Middle School

Middle School Welcome

Welcome! The zest, energy, and curiosity of early adolescence are felt throughout Hackley’s Middle School. With peals of laughter, students reach for one another to keep their balance; they huddle together at a computer station fine tuning a jointly composed musical score; they race to the gym to dress for sports, turning Akin Common into a torrent of speeding bodies.
What allows for such exuberance? A faculty that well understands the developmental needs of Middle Schoolers; coursework that stimulates the mind; and Hackley’s commitment to the words inscribed upon its main doorway: “Enter Here to Be and Find a Friend.” Ranging in age from nine-and-three-quarters to fourteen-and-a-half, Middle School students arrive as fifth grade children and leave as young adults. During these four years of rapid growth, we nurture scholarship and humanity in each of our students.

News

List of 12 news stories.

  • Hackley Head of School Charles Franklin

    Hackley Perspectives: Disconnect to Reconnect - Being Fully Present

    In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Head of School Charles Franklin discusses how putting away our smartphones can help us reconnect as a community. “What we want is for each and every student at Hackley to give their undivided attention to their education, their peers, their teachers and their school. We want them to form relationships with as many people as possible — people in different grades and people with different backgrounds. Being fully present, both with ourselves and for others, is perhaps our broadest generational challenge as a society.” Read the post here.
  • Head of School Charles Franklin, Community Council President Rafael Castro '25 and Associate Head of School Dr. Cyndy Jean

    Hackley Community Kicks Off School Year at Convocation Ceremony

    The first week of school is always an exciting time on the Hilltop! This week, we delighted in reconnecting with Hackley families and students, and on Thursday morning, Head of School Charles Franklin, Community Council President Rafael Castro '25 and Associate Head of School Dr. Cyndy Jean formally welcomed the Hackley Community to the academic year at Convocation 2024.
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  • Welcome to Hackley (back to front, left to right), Sarah French, Elizabeth Healy, Elizabeth Zammit, Lori Bodner, Gina Diaz, Brian Bissinger, Mary Stapleton, Anna Adler ’02, Elizabeth Kehoe, Kassy Fritz, Lark Ervasti, Michaela McGovern and Olivia Giacomo ’17, as well as Leah Cunningham and Joe McDermott ’14 (not pictured).

    New Employees Join the Hilltop

    Hackley is excited to welcome 15 new Hornets to the Hilltop for the 2024-2025 academic year!
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  • Upper School Counselor Katya Ostor

    Hackley Perspectives: Reflection, Goals and Growth

    In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Upper School Counselor Katya Ostor discusses how to prioritize your mental health through reflection and setting goals for the future. “Mental health awareness looks different from one person to the next, and I encourage you to consider how it shows up for you, especially during one of the busiest times of the school year,” she shares. Read the post here.
  • Assistant Director of the Middle School Damon Hall

    Hackley Perspectives: Cultivating Imagination

    In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Assistant Director of the Middle School Damon Hall reflects on the role of imaginative thinking in education. “I believe that creative, imaginary, big-picture thinking should supplement traditional skills and that they should work together as an ‘and’ rather than an ‘instead,’” he shares. Read the post here.
  • Associate Head of School Cyndy Jean, Ed.D.

    Hackley Perspectives: What is Education But the Balance of Character and Intellect

    In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Associate Head of School Cyndy Jean, Ed.D. reflects on Hackley’s core value, Character is higher than intellect. “It is our job to help Hackley students in our care maintain a balance of character and intellect in order to reason through the questions before them,” Dr. Jean writes. “Character and intellect must go hand-in-hand if we desire to bring forward a generation of deep critical thinkers and inspiring leaders.” Read the post here.
  • PostAP: Language and Culture students help to wrap presents at Neighbors Link's Mercados de Fiestas.

    Community Engagement Team Deepens Partnerships

    Hackley’s Community Engagement team has been busy deepening relationships with our community partners and volunteering at various community events!
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  • Steve Fitzpatrick, history teacher and director of debate

    Hackley Perspectives: The Role of Generative AI at Hackley

    In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Stephen Fitzpatrick, history teacher and director of debate, shares his thoughts on navigating the future with artificial intelligence. “The true test for Hackley will be not just how well we integrate this technology into our daily practice, but whether we can reimagine what teaching and learning can look like by providing cutting-edge AI literacy within our community,” Mr. Fitzpatrick shares. Read the post here.
  • Seniors Harper Kelsey, Sam Sanders and Grant Berhalter at the HSPDP tournament

    Hackley Debate Program Has Impressive Performances in November Tournaments

    November was a busy month for the Hackley debate program! Students participated in the NYDL tournament on Nov. 4, the Scarsdale Invitational tournament on Nov. 11 and the first HSPDP tournament of the season on Nov. 18, where Hackley had a collective outstanding performance, securing the top spot for the most wins in the tournament, including the only two undefeated teams.
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  • Director of Academic Affairs Basil Kolani

    Hackley Perspectives: What We Learn by Traveling Around the World

    In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Director of Academic Affairs Basil Kolani writes about Hackley’s Global Education program and reflects on his recent Round Square trip to Africa. "That we are able to provide opportunities to learn alongside others around the world is a truly special part of a Hackley education," Mr. Kolani notes. Read the post here.
  • Dr. Lauren Rigby and Dr. Rafi Malkiel

    Hackley Performing Arts Faculty to Conduct All-County Groups

    Congratulations to Hackley String Orchestra Director Dr. Lauren Rigby and Jazz Bands Director Dr. Rafi Malkiel on being selected by the Westchester County School Music Association board to conduct All-County groups this year!
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  • imagiLabs co-founder and CEO Dora Palfi meets with Girls Who Code club members and Upper School computer science students.

    Seventh Grade Pixel Art Designs Bring Tech Company CEO to the Hilltop

    This fall, Hackley seventh graders participated in the "Coding is Art Challenge" hosted by imagiLabs. Their designs were noticed and applauded by the team at imagi and, on Oct. 24, co-founder and CEO Dora Palfi spent a day on the Hilltop visiting with our creative coders.
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