News
Summer in Quarantine: In Their Own Words
Alumna Alexandra Nava-Baltimore ’20 reached out to fellow recent grads and Upper School students...
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Dr. Jackson Collins Addresses Racial Literacy, Microaggressions, and Moving Forward with Poly Prep Faculty
Dr. Jackson Collins was the keynote speaker at Poly's annual professional development...
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Exploring the Language of Light
What makes a photograph most interesting, most successful as a work of artistic interest? That is a question visual arts…
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Freedom from Bias: Poly Parents Do Anti-Racism Work
How do parents help children understand police brutality and street protests? How can we learn about overlooked parts of American…
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Meet Opeyemi Laniyonu, Poly’s New Director of Annual Giving
Opeyemi Laniyonu has joined the Advancement team as Director of Advancement...
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Poly’s eSports Team Rockets to Finals
In its first year, Poly’s eSports team reached the High School eSports League (HSEL) Rocket League finals ...
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Guest Speakers Roundup: Highlights from 2019-2020
Notable historians, authors, and even a SpaceX engineer were among the many guests who came to Poly to enrich our…
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The Poly Podcast
This spring Poly launched The Poly Podcast. Each short, conversational episode features Poly faculty and staff and offers an informative…
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Advanced Dance Class Is New York Tough
In the Advanced Dance class final video project, “NY Tough,” dancers expressed their lives during quarantine, accompanied by the words…
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Original Play by Hallie Stephenson ’20 Accepted into Winterfest New York Theater Festival
Aspiring actor and playwright Hallie Stephenson ’20 often performed on the Poly stage, and now, her original play, The Virgin’s…
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Lunch & Learn Workshops: A Space for Students to Discuss Racism
Following the murder of George Floyd, faculty and students led Lunch & Learn Workshops on June 9 to give Grades…
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Grade 7 History Responded to Murder of George Floyd by Creating an Art & Activism Gallery
A Los Angeles Times story shared by history teacher Elaine Levia’s friend, LA Times staff writer Makeda Easter, inspired Levia…
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Poly Celebrates Its 163rd Commencement
The day the Class of 2020 had been looking forward to, arrived on June 12 at 11 AM when Poly…
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Austin Somers ’20 Is 2020 Commencement Senior Speaker
The Class of 2020 chose Austin Somers ’20 to represent them as the Senior Speaker at Commencement 2020 on June…
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Joseph Dana Allen Award Winner Emily Weinstein ’20 Is 2020 Commencement Speaker
Emily Weinstein '20, recipient of the Joseph Dana Allen Award was one of two student speakers at graduation.
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Lower School Celebrates the Class of 2028
“The world is crying out for change, and while there are not a lot of answers, I remain hopeful and…
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Grade 8 Moves Up
One word to describe the Class of 2024 is resilient. “This year has been turbulent enough to tell you that…
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Middle School “Mathsmanship”
On a recent Saturday afternoon, 32 of Poly’s Middle School students were not playing video games on their screens, but…
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Grades 3 & 4 Find New Ways to Collaborate in Music and Dance
Collaboration was key to bringing to life this year’s Grades 3 & 4 Spring Concert and Dance performance on June…
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Students Honored at Annual Major Awards Ceremony
Like so many school events that “went virtual” in this time of remote learning and social distancing, the time honored…
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Grade 5 Lands Top Spot in Poly Read-a-Thon Challenge
“As a school, Nursery to Grade 12, we read for 234,290 minutes in the month of May!” reported librarian Brian…
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Congratulations to Poly’s Class of 2020 Cum Laude Inductees
Congratulations to the 21 Poly Upper School students who are being inducted into the Cum Laude Society. In 1906, Poly…
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SpaceX Engineer Takes Nursery on a Journey into Space
“Does it get to be morning time in space?” Nursery students with questions like this had the opportunity to ask…
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Congratulazioni! Italian Elective Students Win High Honors
World Languages Department Chair and Italian teacher Elisabeth Mansfield is proud to announce that this year more than half the…
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Oh, How They’ve Grown: Poly Seniors Look Back
The annual tradition took a different form this year, but the sentiments were stronger than ever. Every May, members of…
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Nicholas Perez ’20 Awarded Nathan and Estelle Feldman Sustainability Prize
Nicholas Perez ’20 was awarded the 2020 Nathan & Estelle Feldman Sustainability Prize Poly hosted the third annual Nathan &…
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Algunas Noticias Buenas from Grade 6
Need some good news? Algunas noticias buenas? Kristin Ginty’s Grade 6 Spanish class decided we could all use some. Based…
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Night (or Day) at the New Virtual Poly Museum
This week, Poly opened the doors to its first art exhibition in the Virtual Poly Museum. To kick off this…
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Lower School Literati
The ever popular Lower School Author Series continues in Virtual Poly, inspiring literacy and connecting with young readers in their…
