As part of CitySquash’s Career Dinner series, eight CitySquash college and high school students shared a meal with New Yorker staff writer (and avid squash player) Tad Friend. The group discussed not only Tad’s insights about journalism and the writing process–including an in depth discussion of Tad’s 2003 New Yorker piece “Jumpers” which the students read beforehand– but also advice about choosing a line of work. The dinner is a part of a larger series that connects CitySquash students to professionals in various fields to talk about the industry and career choice. Special thanks go out to CitySquash supporters Angela and Michael Laskoff for hosting the event.

If you are interested in talking to students as part of the Career Dinner Series, please contact Director of College Prep Peter Feldman at 718-220-7400 or peter.feldman@xh3.1cf.mywebsitetransfer.com

On Friday June 15th, 35 CitySquashers and several staff and student volunteers piled into the bus en route to Williams College for the 10th Annual Urban Individual Nationals. For our team members, Urban Individuals is one of the most important competitions of the year and this year was another huge success. Our team members made up twelve of the event’s sixteen finalists and brought home five out of the eight titles. 6th grader Robert Williams beat out teammate (and step brother!) Eric Molina to win the Boys Under 13 division. In an impressive display of Urban Squash’s values, Joana Pacheco won both the U13 squash title and the U13 writing contest with her poem on the topic of strengths. Andreina Benedith had a strong finish as the Girls Under 17 division winner while Kingsley Amoako also took the U17 title for the boys. A star on his high school squash team and the CitySquash team alike, Andrew Cadienhead was victorious in the U19 Boys division beating his CitySquash teammate and close rival, Darrius Campbell. CitySquash now boasts a record 63 Urban National Titles. Congratulations to the entire CitySquash team for representing us so well!

The inaugural CitySquash Bank Competition, held in conjunction with the 10th Anniversary Bash, pitted the largest banks on Wall Street against each other in a friendly competition to see which firms could raise the most money and bring in the most donors for CitySquash. At the end of the two month race, 149 donors contributed and more than $265,000 was raised by the ten participating firms. A special thanks to the winners, Goldman Sachs, which raised the most funds ($174,000) and J.P. Morgan, which brought in the most individual donors (49). The other participating banks were Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Lazard, Morgan Stanley, and UBS. Thanks to all of the participating banks for their hard work and generosity and thanks to the bank captains for helping make the competition such a success!

Two weeks ago, at the culmination of his junior year, Andrew Cadienhead was elected president of the student body of The Taft School in Watertown, CT. Andrew has had a history of leadership at Taft, starting in 2009 when he was elected as the president of the freshman class. Andrew also served as captain of the Taft boy’s squash team during the 2011-2012 season and will retain his captaincy for his senior year. As school president (or head monitor as they refer to it at Taft) Andrew will lead a group of twelve school prefects, arrange weekend activities for the students, sit on the disciplinary and honor committees and give a speech at the freshman orientation and his own graduation. Andrew has been a CitySquash team member since sixth grade and was voted CitySquasher of the Year in 2009. CitySquash is proud of Andrew’s accomplishments and confident that he will do well in his new leadership role.

On Saturday, May 5, CitySquash’s 6th and 4th grade students traded their racquets for rakes, gloves and soil to clean up parks and flower beds in the Bronx. CitySquash 6th graders teamed up with other local students to restore flower beds on Mosholu Parkway. Our team members joined a group of high school students from BuildOn to weed, mulch, and restore 4 large flower beds that hadn’t been worked on since last Spring. The kids used shovels, rakes, and other tools to beautify the land and had a lot of fun along the way.

CitySquash 4th Graders took a trip to Longwood in the Bronx for their community service project. With the help of MillionTreesNYC’s Stewardship Corp, they learned about tree care, air quality, and urban beautification. Students helped weed tree beds along an industrial road, and then planted flowers in the newly cultivated soil. The students enjoyed working hard to make something beautiful, and as we drove away from the site, they were overheard planning a trip back in several months to check out the growth of the flowers.

