FirstClass to Gmail —2 Faculty farewells

Amelia Hirsch/Staff Photographer

Etta Singer Staff Writer

Ari Palla / Staff Photographer

Students can always turn to English teacher Jennifer Huang for advice or to rant to, Juliet Burgess (10), who had Huang in ninth grade, said. “I’m devastated that she’s leaving because I was so excited that I could have her for a second time in my high school career, and now that opportunity has been taken away.”

Huang will be leaving at the end of the school year after four years as a teacher. “In many ways, working here has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, but it’s time for me to move on,” Huang said.

Along with student interactions, Huang cherishes her relationships with her colleagues in the English department. “They have all taught me so much about how to be a teacher, and just a person in general,” Huang said.

She loves spending time with her fellow English teachers and respects them immensely, she said. Her favorite memories from her time at the school come from lunches around a circle table in the Berger Faculty Dining Room when a large group of seven or eight of her colleagues all eat together, she said.

English teacher Stan Lau connected with Huang in the English Department office, cafeteria, and through the APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) affinity space that they both advised, he said. Though he will miss many things about Huang, Lau will miss her patience and listening the most, he said. “She’s someone who’s got a very open heart and open mind, and no matter how my day is going, whether it be as a teacher or out of school, she’s just there for me.”

English teacher Jennifer Little and Huang bonded over their mutual love of knitting and deep conversations, she said. “She’s really thoughtful and I think I’ve really learned a lot from her.”

Along with missing her colleagues, Huang will miss the small moments in her every day routine the most, she said. Huang finds joy walking down the hallway or across Alumni Field and she waves at the students and faculty she knows, she said. Ever since finding out she is departing at the end of the year, three of Huang’s former students have been pretending she is a ghost when they pass her in the hallway, which makes Huang laugh, she said. “Those serendipitous little encounters have been a really nice part of the job.”

Along with her work in the English department, Huang has been the faculty advisor to the East Wind West Wind (EWWW) for three years. Advising EWWW has been one of Huang’s favorite activities to participate in during her time at the school because the students in the club are incredibly hardworking and dedicated, she said. “It’s amazing to see what they’re capable of and they surprise me in good ways every year.”

Though she knows the work she does really matters to many students, there is also an added pressure, she said. Sometimes the good things about her job appear inseparable from the harder parts, she said. “There’s always a bit of apprehension that maybe if I make a mistake, it’ll have a negative impact,” she said. Huang does not know what she plans on doing next, so she feels both excited and uncertain, she said. She looks forward to sleeping in and getting an Apple TV+ subscription to catch up on all of the TV she missed out on because she had stacks of papers to grade.

Burgess is excited to see what Huang will do next and plans on emailing her routinely, she said. “Knowing her, she’ll go on to bigger and better things,” Burgess said.

Huang turns a new page

“Another milestone” for Uhrowczik

Kate Beckler Staff Writer

Administrative Assistant to the Department of Counseling and Guidance Christine Uhrowczik will leave the school after seven years of helping Upper Division students get the mental and emotional support they need.

Her job involves setting up meetings between students and the faculty of the office, Uhrowczik said. “I help students, whether they are walk-ins or with scheduled appointments, and make sure there’s someone for them to speak with or make them an appointment.” Helping out the student body was always her goal, Uhrowczik said. “Seeing the kids grow, and just seeing their moods improve, even just a little, is really gratifying.”

She also works with psychologist Dr. Ian Pervil on all accommodation requests.

Uhrowczik began her journey at the school after she completed her master’s degree in school counseling. She has helped almost two cycles of high schoolers find times to meet with Counseling and Guidance, she said.

A position at the school as administrative assistant opened after she graduated. “It worked well with my life at the time and it’s been great,” Uhrowczik said.

Uhrowczik loves the school and the people within it, she said. One of the best parts of the job is seeing students’ individual growth, she said. “If someone’s come in and had a bad day, it’s just nice to be able to help in whatever way I can.”

Most of her friendships throughout the school came from within her department, she said. “My best connections were with the members of Guidance and Counseling, Mr. Shaw from the testing center, and the members of the dean’s office.” Along with her usual duties, Uhrowczik helps to run the testing center when Test Center Coordinator Jesse Shaw is unavailable.

Uhrowczik has a large impact on the school, Sophia Liu (10) said. Although she mainly is friends with her colleagues in the Guidance & Counseling office, she is widely loved by the student body. “I’m grateful for her because she was always really kind and helpful.”

Not only does Uhrowczik welcome students into Counseling and Guidance with a smile on her face, she also supplies chocolates to the office, Etta Singer (10) said.

There are many things she will miss about working at the school, especially after the seven great years she has spent here, Uhrowczik said. “I will miss the beautiful campus and all of my friends and colleagues at the school.”

Like for the graduating class, this spring was a time of change and reflection for herself, Uhrowczik said. “I always look forward to hearing reports on where the kids have gone afterward and what they might be doing in their next chapter,” she said. Similar to the seniors, Uhrowczik is transitioning into the next stage in her life. “It’s another milestone,” she said.

After 20 years, Epstein leaves on a high note

Ariella Frommer Staff Writer

“As tired as I am at 5:30 in the morning, when I get up, I know that by the time I’m in a class, the energy coming off of the kids is just going to lighten my day up,” Music teacher Doug Epstein said. Doug has been working at the school for over two decades and will be retiring at the end of this year.

Doug was hired by the school in 1999 as a consultant to build the recording studio. But in 2012, Doug decided he wanted to teach. He knew how important early years in music are for students, because getting a good foundation is key to a music career, he said. “I also felt an obligation to pass along 35 years of knowledge of how recording music works.” Now, Doug enjoys learning from students just as much as they learn from him, he said.

Before coming to the school, Doug was a recording engineer and producer. “I worked in the real music business out there in the world doing records, jingles, jazz records, and all kinds of really interesting things,” he said.

He switched from producing music to teaching about music also because he wanted to be more involved with education, he said. He has now worked as a music teacher at the school for ten years. “I get a lot out of working with the kids because I am exposed to more music than I would ordinarily be listening to on my own,” he said.

Doug cherishes the memories that remind him of his students’ passions — once, when his students were creating music for his class, he heard smashing sounds on the keyboard and realized how focused the kids were on their work, he said. “I didn’t hear what they were doing because they were wearing headphones, but just the sound of their fingers on the keys with energy, focus, drive, and determination was so exciting.”

Though Doug won’t be returning to the school, he will remember his students fondly. “Certain kids just leave a profound memory,” he said, “And you know that they’re going to go out into the world and do great things, and you know that what you’ve taught them is going to have an influence on how they’re going to do that.”

Doug made Julia Grant (12) realize she wants to go into the music business, she said. After taking Doug’s Music Theory and Recording Studio Technology classes, his passion and care for his students made Grant want to take his 400 level Music Theory and Composition class, Grant said. “As I progressed through high school and kept taking his classes, I was so passionate about it, and I owe that all to Mr. Epstein,” she said.

Next year, Grant will attend USC for music business. “I would not have chosen that route and I would not have even applied to that music program or any music program if it weren’t for him,” she said. “We share experiences, colleagues, and stories in a way that leads to a richer understanding of the other person.”

