Latest news with #CollegiateSchool
Scoop
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Watch New Zealand's 2025 Scrabble Championship Live
WHAT: 45th New Zealand Scrabble Championship WHERE: St Paul's Collegiate School, 77 Hukanui Road, Hamilton WHEN: All day Sat 31 May, Sun 1 June and Mon 2 June 2025 Seventy avid Scrabble players will be descending on Hamilton this coming King's Birthday weekend to decide who will be New Zealand's 45th Scrabble Champion. The premier event on NZ's Scrabble calendar is being livestreamed for the first time with expert international commentators. With the growing global interest in Scrabble, organisers are expecting over 10,000 views by the end of the long weekend. To tune in to the livestream go to The current national champion is Howard Warner of Wellington who has won the title a staggering 13 times. Howard is currently ranked #1 in the national standings. Trying to wrest the title from him are several New Zealand Scrabble Grand Masters and world ranked players including: Dylan Early (Wellington): Dylan won the 2025 NZ Masters Championship and is ranked #6 Chris Tallman (Mt Albert): Chris is currently ranked #2 in New Zealand Joanne Craig: A New Zealander resident in Sydney, Joanne is currently ranked #1 in New South Wales and #4 in NZ. Joanne has won the NZ Championship three times. Andrew Bradley (Mt Albert): Andrew won the 2023 NZ Masters and is ranked #9 Lewis Hawkins (Christchurch): At 21 Lewis is one of the youngest players in the Nationals. He came third in the 2025 Masters and is currently ranked 11th overall. Scrabble is a very popular game in New Zealand, and competition at all levels in the national championship is fierce but also lots of fun. Participants this year are from every part of New Zealand and are of all ages and occupations. The youngest participant is 12-year-old Maheu T-Pole from the Mt Albert Scrabble Club, and there are several competitors 80+ years old.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bonehead boys at fancy NYC prep school set up fake border-patrol checkpoint, ask to see students' ‘papers' — as mariachi band plays
Knucklehead preppies at Manhattan's elite Collegiate School last week pulled a senior prank by setting up a fake border checkpoint in the lobby and demanding to see classmates' 'papers' as a mariachi band played. The tone-deaf stunt at the $65,900-a-year all-boys Upper West Side prep school lit up a Facebook group of local moms at first puzzled by the musicians playing outside while surrounded by teens waving American flags — with some of the mothers thinking it was a May Day or pre-Cinco de Mayo celebration. A thread on the 'UWS Mommas' Facebook group viewed by The Post revealed the parents' growing chagrin as they learned more details about the scene. 'It was senior prank day,' a parent wrote. 'The seniors decided to set up a border patrol and made all the students go through it at arrival. I can't imagine how humiliating it felt for the Latino students.' A senior prank at Manhattan's elite College School featured a fake border checkpoint and a mariachi band. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post Another mom, alluding to President Trump's border and immigration policies, added to the thread: 'If that's a prank, it's in serious poor taste at the moment, and needs following up.' Additional shocking details about the stunt were revealed by Gothamist, which first reported on the boys' antics — and subsequent outrage from school staff and other students about the alleged anti-immigrant motives. The pranksters set up a cardboard booth May 1 wreathed in caution tape, from which they asked to see students' 'papers,' Gothamist reported. They also had an inflatable eagle riding a motorcycle in the school's lobby and adorned its entrance with American and Texas flags, according to the report. The mariachi band played outside while other students waved American flags. 'It was really bizarre seeing middle aged Latino men playing music next to white kids draped in the American flag. It looked exploitative,' a mom on the Facebook forum wrote. Leadership at Collegiate School did not return Post requests for comment. Gothamist said the head of the school, Bodie Brizendine, emailed parents and staff that officials 'regret that this 'prank' took the turn that it did.' Smirking students leaving class Tuesday all denied knowing about the prank to The Post. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post A teacher outside the school Tuesday confirmed that an embarrassing jest went awry but didn't know specifics. 'They brought it up in our meeting but they didn't go into detail,' the teacher said. 'They were just saying how it was unacceptable. 'Now, I'm even more curious as to what actually occurred.' Scores of smirking students left class Tuesday and denied knowing what happened to The Post. Collegiate School's many illustrious alumni include John F. Kennedy Jr., 'X-Files' actor David Duchovny and former New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. Its current board of trustees includes NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The centuries-old school last year was embroiled in controversy after its former head, David Lourie, allegedly ripped an antisemitism task force as a 'joke' and a 'power play by Jewish families' to have him ousted. Lourie resigned, and Brizendine took over.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Woke teachers at $66K-a-year NYC private school up in arms over student's 'border patrol' prank
Teachers at a ritzy New York City private school were outraged after seniors pulled a class prank that featured a fake 'border patrol checkpoint.' Students at the all-boys Collegiate School - which costs a whopping $65,900 per year - put on the controversial display Thursday as part of the long-standing senior prank tradition, Gothamist reported. The school claims to be the oldest in the country with a founding date of 1628 and boosts famous alumni John F. Kennedy Jr., his nephew Jack Schlossberg, David Duchovny, rapper Lil Mabu and many socialites such as Cornelius Vanderbilt II. The class of 2025 set up a cardboard booth surrounded by caution tape where they asked to see arriving classmates' 'papers.' An inflatable eagle riding a motorcycle was set up in the lobby, American and Texas flags were hung at the entrance, and a live mariachi band performed outside. Teachers sent a complaint to school leadership about the prank claiming the event reeked of 'racism and harassment of people of color,' according to the news outlet. Head of school Bodie Brizendine sent a letter to the community Friday stating the prank had been approved with a Fourth of July theme, but 'it unfortunately strayed from that plan.' 