Sophomore Equestrian Retires Trophy (6/2/10) Reed Kesslerreturned to PCS from the Devon Horse Show this week placing first and second in the first Junior Jumper class and Time-first Jump-off, respectively this year. By placing first for the third consecutive year, Reed retired the Mike Mullen Challenge Trophy, which has been in play since 1948. Located on Philadelphia's Main Line, The Devon Horse Show is the oldest and largest multibreed competition in the United States.
8th Grader Wins Competition (6/2/10) Naoka Tajima is a winner of the New York International Music Competition. She will appear as a soloist with the Promise Symphony Orchestra on November 21, 2010.
Middle School Teacher Recognized M.S. Social Studies teacher Ericka Petersen is a recipient of one of this year's Blackboard Awards for Teachers. The 14 recipients were selected from more than 250 online nominations from parents, students and educators, then culled by Manhattan Media Group's editorial team. The recipients will be honored at a June 7th awards ceremony at the Fordham University School of Law.
Jessica Carlson Wins Young Artist Award (4/12/10) PCS High School Junior Jessica Carlson won the Best Supporting Young Actress in a Feature Film award for her work in Universal's Vampire's Assistant. The Annual Young Artist Awards ceremony, now in its 31st year, was held on April 11, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.
PCS Junior on Broadway (6/2/10) Eamon Foley is reprising his role in Everyday Rapture which transferred to Broadway's American Airlines Theatre on April 19th. Ben Brantley called Everday Rapture "one of the year's most extravagantly entertaining new musiicals" and Eamon "priceless" when it first opened off-Broadway last May. The show runs thru July 11, 2010. Eamon made his Broadway debut in "13." UPDATE: Eamon is featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal (June 2, 2010) CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY.
Princeton Alumni Weekly Features
PCS Graduate (4/15/10) Anthony Roth Costanzo, who graduated from PCS in 2000 and serves as an alumnus trustee on the PCS Board of Trustees, is featured on the March 17, 2010 cover of the Princeton Alumni Weekly. A countertenor, Anthony recently made his New York City Opera debut as Armindo in Handel's Partenope. The New York Times, in its review, said he sang "splendidly." Anthony is a recent winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition and will be performing at the Glimmerglass Festival this summer in the title role of Tolomeo in Handel's opera. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University in 2004. Click here for the PAW article.
New York State Uneven Bars Champion (3/23/10) High School Sophomore Rachel de la Torre is the New York State Uneven Bars Champion. She placed first in the 16-19 year old division among 45 gymnasts at the New York State Gymnastics Championship in Syracuse, New York. Rachel also placed 5th All Around and advances to the Regional Gymnastics Championship April 9-11 in Boston.
PCS Alumnus Documentary Subject
(3/23/10) Sokvannara "Sy" Sar, is the subject of Dancing Across Borders, a film by Anne Bass opening in New York on March 26th at the Quad Cincema. Ms. Bass saw Sy dance in Cambodia and was so impressed that she arranged for him to come to New York to attend the School of American Ballet. Sy attended PCS and graduated in 2003 He is now a member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Company in Seattle. The film documents Sy's move from rural Cambodia to New York's high-powered dance studios and stages.
Middle Schooler Wins Ballet Competition (3/18/10) Alicia Fotino, Grade 8, won the Junior Age Division Youth America Grand Prix held recently in Providence, Rhode Island. Alicia will be competing in the finals with young dancers from around the world in New York City (March 21-26). Alicia attends the Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory of New York. Alicia competed in the 12-14 year old category, winning the overall competition for the junior division by scoring the highest overall score n the classical and contemporary categories. There was no grand prix awarded in the senior or pre-competitive division in Rhode Island this year.
Hannah Cho Performs on "From the Top" (2/24/10) 15 year-old violinist Hannah (Soo Jin) Cho taped an episode of the nationally syndicated radio program, "From the Top" in Hawaii recently. The show will air in New York on Sunday, February 28th on WQXR 105.9FM at 10 PM. Hannah plays Brahms' Sonatensatz in C minor, Scherzo, Op. posth. Hannah said of her performance, "before I play the piece, I think of how young Brahms composed the piece with a lot of passion and ambition." Hannah is in the 10th grade. "From the Top" has a weekly audience of more than 700,000 listeners on 250 stations nationwide and is the preeminent showcase for young classical musicians.
Dance 212
(1/1/10) Emily Erickson, Grade 12, is one of five dancers, and the only high school student, reporting for Dance 212, "The College Years," a monthly vlog created by Dance Spirit Magazine. The vlog focuses on education options for college-age dancers and, in Emily's case, the choices she faces as she undertakes the college admissions process. Emily will be reporting regularly for the vlog.
7th Grader Makes Broadway Debut (11/11/09) Paige Simunovich makes her Broadway debut in Finian's Rainbow this season. Fifty members of the PCS community attended a preview performance in October. The show opened to rave reviews at the St. James Theatre on October 29th. The score by E.Y. Harburg and Burton Lane includes standards "Old Devil Moon" and "If this isn't Love." Cheyenne Jackson heads the cast.
Senior Named NYCB Apprentice (11/1/09) PCS 12th grader Stephanie Chrosniak has been named an Apprentice with the New York City Ballet Company, joining PCS senior Shoshana Rosenfield who is already dancing with the company as an apprentice. Stephanie will be dancing with the company this holiday season at Lincoln Center. Stephanie is a student at the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. She'll join PCS senior Shoshana Rosenfield who was named an apprentice last season. PCS alumni Tyler Angle, Robert Fairchild, Tiler Peck and Teresa Reichlen were promoted to principal dancers at the same time. Congratulations to all.
