SHS Class of 1961 celebrates reunion with a Galaxy Forum

SHS Class of 1961 celebrates reunion with a Galaxy Forum

Local Scarsdale history and future visions were the focus at Scarsdale High School (SHS) during the 60th and 61st class reunion weekend for the SHS Alumni Class of 1961. Held in person from 30 September to October 2, the event was kicked off by ILOA Galaxy Forum SHS 2022 and followed by a discussion moderated by SHS Principal Ken Bonamo and a tour of SHS facilities.

Opening the class reunion on September 30 was ILOA Galaxy Forum SHS 2022, the 10th such Galaxy Forum at Scarsdale High School. Galaxy Forum 2022 prominently featured the SHS Centennial Plaque which was dedicated to the school in 2017 and hangs outside the science department. It was presented to Science Department Chair Nicole Pisano and the SHS Science Department for advancing science education in the 21st century and for hosting the Galaxy Forums since 2011.

The plaque honors the first 100 years since the schools’ founding (1917-2017), and the future centenary of the SHS Galaxy Forum program, to be held annually at the school (2011-2111), with metal nameplates set for burning until 2111 and beyond. It acts as a living time capsule, added to each year, symbolizing long-term commitment and future visions of excellence in science/space education.

The annual SHS Galaxy Forum program is sponsored by SHS Class of 1961 graduate Steve Durst, founder of the Hawai’i-based International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA).

This year, Durst spoke at the SHS Galaxy Forum about Milky Way Galaxy 21st Century Education and the ILOA precursor astronomy instruments that are slated to land on the moon in the spring of 2023 aboard the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission via the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The payload will aim to capture the first-ever images of the Milky Way galaxy from the surface of the moon with Aloha.

Bailey Burns, Systems Engineer at Paragon Space Development Corporation, was the featured presenter at SHS Galaxy Forum 2022 and discussed his work and the company’s efforts to advance Generation Artemis (the next generation of lunar explorers after the missions Apollo), the emergence of Cislunar space Age and the return to the Moon – for good!

Inspiring SHS students to aim for the stars, could the Galaxy Forum program and centennial plaque help set SHS apart and allow Scarsdale to go to the moon this century?

Bailey Burns, Steve Durst and Nicole Pisano