It’s been a long time, so we were thrilled to be back together for Homecoming 2021 last Saturday! There was something for everyone celebrating on the Dyker Heights campus—the new Poly Blue Devil was revealed and appeared on T-shirts, children rode the mechanical bull and decorated pumpkins with sparkles and funny faces, the aroma of BBQ wafted through the air, and enthusiastic fans filled the bleachers again to cheer on the Varsity Football team’s victory. We saw so many old friends return for the Spirit Award presentation to Sabina Laricchia P’21, including at least 15 past recipients of the honor.

Check out our gallery below of Homecoming 2021 highlights.

Pumpkin Patch

There was no shortage of fun happening at Poly’s Pumpkin Patch. This year, Lower School children faced off in the traditional tug of war, enjoyed face painting, and application of fairy hair. For older kids, the adventurous conquered a climb up the yellow King of the Mountain tower, jumped on and stuck to the Velcro Wall, and rode on the rotating mechanical bull. Laughter and irresistible giggles filled the Oval.

Scoreboard

The Blue Devil varsity teams were on fire! In Poly sports, final scores were: Varsity Boys’ Soccer – 2 vs. Dalton – 1;  Varsity Girls’ Soccer – 0 vs. Dalton – 1;  Varsity Girls’ Volleyball – 3 vs. Dalton – 0; and Varsity Football – 31 vs. Pennington – 0.

PolyARTs on the Patio

On the sunny theatre patio,  A Cappella, Jazz Band, the String Ensemble, and Poly dancers celebrating 25 Years of Dance at Poly took turns entertaining audiences.

Good Eats

What’s a party without great food! Families enjoyed lunch from Gorilla Grilled Cheese, Chrome Cookin’, Red Hook Lobster Pound, and JASE BBQ food trucks with Good Humor ice cream or popcorn for dessert—and of course culinary favorites from our own Chef Lou.

Alumni in the House

In Commons, the Classes of 1970 and 1971 returned to celebrate their 50th Reunions. One of the returning alumni, Martin Kafina ‘71, was the fellow who came up with the original idea of a Poly Blue Devil in 1968 and recounted how he won Knicks tickets as a prize.

All Hail, Sabina!

The day concluded with a reception at which the Alumni Association Board of Governors presented the annual Spirit Award to Middle School math teacher Sabina Laricchia P’21 in the Joseph Dana Allen Library. Many friends, alumni, and faculty gathered to pay tribute to Sabina and enjoy being together again.