Caroline Holder Presents New Work (12/1/09) Art teacher Caroline Holder's one-person show, "Conflict of Interest," (photo at right) opens at Gallery Page and Strange in Halifax, Nova Scotia and runs from Dec. 11-23. In the accompanying artist's statement, Ms. Holder wrote, "the hammer series was developed when, after hearing so much about weapons of mass destruction, I started contemplating weapons of personal destruction. While the hammer does not leap to mind as an efficient “weapon” of any kind, in the context of murder mysteries, of which I am very fond, it fits the bill for a crime of passion. I was led to discover a world of different hammers, each with a specialized function, none of which apply here given that one of the realities of making porcelain hammers is that their use heralds their own destruction. My tendency towards ornament pointed me to rekindle a waning tradition of embellishing tools elaborately in apparent disproportion to their mundane uses, making them things of beauty and a joy to use. "
English Teacher Shellie Sclan's Work Published
(9/17/09) An essay by Senior English teacher Shellie Sclan has been published in a new book, Teaching the Works of Willa Cather. The essay, titled "Navigating the 'Voyage Perilous': Relfections on How Reading Cather Makes Us Want to Write," discusses how Ms. Sclan uses two of Cather's novels to help students in her Life Journeys and Art and Identitiy courses explore their identities as artists. Noted the editors, "we admire Ms. Sclan's empathy for her students and hope that her essay will inspire teachers in all sorts of settings. We are impressed with how she blends Cather's writing with a wide range of films and books." This summer, Ms. Sclan presented a paper, "Counting Costs: City and Self in The Song of the Lark and Lucy Gayheart at the International Willa Cather Seminar 2009: "Cather, Chicago and Modernism," held in Chicago in June.
2009 Graduate on "From the Top" on Sept. 12 (9/8/09) Pianist Dasha Bukhartseva '09 will appear on the nationally syndicated radio program From the Top on Saturday, September 12th on WQXR FM 96.3 FM in New York at 7 PM. Dasha was recently awarded a $10,000 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award by From the Top, the non-profit best known for its NPR and PBS programs. Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Dasha began studying piano at age 8 and was admitted to the Odessa Conservatory of Music when she was 14. She continued her studies at the Juilliard School and the Professional Children's School in 2008 and graduated in 2009. She will attend the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in the fall.
Alumna Bikes Across the Continent in 35 Days (8/10/09) PCS graduate Danielle Goldstein completed a 3,100 mile bicycle trip across the United States in 35 days. Dani, who was a nationally ranked equestrian while a student at PCS, took up the challenge with three friends to raise money in the fight against breast cancer after learning that her aunt was diagnosed with the disease. She wrote after crossing the finish line in Calfornia on July 31st, "the trip had its scary moments, such as asking a stranger to row us across a river in pitch black; but it also had its fabulous moments of looking across the sand dunes in California or crossing the Missiippi River."
Summer Exhibition of Student Art Work
(6/15/09) A large selection of works in all media from Caroline Holder's Middle School and High School art classes are on exhibit this summer in the lobby of Steelcase at 4 Columbus Circle. Steelcase is one of the world's leading manufacturers of office furniture. The lobby is open to visitors Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The exhibit runs through August 2009.
PCS held its high school graduation on June 11, 2009 at Merkin Concert Hall in Manhattan. Forty-one seniors received their diplomas from Head of School James Dawson and Associate Head Carol Kleban. Ms. Kleban was awaded an Honorary Diploma, making her an honorary member of the Class of 2009. The honor was in recognition of her 30 year tenure at PCS. Dr. Dawson addressed the class. Following his remarks, the audience sat back for performances by many of the seniors as well as remarks from four who chose to speak to their classmates.
(4/12/10) PCS High School Junior Jessica Carlson won the Best Supporting Young Actress in a Feature Film award for her work in Universal's Vampire's Assistant. The Annual Young Artist Awards ceremony, now in its 31st year, was held on April 11, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.
(4/15/10) 
(2/24/10) 15 year-old violinist 
(11/11/09) 
(8/10/09) PCS graduate Danielle Goldstein completed a 3,100 mile bicycle trip across the United States in 35 days. Dani, who was a nationally ranked equestrian while a student at PCS, took up the challenge with three friends to raise money in the fight against breast cancer after learning that her aunt was diagnosed with the disease. She wrote after crossing the finish line in Calfornia on July 31st, "the trip had its scary moments, such as asking a stranger to row us across a river in pitch black; but it also had its fabulous moments of looking across the sand dunes in California or crossing the Missiippi River."
(6/15/09) A large selection of works in all media from Caroline Holder's Middle School and High School art classes are on exhibit this summer in the lobby of 
PCS held its high school graduation on June 11, 2009 at Merkin Concert Hall in Manhattan. Forty-one seniors received their diplomas from Head of School James Dawson and Associate Head Carol Kleban. Ms. Kleban was awaded an Honorary Diploma, making her an honorary member of the Class of 2009. The honor was in recognition of her 30 year tenure at PCS. Dr. Dawson addressed the class. Following his remarks, the audience sat back for performances by many of the seniors as well as remarks from four who chose to speak to their classmates.
