News

Members of the Masters Dance Company (MDC) found a way to bounce, leap and chasse՛ back into the spotlight during these challenging times. 

Celebrating Diwali is special to Serena Sharma ’25, and she shared the significance of this holiday during a presentation at the middle school Morning Meeting on Friday, November 13.

The Masters School’s Model UN (MUN) team picked up five awards at the virtual MUN conference hosted by Vanderbilt University during the weekend of November 14-15.

This past summer, upper school music teacher Gilles Pugatch and colleagues David Levin and John-Alec Raubeson started to tinker with JamKazam, an app that allows musicians to collaborate remotely in real time.

Who killed Felix Franz, the fictional owner of the fictional Red Bird Jazz Club? Was it June, his ex-girfriend; Elliott, the pianist or Pops, the club manager? Only upper school acting teacher Meg O’Connor and her cast of characters know for sure.

It was a campus catwalk as fashions ranged from ’80s denim to safari hats and cozy flannel pajamas for Spirit Week held from November 9-12.

In its ongoing efforts to foster an anti-racist and anti-bias community, Masters welcomed back alumni, Hunter LaMar ’13 and Anita Rojas Carroll ’10, as consultants.

The art of storytelling became a truly immersive experience for tenth grade students studying a unit on speculative fiction.

The dynamic duo of Kai Cowin ’21 and Kira Ratan ’22 have put the Masters Debate team on the map by qualifying for the prestigious Tournament of Champions (TOC), the most competitive high school debate contest in the country.

The red poppy is a symbol used to commemorate those who died for their country. Just one of the many Veterans Day lessons eighth grade students learned on Wednesday, November 11.

Being stuck inside during the pandemic in May forced George Chang ’22 to get creative. His ingenuity earned him an honorable mention in the prestigious global contest for the International Photography Awards (IPA) with his bright and eye-catching entry in the student competition category. 

As part of The Masters School’s ongoing efforts to keep its community safe, weekly pooled COVID-19 testing began during the week of October 26.

“The weeks leading up to the election have served as a purposeful learning opportunity for our students well beyond this moment,” said Head of School Laura Danforth in a post-Election Day message to the community that referenced one of the most hotly contested presidential races in years.

Upper school media arts teacher David Becker didn’t travel far for inspiration when he assigned a recent animation class project.

The Dobbs Athletic Association (DAA) is hosting a schoolwide Spirit Week from Monday, November 9 to Thursday, November 12.

Making a difference is what matters most to students involved in the organization Masters Interested in Sharing and Helping, or MISH.

The Na­tional Scholas­tic Press As­so­ci­a­tion (NSPA) along with the So­ci­ety of Pro­fes­sional Jour­nal­ists and the So­ci­ety for New De­sign have honored Kira Ratan ’22 for “out­stand­ing COVID-19 cov­er­age by high school me­dia.” 

Images of basketball great Kobe Bryant, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and music legend Lou Reed adorned a colorful altar in room 309 of Masters Hall. 

Despite the tricky weather, students in the Middle School and Upper School were treated to fun treats all week.

The first annual life science pumpkin decorating contest resulted in clever creations of a cell diagram, a metaphorical pumpkin food chain and a candy corn hedgehog, among many others. The event for seventh-grade students was held the week of October 26.

The newly formed UNICEF Unite club wanted to bring students together on Halloween so they held a virtual costume contest on Friday, October 30 to raise money for UNICEF’s global humanitarian efforts. 

Through a partnership between the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center and the Rochester Institute of Technology, high-scoring Masters students are eligible for college credits in engineering. 

For a self-professed political junkie, nothing is more exciting than teaching during a presidential election. Upper school history teacher Colleen Roche says there has been a lot of challenging ground to cover. 

Taking a page from the presidential debates, the EFFECT and Next Generation Politics (NGP) cocurricular clubs hosted a virtual exchange about climate policy on Thursday, October 29. 

There is no doubt that Madison Blake ’22 is a go-getter. “When I put my mind to something I have to get it done. It just needs to get done,” she said.

With 43 local and international students enrolled, Masters Remote Academy is in full swing and running very smoothly, according to program director Robert Fish. 

As an Estherwood Mansion resident for almost 30 years, middle school art teacher Bruce Robbins knew exactly why the historic, on-campus hall would be a “boo-tiful” setting for a virtual Ghost Stories gathering on Saturday, October 17.

Sabine Godwin ’23 played a major role in guiding the Connecticut/New York (CONNY) girls lacrosse squad to a championship at this past weekend's prestigious Under Armour All-America Underclass Tournament, which featured the best high school players in the nation. 