An example of Doug dedication was when Grant could not grasp a topic in her class, and Doug offered to meet with her for two consecutive periods, she said. “I know very few teachers who would take an hour and a half out of their day to teach me something.”

Moreover, Doug works in a unique environment because his son Science teacher George Epstein works alongside him. Because work is a prominent part of their lives, working at the same institution has strengthened their relationship, George wrote. Although they do not work together, George likes working at the same institution as his father because they play off of each other’s strengths, he wrote. When he does a demonstration to his physics classes about waves and sound, Doug loans George specialized audio equipment and provides guidance, he wrote.

George’s favorite moments from working with his father are from Music Week, he wrote. In the past, the duo has played for full-period sets under their stage name, “Wholly Ghost,” with George singing and Doug on guitar and vocals. This year, they did a rendition of the Elements Song at the Music Week Assembly.

Music Teacher Nathan Hetherington appreciates how valuable Doug is to the community, he said. “He came in with a lot of wonderful experiences in the professional music world, and he’s been generous enough to share that with the students and with us,” he said, “He’s been a really cool addition [to the department] that we will definitely miss.”

Additionally, Doug brings an enlightening perspective on music, Hetherington said. “He’s done a lot to bring a lot of 20th and 21st century ideas into the theory classes and into the department,” he said.

Students have learned valuable skills in Epstien’s class, Hetherington said. “A lot of students have had their first recording studio experience in Mr. Epstein’s class, and they have really fallen in love with that whole process, those tools, and that way of making music.”

Brett Karpf (12), who was in Doug advisory and took his Music Theory class, will miss how relaxed Doug’s classes were, he said. “While you’re expected to contribute and create music, there aren’t lofty pressures that are placed on you.” As an advisor, Doug was always willing to listen to his students and offer advice, Karpf said.

In addition to Doug’s teaching style, Karpf is amazed at how much knowledge Doug has about music, he said. “He’s one of the smartest and most bright teachers at the school in terms of his understanding of musical history and music theory,” he said.

When Karpf’s class spent weeks creating songs, Doug created one in seconds, he said. “We were like, ‘Hey, can we see an example,’ and he, within seconds, would make three minute songs that were ready to be released to the public as actual songs,” he said.

Karpf is grateful for a musical artist that Doug introduced him to, he said. Doug has alarms that are songs at the end of every class to keep track of time, and the alarm for Karpf’s class is Good Vibrations by Beach Boys, which is now one of his favorite bands, he said.

For Grant, Doug created a space where anyone who likes music can come together and enjoy it, she said. “One summer, I took a college course in music technology, and I missed Mr. Epstein’s teaching because he was so much more fun, and so much more hands-on,” she said.

Doug will miss his students and his time at the school, but he is ready to change pace, he said. With the newfound freedom of retirement, he is planning to begin writing his own music. Though he received his BA in music theory and composition, he has only recently decided he has the power and stories to write his own work. “I became an artist helping other people with their music as a recording engineer and producer, but at this stage in my life, I have a lot of stories to tell, so I’m going to be writing music,” Doug said.

Although Doug is not certain of what style his music will be in or what it will sound like, he knows that he wants to put his energy into writing music. “I’m looking forward to two big things,” he said. “One is not having an alarm clock pretty much ever again, and the other is being able to write.”

Allison Markman and Hannah Katzke Staff Writers

“I just knew I was destined to be here,” visual arts teacher Kim Do said. “As a child in the backseat, whenever we drove on the Henry Hudson Parkway, making that turn by Riverdale, I always had a special feeling about that corner of the drive. And I didn’t know why. But now I realized I must have known that I was going to be here.”

After spending 37 years working in the Visual Arts Department both as a teacher and a Department Chair, Do will retire at the end of the school year to work on his art and spend time with his granddaughters, he said.

Before coming to the school, Do taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Purchase College, where he pursued graphic design, carpentry, house painting, and painting, he said.

When Do first came to the school, he taught Middle Division (MD) students, then transitioned to teaching Upper Division (UD) students after his predecessor moved to a new job, he said. Over the course of his time working at the school the Visual Arts Department has undergone large changes from working in Pforzheimer to now having a large part of Fisher Hall.

The community feeling and the openness of the campus originally drew Do to the school, he said. “What I’m interested in is the beauty in life, and in painting and art, and that campus sort of feeds that need to see beauty in my daily life.”

Along with the campus, what has kept Do at the school for so many years are the students, he said. He has found that at the school, students have more artistic ability than students at some of the art colleges he has worked at. “The students are so amazing and not just talented, but intelligent and surprising,” he said.

Throughout his time at the school, Do has impacted several generations. “I think he’ll be known as a legend, especially because he’s taught at the school for decades and a number of my teachers right now have been his students, which is really cool,” Louise Kim (11), who has been in his Drawing and Painting classes for the last three years, said.

As a student, history teacher David Berenson ‘95 took several years of Studio Art classes with Do and completed an Independent Study creating a comic book under Do’s mentorship. “Every year with Mr. Do, I learned more than the last.” Berenson said. “His studio always felt like an oasis from the intensity of HM. Mr. Do inspired me and countless other students. I consider it an honor to learn from him.”

Do is always exploring new possibilities and modes of thinking and making art, which is what makes him a great teacher and artist, Visual Arts Department Chair Dr. Anna Hetherington said. “He’s inspirational in the way he cares about his community, the students, his colleagues, everybody on this campus,” she said, “He’s really part of the fabric of Horace Mann.”

Do’s impact extends beyond art, photography teacher Aaron Taylor said. Taylor sees this in his interactions with students and in the classroom dynamic he creates. “Besides his beautiful art and his humor, he’s taught generations of students the beauty of art, how to create art, how to improve your art,” he said. “Seeing what his students are doing has always been an inspiration.”

Kim has grown fond of Do, especially because of his guidance, which has helped them progress as an artist, they said. “Mr. Do encapsulates all of the virtues of a teacher and an educator,” she said. “He has a lot of great insight about art and aesthetic that has definitely helped me progress or develop my art style.”

Students are always welcomed to stop by Do’s art room. “I would always go during lunchtime, and then he would just give me a huge piece of paper,” Kira Mo ‘20 said. “There would just be materials on the table and we [would] just draw, listening to stories, and it was just a really grounding space.”

Even though Mo only took one course with Do, she was still a regular in his studio, she said. “His studio was like an anchor in [my] Horace Mann experience.”

Do also helped Ryan Finlay (12) grow as an artist by letting him freely express his creativity after giving instruction, he said. “He gives lots of lessons that are sort of the foundational basics of perspective,” he said. “But once you get to the higher levels, he allows individual students to go in their different directions based on what they specialize in.”

Do enjoys teaching advanced students who are working at a high level, as well as teaching beginners, he said. “I like teaching the beginning students because there’s a sense of wonder when suddenly they’re able to do something that they thought was impossible to do,” he said. “It’s very satisfying to be able to share the tradition of art, of visual representation and to see that it gets transferred from generation to generation.”

