News Archive

On March 12, Tony Award-winner LaChanze Sapp-Gooding P' 18,'19 offered this year's W.E.B. DuBois Lecture, an annual tradition honoring Black history and culture.  Originally scheduled for February but postponed due to snow, Ms. Sapp-Gooding's talk shared experiences and insights ranging from growing up in th segregated South to making it as an actor on stage and screen. Here are excerpts form her talk.

On March 13, students from Spanish 8 helped Hackley second graders expand their International Studies with a lesson about the parts of the body including songs, movement, and even a game of Spanish Simon Says!

Rob Horan ’21 was selected 1st team Westchester/Putnam All-Stars at 113lbs by the Journal News and Jack Bosco ’20 received Honorable mention at 120lbs. Congratulations to both on this impressive honor!

The Advanced Forest Ecology Research class continues to capture great images of Hackley forest life -- from songbirds to predators!

The five Hackley eighth grade students currently representing Hackley at the Round Square Globally Accessible Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland visited Giant’s Causeway on March 13th.

On Saturday, March 9th, Hackley School, in conjunction with HMGS (Historical Miniature Gaming Society), ran its second annual Mega-Game in the Chapel.

Approximately 30 MS debaters competed this past weekend at two separate locations – one of which was at Hackley – for the final regular season debate tournament of the season.

Adam Tannenbaum '20 has been selected to participate in the 2019 NAFME All-Eastern Honors Mixed Chorus.

One of the joys of being at a K-12 school is the many opportunities for cross-divisional partnerships -- most recently seen when our 11th grade English students visited Hackley third graders to coach them in the craft of writing!

This production, done in the round, will consist of eight-10 minute scenes around love, life and all the strangeness in between the beginning and the end. Come see it in the PAC, Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm.

The 2018-19 Hackley Hornets Boys Varsity Basketball team took positive steps forward in a season that found wins hard to come by, but new coach Zach Kuba focused on establishing a new culture in the program that included a positive atmosphere, the joy of practicing and playing basketball together, good communication and chemistry.

The Hackley Girls Basketball Team vaulted past their high pre-season expectation to finish the year with an impressive 19 – 5 record, second place in the Ivy League with a record of 10 - 2, and the #3 seed in the NYSAIS state tournament.

The Hackley Girls Squash Team finished with a 6-8 record on the way to the #5 seed in the NYSAIS tournament, and then went on to beat the 4th seed in thrilling fashion demonstrating how their hard work was paying off.

The 2018-2019 season has been a year of growth and learning, for Hackley swimmers and coaches. Following the nearly 30 year reign of coaching excellence from Coach Gillard, this year saw a new trio of coaches at the helm: Anne Budlong, Mike Ruggiero, and Jeremy Storm, in addition to practicing and competing in the new JCHW pool.

The 2018-2019 Winter Track Team consisted of 52 athletes and their coaches, Seth Karpinski, Dejan Maksimovic, Jessie Gaines, and Bill McLay. The team participated in several meets over the season, including four Ivy League meets, the New Balance Games, the New Jersey Classic, the Ivy League Championships, and the NYSAIS Championships.

The Hackley Wrestling had an impressive season as young stars broke through and the team went 5-3 on the year with a 3rd place finish in the Ivy Prep League, and a 4th place finish at the NYSAIS Championships.

Dr. Adrianne Pierce, Hackley Classics Department Chair, shares this story in Hackley Perspectives about deepening connection with ancient history through archeology in our own back yard.

Hackley Boys Fencing dominated this season, with undefeated Foil and Epee Teams and 2nd place in the league for the Saber Team, while Girls Fencing, small but feisty, captured an individual championship and two fifth place team finishes.

Hackley Lower School students set about shoveling off the playground first thing on Monday's snowy morning--many hands making light work!

The Hudson Scholars February reunion began with Hackley Upper School students leading small group sessions about Hackley clubs/organizations in order to foster conversation around pursuing your passions and different leadership styles.

