Issue No. 2

Fall 2015

Here’s the latest news from the castle on the hill

Did You Know?

A Little About Us…

The distribution of this newsletter serves to lay the groundwork for future opportunities that will allow our alumni to reminisce with and provide support for their fellow Warriors. We envision this association as being a means for creating an accessible network for all of our alumni—a network through which we can organize reunions, encourage mentorships, or simply create a channel for the sharing and exchanging of ideas and experiences. Over the course of years to come, we will continue to work toward our goal of fostering a lifelong spirit of belonging and pride by reconnecting alumni, students and friends to our prestigious program, building a robust community of global citizens along the way. Our network has grown significantly since our last newsletter, and with your help, we will only continue to blossom. Best wishes and hope to hear from you all soon!

w Our 2014 IB cohort had the highest percentage of awarded IB Diplomas, to date. 72% of our IB students received the diploma that year. w A student from the 2012 IB cohort remains the highest scorer to date. This student earned 37 out of the possible 45 points. w Our largest IB cohort was the class of 2013. There were 78 diploma candidates that year.

In retirement, Curtis continues passion for helping children By: Heather Rahn (‘17) Late last year, Dr. Aurelia Curtis shocked the students, teachers, and parents in the Curtis High School community by announcing that she would be retiring from her position as principal. Dr. Curtis began her 31-year long career at the school in 1984 as a math teacher and later became principal in 2004. “I had considered retirement for awhile,” said Dr. Curtis. “I always thought I would retire after 30 years and look for opportunities to help in third world countries, specifically Liberia, my birth country.” Her plan to help is coming to fruition as she continues her work in Liberia with amputee children. In addition to service, she teaches a college course and works with the IB administration by visiting schools that want to be authorized to participate in the program. Even though she continues to work, her retirement has also given her a chance to take a break. “I’m learning the benefits of relaxing even as I treasure the challenges and rewards of the past 31 years,” said Dr. Curtis, “I’m paying more attention to my physical, mental and spiritual fitness.” She continues to seek knowledge and uses travel to do so. “I . enjoy learning; so traveling gives me a chance to expand my horizon,” said Curtis.

She has already begun to do so, and has plans to continue visiting new places. Although she is thoroughly enjoying retirement, she admits that she misses the school. “My 31-year stay at Curtis will forever be a significant portion of my life. I made wonderful friends and learned valuable lessons. Hopefully history will accurately reflect the work that we did together over the course of my 12-year tenure as principal,” said Dr. Curtis.

IB Teacher Highlight: Sean Cogan While most students and faculty spent their summer under the sun, hanging out with friends and family and vacationing, one teacher spent his summer recovering from a kidney operation. Mr. Cogan decided to go under the knife and donate one of his kidneys to another father in his community. Though very few members of the Curtis community knew about his plans to donate his kidney, Mr. Cogan made sure to allude to his decision when speaking to his seniors on the last day of class before their impending graduation. He stated, “There is a bigger picture—a world beyond yourselves.” These words seemed to resonate with many of his students, as several of them reached out on Facebook, naming Mr. Cogan as their hero. When asked if he would recommend anyone else to do an organ transplant, Mr. Cogan replied, “I would advise anyone to help people in anyway they can; for me it came down to knowing that I could help someone live a more normal life.” 2

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Jaenicke named new principal By: Kelly Murray (‘17) This Curtis school year started off slightly different than usual when Mr. Greg Jaenicke took over as principal. This change occurred as a result of Dr. Curtis’ retirement in June. Although unfamiliar to most students, Jaenicke is not a stranger to the school; between the years 1998 and 2003, Jaenicke held positions as both a teacher and assistant principal within the mathematics department. Since then, he has worked in numerous schools around New York City. “Every time I had a chance to go into a school, I noticed the great things that were happening and all the protocols the schools put in place. Every school was unique so it gave me a chance to think about what kinds of things that I saw across different levels,” stated Jaenicke. Jaenicke plans to use this experience to point Curtis in the right direction. “I think what I really want to focus on in the short term is building the collaborative atmosphere in the Curtis community. All working towards the same goal of producing successful Curtis graduates,” explained Jaenicke. “We have lots of projects going on including the expansion that’s on the horizon. I’m really excited about continuing Dr. Curtis’ vision. I am looking forward to seeing how it will turn out and what it will do for the school.” Despite this major change to the school and the possibility of change in the future, Jaenicke expects to maintain some of Dr. Curtis’ primary lessons. “There are a lot of systems that Dr. Curtis had put in place that brought Curtis to great, new heights in its 100 year history. I know her focus on achievement, attendance, and attitude is something that has had a lot of momentum, so continuing that is going to be a priority.” Jaenicke is already building off feedback from the students, trying to make himself seen during arrival and dismissal times as much as he can. “It’s really about the spirit and the enthusiasm that students come to Curtis with. We want to take advantage of that and channel that in the right way so that they’re really getting the most out of their experience at Curtis.” What Jaenicke mainly wants to accomplish is to encourage students to get involved and find something that motivates them. He wishes to promote the idea that there could never be too