When Avani Khorona (11) moved from the MD to the UD, she was worried that she would become too busy with school work to continue pursuing art, she said. However, taking Do’s drawing and painting classes and spending time in his art room have allowed her to not lose her passion for art. “Him pushing me to continue has let me foster that side of myself throughout high school,” she said.

Do was also a guide for Evan Rowe (12) as he navigated the college process as an artist, he said. Do recommended a summer program, helped Rowe compile his portfolio, and gave him insights into what it is like to apply to art schools, he said.

Do had been a mentor to Finlay, he said. He gives the responsibility of asking questions and tapping him as a resource to the students, and when they did, they were able to learn from his experiences.

In his art classes, Do also takes time to foster discussion on various topics and social issues, Kim said. “He both directly and indirectly teaches a lot of important life lessons and morals,” she said. “He has taught me personally to really continue to lean into what I’m passionate about and put myself first and also value the communities that I’m in and work towards a more equitable and kind HELPING HAND Do works with Italiani (12). community.”

For example, over the years Do has created commemorative images of Black civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, and Fannie Lou Hamer he said. “As some students expressed this year, they wish Horace Mann would do more for Black History Month, and I think that’s right,” he said, “I think there should be more of a concentrated effort towards that.”

Outside of the classroom, Do has worked on many school committees and has been involved in service learning projects with Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, he said. He has made videos to publicize the school’s involvement in the local community and to raise

awareness for the area where the school is located. “The Bronx is the poorest urban condensed congressional district in America, so it raises awareness of that,” he said, “Our involvement returns us to the ideals of the original Horace Mann

School, Self-portrait by Kim Do bringing progressive educational ideology to the public schools.”

During his time at the school, Do has also been involved in a faculty band, he said. The band used to perform at a concert called Urban Aid, where they raised money for the homeless.

Some of Do’s fondest memories from his time at the school are of the different projects he has done with his classes, he said. One year, his class made artistic kites that they were able to fly as a class on the beach. Another year, his class focused on inflatable mylar sculptures, he said. Students used their creativity to make a blimp, a sixteen-foot kangaroo and giant “HM” balloon letters.

More recently, Do enjoyed meeting Mets pitcher John Franco when he visited the school for the Marathon Softball event in May, he said. “That was the thrill of a lifetime, for a baseball fan.”

Do also loved bringing in a Tibetan monk trained by the Dalai Lama to make sand mandalas, he said.

Do also enjoys connecting his students with professional artists, writers, and poets, he said. One year his class worked with the sculptor who made the school’s lion sculpture which sits outside of Friedman Hall. “My favorite moments were when I was able to bring guests in, and I could share my network with Horace

Courtesy of Barry Mason

Mann,” he said.

Throughout his decades working at the school, Do worked to make the arts an intrinsic part of an education at the school, visual arts teacher Ron Logan wrote. “In teaching, administration, and friendship, he has made it clear over the years that his students and his colleagues matter,” he said. “He has brought respect and stature to our department, and has worked tirelessly to promote the arts as integral to a student’s education at Horace Mann School.”

Aside from visual art, Do has also brought other forms of art to his classes. One of Finlay’s favorite memories with Do was watching him and other faculty members rehearse for Music Week in the art room, he said. “It was very interesting because Mr. Do is not just an artist in the visual arts sense, but he’s also an artist in that he plays music.”

In the art room, Do will often experiment with different music and play the guitar for his students, Khorana said. “He loves to play the guitar. If you go into his classroom, he has a bunch of old guitars hung up around the room,” she said. “Mr. Do’s classroom is kind of notorious.”

Do will also be remembered by his students for his many iconic puns and dad jokes, Kim said. “He makes a lot of amazing puns and his wordplay is really fun.”

Do is quick-witted and “punny,” Hetherington said. “I wouldn’t dare try to recreate any, but they’re all good.”

While the community enjoys Do’s puns, he has a greater message behind them. “The reason that I do the dad puns is to create an atmosphere where it’s permissible to fail,” he said. “It’s okay to not be perfect, and that’s that’s the legacy I hope to pass on.” In the future, Do hopes that his students continue to use humor to make their way in life.

Do has made an impact on all the students and faculty he has worked with and has helped create a community at the school that is about celebrating art, Kim said. “People are, frankly, united by art and of the act of creating and of being able to have fun while doing so,” they said. “Mr. Do really fostered and encouraged that playfulness and creativity.”

Like Kim, Taylor is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Do, he said. “Knowing him has made me a better person and a better educator.”

Do has been a strong pillar of support, appreciation, and creativity for so many years of students, Kim said. “He has dedicated his whole life to educating.”

Whether the student is an artist today or has not touched a paintbrush since Do’s class, Hetherington knows students have been impacted by having him as a teacher, she said. “There’s so many people who have been positively affected by Mr. Do and his teaching, and I don’t think one can hope for anything more as a teacher.”

Do will be missed by the school’s community. “Mr. Do has brought an intense love of art and a wonderful sense of humor to our school community,” Logan wrote. “Mr. Do’s artistic, academic, and personal legacy at Horace Mann School is unparalleled. He will forever be part of the history of Horace Mann.”

Do will miss the school community, he said. “It’s bittersweet because I love this place, I feel a real loyalty to this school,” he said. “I’m very thankful to Horace Mann for all its given me over these years and continues to give me in my memories as I move into my pure artist life.”

Ariella Frommer Staff Writer

“I don’t think you go into this job looking for rewards or for people to say ‘thank you,’ but it’s always nice when you see that you did have some kind of an impact and you were able to make a difference,” Dean of Class of 2022 and history teacher Dr. Glenn Wallach said.

Wallach will retire from the school this year after 22 years as a teacher and dean to travel, rest, and pursue history research, he said.

After teaching history full-time for three years, Wallach became a grade dean in 2003.

“As a dean, getting to know each class and getting to really feel like you have made a connection with them and been there to provide advice was really great,” he said.

Dean of Class of 2024 and science teacher Stephanie Feigin worked with and got advice from Wallach often as a dean, she said. “He has such a thoughtful way of thinking about how to engage with students and how to help them navigate their four years,” she said. “I have taken so much of his framework for being a dean, and I will definitely miss that.”

In 2000, Feigin and Wallach were in the same cohort of new faculty and watching him was one of the factors that made Feigin consider being a dean, she said “I was envious of the way in which he was able to interact with students beyond the classroom.” Because of his schedule, Wallach had no way of predicting what would happen during his school day, he said. “In a sense, I have a schedule, but so much of it depends on what crosses the transom that day and that keeps it interesting and fun.”

As a dean, Wallach experienced different

aspects of the school, other than academics, by attending student activities such as sports events and theater performances, he said. “I get to see students sometimes in a place where they are their happiest and most fulfilled.”

Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly often sees Wallach at school activities and events, he wrote in an email. “From his teaching, to his advising, to his role as a class dean, to his constant presence at more after-school events and activities than I can count, a huge part of this school’s success is owned by Dr. Wallach,” he said.

Wallach always brought enthusiasm to his classes and the community, Ben Heller ‘18 said. Heller, who was the senior class president, worked closely with Wallach while in the role. “When working with him, he always wanted to bring the most energy and excitement to us.”

