Ross School News: Senior Projects, Spiral Curriculum

Ross Upper School

Using her love for dance as her muse, student based her Senior Project around her performance in The Nutcracker as the Sugar Plum Fairy. This production was held at in December, and Emily documented her journey through this role, which represented a culmination of her adolescent love for the performing arts.

“Once offered this role by the director of my ballet company, I jumped at the chance to integrate it into my Senior Project,” said Emily. While half of her project was the performance itself, the other half was a conceptual documentary photography and video instillation that delved into the world behind the curtain, showing the happenings backstage and the emotional rollercoaster of putting on a show, as well as her own personal experience of becoming Sugarplum and performing this renowned leading role.

Continuing its mission to help others in need and work with communities in our backyard and around the world, Ross School has once again donated sports equipment to Hoops 4 Hope, which collects these goods for community centers in Africa. This time, children and teenagers in Cape Town, South Africa received Ross School basketball uniforms. This not-for-profit organization supports youth development through basketball and other sports. Children play and learn in a safe environment, developing strong social skills and becoming empowered to make positive changes in their lives.

Ross School has worked with Hoops 4 Hope for several years and has been involved in various H4H fundraisers. Last year, Ross student Brandon Pettaway even organized a fundraiser for the non-profit for his Senior Project. English teacher Shelby Raebeck is a longtime friend of H4H founder Mark Crandall and helped connect Crandall to the Ross community. “Seeing Ross School uniforms being worn by children on a team that would otherwise not have uniforms should make us all feel proud,” he said. “It is a very direct, very concrete way that we are helping people.”

Ross Lower School

Visit ’s Kindergarten and First Grade classrooms and learn first-hand about Ross School's innovative spiral curriculum on Wednesday, January 25, at 9 a.m. Meet administrators, the admissions team, faculty and parents at this informative reception. The reception will take place in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Barn Building at 739 Butter Lane, Bridgehampton, New York. Kindly RSVP to 631-907-5880.

For more news at Ross, visit www.ross.org/news.

-- Carey London