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| July 2011 |
July News
Summer Is in Full Swing
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Bountiful rain early in the summer provided us with a lush green landscape to complement views of nearby mountains and the Hudson River. We frequently see deer, often with fawns alongside, grazing on the lawns early in the morning or in the evening. Hawks seem to enjoy the thermal air currents rising from our mountain. The hustle and bustle of school-in-session has been replaced by more relaxed summer camps of theatre groups, dog-trainers, and international students learning English and experiencing American culture.
If you are interested in joining The Storm King School community, we accept applications on a rolling basis. Contact us to find out if space is available for your grade level. Please give us a call (845-534-9860) or send us an email (admissions@sks.org) to arrange a tour and interview. We look forward to seeing you!
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 | Contest Keeps Memory of Young Poet Alive
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SKS Students Recognized at Local Poetry Contest
The Timothy Mumford Memorial Poetry Contest holds a special place in the heart of the SKS community. The contest was initiated six years ago by the Cornwall Public Library, and the library asked the Mumford family if they could name the contest after Tim. Tim, son of SKS Math and Physics teacher Warren Mumford and former Middle School Coordinator Mary Mumford, loved words and music, and won the Orange County Day poetry contest in 1999 when he was a senior in high school. Tim always carried a notebook with him and was always writing poems, notes to friends, and song lyrics. Tim worked as a library page for a number of years, and his parents are strong supporters of the library board. Tim graduated from New York University (NYU) with honors, and was chosen to play the piano at Lincoln Center for his graduating class in front of an audience of 3,000 people.
Sadly, Tim died five years ago, but according to his dad, "He would be proud to know that his passion for words has inspired other young people to put pen to paper and share their thoughts and feelings with the world." The contest is open to all public and private school children within the town of Cornwall and always draws a large number of entries; there were more than 100 entries this year. This spring, two SKS students received awards. In the ages 16-18 category, Yoo Won S won for her poem, "Paper Cranes for Fukushima," and Sam K won Best Overall for his poem, "How it Ended." You can read these poems and others by clicking here.
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| Educational, Cultural, and Recreational Opportunities Abound
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Students Participate in Wide Variety of Field Trips
At SKS, we enjoy a beautiful and safe campus removed from the distractions and complexities of city life. At the same time, we are fortunate to live close to New York City and other cultural, educational, and recreational areas. Throughout the year, SKS took advantage of surrounding areas for both academically-inspired trips as well as trips that were simply good fun. The following is a smattering of some of the off-campus trips taken in 2010-2011, in no particular order:
At the beginning of the year, half the students participated in wilderness, ropes, hiking, and boating activities at Camp Ramapo in Rhinebeck as part of their orientation activities. The other students traveled to Alley Pond Park Adventure Course in Queens for ropes and team-building activities.
Later in the fall, there was a sensational fun-for-all trip to Six Flags Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom. Still another blast was had on a separate occasion at Mountain Creek Water Park, which sports a 250-feet vertical drop--one of the largest on the east coast!
 The Wrestling Team traveled to the Kiski School in Pennsylvania to wrestle in quad (14 meets) over a period of days, competing well against some impressive nationally-ranked teams.
Science classes traveled to the Museum of Natural History in New York City for 3-D viewing of habitat dioramas, a fascinating look at "The Inside Story of the Brain" (a study of how Imaging Technologies have enhanced museum science), models, bones of the world's largest known dinosaur, more than 200 live frog species, IMAX Theatre, and astronomy (as viewed in the Hayden Planetarium).
The earth science class walked through the tunnel that joins our campus with 1300-acre Black Rock Forest Preserve for field studies. To read more about the earth science trip in the May issue of SKS's online creative arts and literature publication, The Voice, click here and go to page 10. We described additional class and recreational trips to Black Rock, including the American Literature class snowshoeing trip, the environmental science class's data collection and analysis, the senior class retreat, and Earth Day hikes, in previous newsletters. 
SKS Creative Arts Center students took a weekend field trip with teacher Frank Annunziata to the Woodstock Museum in Saugerties, NY, to learn about the culture and history of Woodstock, billed as "a living colony of the arts." While there, they enjoyed a Latino musical festival.
Sports enthusiasts watched lacrosse and soccer competitions at nearby West Point Military Academy.
The Ski/Snowboarding Club made frequent use of West Point's ski slopes and made skiing/snow tubing trips to additional parks as well.
Still another group hopped over to hear West Point Band's Jazz Nights with Dean of Students Al Lewis.
 Art classes took trips to the nearby Storm King Art Center and to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The Golf Team frequently honed skills and competed on West Point's Golf Course, while the Crew Team sculled at the Newburg Rowing Club.
Teacher and folk and jazz enthusiast Emily Boronkay took several vanloads of students to hear live music at The Falcon Restaurant on weekend evenings.
Teachers took students to nearby Bowling Time lanes for some friendly competition.
Theatre Director Harold Heno took a group of students to New York City to view the Broadway hit Catch Me If You Can and then to Sardi's famous restaurant.
As described in a previous newsletter, Heno also took a group of students to Italy during the first half of Spring Break.
The 11th and 12th grades enjoyed an end-of-the-year field trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty with their history classes.
These are just some of the enriching and entertaining activities that students enjoyed off-campus. Many were further described in The Voice or earlier newsletters. If you would like to know more about past or potential trips in an area of interest to you, send us an email.
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| Student Snapshot
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Life of Dwight
 Dwight R '12 was encouraged by his parents to take advantage of SKS's Student for a Day program when he was in 8th grade. "I was so nervous when I first arrived, but I was not nervous after the first hour," he says. "Everyone was so nice."
