News Archive

The Athletics Department would like to congratulate our All-League honorees and our League and State Champions. In total, 30 student-athletes were selected by their peers as being the best in their league. In addition, Hackley School was awarded three league championships and one state championship. Congratulations to our athletes and teams on an exceptional Fall Athletics season!

Every week, the Athletics department highlights some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

On Nov. 1, 2022, Hackley School announced the launch of Employee Resource Groups, providing enhanced support for the Hilltop’s faculty and staff. The resource groups support key efforts outlined in Redefining Excellence: Learning Beyond Boundaries by creating opportunities for those with shared identities to gather together, feel affirmed, and find mentorship and connection.

This week, more than 100 of our fall student-athletes competed in NYSAIS Championship games. The players and coaches of all the fall teams have made huge strides this season. Congratulations to all our Hornets for making it to the championships!

On Saturday, Nov. 5, 21 Hackley debaters traveled to the Nightingale-Bamford School in Manhattan for a Middle School debate tournament. The topics debated included whether television is a bad influence, if captive live animal displays do more harm than good, and whether or not the United States should adopt a four-day work week.

On Saturday, Oct. 22, approximately 40 of our Hudson Scholars came to the Hilltop for an afternoon of learning, enrichment, bonding, and fun!

Every week, the Athletics department highlights some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

Every week, the Athletics department highlights some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

On Oct. 20, we welcomed to the Hilltop Jason Reynolds (New York Times No. 1 Best Selling Author) and Jason Griffin (renowned illustrator) of “Ain’t Burned All the Bright” for a book signing, a morning visit to the Lower School, and two book discussions—first with students in the Johnson Center, then with families in Allen Memorial Hall.

Every week, the Athletics department highlights some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

Every week, the Athletics department highlights some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

Every week, we will highlight some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

On Friday, Sept. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 1, eight Upper School students competed in more than 20 rounds of debate at the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Conn., for the first time in three years.

Every week, we will highlight some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

Every week, we will highlight some exceptional Hackley Hornets who are helping to spur on their teams.

The Hackley Boys’ Varsity Soccer (BVS) Team opened its 2022 campaign with a challenging fixture against arch-rival Riverdale at the infamous postage stamp, grass pitch they call home.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, former and current members of Mrs. Washington’s Service Leadership for Social Impact course volunteered at the Hearts and Homes for Refugees Welcome Picnic for recently resettled refugee families.

Seven Hackley students and three chaperones are attending the 2022 Round Square International Conference in England this September. Here is what they are looking forward to. #HackleyatRSIC2022

On June 4, Hackley sophomores—Aniketh Arvind, Eliza Podvalny, Charlotte Feehan, NJ Roc-Sennett, and Katherine Chen—participated in the Somers Science Research Fair.

On  June 4, 2022, the courtyard adjacent to Allen Memorial Hall and the Science Building was dedicated and named in memory of former Headmaster Walter C. Johnson. 

Congratulations to the Girls' and Boys' Varsity Lacrosse teams for winning the Ivy League Championship. And the Girls' Varsity Lacrosse team won the NYSAIS Championship. In May, the Athletics Department celebrated the Spring Season All-League recognition and individual championships at Ivies and NYSAIS. For details click Read More. 

For the first time ever, three Hackley students were named Regeneron ISEF finalists–Maxwel Lee ’22, Joey Nadol ’22, and Noah Nager ’23. They joined over 1,700 students from around the world at the International Science and Engineering fair in Atlanta, from May 6 – 13, 2022, where they presented their respective research projects.

Two Hackley Middle School students, Isaac A. '26 and Mason L. '26, active members of Hackley’s Orchestra program, scored perfect scores at the New York State School Music Association Festival this Spring. And both are doing even more extraordinary work. 

This week there are spring season playoff updates, and six new Athletes of the Week: Greg Reich ’22 Boys’ Golf, Theo Saujet ’22 and Teddy Roberts ’23 Boys’ Tennis, Brooke Koffler ’25 Girls’ Lacrosse, Lila O’Brien: ’23 Girls’ Lacrosse, and Calista Santomero ’22 Girls’ Golf.

At a reception honoring a legacy of outstanding faculty, Hackley celebrated endowed chair holders and the donors who established these chairs.  This year’s honorees were: Glenn Hasslinger, Sternberg Family Chair; Lauren Rigby, Ferraro Family Chair in the Arts; Eva Van Buren, McLean Chair in Mathematics and Science; and Andrew Ying, Akin Family Chair.

This spring, Hackley’s Lower School fourth graders welcomed three guest speakers as part of the school-wide focus on Big Experience curricula.

This spring, Hackley’s Performing Arts department welcomed Master Drummer Vince Cherico and Cellist Jeremy Harman as part of the Creative Residency Program.

Four spring season Athletes of the Week are announced: 

Earth Day 2022 marks the final day of a week-long nature celebration at Hackley School.

On Wednesday, April 13, Hackley welcomed artist Thomas Doyle for a day of creative expression with Middle and Upper School students in our art studios and Maker Space. Doyle is the first visual artist-in-residence to visit the school as part of the Creative Residency Program since the onset of the pandemic two years ago. 

