School Life

Leadership & Clubs

Beyond the classroom, our students explore and commit themselves to areas of interest they find deeply meaningful, expanding their sense of self and challenging them to grow in character.

Community Service
Hackley students participate in a wide array of community service activities, beginning in the earliest grades with projects such as sandwich-making to support the Upper School’s Midnight Run service project. Middle School students help out at a local soup kitchen, serve as homework helpers for younger students, and organize other school or grade-wide projects. By Upper School, service projects are launched, led and supported through student initiative, with students who have grown into leadership roles cultivating future leaders to sustain initiatives over time. Each year, Hackley Upper School students commit their time and energy to community service, despite the fact that Hackley has no community service requirement. They choose to participate, in the true spirit of volunteerism, because they believe in committing to something larger than themselves.

Student Government
Hackley’s student government, Community Council, is dedicated to the mission of motivating and unifying the student body. Upper School students elect peers to serve in a variety of Community Council roles. Collectively, the students in Community Council strive to promote communication, cooperation and teamwork between students, teachers and administrators, to provide an accepting, respectful environment, and to increase school spirit through relationships and extra-curricular activities. In its mission statement, Community Council asserts, “We hope to achieve a high level of honor, respect, commitment and communication which will make us into a family and leave a legacy that will inspire future students at Hackley.”

Student Clubs
While Lower and Middle School students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of teacher-led club activities, Upper School students propose their own clubs devoted to a wide range of activities and interests. While the enduring core of student government, community service, and celebration of diversity remain at the center of the Upper School’s student activities, other clubs are sparked by the timely and entrepreneurial interests of our students.

While the Midnight Run, Peer Tutoring, the Outdoors Club, and AGSA are mainstays on the Upper School campus, improvisational groups frequently brighten our campus and chess clubs often take our the school for periods of time. The school supports a myriad of student interests by providing the opportunity to form clubs that will support virtually any interest as students explore leadership roles while sharing areas of passion with their peers.

List of 21 items.

Hackley Afya Club

This club seeks to obtain, organize, and pack medical supplies to send around the world to assist communities that are affected by natural disaster, economic hardship, and civil war.
Abbot House Club

The Abbott House Club organizes projects to support the foster children at Abbott House in Irvington, NY. Its efforts include selling Turkey Grams to help provide Thanksgiving Dinners to Abbott families, collection drives for other Abbott needs, including a used back-pack and school supplies drive, a used book drive, and events for Abbott House children such as the Spring party/Easter egg hunt.
AGSA (All Genders and Sexualities Allied)

AGSA seeks to provide students with a place to learn about and discuss topics surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. It also serves as a space where everyone is welcome to be as open as they wish about any and all of their identities. AGSA also promotes LGBTQ+ rights and education
in the Hackley, Tarrytown, and greater Westchester communities.
ARTreach

ARTreach is an initiative to encourage talented students to connect with the local community through the medium of art - whether it be through music, acting, dance, etc., ARTreach events remind students of the essence of artistry and their passion to seek and strive to achieve it, and inspire and foster a love for the arts that can serve to connect the community together.
Autism Awareness

Autism Awareness strives to support the individuals and families who are affected by autism, primarily through volunteer work and fundraising to support two autism organizations, QSAC and Life's WORC.
Hackley Asian Culture Club (HACC)

Hackley Asian Culture Club seeks to promote interest and understanding of pan-Asian culture, welcoming all members of the community to join and contribute in creating a positive, accepting environment that spreads cultural awareness and inspires open mindedness through engaging social, cultural, and educational events and activities throughout the year.
Books & Breakfast

This club creates time and space during the school year for students to prioritize sitting down to read for pleasure in the company of friends as thy share conversation over brunch. Meeting during free periods or weekend mornings, club participants will read and converse about a shared book, and eat good food.
Chess Club

The Chess Club invites members of the community to enjoy games of chess with others who enjoy the game.
Cives Romani

