I am going to tell a story about a horse. Most people who know my private life, know that Jayme introduced me to riding when we moved to the States, and that we owned a breeding farm in North Salem. For 26 years, we rode almost every day. In a much earlier essay in this “Thoughts” series, I wrote about Jayme’s favorite horse, CB.  Coffee Bean, CB’s Jockey Club name, was a racehorse who never won a race. He was a lovely gray thoroughbred who Jayme competed on, and adored, for many years.

Congratulations to all of the students who were honored at this year's Annual Awards Ceremony!

Congratulations to the Class of 2023! The Commencement ceremony for this year was an outstanding event, skillfully hosted by Master of Ceremonies Rome Kadi. Ryan Borkowsky delivered a captivating opening speech. Ronald Stewart, our esteemed Head of School for 54 years and guest speaker, delivered an inspiring, humorous, and clever address that touched our hearts. Closing out the ceremony were Taylor Perlmutter and Valeriya Vinnichenko, the valedictorian, who graced the podium with their poignant speeches.
Please click here to watch a the Class of 2023 Commencement ceremony highlight video.
To see more photos, please click here.

This year, the Evening of the Arts returned to the Pantherdome! The artistic talents of the our students were on full display this year. Click through to see a slideshow of work, and click here to watch a highlight reel from the evening's festivities!

Mr. Mancilla's senior Scholars' Intro to Opera class was treated to two trips to the opera! First, they watched the rehearsal of Puccini’s La Bohème. They then had the opportunity to see the finished production of the opera at the Met on a Monday night. Prior to the opera field trips, had spent weeks before analyzing the plot, characters, and reading the book it was based on. 

by Victoria Pevzner

This year a number of students across all grades of the Upper School have participated in the National Spanish Exam to great success! The National Spanish Exam is a nationwide standardized test that evaluates students’ abilities in the language based on the skills of reading, writing, grammar, and listening. The results are compared with schools across the country, and students are awarded medals based on their comparative success. In Ms. Pevzner’s ninth grade this year, taking the level one exam, Arielle Charles and Gabrielle Bolt received honorable mentions, Kenny Reyes received a bronze medal, and Brooke Thomas received a silver medal. In Ms. Magni’s tenth grade class, taking the level two exam, Josh Nierenberg earned an honorable mention, Tobias Rock and Cora Cooper received bronze medals, Eden McKinney, John Smith and Kaan Akbulut received silver medals, and Maya Slotnick and Jasper Vermot received gold medals! In Mr. Ahern’s eleventh grade class, taking the level three exam, Spencer Olshaker, Brette Moore, Ella Gometz and Mircia Cortez received honorable mentions, and Maeve O’Brien McKevitt received a bronze medal. In Ms. Pevzner’s twelfth grade Madeleine Johnston received an honorable mention. The winners received medals and certificates, and will have the opportunity to apply for scholarships and juniors may apply to an all expense paid study abroad program. We commend all those who took the exam for their hard work and dedication, and extend an exuberant congratulations to all of the winners!

by Emily-Greta Tabourin

This year’s Photo Club members outdid themselves, both at the Spring Art Show and with the high number of submissions to our prize-winning literary magazine, Genesis. Members of the club range from 7^th through 12^th graders (in years past, 6th graders have also taken an active role in the club), and it is incumbent upon the more seasoned high school students to mentor the younger photographers, as they were once mentored. Friendships are formed and these photographers often go out together during lunch or after school to take photos and to encourage each other. The cover of this year’s Genesis resulted from one such Friday afternoon outing, as students wandered around the East Village, cameras in hand. Overall, the photographers this year demonstrated a wide variety of photographic interests that ranged from NYC street life to contemplative portraits that mirrored the poetry and prose in Genesis.  They showed unprecedented promise in terms of growth as photographers, curious about their surroundings, who are learning to explore the world around them with a keen photographic eye.
Click here to see more photos!

Ms. Rooney and Mr. Leventhal have collaborated closely with the Class of 2023, and we extend our warmest congratulations to them on their college acceptances! Please click here to see the full list of college acceptances.

Last week, the seniors had fun surprise trip to Chelsea Piers. From swinging ropes to rock climbing walls, the students took full advantage of all of the fun options available in the Chelsea Piers Field House! Scroll through the slide show to see some of the action from their exciting excursion!

Congratulations to seniors Rome Kadi and Emily Zaretsky for winning the National Student Press Association Leadership Awards in Student Journalism! As members of The Paw editorial team, they were nominated by Paw faculty advisor, Mr. Marzoni.

