CitySquash celebrated the holiday season with a program-wide talent show on Thursday, December 20^th, just before breaking for the holidays. Students, parents, mentors and volunteers packed into the Middle School 45 auditorium for an evening of singing, dancing, and incredible performances! CitySquash college students Alija Hogans and Ana Kelly MC’ed the event, which consisted of 14 acts and 21 performers. Highlights of the night included two a capella performances from fourth graders Caleb Boateng and Jesse Brew–that took courage! The CitySquash staff took to the stage as well in a dance-off between the squash staff and academic staff. While the academic staff garnered the most crowd support in a cheering contest, both sides were equally amusing. It was an impressive show of our students’ skills outside of the classroom and off the squash court, and a fun night for all! Thank you to all of the performers and all who attended!

Eight CitySquashers headed to Boston for a long weekend from December 15th – 18th to play in the U.S. Junior Open Squash tournament, the largest junior squash tournament in the world. The U.S. Junior Open draws squash players from around the globe, and accommodates approximately 800 squash players. Matches were played at Harvard University, Belmont Hill School, Northwestern University, and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Given the high level and different styles of international players, this is one of the more difficult tournaments that our students play in. All of our players had impressive matches throughout the weekend, including a hard fought 5-game win over an Egyptian player by Darrius Campbell. Darrius made it to the quarterfinals of the BU19 consolation draw, as did Andrew Cadienhead. Katiria Sanchez, home from Trinity College, made it to the finals of the GU19 plate draw. Billy Fleurima also played in the plate finals in the BU15 draw. Andreina Benedith and Eric Molina made it to the semifinals of the consolation in their respective draws, GU17 and BU13. Congratulations to all of these players for a successful weekend!

This past weekend, fans of urban squash and collegiate squash alike were treated to a match between two former urban squash and current Ivy League varsity players at the StreetSquash facility in Harlem, NY. CitySquash’s Jesse Pacheco faced Reyna Pacheco of Access Youth Academy at the #2 position on their respective teams, Cornell University and Columbia University. While Jesse overcame Reyna in a decisive 3-0 victory, the match was well played on both sides and exciting to watch. The Cornell women swept the Columbia women 9-0, and are currently undefeated in their season. To follow Jesse’s season, check out the Cornell Big Red website. CitySquash is very proud of Jesse, and wishes her all the best in Ithaca!

On Veterans Day, eight CitySquash high school team members volunteered at the POTS soup kitchen. The organization, which stands for Part of the Solution, is a community outreach center providing everything from legal services to haircuts, yet the community dining room is the heart of the operation. By helping to serve food, bus tables, wash dishes, and sweep the floor, CitySquashers helped to serve over 450 people during the busy lunch shift. It was the second year in a row that the local high school program has volunteered at POTS and it is quickly becoming one of the more popular community service events CitySquash participates in each year.

On a beautiful fall Saturday in Central Park, 31 CitySquash students ran 3.1 miles in the Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research. Alongside mentors and staff members, all of our participating middle and high school students completed the race and raised money for the cause. The students spent three weeks fundraising, and were proud to donate a total of $1601 to Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital. The Terry Fox Run is held annually around the world, in honor of Canadian runner Terry Fox. To read more about his story, visit http://www.terryfox.org/Run/

CitySquasher and Blair Academy high school senior Darrius Campbell was honored at the Bulldogs Care Foundation (BCF) 6th Annual Tip Off To Success fundraiser. Darrius was named one of BCF’s five 2012 All-Stars, a designation awarded to high-achieving athletes from urban athletic programs. Darrius was recognized for his transformation on and off the court: becoming a conscientious student, a great squash player (he plays #1 on his boarding school team), and a leader on campus as a dorm proctor. CitySquash recognizes all of Darrius’ hard work and achievements, and congratulate him on this honor.

This past week, CitySquashers in Elementary School were lucky enough to take a trip to Goshen, CT for some autumnal fun at Mr. and Mrs. Galluccio’s orchards. Students were given free range to pick as many apples as their hearts desired from the organic apple trees. After filling their baskets, they got to help Mrs. Galluccio make fresh apple cider with her vintage apple press! The taste-test confirmed that fresh cider is indeed tastier than store-bought cider. Students spent the rest of the afternoon chasing Mrs. Galluccio’s adorable dog Beamer and swinging from her giant backyard tire swing. They left that evening with baskets of apples and gift bags containing a recipe and ingredients for home-made apple crisp! Surely, it was a day that will be remembered for quite a while. A big thank you to the Galluccios!

Over the past few weeks, five CitySquashers have started their first year of boarding school, and nine CitySquashers have headed off to their freshman year of college. In total, since our launch in 2002, 43 CitySquash students have won scholarships to private high schools, and 28 CitySquashers currently attend college. Good luck to these team members as they settle into their new schools!

Cristian Escalona – Episcopal High School       

Bryson Grant – Canterbury School                         

Karina Lazaro – Tabor Academy                             

Esmeralda Mejia  – Loomis Chaffee          

Colleges

Doris Amoako – SUNY Morrisville

Maria Avila – Bronx Community College

Frank Garcia – Mt. St. Vincent College

Cris Margaret Frias – Franklin & Marshall College

Santiago Moran – Connecticut College   

Manuela Perez – Barnard College

Criselys Polanco – Hamilton College

Lanique Rhyne – Lehman College

Katiria Sanchez – Trinity College

This summer found a record number of CitySquashers touring across the United States for camps, tournaments, and home stays. The eight tournaments they competed in took place in locations such as Williamstown, MA, Southampton, NY, Middlesex, MA, Newport, RI, and Denver, CO. Sixty-eight CitySquashers attended overnight camps, from Camp Herrlich in Patterson, NY to the David Palmer Squash Academy in Orlando, FL. In total, ten states were visited by our team members and six students traveled to their destinations by plane. We are very thankful to the 15 families that hosted CitySquashers during tournaments or as part of our Summer Match program. Five CitySquash families billeted out-of-town urban squash students as well, for StreetSquash’s NUSEA Discovery Camp. A big thank you to the Ganek family for hosting a BBQ for CitySquash in Southampton on Sunday, August 12th. It was a successful and memorable summer, and couldn’t have been possible without our many supporters. Thank you!

CitySquash held its 8th Annual Boarder Send-Off on Wednesday, July 25th at supporters Cayre and Alexis Michas’s apartment in Manhattan. Friends of CitySquash, mentors, families, staff, boarding school students and past graduates celebrated the beginning of another school year and honored CitySquash’s five new boarding school students: Karina Lazaro (Tabor Academy), Esmeralda Mejia (Loomis Chaffee), Miguel Betances (Trinity-Pawling), Jeremy Carrasquillo (Suffield Academy), and Bryson Grant (Canterbury School). Peter Frew, Director of Admissions at The Taft School, spoke about the importance of the relationships made in boarding school, especially with faculty, staff and coaches. CitySquash’s older boarders offered a piece of advice each to our new boarders, highlighting the need to work hard, have fun, and try new things. Chef Rob prepared delicious, healthful food for all of our guests. Thanks to all of our supporters who came to this wonderful event and we wish our students another successful year at their respective schools!