This club seeks to develop a Hackley team for a Latin-themed quiz bowl called Certamen, and to promote the appreciation of the Latin language and the preservation of the Roman culture at Hackley.
Culinary Appreciation

The Culinary Appreciation Club seeks to embrace Hackley's diversity by trying and appreciating new foods. The club will meet approximately once a month, with each meeting having a theme defining the food people will bring and try as the group discusses the food and the theme of that meeting.
The Hackley Conservatives Club

The Hackley Conservatives Club seeks to facilitate political discussion and create a place for conservatives to share their views. Club members will discuss current events and broader issues that have more long-term effects, and will also work to plan joint meetings with clubs representing other voices on the political spectrum to encourage understanding of arguments from multiple sides on certain issues.
Computers Club

The club's mission is to learn about computers and use them to create and solve problems, improving our critical thinking.
Coral Reef Club

This club’s mission is to spread awareness about the current state of coral reefs (in that many are becoming bleached, and/or dying), and to find ways to help out these reef.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind

This club seeks to provide aid to the employees and volunteers that work for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind organization so the dogs can receive the necessary care and training they need to help those in need both physically and mentally. The club’s efforts seek to ensure that those who need assistance receive the accommodations necessary to grant them more positive and enjoyable experiences in life, and to ensure that those with handicaps are not limited by these handicaps.
Hackley Dance Club

Hackley Dance Club aims to choreograph and practice dances for performance opportunities through a positive and cohesive environment, using dance as a vehicle for self-expression and means to convey stories to a wider audience.
Disabilities Advocates Organization

The Disability Advocates Organization hopes to provide support for students with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities.
Dux Femina Facti

The club’s mission is to promote equality and intersectionality within the Hackley community and beyond.
Hackley Earth Action League (HEAL)

HEAL’s purpose is to raise awareness about environmental issues on the Hackley campus, and to take action to help alleviate these issues as much as possible. HEAL strives to make Hackley a more eco-friendly place by educating students about the importance of conservation and sustainability, and gradually implementing strategies for environmental conservation into campus life. In addition, HEAL will help students to gain a greater appreciation for the outdoors, and is beginning to introduce a natural discovery component.
Evolution of Hip Hop

This club brings fans and lovers of hip-hop and rap from around Hackley to come together to discuss and learn more about how this genre of music has changed over the years. Discussions will focus on individual hip-hop eras, the new and innovative techniques/styles that developed as hip-hop evolved through the years, on how different historical events have changed the lyrics and sound of rap music, on the political and social impacts of hip hop music and how it has changed so much over the course of the last 20-30 years, and on enjoying and appreciating the music.
Foreign Affairs Club

The Foreign Affairs Club encourages discussion and debate on current foreign policy and international affairs issues.
Gaming for a Cause

Gaming for a Cause seeks to launch fundraisers, donation drives and local video game competitions to raise funds to purchase gaming equipment for use by children undergoing lengthy recovery in a local hospital, providing important enjoyment and relief from boredom and anxiety.

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HackMeats

This club’s mission is to educate Hackley students about different types of meats and their preparations, while also, of course, serving all its members some delicious, freshly cooked meat.
Hackley Hellenic Society

The club's mission is to unite the Greek community of Hackley and to share fun aspects of the Greek culture with the rest of the Hackley community.
How to Get Away With Murder

“How to Get Away with Murder” is a research-based club that opposes police brutality.
Hackley Kehila

This club focuses on education and preservation of various traditions and customs from throughout Ashkenazi and Sephardic culture. Meetings involve talking about current events through the lens of a Jewish ancestry, discussing and practicing traditions and holidays, and starting a dialogue about the power of a shared heritage.
Math Puzzle Club

This club explores different math, logic, and numeric puzzles (eg. Kenken, Hashiwokakero, Nim), in order to make math fun.
Middle School Mentors

