Byram Hills Archives - Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk: The Magazines for New and North Castle

Byram Students Shine in Music & Art

October 22, 2017 by The Inside Press

The Byram Hills school district has many good reasons to tout the accomplishments of its music and art students.

BHHS senior John Skiera was recently invited to play the cello as a member of the All-National Symphony Orchestra.

“It is an honor to be selected for this group and I understand it is somewhat rare. I am looking forward to playing in the orchestra and with other students from around the country. It will be quite an experience,” he said recently.

This year’s students (L-R) are Shea Gordon (Mixed Chorus), Dominique Karanfilian (Treble Chorus), and Brent Perlman (Symphonic Band).

The All-National Honor Ensembles performers represent collaboration and creativity in its highest musical form. The All-National Honor Ensembles consist of a concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed choir and jazz ensem-ble. Students were chosen through an audition process.

Three BHHS students have also been selected to participate in New York State School Music Association All-State Ensembles. They will perform in concerts to be held at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York and work with renowned conductors and educators during the annual Winter Conference of the NYSSMA to be held from December 1-4. Students were selected based on their All-State solo performances which were adjudicated by music professionals from throughout New York State.

Some of the selected art students are shown above

Finally, adjudicators from the Armonk Outdoor Art Show, a juried show of artists, selected 22 BHHS students to display their artwork at the popular annual event, which was held Sept. 23 & 24 in

All of the students selected by the AOASH are listed here: Abby Kaiser, Angelique Sarro, Kyra Aronne, Gillian Banaszek, Ben Matza, Cameron Bremner, Carley Hershaft, Chloe Perline, Sofia Corpina, Farran Horowitz, Taylor Kirkwood, Jason Knoop, Lily Moss, Michaela Milano, Olivia Johnson, Jason Roden, Rachel Ruscigno, Sarah Huang, Dina Sokol, Danielle Stein, Sydney Chilewich, Danielle Fliegel.

Triumph for Byram Hills Varsity Hockey

March 5, 2017 by The Inside Press

Byram Hills’ 5th Annual Pink the Rink fundraiser against breast cancer was a great night for BH Varsity Hockey, as the team won for the 4th consecutive year against their Route 22 rivals Fox Lane 11-1. The bigger victory was that the team achieved their goal and raised over $10,500 toward breast cancer research. The Bobcats sported pink hockey sweaters and socks, and Fox Lane got into the spirit with bright pink skate laces.

“We are so proud of our boys and girls,” said Charity Lunder, whose daughter is the goalie, the only girl on the team. “With four sets of siblings on the team, it’s a school record. My son Robert (a senior) and my daughter Grace (a junior) are wrapping up three years of playing on the same team, a dream come true for parents!”

The game took place before an enthusiastic crowd at Brewster Ice Arena, with Bobcats Ethan Behar and Robert Lunder scoring hat tricks. The Bobcats record is 7-4, and they expect to notch more wins in the weeks ahead. The team extends thanks to all in the Byram Hills Community, as well as Fox Lane, who contributed to the success of this campaign.

Eight Byram Hills High School Seniors Named National Merit Finalists

February 16, 2017 by Inside Press

All eight of Byram Hills High School’s National Merit semifinalists have advanced to the next round of the 62nd annual academic competition and are now finalists, the school has announced.

The finalists are William Amorosana, Isabelle Chong, Thomas Daillak, Indra Dan, Timothy Eng, Noah Jacobs, Sabrina You and Juliana Zepf. They comprise roughly 4 percent of the school’s senior class of 207 students.

National Merit finalists (L-R): William Amorosana, Noah Jacobs, Timothy Eng, Indra Dan, Sabrina You, Thomas Daillak, Juliana Zepf, and Isabelle Chong

“We are extremely proud of these exceptional students for their hard work and for their achievements,” said Byram Hills High School Principal Christopher Walsh. “Being named a National Merit finalist is a great accomplishment, and the fact that eight of our seniors have reached that level is testament to the incredible student body here at Byram Hills High School.”

The seniors were named semifinalists in September by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. That achievement was based on their PSAT scores. They are now among the 15,000 students nationwide to be named finalists, for which they were required to show consistently high academic achievement throughout all four years of high school and in any college coursework.

The designation allows them to compete for about 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth $33 million that will be offered in the spring.

“Our National Merit finalists are pursuing a wide range of interests in the sciences and humanities, and we know that they are going to excel in whatever they choose to do in the future,” said Mr. Walsh.

Seven Byram Hills Senior Athletes Sign with Colleges on National Signing Day!

February 2, 2017 by Inside Press

(L-R): Emma Fruhling, Matt Groll, Ally Steffen, Jack Beer, Steven Max, Sylvie Binder, David Noel

Applauded by friends, family and the school community, seven Byram Hills High School students signed up to play on sports teams at colleges including Georgetown and Columbia universities in the National Signing Day celebration.

The annual day in early February marks a celebratory inking of letters of intent to accept athletic scholarships and other offers to play on teams at colleges across the country. The Byram Hills students agreed to join sports programs in soccer, basketball, fencing, crew and golf.

“Today we recognize seven amazing athletes representing five different sports,” high school Coach Matt Allen told the 200 supporters filling a section of the bleachers for the ceremony in the school’s upper gymnasium. “They are each well-rounded, intelligent and hard-working young men and women who will undoubtedly represent Byram Hills to the greatest of their abilities.”

