A Record Season!

Cross country, Fall 2022, was a season of records.  We enjoyed new members to our squad. They, along with our veterans, worked hard to become faster runners, taking minutes off their best times. Comparing the season’s opening and final mile runs, the team took a total of 10 minutes off its personal best. At every meet at least 5 runners placed in the top 5. At the Penfield Beach meet, a record number of 8 runners placed in the top 5. For the overall season standings, again a record number of 8 runners placed in the top 5. At the Championship Meet, a record number of 4 runners placed in the top 3, including a first place finish. We are very proud of our team! Go Gators!

Staying Strong with Cross Country!

Our athletes know that best times are the ultimate prize. They are making significant improvements towards this goal at each practice and at each meet. The crowning achievement is for a runner to place in the top 5. Our results from the meets at Ridgefield and Waveny Park:

Ridgefield

• 5th grade boys: Jackson 1st, Adam 4th,
• 6th grade boys: Asher 5th
• 8th grade girls: Charlotte 4th, Eloise 5th , 

Waveny Park

• 5th grade boys: Jackson 4th
• 6th grade boys: Asher 2nd
• 7th grade girls: Chipili 4th, Piper 5th 
• 7th grade boys: James 3rd
• 8th grade boys: James 2nd

Congratulations to these individuals for placing in the top 5 and to the entire team for achieving personal best times!

6-8 Soccer Kicks the Season Off!

6-8 Soccer trekked up to Ridgefield Academy for their first game of the 2021 season. Nerves were running and adrenaline was pumping as the squad stepped off the bus and onto the field to play against their first opponent of the season. The game seesawed back and forth for the entire first half ending with a just missed shot as the half ended by 8th grader Michael. At the end of the half, the score stood deadlocked at 0-0.

Second half proved to be another fierce half of soccer with both teams battling for possession and looking for that elusive first goal. In the final 5 minutes of the game, Ridgefield broke through our iron wall defense and tallied 3 goals in the final 5 minutes. While we didn’t come out on top, we are certainly proud of our showing in the first game in nearly 2 years!  We look forward to getting back on the field for our next game! Go Gators!!!

The Five Senses

During our poetry unit, students not only write and analyze poems, they are also encouraged to seek out authentic opportunities to publish and share their work. While Pen & Paper, is our home-grown outlet, we also encourage students to submit their work to national contests. We are proud to announce that 8th-grader Andrew participated in the national Carl Sandburg Student Poetry Contest and has won 2nd place! This annual contest produced by the Carl Sandburg Home and the National Park Service celebrates student writing based on themes from the poetry of the celebrated poet. This year’s theme was “joy,” and Andrew’s poem captures moments of joy experienced through the five senses. The omniscient speaker of the poem captures a collection of seemingly unrelated points in time that when stitched together convey the universal power and presence of joy in the world. Congratulations, Andrew!

Win, Lose and Draw

The girls green (5th and 6th grade) basketball team began their season with a win, a loss (only by 1 point) and a tie. The most important part is that everyone on the team has improved their skills. Alyssa has learned to rebound and put the ball right back up, adding points to the scoreboard throughout the game. Cecibel is a versatile player who plays awesome defense, inbounds the ball, grabs rebounds and can dribble in a pinch. Madeline is learning to box out under the basket and Mandy improves her defense with each game. Bea is playing tenacious defense and has been an unrelenting shooter on offense. Sophia is also playing awesome defense and is improving in her ability to get open on offense. Marianella is a great team player who has learned to defend her zone and Karleigh and Madison are improving their defensive skills as well. Ryley, Erin and Elliott are invaluable to us when moving the ball down court, getting that fast break, and passing the ball inside. The best part is that we are playing well as a team and cheering for each other. So win, lose or draw, it’s a win in my book.

National Geography Bee

The 2018 National Geographic Geography Bee took place in January with classroom winners in grades five through eight competing to become our school champion. After several rounds of intense questioning, sixth grader Lexie took third place, barely edging out fifth grader Riley. After the championship round, seventh grader Kelly took second place and eighth grader Sneha emerged as the school’s champion and went go on to take the qualifying test for the state competition. We also want to congratulate the other classroom winners who competed – Daniel, Jordan, Roy and Henry. We wish Sneha the best of luck in the next steps of the competition…she’s made it to the state level!