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Values That Define Us

Our entire community lives the school's creed, "Be Kind. Be Fair. Be Responsible."

Every day - in and out of the classroom - our entire faculty and staff models, teaches and reinforces these values with our students in both planned and organic ways.

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Developing Character

Be Kind

Kindness Bandits

To this day, we still don’t know who the Kindness Bandits are, but we do know that they bring joy to all whom they come across, and they know the true meaning of kindness.

Each year students in middle school anonymously spread kindness by scattering notes around the building for their teachers and administrators. This mysteriously wonderful movement began one cold day when Mr. France came back to his desk to find a note. The note described some of the student's favorite things about Mr. France’s class and was signed “-The Kindness Bandits.”

Soon other teachers and administrators were receiving anonymous messages of appreciation. To this day, we still don’t know who the Kindness Bandits are, but we do know that they bring joy to all whom they come across, and they know the true meaning of kindness; that it comes in all shapes and sizes, and small acts of kindness are just as meaningful as grand gestures.

Be Fair

Lemonade Stand Against Racism

Teaching our children the value of being an engaged citizen is a priority for Tuxedo Park School. Service-learning connects students' academic learning to real-world community problem-solving.

In April of 2021, Tuxedo Park School held a contact-free Lemonade Stand Against Racism. All proceeds were donated to Color of Change and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ), two organizations that aim to advance human rights for Black and Asian communities and create a more just and equitable society for all.

Students enthusiastically prepared by painting a beautiful, bright banner, and making posters, flyers, and handmade thank you cards for each person who bought a cup of lemonade or donated to this significant cause. With messages like “Thank you for helping stop the hate,” “Be kind to all,” and “One like for lemonade is one dislike for racism!” our students brought heartwarming smiles to all.

Parents, students, and family pets drove through during pick-up to support our students’ initiative and grab a cup of lemonade. Our community’s support was overwhelming and encouraging, with over 120 cups sold and over $600 raised. Our thirsty students did so much good!

Teaching our children the value of being an engaged citizen is a priority for Tuxedo Park School. Service learning connects students' academic learning to real-world community problem-solving. Our students’ service learning fosters their commitment to the local communities and creates more conscientious individuals who are kind, fair, and responsible.

Be Responsible

Tuxedo Bag Project

When two best friends in the 6th grade saw a need in their community, they spearheaded their very own service project.

In December of 2021, two best friends and 6th-grade classmates, Solomon and Maddie, spearheaded their very own service project.

When FreshDirect expanded their delivery service to Tuxedo, Solomon and Maddie noticed the reusable grocery bags piling up at home. This was around the time that our local Sloatsburg Food Pantry announced its move into a new facility. When the two friends discovered that the Pantry was spending money to purchase boxes and bags, it didn't take long before the Tuxedo Bag Project was born. The two students believed that the Pantry should use its funds to focus on bringing food to the community and that donations of reusable grocery bags would be incredibly beneficial for The Sloatsburg Pantry! They wrote up a detailed project plan, designed flyers and logos, and met with Town and Village officials about collection boxes and marketing.

After only a week and a half, they had already collected 150 bags! By the end of the school year, they had far surpassed their goal of 1,000 reusable grocery bags for the Sloatsburg Food Pantry.

We are so proud of these two for taking responsibility for this initiative, and we are delighted to support them however we can!

Encouraging Curiosity

Be Innovative

Animal Fusion Project

5th-grade students participate in a STEM Design Challenge to invent their own species

In Mrs. Masefield’s 5th Grade science class each year, students engage in a STEM Design Project called “Animal Fusion,” which involves designing a new animal using specific structural adaptations from two existing animals. Each adaptation they choose needs to meet one of the specific basic functions that animals perform to survive. This project requires students to be extremely creative, inquisitive, and flexible in order to create a new animal from scratch, including the story behind the animal’s life cycle, how and what this animal eats, feeds its young, and which distinct traits they get from the two animals. Students build their animals using hanger wire, cardboard, and plastic containers for structural support. Then they add paper mache and cloth to shape the body and paint to finish it off. They present these projects to their classes, and administrators often attend to see the students speak about the projects that they worked so hard on. Students answer questions with enthusiasm and ease, eager to tell their classmates all about the animal that they have researched, designed, and ultimately invented.

Be Creative

Music Matters at Tuxedo Park School

Year after year, TPS students are accepted into the All-County Band and Orchestras

The music program at TPS produces highly talented instrumental performers, not just by our standards as we enjoy their school performances, but also as formally recognized individuals performing at the All-County Band and Orchestra and the NYSSMA Festival each year.

