On June 5, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of HSMSE with a reception and dinner. We heard from some of HSMSE's founding members, celebrated the school's growth and accomplishments, and announced the formation of the new HSMSE Alumni Association. Alumni and alumni families traveled from as far away as Atlanta to mark the occasion, and the school received a special citation from our city councilman.

Many distinguished speakers celebrated HSMSE's accomplishments. Harold O. Levy, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education from 2000-2002, praised HSMSE's smart students who really care, its dedicated faculty, and its series of principals with vision. He closed by saying, "You guys are the cutting edge, and it's impressive as hell." Dennis Walcott, current Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, cited HSMSE as an example of the vision of new specialized schools, and praised Ms. Bonds and her predecessors as educators of vision. He noted that HSMSE students are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but are already leaders today. Randy Asher, HSMSE's founding principal, talked about HSMSE as "heaven" and said that leaving was one of the hardest decisions he'd ever had to make. 

William Dugan, HSMSE's second principal, recognized the founding faculty still teaching at HSMSE: Ernesto Pedroso, Andrew Podell, Stuart Hershow, Jen Boylan, Katherine (Donnelly) Billotti, and Peter Pellegrino. Stuart Hershow spoke on behalf of HSMSE's founding faculty, expressing the faculty's love for their students and colleagues and their joy at watching the students learn and grow. Ben Lipton, valedictorian of the class of 2008, celebrated HSMSE as "all grown up now," and talked about how HSMSE prepared him and his classmates for college and life. He praised HSMSE for teaching students how to do a lot of work in a short time, how to speak in public, and how to write, noting that he really appreciated HSMSE's impressive humanities departments. "More than anything else," he said, "HSMSE gives you an appreciation for diversity--of personalities, interests, backgrounds, and points of view." 

Alexander Kiladze, a member of the class of 2013, performed Chopin's Étude Op. 25, No. 11, in A minor. Special recognitions were presented by Steve Roseman, HSMSE assistant principal for operations, and the founding board of the new HSMSE Alumni Association was introduced. (To join the alumni association, contact Jen Boylan at jboylan@hsmse.org.) Ms. Bonds closed the ceremonies, expressing her pride at being the principal of HSMSE. Following the formal program, alumni, faculty, and parents lingered to catch up and celebrate together. Congratulations to HSMSE on a wonderful first decade!

The seniors celebrated the friendships and accomplishments of the last four years at Lucky Strikes Lanes, where they danced, ate, bowled, played pool, and posed for photos taken by HSMSE's own Tom Henning. Thanks to Jen Boylan, Melissa Rapp, Ernesto Pedroso, and all the other chaperones for hosting this wonderful event. For more prom photos, see the flickr gallery and the HSMSE facebook page.

--Coach Tom Henning

We look forward to a strong team of returning players next year. 

 

--Coach Richard Epstein

 

 

Congratulations to the graduating cheerleaders moving on to college in the fall:

 

 

As we approach the end of the year, I would like to thank the following seniors for their service to the athletic teams that I coach at HSMSE. Their skills and leadership will be sorely missed by their teams, and the time and effort they have put in has been greatly appreciated. 

Boys' soccer:
Kirk Cameron - 4 years
Harry Cummins - 4 years (Captain)
Niilo Kramer - 3 years
Wil McArdle - 2 years
Ardit Piroli - 3 years
Raven Roberson - 3 years
Jeremy Wain Hirschberg - 3 years
Xinghai Zhang - 3 years

Girls' basketball:
Leah Cabrera - 4 years (Captain)
Hannah Creutzfeldt - 2 years
Shannon Dunn - 1 year
Felicia Kuhnreich - 1 year

Boys' volleyball:
Kavan Edwards - 1 year
Yassine Khaliqui - 3 years
Ardit Piroli - 4 years
Jeremy Wain Hirschberg - 4 years (Captain)
Xinghai Zhang - 3 years 

--Coach Nicholas Diunte

 

 

I would like to give a special thanks to all the graduating seniors who will be noticeably missed from the soccer team next year. Your dedication to the sport, to your teammates and to achieving success was greatly appreciated.I hope this is only the beginning of your soccer career and that many amazing moments await you in college and beyond.  

 

Felicia Kuhnreich:4 years; Stopper/Forward; Captain for 2 years, Coaches Award 2011; MVP Award 2012

Tammi Hawa:4 years; Forward; Captain for 2 years

Leila Hawa: 4 years; Outside Midfielder

Hannah Creutzfeldt: 4 years; Outside Defender

Sara Louie: 4 years; Outside Defender; Most Improved Player Award 2012

Gabriela Petrova: 1 year; Outside Defender, Manager for 1 year

Fahmida Ferdousi: 1 year; Goalie