Four spring season Athletes of the Week are announced: Kiran Marfatia ’23 for Boys’ Golf, Ethan Ohm ’23 for Boys’ Tennis, Ashley Morgner ’22 for Softball, and Calista Santomero ’22 for Girls’ Golf.

The Dial has recently been awarded a Silver Medal from the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association for its 2020-2021 edition. The Dial entered the competition as a “hybrid” publication, meaning that it was judged and recognized for excellence in both print and online coverage.

Four spring season Athletes of the Week are announced: Andrea “Andy” Hegarty '25 Softball, Elizabeth Rudge '23 Girls’ Lacrosse, Nikhil “Niky” Dhakad '22 Baseball, and David Koffler '22 Boys’ Lacrosse.

In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Bobby Aldrich, Director of Operations and Campus Planning, writes, "The important work of diversifying teams, elevating the opinions and talents of those who are under-represented, and challenging the way things have always been done must be on-going and ever present.” Read the post here.

On Wednesday, March 30, Eighth Grade Health welcomed to campus the JCK Foundation whose mission is to improve mental wellness and resilience amongst youth by working directly with schools and their communities.

The Athletics Department is pleased to announce the following accomplishments for the Winter 2021-22 season. Hackley had 26 All league recipients, 5 Individual Ivy Champions, 4 League team titles, 3 Individual NYSAIS Champions, and 4 School or League records broken by Hackley Student-Athletes.  The Athletics Department and its coaching staff could not be prouder of the student-athletes.

During Spring Break, twelve Hackley students participated in the state’s largest science and engineering fairs. They did significantly well, with a school record of three students qualifying for the Regeneron International Science Fair held in Atlanta, GA in May, and one student qualifying for the International Genius Olympiad in June. Both fairs represent the world stage for science and engineering students to present their work.

Seniors Iheukwumere Marcus ‘22, Daniel Nuzum ’22, and Ryan Thomson’22 were all selected to the 2022 Golden Dozen Team. Iheukwumere was chosen as one of the Golden Dozen Scholar Athletes, and Ryan and Daniel received Honorable Mention.

Hackley School is pleased to announce and celebrate our four new Endowed Chair holders, Dr. Andrew Ying as the Akin Family Chair, Dr. Lauren Rigby as the Ferraro Family Chair, Eva Van Buren as the Wallace W. McLean Chair, and Glenn Hasslinger as the Sternberg Family Chair. 

The Winter season on the Hilltop proved to be an incredibly rewarding experience for our students. We witnessed teams growing together, winning championships, and getting back to competing in the sports they love after a two year absence. 

In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Damon Hall, Middle School history teacher, 7th Grade Dean, and Coach writes “Learning to balance the desire to blaze our own paths as individuals while developing the capacity to team up with others in fulfillment of bigger goals can be a long journey. But as the ancient African proverb says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’” Read the post here.

On Friday, February 11, the upper school’s Service Leadership for Social Impact and English 12 classes continued their partnership with 914Cares and their work addressing Period Poverty in our local community.

In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, Ariana Aguilar, Director of Annual Giving, writes "I have made a career out of giving, have been both a giver and a taker, and I can unequivocally say that giving is much, much more rewarding. I daresay that giving, in the moments when you think you have little to give, is a radical act of love and empowerment...” Read the post here.

Sid Shah ’22 couldn’t get enough of the Classics. After taking AP Latin as a sophomore and ancient Greek as a junior, the Hackley senior worked closely with Mr. Sheppard, Chair of Classics, to design an independent study which allowed him to combine his interests in teaching, Latin, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

On February 5, Hackley’s Independent Science Research students—seniors Daniel Cai, Dionne Chen, Joey Nadol, and Daniel Zhang—presented their science research projects at the Westchester Rockland Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, among more than 350 other projects from the region.

This academic year three Upper School Spanish courses, Accelerated Spanish III, PostAP Spanish: Language and Culture Service-Learning, and Civic Engagement for Advanced Spanish Speakers, have been engaged in long-term Service-Learning projects with our community partner, Neighbors Link.

During his virtual visit on January 21 with Independent Science Research Program students, Dr. Ephraim Tsalik MD/PhD spoke about how his research has demonstrated the ability to utilize Machine Learning (ML) to analyze the imprint a bacteria or a virus has on the gene expression of your immune response to categorize what is causing your symptoms.

On January 25, the Upper School community heard from Mr. Johnny Hincapie, a criminal justice activist who educates the public about wrongful conviction.

On January 21, Mr. Schwartz ’96 visited students in Mr. Sykes’s “Advanced Topics in Economics” independent study. Throughout the year, the students in this unique class have been exploring various topics, with a recent focus on finance and investing.

In this month’s blog post on Hackley Perspectives, M. Cyndy Jean, Assistant Head of School for Community and Inclusivity, writes “We all deserve to have the kinds of relationships that help us to face adversity and celebrate the wins. We need these connections because they push us to be better versions of ourselves.” Read the post here.

Upper School students expressed hope and concern for American democracy at a discussion on Thursday, January 13, 2022, commemorating the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The Independent Science Research Program was honored to virtually host alum Dr. Hilary [Cohen] Gallin ’05 on December 16, 2021.

On Saturday, December 18 the Hudson Scholars Holiday Reunion took place on Zoom. Prior to the reunion, Hudson Scholar Upper School mentors wrote holiday cards and packed a goodie bag for each Scholar.