Current eighth grader, Morayo O., is an outstanding musician who plays three instruments at Tuxedo Park School. Always curious, she began the violin at age 3 by studying the Suzuki method. In third grade, she explored music further by learning to play the clarinet before joining the middle school band in fourth grade. As a clarinetist, she was selected to play in the All-County bands in both sixth and seventh grade. More curious yet, Morayo began learning the bass at TPS in sixth grade and will audition for the All-County Jazz Band at the end of November this year.

For many years, TPS has had strong representation amongst those accepted into the All-County Band and Orchestra in both the Elementary (4th-6th grade) and Junior High (7th-9th grade) divisions. Last year, seven TPS students were selected.

Elementary: Lucas B. - Violin, Maddie N. - Violin

Elementary First Chair: Charlotte H. - Percussion

Junior High: Morayo O. - Clarinet, Michael H. - Euphonium

Junior High First Chair: Michael M. - Euphonium, and Wynston D.A. - Percussion

Last Spring, all fourteen students who performed at the NYSSMA Festival received ratings in the highest “Outstanding” category. Levels ascend in difficulty from 1-6 for students through 12th grade.

Morayo O. received perfect scores for both her performances in Level 5 violin and Level 4 clarinet; Michael B. earned a 98% on a Level 6 piano performance; Wynston D.A. received a 97% on a Level 5 percussion performance; and Michael M. obtained a perfect score on a Level 4 euphonium performance.

At Tuxedo Park School, it’s common for students to begin instrumental lessons as early as Kindergarten. With music three times a week through Middle School and anywhere from two to six times per week in Upper School, it is no surprise our students are recognized locally and statewide for their superior musical abilities.

Be Inquisitive

Kindergarten Science Celebration

Kindergarten's annual cross-curricular science project encourages students to ask questions, even in French!

As the planets and moon rotate around the sun, curiosity is a student's nature. At Tuxedo Park School, Science is celebrated in all divisions in various ways! Lessons are taught using a range of methods: hands-on experiences, songs, non-fiction texts, STEM, and scientific-method writing to ensure that every learner succeeds. Learning at TPS is interdisciplinary, and what is being taught in science class might also be covered in art class, french, or music.

Every year, Kindergarten students explore the solar system, including the planets, sun, and moon. The unit begins by reading Postcards From Pluto by Loreen Leedy. During this unit, students study one planet a week over a ten-week period while regularly listening to the “Planet Song” to learn the order of the planets. Students send home a postcard at the end of each week with interesting information they learned about the planet they studied that week. The students secure understanding by creating models of the earth and sun and practicing the earth's rotation around the sun. This hands-on experience allows science partners to observe and discuss how the Earth’s rotation leads to the change of season and day or night. To heighten the experience, students listen to stories read by NASA astronauts each week.

As a culmination of this interdisciplinary unit, families are invited into the science classroom for presentations. Students share information about each planet in various ways. In collaboration, the French teacher Madam Vignola teaches students to present their facts in the target language. Mrs. Easter, the Kindergarten teacher, works with students to write about their planet based on the information they learn in Science. In harmony, the music teacher incorporates the solar system into their curriculum, and the students sing in unison about the planets, sun, and moon. Lastly, led by the Art teacher Ms. Sweeney, each student creates a colorful, wearable cardboard costume of their planet, incorporating art into the Celebration. This type of cross-curricular collaboration at TPS is commonplace, and what an impressive celebration it is!

Fostering Confidence

Be Prepared

World Language Assembly

Public speaking takes courage, and students meet the challenge with confidence.

Tuxedo Park School has long valued strong public speaking and communication skills. Our multi-year commitment to these critical life skills significantly builds self-confidence, self-advocacy, and self-awareness in our students. At TPS, students learn how to compose well-constructed and thoughtful essays early and deliver remarks with confidence and poise. Small-scale opportunities present themselves as young as Pre-K, and each year there are many moments to gain confidence while speaking in front of an audience. It takes deliberate instruction and a great deal of practice, which leads to students thriving in front of an audience.

One of our favorite public speaking events occurs at the beginning of each year when the World Language Department hosts a Welcome Assembly. Current sixth graders introduce our new students to the community while speaking in their world language of study. Sixth-grade students are paired with a new student who they interview about their age, town of residence, and favorite activities. They then introduce the new students and share the interview answers in both English and the target language at a whole-school assembly. The applause roars as new students beam with excitement, and sixth-grade presenters feel pride and a sense of leadership. Public speaking takes courage, and students meet the challenge with confidence.

