ACHIEVING THE HIGHEST PEAKS “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
“If I know I make this much trouble, I never climb Everest.”
—Sir Edmund Hilary
—Tenzing Norgay
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how the subsequent rush to “climb the peak at all costs” was degrading the landscape and introducing harmful environmental effects. Back home on our very own Hilltop Anne Gatschet, Upper School Environmental Coordinator, is working passionately to enhance our own community’s commitment to the environment. Of the work our Upper School students are doing she writes: “Hackley and the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation are sponsoring the 2011 Student Sustainability Summit. Ten student sustainability leaders from Hackley (Bryan Hahm, Taylor Holland, Kathleen Sullivan, Chris Meyer, Olivia Avidan, Maddy Spencer, Amelia Schwalb, Maris Harmon, Nadya Klimenko, and Jill Horing) are currently joined by leaders from six other schools in the region, as they lead an online discussion of action for a sustainable future in eleven focus areas. This online “Summit” invites all high school students to join, and to gather at the Student Sustainability Summit at Hackley on April 10th to discuss their experiences and move forward with collective actions. The twenty Summit co-leaders met at Hackley on Saturday, February 12th for several hours of training in activism and principles of sustainability. Hackley Earth Action League officers are preparing for a variety of Earth Day activities in April, including collaborative gardening projects with Lower School students, and electrical energy audits assisted by Con Edison. The Hackley FreeBee, our student-led initiative to reduce consumer waste by reusing school-related goods, conducted its third collection week and give-away days in the last week of February.” Photo by Sir Edmund Hilary. Copyright: Royal Geographical Society.
t is hard to conjure a more compelling image of human achievement than the great photo of the first successful attempt to “conquer” Mount Everest. We are quickly approaching the 57th anniversary of this tremendous feat on May 29th. The photo shows the triumphant Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay raising an ice axe atop the summit of Mount Everest with four flags fluttering from it, those of Nepal, India, the United Kingdom and the United Nations. New Zealander Edmund Hilary (later to become Sir Edmund) took the picture of Tenzing. When he was asked why he took the photo of Tenzing, as opposed to Tenzing taking the photo of him, Sir Edmund responded in robustly practical terms, “Tenzing did not know how to operate the camera and the top of Everest was no place to start teaching him how to use it.” The interesting fact is that one of the lasting photos of human achievement is not of the man who was the first to ascend to the summit. Tenzing himself was the one to disclose that Sir Edmund Hilary was indeed the first man to set foot atop Everest’s 29,029 ft. peak. He quickly followed this observation with another even more telling one: “If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame.” Tenzing did not seek glory nor did he rue the lack of it after the attempt. His quote reveals an ironic lament for those who sought to project the egotism of being the first atop the summit on to him. Like Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay, the expedition’s leader, Colonel Hunt also downplayed the role of the personal in this endeavor. Of the expedition Colonel Hunt was quick to say, “They reached it together, as a team.” In fact all of the photos taken on the summit show only Tenzing. There are none of Hilary. Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hilary remained friends throughout their lives.
Following the Everest ascent Edmund Hilary devoted a great deal of his time to supporting the Sherpa people of Nepal through the foundation of the Himalayan Trust. This trust has supported the construction of many schools and hospitals in the remote region of Nepal near Everest. Allstrom Chair Dr. Adrianne Pierce is overseeing our very own NAIS 20/20 Challenge initiative with Rwanda. Of Hackley’s demonstrated commitments to global education she writes: “Hackley has partnered with Green Hills Academy in Kigali and Duha Complex School in rural Rwanda under the aegis of the NAIS-sponsored Challenge 20/20 Project. This challenge is designed to be a predominantly web-based initiative. Twenty Hackley faculty and administrators and eight Upper School students are currently corresponding via email, snail mail, Google sites, Facebook, and SKYPE with their counterparts at GHA to talk about their countries, their schools, and education in general. In addition,
The tale of human achievement told by how Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay reached the top of Mount Everest is remarkable in unexpected ways. If we look closely at this story it contains wisdom about how selfless, diverse interactions on the global stage can inspire us right here on the Hilltop to reflect on our own definitions of achievement. My work this year allows me the privilege of being with inspired students, parents, faculty, staff and administrators who care deeply about our community’s commitment to service, to learning from others and to enriching our environment. After completing his epic trek up Mount Everest Sir Edmund Hilary devoted the rest of his life to the environmental well-being of that area, noting 5
ACHIEVING THE HIGHEST PEAKS
Hackley faculty and students are engaged in various ongoing projects. Kindergarten students in Tia Donlevy’s class have created ABC books for the students at GHA and Duha for English-language practice; these books used Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Peace One Day, and winter as themes for the letters and pictures. Winter was particularly fun for our students to share with their Rwandan peers, since we had a lot of snowy shots of Hackley’s campus to show students who have never experienced snow and ice!
