The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Caitlin Samkoff

About Caitlin Samkoff

Caitlin Samkoff is a junior at Horace Greeley High School. She volunteers at the JCCA Cottage School at the Pleasantville campus, is an executive with the Relay For Life club at Greeley, and writes for The Greeley Voice.

Reflections on the Greeley Class of 2025

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“Resilience and a strong sense of community has truly defined the Class of 2025” – Principal, Dr. Sandra Sepe

The Horace Greeley High School graduating class of 2025 entered Greeley during COVID-19, a time of chaos and uncertainty. This class began its high school journey under such abnormal circumstances, navigating hybrid learning and restrictions on social interactions with peers. In the wake of overcoming these challenges, the students were able to engage their sense of adaptability and persistence.

In an interview, Horace Greeley Principal, Dr. Sandra Sepe, said “Resilience and a strong sense of community has truly defined the Class of 2025.”

The Class of 2025 continues to shape and strengthen the school’s culture, traditions and achievements, fostering an enduring sense of unity within the community. Horace Greeley’s thriving science research program has flourished, in part, due to the exceptional accomplishments of this class. Many seniors have emerged as leaders in regional science competitions, earning prestigious awards and securing spots as finalists, further paving their legacy for excellence.

The Class of 2025 has reintroduced unity and school pride to Greeley, after being disconnected. Dr. Sepe remarked “These students have shown an unmatched commitment to being part of something bigger than themselves. Whether by filling the stands at home sports games or fostering a culture of community and passion for togetherness.”

These students added a sports broadcasting club to Greeley, further emphasizing this class’s commitment to display their teamwork and take advantage of the school’s resources to strengthen the student body. This dedication is especially notable given that they entered high school in a time of separation and restrictions, making their perseverance and resilience as leaders of Greeley even more inspiring.

During the challenges of COVID-19, both the academics and sports program faced disruptions, where anxiety for students was at a peak. Yet, the Class of 2025 rose in the wake of this, adapting and helping to rebuild a sense of community that defines Greeley’s athletic program.

In addition to athletics, the arts and theater programs have flourished tremendously under the leadership of this graduating class. The success of Greeley’s fall production of Little Women and the excitement surrounding the upcoming production of Anastasia reflect the seniors’ dedication to showcase excellence and collaboration. Their passion for the arts, much like their commitment to athletics, underscore the importance of coming together to create something meaningful. Greeley’s seniors are leaders and lay the foundation for Greeley’s future that coming together with a mix of peers is essential for a thriving school community.

Furthermore, 15 senior students from the creative arts program represented Horace Greeley at the Katonah Museum of Art’s 42nd Annual Young Artists Exhibition, showcasing the brilliance of the graduating students by creating media with a domain of concepts, and expression. Greeley recognizes the numerous accolades in every class, however, this class’s contributions stand out by the lasting difference they make.

The 2025 Horace Greeley commencement ceremony is set for June 21st and follows the tradition of being outside on the lawn underneath the giant white tent. The ceremony will include several student speakers. Tradition is significant at Greeley, especially during the lead up to graduation where each year they introduce the winners for the student speaker contest. The graduation is a great example of students using their voice to bring people together.

Dr. Sepe has characterized the Class of 2025 as “warm and friendly students who are focused on community. These students continue to go out of their way and promote the thriving community that defines Greeley.”

This generation is dealing with the constant effects of social media, facing the everyday challenge of negative content exposure and censoring. In today’s society, it is generally challenging to maneuver through the depths and domains of social media content. However, this generation’s ability to overcome and conquer these modern-day issues sets forth their leadership and adaption to take on challenges in the future.

In summary, Dr. Sepe shares that “Accolades are wonderful, but it’s the difference you make in the lives of others. They have the skills to maneuver generational challenges, paving their path for a bright future.” The countdown to graduation has begun, just 100 days to go! Dr. Sepe emphasized the importance of “making the most of this time, making good decisions, cherishing every moment and enjoying it.”

As the Class of 2025 prepares to turn the page they leave behind a legacy of resilience, leadership and unity. One which will continue to shape Greeley for years to come.

 

Teaching Children Values Through Sowing Seeds

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Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC), a non-profit providing nurturing support and equitable access to high quality childcare for working families in Westchester, has a program called Feed Me Fresh, which is their seed-to-table nutrition education curriculum. Dawn Meyerski, Executive Director of MKCCC, provided insight into this program, through an enlightening interview.

Dawn outlined the program’s commitment to teaching children about organic and whole natural foods, emphasizing how they incorporate them into their daily diet. MKCCC has set up gardens in the children’s playground, where they learn to grow and harvest their own vegetables. From planting to picking, cleaning, cooking, and eating what they have grown, the Feed Me Fresh program is flourishing. The aim of this program is to not only feed the children well, but to teach them where their food comes from.

To help the children find interest in eating healthy foods, MKCCC incorporates cooking activities into their lunch period. For example, the children have learned to make spinach and cous cous from scratch. This program has allowed children at a young age to get connected to and build a love for vegetables and natural foods. They have found children are willingly trying broccoli or spinach, foods typically challenging for younglings to eat, when they grow them and put them into recipes. Dawn remarked, “Although not all children would rather eat kale than cookies, most of them enjoy the kale!”

