School News

Lower School Closing took place on June 6 at Christ Church, as is tradition. In the blink of an eye, it seems the Browning boys have grown in many ways since those first days of early September. The fourth grade boys, in particular, showed their maturity by standing at the podium, poised and proud, to recount their favorite Browning memories and thank those who attributed to their success, especially their parents and teachers.

Head of Lower School Laurie Gruhn and Headmaster Clement, along with family, friends and faculty, were pleased to see the boys in action, speaking, singing and saying farewell to another school year. Ms. Gruhn welcomed the community and spoke about the boys’ accomplishments and demonstrations of “grit” exemplifying the School’s motto.

The theme of this year’s closing was “Let’s Sing!” and the selections included both French and Spanish melodies, from “Alouette” to “Oye Como Va” and many more. Under the direction of Lower School music teacher Lucy Warner, who provided accompaniment as well as choreography, the boys sang and were joined by the Lower School “Strings of Spring” Orchestra. Organist Steven Pilkington and pianist Rob Taube provided the processional, finale and recessional. The colorful program cover art was accomplished by a member of the fourth grade.

During the farewell section of the program, Headmaster Clement thanked Ms. Warner as well as Lower School music instructors Gemma Baehr, Lucie Gelinas, Anik Oulianine, Michael Serman ’06 and Jay Tilton. He spoke of the incredible number of different languages spoken by families of the Lower School boys whom he surveyed regarding what they hear from parents, grandparents and siblings.

Congratulations to the fourth grade boys who were welcomed to Middle School at Browning by Head of Middle School Chris Dunham, and best wishes to one and all for a wonderful summer! View photos.

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Third grade boys enjoyed a June outing to the New York Public Library’s Schwarzman Building where they received a tour of this majestic Beaux-Arts building, explored the special exhibit, “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter” and had the chance to check out books and DVDs at the Children’s Center. Head Librarian Sarah Murphy, who arranged for this fascinating field trip, was accompanied by third grade teachers Caitlin Coleman and Susan Kehoe. Ms. Murphy explained that the trip is an important one. “We are fortunate to live in a city with one of the biggest and best public library systems in the world, and it’s important that our students take advantage of the myriad resources NYPL offers for all residents.  Many of the boys regularly visit their local branches, but a tour of the research facilities at the Schwarzman is awe inspiring and special.” 

A highlight of the boys’ guided tour was viewing (and touching!) the remains of the original stones from the Old Croton Aqueduct Distributing Reservoir that form part of the foundation of the library built on the Reservoir’s former site. The boys also delighted in seeing the many artifacts that are part of the special exhibit curated by children’s book historian Leonard S. Marcus.

They stepped into the Great Green Room of Margaret Wise Brown’s “Goodnight Moon,” slipped through Alice in Wonderland’s Rabbit Hole and petted a fur wall devoted to Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” Mr. Marcus was given access to the library’s vast collection of artifacts, from which he gathered 250 items, including the copy of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” that belonged to Alice Liddell, the girl for whom Lewis Carroll wrote the book; the original parrot-head umbrella and doll owned by P.L. Travers, creator of “Mary Poppins,” and James Daugherty’s original art for “Andy and the Lion,” a story inspired by the statues of Patience and Fortitude, the marble lions that guard the library’s entrance; the Browning boys and their teachers posed for a photo with one before embarking on their library tour. Also included in the exhibit is an ivy-covered wall from “The Secret Garden” with a ledge carved out for sitting, as well as the original stuffed bear and other animals that inspired the characters in “Winnie-the-Pooh.”

Ms. Murphy is pleased to note that the boys also had plenty of time to browse the shelves, and most left with at least one item. “Many were using library cards for the first time,” she said, “but it certainly won’t be the last!” View photos.

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With clear blue skies above and the warmth of the sun on their shoulders, the third grade boys, along with Ms. Coleman, Mr. Katz '04, Ms. Kehoe and Ms. Seto, took a field excursion to Black Rock Forest to coincide with their unit on insects and spiders. Having previously visited the forest on a fall trip in second grade, the boys were excited to explore again and experience the forest in a different season.

Ms. Seto reports: The day began with a refreshing hike, where the students spent time learning about sunfish territories, traversing rocky creeks, sharing observations, dodging millipedes, spotting late spring flowers, and enjoying a beautiful vista on a rock outcropping. A Pileated Woodpecker was even spotted flying away from the group! In a shady area of the forest, the students conducted surveys for invertebrates in one-square-meter plots. Students searched for critters in the leaf litter, in decomposing logs, in the soil, and in a diversity of spider webs. Each new species was greeted with excitement, curiosity and respect. Among other taxa, the students observed millipedes, salamanders, caterpillars, beetles, harvestmen, and numerous spiders, including a wolf spider carrying her egg sac. The students treated their live specimens with care during magnified observations in jars and Petri dishes, and respectfully returned all their study subjects back to their natural habitat.

