Arts Festival Marks Charter School's 5th Anniversary

Our World Neighborhood Charter School (OWNCS) celebrated its fiveyear anniversary December 19 with a Winter Arts Festival.

An Assembly proclamation to commemorate the school's anniversary was presented by Assemblymember Michael Gianaris, during the opening ceremony. City Councilmember Eric Gioia cut the ribbon for the visual arts exhibition. Guests later viewed the children's art projects, on display at the elementary school.

A choral concert at the Museum of the Moving Image followed, featuring performers in Grades 2 through 4 and including the world premiere performance of "Love Does", composed by OWNCS Board Member Matt Kaplowitz, a Grammy award recipient for the soundtrack of "Gandhi" and an Emmy recipient for the PBS special "To Bear Witness".

"Our goal in the next five years is to expand our facilities so that we can better serve Queens families while maintaining our high academic standards," OWNCS Executive Director and Principal Brian Ferguson said. "We hope to work with our parents, teachers, government officials and community representatives to make that happen."

Chartered in March 2001, OWNCS serves nearly 700 middle and elementary students from Western Queens and beyond. In the last three years, OWNCS students have consistently outperformed District 30 students, based on overall New York state test results. Approximately 60 percent of OWNCS students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch. The OWNCS student body is 38 percent Hispanic, 31 percent white, 17 percent Black/African American, 14 percent Asian and Middle Eastern, and 1 percent Native American.