Similarly, Justin Gurvitch (12), who had Wallach as his teacher in Atlantic World History, appreciates the excitement Wallach brought to his history class, he said. “Throughout the year, he had been telling us that we would have class outside, and we never had it, but on the last day of school, out of nowhere, he pulled out a case and slapped on these reflective aviators and the entire class was stunned.”

As a history teacher, Wallach has taught Atlantic World History to ninth graders, US History to tenth graders, Contemporary US History, and his elective History Through the Lens. Wallach enjoys teaching because he likes seeing students engaged in what they are studying, he said. “There are these great moments where everything comes together and students have been sparked by something we talked about,” he said. Gurvitch is thankful for how he grew as a writer in the class, he said. “Going

into that year, I was convinced I knew how to write, but turns out I had no idea,” he said. “And Dr. Wallach was the teacher who made me realize that and [taught me] how to fix it.”

Throughout that year, Wallach edited Gurvitch’s papers inside and outside of class, he said. “I would be a horrible history writer if not for Dr. Wallach,” he said.

History Department Chair Dr. Daniel Link appreciates how Wallach pulls together sources and materials for his students and colleagues alike, he said. “He wants to make sure that his students are exposed to a broad array of sources to help them approach history in a thoughtful and comprehensive manner.” For example, when the Black Lives Matter protest broke out in 2020, Wallach found various sources on how the media has covered protests by African Americans in the past, which he gave to other history teachers to help them prepare for class, Link said. Additionally, because Wallach has taught at the college level, he prepares students for college well, he said.

Gurvitch appreciates the relationship he

has built with Wallach, he said. “I can waltz into his office at any point, and he is happy to receive me.”

Heller appreciated how Wallach made an effort to establish a relationship with every student in his grade, he said. “When there are 180 people in a grade, that’s tough, but he made sure to have a legit relationship with everybody in the grade after four years,” he said, “I’m sure everybody can say they had a one-on-one meeting with Dr. Wallach at one point or another.”

Wallach was a support system for each one of his students, Rachel Okin ‘18 said. One instance of his care for his students was when Okin got a concussion, she said. “I was so appreciative that Dr. Wallach was my dean because he reached out to me, he reached out to my parents, and he was so helpful and supportive of me.”

Likewise for Kelly, Wallach is known for his care for students, he wrote. One of Kelly’s favorite memories of Wallach is when he called Kelly at 2:00 AM expressing a concern about a student in his class, he wrote. “While I was happy to follow through with his concern, I was permanently impressed by Dr. Wallach’s follow up call at 3:00 AM and again at 6:00 AM to see if anything else needed to be done.” Heller’s favorite memory of Wallach was

working with him on class music videos, he said. Wallach was always excited to participate in the videos and perform bits, he said.

One of Okin’s favorite memories of Wallach was their theme for senior absurdity day, “Dr. Wallach’s Bar mitzvah,” she said. “He let us lift him and do the Horah around him, because he just wanted everyone else around him to be happy and have a good time.”

Wallach’s unique relationship with Okin’s grade made their grade’s time at the school special, she said. “We were really lucky that we had a dean like Dr. Wallach, who was like ‘You guys want to do this? I’ll join in on your fun,’ and we had a blast.”

People are going to remember Wallach as an exemplary grade dean because he was passionate about his job and devoted all his time to it, Heller said.

Wallach was almost like a student in their grade, Okin said. “We had merch, and he wore it all around school, and he just really fit in well with the energy and laughter of our class that we had going on all the time.”

One rewarding part about Wallach’s job is running into alumni on the street, he said.

“Just a couple weeks ago, I was getting on the bus and a kid from the Class of 2006 said, ‘Dr. Wallach?’” he said. His former student introduced himself to Wallach and told him about what he was doing and what experiences at the school were important to him.

For 12 years, between 2002 and 2014, Wallach served as the faculty advisor of the Record. Even though there were a lot of late press nights, Wallach had fun helping students on the newspaper, he said. “I really enjoyed working with students, hearing their ideas, and helping them make the paper what they wanted it to be,” he said.

For Wallach’s last Record issue as the faculty advisor, each previous Volume’s editorial board wrote lengthy notes thanking Wallach for his time as their faculty advisor. “We could not be more grateful for your guidance this year. We all grew as writers and editors under

your oversight,” the editorial board of Volume 111 wrote for the spread, which was published in their Class Day issue.

Before Wallach became an educator, he researched for a series of books about the Vietnam War, then worked on Capitol Hill, he said. He went to graduate school and received his degree in American studies. After teaching history at various colleges, he served as a dean at one of the residential colleges at Yale University, he said.

Wallach came to the school because he wanted to find a job in New York City to be closer to his wife, who was living in the city while he was working in Washington D.C., he said. He was having lunch with a colleague from Yale, who asked if a former student could join them, who turned out to be English teacher Rebecca Bahr, and she spoke highly of teaching at the school, he said. “She spent all this time talking about how she loved teaching at Horace Mann, and I thought, ‘Wow, I could do something like that.’” Shortly after, Wallach applied to several independent schools in the

area and got hired at the school, he said.

Wallach decided to retire because he has been a dean for 19 years and he was ready to explore other possibilities, he said. After so many years in his role, he is glad the new dean, math teacher Dr. Shalini Sudarsanan, will have a fresh perspective.

After he retires, Wallach wants to work on historical research and travel, he said. Wallach is still developing ideas for what that research will be, he said. “I’m looking forward to new challenges and doing different types of things.”

Wallach’s legacy at the school will be one of engagement with academic life and devotion to the community, Link said. “He helped create a community at Horace Mann School so that all students feel welcomed and supported, and that’s a really powerful legacy to leave behind,’’ he said.

Emily Wang / Staff Photographer

DEANING Wallach at work.

“From his teaching, to his advising, to his role as a class dean, to his constant presence at more after-school events and activities than I can count, a huge part of this school’s success is owned by Dr. Wallach.”

- Dr. Tom Kelly

“He made sure to have a legit relationship with everybody in the grade after four years. I’m sure everybody can say they had a one-on-one meeting with Dr. Wallach at one point or another.” - Ben Heller ‘18

Courtesy of Daniel Link

MAZEL TOV! Class of 2018 celebrates “Dr. Wallach’s Bar mitzvah.”

Ben Rafal Staff Writer Tim Behan

After five years at the school, mathematics teacher Timothy Behan is leaving the community to begin the next chapter of his career. Having studied math and science at Monmouth University, Behan is pursuing opportunities in healthcare.

Behan applied for the open position at the school after receiving his Master’s Degree in teaching. Behan’s application and interview process took place following the end of the 2017 school year; in addition to an interview, Behan was asked to conduct a demonstration lesson, which also took place after the end of the school year. Department Chair Charles Worrall managed to group together an entire class of students a week after summer began, Behan said. “That would probably be pretty hard to manage at some places, and I felt that it was indicative of the school environment and the nature of the students.”

Worrall decided to give Behan more difficult material for his lesson, and was impressed by Behan’s enthusiasm in embracing the challenge of learning and mastering something new, Worrall said.

