Bulletin Board

6th Graders Exceed Mr. Schwab's Expectations

When Mr. Schwab assigned his 6th grade students to choose a European landmark, write a paper about the history of the location and create a model, he was sure his students would give 100%. However, what he saw on the day the students came in with their projects far exceeded his expectations. They were able to apply their individual strengths in a very creative fashion but with such fine attention to detail and accuracy. They truly became experts on their chosen landmark.

MS & US Students Receive French Honors

Congratulations to our Middle and Upper School students for the honors their earned in the National French Contest given annually by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF). The Nassau County Chapter of the AATF gave a Certificate of Success to the following Portledge Students: Steven Dourmashkin ‘11, Tatiana Parris ‘11, Chloe Tsiames ‘11, MJ Shin ‘10, Bashir Desgrottes ’10, and Christopher Gerry ’10 and Nick Lobley ’12.

The following Portledge students achieved scores that rank them among the top 10 in the country and Nassau County: Vivek Nelanuthala ’10 (8th nationally, 7th in the county); Mark Dourmashkin ’10 (10th in the county); Chelsea Estevez ’10 (10th in the county); Allison Herzig ’12 (3rd nationally, 1st in the county); Isobel Barry ‘12 (4th nationally, 2nd in the County); Douglas Powers ’12 (4th nationally, 2nd in the county); Julian Bensadoun ’12 (6th nationally, 4th in the county); Isabella Muratore ’12 (6th nationally, 4th in the county); Eraklis Diamataris ’12 (8th nationally, 6th in the county); Stefan Hamaway ’12 (9th nationally, 7th in the county); Lisa Dourmashkin ’12 (10th nationally, 8th in the county). Students who rank between 1st and 8th in the county will receive plaques at the “Distribution des Prix” at Herricks Middle School on May 15th.

Girls LAX Team Earns #1 Ranking Among Area Independent Schools

It's an exciting time in Varsity Girls Lacrosse at Portledge. Not only have the Lady Panthers won nine consecutive games, but they were recently elevated to the #1 position in the Laxpower.com metropolitan area rankings for independent schools. The team continues to be propelled by an unstoppable offense. This goal scoring machine is orchestrated by Junior Siena Falino from her attacking position, but it is driven by the fantastic midfield play of three dynamic sophomores and another Junior star. The middle of the field is controlled by the duo of Addie Reilly and Claudia Rogers, while the incredible speed of Chelsea Caracciolo and Alex Siwiec dominates the flank play. A host of talented underclassmen fill out the attacking positions and the defense is manned by a trio of Seniors in Liz Lanza, Ashley Gilchrist and Yola Yu. Impressive Freshman Hope Mulry is also making valuable contributions on the defensive end, as is Senior goalie Jess Sarrantonio. Sarrantonio's leadership of this talented group of players is undeniable, but also not solo. Seniors Lanza, Gilchrist, Yu and Miyuki Miyagi all provide a calming and focused influence on the team. Congratulations to all the players and coaches on the incredible accomplishment of rising to the top ranking in the area, and best of luck down the stretch and in the NYSAISAA Tournament. (as reported on www.heyhills.blogspot.com

Fashion & Fundrasing Went Hand-in-Hand

The AIDS Awareness Club hosted an evening of fashion and fundraising to support AIDS awareness. Congratulations to all involved!

Joslin Cup Rescheduled for May 30th

In 2005, through the generosity of the Joslin Family, our fledgling golf invitational was officially named the Robert A. Joslin, Jr. Memorial Cup. The event remembers Rob and pays tribute to his legacy as a champion of Portledge School for its attention to the intellectual and moral development of each of its students. Continuing Rob's commitment to education and philanthropy, net proceeds form the event go to support the Robert A. Joslin, Jr. Scholarship, dedicated to supporting a Portledge student with financial need.

This year, the event will be played on Friday, May 9th at Piping Rock Club, The Creek Club, and Mill River Club. Club members generously host foursomes, covering all expenses, for a best ball, 4-man team match. Awards will be given for team low net and individual low gross at a cocktail reception in the Carriage House Atrium, Middle School, immediately following golf. Cost is $500 per golfer includes range play, greens fees, caddie, prizes, awards and reception. For more information or to charge telephone reservations please contact Burnham “Turk” Lewis '87 at 516.750.3220.