From beginning to end, the third grade students were immersed in the world of insects, spiders and all their relatives, bringing lively observations and true curiosity to Black Rock Forest. View photos.

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Dr. Jeff Kidder, Education Director of the Black Rock Forest Consortium, spent the day at Browning on May 29. Science Department Chair Sam Keany reports: “Dr. Kidder introduced the boys in grades two and three to water invertebrates and led discussions about a host of their fascinating adaptations. Later in the day, he met with members of the science, art and math departments to discuss future collaborative classes and projects centered on forest organisms and products.”

Mr. Keany is vice president of the Black Rock Forest Consortium now entering its 25th year; the organization constitutes 27 member schools, colleges and scientific institutions. View photos.

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Middle and Upper School boys gathered for a May 30 Assembly in the Lower Gym where they were entertained by several musical groups, musicians and the Improv Club. Head of Upper School Jim Reynolds served as MC and, at the conclusion of the event, asked all the performers to take to the stage for a final bow and round of applause.

Music Department Head David Pretigiacomo noted that the Ovation Orchestra performed Bastille’s “Pompeii,” “Hungarian Dance” and ”Pictures at an Exhibition,” while two of the boys played rock on guitar and drums with Mark Dane of the Jazz Ensemble Club. Another boy played “C Jam Blues” on the piano, and the Upper School Chorus sang “Find the Cost of Freedom.”

Upper and Middle School math teacher Matt Bratnick, an improv performer, explained that the Improv Club presented theater games and scene work to help individuals “come out of their shells” and acted spontaneously (improvising without scripts) to make their audience laugh. Special focus in scene work focused on the “game” of the scene, the single funny idea that is played and heightened throughout. View photos.

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A recent Upper School assembly was led by a committee of faculty members with the theme of reflecting upon and talking about issues of gender in the media and our community. The faculty members span the whole range of Browning: Head Librarian Sarah Murphy, Dr. Betty Noel from STEM, Megan Ryan from Foreign Languages, Janet Lien, Director of Admission, and Brett Wisniewski from Classics. The idea for the topic began as a way to celebrate diversity and Women’s History Month, and came to fruition in a dynamic assembly.

After watching a short film showing testimonials from the whole school answering the questions “Why talk about gender?” and “When have notions of gender affected you?”, the students were invited to examine various forms of media. Research on the media, which ranged from print advertisements to video games (among others), involved answering questions about the positive and negative outcomes of ways the media portrayed masculinity and femininity.

The cafeteria was a lively place as the students broke into groups for research. Many of the students were excited to present their findings in a discussion after. The response was very positive, and left the Upper School energized and eager to continue discussions about gender in the wider spectrum of their studies. View photos.

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The fourth grade boys charmed their lucky audience in May when they presented a play, “The Ring of Truth,” under the direction of teacher Bill Cantwell. Based largely on the wry witticisms and astute observations of Irish writers and poets, including the incomparable Oscar Wilde, the boys garnered giggles and applause from one and all. They thanked Lucy Warner, music specialist, as well as the maintenance staff and teacher Lindsay Burrus for their help in making the production such a success. View photos.

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On May 20, the Grytte student newspaper staff took an afternoon walk to 1211 Avenue of the Americas, offices of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and other products of Dow Jones and Company. Accompanied by Grytte Advisor Jeremy Katz ’04, who took the photographs for this story, the boys were greeted by Browning alumnus and WSJ columnist Ralph Gardner, Jr. ’71, who arranged for a special tour of the newsroom with WSJ’s night editor, Wade Lambert. Director of Alumni Affairs Laura Lanigan and Director of Publications Melanie McMahon were pleased to join the group. Ms. Lanigan and Mr. Katz helped arrange and guide this terrific field trip, while Ms. McMahon offers the following report:

Mr. Lambert, who has been with the paper since 1984 and, explained how the pages and sections of the newspaper are created, adding some behind-the-scenes humor by admitting that when deadlines are missed, lots of shouting and yelling replaces the usual quiet. A triathlete, he also revealed that he starts his day with a run or swim before heading to the office. He answered the  boys’ numerous questions in detail, including queries about deadlines, how the paper is laid out and where it is printed, how it has changed in content over the years, how long it may take to write certain stories, the fact that news is delivered in print as well as in digital format, etc. He noted that today’s WSJ covers much more than financial topics; in fact, the paper has expanded its coverage in arts, culture, sports, lifestyle and politics. “Mr. Gardner’s column, Urban Gardner, is an excellent example of what I’m referring to,” said Mr. Lambert.

