Balancing school with outside activities. Performing CPR. Avoiding plagiarism. Preparing for college and career.

Those were some of the big topics covered during part two of Freshmen Orientation at Briarcliff High School this week. While juniors and some sophomores were taking the PSAT exams, the freshmen class were getting a crash course in how to succeed in high school.

Last year, renowned speaker Dr. Bryant T. Marks held workshops for all of the employees and staff in the Briarcliff Manor Union Free District regarding his theories about implicit bias. (You can read about the workshops here.)

Pep rallies outdoors? Why not! The Briarcliff High School student body and faculty gathered at the stadium field outside the high school for an event that has been more than a year in the making: a good old fashioned pep rally.

Four Briarcliff High School students were recently named National Merit® Semifinalists. They are: Dylan Bright, Haonan Gong, Lucas Martin and Neel Raut. The program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Can being in nature cause our heart rates to go down? This is what students at Jessica Loprieno’s science class hypothesized in a course called “Medical Detectives,” and which is a part of Project Lead the Way at Briarcliff Middle School.

It is a good thing that Briarcliff Manor students know how to adapt. Playing in the orchestra, for example, was a very different experience last year, with students split into two groups and less time to practice. This year, however, they are back together, playing every day, for longer periods of time and the results can be seen and heard!