Before students went on their mid-winter break, Bronx River held its third town hall assembly of the school year. Students, who got to dress down for the day, gathered in the auditorium for a mix of student performances, awards, videos and surprises.

At the beginning of the assembly on Feb. 17, assistant principal Tene Kelly spoke to the students about some important “save the dates,” including upcoming parent-teacher conferences and midterms. Student performances scattered throughout the assembly kept the crowd energized: Junior Darnell-Frances Mozon  sang and danced while students clapped and waved to the beat. Led by freshman Joseph Gabriel, several freshmen showed off their dance moves and  talented dancing teams shared their Tik-Tok videos. To add to the excitement, a junior committee introduced a surprise guest. The school’s new mascot, the Lehman Lion, danced onto the stage as students and teachers clapped and cheered. (See video highlights below)

In between performances, teachers introduced winners of the LOGIC awards for each grade level.  The “Love of Learning” award went to Abdulmalek Essaedi, Alex Disla, Shaquin Miller and Rolando Lopez. Mustapha Drammeh, Larry Nunez, Estefany Moran and Katie Ordaz received “Mr. O’s Optimism” awards, which is given in honor of David Olliverrie, a teacher who passed away last year. Adam Alzawkari, Janeidy Beltre, Kelly Ramirez and Jocellyn Velez took home the “Grit” award.

Tahmina Marjan, Jahayme Lamar, Gael Chavez and Elvia Serrano earned the Intellectual Curiosity” award. Lastly, the “Caring” award was conferred to Shaima Muflehi, Keysny Martinez, Chris Banks and Nabiha Miah.

Next up, the TEACH awards made their comeback and were presented by student council members to the following teachers: Thoughtful: Daniel Herguth; Enthusiastic: Jose Tirbucio; Advocate: Michelle Brummer; Caring: Daniel Butler; and Helpful: Joseph Shinn. 

Special guest, Lara Bergen from Press Pass NYC, gave out a surprise award to the newspaper staff. She invited the staff to the front of the auditorium and congratulated everyone on their hard work in starting a successful school newspaper.  The staff proudly accepted the Outstanding Achievement award, which now hangs in the Bronx River News Room.

The town hall assembly continued with fun activities, such as a raffle for the students who entered the LOGIC dollars they were given during the fall semester.  Jeanney Rodriguez, Mir Most Zannatul,  Tamiya Livingstone, Ysmerlin Ortiz, Gael Chavez, Ashly Rodriguez, Emad Ali and Kimberly Perez  won lunch with the principal. Another raffle took place for a $25 Gift Card and the following students won: Mitila Purba, Marliz Vasquez, Darnell and Harold Garcia.  The final raffle with the LOGIC dollars, a $100 Gift Card, went to Freda Sarpong.

The student council  brought back the popular push-up contest.  Students as well as teachers entered this contest and the person who completed the most  push-ups done in 1 minute received  a $25 gift card. The top competitors: Mr. Tiburcio with 111 push-ups and students Fraylin Ortega Rodriguez with 86 and Autumn Lawrence with 40 push-ups.

The assembly ended with a slideshow that captured the memories students made during their time in school this semester. The next Town Hall will be right before the start of the April spring break.