This is my second major pandemic experience. My first was in the great flu pandemic (the Hong Kong Flu) of the winter of 1968-69. Then, like now, the vaccine was in short supply, and initially, was only given to priority groups.  Fortunately, I got the vaccine early because I was in the middle of the Kray trial, a historic one by any measure, not least in that it was the longest murder trial ever in Britain.

by Hilary Hersh

Those who enjoy comedy got plenty of laughs in the one-week course entitled The Great Comic Artists of the 20th Century.  Along with clips of some of the actors' most hilarious scenes, the course provided brief video biographies explaining how each of the performers honed their skills and achieved their fame.

Mr. Cockrell's ninth-grade music class made upcycled musical instruments for their final projects. From can sets to banjo-guitar hybrids, the students dug deep into their imaginations and crafted sustainable creations from cereal boxes, old washers, tape, and more!

by John Viscardi

The Class of 2021 set sail last month for a magical night of dancing underneath the moonlight. The seniors had a blast during prom, which took place just days before graduation! Scroll through the slideshow, and catch the prom-goers, both students and faculty, dressed to the nines.

At the end of May, we celebrated our eighth-grade students with a Rising Up ceremony on the rooftop. We wish them all the best as they finish this year as middle schoolers and return next school year as high school students!

We kicked off the long Memorial Day weekend with a fun Friday in Central Park, complete with a yummy dessert truck, games, and an obstacle course we will never forget. Dean Maggiotto won the obstacle course, and had the pleasure of facilitating the grand prize of "pie-facing" Mr. Pennnington and Mr. Ward. Scroll through the slideshow to catch a glimpse of Mr. P and Mr. W in their whipped-cream masks! Thank you to Mr. Beich, Ms. Hill, and the faculty and administrators who organized such a well-deserved and enjoyable day for all the students to let out some steam after a most memorable school year!

After Mrs. Haberman's AP Biology class completed their AP exams, they got to perform fetal pig dissections. They examined the nervous and organ systems, and Mrs. Haberman says, "They students found the activity to be very exciting and educational."

This May was York Prep's very first Arts Month. A dynamic array of student artwork and performances were showcased throughout the school. Please scroll through the slideshow and click here to see a selection of work from Mr. Hartman's, Mr. Schwartz', and Ms. Spencer's visual arts classes. You can also view Ms. Spencer's digital arts slideshow by clicking here.

by Ethan Pennington

by Jeremy Clarke

A rare charm of this year of lockdowns and thin company is the chance to read as much as I used to in college. It is fun in itself, but I have also, time and again, been struck by how differently I respond to great literature in my late 30s, as to when I read it in my late teens (I started college young in Australia and only had a few months left once I turned 20). One example is “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” by Yeats. At 17, I was convinced it justified every dumb thing I had ever done and wanted to do. Rediscovering it lately, it describes the heart of foolish waste and tragedy; perhaps not least because I lost somebody close to me, who exhibited just that kind of beautiful recklessness in the poem until it caused her needless death in a small aircraft at 33. As a father now, one who proudly declares himself “risk-adverse”, I barely remember the 17-year-old who cherished the wanton thrill of “Airman”.

The Spring 2021 issue of The Paw is now available! This issue takes a first-hand look at how the students and community at large powered through the past five months. While it was a very challenging period of time, many powerful and meaningful developments occurred and we also witnessed new growth throughout the school and in the neighboring community. The student editors and writers adeptly wrote about topics that spanned from the POD experience at school to the polarizing subject of political discussions in the classroom. You can read these articles and more by clicking here.

Poet and author Aimee Nezhukumatathil visited Ms. Umansky’s English 10-Honors class via Zoom earlier this month to discuss her book World of Wonders. This book is her debut collection of essays about the natural world and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us. It was also named as a New York Times Best Seller, and a Barnes & Noble 2020 Book of the Year.

