Summer Under the Bridge
The “Purple Panthers” entrenched in a ferocious game of tug-of-war.
Contributions from Jose Campos ‘26
The rain held up and the sun showed out for what turned out to be a day of fun, fellowship, and friendly competition.
56 incoming ninth graders, accompanied by 17 staff members—many of whom were new to the school themselves — ventured from CPHS to Randall’s Island for a field day with the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in the backdrop.
“It’s just a great place to be: They’ve got the bathrooms, nice big fields, and it’s close to the school,” said Mr. King, a Digital Media and Yearbook teacher at the high school.
The students, grouped into teams with colorful names like “The Green Goblins” and “The Purple Panthers,” were all participants in an eight-day long summer program at CPHS called “Summer Bridge.”
Team Yellow Jacket poses for the camera. Photo: John King
Students are selected for Summer Bridge upon recommendation of their middle schools and the purpose of the program is to ensure them a smooth transition into high school.
“It’s an opportunity for students to have an introduction to high school,” said 9th grade English teacher Ms. Lertora. “An opportunity to make friends from other middle schools and form early connections with peers and teachers to create a strong start for the school year.”
Turnout and spirits were both high.
“Overall, I am excited– mostly for the potato and the [cornhole] toss,” said Ibrahim Barry ‘27, of the dominant “Team Yellow Jackets.”
Among other games and activities were dizzy bat, a sack race, and a bouncy ball relay.
“I like the cornhole toss because I got to do that and it was really fun,” said 9th grade Algebra teacher Mr. George, “but also the bouncy ball race was really intense.”
Although students and staff repped different teams and even different middle schools, what they all had in common was a blue t-shirt with a curious quote from Maya Angelou.
“It talks about love,” said 9th grade dean of students Mr. Sarmiento.
“I think that something we have at Kipp is love– love for each other, love for everybody, love for the things that we do. I think it suits our kids.”
T-shirt worn by Summer Bridge field day participants.
