upper school showcase - avenues · upper school showcase schedule ... sunset park and the ywca in...

UPPER SCHOOLSHOWCASE

June 14, 2017

Avenues Upper School 5th Term 2017

Upper School Showcase Schedule

Kick Off Assembly 9:15 - 9:45 9th Floor Studio Showcase Prep 9:45 - 10:15 Various Formal Presentations 9th & 10th Floor classrooms10:15 - 10:30 • Session 110:30 - 10:45 • Session 2 10:45 - 11:00 • Session 3

Lunch with Music 11:00 - 12:00 FOOD

Film Screenings Black Box Theater12:00 - 12:45 • Session A12:45 - 1:30 • Session B

Julius Caesar (Preview) 1:30 - 2:00 Annex

Exhibitions 9th and 10th Floors12:00 - 12:30 • Session A12:30 - 1:00 • Session B1:00 - 1:30 • Session C1:30 - 1:45 • BREAK1:45 - 2:30 • Session A2:30 - 3:15 • Session B3:15 - 4:00 • Session C

Music Showcase 4:30 - 6:30 7th Floor Commons

Formal Presentations 9th & 10th Floor classrooms5:00 - 5:155:15 - 5:30 5:30 - 5:45

Exhibitions 9th and 10th Floors5:00 - 5:305:30 - 6:00 6:00 - 6:30

Film Screenings Black Box Theater6:30 - 6:457:15 - 8:00

Julius Caesar (Performance) 6:30 - 8:00 1st Floor Lobby 2nd Floor & 3rd Floor


This showcase is the culmination of group and individual projects undertaken by our 9th, 10th and 11th grade students over the last four weeks of the school year. Throughout the 3rd, 9th and 10th floors you will find a wide variety of exhibitions, presentations, and performances.

Special thanks for help and support during 5th Term to: the upper grades administration and staff Steve Carpenter, Judy Fox, Lisa Melore, Tiffany Trotter, Andy Williams and Amy Young; our world language teachers Spencer Baron, Yongling Lu, Carrie Meatto and Macarena Texeira; Katherine Zelenka and Isil Celimli for organizing Communitiy Time, and Sally Kent for letting us make a ruckus in the 7th floor commons.

5th Term Electives

D4i: Project Chelsea 10:15 & 5:00 • Room 1000S

Faculty: Ivan Cestero

Students: Sasha Aries, Ago Arslanian, Spencer Chandlee, Hamilton Gruber, Fangyu Jin, Jimmy Kerr, Ava Knapp, Sydney McCarter, Camille Mercado, Anna Polo, Mason Stallings, Caroline Yu

Our first-ever student-led Fifth Term class is a design challenge to identify a problem in Chelsea and propose an implementable solution. Three student leaders of our Design 4 Impact (D4i) startup guided nine other students through a process that began with dozens of interviews with local residents, workers, and other stakeholders. With the support of professionals, students learned both design thinking and an appreciation of the richness and complexity of healthy neighborhoods.

Escape the Room 12:00-4:00 & 5:00-6:30 • Room 1000N

Faculty: Anne Barry, Jessica Curley, Jacquiline Oduro, Marlene Patricia, Jenna Ray, Ron Widelec

Students: Ben Agin, Caroline Connor, Cydney Dean, Asta-Sollilja Farrell, Ethan Levy, Matthew Levine, Graham Hirsch, Iman Karibzhanova, Angelo Orciuoli, Ella Price, Tess Price, Ian Rosenthal

In the “Escape the Room” 5th term project, students were tasked with designing and building an escape room to foster community in the upper grades through puzzles and games. Set in the fictional “Avenues Museum of American History,” players must steal a priceless American artifact using cyphers, riddles, and teamwork before they can escape this room! Over the course of the project, students had opportunities to visit and meet with professional escape room designers, learn how to create challenging puzzles, run a marketing campaign, and find ways to incorporate foreign language and technology in order to create a fully immersive experience.