After learning about Brazil, the Amazon Rainforest, and deforestation, Hackley second graders presented their research on different species of animals that live there, sharing interesting facts, and discussing what would happen to the animals if the rainforest continued to be cut down.

A multi-talented (and brave!) group of Hackley parents demonstrated the virtue of Flexibility for Lower School students.  Watch highlights of the action here!

Congratuations to the athletes and coaches of the Hackley Boys Squash team, which defeated Horace Mann 5-2 on Sunday, 2/24 to win the boys NYSAIS squash championship.

Upper School students were treated to a little puppy love in the middle of their exam review.

Hackley Girls Squash vs. St. Ann's at Hackley, Sunday, 2/24, 2PM.
Hackley Boys Squash vs. Masters at Hackley, Sunday, 2/24, 4 PM.

Hackley fencers brought home first and second place tournament finishes and a Team Tournament win for Boys' Foil.

Hackley Girls Basketball defeats RCDS to advance; Girls squash advances. Boys Squash advances.

At the NYSAIS Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Armory in New York City on February 21, Princess Ohia-Enyia '20 finished first in the Girls 600 Yard Dash and Gracelynn Green '21 out-threw all other competitors in winning the Girls Weight Throw.

Director of Upper School Andy King explores what it means to "learn beyond boundaries" in our latest edition of Hackley Perspectives.

Merideth Maddox and Bettie-Ann Candelora presented a workshop titled “Setting the Stage for Success: The Role of Theatrical Improvisation in Shaping Strong, Successful, and Supportive Young Women” at the NCGS-NYSAIS Educating Girls Symposium at the Nightingale-Bamford School on February 20th.

The Hackley Middle School Lego Robotics team competed against two other schools (Greenwich Country Day School and Long Ridge Elementary School) at Long Ridge Elementary School in Stamford, CT.

Check out the latest installment of Dr. Rigby's podcast series, "Sound and Stage."

American Girl Doll Tea Party & Crafting (D. O’Lunney) has been added to the Hackley Summer Program course offerings for rising grades K-2 . This fantastic new course will be offered in the afternoon of WEEK 2 and WEEK 3.

Congratulations to Lara Schechter ’21 and Hadassah Henderson ’21 for their strong performances at the Girls State Wrestling Championships at Truman High School (Bronx) this past weekend.

We would like to congratulate many of our athletics teams for making the NYSAIS championships and moving on to the post season.

Swim season in Hackley P.E. has begun -- in the new Johnson Center Pool-- with Mr. Hasslinger's 5th grade PE class taking the honors as  the first ever Hackley PE class to swim in the new pool.

The Hackley Wrestling Team took home 4th place overall at the NYSAIS Championship this week at Long Island Lutheran. Three individual Hackley wrestlers won their respective weight classes.

Hear Hackley faculty talk about progress on early initiatives supporting Redefining Excellence: Learning Beyond Boundaries.

Athletes of the Week for the week of February 4th are Aidan Wilson ’20 (Swimming), Mary Rotenberg ’21 (Swimming),
Jack Bosco ’20 (Wrestling) and Tyler Wyman ’21 (Wrestling).

Monday was a very exciting day for the fencing program. Heading into their last regular season matches the Foil and Epee Teams had perfection looming in front of them.

Over the past two weeks, the Hackley Lower School students, teachers, and many parents participated in the Building Bridges program.

On Saturday, Feb 9, 2019, Hackley US students William Catalano, William Crainer, Varun Krishna, Yingshyan Ku, and Josh Saha joined over 350 students from the region to present their science research projects at the Westchester Rockland Science and Humanities Symposium.

The Advanced Forest Ecology Research class set up five camera traps in the Hackley forest.

The Hackley Boys Squash Team has enjoyed an incredible year finishing the season a perfect 10-0.

Hackley Lower School students were truly leaders in literacy on Feb 1st!

Hackley Middle School Chinese students have been expanding their language studies in creative and fun ways.

Twelve Hackley seniors are participating in the Katonah Museum of Art’s annual Young Artists Exhibition.