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Poly Students Recognized as 2020 National Merit Scholars
Congratulations to two members of the Class of 2020, Haleigh Twomey ‘20 and Emily Weinstein ‘20, who have been named…
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Five Class of 2020 Student-Athletes Named All-American
Congratulations to the five Poly student-athletes in the Class of 2020 who were named All-Americans. Poly is so proud of…
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Creating Community in Virtual Poly
Maintaining a sense of community is vital during Virtual Poly. Middle and Upper School clubs, Assembly, Community Time, and Virtual…
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History Club Members Advance in National History Day Competition
Congratulations to the Poly Middle School students and members of the History Club who advanced to the state level of…
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Alumnus Alan Kane ’54 Remembers The Polio Epidemic and Andy Gurley ’55
The current COVID-19 pandemic is not the first crisis in Poly’s 166-year history. The nation has endured through the Civil…
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Community Service in a Pandemic
Poly students have found a number of wonderful opportunities for virtual community service during the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting a variety…
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Coffeehouse Rocks Virtual Poly
It was Friday afternoon and anyone looking for some fun only had to check out Poly’s Virtual Coffeehouse on May…
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Middle & Upper School Adapting to Virtual Poly
Middle and Upper School faculty and students entered Virtual Poly on April 1 not knowing how long they would be…
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Overview of Virtual Poly: From Start-Up to Up and Running
“We are not going to just hang on. We are going to make it great.” This is what Assistant Head…
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The Class of 2020 Heads to College
Congratulations to Poly’s Class of 2020. Our 125 seniors are enrolling at 77 different colleges across the country and around…
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Alumnus Max Rose ’04 Serves During Pandemic
Poly Prep was already proud of Max Rose ‘04 when he was elected to represent NY District 11 in the…
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Virtual Poly Tech Hero: Charles Polizano P’18
“When it comes to Virtual Poly,” said Math Department Chair Dr. Maria DiCarlo P’23, “Charles Polizano P’18 is the wizard…
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Lower School in Virtual Poly
At the Lower School Virtual Town Hall several weeks into Virtual Poly, Head of Lower School Francis Yasharian said that…
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Upper School Students Earn Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Creativity runs through the rooms and hallways of Poly, so when it’s time to put it to paper, our teachers…
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Welcome Kane Willis, New Upper School Dean
Our new Upper School Dean Kane Willis comes to Poly from the Admissions Office at Haverford College, where he served…
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Afternoon of Student Choreography
Movement… color… sound… leaps and pirouettes… every year, it all comes to life in Poly’s annual Afternoon of Student Choreography.…
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Get to Know Your BOG: Qadir Forbes ’11
Who: Qadir Forbes ’11 College: Williams College, Class of 2015 Poly Claim to Fame Today: Alumni Association Board of Governors,…
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Lower School Festival of Lights
A longtime Poly Prep Lower School tradition, begun by former teacher Pat Morris, continued when Grade 4 hosted the Festival…
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Upper School Advanced Drawing and AP Art Classes Make New Connections With Art Editor Elizabeth Meryman
Another reason a Poly Arts education is so special: Elizabeth Meryman, art editor during the 1990s for the nationally recognized…
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Author Rick Moody Visits Poly
Students at Upper School Assembly were treated to a visit from writer Rick Moody, whose 1994 bestseller The Ice Storm…
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Students Explore Tech With Lego Robots, Virtual Locomotives, and Giant Tetris
Robots and railroads were created virtually by fifth graders and middle school students, who got hands-on in a virtual world…
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Poly Recognized with U.S. Army Community Partnership Award
Poly Prep—the only high school in the group—was one of 10 organizations across America to win the U.S. Army’s Community…
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Middle School Technology Students Create 3D Locomotives
Technology teacher Ann Oransoff’s 8th grade Computer Design class students have been learning to use 3D modeling software. She asked…
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The Grade 7 Trip to Philadelphia’s Historic Sites Included A “Rocky” Moment
Poly’s Grade 7 students, deans, and teachers visited Philadelphia for two days to enhance both the history and science curricula.…
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Fall 2019 Teams Produce 20 All-League Players
As each sports season wraps up, the league coaches get together to select the best players from each sport to…
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Context Series: Nicholas Buccola
“Wow… they get easier after that one, right?” was Dr. Nicholas Buccola’s impressed response when Nick Perez ’20, asked him…
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Three Class of 2020 Scholar-Athletes Sign Collegiate Letters of Intent
Congratulations to three of our scholar-athletes, who have big achievements to celebrate! Three student-athletes signed letters of commitment to play…
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Lower School Prospect Park Cleanup
