Summer 2011 Issue - The International Preschools

IN THIS ISSUE• Classroom Chatter, page 4•Ongoing School Choices for September 2011, page 6• Scenes from The Spring Benefit, Page 10•Development Highlights, page 17UnconditionalGivingMy younger son tells everyone that one ofthe most amazing experiences in his lifewas the trip he took to New Orleans in hislate teens. Most people would assume thatthis was a vacation, but Jordan spent tendays building houses for the homeless residentsthat had lost everything to HurricaneKatrina. It was hard and dirty work. Theconditions were primitive to say the least,with limited water, no air-conditioning inthe searing heat, and a menu of cannedfood. I never thought that my typical teen,who balked at washing the dishes, would bewilling to climb up on a hot roof every day,but he loved every minute of it! The feelingof camaraderie with his fellow workers,and the loving gratitude of the people hewas helping, made this an unforgettableexperience.Community service is one of the mostimportant things for children to learnabout. As Albert Schweitzer once said, “Theonly ones among you who will be trulyhappy will be those who have sought andContinued on page 3THE NEWSLETTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRESCHOOLS • SUMMER 2011Parents Are Happiest When TheirChildren Love Going to SchoolWhen my son, now 21, was little and I had to thinkabout school options for him, my approach was simple. Ibelieved that if children are happy and enjoy school theywill learn. Years later, based not only on my experienceas a parent but also on my eleven years as a preschooldirector I maintain this belief. My son never, eversaid, “I don’t want to go to schooltoday.”Parents at my former school, and now atThe International Preschools, often tell methat their children cry on days they don’thave school! Though these two schools usedifferent approaches to teaching, at bothschools parents say their children love comingto school. IPS uses a play-based method calledlearning through play, while my former schoolused a teacher-directed approach. There is nodata proving either philosophy superior, nordoes one prepare a child better for their next school experience. In fact, theNew York City independent schools accept children from a wide range ofpreschools that follow a variety of methods.Parents sometimes assume that children learn more academic skills in ateacher-directed program. Learn through play schools have a reputation fordeveloping self-confidence and stronger social skills. I have seen that in bothmethods children are learning essential skills at the same ages and enjoying thefreedom of play that maintains a child’s enjoyment of school and developssocial skills.Continued on page 2

Parents Are Happiest ...Continued from the first pageYou may see a basic differencein the programswhen you look at a classschedule. Both programswill list a daily circle timeor meeting, playgroundtime, choice or centertime, snack and visitsfrom specialty teachersor parents. In a teacherdirectedprogram, separate time for academic subjects likemath will also be posted on the schedule. All the children willwork on similar math activities at one time and later do literacy,science or another academic activity together. Choice orcenter time is considered an opportunity for social and emotionaldevelopment while children play independently withblocks, do pretend play with costumes and props, or work onart projects.At IPS, academic activities are part of choice time. Using theexample of math, a teacher will oversee a math activity at onetable. Some children will choose to work at the math tablewith no encouragement, but the teacher will make sure thatevery child in the class does the activity at some point duringchoice time. For literacy, there is always a writing center inevery three, four and five year old classroom. This center iswell stocked with a variety of papers, markers, pencils, scissors,and other materials. There will also be a model alphabet,name cards for every child in the class and possibly cards withother words the children might like to use in their writing. Ateacher will work with every child at the writing center, helpingthem recognize letters by sight and sound, hold a pencilcorrectly and begin to