On the first day of 9th grade, Dwight was seen with his nose in a book everywhere he went, reading Life of Pi, and he took a lot of comfort in reading. But right away, he felt home on campus. "The school has a very tight-knit community," and Dwight was welcomed into it quickly. He soon added an active social life to his love of reading.
And he is soaring academically despite a hectic schedule. He is vice president of the Provisional Community Government and an editor at The Voice, the School's art and literary magazine. He serves as a tour guide and a dorm leader. And he stays on top of his homework for a challenging array of classes that include Honors American Literature, Honors Biology, AP Art History, Mandarin Chinese Basics, Spanish IV, Music Production, and private piano instruction.
Before coming to Storm King, Dwight had not been very involved in theatre, but in the fall of freshman year, he auditioned for Mame and was given a small part and worked with props backstage. When another student missed a performance, Dwight filled in for the two-line role. "I realized at that moment that it was a whole lot of fun--both backstage and centerstage," he says. Sophomore year, Dwight took on bigger roles and served as stage manager, and he continues to direct and star in shows.
During family vacations, Dwight often spends time with his extended family in Trinidad, enjoying the gentle pace and reflecting fondly on the communal preparation and enjoyment of fresh meals in the Indian and Trinidadian traditions.
This summer, Dwight is attending Harvard's Summer School, and senior year at SKS will be busier than ever as he works on college applications. Ultimately, he plans to work in international affairs or international business--applying a passion for global understanding that "comes from being around so many interesting people at The Storm King School."
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| Faculty Professional Development
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Teachers Engage in Activities that Will Enrich Classes
Families sometimes assume that while school is out for the summer, work is the farthest thing from the minds of teachers. Sure, teachers have time over the summer for rest and relaxation--"recharging their batteries." But our dedicated faculty members are eager to take classes, workshops, and trips aimed at making them better teachers. Here is a sample of what some SKS faculty are up to:
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Kristen Casey
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ESL and English teacher Kristen Casey will be teaching four middle and high school classes at Vassar College's Summer Institute for the Gifted:
"Broadway Beckons," a class that teaches musical theater, acting, singing, and dance. They will put on a production with only 3 weeks of rehearsal. "Laugh Tracks," an improvisational class
"Scriptwriting"
"Writing Matters," a Creative Writing class
Ms. Casey will also be taking a class on teaching literature to grades 7-12, and another on classroom management, toward her Master's Degree in Adolescent Education at Mount St. Mary's College.
Science and Math teacher Joseph Graziosi will also be teaching four three-week hands-on chemistry, physics, engineering, and algebra classes for gifted middle and high school students at Vassar College.
Learning Center Director Gerry McNally is pursuing a second Masters Degree in Special Education at St. Joseph's University. (Her first MS is in Literacy.) This summer she is taking two classes, "Diagnostic Assessment and Progress Monitoring" as well as "Theory and Practice of Teaching Students with High Incidence Disabilities."
Psychology Teacher Toni Scherrer will participate in an AP Psychology Institute at Malloy College, enabling SKS to offer a ninth AP course.
Teacher and Community Service Coordinator Emily Boronkay is volunteering with some organizations that she plans to use as sites for SKS community service next year.
When you talk with SKS College Counselor Jim Leppla, it seems that he is on
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Jim Leppla provides college counseling
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intimate terms with many colleges in the U.S. and some abroad as well. He has some impressive plans for the summer:
North Carolina Independent College & University Counselor Tour
Role of College and College Admission Conference, Horace Mann School,
Penn State Counselor Visit Days
Independent visits to University of Hartford, Quinnipiac College, and Mitchell College
Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools, Colloquium at
Sarah Lawrence College
Mr. Leppla says, "One of the reasons I look at some of the colleges is to give a firsthand report back to families about colleges they may not be familiar with, yet can be that right fit for a student."
Assistant Dean of Academics Harold Heno will take a week-long series of Rediker workshops, which will help him train other faculty members to use Edline (our homework-posting software) more effectively.
We are very proud of the dedication and enthusiasm demonstrated by The Storm King School faculty in their commitment to their own professional development, which enriches the educational level of the entire school.
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| Open House on Saturday, July 16
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Tour, Video, & Discussion with Students & Faculty
 The Office of Admissions cordially invites you to attend an Open House for prospective students and their families. The Open House will begin in Orr Commons at the center of The Storm King School campus.
This Open House will provide an opportunity to meet and interact with teachers, administrators, and students, and tour our beautiful campus. There will be plenty of time to answer your questions about the School.
Open House Schedule:
10:00 Tour of Campus
11:15 SKS Video
11:30 Overview of Application Process and General Question
and Answer Session
12:00 Open House Concludes
Please contact the Office of Admissions for more information.
314 Mountain Road
Cornwall on Hudson, NY 12520
845-534-9860
admissions@sks.org |
| For Your Calendar
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Upcoming Open Houses
Saturday, August 6, 2011 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:00 am-12:00 pm
These Open Houses start in Orr Commons in the center of The Storm King School campus. We will start with a tour of the campus after brief welcoming remarks. You will learn about the School and its programs. After the tour, you will see a short video about the School and participate in a discussion about the application process.
It is helpful if you call (845-534-9860) to register in advance.
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See you soon!
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| Students gather on the upper soccer field |
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| | Founded in 1867, The Storm King School celebrates a long tradition of helping students translate potential into success as they prepare for college and meaningful lives. Through academic classes, outstanding fine and performing arts, competitive and club sports, and interesting extracurricular activities, the faculty and staff offer students in grades 8-12 opportunities to enrich themselves through learning and confidence building. For college-bound students with learning differences, a small (35 students) school-within-a-school program called The Mountain Center, offers specialized, differentiated instruction in up to four core classes. Mountain Center students are full participants in the SKS community. In addition, The Learning Center offers support to any SKS student who needs extra help with study and organizational skills. Boarding and day options are available.
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