From uncovering earthworms to bonding with high school students, the CitySquashers have completed yet another successful community service project, this time in their own community of the Bronx!

Eight CitySquash students, two staff members and one parent traveled to Bermuda from April 9 – 14 for the 2012 CitySquash Bermuda Tour. The trip, which was funded by generous donations from CitySquash supporters, was much more than just a vacation. Throughout the week, the CitySquash team visited both ends of the island, played squash every morning, competed in a tournament against the local juniors, visited numerous historical and cultural sights, and of course spent plenty of time on the beach! The Bermuda tour provided our students with many first-time experiences including, for some, the first time on a plane and the first time out of the United States. The students were able to learn about the culture of another country and see how people from a different part of the world live. Thanks to all of the supporters and host families that made this trip a reality!

Last weekend, CitySquash held the first annual CitySquash Closed Tournament for its elementary and middle school students. 58 CitySquash students competed in the two day tournament which culminated Sunday evening in four tough fought finals. CitySquash’s founder, Sanford Schwartz, was at hand to watch the finals and present the awards. Director of Squash, Bryan Patterson, noted “it’s amazing that this is the first year we have held a closed championships but it surely wont be the last.” All of the competitors should be proud of the work they put in training for the tournament and the results they achieved last weekend. Results of the finals are below. Congratulations to all!

Boys elementary school: Hugo Barroso def. Axel Michaca (3-0)

Girls elementary school: Xitlali Zuniga def. Karla Dominguez (3-0)

Boys middle school: Billy Fleurima def. Jeremy Carrasquillo (3-1)

Girls middle school: Maria Serrano def. Alexandra Limas (3-2)

CitySquash’s local eighth, ninth, and tenth graders spent their mid-winter break studying Immigration in New York City. The week began as our students watched the 2002 Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York, introducing us to a very chaotic time period in American history. Afterwards, our students had a fruitful discussion on the major themes we would be encountering over the week: the tension between nativists and foreigners, the challenges and opportunities facing immigrants in the 19th century and beyond, and the chaotic building of democracy across ethnic, political, and socioeconomic lines. On Tuesday, our students headed down to the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side for an interactive tour of a preserved tenement building. After our students grappled with the question of “What is an American?”, we had the chance for a little role playing: we took on the part of an immigrant Russian Jewish family seeking a place to live in the 1916 New York City. On Wednesday, the Bronx Historical Society came by the learning center to present on the history of immigration in the Bronx, with a specific focus on the movements of Hispanic people in the 20th Century. Our week culminated with an in-class writing assignment in which our students were asked to write on two essay questions, reflecting on the lessons they learned.

CitySquash’s annual mid-winter tour took thirteen team members to Hanover, NH for four days of squash, sledding, science and skating. The four day stint in the country was a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of New York City. The students played squash twice a day and were fortunate to have a clinic with the Dartmouth College coaching staff and current members of the Dartmouth Varsity Squash teams. Team members also spent time skating and playing ice hockey on Occom Pond, went sledding down a 40 foot sled track and visited the Montshire Museum of Science. The trip was a reward for the hard work our students have put into school and squash thus far this year. Thank you to the Dartmouth Squash coaches and team members and our amazing hosts for making such a great trip possible.

CitySquash 5th graders spent their mid-winter break visiting several different types of museums around Manhattan. On Monday, they toured the Museum of Jewish Heritage, to supplement their completion of the book, Number The Stars. After the guided tour, students met an elderly husband and wife, both of whom survived the Holocaust in Poland. On Tuesday, CitySquashers had a fun-filled though tiresome day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their favorite section of the museum was the New American Wing, because they had studied Emanuel Leutze’s piece Washington Crossing the Delaware in school earlier in the month. On Wednesday, students toured the Museum of Art and Design with artist Manuel Acevedo. After the tour he guided them in a hands-on art-making workshop. Finally, on Thursday, students visited El Museo del Barrio in Harlem, and had a guided tour of their newest exhibition, entitled “VOCES Y VISIONES: Gran Caribe.”