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May 2009 |
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StreetSquash and CitySquash’s middle school teams joined forces on Friday May 22nd to celebrate and promote the sport of squash with a round-robin team tournament in honor of World Squash Day. Instead of square off against each other, the StreetSquash and CitySquash students intergrated to make up four different 12-person teams that played two sets of matches. While team “Chicago” ended up winning the tournament, all the participants enjoyed the opportunity for a some competition and celebrate World Squash Day. |
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79 StreetSquash students, staff, and volunteers participated in a full day of community service at the One Million Trees event in Red Hook, Brooklyn on Saturday May 16th. After a lengthy train ride down from Harlem, the StreetSquash contingent split up into groups of three and immediately began to plant trees as part of New York City’s year long effort to improve the city’s landscape. When it was all said and done, the StreetSquashers managed to plant close to 100 hundred trees. Congradutulations to all those involved for making the day such a great experience. |
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Over twenty college and university admission representatives visited the SL Greene StreetSquash Center on Friday May 1st for the first ever StreetSquash College Fair. For members and parents of Team 2, 3, and 4 the College Fair provided a great opportunity to learn about schools ranging from Ivy League institutions, smaller liberal arts colleges, and several schools in the CUNY and SUNY systems. There were also speakers from the SUNY Student Recruitment Center in the New York City and from the Gates Millenium Scholarship who provided valuable information about options and scholarships for senior year. The Fair also gave many representatives a chance to visit the StreetSquash Center for the first time, and everyone came away impressed by the building and the entire StreetSquash program. Thank you to everyone who braved a rainy afternoon and visited. |
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April 2009 |
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Eight StreetSquashers and Squash Director Tony Maruca traveled to Williamstown, MA to compete in the Brint Coxe Invitational over the April 24th weekend. The students faced local adults and juniors, and the girls played against some of the best college girls from Williams and Trinity. Everyone got to play on the glass court with the stereo system installed especially for the tournament blaring. In addition, everyone took in some very hotly contested professional matches going on at the same time as part of the Berkshire Open. The kids all stayed with host families in the area and enjoyed activities ranging from acapella concerts to trips to Green River to befriending the younger children and pets of our hosts. Thank you to the Schoenbaum, Bernhardsson, Dewey, and Swann families for their generosity and help in making the trip so enjoyable. |
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10 Team 2 and 3 Members visited four colleges in the Ithaca area as part of the last College Prep Trip of the school year. The trip started off with a quick tour of Binghamton University, led by StreetSquash alumni Sonia Gaona and Keith Keith. After a late arrival in Ithaca Friday night, the group visited three different campuses Saturday: Ithaca College, Cornell University, and SUNY Cortland. While all three schools were within 30 miles of each other, each has its own unique characteristics and gave all the students enough distinctions to compare and contrast each school. The students also enjoyed a true college dining experience as they had lunch in the Ithaca dining hall. Before heading home Sunday afternoon, the group continued a College Prep tradition and squeezed in two games of bowling at a local alley. Thank you to all the tour guides and admissions officers, especially those at Ithaca College. |
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On Friday April 4, twenty-five members of International Visitor Leadership Program, Foreign Service Officers, and staff from the United States Department of State came to the StreetSquash Center to meet with a group of high school StreetSquashers. For many of the International Visitors, it was their first time in the United States, let alone in Harlem. In an engaging ice-breaker, participants shared details of their favorite places in their hometowns. In small groups, the International Visitors, students, and staff members then participated in a wide ranging discussion about Youth Leadership and Civic Participation, exchanging a broad range of experiences and perspectives across cultures and nationalities. It was a special afternoon for everyone in attendance, and the StreetSquash students emerged with a greater appreciation for their relationship to the world beyond Harlem, the United States, and what they have learned in school so far. |
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Over 30 StreetSquash high school players drove up I-95 to meet their NUSEA peers from SquashBusters at Yale’s Payne Whitney Gymnasium for the 10th annual match between the two programs. Having won the matchup in 2008 for the first time in six years, the StreetSquashers were eager to repeat last year’s success and take up the StreetSquash/SquashBusters trophy for another year. Despite the best efforts of the entire team, though, SquashBusters captured a hard-fought 16-13 victory to claim the 2009 title. While SquashBusters took the match, the StreetSquash girls stood strong throughout the day, as 12 of the 14 matches on the girls side went to StreetSquash. Congratulations to all the players involved! |
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March 2009 |
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22 Team 6 Members partook in their first weekend trip with StreetSquash as the group traveled to Northampton, Massachusetts from March 27th-29th. The team traveled throughout western Massachusetts on Saturday as they visited the Basketball Hall of Frame in Springfield, watched the creation of maple syrup at South Face Farm, and then played squash with members of the Smith squash team afterward. After a good nights sleep, the team members traveled back to Smith Sunday morning and worked with students of Smith’s Exercise and Sports Science class before traveling back to New York. Thank you to all the host families and everyone else who made the trip possible. |
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18 Members of Teams 1, 2, and 3 joined College Prep Director Mary Cipollone and staff members Sage Ramadge and Ryan McGinley-Stempel for a tour of four Pennsylvania colleges on the third College Prep trip of the year. Standing out on the trip was a guided tour at Franklin and Marshall College led by StreetSquash alumni Sheena Suckoo and Gabby Robinson. The two first-years gave the current StreetSquash students an in-depth look at student life at F&M, and many students left campus excited about the prospect of attending F&M. The group also received a welcoming reception at Dickinson College, where two admissions officers and a student led a campus tour and then sat down with the students to answer questions. In addition, the StreetSquashers visited Haverford College and Gettysburg College to complete a full weekend of visits and other activities. |
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On Saturday March 15th Team 7 traveled to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ for their first team trip with StreetSquash. The team spent the day engaging in interactive exhibits and learning about skyscrapers, the immune system, the Hudson River ecosystem and sustainability. Even though the team members missed a day of squash practice, they all enjoyed the activities at the Science Center and the chance to explore outside of New York City. |
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On March 8th StreetSquash had its first mentor outing at Harlem Lanes. Over 30 people came for this event, as the students and mentors connected really well and each lane ended up having serious competitions amongst the students and mentors alike. The event started at 2pm and for over three hours the kids and mentors interacted with each other, eating food, and playing games . Afterward the mentors provided ideas for the next event and came up with some great suggestions, including having a kick-ball event at Central Park. Thank you for all the mentors and mentees for making Sunday such a great event. |
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26 Team 6 and 7 members traveled to New Haven on Saturday, March 7, 2009 to play a match with SquashHaven. The teams commuted to New Haven by train and walked around the Yale campus during our visit in addition to playing three hours of squash. Each player had a minimum of three matches and enjoyed bouncing around the wonderful Yale facility in between their court time. Thank you to Julie Greenwood and the SquashHaven team members for hosting such an enjoyable event! |
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