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Upcoming Summer Admissions Events!

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Join us this summer and learn more about BASIS Independent Manhattan!

As we prepare for the first day of school, we are excited to invite you to meet us throughout the summer at various events! This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your student to participate in fun activities and learn more about our community at BASIS Independent Manhattan, a PreK – Grade 12 Top Private School with locations on the UWS and Chelsea.

FREE SUMMER EVENTS – You Won’t Want to Miss!

Waterfront Wonders: Science and STEM with Ms. Delaney and Ms. Amy (ages 3-10)

STEM with Ms. Delaney: Students will explore foundational coding and computational thinking skills by programming Ozobots using color-coded paths and simple logic sequences. Through hands-on challenges, they’ll learn how to debug, sequence commands, and think like engineers while watching their robots respond in real time!

  • Tuesday, August 5 at 10:00 AM | LIC Waterfront (Long Island City) | RSVP HERE

Science with Ms. Amy: Kids will explore the world of science by creating their own lava lamps and magnetic paintings. We will discuss how science is a part of the world around us everywhere we go!

  • Tuesday, August 12 at 10:00 AM | LIC Waterfront (Long Island City) | RSVP HERE

Paint in the Park:  Art Class with Ms. Carmen (ages 5-16)

Join us for an evening of watercolor painting by the LIC waterfront! Our BASIS Independent Manhattan Lower School Art teacher will be leading two workshops on watercolor techniques: ages 5-11 at 5:30 PM and ages 12-16 at 6:15 PM. Participants will get to take home an original watercolor painting

  • Thursday, August 7 at 5:30 PM | LIC Waterfront (Long Island City) | RSVP HERE

TABLING EVENTS

FlyNYC: Stop by our table for a fun activity and meet our admissions team.

  • Saturday, August 16 at 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Pier I at W 70th St

Launch Math + Science Camp: Tabling Event: Come stop by our table and meet our admissions team!

  • Thursday, July 24 at 8:30 AM | 3 W 65th St
  • Thursday, July 31 at 8:30 AM | 3 W 65th St

West Side County Fair: While you are partaking in games and rides, don’t forget to stop by our table and say hi!

  • Sunday, September 7 at 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Pier I at W 70th St

UPCOMING ADMISSIONS EVENTS

Virtual Information Sessions

  • Tuesday, July 29 (12:00 PM)
  • Tuesday, August 26 (12:00 PM)

Virtual Admissions Q&A

  • Thursday, August 14 (12:00 PM) | PreK – Grade 1
  • Thursday, August 14 (1:00 PM) | Grades 2 – 10

Join us for a campus tour and learn more about our wonderful community. Interested in applying for the 2026-2027 school year? Our applications go live on August 1! Be sure to sign up for our newsletters to stay informed.

Register Below for Our Upcoming Admissions Events

Click HERE

Spring Visual Art Exhibit: Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Art, Robotics, and Music

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At BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, innovation and exploration are at the heart of student learning, encouraging creativity across disciplines. This year, the Spring Visual Art Exhibit highlights an exciting collaboration between the Visual Arts, Music, and Robotics programs, showcasing how technology and artistic expression can intersect in meaningful ways.

The theme for this year’s exhibit, Carnival of the Animals, is inspired by the compositions of Saint-Saëns. Subject Expert Art Teachers Ms. Nichols and Ms. Shi selected the music first before assigning each grade level two pieces as inspiration for their artwork. This theme provided students with an opportunity to explore both the musical and visual aspects of the animals, blending their creativity with themes of nature and sound.

The new Robotics program, introduced this year by Subject Expert Engineering Teacher Ms. Bhatnagar, played a key role in this interdisciplinary effort. It is the first robotics program at any BASIS Independent campus in the Bay Area to be integrated into the curriculum rather than offered solely as an after-school program. Through this program, students in Grades 1-4 have been introduced to the fundamentals of robotics and computer science. Using the Finch Robot by BirdBrain Technologies, students developed computational thinking skills and applied coding concepts in tangible ways. With features such as a micro:bit, sensors, LEDs, motors, and a pen holder, the Finch Robot became an invaluable tool for incorporating robotics into various subjects, including art.

Once the exhibit theme was established, Grade 4 Engineering students collaborated with the Art department, using robots to create animal-themed artwork for the show. They first learned how the robots functioned, explored new coding environments, and applied mathematical concepts such as angles, shapes, and coordinates to program them. As a final challenge, they coded the robots to create circular patterns—an advanced function that required precise speed adjustments. Through this process, students reinforced their understanding of geometry and coding and discovered how technology can enhance creative expression.

