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Jordan Abraham '21 Serves as Headmaster for A Day

On March 8, 2013, Jordan Abraham ’21 (Manalapan) took on the duties of Head of School Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff as he became “Headmaster for A Day”. Jordan’s parents, Mr. Eric Abraham and Mrs. Regina Carroll, were the lucky winners in the Headmaster for A Day raffle, held last spring in conjunction with the RSPA Panther Ball.

In the morning, Dr. Sykoff surprised Mrs. Keenan’s 4th-grade class with a visit and picked up the lucky student to begin his busy day. His first decision as Headmaster was to declare a purple dress down day for the entire Lower School on Wednesday, March 13. As his classmates cheered with excitement and said their goodbyes, Jordan walked with Dr. Sykoff back to his office to explore his headquarters for the day and to receive a few gifts, such as an official Ranney School blazer, Headmaster ID badge and personalized business cards and stationery. “I think the most important part of being the Headmaster is keeping up with the budget and making sure everything is in line,” said Jordan about the job. “It might be hard to spend time with family and friends since you are in charge of the entire school.”

Jordan’s adventure began by touring the Upper School and meeting Head of Upper School Paul Zanowski. He then made the decision to extend the dress down day to the Upper and Middle School students and added an ice cream sundae bar to the menu for Wednesday’s lunch. As he made his way around the building to shake hands with several students and teachers, Jordan took a break with the seniors in the Dining Hall and enjoyed a special treat with Dr. Sykoff from the bake sale. “I realized that everything isn’t just great for the younger students but it gets better and better as you get older,” said Jordan.

After touring the Middle School with Head of Middle School David Fischer, Jordan met with the Communications Department for a brief interview. He revealed that he was already anticipating lunch to be one of his favorite parts of the day. As part of the package, the Headmaster for A Day customizes the lunch menu for the entire school. Jordan’s selections included chicken wings, sausage sandwiches and ice cream sundaes. Jordan also discussed a few ideas he would incorporate if he were appointed Headmaster, which included changing the school’s logo to a Viking in honor of his favorite NFL team, the installation of zip lines, unlimited lunch and desserts, and a dress down day every Friday strictly for sports jerseys.

His love of sports explains why gym is one of Jordan’s favorite classes at Ranney, along with band. In fact, Jordan describes his band instructor, Mr. Kevin Cotter, as his role model on campus. “He can take a student who hasn’t played an instrument before and teach them,” explained Jordan. “He is really patient and brings all of the bands together to play.”

Jordan also shared his goal of becoming a CIA agent after graduating from Princeton University. “I want to help the country and make sure everyone is safe.” Although he may not see a future for himself as Headmaster, he feels Dr. Sykoff, who is retiring this year, has done a great job in his 20 years as the Head of School. “I will miss Dr. Sykoff’s Panther pride and seeing him at all of the events cheering for us and being supportive.”

When it was time for the Headmaster for A Day to call a final meeting with his parents and Dr. Sykoff, Jordan shared details from his exciting day and opened more gifts, including a personalized photo album, Ranney School vest, plaque of recognition and a windbreaker courtesy of the Athletic Department. The 4th-grade Headmaster was admired across all three divisions for his generosity and enthusiastic personality throughout the day.

If you are interested in a chance for your children to experience what it’s like being Headmaster for A Day, there is still time to purchase your tickets for Ranney's annual “Headmaster for A Day” raffle, which will be held at the 26th Anniversary Panther Ball on Saturday, April 6. To purchase tickets today, please click here.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.