Game Design 12:00-4:00 & 5:00-6:30 • 1000C

Faculty: Adam Jernigan, Warren Tappe, Mike Yarbrough

Students: Oscar Battaglia, Ari Brozost, Sonny Carton, Lucia Colarusso, Blake Eagan, Evan Friedmann, Thomas Gill, Maxwell Kanders, Silas Lavino, Anthony Lopez, Jonathan Morales, Alexia Nizhny, Zhicheng Qian, Nicholas Wells

What are the elements of a “game” that make us want to return to it and keep playing? How can games be used to cultivate skills such as critical thinking, persistence, and collaboration? In this course, students immersed themselves in the exciting universe of game design by exploring different categories of games, examining game mechanics, visiting a board-gaming cafe, and meeting a published game designer. They then designed and produced their own original games through an iterative process of prototyping and playtesting. During the showcase, the student’s original games will be available for audiences to play in the 10th floor commons.

Island Life 12:00-4:00 & 5:00-6:30 • 9th Floor South

Faculty: Jason Hoeksema, Kristen Highland, Monica Ramos

Students: Malcolm Davol, Fiona Jasper, Jacyln Josephson, Isabella Romano, Amber Shen, Xander Stefanovic

Island Life invited students into the waterways of New York City to explore the relationships of humans to the natural environment and to examine the impact of climate change on those relationships. We thought about climate change as a global phenomenon that impacts individuals and communities physically, culturally, and socially. As we narrowed our focus to New York City, we reconnected with our island nature by using nearby Jamaica Bay as a case study. We took several field trips, including a climate change conference at the UN, several trips to study the shorelines of Jamaica Bay, and a kayaking tour of the bay itself, where we visited several marshes, tidal pools, and islands to see the effects of climate change firsthand. Our final project involved the creation of individual graphic narratives that documented the science and facts of climate change and included a reflection of that personal journey addressing the questions, fears, and hopes, of the past, present, and future.


Picture Justice 12:00-4:00 & 5:00-6:30 • 9th Floor Studio

Faculty: Kate Howard, Ryan Misler, Michelle Muldowney

Students:, Apryl Adames, Olivia Bernstein, Anna Bloch, Ines Bonay, Sabine Borthwick, Nina Cutler, Belle Fraser, Grace Franco, Eva Hwang, Marlo Liebenthal, Dylan Murphy, Lauren Schulsohn, Ricky Vega

An Investigation into Economic Equity. During 5th Term, the PROOF Picture Justice team is collaborating with 13 students to explore the issue of economic inequality in New York City. Our budding photojournalists made four site visits to different neighborhoods and organizations including: Sunset Park and the YWCA in Brooklyn, Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, and Picture The Homeless in Upper Manhattan. At each location, students probed current issues of inequality in our city: healthcare, job and wage disparity, education and housing. They interviewed and photographed people who live in the neighborhoods and who have been directly impacted by these social issues. Back at the schoolhouse, students started to edit photos and transcribe interviews closely examining the relationship between text and image. With the help of expert photojournalist Andrew Lichtenstien and program directors Leora Kahn and Debra Driscoll, students have learned how to approach strangers and take photographs with intent. They engaged with real issues affecting real people, and they grew increasingly aware of themselves and their ability to impact change.

Ruckus Robotics 12:00-4:00 & 5:00-6:30 • 9th Floor Studio

Faculty: Steve Carpenter and Simon Jarcho

Students: Owen Ackerman, Luka Bajovic, Chetan Cutting, Omar CobasDenzell Dixon, Henry Gillis, Rachel Hymes, Dylan Jackaway, Daniel Khazanov, Andres Murillo, Sophia D’Urso, Wonyoung Park, Amanda Redfern-Taube

A team of creative engineers and coders collaborated to build a large-scale FIRST Robotics Competition robot. Students worked in teams to design five essential robot subsystems: A climbing device, a ball collection system, a ball launching system, a gear delivery system, and a control system that allows the driver to operate the robot. Through four weeks of intensive collaboration and persistence, teams learned what it takes to bring together their understanding of physics and programming to solve a complex real-world engineering challenge.


5th Term Global Journeys

For the first time durng 5th Term, two groups of students embarked on an two week international journeys of history, culture and environment. Students will be giving group presentations about their trips and exhibiting individual projects.