Worrall taught Honors Geometry with Behan for the first time this school year, Worrall said. “[Behan has] spent enormous amounts of time and energy outside of school this year discovering ideas for himself, finding his own ways of seeing complex and beautiful math, and then thinking through how to use those experiences to create a fantastic geometric journey for his students.”

Behan has taught every grade level throughout his time at the school, including Geometry for four years, he said.

The combinatorics portion of pre-calculus is one of Behan’s favorite units to teach, because it can be approached from multiple angles. “I find it so exciting that you can look at the same problem in two totally different ways and arrive at the same result. Many problems also allow you to prove interesting coincidences and come across odd relationships,” he said.

The rigor of the school’s education initially stood out the most to Behan, he said. After attending several schools as a student, it is evident that the motivation within the school’s students to learn and grow is incomparable, he said. As a teacher, the ultimate aim is to learn and grow along with the students, he said. More than any previous learning environment, Behan feels that students often push him to think about concepts in a new or deeper way.

In addition to teaching math, Behan has advised the Mock Trial club for the past year, and enjoys watching the club compete and prepare their arguments. Having participated in a similar form of debate as a student, advising the club brings back his childhood memories of having mental breakthroughs when building cases, he said.

Small moments that Behan enjoys include the senior reflections, which is a unique way that the school allows departing students to share their experiences, he said. “Hearing what the students here have to say about their personal experiences is amazing as a teacher, because in the classroom, you don’t necessarily know what struggles they may be going through.”

Behan learned much more about himself as a teacher and classroom values during the pandemic, he said. In retrospect, he is impressed that the community was able to make it through together and make the most of the situation, he said. “I would begin my classes with asking a question of the day on Zoom, since I felt that it was a nice moment with the class and building community,” he said. “I learned the value of being present in a community, because [the school] initially started with asynchronous assignments that were much less effective than being in the room together.”

Behan is moving to Madison, Wisconsin and will be working at Epic Systems, a Healthcare Software company, he said. Many students were surprised that his new profession was not school-related, however, Behan believes that he can utilize his teaching experience while at Epic Systems. “I’m going to be assisting other people with technology, so it feels like I’m exercising a similar skill set,” he said. “It will be different, but I’m excited for the change.”

Ben Kafoglis

After six years at the school, math teacher Ben Kafoglis is moving on to the next chapter of his career. Kafoglis has taught all four grades in the high school during his years at the school, and he will be continuing to teach high school math at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn next year. Kafoglis has enjoyed being able to teach all different grade levels and connect with multiple different grades, especially this year’s graduating class, Kafoglis said. “I taught three sections of Geometry for these [seniors], two sections of Precalc, and two sections of Calculus, so I’ve built a connection with a good amount of seniors,” he said.

Leo Giorgini (12), who has been in Kafoglis’ advisory for multiple years, remembers connecting with him in ninth grade. Kafoglis helped Giorgini look over a presentation an hour prior to class, taking the time to help a new Upper Division student, Giorgini wrote. “I do not think most teachers would have been willing to accomodate a frantic freshman, but he found the time,” he wrote.

Kafoglis often built his best connections with students in advisory, he said. Having a small advisory of five seniors, all of whom he has taught, Kafoglis has enjoyed connecting with a tight-knit group. “It’s one of the places where I get to really interact with students as their full selves,” he said. “In that, you get the highs and the lows, because high school is hard. It can be emotional, maybe after taking a math test that didn’t go your way or how you feel as you receive bad news back from a college.”

Joaquin Ramirez-Villareal (12) remembers Kafoglis’s advisory being a place where his voice was always heard, no matter what he had to say, he said. “Though I know he’s going to enjoy his new school in Brooklyn as a Brooklyn native, I’m going to miss him greatly as a teacher, advisor, and friend.”

Kafoglis’ presence in the classroom as a trustable figure is noticed by everyone, math teacher Charles Worrall said. “His deeply considered care for his students, for our school, and for how he inhabits and imagines his role as a teacher has been awe-inspiring,” Worrall said.

When Kafoglis began at the school, he was most nervous about teaching Geometry, given that he had the least experience with its curriculum, he said. However, he soon realized that it was a great course for building critical thinking skills in new high-schoolers. “Geometry in particular allows me to put a complicated scenario on the board and the whole class can throw out ideas,” he said. “It feels like a big problem-solving, brainstorming activity that we get to all do together, and that I felt was always really engaging for students.” The wide range of extracurricular activities available at the school were often enjoyable for Kafoglis, especially when speakers on social justice—such as writers Jelani Cobb or Ta-Nehisi Coates— visited the school, he said. “My very first year here, the late Robert Moses, a civil rights activist who used to be a math teacher at Horace Mann, came to speak. I was asked to introduce him, and that was a moment I will never forget,” Kafoglis said. “As a civil rights icon, being able to shake his hand, hear him speak, and find a connection as two Horace Mann math teachers, was a big honor for me.”

Teaching during the pandemic has given Kafoglis a new perspective on classroom environments, he said. In a year when students were separated by barriers and individual desks, it became apparent that communication between students was essential to a thriving class dynamic, Kafoglis said. “This year, even more so, I try to emphasize students learning from one another and not just listening to me at the board.

Kafoglis had a unique path to the school, as he interviewed for an open position shortly after he graduated college, he said. Originally, Kafoglis did not receive the position, but was later hired by Worrall, who was then a department chair.

Worrall initially interviewed Kafoglis at a New England job fair two years prior to his hiring, and was surprised and impressed at how intelligently Kafoglis spoke about math at such a young age, Worrall said. Worrall told Kafoglis that he hoped they would once again be in touch after he gained teaching experience, and after two years, Kafoglis’ resume displayed that he had blossomed into a fantastic teacher in upstate New York.

Kafoglis will go on to teach high school math in Brooklyn, hoping for a change that allows him to stay closer to home, he said. “I’m excited about what my work-life balance will be like, and I’m excited to walk and bike to school instead of taking the train. But I’m certainly not happy to be leaving,” he said.“I’m definitely excited for my next [opportunity] while being sad that I have to say goodbye.”

Mike Fouchet

encourage students to learn and grow, that is my goal as a teacher, and I feel like that happened a lot this year.”

The school’s math department stands out, not only in mathematical ability, but in faculty members’ collaboration with one another, Fouchet said. “The thing I’ll miss the most is working with the other math teachers, because everyone throws random questions about their [assignments] at one another,” he said. “It’s such a cool environment that I’ve never experienced before.”

The collaborative nature of the entire department has stood out to Fouchet, especially since he has found time to create relationships with fellow teachers outside of school. He and math teacher Varun Prabakar take the train from work each day and often do problems together, Fouchet said. “It has been really fun and is always a great way to cap off each day, and has been a really big highlight of my year,” he said.

In his year at the school, Fouchet taught two Geometry classes and two Algebra II & Trigonometry classes. He was struck by an environment where students were eager to learn, and asked frequent questions, making his job far easier, he said.

Since this year was Fouchet’s first opportunity to teach Geometry, he feels that the class has helped him grow, both as a teacher and along with the students. The best feeling as an educator is when students ask thought-provoking questions, he said.