Home Run Derby is Fun For All

Faculty, students and parents enjoyed an afternoon of co-ed softball and barbeque on Saturday, May 10th at the Broxmeyer Field. Special thanks to the Shapiro, Joslin and Gatfield families for sponsoring this event. Be sure to visit our Gallery for a look at the photos from the day!

Upper School Students Teach Valuable Lesson to Lower School Students

A group of Upper School Students who are members of Portledge Students Understand (a club dedicated to spreading acceptance of understanding of diversity issues) visited the 5th grade classes of Ms. Garvey and Mrs. Schlegel to discuss the impact of hurtful words and their derogatory meanings. With the help of Haley Tynes, Taylor Studley ‘09, Sonalia Marfatia ‘08, and Matthew Schmidt ‘09 they learned to accept people for who they are without going against their own individual beliefs or feelings. The 5th graders were taught to not judge people by the way they look or one’s own individual perception.

Later that week, students voluntarily observed a day of silence lead by Taylor, founder of PSU. Students who chose to participate agreed not to speak in support of a national youth movement that brings attention to the silence faced by individuals of a sexual orientation that is not necessarily accepted by the majority of people. The deliberate silence echoes the silence which is caused by harassment, prejudice and discrimination. Think about the voices you are not hearing today and remember silence is loud!

Our Cherry Blossoms are Rich in History (and Beauty!)

Did You Know? ...that the cherry trees on our campus are linked to the 1912 gift to the city of Washington of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrate the continued close relationship between our two countries? How? Charles Coffin, original resident of our grounds AND the first CEO of General Electric, was a dedicated horticulturist and allowed his grounds to be used to cultivate some of the beautiful trees before they were sent to DC. Lucky for us, he was able to keep some!

Portledge Celebrates Student Authors at Writer's Celebration

Parents and special guests gathered in celebration of the writer that lives in all our Lower School students. Our Writer’s Celebration is the culmination of a year-long commitment to nurturing K-5th grade students’ sense of authorship. Parents were invited to join their children in the classroom to participate in a writing activity and then everyone gathered in the gym to enjoy the display of published work of our students and faculty. We are so proud to have several published authors among our faculty serving as inspiration for our students including, children’s book authors, Patricia Baehr and Rush Ashby

Congratulations to the Winners of the Student Council Election

Upper School: President, Matt Ardito; Vice-President, Mark Dourmashkin, Secretary, Farone Rasheed; Treasurer, Adam Kravietz

Middle School: President, Ian Estevez; Vice-President/Secretary, Jennifer Ferrante

Earth Day at Portledge is a Day of Learning and Fun

It was a perfect day to be outside in celebration of Earth Day and that is exactly what Portledge faculty and staff did. The message of the day was as clear as the blue sky -- despite the enormity of the challenge of climate change, each person, each family, each school can make a difference! Whether you make one less trip each day in the car, turn off lights, take a shorter shower, and recycle whenever possible, our students know that change is in their power as is setting an example for others to follow. Our Earth Day activities focused on healthy foods, responsible consumerism, sustainable design, cleaning up the campus, gardening, yoga, crafts, and enjoying the interaction among students and teachers of all ages. Thanks to the faculty and student members of Portledge’s Green Team and to Alex Rudback’s leadership and Whole Foods’ sponsorship for a memorable day.

LAX Teams in Florida for Spring Training

It was an amazing experience for the Varsity Girls and Boys Lacrosse teams who headed down to Disney for a mixture of spring training, team bonding and fun. Students got to play twice a day under blue skies with an average temperature of about 75 degrees. The teams competed against squads from Maryland, New Jersey and Colorado. A tremendous amount of thanks goes out to Mr. Sandoval and Mrs. Schwam for making all the arrangements for what turned out to be an amazing experience for all.

Science Fair Challenges Students to Present Their Scientific Curiosity

The Portledge Science Fair is not your ordinary Science Fair. Sure, you can count on seeing an impressive display of science projects from students in 3rd through 8th grade -- each representing the personal curiosity of students ranging from why a can of regular Coke sinks to the bottom of a pool of water while a can of Diet Coke doesn't to determining the levels of vitamin C in various forms of orange juice. However, beyond the experiments themselves, the real benefit for attendees is that each student is ready and waiting to enthusiastically present their theories and conclusions and are challenged to collect twenty signatures from those who hear them present. Congratulations to all our students and to the teachers and parents who provided them with such great support.