Carolyn Buck then took over as tour guide, offering a wealth of information on WSJ’s history and awards, including 35 Pulitzer Prizes that are proudly displayed. She pointed out that through the years, the font of the WSJ mast has not changed. Ms. Buck explained that WSJ, founded in 1889 (one year after the founding of Browning!) is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S., measured by paid circulation, for both weekday and weekend. Features are supplemented with blogs and digital content via WSJ.com, launched in 1996 (provided by 12 locally edited sites in six languages with 36 million global digital visitors per month), and its online video initiative, WSJ Live. The boys also learned that Dow Jones Newswires publishes more than 19,000 daily news items and that Barron’s magazine, while covering the financial markets, differs from the WSJ in that it is entirely dedicated to investing and forecasting. Fifty of the most recent covers of Barron’s grace another wall of the building.

While the newsroom and the action that takes place there is obviously crucial, advertisers and subscribers are just as important. To that end, the boys heard from Director of Circulation Roberta Meo and Manager of Circulation Josephine Yu who addressed circulation, retention, ad sales, and pricing of their products. They described the typical WSJ print subscriber as older, affluent and highly educated. The challenge, they said, is to focus on winning younger subscribers through the digital version of the paper and retain print subscribers with engaging content.

One of the more somber moments of the entire tour occurred when Ms. Buck showed the group the memorial for reporter Daniel “Danny” Pearl, a WSJ foreign correspondent who was slain at the hands of militants in Pakistan. The WSJ has noted that this tragedy “also sparked efforts to build on Danny’s ideals of tolerance and understanding across cultures.”

The Grytte staff extends a huge thanks to everyone involved in making this tour such an informative and enjoyable one! Ms. Lanigan notes that both Mr. Gardner and Mr. Lambert had fun, too, and were impressed with the Browning boys: “I was happy to see how engaged the boys were,” said Mr. Gardner. “Browning should have a bright future with such bright students and future alums.” Mr. Lambert echoed those sentiments and added, “It was a pleasure to meet you and the students from The Browning School today. I hope they enjoyed the tour, and please send them my best wishes for their academic pursuits. They seem like a wonderful group of students, all with bright futures ahead of them.” Ms. Buck was also impressed. “It was such a treat to give a tour to all of the boys,” she said. “What a kind group! It really meant so much to me to hear the excitement and enthusiasm in all of their questions.” View photos.

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Lower School boys enjoyed perfect weather for Field Day on May 19. Pre-Primary and first grade students participated in a variety of eight activity stations led by Upper School students, including the "sponge" relay, clean up the farm, demolition derby, and "sliding for snowballs" before sharing a pizza picnic and boarding the buses back to Browning. Second, third and fourth graders competed in capture the flag, soccer and kickball in the morning. In the afternoon, second, third and fourth graders participated in a variety of activities, such as the infamous tug of war, various relay races, and a live twist on Angry Birds. The event was very successful thanks to the combined efforts of everyone involved! View photos.

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On May 15, the Pre-Primary boys presented their play, “Kindness Is Cooler,” inspired by the book, “The Monster Who Lost His Mean,” by Tiffaney Strelitz Haber.

Teacher Katy Kummer provides details on this production and the lessons learned from it: "The play explored the importance of being kind toward others and demonstrating good character and manners. In the play, the Monsters lost their letter “M” for meanness and discovered what a delight it was to be thoughtful and caring Onsters instead. Pre-Primary boys learned important messages from presenting their production as well as imparting these messages to the other grades in the Lower School!" View the cast photo.

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Athletic Director Andrew West ’92 reports on the spring athletic season, followed by reports from individual coaches regarding their respective sports teams:

This spring was a very successful one starting with an amazing trip to Port St. Lucie, Fla., taken by the varsity baseball, tennis and golf teams. It was the first time that the golf team joined the trip, and I think we would all agree it was great for them. The baseball team was able to practice and play under the beautiful Florida sun. From the first practice at Florida Coast Baseball Camp, we knew we had the makings of a potentially great team. Not only could we pitch and hit, but we were playing some stellar defense as well. The teams all did very well, especially the varsity tennis team members who, for the fourth consecutive year, will be raising a banner. Varsity track continued their success by qualifying many boys for the championships and NYSAIS track meet. Speaking of NYSAIS, Browning will also be represented in golf at the state tournament! All and all, it has been a very special year and one that I, as athletic director, am very proud to have been a part of. Here’s to the Class of 2014!