The scholar athletes and the schools they will attend are:

Jack Beer, soccer – Georgetown University, Hoyas

Sylvie Binder, fencing – Columbia University

Emma Fruhling, soccer – Ithaca College, Bombers

Matt Groll, basketball – Franklin & Marshall College, Diplomats

Steven Max, crew – University of California, Berkeley

David Noel, soccer – Eastern Connecticut State University, Warriors

Ally Steffen, golf – University of Richmond, Spiders

One by one, the athletes were called to a dais decked in Byram Hills Bobcats colors of red and blue, where they signed their symbolic letters. Rob Castanga, the district Athletic Director, thanked the friends and family members for attending, and for supporting the athletes.

“It does take a family,” he said. “There are a lot of people involved in helping these dreams come true.”

Byram Schools Enter the Future

December 1, 2016 by Matt Smith

The future is looking bright for members of the Byram Hills School District. The District’s Building Technology Coordinators (Rekha Singh, Al Lovelace, Dawn Seines, and Joanna Nash), along with Byram Hills Director of Technology Dr. Andrew Taylor, are rolling out a series of educational developments in the coming years, hoping to boost their science and technology footprint. These advancements include a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) education initiative that employs coding, robotics, and 3D modeling to encourage interactive, hands-on learning, as well as a classroom re-purposing to allow for technological advancements to be utilized throughout the school day.

The robotics element is one of the most innovative in recent years. “Our goal at Byram Hills is to develop the leaders of tomorrow,” Dr. Taylor explains, “and to do that we need to develop students that can think creatively, work collaboratively, and communicate effectively.” Hence, their plan. The middle school classrooms, which will use this approach, the BOT Spot (Best of Tech Spot), the most, will incorporate an interactive projector, which casts images onto the floor, set up as challenges for the robot to complete. The task is then to program the robot to complete the challenge set forth for the student. For example, if the floor projects a set of apple trees, “one challenge could be for the robot to water the apple trees,” Taylor explains. “[The students] will program the robot to go up and down the rows on the board, and water each one.” Other challenges include creating a robot that will turn lights on and off, or one that will pick something up and carry it to a student. “It’s all about problem solving,” Taylor comments, “[and] coming up with a scenario and designing and programming a robot to help solve the problem.” Taylor points out that both elements of coding and robotics are part of a major update to the Middle School Technology Curriculum.

Fueled by a transition to using cloud-based, wireless Google ChromeBook computers for teaching purposes in 2014 –“we didn’t really need these computer labs anymore, and we wanted to think of new ways of using them,” notes Taylor–the room’s repurposing equips each classroom with a state-of-the-art projector called Span by Nureva, which casts images onto a large whiteboard, up to 40 feet in length, for students to embellish and interact with. The technology is such that large groups of students can add to the board simply by walking up to it and drawing on it with their finger. With the drag of one’s pinky, the board can shift and expand, allowing for multiple users to work on one problem, or in one area, simultaneously. Additionally, given that the content is online, it can also be viewed or edited on any projector or device in the classroom.

Through the genius of technology, too, those students still seated while others are up working at the board will also be able to contribute to the lesson through a software connection in their ChromeBooks–which Taylor can only see as an invaluable advantage. “If I have a typical interactive whiteboard in a classroom, I can have a couple students up there, but the rest of the class is kind of passive. With this new [advancement], I can have 30 students up at the board and have students contributing [to the lesson] from their seats. It’s great.”

He adds that these new developments may also encourage new teaching styles, noting that teachers are devising creative ways to utilize the boards while giving their lessons.

With this technology, “we’re looking to create more interactive lessons and games that engage and involve students,” comments Taylor, on the subject. “With such large boards, we can empower students to be active learners in the classroom. [It’s about] making learning fun.”

While this initiative brings about exciting changes that are no doubt cause for celebration, Taylor’s fully aware that it’s not all without its fair share of challenges: “We’re shifting the education [model] and changing the structural strategies,” he says of the initiatives. “Moving to a new model of learning is difficult, and takes time. It’s not going to happen overnight.” Taylor also acknowledges “not all of this type of technology is made for schools–some are made for homes–so there’s [also] some adjustment we have make in that regard as well.”

Dr. Andrew Taylor demonstrates the new technology.

But all in all, he’s ready to enact the new system. “We’re doing things that haven’t been done in schools ever before,” he says, with a smile, extending his thanks to the Byram Hills Education Foundation for all their financial support: “We couldn’t have done it without them.” Additionally, on the subject of next steps, Taylor mentions “Phase 2,” which involves bringing this new technology into the three on-campus libraries, as well as building an additional classroom, deemed Hub21, to allow these connections to be accessed from a central location. “We are combining research-based learning strategies with modern technology…some of it will work, and some of it may not,” Taylor says, summarizing his objectives. “But we’re thoughtful in our planning and excited about where we’re headed…and where the future will take us.”

The Byram Hills Central School District is located at 10 MacDonald Avenue in Armonk. For more information, visit www.bryamhills.org

Matt Smith is a writer and regular contributor to The Inside Press. For further information or inquiry, please visit www.mattsmiththeatre.com.