projects with young children at Morse School (part of the Tarrytown YMCA program), homework help with Lower School students, and repacking donated food at the Food Bank for Westchester. Participants earn hive points and dress down days. In addition, if a student would like to lead an activity, we allow them to do that too!” Diversity work challenges us all to be conscious of bias, even if it is unintended. Could the way we define achievement be influenced by cultural background and identity? Could privilege be connected to definitions of achievement? It would be unusual in our consumer oriented society if definitions of achievement were not potentially influenced by privilege. One of the inspiring aspects of the friendship between Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay is that it seems to have acknowledged the presence of privilege but to have overcome it. Neither one seemed bothered by the pressure to “achieve” the summit. Each man recognized the circumstances of his own cultural background, colonial Britain and rural Nepal, but each was able to work together, learn from the other and achieve something astounding as a result. Our Diversity Coordinators Emily DeMarchena, Melissa Boviero and Rachel Mwakitawa are working to encourage our community to accept difference as a regular part of community building.
First grade teacher Rachel Mwakitawa has been exchanging hand-drawn pictures from her students with the students of Violet Muhando, a Grade 1 teacher at GHA; Rachel and Violet, both originally from Kenya, met each other there in December! Fifth grade English teacher Cyndy Jean, who visited Duha and GHA last summer to do teacher training, is creating writing assignments for her students and their counterparts at both Rwandan schools; Cyndy gave a presentation about community to the Middle School students during which she showed slides from her trip to Rwanda. Senior Maddie Berg and junior Kathleen Sullivan have been hard at work on the issue of keeping adolescent girls in school. They have connected with a foundation called SHE (Sustainable Health Enterprises) to help to provide proper sanitation facilities and resources, as well as a health curriculum, at Duha. Maddie and Kathleen have also spearheaded the student 20/20 initiative, guiding the other students as they research challenges facing education equity in the US. We sent books, DVD’s, magazines, and gifts to GHA and Duha in February with Ed Ballen, Director of REAP (Rwanda Education Assistance Project). Hackley welcomed Ron Wallace, Headmaster of GHA, to campus in November. Since then, our bond with GHA and Duha has grown every day, and we look forward to future visits from teachers from both schools as well as journeys of our own to Rwanda.”
Melissa Boviero writes about the work our Middle School is doing this year: “The Middle School has actively celebrated the diversity of our student body. The MS Diversity Club, which consists of 7th and 8th graders, provides a platform for students to explore issues related to diversity by having conversations and through the sharing of each member’s heritage through stories and food. Also, students throughout the Middle School have shared presentations on topics they relate to and believe highly in, and have found a platform in our “Day 5” community time to talk about religious holidays and countries related to their heritage. In January, the chamber ensemble “Music from China” performed Chinese folk music in Allen Hall. Under their director, Susan Cheng, the ensemble played traditional instruments and told stories about the songs they played. In February, percussionist and storyteller Joakim Lartey and his son performed African drumming for the middle school. He played the congas, bongos, timbales, jembe, talking drums, and other miscellaneous African percussion. He showed the students how to create beats and spoke to the students about Africa and his home country of Ghana. We look forward to continuing the celebration of diversity in the Middle School!”
Hackley continues to be very involved with the local communities around us, reaching out to provide support and service. Shachar Link, our Upper School Community Service Coordinator, is maintaining a variety of projects for us, including, “setting up a Blood Drive for May 12th. We are looking forward to the Blythedale Walk-a-thon in May. Ongoing projects are visits to Blythedale Children’s Hospital, Midnight and Breakfast Runs, Neighbor’s Link English tutoring, Pleasantville Cottage visits, Hawthorne School visits, and more. We’re at work setting up long-term connections with “Reach Out and Read” and the Abbott House in Irvington.” In the Middle School our Middle School Community Service Coordinator Angela Ashley-Holland reports: “The goal of Hackley Helping Hands is to instill in our students an awareness of the world beyond the immediate home and school environments. We are aiming to deepen an individual student’s sense of character development. The program provides a variety of projects and activities during the school day and on weekends, with the hope that every student will get involved in some way. The activities currently range from serving meals at a local soup kitchen, doing arts and craft
For our Upper School Emily DeMarchena notes, “Education is at the forefront of Hackley’s diversity initiatives. During the month of January, Dr. Sadler (US Psychologist and Learning Specialist) and I designed a series of lessons for the Peer Advisory meetings. Peer Advisory is a class taken by all Hackley freshmen and run by Peer Advisors, usually members of the Junior class. This class meets once a cycle. The Peer Advisors and the alums of the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference joined forces to lead the Peer Advisory groups in 6
ACHIEVING THE HIGHEST PEAKS continued several lessons designed to reflect and discuss the cultural identifiers which present the biggest challenge for the Hackley Upper School community when attempting to foster an inclusive and safe school environment. The groups also explored how to effectively confront bias and prejudice when they encounter it in their day to day life. The feedback from the discussions was glowing! The freshmen provided thoughtful reflections and practical strategies for everyday use and our student leaders proved themselves to be outstanding facilitators.