View photos of: Varsity Baseball, Varsity Tennis, Varsity Track, Varsity Golf, Form I/II Baseball, Varsity Squash and Fencing.

Click here to watch video highlights from the 2013-14 season and senior memories.

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Browning’s student newspaper staff members enjoyed information sessions with both alumni journalists and student journalists in early May, as Grytte advisor Jeremy Katz ’04 reports:

The staff released their third issue of the school year on May 2, Alumni Reunion, allowing for the 150-plus alumni and guests who returned to the School that day to leave with a copy of the paper. The issue featured a cover story focused on Alex Vadukul ’07, Wes Vernon ’49 and David Kimball-Stanley ’05, three alumni who spoke to the Upper School students that morning about their careers in journalism and communications. Following the panel, the editors of the Grytte sat down with these alums in the Cook Room for a more in-depth discussion. They received writing advice and information on the types of careers they might wish to consider, including public relations.

On the evening of May 9, the co-editors-in-chief of The Hewitt Times from The Hewitt School gathered student newspaper staffs from various New York City schools including Browning, Dalton, Collegiate, Fieldston, Riverdale, Horace Mann and Trevor Day to discuss their publications and hear from two distinguished speakers, Taylor Trudon, deputy editor at Huffington Post Teen, and Erica Futterman, managing editor of Buzzfeed.

According to the Hewitt Times’ press release, “The Journalism Summit seeks to facilitate collaboration among New York City peer-school newspapers in order to create a network of shared resources and commitment to the field of journalism at the high school level.” Each newspaper group presented a five-minute presentation of its publication, including information on the publication platform, frequency of publication, editorial team and staff structure, staff/editorial meeting frequency and format, division of content into sections, and typical articles.

The meeting proved very productive, as the editors from Browning, Hewitt and Riverdale took inspiration from Headmaster Clement’s recent letter to the editor of The New York Times regarding the ways that boys learn; they plan to write a collaborative article on the topic of single-sex as compared to co-ed education. Another exciting development as a result of the evening program is that one of the Grytte’s deputy editors was invited by Taylor Trudon to be a blogger for The Huffington Post Teen! The fourth issue of the Grytte, planned for release at Lower School Closing/Prize Day, will provide further information on these exciting fronts. View photos. (Alumni Reunion photos by Rossa Cole, Hewitt  Journalism Summit by Jeremy Katz '04)

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Science Department Chair Sam Keany and Stephanie Seto, science teacher, are pleased to report that a "team effort" helped make the May 13 Lower School Science Exhibition a success for all involved. The boys were eager to show what they had achieved; likewise, their parents and other classroom teachers were pleased to view the culmination of the boys' work. The event was held in the cafeteria during the first period of the day.

Mr. Keany and Ms. Seto said, "Many thanks to all of those who helped the boys and us make this a successful forum to present the work done in science class. We received help and support from the library staff and technology department, as well as Elizabeth Cooper-Mullin, Jeremy Katz '04 and Melanie McMahon. Christine Bramble welcomed parents in the Lobby, while the cafeteria and maintenance staffs helped in so many ways. Head of Lower School Laurie Gruhn, the second and third grade homeroom teachers and the science teachers made it possible for the older boys to visit the exhibition and support the Lower Schoolers. Thank you all for ensuring that the boys enjoyed a very positive experience!"

Ms. Gruhn added, "This enormous effort was led by Mr. Keany and Ms. Seto who guided the boys through careful and thoughtful problem-solving and the process of the scientific method.They taught those valuable lessons of following through from hypothesis to conclusion, overseeing more than 60 individual projects, iPad management, and in some cases, live critters! As I told the parents, this exhibition, in many ways, is 21st century learning at its best. The boys learned to plan creatively, think logically, articulate clearly and accept responsibility for their work. View photos.

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Music Director David Prestigiacomo and the boys in Browning's Middle School Chorus are to be congratulated for their excellent performance at the recent "Trills and Thrills Music Festival" adjudication. The event took place at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park on May 9.

Mr. Prestigiacomo reports: "The chorus was ranked on various aspects of choral singing such as intonation, tone quality, and balance among parts, etc. Judge #1 gave the boys a score of 95/100, while Judge #2 gave them a 96/100. Thanks to Ms. Grace and Mr. Wisniewski for their invaluable support, and to the entire community for accommodating us in this annual event."