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much enthusiasm as a student. “If you’re not moving forward, you might as well be moving back. We need to continue to work on achievement and improving our graduation rate. I think it’s in a really good place right now, but you always want a vision of moving forward, you always want to improve.” “Nobody is perfect, no school is perfect so I think when you pay attention to student achievement we can work on that. We want to focus on the culture of the school and make sure it’s a welcoming environment for everyone. First, for students so that they can feel it’s a place they’re safe and people know them. Then, of course for the staff. Students and staff spend so much time here that we want to make sure that we’re really a positive environment,” explained Jaenicke.

A Time To Get Together Come join some of your favorite teachers and old classmates at this year’s Turkey Trot at Clove Lakes!

The race begins near the parking lot closest to the restaurant.

Run Information

Lou Marli Turkey Day Classic Thursday, November 26, 2015

Mr. Crowdell running with Rachel Cuisick at the 2014 Turkey Day Classic (P.S. Mr. Crowdell won…)

Kid’s Races – 8 a.m. Open Races – 9 a.m. For more information, you can call Clove Lakes Park at 718-273-3150

Come and see if YOU can outrun Mr. Crowdell… All you need to enter the race is a can of food! Send us an email at [email protected] if you plan on joining us. We will send out an email to those who want to join regarding a meeting place/time.

Hope to see you all there! Mr. Crowdell with Skye Wright and Rachel Cuisick at the 2014 Turkey Day Classic

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Keeping Us Updated… As many of you are already aware, last year we distributed a preliminary survey in order to acquire as much updated information about each of our alumni as possible. We would like to thank all of those who have responded thus far! Unfortunately, however, many of the email addresses we have on record are not up-to-date, leaving us disconnected from a number of our alumni.

If you know of anyone who has not been receiving our emails please forward them the link to our survey so that we can keep everyone in the loop! Additionally, if you, yourself, have not yet responded to our survey, we would greatly appreciate if you would take the time to complete it now. Or, if any information has changed since you last complete this form, please retake it, updating any relevant information.

The link below will direct you to our survey: http://goo.gl/forms/xHi6iFZEQC Class of 2015 .

Please fill out this survey!!!

IB Warriors: Staying Connected

Keep your eyes open for any new surveys and emails coming your way! We are in the beginning stages of our development and will be looking for your suggestions and feedback to help us move forward.

Remember, each and every response helps to facilitate the ongoing development of our IB Alumni community! 5

A Message From an Alumnus… A message from Skerdi Brahimaj IB Class of 2009 Since IB, my journey like many others has not been easy. However, I was able to make it through the rigors and intense demands of Architecture School at NJIT Honors, in large part, thanks to the preparation I received by being part of this great program. Even though I failed to see it at the time, and regretfully underestimated the program, it was able to give me the foundations of a hard work ethic, time management skills, a global outlook and the ability to think and see through a lens that looks toward the future at a better, more inclusive world—a lens that only IB can provide. I graduated this past May with a Bachelors in Architecture, Albert Dorman Honors College, Cum Laude from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Partly thanks to the IB program, I was able to obtain and maintain a full academic scholarship lasting all five years of the Bachelors in Architecture program. I am currently working as a Project Representative at Diaz Architects in NYC, an architecture firm specializing in Historic Preservation and Renovation. Now taking part in the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Intern Development Program, I have began the process of fulfilling the requirements and taking the registration exams towards becoming a fully licensed Architect. I would like to thank all of individuals who made the IB Program possible at Curtis—individuals who were true pioneers in the education of their community. I would especially like to thank Mr. Joe Sicilian for his wisdom and guidance, along with Ms. Korten for convincing me that a rap career could wait. Happy holidays to everyone, Skerdi Brahimaj (‘09)