Stepping, a dance tradition made popular by African-American sororities and fraternities dating back to as early as the 1900’s, is a complex performance involving synchronized percussive movements, chanting, speaking and singing. Its roots can be traced back to tradition African foot dances where the entire body is used as a point of expression; while significant inspiration comes from South African “gumboot” dancing or military exhibition drills. We were blessed to have champion steppers grace the stage in the PAC. The Visionsteppers are a self-proclaimed Gospel step team hailing from the Bronx. The steppers are composed of girls from 7th to 12th grades. Among the many regional and national titles they hold, the Visionsteppers were the 2009 Grand Step America Grand Champions. Gospel music is one of the most popular forms of Christian music. Regardless of our religion, we can all appreciate what gathering our voices together in song can add to any celebration. The Mount Vernon Gospel Knights have been wowing audiences nationally for over 22 years. This award-winning group is composed of students from the Mount Vernon Public School District. The Gospel Knights have placed 1st place in the Pathmark Gospel Choirs competition in 2005, 2006, 2009 and most recently placed 3rd in the adult division this February at the Apollo Theatre. The energy with which these two groups performed was astounding. It was particularly entertaining to scan the audience to find our Upper Schoolers watching, mouths agape and eyes affixed on these thrilling performers. After a long hard winter, our community was blessed with some muchneeded beauty and light.”
“For its January meeting, Hackley’s GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) hosted Sassafras Lowrey, editor of the anthology ‘Kicked Out’ via Skype Conference. Sassafras Lowrey is an awardwinning queer author, artist and educator based in Brooklyn. Lowrey believes that ‘telling stories is essential in the creation of social change.’ She compiled the stories of homeless LGBTQ youth from around the country in ‘Kicked Out,’ published in 2010. She shared how and why she acquired the stories as well as sharing her own personal journey as a formerly homeless youth. The GSA members were astounded by the hardship and injustices faced by these young people because of their sexual identities. Amelia Schwalb, President of the GSA, reflected, ‘I was truly inspired by our GSA meeting with Sassafras; it not only helped me understand how incredibly powerful the written word can be, but also reminded me that there are so many great people doing great things for the world right now.’ “To honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Hackley’s Upper School held two inspiring events in January. Our multicultural student organization, UNITY and the GSA, joined forces for our second annual “UNITE & ALLY” meeting. Both UNITY and GSA share the common goal of providing a safe space for all students to explore his/her identities and seeking to foster a more inclusive school community through thoughtful discussion and peer education. Over 40 students gathered to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy of social justice and equality. In addition, representatives from the Interfaith Center of New York held a panel discussion for the entire Upper School Community during the January 24th Community Time. If the pillars of Dr. King’s ideology were non-violence, social justice and equality, how do different faiths promote this same vision for its followers? In this assembly, the Upper School community explored how different faiths promote peace and at the same time, dismantle the notion that religion is the sole root of much conflict in our world today. The representatives addressed questions developed by students in Shachar Link’s Comparative World Religion class. The panel consisted of Nurah Amatullah, Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Institute for Research and Development, Rev. Anita Burson, Pastor of the Elpida Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, Ari Hart, co-founder of the Orthodox social justice organization, Uri L’Tzedek (Awaken to Justice) and Sister Mary Nerney of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame.
To my mind the most revealing photograph of Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay is one that shows the true depth of their affection for each other. They are standing alongside one another and laughing intimately, evincing the friendship which sustained them throughout their lives. One imagines this friendship was at the foundation of their successful ascent of Mount Everest back in 1953. It nourished, even created, their team’s great collective achievement. If definitions of achievement are not to be limited solely by the demands of an individual or a consumerist culture then our community is a profound source of education and what happens outside the classroom at Hackley is as vital as what happens inside it. The Hackley community is working to live up to another one of Edmund Hilary’s great lines, “People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.” Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay demonstrate that lasting human achievement is primarily found through compassionate concern for others in a variety of communities, care for our environment, acceptance of difference and, as a result, genuine friendship. These two men demonstrated that selfless effort truly does yield extraordinary achievement in surprising ways. I am proud of the work we are doing at Hackley to achieve great things for all members of our community and for those communities beyond our immediate borders.
“The Upper School celebrated Black History Month by hosting the Mount Vernon Gospel Knights & Immaculate Conception Visionsteppers for an assembly on February 24th.
—Kevin Rea, Assistant Headmaster 7