Dr. Davis's AP English class recently had an exciting outing to Broadway to watch "Fat Ham." This Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" infuses modern themes of Black masculinity, queer identity, and individuality into the classic tale. It was a wonderful opportunity for students who had previously read "Hamlet" in class last semester. One of the highlights of the performance was the main character's headbanging rendition of Radiohead's "Creep," which the students particularly enjoyed. This contemporary adaptation offers a fresh take on the classic story and encourages students to explore modern-day issues in literature.

by Amanda Borelli

The 8th grade students in my Reading and Writing class were tasked with the challenge of coming up with their own Shark Tank-style invention that would solve a problem in society. Students watched clips from some of the most popular products that were presented on Shark Tank to provide them with some ideas of what worked best. They then brainstormed their own inventions using a list of potential “problems” that they could work on solving, such as carrying wet umbrella or ice cream melting on your hands. 

Earlier this week Cognita CEO, Michael Drake, announced that Kate Maggiotto will be the new Head of York Prep:

Congratulations to the YP Squash team on a very successful inaugural season! Scroll through the slideshow to see scenes from our end-of-the-season squash team celebration! 

During York Prep's annual History Day Exhibition, students from Mr. Gordon and Mr. Buckley's 8th- and 10th-grade history classes presented their research projects that they had worked on for the entire semester. The projects included museum exhibits, documentaries, websites, and essays, covering a diverse range of topics. Some of the topics included the Space Race, the Opioid Epidemic, the CIA-backed coup in Guatemala, graffiti as a political art form, and the life and legacy of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The students put in a lot of effort and creativity to present their findings, showcasing their critical thinking and research skills.

For the second year in a row, both the York Prep Girls Varsity Basketball and Boys Varsity Basketball teams have emerged as champions in the Independent Schools Athletic League Championships, defeating LREI and BWL respectively. Congratulations to the student athletes and coaches Shure, Turi, Fazio, Espel, Ahern, and Curran! Click through to see the action-packed photo slideshow created by sophomore Sam Cohen.

In conjunction with their unit on color theory and color science, Mr. Everett’s senior Science and the Arts students toured artist Kenneth Lewis Sr.’s studio. They also had a workshop at Kremer’s Pigment Store. Senior Smith Pingree captured some of the highlights during the trip. Scroll through the slideshow on the left to see some of the fun!

In his 12th-grade Colonization to Globalization Honors history course, Mr. Mancilla employs art references to teach his students. Recently, he took his class on a field trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they had the privilege of viewing some of these masterpieces. The class had a pleasant experience examining the permanent collection, as well as the exhibitions titled "Divinity in Mayan Art" and "The African Origins of Civilization".

Sophomore Sam Cohen has a brilliant eye for action photography. He has been capturing our student athletes on the field and court over the past two years. Scroll through the slideshow taken during the Boys JV basketball game against Brooklyn Friends School. 

Welcome to February. As a second child, until now I never thought of myself as a “Spare”. Of course, I am not the son of a King either. I married a second child and have no idea, or much interest, if this is a sociological factor or just chance. Currently, I have noticed a tendency to find deep psychological reasons for simpler issues. 

“That’s what jazz is, it’s playing the wrong note to lead you to the right note,” says five-time Grammy winner Victor Wooten. During his Bass Masterclass at the Jazz Education Network conference, he invited the audience to be experimental and to join the musical conversation that is jazz music. After his presentation, sophomore Imani Chisholm felt inspired by his message to “play what you know”, and senior Paul Petretta declared that he would “stop overcomplicating (his bass playing), and just play.” Earlier this month, Mr. Cockrell, Ms. Hutchison, and seven students traveled to Orlando, Florida to attend the JEN Conference. The trip was nothing short of an epiphany.

What does the future hold for York Prep? Will the boys varsity basketball team continue its winning streak? What's new and improved on the YP campus, and what needs to be improved? These burning questions, and more, are all answered in the Winter 2023 issue of The Paw. Under the helm of new faculty advisor, Dr. Marzoni, the student reporters injected each article with both hard-hitting facts and insightful personal perspectives. Read The Paw Winter 2023 issue here.

Wellness Wednesdays, coordinated by our Wellness Team, have been an integral part of the York Prep program this year. As part of this series, our 6^th and 7^th graders recently gathered for a presentation on anxiety, stress, and coping. After the presentation, the students split into two groups and participated in therapeutic art and yoga sessions.

Congratulations to the Genesis staff and faculty advisors: Leah Umansky, Emily-Greta Tabourin, and Christina Cox, for earning a first-place award from the American Scholastic Press Association contest.  In previous years, Genesis has placed in the overall contest, but this year junior Owen Barbagallo won the first-place prize in the “Outstanding Photographer” category on behalf of Genesis.