June 2021

Bronxville High School Puts on Extraordinary Outdoor Musical

Bronxville High School presented “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” as its spring musical, and the show was held outdoors on June 4-5. Under the direction of choral director Pamela Simpson, the show featured a talented cast and crew of students. 

The musical tells the story of six prepubescents who compete in a regional spelling bee and are tested with words that ranged from the familiar, “crayon,” to the esoteric, “syzygy” to the frankly nonexistent, “catterjunes.” But correct spelling is not the only pressure facing the contestants. They must also navigate the expectations and quirks of parents, families and spelling bee administrators.

Given pandemic-related restrictions, the performances were held on the front lawn of the Bronxville School. Moving the production outdoors required extraordinary planning and sound amplification for the actors and musicians. The outdoor sound assistance was provided through a Foundation grant. The students were overjoyed to be able to carry on the wonderful tradition of the high school musical this year.

Donna Olshan, the parent of a Bronxville School graduate who was actively involved in the performing arts program, noted that it has been about 18 long pandemic months since she had seen live theater and the musical was the most wonderful treat. "What Pam Simpson pulled off was very inventive, extremely creative staging, really a model" said Olshan. "The sound system financed by the Bronxville Foundation was excellent. Every note and lyric were clear. The quality of the production was extremely high with Pam staging the musical at the entrance of the school theater as well as using several floors of the high school with actors chiming in at windows lined with posters and banners. As usual, Bronxville has talent in its ranks  but pulling it all together, and staging an outdoor musical is quite a trick. It's a very hard thing to do well, but Pam did it!"

Helena McSherryBronxville High School Puts on Extraordinary Outdoor Musical
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Bronxville School Foundation Awards $567,000 in Grants

By Lansing Martinelli, VP, Public Relations, The Bronxville School Foundation 

June 4th, 2021: The Bronxville School Foundation announced its 2021 grant awards, giving $567,000 in resources to benefit the Bronxville School’s K-12 student body. 

The grant requests came from teachers, administrators, coaches, parents, and students. This year’s grants supported meaningful projects designed to enrich the educational experience for all grades and facilitate a more flexible learning environment amidst Covid limitations. The grants included professional development, health and wellness initiatives, new equipment, and enhancements to facilities and classrooms, as well as new programs and curriculum updates.

Won Giuriceo, the Foundation’s Vice President of Grants, said, “The Foundation Board was humbled by the faithful generosity of the community especially during this pandemic year. We thank the school administration who worked tirelessly creating multiple plans for the opening of the school last fall. The school administrators, teachers, and students developed thoughtful and innovative grant requests for resources needed to adapt to the changing learning needs throughout the year: academically, athletically, and artistically. The Foundation assessed and approved the funding of these critical off-cycle and end-of-year grant requests. These grants allowed for the technological outfitting of all classrooms K through 12 and the continued innovation of academic and extra-curricular programming in a year where it was a great feat for many other districts to simply survive. The year posed significant challenges, however, the positive offshoot is that the pandemic forced innovation and change at a pace that was not previously thought possible. We are pleased to approve grants that seek to capitalize on the learnings of this past year and that advance these learnings to the next level. Thank you to the community for enabling the Foundation to be a valuable resource to the Bronxville School.” 

Foundation Chair, Lori Beecher, added, “The Foundation is beyond grateful to our donors for the continued support especially in a time like this past year where there was so much uncertainty. Thank you to every teacher, administrator, parent, and student who brought their ideas to the Foundation. They have helped to continue the Bronxville School’s mission of delivering the best possible curriculum and instruction in the most effective and safest learning environment possible. We are so fortunate to have such a strong community that works together to help our exceptional school.” 

Following is a complete list of the approved grants for the 2020-2021 school year: 

Program & Curriculum Development: 

Delivering a Dynamic & Compelling Talk 

Elementary School Math Curriculum Enhancements with Greg Tang 

Winning Mindset Training for Athletes 

Printmaking for Visual Arts 

World Languages Symposium 

Open Your Mind to Language Events 

Food Scrap Recycling Program 

Heimlich Heroes Program 

Lincoln Center Chamber Music Program 

Professional Development: 

Leading Adult Learners – Support for Teacher Leaders 

“Design Thinking” Innovative Strategy Projects for High School – Phase 2 

Health & Wellness: 

“Design Thinking” Debrief Sessions – What We Learned from Covid

Staff Appreciation – Bronxville Adult Education Classes 

Equipment & Materials: 

Bronx River Research II Equipment 

Middle School Science Microscopes 

Portable Podcast Studio 

Audio Systems for Elementary School 

Cable Channel for Bronxville UFSD 

High School Musical – Outdoor Production Assistance 

Video Camera for Bronco TV 

Chambers Field Sound System Updates 

Expansion of First Grade Book Libraries 

Keiser Trainers for Fitness Center 

Football GoRout Technology 

Facilities: 

PUREZONE Application by GUARDXPRO 

Zoom Classrooms & Teacher Home Use Equipment 

Innovative Designs in Education – Budgets for Classroom Redesign & Technology

Interactive Thermoplastic Surface for Elementary School Playground 

The Bronxville School Foundation depends upon contributions from school families and the community. If you would like to learn more about the Foundation, please contact the Foundation’s Executive Director, Helena McSherry, at 914-395-0515 or visit the Foundation’s website at www.BronxvilleSchoolFoundation.org 

Pictured here: Middle school students and teacher using a portable recording studio in orchestra, courtesy of a Foundation grant. L to R: Sophia Ikiri, Wyeth Tvenge and Kiran Madhavan. Photo courtesy of The Bronxville School Foundation

Helena McSherryBronxville School Foundation Awards $567,000 in Grants
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