Italy 2017 2:00 • Annex/3rd Floor 5:30 • Black Box Theater

Faculty: Carrie Pollack and Daniel Mendel

Students: Samuel Boyce, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, Sylvie Cohen, Melissa Douer, Valentina Doukeris, Cali Gaer, Kelsey Healey, Jane Kaiser, Lila Kempler, Clare Maleeny, Ryan Ng, Eoin O’Byrne, Tenley Smith, Diana Reiss, Dylan Vaccaro, Aviva Verbitsky

Italy 2017 offered students the unique opportunity to travel with experts and experience Greco-Roman, Gothic and Renaissance art. A few highlights of ITALY 2017 included visiting the 57th Venice Biennale, a life drawing class after a day of visiting the inspiring works housed in the Uffizi museum in Florence, and staying in a monastery in the Tuscan countryside. Throughout the trip, students studied art and architecture at some of the most culturally influential sites in art history: Venice, Florence and Rome.

Taiwan: Culture & Climate 2:00 • Annex/3rd Floor 5:30 • Black Box Theater

Faculty: Grace Jackson, Haiwen Lu, and Mike Maccarone

Students: Sydney Acevedo, Stefano Canavesio, Benjamin Dennison, Nicole Domingo, Sarah I. Gold, Olivia Gross, Tara Kerr, Hugo Law-Gisiko, Ethan Levy, Mykhailo Nosenko, Anzib Rahman, Avalon Scarola, Qi Schmidt, Chloe Shapiro, Olivia Shapiro, Sophia Shapiro

Join the students who have explored the climate and culture of Taiwan. During a two week period they traveled to an aboriginal village, a permaculture. Other their return, students developed independent and small-group projects that focus on community and sustainability based on their experiences in Taipei, Zhenxibao, Tainan, Dulan, Taroko Gorge, Hualien, and Yilan. farm, a buddhist monastery, several night markets, and an old growth forest.

Avenues Upper School 5th Term 2017 - Mastery Projects

5th Term Mastery Projects

5th Term offers time, space, and flexibility within the school day for students to focus their attention on their Mastery pursuits. The experience culminates in a public exhibition to demonstrate progress towards the achievement of their long-term Mastery goals.

Mastery Performances

Julius Caesar Preview: 1:30 • Black Box Theater Full Performance: 6:30 • 1st Floor Lobby

Faculty: Molly Rose Avila, Drew Cortese, Jordan Mahome, Tommy SchriderStudents: Oliver Cohen, Lin Rong, Madison Wright

Guiding a lead character through the arc of Shakespeare’s political tragedy, students designed a production with dynamic and truthful performances in tune with their fellow collaborators and consistent with the imagined world of the play.

Music Showcase 3:30 - 6:30 • 7th Floor Commons

Producers: Eli Banchik and Luc Cea-Sanson. A student produced and performed showcase with high production values. The beginning of the showcase will be geared towards younger kids while the second half will appeal to upper division students.

Mastery Exhibitions, Presentations and Screenings

Ariana Alatis 12:00 & 6:30 • Black Box Theater“Forget Me Not” A short film about a woman who recently lost her father, and who has made the decision to leaving her mother to live alone.

Ryan Aotani (aka Ryan Crossing) Music Showcase / Floor Commons“Making Music” A performance of select songs from an upcoming album.Sebastian Baquero, Justin Levine & Jackson Meli 9th Floor Exhibition“Augmented Reality Sandbox” Uses a 3D camera and projector to display an image that responds to interactions with real sand below.

Tolo Bickford 9th Floor Exhibition“Making a Banjo” As a musician, I look for new sounds and ideas related to the history of music. My project includes building a banjo by learning complex woodworking techniques and the many uses of wood.

Tallulah Brown 9th Floor Exhibition“Lexical-Gustatory Cookbook” I am exploring the phenomenon of lexical-gustatory synesthesia, when taste is perceived as sound.