'We have an excellent senior class and yesterday's events do not reflect who we are as a school,' she said. 'We regret that this "prank" took the turn that it did. Every member of our community is valued and important to us.' The teacher complaint called for the students to be held accountable for their actions. Brizendine said she is investigating the matter. Brizendine took over last year when her predecessor was forced to resign after branding an anti-Semitism taskforce a 'power play by Jewish families.' The board of trustees at the private school launched a probe after more than 100 Jewish parents said its response to the October 7 Hamas attack failed to 'meet the moment.' Head of school David Lourie allegedly described the move as 'nothing more than a 'power play by Jewish families and New York City Rabbis' to have him ousted. Task force head Anna Carello found that one English teacher had accused Israel of genocide in front to 6th and 7th graders shortly after the terrorist attacks, while two others had harangued a Holocaust survivor invited to speak at the school. 'I feel like Collegiate has become a training camp for Columbia,' one parent at the $63,400 a year K-12 school told the New York Post. The allegations came to light after Carello sued Lourie for gender discrimination claiming he undermined and sidelined her investigation as 'punishment' for her working with Jewish families. Her report found that some staff blamed 'wealthy and influential' Jewish parents for tensions at the all-boys school which had 'skirted close to one of the oldest and most pervasive anti-Semitic tropes.' It revealed that Middle School English teacher Dwayne Alexis had been 'relieved of his teaching duties after presenting controversial lessons on the Middle East to his 7th-grade civics class and 6th-grade world history class', with some parents claiming he had accused Israel of genocide. It also revealed that two upper-school teachers had been 'reprimanded' after asking 'pressing questions' at a school Holocaust Assembly. 'There was a Holocaust survivor invited to speak at the school and a teacher took it upon herself to press him on a series of questions, one of which was could 'the swastika be a symbol of peace?' one parent claimed. 'People have lost confidence, there is no morality clarity, there is a pervasive anger and it is all driven by an erosion of trust,' another added. Carello claimed her investigation was hampered by having to teach the classes of Alexis after he was suspended. And concerned parents were not reassured when her report came in at nine pages, compared to the 400 pages of the school's 2020 response to 'institutional and other racism that pervades so much of our society'. Five years ago an internal task force recommended its mascot, motto and seal be changed because they could be considered offensive.
New York Post
06-05-2025
- New York Post
Bonehead boys at fancy NYC prep school set up fake border-patrol checkpoint in lobby, ask to see students' ‘papers' — as mariachi band plays
Knucklehead preppies at Manhattan's elite Collegiate School last week pulled a senior prank by setting up a fake border checkpoint in the lobby and demanding to see classmates' 'papers' as a mariachi band played. The tone-deaf stunt at the $65,900-a-year all-boys Upper West Side prep school lit up a Facebook group of local moms at first puzzled by the musicians playing outside while surrounded by teens waving American flags — with some of the mothers thinking it was a May Day or pre-Cinco de Mayo celebration. A thread on the 'UWS Mommas' Facebook group viewed by The Post revealed the parents' growing chagrin as they learned more details about the scene. 'It was senior prank day,' a parent wrote. 'The seniors decided to set up a border patrol and made all the students go through it at arrival. I can't imagine how humiliating it felt for the Latino students.' A senior prank at Manhattan's elite College School featured a fake border checkpoint and a mariachi band. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post Another mom, alluding to President Trump's border and immigration policies, added to the thread: 'If that's a prank, it's in serious poor taste at the moment, and needs following up.' Additional shocking details about the stunt were revealed by Gothamist, which first reported on the boys' antics — and subsequent outrage from school staff and other students about the alleged anti-immigrant motives. The pranksters set up a cardboard booth May 1 wreathed in caution tape, from which they asked to see students' 'papers,' Gothamist reported. They also had an inflatable eagle riding a motorcycle in the school's lobby and adorned its entrance with American and Texas flags, according to the report. The mariachi band played outside while other students waved American flags. 'It was really bizarre seeing middle aged Latino men playing music next to white kids draped in the American flag. It looked exploitative,' a mom on the Facebook forum wrote. Leadership at Collegiate School did not return Post requests for comment. Gothamist said the head of the school, Bodie Brizendine, emailed parents and staff that officials 'regret that this 'prank' took the turn that it did.' Smirking students leaving class Tuesday all denied knowing about the prank to The Post. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post A teacher outside the school Tuesday confirmed that an embarrassing jest went awry but didn't know specifics. 'They brought it up in our meeting but they didn't go into detail,' the teacher said. 'They were just saying how it was unacceptable. 'Now, I'm even more curious as to what actually occurred.' Scores of smirking students left class Tuesday and denied knowing what happened to The Post. Collegiate School's many illustrious alumni include John F. Kennedy Jr., 'X-Files' actor David Duchovny and former New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. Its current board of trustees includes NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The centuries-old school last year was embroiled in controversy after its former head, David Lourie, allegedly ripped an antisemitism task force as a 'joke' and a 'power play by Jewish families' to have him ousted. Lourie resigned, and Brizendine took over.