The Middle School Mentors help Middle Schooler students grow in their love for Hackley, learning and play. Mentors will guide younger student in learning organization, study skills, and what to expect in high school, while having fun doing it all. Club members serve as a support system to Middle School students, helping them grow on their way to Upper School.
Model United Nations

In the interest of spreading international awareness, educating students in the art of debate, stressing the importance of compromise, and encouraging intellectual curiosity and exploration, Hackley’s Model United Nations Club seeks to prepare future leaders for whatever they may encounter through experience with collaboration, and, through hosting our own Model UN conferences, real life experience with management.
Peer Tutoring

Hackley’s Peer Tutoring Program enables students to tutor their peers in a variety of subjects based on the resources and knowledge they have gained throughout their years at Hackley. Embracing Hackley’s motto: “United we help one another,” Hackley Upper School students provide support opportunities in a comfortable, peer-to-peer setting.
Photography Club

This club is a place discuss photography tips and hints, take photos and share them with others in the club, and do charity work involving photography.
The Pirate Club

This club's mission is to learn about the history and culture of pirates, both modern day and historical. It will also study fictional pirates and how they relate to their real life counterparts.
The Poetry Club

The Poetry Club seeks to broaden the scope of performance poetry is at Hackley and to change the form of "Poetry Out Loud" as a competition. Members seek to provide a free and creative space where fellow poets can collaborate and bounce ideas about and for their own poetry. This naturally includes encouraging new writers and new performers lean into discomfort and challenge themselves internally and outwardly.
Pondering the Universe

This club manages a Facebook page full of relevant scientific articles and videos with no commitment or meetings involved. As the club’s name suggests, it exists to provide fodder for ponderers.
reChord

This club seeks to make an impact on the future of children with impaired hearing, through the various musical and poetic talents of Hackley, with the hope that these projects will not only bring awareness to this cause, but also raise recognition for the talents of our community.
Round Square

Our mission is to build international and inter school relations based on the "IDEALS" - Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service. The club will also help organize student exchange programs and two annual conferences: the RS International conference, and the RS regional conference.
St. Bartholomew's Soup Kitchen

Each month, a group of Hackley students prepare food on location at St Bart's is a soup kitchen in White Plains, providing students an opportunity to put their cooking skills to work and to interact with people they would most likely not meet—the perfect mix of fun and community service.
Hackley Ski Club

Hackley Ski Club seeks to provide all members of the Hackley Upper School who are interested in skiing with an opportunity to interact and connect outside of school, in a relaxing setting in an outdoor environment.
Smash Bros Club

This club seeks to bring together students who share a similar interest in the Smash Bros game, giving participants the opportunity to learn harder technical inputs to advance their gameplay.
Hackley Student Investment Group

With members coming from a diverse set of backgrounds with varying interests in the world of economics and finance, this club seeks to educate members of the Hackley and Tarrytown community in financial literacy by teaching courses and setting up student investment group chapters. In addition, the club seeks to assemble a team of Hackley students to compete in regional and national theoretical economics competitions, to successfully manage and grow a portfolio in a socially responsible manner, to thoroughly educate our members in the art and science of investing, and to maintain a close community of HSIG students and alumni.
Hackley Student Law Club

The Hackley Student Law Club aims to educate Hackley students on the foundations of the American Legal System in an accessible yet in-depth manner. Working from the belief that an interest and understanding of the law is invaluable in today’s world, the club seeks to to empower students to think critically about legal and political issues, as well as to effectively navigate legally-based situations.
UNITY

UNITY is Hackley’s diversity club, with the mission to create an inclusive environment, a safe space, a place to learn, a place to celebrate culture, a place to lean into discomfort, and a place to bring awareness to our community.
The Young Entrepreneur Club

This club’s goal is to educate students about entrepreneurship. Its members will spend each meeting working on a different task, ultimately leading up to a competition.

Hackley School

293 Benedict Avenue
Tarrytown, NY 10591
914-366-2600