On Sunday, October 24^th we held our 11^th Annual Black & Orange Day at the M.S. 45 Field in a new outdoor format with the help of M.S. 45, our oldest partner school in the Bronx.

Over 100 team members, family members, and mentors competed in outdoor squash, word scrambles, kickball, and soccer. Going into the final Basketball competition worth three points, the Black Team led the Orange Team 18-16.  

This year, the shirts featured the initials “JS” to honor our team member James Solano who tragically passed in 2020. After hearing his friends speak about the impact he had on their lives and countless others, we dedicated the Basketball game to his memory. At the end of the day, it was the Orange team with the game-winning shot to put a cap on our 11th Annual Black & Orange Day. Below are photos of the event and competitions.

After a virtual year in 2020, we want thank all who came and helped make it a memorable day for the CitySquash team!

The changeover of innings during kickball 

The Orange team cheers on their squad during soccer

CitySquash’s version of outdoor squash!

The Orange Team celebrates the game winning layup! 

The Black Team

The Orange Team

 

 

Hats off to the Class of 2021!

 

Despite a year unlike any other, our Class of 2021 wrapped up their college careers successfully and graduated in both virtual and in-person ceremonies. Congratulations to our five graduates, all of whom are first-generation college graduates! 

 

CLASS OF 2021

Nicole Lara Granados – Mt. Holyoke College 

Genesis Lara Granados – Mt. Holyoke College 

Alexandra Limas – St. Lawrence University 

Mariela Mendoza – Bowdoin College 

Bianca Troche – St. Lawrence University 

 

 

It’s Never Quiet on the Placement Front 

 

As another school year comes to a close, we are thrilled to celebrate the many acceptances our college seniors and those applying to private schools received. All eight of our graduating seniors are headed to four-year colleges next year and three of them will continue their squash careers and suit up for their school’s varsity teams. Another seven students gained acceptance to private high schools, bringing CitySquash’s total of successful school placements to 105. Congratulations to all and we can’t wait tto follow you through your next chapters! 

 

COLLEGE PLACEMENT 

Elizabeth Barroso – Colby College 

Anthony Cruz – SUNY New Paltz

Roberto Cruz – SUNY Oswego 

Fatima Hernandez – Lehman College

Dalia Hipolito – Siena College 

Alan Lopez – Colby College 

Xitlaly Santos – Lehman College

Dainalee Velez – Bates College 

 

PRIVATE SCHOOL PLACEMENT

Ashanti Amastal – Loomis Chaffee School 

Jesus Fierro – Trinity-Pawling School

Randy Guzman – Berkshire School

David Paxtor – White Mountain School

Pablo Paxtor – Tabor Academy

Aaliyah Sampson – Kent School

James Vasquez – Indian Mountain School

 

 

Year-End Awards & Leadership Positions

 

Dainalee Velez was awarded the inaugural Casertano Cup at the Millbrook School Commencement ceremony. A special Commencement prize, the Caserano Cup is given for growth and perseverance in pursuit of the best self and the common good. 

 

Giselle Ciriaco was voted Student Body President at Suffield Academy for the 2021-2022 school year. A rising senior at Suffield, Giselle has served as Class President for the past two years. Giselle says she is “honored and excited to represent the Suffield student body” and wants to “focus on mental health awareness and being united.”

This year’s CitySquash Reads was based on Jonah Winters’s book “Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx”. The event was held on June 3^rd virtually, and team members from the Bronx and Brooklyn came together to discuss the book and engage in activities based off the book including jeopardy, crossword puzzles and a poem writing session.  Luke, an 8^th grade team member, said his favorite activity was “the jeopardy game because that’s when we got to go against each other to see who knows the book better” while Samantha, another 8^th grader, said “my favorite part of CitySquash reads was being able to interact with our friends in various ways!

 

Thank you to all who participated and helped make the event a success.

 

Starting this winter, as part of our Mentor Game Night series, a Baking Club for mentors and mentees was started. Mentors and mentees learned new recipes and fun facts about baking, such as the different kinds of flours and the difference between light and dark brown sugars. Team members received the ingredients they needed for each recipe so anyone could join to participate in the baking. Some of the favorite recipes we did were Ginger Bread Cookies, Oatmeal Raisins Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Our most challenging recipe was Fudge Brownies. Thank you to all of the mentors who joined us. We had a great time connecting with you and your mentees while learning to bake together!

 

 

 

Three CitySquash team members were recognized as College Squash Association (CSA) Scholar Athletes for the 2020-2021 season (see list below). The Scholar-Athlete Award is given to varsity juniors or seniors who have earned at least two varsity letters, achieved a high academic standing with a GPA of 3.5 or above and would have been eligible to compete this season. Congratulations to Genesis, Nicole & Luigi for this achievement and their hard work throughout the school year! 

 

Genesis Lara Granados	Mount Holyoke College ’21
Nicole Lara Granados	Mount Holyoke College ‘21
Luigi Pasquariello	Connecticut College ’21

 

Photo Above: (L to R) Luigi Pasquariello, Genesis Lara Granados & Nicole Lara Granados

 

Another seven team members gained acceptances to private schools for the 2021-2022 school year. With these acceptances, CitySquash has had 105 successful school placements to selective independent schools since our founding. We are proud of the hard work this group put into their applications, and are excited to be sending students to Church Farm School and White Mountain School for the first time. The full list of school placements is as follows:

 

Randy Guzman	Berkshire School
Pablo Paxtor	Church Farm School
James Vasquez	Indian Mountain School
Aaliyah Sampson	Kent School
Ashanti Amastal	Loomis Chaffee School
Jesus Fierro	Trinity-Pawling School
David Paxtor	White Mountain School

 

Congratulations again to our accepted team members! We can’t wait to cheer you on as you begin this next chapter.

 

Photo Above: Aaliyah Sampson & James Vasquez showing off their acceptance letters!