Mr. Roper’s class visits the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, each student reports on one of the historical characters who found their final resting place there, from “Boss” Tweed to Horace Greeley to Leonard Bernstein.
Quite apart from the rich history Mr. Roper reveals to be right under our noses, he shares a wealth of intriguing facts about the Big Apple. Did you know that the Brooklyn Bridge is further west than the George Washington Bridge? Or that the East River is not really a river? How did Wall Street get its name? And where in New York City will you find a gravesite that contains more Revolutionary War soldiers than anywhere else in America?
A delightful and physically invigorating way to find out is to sign up for one of Mr. Roper’s extraordinary trips. Check out the tour schedule listed in http://www.yorkprep.org > Edline > Activities > New York City Tour Club.
The past, present, and future of York Prep School came together during a decade-spanning 40 th anniversary reunion on Saturday afternoon, September 27, 2008. More than 300 alumni and teachers joined school founders Ronald and Jayme Stewart in the gymnasium, chatted animatedly with long-lost peers while savoring gourmet hors d’oeuvres, and unconsciously tapped their feet to tunes from the ’70s to the present.
Over 20% of total graduates shared in the festivities, with high representation from the classes of 1981 and 1990. All of the former students seized the opportunity to catch up with long-lost friends and classmates. Squeals of surprise and laughter resounded through the crowd as alumni recognized faces and summoned memories. “I was overwhelmed by the whole experience, seeing people I haven’t seen in 25 years!” said Katherine Lucas ’83.
Former students, unfamiliar with the West 68 th Street building, were also encouraged to wander around the six floors, where large screens projected slides of candids from years past. Undoubtedly, anyone who graduated prior to 1997 could not help but comment favorably on current spaciousness of the classrooms, hallways, and stairways as compared to the “cozy” quality of the townhouses on East 85 th Street where York Prep had resided for 28 years.
Teachers and administrators enjoyed the opportunity to hear they had made a difference and to see that their students turned out well. “It was exciting to see so many people I hadn’t seen in so many years,” said Dr. Robert Reese, a 38-year veteran instructor. “Some faces were instantly recognizable.”
Looking back fondly on the celebration a few days later, Lucas offered her profound appreciation to Stewart and the school. “I can’t express the gratitude and sentiment I have for you, York Prep, and all the teachers who were instrumental in helping me become the person I am.”
On behalf of the class of 2008, I’d like to welcome you all to our graduation ceremony at York Prep School in New York. I also want to thank all of our parents, friends, and family for their love and support, as well as York’s faculty members for their guidance and patience; we truly owe you all that we are.
I’d like you to indulge me for a moment: call me Ishmael… because as we delved into the dark romantics in Mr. Sturm’s eleventh grade English class, I began to feel like Ishmael, the wandering sailor, from Melville’s Moby Dick. York Prep was the ship, The Pequod; my classmates were my crewmates; and the combined forces from the adult world manifested themselves in Captain Ahab. In the novel, Captain Ahab unites his crewmates with a single purpose, to kill Moby Dick, the great white whale.
Our great white whale? The future, college, the dream and goal that consumed us with passion. Captain Ahab—our parents, our teachers, society in general– ignited this fire within us, and put us on a voyage, a boat we could not get off of. In the midst of ocean that separates childhood from adulthood, we were led and guided by Captain Ahab and forced to have faith in him and in one another. We lashed ourselves to the masts of our boat, York Prep, and found support in others and rode out the storms. We held our breath and braced ourselves as waves lifted our boat up into the air and threatened to come crashing down. But we survived, we persevered by banding together, and I truly believe those storms contributed to the overall strength and uniqueness of our grade. And ultimately, this journey was more than just attaining a goal, it was a quest for self discovery.
Let me tell you another story about self-discovery. It’s a story about a girl who was floundering in a highly competitive school where she received very little support and had low self-esteem. The faculty at this school told the girl’s parents that they weren’t quite sure that she was the type of student that they were looking for. The girl made the decision to transfer to a different Manhattan private school in the ninth grade, where over the next four years she was nurtured and taught to believe in herself. To make a long story short, in December of this year, against all odds, the girl was accepted early decision to a top university. By now, it’s clear the girl in the story is me, and the school that fostered her is York Prep.