write, starting with their own name.Many children will eagerly spend additional choice time inthe writing center, making cards for their families, picturesaddressed to a classmate or even crafting their own bookswhich they illustrate and caption with invented spelling.I was also impressed to see that at IPS, every moment is considereda teachable moment. Even when serving snack theteacher will instruct the children to take, for example, twosquare crackers, three cubes of cheese and four round bananaslices, encouraging children to think mathematically andreinforcing what they have learned at other times. If a childasks what specialty teacher is coming that day, the classroomteacher will help the child find the answer by consulting thewords and pictures on the daily schedule.IPS also incorporates emergent curriculum. In addition tocurriculum themes planned at the beginning of the year,teachers will develop activities based on a theme that thechildren have shown interest in. For example, in one of ourpre-k classroom at The International Preschools a child wasdrawing eye patches at the art center. Other children becameintrigued and before the teachers knew it, everyone was makingeye patches. This evolved into a pirate-themed curriculum.The teachers knew that if they planned activities usingthe pirate theme they would have the interest and attentionof their young students. For literacy the teachers found booksin the school library about pirates. They created an abridgedversion of Peter Pan for the children to perform. For mathactivities, they studied sailboats, measuring the masts andcreating patterns for the sails. They used a map for a treasurehunt and counted and sorted the coins they found and thenmade a graph to determine whose treasure had most value. Inscience, the children had to predict whether certain itemswould sink or float. They then did the experiment andrecorded their observations. After their observations, theycategorized the items that sank or floated and discussed why.The dramatic play area was turned into a pirate ship. Thechildren painted a ship and the sea as a backdrop. The dressup clothing was a real pirate fashion show. What fun theyhad! Just as important, real learning took place. Our memoriesare stronger when we are learning and having fun at thesame time, when both our minds and imaginations areengaged. For the remainder of the school year children in thisclass would refer to what they learned when they studiedpirates!At IPS you will not see childrenlearning one subject at a specifictime, but in small groups as part of alarger activity. Be confident thatyour children are learning skills thatare developmentally appropriate fortheir age group. More importantly,they are having fun, taking turnsand learning from each other. Achild who loves going toschool will have a positiveattitude about learningand socializing for therest of his or her life.Tears from children whocry when they don’t haveschool will make a parentsmile!Donna CohenDirectorThis piece is based an article written by Donna Cohen at the request of TheParents League for inclusion in “The Parents League Review 2012.”2

Unconditional GivingContinued from the first pagefound how to serve.” In fact, giving to others provides manybenefits including increased self-esteem, a feeling of beingvalued and the opportunity to learn and appreciate people inother communities.When choosing a group to help, IPS looks for a theme thatwill be interesting to the students, and provide projects thatwill also help build academic skills. We also rely on our internationalcommunity of parents to bring service ideas to us.This past year, IPS collected money to build schools inAfghanistan. The classes read books about life in ruralAfghanistan and learned about the lack of schools in therugged mountain regions. While the politics of the region arecertainly complicated, four and five-year-olds who love comingto school can certainly empathize with children who don’thave that opportunity. They learned about the basic materialsfor school construction and how they sometimes had tobe transported across deep ravines. The students used classroomblocks and hardware from the science table to create asimilar pulley system. They sorted and totaled the moneyraised, and