Be Bold

Performing Arts

The support and camaraderie between co-actors prompts students to flourish, be bold, and embrace the discomfort of being on the big stage.

Tuxedo Park School students engage in many forms of creative expression. Our diverse electives allow students various opportunities to develop new skills or hone existing talents. Students are encouraged to pursue an artistic passion or discover a new one. TPS is the place for students interested in performing arts who have yet to muster up the courage to try out for a drama experience.

The Spring Musical and In-One-Act electives, directed by Mr. Wise, are two of the most significant drama performances that students and families eagerly anticipate. There are often familiar faces on stage, as students have found their love for drama, but new actors join each year, pushing themselves to be brave. What doesn't falter is the support and camaraderie between co-actors, prompting students to flourish, be bold, and embrace the discomfort of being on the big stage.

If being in the spotlight is not a student's role, there are other ways to be involved. An incredible student music pit ensemble and a student/faculty-run stage crew overseeing lights, sound, and costumes support the cast during production. All these experiences develop students' confidence and public speaking abilities.

When Tuxedo Park School faculty are asked where their favorite place on campus is, many of them will quickly reply, "The stage!" This is where the magic happens. This is where students step outside their comfort zone to be brave. This is where students defy their family's and teachers' expectations. Our stage and these experiences stick with students long after they leave TPS, as many go on to pursue performing arts in secondary school. Being brave and stumbling builds resilience. Being brave and succeeding breeds confidence. We embed these opportunities into our curriculum, so students leave us with the character traits necessary to take on the world.

Be Courageous

TPS Ski Program

The process of pushing boundaries and risk-taking is not just limited to the classroom - students build confidence on the slopes!

One of our favorite long-standing traditions is our ski program, where third through ninth-grade students ski at Mt. Peter in Warwick, NY, on six Thursday afternoons during January and February. Tuxedo Park School students build confidence through trial and error, and the process of pushing boundaries and risk-taking is not just limited to the classroom.

For example, one of our very own TPS students, Davhari, had never skied before attending TPS as a middle schooler in fifth grade. On his first day at Mt. Peter, Davhari was both excited and anxious about taking lessons and hitting the slopes. He was excited about trying something completely new but anxious because it was unknown, and he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Each week after the bus arrived at Mt. Peter, Davhari took a lesson and then rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain to test his new abilities and techniques. Week by week, Davhari’s skiing improved with more accurate turns and fewer tumbles in the snow. As his confidence grew, so did his skiing ability, advancing from the Beginners/Bunny Slope to Green/Blue trails and finally conquering one of the Black Diamonds.

This ski season, Davhari, now a 7th grader at TPS, looks forward to skiing with his buddy, Kurt, a fourth grader. Ski buddies are an important part of TPS’ program at Mt. Peter because older students “take the lead” with younger students on the slopes.

All Mt. Peter skiers from TPS also look forward to the final day on the slopes when they enjoy another tradition: Green vs. Gold ski race day followed by an afternoon of family tubing. In addition, Upper School students like Davhari spend three days at Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks to fine-tune their skills and build more confidence by tackling more challenging slopes. Ultimately, Davhari looks forward to posting his best time at TPS’ Race Day and traversing the more challenging Blue or Black trails at Gore Mountain. For Davhari, it all began with trial and error!

A Place to Grow

At TPS, children grow together, and are guided by adults who embrace the journey.

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Pre-K

Ages 3 & 4 years old

Pre-K | Every child Happy

Pre-K at Tuxedo Park School utilizes a developmental approach that meets children where they are, presenting opportunities to engage in new experiences and appropriate challenges.

Primary School

Kindergarten - 3rd Grade

Primary School | Every child Curious

Primary School students are challenged and supported to develop lasting habits of mind that approach the world with curiosity, compassion, and resilience.

Middle School

4th - 6th Grades

Middle School | Every child Inspired

Our Middle School Program is designed to allow students to gain independence gradually in a supportive and nurturing environment.

Upper School

7th & 8th Grades

Upper School | Every child Confident

In the Upper School’s rigorous preparatory program, students are guided to unearth meaning and approach challenges with confidence.

Freshman Year

9th Grade

Freshman Year | Every child Ready

Being leaders as Freshmen results in confident, well-spoken, driven teenagers. Their Honors level courses demand more, and they step up to the plate knowing they are learning in a nurturing environment.

In Their Words

Students reflect on the connections they have with their teachers at TPS.

Juliet

8th Grade

Kurt

4th Grade

Morayo

8th Grade

Marcus

Alumnus '22

Paige & Simon

1st Grade Siblings

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