Toting topical signs about voting, immigration and global warming, students from Mary Chappell’s humanities 7A class took to the streets of Dobbs Ferry on Tuesday, October 20 to make their voices heard.  

How to be or not to be was what prompted theater teacher Meg O'Connor to get creative with her upper school students this semester. “Since we were faced with the challenge of working remotely and for no more than two hours per week, I thought it would be the right season to introduce mask work,” said O’Connor.

After years of planning, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) is now offering a new curriculum to all middle school students.

Many thanks or “muchas gracias” to our intrepid sixth and seventh grade students who put together an informative, entertaining presentation about Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month and presented during Morning Meeting on Friday, October 9.

The fields and courts around The Masters School's campus came alive over the past two weeks, as members of our boys soccer, girls soccer, girls tennis, volleyball, field hockey and cross-country teams made their much-awaited return to action.

Stamford Magazine featured nine “teens to watch” in New York and Connecticut with impressive accomplishments, a range of interests, a commitment to serving others, and top grades. Masters’ own Sophia Viscarello ’21 was one of those selected.

A father-son camping trip to Yellowstone National Park in September provided a picture-perfect moment for budding photographer Charlie Cooper ’23. 

Watching from afar is not how Annie Fabian ’22 felt she could best honor Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, October 12.

As part of Masters’ commitment to its anti-racism and anti-bias plan announced in July 2020, Roland Davis will be joining the School as a part-time consultant. 

The return to school feels different this year, but the Masters community is resilient and committed to advancing the School’s mission, “to gather to learn, to strive, to dare, to do — to be a power for good in the world,” despite the current challenges.

“I am delighted to welcome our day students and faculty back to campus,” said Head of School Laura Danforth in a recent recorded video message to the community. 

The Masters School’s award-winning student newspaper, Tower, shared its very first edition of Tower Broadcast News (TBN) on Friday, October 2. This latest feature from Tower was an impressive showing of journalism, planning and video production.

In August, Associate Head of Middle School Lynn Salehi challenged a handful of students with a bold project: create a virtual version of the Middle School on Minecraft, a 3D sandbox video game that allows players a large amount of freedom and creativity in choosing how to play the game.

In preparation for the return of day students and faculty back to campus on Monday, October 5, The Masters School is requiring that all students, faculty and staff provide a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test result from a test administered within five days of the return to campus for in-person instruction.

Senior students in Colleen Roche’s political science class welcomed guest speaker and alumnus Jesse Wexler ’19 on Tuesday, September 30, and learned about Wexler’s work to fight against voter suppression.

Following her 2017 essay collection “Don’t Mind Me, I Just Died,” upper school English teacher Caroline Dumaine, who publishes under her birth name, Caroline Sutton, continued her exploration of family relationships in “Mainlining: A Memoir.”

On Thursday, September 24, Head of School Laura Danforth announced that day students will be able to return to in-person instruction starting on Monday, October 5.

The Masters School’s mission — “to be a power for good in the world” — was alive and well this week as the Middle School’s student leadership groups kicked off the year with virtual meetings on Zoom.

Whether fashion or physics, politics or poetry, the Upper School has a club for just about every interest.

A Better Masters, The Masters School’s anti-racism and anti-bias action plan, covers six areas of school life: governance; admission; racial diversity among faculty, staff and administrators; policies and procedures; curriculum and pedagogy; and community and belonging.

Perhaps one of the most beloved start-of-year practices for middle school students is organizing and decorating their lockers, when the somewhat dreary metal encasements are transformed into bold and colorful displays of personality.

Being new to a school is a challenging experience, even for teachers. That’s why, every summer, before the school year begins, incoming Masters faculty participate in the New Faculty Institute (NFI), a five-day intensive that aims to welcome them into and get to know all aspects of the community.

After six months away, middle and upper school students returned to campus to spend time together and take part in a variety of outdoor activities. 

Dakota Daniello ’23 made big news over the summer, committing to play NCAA Division II women's basketball at Florida Southern College (FSC).

During a summer when plans for traditional warm-weather activities — sleep-away camps, vacations — were upended by COVID-19, a nascent program, Masters Summer Learning Initiative, gave students the chance to explore new interests and passions. 

After a summer apart, athletes, dancers, actors and even student journalists gathered virtually for several days of preseason training and community building activities. 

The Masters School is delighted to welcome a cohort of new faculty and staff to the community.

Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2020!

The Middle School graduation took place on Friday, June 5. Click here to read more, view a photo gallery and watch videos from the day.

The Masters School celebrated the Class of 2020 on Saturday, June 6. Click here to read more, view a photo gallery and watch videos from the day.

Despite an inability to collaborate in person during remote learning, students in the performing arts created impressive works during the last two months of the school year.