calculated the different quantities of school suppliestheir donation could purchase.Though parents do their best to insulate children from distressingnews, most of our four and five-year-olds were awareof the terrible earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan thispast March. From its early days, IPS has always had a significantnumber of Japanese students, and many of our familieshave lived or traveled extensively in Japan. IPS was quick torespond by hosting a benefit concert at the 45th StreetLocation organized by our music teacher Doug DaSilva andthe Japanese Parents Committee. On Saturday, April 9th over40 musicians played traditional Japanese music, pop, classicaland jazz for large crowd of IPS families and friends. Seephotos of this concert below. In addition, the JPC distributedcollection boxes to each of our four locations. In total IPSraised almost $4500 which was donated to the JapanSociety’s Earthquake Relief Fund.Learning the importance of giving to others that are less fortunateis a important life lesson. Our students are beginningto understand that they have the power to make a differencein the world. Just imagine what our preschoolers with thismindset can accomplish when they grow up! I am sure youwill agree, it is never too early to show children that they canmake the world a better place.Lynne MuellerEducation DirectorOn Saturday April 9th, IPS hosted a benefitconcert that raised almost $4500 forthe Japan Society’s Earthquake ReliefFund.3

Classroom Chatter74th Street Caregiver Appreciation DayDuring the month of May, the students of the Yellow Roomat 74th Street have welcomed family and close friends to ourclassroom. We have celebrated mothers for Mother’s Day,fathers during the “Teddy Robinson” read-aloud event, grandparentsand special friends, and finally we prepared a caregiverappreciation party. The caregivers of our students are veryimportant members of the class community. They getinvolved in our curriculum, join our field trips, and truly nurturethe children.We asked the children what they like about their babysittersand some answers included:Each child took great pride serving his or her own caregiverwith the carrot cake and coffee. The class then performedtheir favorite songs and we read Stan and Jan Berenstain’sbook “The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter.” The festivitieswere concluded with the children presenting their gifts,which were received with warm hugs and kisses. It was acherished and memorable moment!Madeleine AlvesundTeacher 74IVA/B• I love that she hugs and kisses me. It makes me feel good.• I like that she makes play dates for me and that she really loves me.• I like to play hide-and-seek with my babysitter. I hide under thecovers and pretend it is a cave.• I like when I have a sleep-over with my babysitter.To show appreciation for their caregivers, the students prepareda gift and a treat. They created beautiful still-life watercolorpaintings depicting a colorful flower bouquet and bakeda delicious carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.From 45th Street to BrazilThis spring the Red Door children were introduced to thecomputer program Skype. Skype is a way for people to communicatewith one another by making phone calls over theinternet. One of the most wonderful things about Skype isthat you are able to see the person you are talking to becauseof the computer’s cameras. Our student Nicolas L. was inBrazil with his family and our class decided that this would bea fantastic way to keep in touch with him. The children wereamazed that they could see Nicolas on the computer and talkto him at the same time. Nicolas told us a little about his tripto Brazil and we told him a little about what we were doing inschool. We all took time to make silly faces at each other overthe computer! It was an absolutely wonderful experience andwe were extremely excited to continue communicating withhim for the rest of his trip!Karen SaffitzTeacher, 45 IVB

