Student Grants Awarded

The Mamaroneck Schools Foundation has approved funding for the following 12 student grants for the 2024-2025 school year. The student grants, which total $16,535, will have an impact on Mamaroneck High School and beyond.

 

S25-01

Mind and Body Sports Talk

Grantee: Gabe Kraut

Faculty Sponsor: Bari Suman

This grant funds a program featuring MHS alumnus Chris Vasami, a former MHS baseball player who went on to play professional baseball. Following his baseball career, Chris became a local hitting coach and is now a successful coach in North Carolina. As a coach, Chris sees players holistically, focusing on both their mental and physical wellbeing. The program at MHS is designed to help MHS student-athletes gain practical tools for athletic success, applicable not only in sports but also in academics. Chris will share strategies for managing stress and living more balanced lives. Student-athletes and their parents/guardians will have the opportunity to ask questions of a professional athlete and coach. This grant represents an opportunity to enrich the student experience and promote a culture of wellness within our athletic community.

 

S25-02

The Garden Grant 

Grantees: Irina Deda, Danny McCance, and Ava Basile

Faculty Sponsors: Elena Filippova and Monica Palekar

This grant will provide the MHS Victory Garden club with funding to support their mission of promoting gardening and beautifying spaces in the community, including the “J Lot” Pollinator Garden.  Specifically, it will fund pollinator plants, soil nutrients, and wind spinners to create a serene environment at MHS that contributes to students' mental wellbeing.

 

S25-03

Antisemitism Speaker at MHS

Grantees: Bella Pianko, Hannah Mehler, Emma Post, and Annika Lee

Faculty Sponsor: Craig Goldberg

This grant will fund a program at MHS in the Spring 2025 to host a representative from the Anti-Defamation League (“ADL”) to speak about the enduring issue of antisemitism and foster a more informed and inclusive school community. As one of America’s oldest civil rights organizations, the ADL has a mission to combat the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. The speaker session aims to educate MHS students about the nature of antisemitism, how to recognize it, and ways to support those affected.   

S25-04

Professional Guest Musician Masterclass

Grantee: Isla Dapkins

Faculty Sponsor: Elyse Gellert Mullen

This grant will provide funds towards masterclasses for Symphony Orchestra students and other MHS music students to gain valuable insights into music careers, ensemble dynamics, and conducting pathways. These classes, led by professional musicians, offer a unique opportunity for collaboration on performance pieces, culminating in a concert for MHS students and the community that not only showcases the talents of MHS students but also fosters community engagement and appreciation for the arts.  

 

S25-05

Playfair - Freshman Orientation 

Grantee: Lyla Hazan

Faculty Sponsor: Laura Kearon

This grant will fund a freshman orientation program at MHS. The program will be run by Playfair, the number one orientation program on high school and college campuses. Playfair specializes in ice-breaker exercises – non-competitive play that encourages students to get to know each other in a welcoming, inclusive, and energetic environment. The overall objective of this program is for the incoming freshman class to feel connected with one another as they start their high school journey. 

 

S25-06

MHS Info Technology

Grantee: Nate Greven and Lorenzo Bertini

Faculty Sponsor: Elena Elmoznino

This grant will improve the production quality of the weekly MHS Info show, a student-run news program serving the MHS community. This grant funds the purchase of wireless cavaliers and a DJI gimbal for the MHS Info club, both of which will improve the production value of programming content. The wireless cavaliers allow students to record audio from long distances, and the gimbal allows them to film smooth camera recordings. The equipment will also be used to support other school-wide programming beyond MHS Info, where video production is needed.

 

S25-07

2024 Bee Team Funding

Grantee: Michael Sullivan

Faculty Sponsor: Marni Ross

The Bee Team is an MHS club dedicated to educating students about the critical role of bees in our ecosystem and teaching beekeeping skills. This grant will fund the Bee Team’s acquisition of tools, equipment and training that aims to establish a long-lasting colony of bees that not only enriches Mamaroneck’s environment but also serves as an educational resource for students on beekeeping. After the bee colony is successfully established, the club will focus on maintaining the colony and locally harvesting honey with the goal of becoming a fully self-funded club. 

 

S25-08

Closing the Sports Opportunity Gap

Grantees: Lea Sampayo, Charlotte Noll, Charlotte Foley, and Owen Bischoff

Faculty Sponsor: Kari Cooke

This grant will provide funding for an Original Civic Research & Action (“OCRA”) project seeking to close the sports opportunity gap in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck community by expanding access to club and recreational sports for local children. In the fall of 2023, the OCRA students established a successful lacrosse program at Mamaroneck Avenue School. Building on their lacrosse success and momentum, the grantees will employ a similar strategy to run clinics and design curriculum to introduce baseball and softball to students both outside of school and through physical education classes. This grant will fund the purchase of new baseball and softball equipment to be used for this initiative. 

 

S25-09

Parent Accessibility Center

Grantees: Zoe Paquin, Jaya Chopra, Julia Weinbach, and Olivia O’Shea

Faculty Sponsor: Jesse Dancy

Expanding on Original Civic Research & Action’s (“OCRA”) digital equity focus in our community, this grant will fund the purchase of two Google Pixel Books to be used to provide tech services to district parents and guardians. The meeting space in the registration office at MHS will serve as the new Parent Accessibility Center, which will be outfitted with publicly-accessible laptops, desks, and chairs for parents/guardians to access the internet and print documents. In addition, student volunteers will offer technology training and assistance during free periods, lunch, and after school to parents and guardians who need support with eschool, ParentSquare, emails, and other technology. 

 

S25-10

Women’s Self-Defense Training 

Grantees: Juliet Wei and Mira Bokil-Hepp

Faculty Sponsors: Lainie Lichtenstein and Juliana Zalon

This grant will fund training workshops to equip MHS students with the skills and confidence to protect themselves and others in their community. The grant will fund two types of training workshops: the bystander intervention training and self-defense training. The bystander intervention training will consist of two virtual 1-hour sessions provided by DefendYourself.org, with 20 students attending each session. The self-defense training, which will focus primarily on women’s self-defense, will be hosted by Tracey Seymour, co-founder of Larchmont Self-Defense Systems. This training will consist of 10 1-hour sessions, with 20 students attending each session.

 

S25-11

Raspberry Pi Set-up Workshop at Hommocks Middle School

Grantee: Maya Okochu

Faculty Sponsor: Heather Thibodaux

This grant will support workshops for girls at the Hommocks Middle School that aim to spark an interest in computer science.  It will fund the purchase of three Raspberry Pi sets, which are small, affordable, single-board computers that provide a platform for learning Linux operating systems, computer networking, electronics, and programming. The goal of the workshop is to introduce computer science to middle school girls in an interesting, hands-on way, encouraging them to explore robotics, Coding and Comp Science and/or other STEM classes when they enter MHS. During the workshop, students will set up the raspberry pi, learn how they work, and complete projects using the Raspberry Pis. After the workshop, these devices will continue to serve the Hommocks community by being donated to the robotics club, ensuring a lasting impact on students' education and enthusiasm for technology.

 

S25-12

Water Distillation Kit

Grantee: Christian Helgesen

Faculty Sponsor: Joseph Emberger

This grant will fund the purchase of a portable water distillation kit that will be accessible to all chemistry students at MHS. Through use of this kit, students will learn about the distillation process. The purified water produced through this distillation process will significantly improve the accuracy and reliability data of laboratory experiements, addressing the limitations posed by the contaminants present in tap water currently used.