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2019-2020 underclass awards, which were announced on Thursday, June 4.

The following students received awards during the Eighth Grade Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 4. Congratulations to the award winners!

The following seniors received awards during the annual Senior Awards Ceremony on Friday, June 5. Congratulations to all award recipients!

More than 100 students gathered virtually on Friday, June 5, to participate in "Building the Culture at Masters," a student leader training workshop designed by faculty members Lee Dieck and Meghan MacWilliams. 

Matthew Pollack ’20 has always been interested in military history and working with veterans, and his senior project allowed him to pursue his passion by interviewing American veterans about their wartime experiences.

The Masters School’s mission — to be a power for good in the world — seems more important than ever as the country grapples with deep-seated issues of racial injustice.

Recently, as she was reading about the plight of New York City’s homeless population during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam Coffey ’17 decided to take action.

The fifth grade’s yearlong interdisciplinary study of ancient Egypt and opera culminated in an impressive puppet opera — performed via prerecorded video — on Monday, June 1.

This spring, Jazz Band found an innovative way to make music together while apart.

Click here to read about how we plan to honor the Class of 2020!

Please click here to view Masters' response to the COVID-19 health crisis.

From her early days cutting up T-shirts at summer camp, Emma Rubinson ’17 has been passionate about fashion.

Using virtual galleries, middle and upper school students are proudly displaying the colorful, innovative and powerful artworks they created over the course of the year.

What is history’s most important, impactful and overlooked innovation? The answer, according to the winners of the ninth grade history project Panther Tank, is the concept of translation.

Every day can feel quite similar under stay-at-home orders, but for students in Studio Art Major, the routine of daily life has become an inspiration.

Carolyn Hohl ’21 can add a new set of awards to her growing list: The young poet recently received two national recognitions from the nonprofit organization Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for two of her poems.

Sharks, penguins and whales, oh my! During the week of May 11, middle school students in Dana McNamee’s science classes explored the fascinating world of ocean species with marine scientists.

Masters standout basketball player Brooke Tatarian ’21 put in countless hours of hard work in the classroom and the gym, resulting in a lifelong dream coming to fruition.

Students in Studio Art Major recently created Rube Goldberg machines — contraptions that are intentionally designed to perform simple tasks in indirect and overly complicated ways — out of objects found around their homes. 

With stay-at-home orders in place in the New York area, many people have found themselves spending more time in their kitchens. 

Health care staff at Montefiore Nyack Hospital in Nyack, New York, have been regularly treated to the music of the Malino Family Band, a Masters family trio made up of John Malino Scheuer P’18, ’20, Buster Scheuer ’20 and Sarah Scheuer ’18.

An ordinary FaceTime conversation with his aunt inspired Stephen Boe ’18 to pursue an extraordinary idea.

Congratulations to Caio Lanes ’21 and Sophia Viscarello ’21, who were voted in as the 2020-2021 Executive Committee co-chairs. 

Health care workers at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, received a heart-warming — and delicious — surprise thanks to Serena Sharma ’25 and her family.

They couldn’t go to the ocean, so the ocean came to them.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, members of the Masters community did their part to protect the environment, from organized litter pickups to sustainable recipe shares.

The COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting tremendous economic devastation on communities around the United States, and The Masters School has responded by creating a Student Access Fund.

Adding to its growing list of accolades, Tower, the School’s student-run newspaper, placed in the top 10 for Best of Show broadsheet print newspapers from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA).

Sam New ’21 is passionate about school safety, and during her Masters Thesis presentation on Wednesday, April 15, New shared her research on how to make schools safer.

On a typical school day, approximately 1,000 students, faculty and staff head to the dining hall to enjoy meals prepared by Brock & Company, the School’s food service provider.

Exercise, with its innumerable health benefits, is more important than ever these days, and drama and dance teacher Jason Reiff is aiming to keep the Masters community active with weekly adult yoga classes.

Not even social distancing and remote learning could stop members of The Masters School's varsity girls soccer team from continuing to build team chemistry. 

The Masters School’s admission cycle is wrapping up in full virtual swing with remote interviews through Skype and virtual events for prospective families through Zoom. 

Staying active has innumerable health benefits, and starting next week, the Athletics Department is going to get our community moving with daily workouts and weekly challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended myriad aspects of our world, including in-school education. Due to an inability to meet in person, The Masters School recently began a new journey of remote learning. 

The Masters School once again lived its mission — to be a power for good in the world — by donating boxes of goggles, germicidal wipes and gloves to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

A cast of 34 students staged a powerful performance of the musical “Side Show” on Friday, February 28, and Saturday, February 29.

For Masters Thesis students, months of research culminated in the annual evening symposia on Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 4.