Stacy Kaegi, lead kindergarten teacher, has been named Hackley's next holder of the Alumni Humanities Chair, following nomination by faculty peers who wrote thoughtfully about her work.

Hackley gave beck through several student led initiatives from January 22 to February 1.

The Hackley Middle School "Pillars Day" celebration, devoted to the theme of Women's Leadership, launched with a visit with Ilyasah Shabazz, Hackley Class of 1979, whose book, Betty Before X, was the Middle School Summer Reading selection.

Upper School Chinese V students visited with second graders this week to teach them about the Lunar New Year and Chinese culture -- a timely extension of the 2nd grade Social Studies unit on Asia--and helped them create the Chinese symbol for "Spring." Fun and learning was enjoyed by one and all!

Hackley's Round Square visitor from Romania, Sergiu Ciavoi, visited Hackley's 1st grade classes on 2/7, and led an interactive presentation on his home country of Romania.

The Independent Research Program had a special visitor on Tuesday Feb 5, 2019: Dr. Louis Catalano III (P ’19), who came to talk about surgical techniques on distal radius fractures, and presented results from his past clinical research and more current anatomical research.

Eleven Hackley HS Parli debaters competed this past weekend as Hackley hosted it’s 3rd annual HS Public Debate Program parliamentary debate tournament.

The Hackley Wrestling Team placed 3rd overall at the Ivy League Championships this past weekend with three Hornets taking home individual titles.

On Saturday, January 12th, 30 Upper School mentors, under the leadership of computer science teachers Melissa Tranchida and Jed Dioguardi, worked with 25 Hudson Scholars in what was a fun day of engaging STEM/tech activities

On the first weekend of February, two teams represented Hackley Lower School at a First Lego League Junior Tournament, with the theme "Mission Moon."

From the department of “when life gives you lemons...” Our intrepid Latin 4 crew, in the midst of their Archeology study, were gifted a gorgeous digging day, albeit in February, and battled ice deposits, mud, and accumulated leaves to have a great class experience.

Director of Informational Technology Jed Dioguardi's reflects on the powerful intersection of curiosity and change in Hackley Perspectives.

Athletes of the Week for the week of Jan. 28 are Jordan Wade ’19 (Girls Basketball), Zaya Gooding ’19 (Fencing), Joshua Zhang ’19 (Fencing) and Nicky Wind ’22 (Fencing).

Congratulations to the Hackley Fencing Program for their outstanding performances this past weekend. Thirteen of our fencers medaled on Saturday with three individual champions. Congratulations to the coaches and fencers on a fantastic day.

Leah Holmes '20, member of Hackley's Girls Varsity Lacrosse team,is one of 23 players named to the U.S. women's U19 National Team training roster following the recent Spring Premiere at Stanford University, a first for Coach Leffler's players. Read about it here.

Two late additions to the Hackley Summer Program (not in the printed catalog) include the Adirondack River Road Trip (July 8-12) with Mr. Ogden and Hackley Basketball Camp with Varsity Boys Basketball coach Zach Kuba (July 15-18).

Upper and Middle School students enjoyed an inspiring and engaging performance by -- and with, since students stood, knelt, and chanted along -- visiting artists performing the powerful "Prayers for the People," based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s important "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Our students have been learning about the letter this week -- for those less familiar, here is History Department Chair Bill Davies' eloquent lesson on the topic.

Senior Jordan Wade joined Hackley's elite group of basketball players to reach the 1000 point mark in points scored at the Winter Sting. Jordan is the 10th female athlete and the 18th athlete overall to reach this benchmark.

Last week, Hackley squash players took advantage of the opportunity to see some of the world's top professional squash players compete at Grand Central Station.

How do Hackley Lower School students show their spirit?  In so many ways!!

As we frequently highlight, "wellness" comes in many forms: physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and social, and Hackley employees are engaging in many forms -- including finding cognitive, social, and emotional gratification through needlework!

This week, Lower School parents wrote, directed and starred in a Character Education performance on the virtue of flexibility.