M other's D a y a t 35th S t reetRed Room children busily planned and prepared for aMother’s Day celebration. They worked together to wash andcut fresh veggies and mix a vegetable dip for a healthy partysnack. They also baked and frosted special ‘Mommy’ cupcakes.At our party, mothers were presented with handmadecards and keepsake handprint potholders. We gathered everyonetogether and read out each child’s special ‘mommy memories’like “I love it when Mommy makes me pancakes andlet’s me sleep in her bed!” We had lots of fun celebrating ourmothers!Teacher, 35 TI,II,III,IVJessica Anderson76 I V A a n d 76 V I I I V isit a C onst ruction SiteIn June Miss Emi and Miss Dara and the students of 76 IVAand 76 VIII concluded their study on architecture and constructionby visiting a construction site at the Liberty ScienceMuseum in New Jersey. The children were all ready to buildtall and strong structures using their newly learned skills:testing, estimating, balancing, measuring......5What an enriching trip!Marie Claire Foss76th Street Location Director

Ongoing School Choices for September 2011IPS families searching for a Kindergartenplace for September 2011 were lucky thistransition year to be advised by DirectorDonna Cohen, former Director ValerieKennedy, Ongoing Schools AdvisorCathleen Vasserman and EducationDirector and Public Schools advisor LynneMueller. Amy Lorowitz, assisting DonnaCohen, booked appointments for parents,scheduled on-site ERB tests, arrangedobservation visits from the ongoingschools, sent out countless email updatesand made sure that every child’s schoolreport was dispatched on time!In addition to individual meetings and phone consultations,there were several IPS events to help parents navigate theprocess. There was a general information meeting on privateschool applications in April of 2010 and workshops aboutpublic school in May and October 2010. Also in the fall of2010 there were the candid panel discussions about the ongoingschools process by parents whose children had just startedprivate school kindergarten. In late April of 2011, rightafter the public school Gifted and Talented scores werereleased, consultant Robin Aronow of Inside Schools made apresentation at IPS and was also able to advise families inranking their school choices.A new event for IPS was a fair featuring six of the newerschools: Blue School, British International, ClaremontPreparatory School, Ecole International de New York, TheSpeyer Legacy School and World Class Learning Academy.Heads and admissions directors from these schools came toIPS on the evening of April 7, 2011, eager to promote theirprograms to IPS families. Our parents were impressed by therange of philosophies these schools represent and by theexcitement each school shared for building a new community.As the number of children in Manhattan continues to grow,these schools bring welcome options for families looking forkindergarten places.Independent and parochial schools that will be welcomingIPS graduates to their kindergartens this fall are: Allen-Stevenson, Birch Wathen Lenox, Brearley, BritishInternational, Browning, Buckley, Calhoun, Cathedral,Claremont Preparatory, Collegiate, Convent of the SacredHeart, Dalton, Dwight, Ecole Internationale de New York,Ethical Culture, Family School, Friends Seminary, Hewitt,Little Red Schoolhouse, Lycee Francais, Marymount,Nightingale-Bamford, Philosophy Day School, Spence, St.Bernard’s, St. David’s, St. Stephen’s of Hungary, Town, TrevorDay, and United Nations International School.Public schools, too, have had increasing enrollments. For thethird year, an early registration program for zoned schools isin place and some students were placed on waiting lists fortheir neighborhood schools. Many have since been notifiedthat they have a place at their zoned schools. Others havebeen offered places at a nearby school, including some brandnew schools. Each year, about 40% of our graduates willenroll in public school. IPS students will be attending the followingpublic schools: P.S. 3, P.S. 6, P.S. 9, P.S. 11, P.S. 40, P.S.59, P.S. 87, P.S. 116, P.S. 158, P.S. 166, P.S. 183, P.S. 267, P.S.290 and P.S. 452. Two IPS students were admitted to thehighly selective Hunter College Elementary School. Other IPSstudents have qualified for enrollment in special publicschools including the Anderson Program, Lower Lab,Midtown West, and Gifted and Talented programs at P.S. 130and 163.We will continue updating our records through Septemberand ask that all families respond to our ongoing school verificationletter