From climate change to migration, the tenth grade tackled a host of global issues during the annual Model United Nations Day on Monday, March 2.

Our girls basketball, swimming, indoor track, fencing and squash teams all closed out their respective postseason campaigns over the past 10 days.

“How can I help?” This was the question that fifth grade students answered on Friday, February 21, when each student stood before an audience in Doc Wilson Hall and presented on a well-researched topic.

Julia Levin ’21 first started playing guitar when she was young — just 8 or 9 years old — and since then has become a passionate musician who has even given a TEDxTheMastersSchool Talk on the subject of female guitarists in the music industry.

Masters brought the bookstore to students this week during the School’s 3rd Annual Middle School Book Fair.

It was the day of Chinese New Year, when he learned that a hospital in Wuhan, China, was asking for donations, that Victor Li ’21 realized how serious the coronavirus problem was in his home country.

Upper school artists had the opportunity to take a lesson with Yonkers-based painter and printmaker Elizabeth de Béthune on Thursday, February 20.

Challah bread, samosas, jerk chicken and cannoli were just some of the culinary delights on the menu for the Middle School during a potluck lunch hosted by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) leadership group on Thursday, February 20.

Upper school students in French 4 class recently explored the culture of Francophone West Africa during their reading of “Le coiffeur de Kouta” by Malian author Massa Makan Diabaté. 

The varsity girls basketball team kicked off its New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) title defense on Thursday afternoon at home.

The sounds of bass drums and turntables filled Doc Wilson Hall on Wednesday, February 12, but the only instruments present were the voices of champion beatboxers Kaila Mullady and Mark Martin.

Stacey Tisdale P’23, a more than 20-year veteran TV broadcast financial journalist and the first African American to report from the New York Stock Exchange, brought inspiration to the Upper School on Friday, February 7.

One of the world’s largest art museums became a classroom for sixth graders on Friday, February 7.

Alex Pinnock ’26 cares about helping animals – especially the eastern bluebird, the state bird of New York.

The entire tenth grade took a deep dive into the workings of the United Nations on Monday, February 3, in preparation for their annual Model UN day next month.

An impressive total of seven indoor track school records were smashed at the Varsity Classic meet on Monday, February 3, at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York City.

A cast of 17 upper school students delighted the audience with a musical journey on Friday, January 31, and Saturday, February 1, during the second annual Upper School Musical Revue.

A group of sixth graders has found a way to use memes for good by creating Time for Memes, a publication that celebrates and analyzes the internet cultural phenomena.

As millions of Americans were watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 2, senior AP English students were taking in a vastly different form of entertainment: Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

During the week of January 27 through 31, students across campus were spotted sporting neon attire, 90s fashion and fuzzy pajamas.

Along with a passel of other talented young artists, Jonah Ginsburg ’20 traveled to Miami earlier this month to participate in the National YoungArts Week, a weeklong program for National YoungArts Foundation finalists that features master classes, workshops and mentorship from leading artists in their fields.

Students and faculty, brought together by the School’s Jewish Culture Club, gathered in the Sharon Room on Monday, January 27, to honor International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

On Tuesday, January 28, eighth grade Mandarin students learned about Chinese history and culture, all while enjoying a spread of traditional Chinese food.

The Masters School's varsity girls fencing team took first place in all three weapons at the Independent School Fencing League Individual Championships at Horace Mann School.

The Dobbs Athletic Association is hosting a spirit and Pack the Den week next week, Monday, January 27, through Friday, January 31. 

Upper school French students were treated to a day of French culture on Thursday, January 23.

The upper school community embraced Masters’ mission – to be a power for good in the world – by honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday, January 16.

A pair of indoor track school records were broken at the Ivy League Prep Schools Meet at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York City on Monday, January 13.

Standout varsity girls basketball player Brooke Tatarian ’21 reached an impressive milestone in a 56-55 victory over Summit Academy on December 29, 2019.

Building on their accomplishments during the 2018-2019 school year, The Masters School’s Cybersecurity Team, comprised of Zach Battleman ’21, Matt Nappo ’21 and Brandon Zazza ’21, advanced to the platinum tier in the state round of CyberPatriot’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition on Saturday, December 7, 2019.

The Masters School Debate Team emerged from the Regis Christmas Classic tournament with bragging rights: Partners Kai Cowin ’21 and Carolyn Hohl ’21 won third overall in the varsity public forum, and Cowin was awarded best speaker in the varsity public forum.

Friends, faculty and sushi was a recipe for a great night on Wednesday, January 8. More than 80 young alums, current seniors and faculty members filled Estherwood Mansion for the annual Young Alumnae/i Sushi Soiree.