Music was also an integral part of the learning experience. Students listened to the musical movements corresponding to the animals in their artwork. For example, students who worked on lions studied “The Royal March of the Lion” from Carnival of the Animals. They followed a listening map to identify which instruments were featured, answered questions about the composition, and learned about Saint-Saëns. These activities were woven into lesson plans across grade levels, allowing students to make deeper connections between music and visual storytelling. Subject Expert Music Teachers, Ms. Gao, Ms. Zhang, and Mr. Robbins, guided students through these exercises, enriching their artistic interpretations through sound.

Across all grades, students explored a diverse range of mediums and techniques to bring their artwork to life. These included making playdoh molds for plaster, wax resist techniques with watercolor, oil pastel drawings, negative space painting, metal tooling, and paper quilling. By experimenting with different materials, students were able to capture texture, movement, and emotion in their representations of the animals from Carnival of the Animals.

Throughout the exhibit, Carnival of the Animals will play on a continuous loop, enhancing the immersive experience and bringing the artwork to life. It is hoped that the musical backdrop enhances the experience, allowing viewers to engage more deeply with the pieces and develop a greater appreciation for the interdisciplinary connections between sound, art, and technology.

Reflecting on the experience leading up to the show, Ms. Nichols shared, “One of my favorite parts of being an art teacher is watching my students experience awe. Awe in not just great works of art, but also in the potential they see in their own creativity as their knowledge expands. The wonderful thing about the art showcase is that parents get to be part of that experience.”

We look forward to welcoming parents to the Spring Visual Art Exhibit on Friday, April 11, as we celebrate the creativity and dedication of our students. We encourage families to listen to Carnival of the Animals beforehand to extend the learning experience at home and gain a deeper appreciation for the inspiration behind the exhibit.

BASIS Independent Silicon Valley is a TK – Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings. Considering joining the Bobcat community? To join our interest list for the next school year and receive admissions updates and more, please click here. 

2023-2024 Year in Review

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Dear Families and Staff,

During the summer months, we reflect on the past school year as we reset our school for the year ahead. Today, we celebrate with our community many of the student accomplishments from the past year and pay tribute to our 2024 graduates. We are incredibly proud of our Bears.

Let us start with academics. Data from across our BASIS Independent Schools inform our practice, identify our areas for growth, and allow us to celebrate our successes knowledgeably. For these reasons, we can truly say we practice both the art and science of teaching. Without data, we would not understand our own goals, or we would just assume we were lucky when we met them!

This year more than 60% of our students earned the AP Scholar designation (scoring a 3 or higher on at least three AP Exams). This impressive result is consistent with year-over-year scores, showcasing our program’s strength. Also, in high school, we celebrated our National Merit Scholar winner Jack B. ’24, and 30% of our seniors were recognized as commended scholars.

Speaking of our seniors, let us take a moment to reflect on our sixth graduating class about to head off to the next stage of their educational journey! Approximately 60% of students were offered seats at universities in the top 25 ranked national and international institutions. Today we can share that our students will matriculate at:

  • University of Pennsylvania (2), Duke University (2), Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, University of Michigan, Georgetown University (2), Emory University, University of Southern California, NYU (2), Boston University, Northeastern (2), George Washington University, Barnard College (2), Colgate University, Haverford College, Skidmore College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Chapman University, and Cooper Union.

Our Class of 2024 posed on the roof during their senior year. Photo Credit: Danny Dolan at www.dannydolan.com

Celebrating Accomplishments

Throughout the 2023-2024 school year one thing remained the same— student accomplishments across all grades continued to reaffirm the vision behind all that we have built here in Brooklyn. Our educators took pride in providing structure and stability to support content mastery. 

Our students continued to excel at their studies and outside the classroom, our students’ accomplishments made us incredibly proud. An overview of 2023–2024 student accolades and significant developments follows.

Fine Arts

  • Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition: Our students were recognized yet again with many honors this year. One National Gold Key in photography was awarded to Mateo K. ’25; Yuna S. ’24 received a National Silver Key for her work in Digital Art. Many other students were recognized with regional awards: 7 Gold Keys, 6 Silver Keys, and 9 honorable mentions in photography, digital art, painting, and drawing illustration.
  • Our Upper School Choir was invited to perform at Radio City Music Hall before the Christmas Spectacular once again! They won top honors at the Hershey Park Choral Festival as well!
  • High School Choir and Band were invited to play at Universal Studios as part of the Disney Music Series.
  • Our Spring Musical SpongeBob was a rave hit. Upper School drama performances in elective classes were a wonderful celebration of creativity all year long.
  • Our entire Fine Arts team hosted wonderful festivals before Winter Break and at the end of the school year.  