mailed during the summer.Working with our IPS families on their school search is a realprivilege. We enjoy getting to know the parents better andtruly respect their commitment, curiosity and organizationas they go through the time-consuming and stressful processof finding the right school. The ongoing schools all tell usthat they love meeting our families too! The young applicantsreally enjoyed their school visits and even taking the requiredtests and are now looking forward to starting their newschools! Congratulations to all our graduates and their families!We hope that our graduates will visit next year to tell usabout their new schools.Though our former director Valerie Kennedy will not continuecounseling families applying to the New York City independentschools, she will be staying on at IPS as ourinternational liaison. She will welcome representatives ofschools from around the world to The InternationalPreschools, maintaining an awareness of IPS in the globaleducation community.Cathleen VassermanOngoing Schools Advisor6

Admissions for 2011We are looking forward to welcoming 251new students in September. Most of thesefamilies will be joining The InternationalPreschools for the first time, but we are alsothrilled to have 53 currently enrolled andformer IPS families returning with youngersiblings.It was a busy admissions season during which time we saw almost1,000 applicants between September and March. It was a pleasurefor all of us on the Admissions Team to work with Donna Cohen. Wemade a few changes in the application process—including betterhandouts, shorter speeches at the Open Houses and holding receptionsto help newly accepted families make their decision! We alsotook a giant step into the real world by emailing decisions in Marchinstead of relying on the Post Office. We got very positive feedbackfrom parents, and we are thrilled with our results!Of course, we couldn’t have achieved this success without the help ofour current families. We would like to say THANK YOU to YukoPuglisi and the Japanese Parents Committee who organized and executedwith great accuracy and care all of our important mailings duringthe year.A very special THANK YOU to the parents who shared their ownIPS experiences at each of our information meetings. This past yearJane Ching, Suso Balanza, Ken Metz, Anu Willoughby, Jason Glazer,Janetta Kardashian, Taeko Horiko, Russ Mitchell, Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, Josh Hanshaft, Markus Kant, Carole Sleeper, Derek Chan,Christina Nasta, Conway Kuo and Sunny Nagel charmed our audienceswith their personal stories about life at IPS.We are also so grateful to our current families who recommend us totheir friends. Many parents tell us that they are sending their childto IPS because of the wonderful things they have heard from ourfamilies. Keep spreading the word—we have a few openings in afternoonclasses at 45th Street and 35th Street!Kevin AbernathyAdmissions DirectorInternational Advisory BoardMembers of the International AdvisoryBoard were treated to a special presentationby Virginia Stowe.Gini, pictured at right, is an author, parent educator and familycounselor, Audubon Society board member and a volunteerwith For the Birds, an organization that arrangesbirdwatching expeditions for schoolchildren. She spoke aboutConnecting Children with Nature: For Health, Creativity,Learning & Joy. She also recommended the books Last Child inthe Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder byRichard Louv, and Childhood and Nature: Design Principals forEducators by David Sobel.The International Advisory Board is composed of selectedalumni parents who meet once a year to discuss the state ofthe school.Mary VallonFormer Director of Development7