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Highlights From Our Alumni Class of 2009 Skerdi Brahimaj. Skerdi graduated in May 2014 with a Bachelors in Architecture, Albert Dorman Honors College, Cum Laude from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Read about Skerdi’s journey in his message above. Nydia Duncan. Nydia graduated in May 2015 with a Masters in Public Health (MPH) and a Certificate in Global Health form Temple University. Additionally, she has begun working in Philadelphia as a Research Analyst for a behavioral health managed care company. Kerry Goodacre. Kerry was hired in September 2015 as a Mathematics Teacher at Curtis High School. She is the first IB Alumni to return to Curtis with a full-time teaching position. Kerry is working closely with current IB students to develop a network through which all Curtis IB students, both past and present, can communicate with and support one another. Katie Moscowitch & Joe Marks. Katie and Joe got engaged in the Fall of 2015.

Class of 2010 Rebecca Jones. Rebecca has recently received a promotion at the consulting company she has been working at for the past two years. She is now an account manager at MGNY. She is also in the process of applying to MPA programs, so as to further pursue a career in urban planning. Rebecca is also recently engaged. Coleen Millar. Coleen recently received and accepted an early offer to be a CVS Pharmacist within the Staten Island District. She is currently in her last year of pharmacy school, a six-year program, at Long Island University. Coleen expects to graduate in May 2016.

Class of 2011 Kyle Hannafin. Kyle is currently teaching at John Dewey High School in Gravesend, Brooklyn as a Global Studies Special Education teacher. He is in the midst of serving a two-year commitment with Teach for America, which he was accepted into back in November 2014. After completing this two-year service, Kyle will be certified to teach in the NYC public school system and hopes to return to Curtis. Nora Moscowitz. Nora recently finished a five-month internship position, conducting research on RedEyed Treefrog hatching plasticity at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama.

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Class of 2011 - continued Julia Suklevski. Julia will be graduating in February 2016 from City College of New York with BA’s in Psychology and Jewish Studies, along with a minor in Women’s studies. Julia has worked with the Women’s Studies Program on developing workshops and seminars pertaining to domestic violence and sexual assault locally, on college campuses nationally, and in communities internationally. She has also presented at the 59th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in March 2015, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), which is a comprehensive global policy framework and blueprint for action to achieve gender equality, secure and protect the human rights of women and girls (Link to article highlighting her presentation: PassBlue ). Julia is coming on two years of being a Domestic and Other Violent Emergencies (DOVE) Advocate and NYS Certified Crisis Counselor at a local NYC-area hospital, where she assists survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault with receiving the proper interventions, medical treatment, and comprehensive assistance they need following trauma. She has also been an Advisory Board Member for the DOVE Advocate program, and was recently nominated and elected to serve as the Chair of the Advisory Board, working together with fellow Board Members and other Advocates to cultivate a supportive community of compassionate individuals who are dedicated to helping those in need. Julia is currently applying for graduate school programs to pursue her Masters in Social Work, with a career goal of becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Class of 2013 Corinne Birchard. Corinne is currently a member of the University at Buffalo’s cross-country team. The team is currently ranked 14th in the Northeast Region with two more meets to go! This is the strongest and fastest the team has been in years, so they are looking for a high placement at both their conference and regional meets. Corinne is also recently engaged. Her fiancé, Dan Galford, proposed in August 2015 and they are looking to get married once they have both completed their undergraduate studies.

Class of 2015 Gregory Urso. Gregory Urso recently received a Youth in Philanthropy Award from the Global Medical Relief Fund for his work in creating a sustainable vegetable garden at the Global Medical Relief Home in South Beach, Staten Island.

YOU (IB Class of ____). Have you had any awesome experiences since you’ve left Curtis? We’d love to hear about what each of our alumni have been up to. Please share any notable experiences – you could be featured in our next newsletter!

To share your story, email us at [email protected]! 8

A special thanks to those who helped put this newsletter together! Principal

Current IB Participants

IB Alumni Participants

Mr. Greg Jaenicke

Heather Rahn (‘17)

You (Class of __ )

IB Supervisor

Kelly Murray (‘17)

Mr. John Crowdell

Alessandra Hayes (‘19)

IB Coordinator

Sophia Manna (‘19)

Ms. Margarita Fernandez

Janata Begzic (‘19)

IB Alumni Association Coordinator

Shamina Ashraf (‘19)

Kerry Goodacre (‘09)

If you would like to participate in the development of this Alumni Association, please email us at [email protected]. Everyone and anyone is welcome!