National Scholastic Arts Gold Key winning photo by Mateo K. ’25

Humanities/Social Sciences

  • High School Debate Team won 1st place in team and 1st place speaker in the NYC Urban Debate League Championships.
  • Our Middle School Debate Club tied for 3rd place in the New York Debate League Championships.
  • The Grizzly Co-Editors-in-Chief founded our initial chapter of Quill and Scroll International Journalism honor society, initiating six student journalists.
  • Our Bears won 1st place team in the very competitive K-5 U1200 division at the Primary Chess National Championships! Our K-5 U900 team came in 7th place, and our team of two in K-3 U700 tied for 16th place with just two students. This news came on the heels of winning big at the New York State Championship. There were many, many other chess accolades throughout the year.
  • On the National Latin Exam, Abraham G. ‘29 earned a gold medal, Indi S. ’29 a silver. One of our Grade 6 students Dylan C. was recognized by both the American Classical Association and National Junior Latin League for receiving a perfect score. Four students received gold medals, ten received silver medals in Grade 6 this year as well!
  • This year we launched our inaugural Quiz Bowl team under the leadership of Mr. Koppel. The team performed well in their first year and look forward to picking up steam in the fall!

Our Chess Team at Nationals. Photo credit: Ian West of ICN

Math/Science

  • Our MATHCOUNTS team came in 1st Place in Brooklyn regionals and went on to compete at the New York State Championships. Special shout out to Michael S. ’28 who won top individual honors in Brooklyn. Coach Hughes was very proud of them.
  • The largest group of students ever sat for the MATH KANGAROO assessment for younger grades across both our campuses and comprised our largest group yet to receive accolades from the organization.
  • NOETIC Math accolades poured in with national winners across several grades across both of our campuses.
  • Our school won both 2nd and 3rd Place in New York State TEAMS competition. Thank you to Physics teacher and coach Josh Winter for continuing to grow the team.

Our Lower School Cubs proudly posing with their NOETIC math ribbons and medals.

Sports

  • Our Middle School Baseball team won the CSAA league championship after an incredible first season under Coach Starks. Go Bears!!!
  • Our Middle School Girls Volleyball Team won the CSAA Region 3 Championships!!! Coach Nalipinski was incredibly proud of her players, who participated in this middle school division for the first time.
  • CSAA Boys and Girls Track Team: Our Bears had a great season, and the High School team took home 3rd Place in the CSAA Region 3 championship. Given this was their first season, we could not be prouder of them!
  • Our CSAA Boys Varsity Soccer team made the league playoffs and we were very proud of their determination and drive during the year.
  • CSAA Girls Volleyball made the playoffs after a tremendous fall season with Coach Nalipinski.
  • CSAA Co-ed JHS Flag Football team finished 2nd place in the league! Team spirit could not be stronger, and we want to thank families for showing up consistently to cheer on our Bears.

Coach Starks and our middle school baseball team won 1st place in their league.

Community Involvement

  • This year our high school team arranged a Third Annual Day of Service in the fall to bring our community together and make a difference locally.
  • Our National Honor and National Junior Honor Society students dedicated more than 2,000 hours to service projects this year!
  • Back-to-School Textbook Exchange – Families donated nearly 3,300 textbooks and others bought used textbooks to benefit the Red Hook Art Project.
  • 500 coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and blankets as well as 200 care packages were assembled to support Red Hook’s Redemption Church community.
  • Our Lower School Cubs created more than 100 toiletry kits around the holidays to share with families in Red Hook through Redemption Red Hook Church.
  • Our community created more than 100 Thanksgiving cards for Heights and Hills to deliver with their Thanksgiving meals to seniors.
  • Our Primary School assembled more than 300 bedtime bags for asylum-seeking families through Project Rousseau!
  • Our High School students formed a chapter of JASA at the school with 16 student members who collectively spent 200 hours spending time with nursing home residents and participating in projects to support them.


These awards and examples of community involvement are an amazing testament to the school and the power of the curriculum and teachers. Most importantly, they are an incredible representation of our creative, diverse, driven scholars. It is important to us that as a school we prioritize opportunity, finding opportunities for students to showcase their skills, define their interests, and pursue their passions. 

