Upper School News Archive

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.

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.

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.

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

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.