Here, in Mr. Neuhaus’ ninth grade class, I received my first A. Here, in the hallways of York Prep School in NY, I had my first crush. Here, with York’s small but determined track team I ran my first race. Here, I learned to speak like an adult, and express myself in writing and in art. Here, I realized my potential, and made the enormous transformation from an unsure little girl to a driven, passionate individual.
I would be deceiving myself if I believed that I slew my whale alone, that I accomplished all of these things on my own. Without the support of this school and these crewmates, I couldn’t have made the journey I made, and none of you could of made the equally exciting and impressive transformations that you made.
These changes in my peers and myself have been underway for some time, but I hadn’t fully acknowledged or contemplated them until the very end of senior year. Perhaps it was too poignant, too difficult for me to choke down; in truth, it still hasn’t fully sunk in. As I approached York the morning of May 2nd, 2008, the last day of classes, I saw the characters that make up our senior class: an army of kids in bright colors, wearing large hats, crowns, costumes, bandanas, sunglasses. As we rainbow children clustered under a large flag with “Seniors ‘08” written in place of York’s usual official school flag, I saw my classmates in an entirely new light. I felt a deep connection to my fellow peers, the merry pranksters, in the burst of energy that erupted that morning. Throughout the day we danced like children of the jungle, read and told stories, ate ice cream, and chanted and raced through the school. We converted our anxiety about changing, about growing older, into a protest, and a strong desire to hold on to our childhood and our spontaneity.
Rather than act “mature,” as college students are expected to act, we regressed back to childhood. May 2nd was a celebration, a tribute to who we once were as kids, and the people we will become as we cross the bridge from childhood to young adulthood. We needed to go back in time to remind ourselves of who we once were, in order to move on to be ready for the next step and bring that childlike delight with us as we go. As magical and adventurous as the regression was, it could only be temporary because life and time move forward.
Through it all, York has steered us through tumultuous seas, guiding us through the trials and tribulations of our high school years. There will be many great white whales in our life; York has brought us to this one, Graduation, the culmination of a dream, the slaying of this particular whale. As we say good-bye, we look back on these last four years with a smile, and we look forward with confidence we have gained here to embrace the changes and challenges of our life ahead. There are new experiences to be had, new visions and people to greet, a new journey is about to begin, and we finally are ready to set sail. It truly has been a privilege to attend York Prep. Again, thank you.
[Editor’s note: Allison Shafir was admitted Early Decision to Brown University.]
Thirteen members of the York Prep’s Model United Nations (MUN) team took part in the 9th Annual UNA-USA Model United Nations Conference on May 15-17, 2008. Approximately 2,200 students from 16 states and 19 countries attended the three-day event, which is the largest Model UN conference in the country and the only one held at the UN Headquarters.
Students from York’s Manhattan preparatory school represented UN member nations The Republic of Sierra Leone and Jamaica. Coached by History teacher and MUN advisor Heather Marshall-Fleenor, the MUN team researched the history and structure of the UN and became knowledgeable about topics as diverse as global warming, the role of blood diamonds in conflict, multinational terrorism, the removal of landmines, and the empowerment of women in developing countries.
The students from our New York private school mastered parliamentary procedure and gave speeches about their topics in committees with up to 300 delegates. They negotiated and debated their way to prominence, earning awards and recognitions for themselves and for their team. This is quite an accomplishment considering both the competition from other schools and the fact that, for many in the team, this was their first experience participating in Model UN.
Sophomore M. Seppo and Junior K. Manglani won “Best Delegation”—one of the highest awards—for their work in the World Health Organization where they discussed the importance of combating malaria and other easily preventable infectious diseases in developing countries. Sophomores M. Krasner, D. Landesman, and T. DeVito received commendations at Closing Ceremonies for their contributions in the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
During Opening Ceremonies, held in the General Assembly Hall, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon briefed the delegates on the latest news concerning the growing crisis in Myanmar/Burma. He praised the students for their concern for global affairs and encouraged everyone present to think about how they can be of service to their communities and the world. The CEO of Merrill Lynch, a financial sponsor of the UNA-USA Conference, urged participants to dream big and find solutions to the very issues they were confronting at the conference. Opening Ceremonies ended with a humorous and inspiring speech by the Pulitzer Prize winning author and teacher, Frank McCourt.
The ‘08 UNA-USA Conference was an overwhelming success! Congratulations to the York Prep MUN team!
