Ross Upper School
The junior varsity boys tennis team at Ross held its first home match on the School's brand new har-tru tennis courts on April 15, marking a new chapter in the School's athletic achievements. This historically strong team once again came out on top, beating East Hampton 4-3.

"It's been terrific," said coach Lou Fernandez. "We're still getting used to it. Most of the kids are used to playing on a hard surface. This is har-tru, so it's a slower game."

Family, friends and Ross faculty and staff filled the benches that were lined up alongside one end of the facility. Cheering the team on, they were also excited at the prospects of using the courts themselves. "This is an amazing structure," said ninth grader Sarah Johnson. "I can't wait to volley with my brother [10t grader Abraham] or some of my friends."

There are 12 JV and 12 varsity matches this season; a total of 12 matches will be held at the new Ross tennis facility.

On a sunny afternoon, buoyed by cheering fans that were waving banners, Ross played its first baseball game on the school's home diamond on April 16. Following seven innings, Port Jefferson and Ross ran out of light and called it a tie at 10-10.
From start to finish the game never slowed down, with center fielder Jon Dratel hitting a single and stealing second, in the first inning. Later on, in the fourth inning, with one out remaining and a 3-2 count, 12th grader Grant Monahan hit a grand slam to pull Ross ahead. Then shortstop Jasper Cregan capped a two run rally with a single to right, bringing in the tying run.

Gallery Opening
The High School held its annual M-Term Gallery Opening on April 16, presenting a beautiful display of paintings, sketches, photographs, video and more from students who traveled to Morocco, Tanzania, Belize, Italy and the American Southwest for Winter Intersession, or M-Term.

Students on the Morocco trip prepared a traditional tea, a sweet drink that Moroccans imbibe daily and thusly dubbed "Moroccan whiskey." Equally enticing was the homemade tiramisu, prepared from scratch by the students who went to Italy, with the help of Ross Café chefs.

"I think what's so exciting about this opening is that each M-Term group went all out with their installations," said Visual Arts Chairperson Jen Cross, who was also a leader on the Italy trip.
Each corner of the gallery was devoted to a separate country or geographic region visited, with maps drawn on the walls and each area filled with colorful artifacts from the trips. The corner dedicated to Italy, for example, presented a gilded display of beautiful egg tempera paintings made by the students while they were in Camaiore. The corner for Morocco was filled with bright, colorful pillows from that region, while the area dedicated to the American Southwest trip displayed a snowboard and bicycle representing the students' rugged outdoor excursions.

Recorded music and drumming played in the background as crowds of people wafted in and out of the gallery. Each corner of the gallery also featured the students' colorful travel sketchbooks, which were filled with journal entries, collages, plane tickets and more.

Following the opening was a special M-Term Sharing Night Presentation, where students explained the different aspects of their trips in a formal setting in the Court Theater. Photographs, video and music accompanied each presentation.

Ross Lower School
The third grade at Ross School built a shelter out of found objects on April 17, as part of their unit on Early Humans. Using sticks, bamboo, rocks and large branches, the structure is similar to what Homo habilis would have built and was big enough to fit several kids inside. Chris DiSunno, architect and father of third grader Dylan, carefully directed the students through each step of the building process.

"It's a hands-on way to reinforce learning," said third grade teacher Jacquelyn Weaver. "This is a keen aesthetic way to implement the research we've done."

Nomadic people built homes and followed their hunt, but they would return to the spot of the home they had built the year before, Jacquelyn explained. With that in mind, "the idea is that the next set of third graders will build another shelter in the same spot next year," she said. The shelter is located outside, behind the Farmhouse.

The unit concludes with a wax museum on April 23, where the third graders will pose five species of early humans they have focused on in class, as well as the scientists that made discoveries, which informed the research on these peoples.