Looking Ahead

Without community, academic success is temporary and limited. We have made significant growth as a community this year, and it is our priority to support and grow in the year ahead. Cultivating mutual respect and trust is key for our school after ten years in Brooklyn.

Teachers continue to express to us that they love this school because they are allowed to teach the subjects they know best the way they know best. They are allowed to share their passion for their subjects with their students and this builds engagement. We are excited to bring new faculty into the fold and continue supporting veteran teachers returning to our campus.

As we close our thoughts on the year, we want to salute our Class of 2024 for their leadership in shaping our sense of community and traditions at our school. We are grateful to them and want them to know they always have a place here. What we want to ask from our alumni and parents is help to provide professional advice and even connect our students after they graduate to internships and opportunities. This coming year we will be expanding our mentorship program, and we need the help of our community to open doors for our wonderful students.

Overall, we want our students to look back, feel a great sense of pride in their school, and share in the school’s success that they helped create. We have much to celebrate, and we are in an exciting position after ten years of educating students in Brooklyn. We truly look forward to the year ahead!

Sincerely,

Josh Harmon and Rose Miller-Sims

BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a PreK–Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings. Considering joining the Bears community? To join our interest list for the next school year and receive admissions updates and more, please click here. 

Wings of Inspiration: A Journey into Public Art with Carmen Recio and the Audubon Mural Project

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In the vibrant art scene of New York City, having a public art piece comes with prestige. We are proud to share that Ms. Carmen Recio (Visual Arts Subject Expert Teacher, PreK-5) has her first artwork on display through The Audubon Mural Project, and it is on display in Washington Heights. Through a unique blend of passion, community engagement, and avian inspiration, Ms. Recio shares her experience with us, the community, and her students.

Initiation of Inspiration
In the fall of 2021, Ms. Recio participated in the Audubon Mural Project’s 5K one-of-a-kind art run that stopped at various murals where runners were met by artists and advocates who shared facts about the murals of painted birds. The inspiration went full circle as Ms. Recio first drew on this experience to do collaborative bird drawings with her grade 4-5 students, which she shared with the organizer of the Audubon Mural Project, Avi Gitler. From there, Gitler offered Ms. Recio the opportunity to paint a mural for the project.

The Artistic Process
Ms. Recio first chose an endangered bird species – the Spruce Grouse – and made preliminary sketches before transferring the design onto Polytab, a canvas-wallpaper hybrid. Days of meticulous painting followed as she used a stepstool to reach the large artwork that had to be mounted on her bedroom wall. Ms. Recio said it was a joyful project and very fun to paint. Once completed, Gitler and his team took charge of installing the masterpiece at its location on 158th St. and Broadway.

Connecting Art to Education
As an educator, Ms. Recio seamlessly integrates her artistic endeavors with her teaching. Her unit on street art empowers students to create large gridded drawings of birds. They vote on a species, measure out a grid, and piece together their drawings as a class. This hands-on approach not only fosters creativity but also imparts valuable lessons about collaboration and environmental responsibility.

Beyond the classroom, Ms. Recio has integrated real-world experiences into her teaching. Past collaborations with the Wild Bird Fund brought rescued pigeons to the school, creating tangible connections between students and the broader efforts of organizations like Audubon.

Conveying a Message of Awareness
Ms. Recio’s mural features the Spruce Grouse, a symbol of the project’s mission to raise awareness about endangered bird species. Several students and Wildcat community members have ventured to visit her artwork which helps spread a message about the impact of climate change and habitat loss on these creatures.

Through her creation, Ms. Recio hopes to inspire change in simple ways, urging people to reconsider their interactions with wildlife, from choosing appropriate bird feed to taking steps to prevent window collisions during migration season.

Our school is fortunate to have an educator like Ms. Recio who uses her passions to creatively transform art into awareness and inspire her students and the public. Stop by the mural for a photo opp and tag her @art_with_carmen and @basisindependentmanhattan to show your support of our fabulous Wildcat faculty who continue to show their passion inside and outside of the classroom!

2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

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Congratulations to the 2023 winners of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. We wanted to celebrate the inspiring student work from BASIS Independent Brooklyn this year by sharing the work with our community. Students have created visually stunning and meaningful imagery, and we wanted to share many of the pieces honored by Scholastic in the hopes of inspiring others. We are proud to see them brilliantly uphold the BASIS Independent Brooklyn standard for setting the bar high for our school community and rising to meet those goals. 