Appreciations from the Parents’Association President . . .As the school year draws to a close, I wantedto once again thank everyone who contributedto the activities of the Parents’Association in so many different ways. Weare fortunate to have an active parent body,whose members offer up their time, hardwork and many diverse talents. This year, Iam proud to report that the Parents’Association raised more than $190,000 tosupport our school. In addition, we helpedto bring the IPS parent community togetherthrough several social events starting withNew Parents Welcome Receptions and culminatingwith the Family Picnic at the endof the school year.The spring brought a busy calendar of Parents’ Associationevents. We hosted very successful book fairs during theMarch parent-teacher conferences as well as during the 74thStreet location’s Spring Carnival. Not only did we raise a significantamount of money for IPS, but the fairs generatedmany, many wonderful book donations for our classroomsand libraries and brought both parents and children togetherfor fun activities such as face painting and story-telling.Thank you to Ken Metz and Ewa Glazer from 45th Street forhelping to coordinate the school-wide effort as well as ourwonderful teams at the other locations including PinaMastromonaco (74th St); Meredith Schwartz and LeahTehrani (35th St); and Beth Bodner, Sandy Shen andMariana Vermot (76th St).At IPS, spring just wouldn’t be spring without the SpringBenefit, and this year’s team did not disappoint with aKentucky Derby themed event. I cannot thank enough theco-chairs, acquisitions team, and all of the parents and facultywho supported this important event in so many differentways (Please see the following page for a full report on theSpring Benefit.)On a much more casual note, we closed out the year with avery fun Family Picnic on Saturday, May 21. After what feltlike weeks of rain, the stormy skies cleared and we enjoyed abeautiful afternoon in Central Park. The fathers who plannedthe event, Markus Kant, Julian Locke, Jose Ramos, RoySeidenberg and Shourav Udas and their team of volunteersput together so many fun activities, especially the crowdfavorite old-fashioned field games.The end of the school year was a swirl of parties, graduationsand the bittersweet farewells of the preschool years. The childrenall received their own copy of the Yearbook, which willhopefully serve as a fond reminder of all of the friends madeand milestones reached this past year. The yearbook chairs,Susan Ceccarelli, Deepa Dadlani and Ken Metz, workedtremendously hard to put this keepsake together.It was an honor to work with Donna Cohen in her first yearas director. She brought a fresh perspective, energy and manynew ideas that enhanced our activities. Her support wasinvaluable as was that of Lynne Mueller, Paul Kane, the fourlocation directors and all of the teachers and support staff ofIPS. And of course, none of our projects would have been possiblewithout the help and guidance of our energetic developmentdirector, Mary Vallon, and development associate,Justine Lucas.I would once again like to thank the phenomenal team of PASenior Vice Presidents for all of their leadership and hardwork - Mary Pino Jiminez (35th), Ariane Qureshi (45th),Tehzeen Vohmann (74th) and Marina Lansdown (76th).Alicka Lawsky did a fantastic job as communications chair incoordinating the weekly email newsletter. Lauren Sagel notonly served all year as PA secretary but also stepped in toseamlessly take over the newsletter when Alicka took some“time off” to have her second child. I have felt so lucky toserve alongside such a fun and dedicate group of parent volunteers– including the PA board, class parents, and so manycommittee chairs, location representatives, volunteers andparticipants who made this such a memorable year. I wish allthe best to Anu Willoughby as she takes over as PA presidentfor the 2011-12 school year and thank her for her friendship,partnership and tireless work this past year.Amy ThindParents’ Association President8

. . . and from the Spring BenefitChairsThe 2011 Spring Benefit offered the opportunityfor The International Preschools’locations to come together and celebratethe completion of another successful schoolyear. This year’s event theme was“Kentucky Derby” and it inspired animpressive array of colorful hats, headpiecesand neckwear. The outfits andenthusiastic atmosphere were a lovelyreflection of the energy of the IPS communityand of New York City. Guests enjoyedconversation with friends old and new,mint juleps served by a mobile cocktailtable, delicious food, as well as spirited biddingon over three hundred silent and liveauction items.The event offered a wonderful forum to recognize and honor ouresteemed location director and science teacher, Frances