Brandon Bunt 10:15 & 5:00 • Room 910“An Exploration in Mastery II: [Movement]” Today, both 2D and 3D animation is primarily digital. For a second year, I am focusing on traditional hand-drawn animation, which preserves organic, fluid movement.

Mickey Carton 12:00 & 6:30 • Black Box Theater“When.” A documentary that dives into the moments “when” three individuals stumble upon a career that soon becomes their lives. Kavin Chada 10:30 & 5:15 • Room 909“Editing an Original Novel” I wrote an original novel last 5th term of 40,000 words. Editing it has been quite a journey.

Lindsey Chu 9th Floor Exhibition“What is the effect of titanium dioxide and zinc dioxide on cloud albedo?”Albedo is the reflectivity of a cloud. I am proposing to send two or three materials up into the atmosphere to make cloud droplets smaller, in turn making the cloud denser.

Jacob Cridland and Jaden Schapiro 12:45 & 7:15 • Black Box Theater“Behind the Hype” Our film explores how America’s youth is attracted by expensive reselling and why this an important clue to understanding this generation.

Harrison Cuker 10:45 & 5:30 • Room 911“How to be an Intern Pt. 2: The World of Advertising”

Eleanor Davol 9th Floor Exhibition“Video Connection: Avenues São Paulo” In 2018, Avenues will open a second campus in São Paulo. This project is a prototype for future interaction between Avenues New York and São Paulo via live video. Olivia De Rocco 10:15 & 5:00 • Room 908“The Study of Behavioral Economics“ Through an interactive activity and a presentation, I will seek to educate my audience on behavior and economic decision making.

Michael Delaney 9th Floor Exhibition“Custom Built Electric Skateboard” I built an electric skateboard with two motors that is controlled using a custom built remote, with an integrated display to show battery and speed.

Luc Detiger and Penelope Thornton 9th Floor Exhibition“Collections” We are making a collection of zines about topics such as youth culture, family, and travel which showcase our photos, artwork, and writing skills.

Derek Dorsinville 9th Floor Exhibition“Non-Circulating Hydroponic Methods for Growing Mesclun, Arugula, Lettuce, and Radishes”


Finn Droga 12:45 & 7:15 • Black Box Theater“Cats Always Land On Their Feet“ A Cat doesn’t land on his feet.

Ethan Friedman 10:45 & 5:30 • Room 910“Cubicles” Animation and presentation.

Teddy Friedman (aka Teddy Edwards) 2:00 & 6:00 • Room 912 Music Showcase / 7th Floor Commons “Work In Progress: The Album” A sneak peak into Teddy Edwards’ new album coming later this year.

Truman Gaynes 10:45 & 5:30 • Room 908“Curation vs. Creation” Helping people understand the American Music Market via playlist curation.

Anya Getzfeld 9th Floor Exhibition“Exploration” I will have 10-15 photos printed out with the descriptions of each photo in English and Chinese next to them.

Sarah D. Gold 9th Floor Exhibition“MiniMelanie Pop-Up Store” My pop-up bake sale features four different products that I developed as a baking and operations intern.

Charlie Hansen and Jake Schwimmer 10:30 & 5:15 • Room 911“Cengage MTMF Internship” During 5th term we did an internship at Cengage, the second largest education publisher.

Isabella Green and Thais Legrand 9th Floor Exhibition“Evolving: Nature & Society” Through our collages, we display parallels and differences between the world we live in today and in the past.

Max Harris 9th Floor Exhibition“PROJECT WhereIs” Where is your dean? Ms. Melore doesn’t know, the other deans don’t know, and your problems are worsening by the second. Project WhereIs has the solution!

Sam Katel 10:15 & 5:00 • Room 912“Peer Buddy Training” I am going to be giving a presentation on how to work with autistic kids. I will also be answering questions.

Ben Kessler 9th Floor Exhibition“Refraction” Refraction is series of photographs that explores the intersection of fashion and neighborhoods in New York City.

Jenna Kim 10:45 & 5:30 • Room 901“French and Global Journeys to Madagascar” During 5th Term, I studied the French language and planned a Global Journeys trip to the francophone country Madagascar because of its culture and environment.


