Port Chester High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance raised the Progress Pride Flag on May 31 to celebrate the beginning of Pride Month. Speakers and attendees at the ceremony included Superintendent of Schools Aurelia Henriquez, Principal Luke Sotherden, Assistant Principal and PCHS’ first GSA Adviser Fortunato DiRenno, Board of Education President Chrissie Onofrio, Trustee Phil Dorazio, GSA Adviser Barry Backelman and GSA Co-President Carol Conde.

The speakers congratulated the GSA Club for striving to help to provide a safe, inclusive school environment for all Port Chester students, pledged to stand together and offered support throughout the entire year to help raise awareness.

Sotherden, incoming GSA President Kore Grimm, and outgoing GSA Treasurer Amy Zheng, then hoisted the flag onto the flagpole to loud applause and cheers from the students and faculty who attended.

Special thanks to GSA Co-President Kris Hightower for his hard work in bringing the event together.

Click here to view the photo slideshow.

Date Added: 6/2/2023

Congratulations to Demetrius Haddock (Class of 2023) who was recently nominated in the Metro Awards category of Outstanding Dance Performance by a Male-Identifying Performer for his performance as Troy Bolton in Port Chester High School’s spring production of Disney’s “High School Musical.”

The Metropolitan High School Theater Awards recognize excellence in high school musical theater from the surrounding area. Winners will be announced on June 12 at a ceremony held at the Tarrytown Music Hall. Well done and good luck, Demetrius!

Date Added: 5/30/2023

Students in Christina Baurle’s Introduction to Playwriting class were inspired by the Art Gallery at the high school in March and some wrote monologues/scenes based on the artwork that they were most moved by. Some of the themes of the scenes were love and companionship, fear of loss, and leaving a legacy.

“In theatre we discuss how just about anything can be used as a starting point to create a play,” Baurle said. “We have discussed how visual artwork can be used to inspire other art, such as the text we write in Introduction to Playwriting class. I loved giving the students the opportunity to explore peers’ artwork and use their unique interpretations and creativity to bring a scene or monologue to life based on a piece of artwork that spoke to them.”

What a great way to celebrate Arts in Our Schools Month by making connections between the visual and performing arts.

Date Added: 4/27/2023

On April 19, Port Chester High School students and families visited a postsecondary fair with representatives from over 60 colleges, universities, careers and the military. Those in attendance gained insight on paths available to them after high school. The Port Chester High School community is very appreciative of all that were able to participate, which included CUNY, Fairfield University, Iona University, Port Chester EMS, Port Chester Police Department, SUNY, Seton Hall University, White Plains Hospital, Xavier University and many more.

It was extremely well attended and received by students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators.

Date Added: 4/24/2023

In the last year, Port Chester High School redesigned the way students achieved the Seal of Biliteracy so that all students have the opportunity to actively pursue this prestigious award. Port Chester is a diverse, multilingual community – 84% of students are Hispanic, 31% are ELLs and 68% come from Spanish-speaking households. Port Chester began awarding the Seal of Biliteracy in 2018. During the first three years, students received the seal by earning three points in a world language and English through exams and coursework.

Last year, a team of stakeholders including world language teachers, English teachers, ENL teachers, counselors and administrators came together with Director of ELL and Bilingual Programs Valerie Lakestream to revise the process, ensuring that students actively pursued the Seal of Biliteracy and had the opportunity to present in front of a panel. Students pursued the seal in Spanish and Italian, sharing research that they conducted within their advanced courses. Ultimately, 82 students received the award and proudly displayed their medal at graduation.

This year, the program has continued to expand, with students now pursuing the Seal of Biliteracy in Italian, Portuguese and/or Spanish. This year, we have over 60 students pursuing the seal. Last week, students once again presented their research on a variety of topics, including immigration, women’s rights, different systems of education and the arts.

“It is a true reflection of the diversity of the community and a great source of Port Chester pride,” Lakestream said.

Date Added: 4/20/2023