York Prep students were treated to a very special musical performance on the rooftop last week! Mr. Cockrell’s rock band performed a lively set that included “Love Shack”, “9 to 5”, and “Valerie”. The band members are Sophia Olshaker, 9th grade; Remi Young, 10th grade; Paul Petretta, 10th grade; Jake Adair, 11th grade; Robson Matthew’s, 11th grade; Elara Kobus, 11th grade; Ben Warshavsky, 12th grade; Vera Niksic, 12th grade; Jay Sambuco, 12th grade; Nicole Rashkover, 12th grade; and Jack Flesher, 12th grade. You can watch the full performance by clicking here!

The York Prep 2021 Film Festival is now live! Click on the YP 2021 FILM FESTIVAL to watch films written by, produced by, directed by, and starring York Prep students. You can then click on the YPFF 2021 VOTING BALLOT link to vote for the best films in the following categories: Best Short Film, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Director.

Music plays such an important role in our lives. While different genres may fit into different aspects of our lives, certain genres speak to us the most. Listen to Mr. Morrissey's Podcast Scholars class talk about their favorite genres in their latest podcast "What Music Moves You?" by clicking here.

I should start this piece by stating that I have always enjoyed bicycling. I cycled to my secondary school, I cycled around Oxford when I was a student there, and I still bicycle down Hudson River Park with Jayme. But I should also add, for the record, that one of my daughters was nearly killed by a hit-and-run food delivery man on an electric bicycle, while she was crossing the road at a traffic light, which was in her favor. Three days in an induced coma, fractured skull, blood in the brain. A nightmare!

by Dr. Marzoni

Happy Poetry Month! This past Sunday, The New York Times ran a follow-up article containing poetry inspired by Ms. Umansky's golden shovel poem.  Out of he dozens of poems that were submitted from around the country, Ms. Umansky selected a few to feature. Click through to read them.

by Mr. Tull

Ms. Umansky is a regular contributor to the New York Times "At Home" section. Throughout the past year, she has presented readers with inspiration and instructions on how to create their own poetic creations. This week, she introduces us to the Golden Shovel in "Find a Headline, Write a Poem". Ms. Umansky explains that a Golden Shovel is a "poem that takes a line from another poem or text (often a Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem, but not always) and uses each word in that line as the end of a line in the poem."

by Katherine Carr

Since sixth grade at York Prep, I have been participating in the Italian Club and the Italian Scholars Program. In sixth grade, there was no Scholars Italian Class so we formed a club under the supervision of Ms. Rhodes and we would learn basic vocabulary. Also, we would translate sentences from Italian into English. Once Ms. Rhodes left the school, everyone was sad and heartbroken. The Italian Club turned into a Scholars class that was led by Ms. Salerno. Since participating in the Italian Club and Scholars Class, I have been conversing with my family in Italian!

The inaugural podcast, produced by the middle school Scholars Podcast class, explores a topic that is at the forefront of all of our minds these days. Mr. Morrissey asked his students to ponder what they think school will be like in 30 years. After a year of attending school during a pandemic, they have experienced the "new normal", which integrates more technology into their learning processes. They have also adjusted to new schedules. How will this experience impact the future of education? Listen to their predictions in their podcast, "What is the Future of School?" here.

by Eric Tull

Have you ever heard of a foodle? Mr. Schwartz explains it best: “Start with a food product and doodle around it to create a visual pun. His students created some very witty foodles recently via a croissant bouffant  and a fruit phone! Check out the photos to see Emily Zaretsky’s old-fashioned banana phone and Olivia Kieffer’s croissant bouffant

The Winter 2021 issue of student newspaper The PAW is now available online. Click here to read about the latest issues on everyone's minds including the "new normal" education, York's bees, the relation between pine trees and our rooftop, a COVID-19 sports season, international cuisine, and how local restaurants are coping with the pandemic. Congratulations to the faculty advisors Ms.Hersh, Ms. Giebler, and Ms. Arnao, and to the writers and artists of The PAW:

Katherine Carr, 8th grade
James Crovitz, 8th grade
Alexander Holmberg, 8th grade
Owen Barbagallo, 8th grade
Emily Singh, 9th grade
Skyelar Weiss, 9th grade
Rome Kadi, 10th grade
Emily Zaretsky, 10th grade
Mark Tillinghast, 11th grade

by Ethan Pennington

by Eric Tull