In all of Fouchet’s classes, he assigned long-term end-of-year projects that students found difficult at first, he said. However, as they continued to work over the course of multiple months, each class felt the rewarding nature of completing a difficult task, Fouchet said. In Algebra II, he utilized marble slides, an interactive way to apply all of the graphing concepts from throughout the year. “Working with them and seeing them change from, this is hard and I don’t know how to do it, to, this is fun, has been really cool.”

Alara Yilmaz (10) feels that Fouchet’s collaborative style has allowed her to better internalize her work and enjoy a relaxed class environment, she said. “He likes to incorporate his personal life into his exams, which made the assessments very fun. He let us do a lot of group work, so I’ve gotten very close with the people I sit near,” she said.

Fouchet has made his best memories when talking with students about social injustice and the speaker events held throughout the year, he said. “Getting that perspective from people who grew up very differently from me, in a different culture and age group, is one of the large reasons why I teach, beyond math.”

Lucy Peck Staff Writer

Saying “bye”-ology to beloved science teachers

Camilla Nivison sets off to pursue a degree in marine ecology

UD Science teacher Camilla Nivison is leaving the school after five years of teaching to pursue a PhD in marine ecology, she said. However, she will always miss her memories with both students and teachers, she said. “For the past few years on my birthday, Mr. Zvezdin has busted into at least one of my classes and announced to everybody that it was my birthday and gotten everyone to sing to me,” she said. “It’s little things like that that make you feel seen and appreciated,” she said.

Nivison is leaving the school because she is going back to graduate school at the University of Georgia, she said. “That is my next adventure but I’ve been assured by many that I’m always welcome back here so who knows, maybe you’ll see me again.”

Nivison has most enjoyed teaching environmental science at the school because of the exciting challenge it presented, she said. Nivison is familiar with many of the units and finds them important but there are also units which were new for her, she said. In environmental science, Nivison teaches about ecosystems and how humans are affecting them and what climate change is and what that means beyond this big buzzword that we’ve all heard, she said.

Nivison’s favorite part about teaching is giving students a knowledge base so they can explore on their own and make independent discoveries, she said. “When you get to a place where students know enough about the topic that we’re studying that they get to be able to figure out something themselves,” she said. “Sometimes that is figuring things out that I hadn’t thought of and sometimes that is figuring something out that was in my next progression of ideas but they didn’t need me to tell them.”

Throughout her time at the school, Nivison has grown to love a variety of traditions such as the senior reflections, she said. “I enjoy when seniors get up and tell their stories,” she said. “I enjoy that by senior year, those seniors are excited and comfortable enough to do that in front of their peers.”

Nivison has also been engaged in many of the Dorrrelated traditions, she said. “I’ve gotten to help with the orientation for new students at the beginning of the year,” she said. “I was also one of the faculty advisors working with Searchers, a program for seniors in the Spring sports season where they learned a lot of outdoor skills and ultimately planned and went on their own backpacking trip.”

Before teaching at the school, Nivison went to graduate school to get her Masters Degree in teaching and then taught at a boarding school in Western Massachusetts, she said. Nivison came to the school because she was looking for a job in New York City, she said. After meeting the science department, Nivison knew that the school would be a great place to teach, she said. “That has really held true because a lot of the teachers that I work with on a daily basis are my close friends,” she said.

Nivison has become friendly with many teachers at the school, including UD physics teacher Oleg Zvezdin. “I’m friends with her [Nivison] outside of school,” Zvezdin said. “Being friends with my colleagues makes it much easier to come in and have a good day.” Zvezdin enjoys being able to call on colleagues like Nivison for help setting up labs, he said.

Nivison had a lot of great mentors when she was growing up who inspired her to pursue science, she said. Her high school biology and biology teacher specifically fostered her passion for teaching and science though of his knowledge and passion for the subject, she said. “I also did quite a bit of community service working in schools in highschool and in college so I didn’t necessarily know for sure I wanted to be a teacher, but it was a logical path that I followed.”

One new thing that Nivison introduced to her classes was an increased emphasis on visualization of data collection, Zvezdin said. “The study of ice cores, for example, is super important to trying to figure out what the environment was like in the past,” he said. “I remember helping her to do a cool lab where she literally made an ice core sample out of beads,” he said. “That required counting out thousands of beads which we did together,” he said. “Actually creating an ice core for the kids to play around with and examine speaks to her desire to get the students to interact with the data.”

Christine Leo journeys into a different element

When Alara Yilmaz (10) was confused about stoichiometry, she scheduled a meeting with Upper Division (UD) science teacher Dr. Christine Leo, her chemistry teacher, she said. “She explained the topic to me from start to finish and clarified all of my confusions,” she said. “She was always a patient teacher and made sure everyone understood before moving on.”

Leo will leave the school after teaching chemistry for 12 years. After leaving the school, Leo plans to spend more time with her children, she said. “I’m excited to be more present in my kids’ lives.”

While teaching at the school, Leo devoted a lot of time to the job so it was difficult to balance that with spending time with her children, she said. She is going to focus on her children for a bit and then figure out a new job after that, which could be teaching or something entirely new, she said.

Leo decided to pursue teaching in graduate school, she said. Her favorite aspect of graduate school was interacting with students, which led her to look for teaching jobs at the high school level, she said.

She began to work at the school in 2013, she said. Her interview to teach chemistry was her first job interview and her first job, she said. “The rest is history.”

Over her 12 years at the school, Leo has most enjoyed learning new things from other teachers and from students, she said. “I learned how to be a teacher and learned from really wonderful people.”

Leo has also enjoyed getting to know students and advisees and watching them grow, she said. “I had some advisees from freshman year to senior year, and seeing them grow over the long term and turn into adults that will enter the world was a cool experience for me.”

Leo’s advisees loved having her as an advisor, Daphne Tsai (10) said. “When we were in advisory, she would tell us about her family and about her newest daughter, Vera,” she said. “Dr. Leo was always a nice and helpful advisor who was happy about my successes.”

Her patient way of teaching was very helpful, Aamri Sareen (10) said. “I would come to her office hours every month and she would walk through every topic we had learned,” she said. “I remember her spending 15 minutes going over polarity and intermolecular forces when I was confused.” Leo’s favorite part about teaching chemistry was the latitude that the school provides, she said. “I had the freedom and flexibility to feel out where the students were and be able to adjust accordingly.” She has also taught alongside amazing colleagues who initiate new ideas and inspire her, she said. UD science department chair Dr. Lisa Rosenblum said Leo’s colleagues will miss her dearly. “Dr Leo is an incredibly thoughtful teacher who cares deeply about her students and is not afraid to try new things in the classroom or lab, especially for the benefit of her students,” she said. “She has had a huge impact on the chemistry curriculum and the Science Research Program, and the Science Department will very much miss her.”

Leo will miss getting to know students and teaching chemistry, she said. This is especially notable because she is not going into another teaching job straight away, she said. “I’ll miss the students and my colleagues tremendously as well,” she said.

