November Issue

Page 1

Hackley OnLine:

Antigone review:

The different strategies teachers use to assign homework creates confusion among students.

Dial

The autumn play, a modernized Antigone, held successful performances on Nov. 4 and 5. page 7

page 2

the

Hackley School

Tarrytown, NY 10591

November 2011 Vol. 113, No. 4

Cedar Manor

Neighbors Link Blythedale

Relay for Life

Boys and Girls Club

Senegal

Habitat for Humanity

ASPCA Cedar Manor

Elmsford Animal Shelter

ROAR

YSOP Pleasantville Cottage

Food Pantry

For Julie, helping Hawthorne is also helping Hackley. “Our friends who have autistic relatives should be able to see the support of their peers and be recognized for their efforts,” Julie said. Sophomore Abbott House Sophomores Meghan Philpott and Peter Patapis have been working closely with sophomore dean Jenny Leffler to forge a partnership between Hackley and an Irvington, NY-based orphanage called Abbott House. “We hope to create an ongoing relationship with the orphanage and the children there by doing visits and mentoring,” Peter said. The project leaders will also organize grade-wide toy and clothing drives for the children. Last year, the sophomores conducted a survey to see what types of projects the class would be interested in, and “most said that they would like to work with kids,” according to Meghan. “The main goal of our project is to have our grade gain perspective on how there are less fortunate children and young adults just like us, right in our area,” Peter said. “I do think that this could kick-start the less proactive students to get involved,” added Meghan. “I think that once they go to hang out with the children, they’ll want to go back again.” “If this were to be a grade project, more people could get involved and more groups of friends, [too],” she said. “Most people would probably prefer to do community service with their friends.” Freshmen TBD The freshmen have not yet decided on a project, but the ninth-grade community council representatives are in the process of choosing. Freshman class president Claire Descamps wants to choose something that was popular with their grade last year, possibly Blythedale Children’s Hospital. Before deciding, the freshmen will most likely wait for the return of their class dean Melissa Abraham, who is out on maternity leave until mid December at the latest, according to interim freshman dean Margaret Randazzo. “Bringing back the projects is a great way to unify the class behind a good cause,” Ms. Randazzo said, referring to the earlier projects that were phased out about five years ago. The grade projects have been reinstated with the hope of students getting involved in a more active way. “Any fundraising done will be linked to service and action—not just fundraising as the only action,” Mr. King said. “My primary agenda is to create more opportunities for students to get involved and interested in community service in the absence of a graduation requirement,” he said.

Peru Student Teaching

Soup Kitchen Hawthorne Project

editor-in-chief Senior Relay for Life While Hackley has never had a community service requirement, as recently as the mid-2000s, each grade level chose a project that all students were encouraged to join. As more students began to take the initiative to participate in community service on their own, there was no longer a need for such grade-level projects. But those projects are back for 2011-2012. “We’re harnessing the positive power of peer pressure,” Upper School Director Andy King said. Each grade can try to have everyone in their class participate as a goal. “It’s another forum for student leadership for kids who aren’t involved in, say, Community Council.” For senior dean Anne Longley the choice of project for her grade level was easy. “Relay for Life was the obvious choice for the seniors because of the level of investment we’ve had over the years,” she said. Relay for Life is an event held by the American Cancer Society. Students create fundraising teams and spend one night in May on Akin Common to celebrate the fight against cancer. “Sophomore year, our grade took off with Relay,” Ms. Longley said. “It’s a true leadership model of the class of 2012.” Senior Brad Roberts thinks Ms. Longley made the right choice. “It’s something a lot of seniors are passionate about,” he said. Agreeing that Relay for Life was the right project for the class of 2012, senior Natania Greenspan thinks the selection process could be improved. “I would like to have been able to vote for our class project,” she said. Junior Hawthorne Project The juniors have taken on the Hawthorne School as their grade project. Located in nearby Hawthorne, N.Y., the school educates children who have serious disabilities, such as autism and other spectrum disorders. About a dozen students of all grades already volunteer at the school once per month, playing games and doing arts and crafts with the Hawthorne children. Originally proposed by juniors Julie Piscina, Dilsia Olivero and sophomore Daniel Shaw, the Hawthorne project will continue its monthly visits but hopes also to initiate a first-ever spring carnival on the Hackley campus. The aim will be to raise autism awareness amongst Hackley students. Julie thinks that the educational process goes both ways. “People are a little uneducated about how widespread [autism] is, and no one is telling them,” said Julie. “A lot of Hackley kids take for granted who we are, but many members of our community have been affected by autism—whether seeing it firsthand in their families, or volunteering with the kids.”

Malawi Project

Breakfast Run

Lupus

randikramer

Midnight Run

Help USA

Go Pink

united we help others

Design by Rachel Chan and Randi Kramer.


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