Poly Prep’s 8th annual Prospect Park Cleanup took place on a gorgeous day in November 2019, and brought out the…
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Lower School Gets Visits From Their Favorite Authors
Since 2010, Lower School students have have experienced the joy and excitement of meeting the authors of their favorite books…
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Girls’ Varsity Teams Win Four Championships in One Weekend
Yes, that’s what we said: FOUR championships in one weekend! Poly Prep’s Varsity Girls soccer team proved themselves to be…
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LS Celebrates Diwali in Kindergarten
Several parents of Poly’s Kindergarten students came to class one morning to tell the children about the Hindu festival of…
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Middle School Book Club ‘Wild Riders!’ Talks to Author Jess Rothenberg
How often do Middle Schoolers get to interview the author of their favorite book? Poly Prep’s Grades 6-8 book club,…
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Jazz at Lincoln Center Comes to Middle School
What better way to start the morning than hearing Jazz at Lincoln Center musicians playing Duke Ellington’s “Take the A…
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Middle Schoolers Dive Into The Billion Oyster Project with a Service Trip to Governors Island
Since 2015, Poly’s Grade 6 class has participated in the Billion Oyster Project, which aims to restore oyster reefs to…
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Softball MVP Award Named for Coach Piscopo
It was announced at the Spirit Award ceremony at 2019 Homecoming that the Softball MVP award will be named for…
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Middle School/Upper School Create A Mosaic Treasure Garden
Have you seen the the beautiful Mosaic Treasure Garden yet, near the greenhouse? It’s the result of an inspired, creative…
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It Does Not Take a Lifetime to Feel as Though You’ve Built a New Life
Recent Poly alumna Liat Weinstein ’18 reflects on her first year of college. Dear College Freshmen,Just one year ago, as…
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Discoveries and New Directions Postcollege
Duke grad Kalif Jeremiah ’15 shares eye-opening lessons learned as he enters the next chapter of his life. Dear Class…
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Visit from South African Students
Students from the Westville School for Boys from Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa, joined Upper School students here at Poly…
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Alumnus Chosen for Lacrosse team at Annapolis
Congratulations to Ben Balser ’19 on being chosen for the men’s lacrosse team at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis!…
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Grade 4 Students Take on the Great Art Stool Project
Bursts of color, foreign landscapes, classic portraits. Surrealism, realism, still lifes. Our fourth graders choose artwork that speaks to them,…
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Grade 7 Harlem Renaissance Festival
Billie Holiday’s jazz vocals spill out of classrooms and seventh graders learn to dance the Charleston during the Harlem Renaissance…
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Artist Residency with Jill Sigman ’85, Using Found Objects to Change Our View of “Waste”
Poly’s first artist residency began in early May 2019 with alumna Jill Sigman ’85, a contemporary artist, choreographer, and dancer.…
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Creating and Curating with the Brooklyn Museum
As part of a new class, Creating and Curating with the Brooklyn Museum, June D. ’23 was inspired by the…
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Student Volunteer Interviews Alumni at Reunion
During Reunion 2019, Student Volunteer Alexandra N. ‘20 Connected with Alumni. My name is Alexandra N. ’20, and I am…
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Grade 8 Drama Class
Poly’s Middle School drama students excelled among over 150 students from New York State who competed for two days in…
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Alumni Association Annual Meeting at 2019 Reunion
Poly’s all-female a cappella group, Harmonics, opened the Alumni Association Annual Meeting on April 27 with a beautiful rendition of…
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Nathan and Estelle Feldman Sustainability Prize Awarded to Shania Smith ’19
Congratulations to Shania Smith ’19, who was awarded the Nathan and Estelle Feldman Sustainability Prize by Poly Prep’s Director of…
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US Curricular Travel to Argentina Included Hiking Glaciers and Dancing the Tango
If you see any Poly students who went to Argentina over Spring Break, ask them what it was like to…
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Screening of ‘On the Basis of Sex’ Leads to Lively Panel Discussion
On a cool evening in March 2019, the Poly community gathered in the Richard Perry Theatre for a screening of…
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Brooklyn Poet Laureate Tina Chang Tells Poly Students About Creativity… and Her Phone
The Poet Laureate of Brooklyn, Tina Chang, left a strong impression on students at Poly. She spoke to Upper School…
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Context Series Speaker Min Jin Lee, Author of ‘Pachinko,’ Fills Poly’s Theater
Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko, was our first Poly Context speaker of 2019, and the event was such a…
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US AP History at MET for Art of Native American exhibit from the Charles ’52 and Valerie Diker Collection
As part of their visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Poly’s AP Art History students and their teacher Laura…
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Sydney Urban ’20 Named a Soccer All American
Huge congratulations to superstar athlete and Poly Blue Devil Sydney Urban ’20! Sydney is a two-time All-American—dedicated, ambitious, and a…
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