Teddy Roosevelt Pays a visit

The history of our 26th president was alive in a unique way as James Foote, who has been recreating the persona of Theodore Roosevelt for the past twenty years, paid a visit to Portledge Lower School. What made the visit even more special is that Portledge grandmother, former Trustee and former Commissioner of the Office of New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bernadette Castro, was on hand to welcome him.

Third Graders Perform in French

Portledge Lower School students were inspired by the universal teaching of the Le Petit Prince, the classic children’s book written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and first published in 1943. More than a half century later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power and what made it all the more powerful for the Portledge audience was that the children performed it entirely in French. Congratulations to all the students who worked so hard and to French teacher, Marie-Therese Mathieu, for bringing out the best in her students.

Grammy-nominated Imani Winds Performs

Imani Winds, the Grammy-nominated wind quintet, wowed our Middle and Upper School students this week. This special performance is part of the Music Department's commitment to exposing our students to professional musicians of all genres. What made Imani Winds' visit even more special was their passion for combining music with education. The ensemble has carved out a niche in the classical music world for connecting the conventional classical wind quintet repertoire with European, African, Latin American and American music traditions. The New York City Concert Artists Guild named Imani Winds "educational Residency Ensemble" to recognize this confluence of artistry and education. Throughout the performance the musicians also took the time to explain the science of making sound, to demonstrate how their instruments work, and to talk about their personal, educational and professional backgrounds.

Three Lessons in One for First Graders

Portledge first graders receive three lessons in one.First they recycled tennis ball cans from the tennis team and recieved a lesson in sustainability. Then they applied art lessons to decorating the cans. Last, they planted bulbs in the cans and are learning a lesson in plant science. Next time you are in the Lower School, you can check in on the plants which have been placed on tables in the lunch room so everyone can watch them grow.

Hockey Season Ends With Tradition

Congratulations to the recipients of this year's Craigmyle and Gregory Awards given to two Portledge hockey players in recognition of their outstanding contributions on and off the ice. In addition, the Bliss Award, is given to a parent in honor of their dedication to Portledge Hockey.

Portledge Community Service Club Takes Action

While many on Long Island are wishing for more snow this winter, the students of Portledge Upper School were mindful of those who were suffering from the cold, damp weather by supporting the local man's shelter. The Portledge Community Service Club organized two bakes sales which generated enough money to purchase food for lunches twice a month during the winter season. Approximately 25 students baked the goodies, and another dozen students actually manned the sales. On Tuesday afternoons students and faculty gathered together to assemble the bagged lunches which include meat sandwiches, fruit, and juice.

Varsity Girls Ice Hockey Victorious

Portledge Varsity Girls Ice Hockey defeated Lawrenceville 9-8 in overtime upped their winning streak to five games. Co-Captain Siena Falino '09 scored seven of the goals. As the ONLY Long Island school to field a girls hockey team, this is a testament to the talent and spirit of this team. According to Zoe Schwam, head coach and former Hamilton College hockey player, their success has everything to do with team leadership, determination and camaraderie.

Teachers, Students, and Parents Participate in Intersession

It was an exciting time at the Portledge Middle School as teachers, students and parents participated in Intersession, which took place January 24-29. Since determining the need for only one set of cumulative exams and the opportunity to shift to a trimester schedule, teachers embraced the chance to give middle schoolers experiences not possible during the regular school routine. For example, students attended workshops given by parents and faculty, ranging from international cooking lessons and a primer on the primaries and election process, to an introduction to judo class. Each grade also spent some time off campus, exploring the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary, performing for residents in a nursing home, and visiting the Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium. Students watched a variety of video presentations, with discussions or content based games as a follow up

Third Graders visit the Storm King Art Center

What better way to experience the beauty and awe of sculpture art than spending a few hours at a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature? Our 3rd graders did just that on their field trip to the Storm King Art Center, home to five hundred acres of landscaped lawns, fields and woodlands that provide the site for postwar sculptures by internationally renowned artists. The third graders delighted in discovering the "serpentine" rock wall created by the artist, Andy Goldsworthy.