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Seven boys from the third and fourth grades performed the world premiere of the short play, “Space Junk,” at a Lower School assembly on May 8. “Space Junk” was written and directed by Head Librarian Sarah Murphy, who provides this report: “The play is a science fiction tale of four astronauts discovering intelligent life on a planet populated by aliens who listen to vinyl, watch VHS, and dress like Victorian street urchins. With the help of their new friends, the astronauts learn a little about their own planet’s past.”

Ms. Murphy added, “The show was followed by a Q&A with the cast, and the actors revealed that learning their lines is the easy part. Finding actions to match their words, listening to the other actors on stage, and staying in character are all much more difficult. With scenery by art teacher Zack Davis and a Form VI student, technical assistance from Glenn Walker, and an assistant director from Grade Five, 'Space Junk' was a true community endeavor.” Ms. Murphy explained that she used many of her own favorite possessions as props, including old computers, a record player and a VHS player. View photos.

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Headmaster Clement responded to the New York Times' April 29 article, “A Link Between Fidgety Boys and a Sputtering Economy,” by David Leonhardt. Happily, his letter was accepted for publication and appeared in the May 5 edition of the Times on page A22. Please click here for Mr. Clement’s letter as well as a link to Mr. Leonhardt’s article.

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Second grade boys brightened the first day of May with their playful and musical production of “Welcome to NYC – A-Z.” They gleefully provided their audience of family and faculty with a tour of New York City on the Browning bus created under the guidance of art teacher Zack Davis. Boys in all three divisions of the School (Lower, Middle and Upper) banded together to help paint the colorful, flower-strewn double-decker bus (complete with tourists and their cameras!) which stopped at such popular venues as Madison Avenue, the Bronx Zoo, the Brooklyn Bridge and Yankee Stadium, to name but a few, with The Browning School its final destination. The boys, through humorous rhymes and choral interjections, acted as tour guides and explained the significance of each stop on the tour.

Head of Lower School Laurie Gruhn congratulated the boys on their terrific production and thanked all those involved, including the parents who helped the boys learn their lines and the teachers, including Hallie Fischberg, Rachel Gerber, Jackie Pellenberg and Lucy Warner, who were such a large part of this successful presentation. View photos.

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Head of Middle School Chris Dunham reports on the trip taken by Form II boys to Washington D.C. for three days during the week of April 22: "The boys had a superb time. The weather was as good as D.C. can offer, and that allowed for many excellent frisbee tosses on the National Mall in between more cultural experiences. The boys, along with Ms. Suarez, Mr. Young and me, saw many significant memorials, including The Vietnam War, World War II and Lincoln Memorials. They also had profound experiences at the Holocaust Museum and Newseum. Another major highlight was meeting with lobbyists from the Nuclear Energy Institute and getting a behind the scenes tour of The Capitol from Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's aides. On the lighter side of things, the boys took in a Washington Nationals baseball game and tested their James Bond knowledge at the Spy Museum. All in all, a terrific trip!" View photos.

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Head of Middle School Chris Dunham reports on an overnight trip taken with Form I boys on Thursday, April 11: "The Form I boys, along with Mr. Davis, Mr. Klein, and me, spent two days up in the Hudson Highlands. Black Rock Forest was our first stop. The boys seined for macro-invertebrates in the local streams, hiked Mt. Misery, studied local animal skulls to make connections to adaptations and usage, and had a fun campfire (with S'mores!) and a night hike. Mr. Davis and a small crew of students discovered a local cache of Black Rock Forest clay and brought back 10 pounds of it for sculpting use here at school. On Friday, the boys traveled to Storm King Art Center to see its monumental pieces. It was a terrific trip for all!" View Photos.

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Congratulations to the entire cast, and especially our Browning boys on their roles in last night’s successful opening of "Anything Goes!” A joint Browning/Nightingale production, the Cole Porter musical will be performed again this evening at 6:00 p.m. and tomorrow (Saturday, April 26) at both 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. The performances will take place at Nightingale (20 East 92nd Street), and if there are any tickets left, they can be purchased from Smarttix at (212) 868-4444 or at smarttix.com. Click Here to view photos from the production.

You had better act fast, however, as the show opened to rave reviews from Browning faculty/”critics” who attended and had this to say:

Headmaster Clement: “The show was spectacular tonight! Our boys were great, and the production was both sophisticated and very engaging. The actors were all having fun…wonderful singing and dancing.”

Head of Upper School Jim Reynolds: “What a show! Browning and Nightingale created another terrific evening of enthusiastic performers having a great time with wonderful music by Cole Porter. It was nothing short of delovely.”

Director of Special Events/Parents Association Liaison Christine Bramble: “The Browning cast members were amazing, as were the Nightingale siblings of four of our other boys.”

School Nurse Maureen Linehan: “What a delight! I am still smiling!”

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