This fundraising effort will include night full of dribbling, dancing and dunking.
After recently earning his 100th win with the Moorestown High School boys basketball team, coach Shawn Anstey is ready for his next challenge — coaching the Moorestown Magic All-Stars to beat the Harlem Wizards, a professional basketball show-team from New York.
Made up of Moorestown Township Public Schools teachers, staff and administrators, the Moorestown Magic teammates will bring their basketball skills to the court for four quarters of play on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Moorestown Athletic Center, located at 350 Bridgeboro Road, behind Moorestown High School. Before tip off, players from both teams will begin warm-ups at approximately 6 p.m., where the Magic and Wizards will get to scope out their competition.
Before the game begins, the National Anthem will be performed by fifth graders from the district, and all of the school mascots will participate in a shootout with the Wizards. Mid-way through the game, which will feature basketball tricks, hoops and alley-oops, there will also be a half-time show featuring the Quaker Shakers, led by Erin Kitley, a teacher at George C. Baker Elementary School, that will encourage dancing and fun.
While the sport of basketball is the large focus of the event, which is being sponsored by Lopez McHugh LLP, the night is also being utilized as a fundraiser for the Moorestown Home and School Association — a non-profit group designed to raise funds that help to enrich the academic experience of students who attend MTPS. This enrichment occurs through cultural teachings, art installations, technology improvements, field trip funding, assemblies and playground equipment.
“The event could not take place without the amazing support of the Moorestown Education Association, which puts together the Moorestown Magic team and the Quaker Shakers, who do an amazing half time performance,” Sue Bielawski, the event contact, said. “We are also very grateful for our event sponsors, Lopez McHugh LLP, Wegmans and the amazing support of the Moorestown Youth Basketball Association.”
The Magic will include 30 players, ranging in height from just 60 inches all the way to 6-feet, 10 inches. Additionally, the team expects to “school” the Wizards with its array of talent. A small sampling of its “highly experienced” players includes:
• Mark Ambrosino, a computer teacher at Mary E. Roberts Elementary School and George C. Baker Elementary School, who can hit the court like he hits the computer keyboard
• Kelley Stenton, school nurse at the South Valley Elementary School, who will be there to dry the Wizards’ tears and put bandages on their boo-boos
• Leslie Ackerman, a first-grade teacher at Mary E. Roberts Elementary School, who literally has the ball in her court and her belly, as she is pregnant
• George Trauger, a fourth-grade teacher at Moorestown Upper Elementary School, who will bring a storm of slam-dunks to the game
To purchase tickets to the event, visit moorestownhsstore.com. More information on Moorestown Home and School can be found at Moorestownhomeandschool.com.