Lester Lee

Samuel Grunebaum

“From the moment that I met him, I knew that Mr. Lee was not like most of the teachers I remember,” Tuhin Ghosh (12) said. “He was younger, more casual with us, and even though I didn’t know how it was going to be different, I was excited to see it.”

Computer science teacher Lester Lee will leave the school after three years of working in the department. Next year he will be writing curriculum for coding bootcamps for adults in addition to taking classes for his masters degree.

While he enjoyed his time teaching at the school, he is looking forward to focusing on adult education, Lee said. “What I like about [coding bootcamps] is I get to teach higher level concepts and focus more on content since, hopefully the adults I am teaching will have study skills, time management, and things that I still have to teach as a high school teacher,” he said.

At the school, Lee developed curricula for some of the new classes that are being taught this year in the computer science department, he said. One of the classes he designed was Theoretical Computer Science, a 400-level half-credit that was introduced this year. However, Lee was not able to teach the class this year, he said.

Lee arrived at the school when they were in the process of getting rid of Advanced Placement courses, he said. He was given a list of topics he could teach for new classes from which he designed to courses that are now available to students, he said. “I took what I got, and I tried to put as much of my own experience as possible into them to make them more enjoyable for the students.”

Lee’s favorite aspect of teaching at the school is interacting with the students, he said. He loves being in class with students and letting them have fun conversations, he said. “It’s the inside jokes, little things like, ‘Yo, did you watch a show?’ and being able to chat with y’all as people.”

Lee will miss getting to hear “high school humor” on a daily basis, he said. He is only three years out of college and has enjoyed working with students who have exposure to similar social media, he said.

Elias Romero (12) loved how Lee would always stop class to talk about current events and other topics that his students care about, he said. “I don’t think that really happened in a lot of other classes, and it’s often kind of overlooked.”

Ghosh found that Lee did an excellent job of making sure that all of his students are comprehending the material while also being challenged, he said. “He wasn’t afraid to go on a little tangent for five minutes, indulge me in whatever I was talking about, because he had a really masterful control over everybody in the class and always made sure that they were engaged and learning in the ways that they were comfortable with.”

English teacher Stan Lau first met Lee at the new faculty orientation in 2019, he said. “It felt great to see another Asian guy because there aren’t always a lot of us in independent schools,” he said. He also immediately noticed that Lee has style, Lau said. Lee has many really cool shirts and an energy level that allows him to be very engaging, he said.

While Lee applied for jobs at many different schools, he settled on the school since it was the only institution where he met a person of color in the computer science department, he said. Former computer science teacher Danah Screen served as his mentor at the school and was the person he could go to for questions, Lee said.

Lee grew up in New York City and attended Stuyvesant high school. Given his familiarity with a large public high school, there was a culture shock when he first arrived at the school, he said. “I was used to rooms with 30, 40 kids, 1000 kids per grade where you don’t really get to

Computer Science teachers, logging off

AriellA Frommer Staff Writer

know your teachers because there’s 40 other kids in the room,” he said. In contrast, he has found that students at the school already knew how to send emails, meet with their teachers, and schedule office hours, he said. These attributes made Lee feel like he was teaching at a small college, he said.

Lau also believes that Lee brought interesting perspectives to the community, he said. Since Lee is a recent college graduate, he is up to date on all of the newest research and is able to bring that information to his classes, Lau said.

Lee was a co-facilitator of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) affinity space with Lau, Lau said. “When there was the whole shooting massacre in Atlanta against Asian Americans, it was a moment when I could lean on individuals such as Mr. Lee to talk through my own feelings and anxieties,” Lau said. “It was a way to be there for each other in a different capacity that wasn’t just strictly academic.”

English teacher Jennifer Huang was another co-facilitator of the APIDA affinity space with Lee. She also remembers how Lee took charge after the Atlanta shooting and put in a lot of effort to help the group navigate such fraught territory, she said. “It was another moment where I really appreciated having him as a colleague and also as a friend,” Huang said.

“He was just a good source of steady, quiet wisdom.” Lau remembers getting dinner with

Lee one night in Chinatown and how they conversed in Cantonese, Lau’s first language, he said. “Just talking with him was really powerful,” Lau said. “I think what was so wonderful was, I could see a younger version of myself in him as we chatted about teaching and living in the city.” “While it is a tremendous loss for the school, Mr. Lee is going to be an incredible educator wherever he ends up,” Lau said.

“The fact that he discovered that working in education is something that’s valuable to him is something that will in a lot of ways guide him, and I hope he listens to that.”

OK CANCEL

Though computer science and engineering teacher Samuel Grunebaum has only taught at the school for two years, he has formed relationships with students and coworkers that have made him realize his hope to continue teaching into the future. He plans to devote the next few years to expanding his education, then return to the world of teaching.

While teaching at the school, Grunebaum enjoyed interacting with the student body, he said. “Pretty much 100 percent of the kids that I’ve met here want to learn the material that I’m teaching, and that’s not true at every school, which is a testament not only to the quality of the kids here but it’s also to the quality of the school,” he said.

The school community values learning for the sake of learning, he said. “In addition to being happy to learn, I feel like the students here take their role seriously and they know that the school is only as good as they make it,” he said. “It’s not just kids that want to learn but it’s also kids who are respectful of each other and of the teacher and of the material.” When he arrived at the school, Grunebaum was most excited by the task of redesigning the curriculum, he said. “I didn’t just want to teach, I also wanted to design curricula and decide what I was teaching,” he said. “It’s a rare opportunity for someone as young as me, with only two years of actual classroom teaching experience, to get to design curricula.”

For his first year at the school, Grunebaum was asked to teach the Mobile App Development course, which was a very unique experience, he said. While he had never created an app before, he centered the course around design, user interaction, and interfaces, he said. He enjoyed getting to tailor that course and teach students how to design apps that would solve problems in their communities, he said.

Grunebaum was given an advisory during his second year at the school which consisted entirely of ninth graders. Maddie Offit (9) is a member of this advisory and appreciates how during every advisory, Grunebaum asks the group a fun question, she said. The questions give the group something fun to do and bond over, Offit said.

Offit also appreciates how much help he gives to the students in his class, she said. “When we have big projects in Python, such as making a game or coding games, he gives us a bunch of work periods during class when he just goes around and he helps every single person.”

Before coming to the school, Grunebaum lived in Málaga, Spain as a computer science and English teacher through a grant based fellowship program, he said. “When COVID hit, I was told to evacuate at or stay at my own risk, and I chose to evacuate because I didn’t want to potentially be stranded in Spain for who knew how long,” he said.

Grunebaum knew that he wanted to continue teaching, so he reached out to people he knew were teachers, including computer science teacher Lester Lee, who he attended college with, he said. Lee informed Grunebaum of an opening in the computer science department at the school, and he decided to apply for the position, he said.

Computer teacher Glenda Guerrero first met Grunebaum during his interview demo class, which he taught online due to the pandemic, she said. For the demo class, his topic connected with issues about Universal Design which is an area of study the department focuses on, Guerrero said. He does a wonderful job of engaging the students in discussion and teaching at their level of understanding, she said.