On Saturday, January 26th, 2019, twenty MS debaters participated in the 3rd NY Debate league MS tournament of the season. It was a great day with a nice mix of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade debaters competing.

This past month, Hackley MS students have been competing through their history classes in the National Geographic Geography Bee, an annual competition in which Hackley has participated for almost 20 years.

This past Saturday, 10 middle school students volunteered to serve a hot meal to residents in the Ossining area at the Trinity Episcopal Church’s Loaves and Fish Soup Kitchen.

Hackley Second Graders were enthusiastically adorned for Pajama Day this week -- part of the Lower School Spirit Week!

Heavy winds and rain on 1/24 made for a dramatic weather day at Hackley--culminating with a dramatic rainbow crowning the Hilltop during afternoon dismissal!

Hackley Middle School students did such an awesome job in the 1/25 Spelling Bee that they ran through all the words their teachers had planned -- sending the faculty scurrying for more words!

"Diversity at Hackley encompasses more than identity (“backgrounds”) and it requires that we embrace the value that arises in a diverse community: differences in experiences, opinions, and thought (“perspectives”) that enrich the learning environment for everyone." Michael Wirtz shared this essay in our blog, Hackley Perspectives.

Hackley Athletics recognized six Athletes of the Week over the last two weeks.

The Boys Fencing Team has had a terrific start to the season with strength across all disciplines, with undefeated Foil and Epee teams sitting in first place, and the Saber team in second place.

Hackley Girls Basketball coach and Hackley alum Margaret Scarcella ’84 recorded her 100th career varsity coaching win with a 40-28 win over Convent of the Sacred Heart in NYC.

Hackley wrestler Robert Horan' 21 won the prestigious Westchester County Championships in Yonkers on Saturday, January 19th.

The Hackley Boys Varsity Basketball Team earned their First Ivy League victory of the season on Monday evening when they ousted a feisty Fieldston team, 67-64, in the Johnson Center.

Guest artist Ivy Walz provided vocal workshops to 7-12 choral classes on January 17th.

Middle School drama students in the All Things Theatrical classes had a visit from theatrical engineer Dan Hanessian.

Varsity Football coach Simon Berk offers this thoughtful reflection on "The Power of Perspective" in our blog, Hackley Perspectives, noting the important difference the shift from "I have to" to "I get to" makes--a message that applies to athletics and to everything else we do.

Fourth grade students enjoyed participating in a Western Square Dance with their parents on January 11, part of their learning on Westward Expansion in the U.S,

During the month of December students in Mr Lipin’s 5th grade science class created marble rollercoasters out of cardstock and tape, a  challenging project that developed student’s teamworking and problem-solving skills and also introduced them to concepts such as potential and kinetic energy. (View the student videos here.)

On Tuesday, January 8th, Hackley alum Joanna Miller ‘15 visited Chinese V and AP Chinese to discuss her experience as an intern for the U.S. State Department.

Hackley started the new year on January 7 in the Johnson Center with an official Welcome Back from Head of School Michael Wirtz and Community Council President Zaya Gooding before launching into activities designed to exercise one particular dimension of wellness — cognitive/mental, physical, social, emotional or spiritual.  Enjoy these video highlights from the morning's work!

History teacher Steve Fitzpatrick shared this report in Hackley Perspectives about his students' use of Minecraft to engage in new and creative ways with history studies.

On Saturday, December 15, Hudson Scholars and their families gathered at Hackley for a potluck dinner to celebrate the holidays with Hackley friends.

After studying the dwellings of the Eastern Woodlands Native Americans, 3S students ventured out into the Hackley forest to find all the materials needed to build a chickee, wigwam, and longhouse.

On the Friday before winter break (12/21/2018), the Independent Research Program hosted a special guest: Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Christina Rapp Prescott, MD, PhD class of ’94.

Just before our Holiday break, 6th Grade science students worked with Mr. Lipin and Mr. Molter in our Hackery makerspace to create artwork with Hackley and non-Hackley rocks.