Staples,as she prepares to retire after forty years with IPS. As part of hertribute, IPS launched the Frances Staples Science and TechnologyFund, which will help IPS make investments to better inspire youngminds now and in the future. Lynne Mueller, education director,delivered a thoughtful speech about Mrs. Staples and her enormouscontributions to IPS. Mrs. Staples shared her heartfelt thanks withthe attendees.We are thrilled to report that the 2011 Spring Benefit raised morethan $130,000 to support the projects and programs that enrich ourchildren's experiences at IPS. Additionally, the Frances StaplesScience and Technology Fund raised $5,000 through this eventalone.So many people contributed to making the 2011 Spring Benefit asuccessful fundraiser and an enjoyable evening. Thank you to all ofthe parents, teachers, staff, and friends who volunteered their timeand talent, donated or solicited gifts, attended the benefit, and bidon the auction items. And many thanks to our class parents andteachers for creating such wonderful class projects, which are alwaysa highlight.We would like to extend a special thank you to our two corporatesponsors and those who underwrote our live auction items:• British Airways• Le Sereno Hotel / The Contreras-Perret Family• Dream vacation in Italy by our very own Amanda Quinn• Jet Blue• A private chamber music concert with a catered dinner andchampagne, Douglas DaSilva, Conway Kuo, Randall Eng,Jamshied Sharifi, Wendy Madden, Marc Massar andNathalie Risse• A weekend at the 2012 Kentucky Derby Races by Mario Colellaand Karen Gomez-ColellaA complete list of all of our underwriters, donors, solicitors and volunteerscan also be found in this issue of The Scribbler. Additionally,we would like to recognize these individuals and corporations fortheir contributions:• Josh Blau, for once again serving as our fabulous auctioneer• Frederick Bush, for designing the invitations and marketingmaterials• Victoria Jackson, Lara Alcantara, and Kyle Nagel forphotographing the event• Deutsche Bank• Flat Rate Moving, for providing moving services• Japanese Parents Committee and Emiko Tokumasu forgraciously underwriting and arranging the beautiful flowersThe Benefit Committee was fortunate to have the support of ourenergetic Acquisitions Committee: Alayna Kassan-Zayas,Tehzeen Vohmann, Svetlana Marjanovic, Angelica Perret,Ewa Glazer, Carolyn Levinbook, Gunnar Pritsch andAngeline Urie Ho who procured so many fabulous auction items.We would like to thank PA president Amy Thind for her continuedleadership and support. We would also like to thank the IPS Staff forall of their support and assistance. The 45th Street office was thenerve center for the event planning with Amy Lorowitz, DwayneRose, Charlene Sison, Henry Cordoba, Victor Perez and somany others helping in many different ways. We would also like tothank Justine Lucas in the development office for all of her criticalassistance, and Mary Vallon, development director, whoseguidance, advice and tireless support were invaluable. No event atIPS would be possible without the support and assistance of PaulKane and, of course, Donna Cohen, and we extend them our sincerestthanks.It was an honor to serve The International Preschools by planningand producing the Spring Benefit. We hope that you share our fondmemories of the "Kentucky Derby" and look forward to next year'sSpring Benefit!Brian Bates, Maryam Edalat, Wendy Hubbert, Ruchi Misra,Sunny Nagel, Omayra Marrero-Persson, Anya Roles,Anu Willoughby, Rosadel YellinThe 2011 Spring Benefit Committee9

Scenes from the 2011 Spring BenefitBenefit Chairs: Omayra Marrero-Persson, Brian Bates, AnuWilloughby, Maryam Edalat, Wendy Hubbert, SunnyNagel,Rosadel Yellin, Anya Roles ( Not Pictured: Ruchi Misra)Mint Julep BelleMarcus and Michele DraxlerLuciano Calzavera and Jennifer Ringel, Christina andFrank NastaKevin Michielsen and Mary Pino Jimenez, Maria Angelicaand Luis Contreras PerretMayuki Sakamoto, Shiho Minegishi10

Auctioneer Josh BlauEwa Glaser, Annamaria Kovarcik, Maryam EdalatAhsia Badi, Martin and Christina GeaganDonna Cohen, Farida RahmanSusan CeccarelliLynne Mueller, Donna CohenYuko PuglisiJeff Willoughby, Forrest King and Ken MetzAnne-Claire Klehe, Su Li and Mario RiveraGregory Zammit, Ethan RossAndrew and Hillary ChasenPhotographs these two pages courtesyof Lara Alcantara and Kyle Nagel