“Our students’ hard work has led to great outcomes,” commented Head of School Josh Harmon. “I’m proud of their creativity and the execution that earned them their awards. Thank you to our teachers for inspiring and guiding our students to express themselves and capture their unique perspectives.”

Overall across BASIS Independent Brooklyn, 13 students were recognized with awards in the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Competition. A full list of students honored follows:

  • Olivia B. ‘27 – Honorable Mention (Drawing & Illustration)
  • Katey B. ‘23 – 2 Gold Keys (Photography)
  • Laila G. ’24 – Silver Key (Digital Art)
  • Samantha G. ‘24 – Honorable Mention (Photography)
  • Mateo K. ‘25 – Honorable Mention (Drawing & Illustration)
  • Avi L. ‘24 – Gold and Silver Key (Photography)
  • Yorgo M. ‘27 – Gold Key (Photography)
  • Alex R. ‘24 – National Silver Medal, Gold Key, and 2 Honorable Mentions (Drawing & Illustration)
  • Yuna S. ‘24 – Silver Key (Digital Art)
  • Arthur S. ‘27 – Honorable Mention (Photography)
  • Beckham V. ‘26 – Honorable Mention (Photography)
  • Isaac W., ’24 – Honorable Mention (Photography)
  • Maren W. ’23 – 2 Silver Keys (Photography)

Art Awards
On top of the regional accolades, this year Alex R. ’23 was honored with a National Silver Medal in recognition of exceptional work in drawing and illustration. His award-winning work was displayed in the national exhibit that toured the country. 

“Alex is a wonderfully talented artist,” said Ms. Heather Corbett, Fine Arts Subject Expert Teacher. “He had a solid background in realistic drawing coming into class this year and has worked to expand his comfort zone by exploring 5-point perspective in colored pencil, portraits in acrylics and landscapes in watercolors. He is generous and encouraging with his peers and thoughtful in his approach to both his work and the work of his classmates. I am very pleased to have been able to get to know and teach him this year.” 

Alex R. ‘S National Silver Medal Drawing:

“Congratulations to this year’s winners,” said Mr. Opirhory, Fine Arts Subject Expert Teacher. “Their dedication to the arts and unique vision represents the best of our community. With art ranging from photography to digital art, and drawing they continue to impress.”

Proud of his students, Mr. Opirhory provided background on each one that we wanted to pair with their recognized entries. All of his students awarded Gold and Silver Keys follow alphabetically.

“Katey Brickner’s contributions to the arts at BASIS Independent Brooklyn have been extensive through the years.  Her artistic merit is immense.  She works in a variety of mediums and it’s great to see her gain acclaim for her photography.  These images are a direct reflection of her creativity, emotional intelligence, and dedication to skill.”

Katelyn B.’s Gold Key Photograph “Veil of Silence”: 

Katelyn B.’s Gold Key Photograph “The Web Whisper”:

“Avi Lockner has excelled at capturing stark and vivid imagery.  His photography set such a unique mood with his use of contrast and composition. Dark in tone, they confront us with their underlying ideas.”

 Avi L.’s Gold Key Photography “Works”:

“Yorgo Malafis is a newcomer to photography yet he’s created a number of wonderful works in a short time. He has an eye for iconic and structured imagery and accentuates order in urban environments.”

Yorgo M.’s Gold Key in Photography “The Wall”:

“Yuna Stechert Is an amazing draftsperson/painter. Her talent working with figurative narratives improves with each piece. She works with oil, acrylic, gouache, and watercolor with an attention to detail and a solid understanding of what makes a great image.”

Yuna S.’s Silver Key in Digital Art “Fleeting Happiness”:

“Maren Williard’s photographs are a spectacular look into the idiosyncrasies of life. This is done so succinctly by juxtaposing the roles of children and adults in a comedic and introspective fashion.” 

Maren W.’s Silver Key in Photography “Eve’s Temptation”:


Maren W.’s Silver Key in Photography “They Grow Up So Fast”:

Dean of our High School Program Mr. Goldman was proud to share that Laila G. ’23 was awarded a Silver Key for her layered and deeply-historical work created as part of his AP U.S. History class. Dean Goldman shared that it is an “impressive synthesis work, encompassing multiple centuries, and asserts her answer to the question ‘What is the Story of America?'”

Laila G.’s Silver Key in Digital Art “The Pursuit of Happiness”:

Our students continue to inspire us. We are extremely proud of them, their intelligence, artistic vision, and – most of all – their potential.