Ryan Kim 10:30 & 5:15 • Room 912“The Changing Media Scene” A presentation discussing the transition from print to digital media.

Sophia Koock 9th Floor Exhibition“Grant writing” Exploring the funding challenges that non-profits face through writing a grant.

Dylan Levene 9th Floor Exhibition“Interactive Art” I am using the Kinect for Xbox One to create motion controlled art. I am using Processing to use data from the Kinect and turn it into art.

Lukas Mack 10:30 & 5:15 • Room 909“Why Nations Should and How They Can Exit Euro?” Learn why an amicable split of the European Union would be beneficial to countries like Greece and Italy and how it could feasibly be executed.

Olivia Miller and Cooper Stallings 12:45 & 7:15 • Black Box Theater“June and Tate” A Short Film.

Zoe Nelms 10:30 & 5:15 • Room 901“Closing Hours: A Collection of Memoirs and Short Stories”

Louisa O’Reilly-Hyland and Helena Sinding 10:45 & 5:30 • Room 1000S“Educate Girls Globally” We interned for an NGO that helps send girls to school and builds schools in underdeveloped countries.

Didlane Pierre 9th Floor Conference Room“Through the Doors of New York City” The city holds this facade of greatness, suspense, and excitement. but it can be hard to see behind the bright lights of the city and open your eyes to your own surroundings.

Mercer Pipa 9th Floor Exhibition“Serenity” My project explores color theory and the delicacy of painting.

Allegra Poli 10:45 & 5:30 • Room 909“Azzurra Makeup Website” I have created an online community where teenagers and young adults can learn to apply makeup in a natural manner without conforming to society’s standards.

Fátima Ptacek 10:15 & 5:00 • Room 911“Internship with Congressman Crowley” I had the privilege of working as an intern for the office of Congressman Joseph Crowley in Queens, New York.

Mingus Reedus By Invitation Only“Screenplay” I wrote a screenplay about a group of kids who plan on having a party but are distracted by conversation.


Antonio Rivoli 1:45 & 5:45 • Room 912“Music in Film” This project studies how movie scores in films affect our emotions through data analysis.

Alice Roosevelt 9th Floor Exhibition“Equine Performance and Veterinary Medicine” I expanded my passion and knowledge of horses by interning with a veterinarian that specializes in equine performance medicine.

Oren Schweitzer 10:30 & 5:15 • Room 908“Judicial and Constitutional Analysis and Opinions” This project was a deep dive into different judicial philosophies and how they affect different legal opinions.

Vann Strasen 10:45 & 5:30 • Room 912“Acting and Mathematics” I interned with a business manager at my theater to combine k.umy love of theater and mathematics.

Matthew Thaxton 9th Floor Exhibition“Pablo” I used auditory stimulation in conjunction with a visual experience to create a multi-sensory immersive art piece.

Harper van Doorn 9th Floor Exhibition“Sprinting Somatotype”

Sophie Wazlowski 9th Floor Exhibition“Hedwig: A Fictional Account of the Life of Hedy Lamarr” Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian actress who came to America and met a man named George Antheil. Together they invented things that changed the world.

Kyla Windley 9th Floor Exhibition“Time Management for Students” My objective is to create a easy process for students to populate their Google calendars with extracurriculars and homework to create a detailed daily schedule.

Etta Yeston 10:15 & 5:00 • Room 901“Swedish and Spanish Exploration” I used online and print resources to increase my proficiency in the Swedish and Spanish. The culmination of my work is poetry in each language and a Swedish lesson!

Marina Zoullas 10:15 & 5:00 • Room 910“Clothing Customization” I am creating an e-commerce clothing company that allows customers to create customizable clothing through designs I have made.

Mastery Faculty Facilitators: Kelly Brandon, David Felsen, Katy Garnier, Mark Gutkowski, Pedro Joffre-Lora, Li-Dai Lu, Chris Meatto, Zoltan Sarda, and Molly Yergens

Cover credit: Maddalena Rona

upper school showcase - avenues · upper school showcase schedule ... sunset park and the ywca in...

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