Apr. 30, 2014:  The Bronxville School is reaping the benefits of three off-cycle grants made by The Bronxville School Foundation that were announced by the school board.

TV Production Studio:   Construction of a new TV production studio was just completed. Based on a grant request written by Chris Doyle, the faculty advisor to the Bronxville School's film club, and his students, a study hall space was converted into a permanent TV production studio and partitioned control room area. Two high school students, Luke Geiling and Tim Sullivan, were instrumental in designing the studio. The new permanent space will be used to record Bronco TV, a weekly news show that has been running in the high school for the last three years. In addition, the Media Studies and TV Production class will make use of the space. Mr. Doyle and his students hope that each school eventually will be able to use the new space to produce a news program.

Alumnus John Heiss:  Just last week, the foundation sponsored a visit to the school from Bronxville alumnus John Heiss, professor of music at the New England Conservatory of Music. Heiss worked with band students in advance of their upcoming spring concerts. He conducted a performance clinic in addition to leading a discussion about ensemble playing, intonation, composition, and performance. Heiss brought a unique perspective to the students, since he is not only a professional musician, composer, and professor, but also a graduate of the Bronxville School band program.

Professional Development School National Conference:  The foundation has also funded attendance at the 2014 Professional Development School National Conference by Denise Lutter, professional development coordinator at The Bronxville School, and Adrienne Laitman, elementary school interim assistant principal. The PDS Conference, given jointly by the National Association of Professional Development Schools and the University of South Carolina, is a national event that focuses on improving school-university relationships. Educators from across the country attend this conference to share best practices and participate in presentations by nationally recognized keynote speakers.

School-University Partnership:  This past year, the Bronxville Elementary School initiated a school-university partnership with Long Island University that was funded through a foundation grant. The grant provided a stipend for five graduate student interns to work in the elementary school. In addition, an LIU professor is holding four on-site seminars for interns and faculty. The school district is now expecting to use the regular school budget to fund the stipends for six interns for the upcoming (2014-2015) school year. Participation in the Professional Development School National Conference will help support this successful and growing program in the elementary school and will also allow The Bronxville School to explore possible ways to extend the current LIU partnership into the middle and high schools. At the conference, Lutter and Laitman expect to learn how other schools and universities have worked together to enhance the learning experience for secondary students.

Pictured here:  Bronxville students in the new TV production studio, which was funded by The Bronxville School Foundation.

Photo by A. Warner