Auctioneer Josh Blau AnnouncesLaunch of the Frances StaplesScience and Technology FundNancy Brown, Betsy Newell, Marisa Staples-Sweetnam, DonnaCohen, Frances Staples, Peter Staples, Robert SweetnamLeontine TehraniSunny and Kyle NagelGuastavino’s InteriorGurbir and AmyThindLarry and Connie Cranch, Blake HornikGordon and Muriel Lee, Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum, Valerie Kennedy

Tatiana Nikitina and Chris WilkersonThomas Steighlener and Mary JohnsonMiriam and Gerard RemRaymond Yung andEvangeline CheungDavid and Carolyn LevinbookEddie Kung and KristinaTakamiyaHidefumi and KaoriYamamuraAxel Boesch and Kristen YangJeffrey Kvaal and Jane ChangAna Cladera andCharles CollinsEbru and Cuneyt VarolAllison and Craig MonacoRenee and Leonard Lesser13Photographs these two pages courtesyof Victoria Jackson Photography

The 2011 Spring Benefit Hall of FameCorporateSponsorsThe Spring Benefit Committeewould like to thank ourCorporate Sponsors for theirextremely generous donationsto the Live Auction:British AirwaysLe Sereno Hotel/TheContreras-Perret FamilyDonorsWe would like to thank thefollowing Corporate andIndividual Donors for makingour auction a great success:Corporate Donors300 New YorkA Cut Above GroomingABC Good Morning AmericaAffinia 50 HotelAffinia Manhattan HotelAjune Day SpaAlexander Boutique Hotel OiaAmerican GirlAnatomieAnn Sullivan Inc.AnonymousAppleseedsBabies GoBenchmarc RestaurantsBeyondTheRackBilingual BirdiesBotticelli Portrait StudioBritish AirwaysBroadbear Co.Brooklyn Children's MuseumButtercup BakeryButterfly Studio SalonCATS (Children's AthleticTraining School)Center for MovementCentro RaccontamiChildren's Creative Dance ClubChildren's Museum of the ArtsChris ClarkCity TreehouseCNNCO Bigelow ChemistContinental Guest ServicesCorporationCorinthian Dental AssociatesDasha WellnessDeanna DysDessie At Your FingertipsDiana Berrent PhotographyDimitri EhrlichDinDins FoodDiscount School SupplyDown & Quilt ShopDr. Marcie BeigelDr. SilkDr. Tehrani - Aristocrat PlasticSurgeryDrs. Sinha and WildEastside Westide MusicTogetherEla BabyEndeavor PR GroupEquinox Fitness ClubsEquinox GymEtroEttikaFasTracKidsFirestation 21FLYCAKESFoodtrainersGAGA for YogaGema Nieto-FortezaG-III Calvin KleinGotham Tennis AcademyGymboree Play and MusicHappyFeetHello PastaHill Country BarbequeHill Country ChHippototamusHola! A Playgroup in SpanishIn Demand Networks/HowardTVIn Touch BodyworkIntelligence Squared HSInternational Culinary CenterJacob and CompanyJapanese Parents CommitteeJenn HyjackJetBlue AirwaysJodi's GymJohn Allan'sKidding AroundKumonL. Simchick MeatsLacoste USALanguage Workshop forChildrenLate Show with DavidLettermanLauren Merkin Productions,LLCLearningRxLife Through FitnessLittle Shop of CraftsLoews Hotel VogueLuca LucaMaclaren USAMagnolia Linens LLCMake MeaningMarc Jacobs on behalf ofCarolyn RisoliMarc Jacobs on behalf ofNicolas and Mariana VermotMarc Jacobs on behalf ofThomas Jonchere & FamilyMargo ManhattanMARQUEEMartha StewartMercedes- Benz ManhattanMeredith SchwartzMeri Hair SalonMinardi SalonModern Martial Artsmytailor.comNational Hockey LeagueNew York Kids Club 22ndStreetNew York YankeesNina DrepassNY JetsNYC Elite GymnasticsOlive Green ApparelOrlando LeonPaige NovickPascual Martinez-FortezaPatrick Melville SalonPaul Labrecque HaircutPolished Beauty BarPortofinoPosiesPower PilatesPresents For PurposePrivate PicassosReebok Sports Club/NYRegis & KellyRenee Turman LLCRiva EventsRobin RotenierLLCRodney CutlerRolex Watch USA, Inc.Sam Brocato SalonSasha PetraskeScience Adventure Kids CampScribble PressSD26 Restaurant and Wine BarSELF MagazineSensuous BeanShinn Estate VineyardSoho ParentingSoulCycleSource International & AristeiaMetro, Inc.Stoopher & BootsSunflower Seeds Kids SalonSuper Soccer StarsSWATCHTake Me To The WaterTam O'Shanter ClubTATA HARPERTelepan RestaurantTerri ConnThe Craft StudioThe International PreschoolsThe Little Gym Upper WestSideThe Study ShackThe SurreyThe Weingart Family, Ownersof SunsetTurner BroadcastingUrban Sparrow LLCVanessa TerrazasVictoria Jackson PhotographyWarren TricomiWendy Lewis & Co. LtdWest End Sports ClubWollman Rink, TrumpOrganizationYves Durif at the CarlyleZeze Flowers14