The Feed Me Fresh curriculum was inspired by Alice Waters, a woman who ran a food service in California using edible schoolyards. Initially, MKCCC was skeptical about adopting this program, but in 2002, after moving to a new building they implemented garden beds and began their journey to mirror the service in California.

Over the years, Susan Rubin, the farm educator at MKCCC, brought a similar seed-to-table program to the Mount Kisco Elementary School. Dawn added that MKCCC school age children had a “higher food IQ” because of the program in the preschool. These children stand out where they are more knowledgeable about growing different vegetables and crops, as well as being passionate about eating fresh vegetables.

In the summer months, MKCCC summer campers, which range in age from kindergarten to fifth grade, work in their own playground gardens and grow any crops of their choice. They also manage their own farmers’ market, selling their fresh produce on the front porch of MKCCC. This program not only teaches children about nutrition and eating healthy but also helps them learn to market and research prices for their products. The money the children earn is split: half goes back to expanding their gardens, and the other half is donated to a charity of the campers’ choice, teaching the children the importance of giving back to the community. Donations have been made to the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY, the Mount Kisco Food Pantry, and a Louisiana strawberry farmer who lost his crops due to weather conditions.

The children’s favorite crop to grow is the three sisters’ garden: corn, beans and squash. In this garden, the three plants work together and grow around each other. The crop symbolizes cooperation, and the children learn valuable skills in teamwork, both in the gardens and the kitchen.

“While we live in a world where anything is accessible in 30 seconds, the children learn about patience and gratitude as they wait for their gardens to prosper. They learn to manage their frustration and slow down, understanding that not every plant grows. These children learn the natural process and cycle of growth, realizing that you can’t make a carrot grow any faster than a carrot grows.” Dawn explains that this hands-on program teaches the children to “not be afraid to eat spinach.” MKCCC has high hopes for the future of the program and are looking to maintain and expand it.

Wicked at the Burns Celebrates the Magic of Friendship and Self Acceptance

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Some stories are so iconic, they defy gravity. As the highly anticipated Wicked movie made its way to the Jacob Burns Film Center, the town of Pleasantville was all in on the celebration! In fact, Pleasantville has gone Wicked Wild, with pink & green decorations, food & drink specials, Wicked merchandise and a general warm wicked feeling permeating the village. Indeed Wicked has cast a spell on audiences nationwide and smashed several box office records in its opening weekend. The movie event of the year raked in an impressive $164.2 million worldwide, with $114 million in the US, according to Universal Studios.

Gleaming green lights illuminated the outside of the movie theater and inside hats were hanging from the ceiling that felt as magical as Elphaba’s spells! The Take 3 Wine Bar & Café offered Wicked-themed cocktails – green for Elphaba and pink for Glinda. Such a fun & festive touch.

The movie begins as Glinda, the good witch, floats into Munchkinland in a giant, pink bubble, declaring that the wicked witch of the west was dead. Glinda, brilliantly played by Ariana Grande, takes us back to Elphaba’s childhood. She paints a marvelous picture of the struggles that Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo in a captivating performance, is forces to deal with.

Glinda and Elphaba meet at Shiz University, where they unexpectedly become roommates. The two get off to a rough start and we see that their incompatible personalities spark conflict. Glinda, with her bubbly, popular nature, and Elphaba, with a stunningly fierce attitude, misunderstood manner and drive for independence, clash at every turn.

The good in Glinda shines bright as she helps Elphaba out of an embarrassing moment at a school event. Glinda joins Elphaba on the dance floor as the other students laugh at her strange style of dance. She transforms a cringy solo into an extraordinary duet and turns the moment around marking the start of their special bond.

As their journey unfolds, we have a front row seat to their blossoming friendship. Grande’s show stopping vocals and choreography in the song Popular are the solidifying moment that establish their close-knit friendship. The two become inseparable.  “Elfie” helps Glinda, get into the Madame Morrible’s sorcery class, which is her dream. Although the other students view Elphaba as strange and make fun of her green skin, Glinda doesn’t care what others think and sticks by her side.

Wicked does a great job of demonstrating the theme of embracing individuality and acceptance. Glinda’s realization that true friendship is more important than conforming to social expectations promotes the idea that loyalty and self-acceptance can break down superficial barriers to make room for genuine human connections regardless of judgment. 

As Elphaba impulsively decides to take Glinda with her to Oz, my heart was racing watching the intense scene as they walked towards the wizard. Nothing is as powerful as Elphaba’s moment of realization of what she must do to survive. The singing and stunts during the song Defying Gravity, performed by Erivo, were spectacular! Wicked leaves you on the edge of your seat with a large “To Be Continued” title across the screen to ponder what will happen next. I left the theater with my jaw on the floor thinking that I need to see this movie again!

Wicked is not just a movie, but an unforgettable experience that draws you into the enchanting world of Oz. The production was vibrant & striking, and the sets & costumes were like nothing I’ve ever seen! The overall message of friendship and the importance of standing up for what you believe in, even if it means going against the majority, and not judging someone solely based on appearance, leaves the audience feeling good and eager for more. I can’t wait for part two!