Guerrero also appreciates Grunebaum’s fluency in Spanish, she said. “Every once in a while we speak in Spanish, and I think it’s an additional link to our relationship and in the department.” Currently, Grunebaum also does freelance work as a web designer and tutors high school aged students, he said. “I’m going to basically take the summer to see if I can sustain myself while working freelance,” he said. “If I have enough clients and consistent enough work and earn enough money to pay the rent and buy food, I’ll just keep doing that.”

If he does decide to search for other jobs, he will only look for positions in which he would also be teaching, he said. “That teaching could be training new employees, literally being a teacher to adults and teaching adults how to code like a coding boot camp, or more likely, what I would be interested in would be curriculum design.”

Grunebaum has not yet applied to attend other institutions, but he does hope to pursue some kind of advanced degree within the next few years, he said. “I know that I want to learn more, get more life experience, and also just more broad career experience, and then come back to teaching full time,” he said. “I definitely want to be teaching because I really enjoy it, and I think it’s really gratifying to be face to face with another person and teach them something and then see them understand it.”

Middle Division goodbyes: Three who will be missed

Ben Rafal Staff Writer Caitlin Hickerson

“I’m excited about new opportunities and new horizons, it’s exciting, in similar ways perhaps as a graduate of [the school] might both be excited about college but nostalgic and feeling connected to where they are,” Caitlin Hickerson said. She is currently an eighth grade history teacher, an eighth grade advisor, the Service Learning Coordinator, the Student Activities Coordinator, a Seminar on Identity teacher, and a Leadership Through Service elective teacher. After being part of the school’s community for 13 years, she is leaving the school to teach and be the Dean of the Class of 2026 at Grace Church.

Leaving the school will be an opportunity for learning and growth, Hickerson said. “It is a time for me to take on new challenges and grow professionally. Those who have been here since the threes, I think you can relate,” she said.

Due to Grace Church’s smaller size, both in enrollment and physical size, it will give her the opportunity to get to know her class very well. “[Grace Church’s high school is experiencing a] unique movement in its growth and history as several leaders are new to their positions. I am excited to be a part of that change,” Hickerson said.

Hickerson will miss being in the MD as she moves on to the Upper Division (UD) at Grace Church. “I have loved being in middle school, there’s this wonderful experience of growing up that happens in middle school and so I see a different person coming out of eighth grade than I met when they came in sixth grade and it’s really exciting to watch and to be a part of that journey and see that growth,” she said.

Although Hickerson has worked with and taught high school students while at Horace Mann, her primary focus has been the MD. Moving into the UD at Grace Church, she expects the conversations to be more abstract and focused on ideas more than information, she said.

She has learned a lot while at the school, especially that every activity, such as lesson plans, trips, and events, need a sturdy structure, she said. “There is bound to be something that doesn’t go as planned; careful planning can help minimize the likelihood and can provide support within which you can — and must be — flexible,” she said.

Hickerson has had a lot of fun while working at the school, for example going to Colonial Williamsburg with the 6th grade. “My fondest memories…[were] bonding with my colleagues in the evenings while we supervised the students in the hotel,” she said.

Steve Yang (11), who had Hickerson as his advisor in sixth and eighth grade, is sad that she’s leaving. “She was a wonderful teacher and since I was new in sixth grade she really helped me,” he said. Hickerson helped him navigate the new MD environment. One of Yang’s favorite memories with her was meeting her for the first time at Dorr during August before sixth grade.

In his first year at the school, Dorr finished the construction of their new treehouse, Javaid Khan, Dean of the MD, said. “Hickerson was one of the first people to go up and spend the night in it. She loves the outdoors: taking a hike, being one with nature,” he said.

According to Khan, she is a supportive colleague and friend. “We have had amazing conversations over lunch or a planning meeting. She’s brilliant, fun, and really loves being an educator,” he said. Another of Hickerson’s former advisees, Amelia Resnick (11), had Hickerson as both an advisor and a teacher. Hickerson was always checking in on and helping her students, Resnick said. “In our advisory Hickerson would ask us what ‘real world skills’ we would like to know,” Resnick said. “One time she taught us about taxes and another time she took us outside and we learned how to change a tire on a car.”

In the MD, Hickerson has many different roles , allowing her to have a wide range of experiences. She has been a history teacher, advisor, club leader, service learning leader, and more, allowing her to reach a variety of students in different ways.

Hickerson has taken part in programs such as HM Lead, Ethics Bowl, Social Justice Club, L’Chaim, DIY Club, Coding Club, and many more. “I find that those extracurricular spaces are really where people, individuals, find their people, form their identities, and it’s been great to be a part of our students’ journey in the spaces that are more social and less academic,” she said.

Coming into the classroom and teaching with her students always brightens her day, but she has also enjoyed being a part of student’s service experiences as well. The Sanctuary for Families Winter Party was particularly special for her. It was no small feat and a true collaboration across MD and UD students and faculty on Summer on the Hill, she said.

Hickerson also has fond memories of the assemblies she had worked on with the HM Lead Students. She was so proud to watch my students interview a survivor and staff member from Sanctuary for Families, a lawyer fighting for climate justice, among others. “They were poised and prepared and asked great questions,” she said.

Louise Kim (11), worked alongside Ms. Hickerson in student-led activism and social justice work. “Her confidence in asserting feminist and antiracist values helped inspire me to become more invested in those issues,” they said, “I looked up to her as a person who wasn’t afraid to advocate for what was right.” Hickerson helped Kim co-organize the MD March for our Lives walkout. When Kim was in eighth grade, Hickerson advised the Social Justice club, and she was really engaged in their discussions, Kim said. At the beginning of summer 2020, when things were difficult due to the pandemic and racist violence, Hickerson checked in with Kim via email, a gesture that meant so much to them.

Hickerson will also miss the beautiful campus. The school’s pool permits her to swim in the morning before class starts.

However, she will especially miss the people she has met at the school, including students and colleagues. She would have liked to have seen her students during their next four years in the Upper Division, but she knows that the school’s students will still mature and go out into the world without her. “I know that you’re still out there even if I’m not here,” she said.

Susan Fanelli

Norma Rodriguez

“I’ve always felt that my real education began when I joined the [school’s] community 21 years ago,” Norma Rodriguez, MD Advisory coordinator and Faculty Advisor for the Mentor Program, said. Rodriguez is retiring after 21 years at the school to spend more time with her immediate family and to volunteer for organizations that help children.

Rodriguez started out as an Administrative Assistant in the Guidance Department and worked under its former director, Wendy Reiter. “I happened to be reading The Riverdale Press and came across an ad for an opening at HM so I decided to send in my resumé,” she said. “The rest is history.”

After Rodriguez finished touring the beautiful campus with Reiter and meeting the deans, she knew for sure that she wanted to work at the school. “The first time I stepped through the doors at HM I immediately felt I belong here,” she said.

After her third year of employment, Rodriguez attended Lehman College and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Afterwards, she became the full-time Life Skills teacher for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Life Skills is a socialemotional learning class that focuses on many

Susan Fanelli is retiring after many years of teaching math at the school’s MD. She will be moving to where her granddaughter lives in order to see her more often. “I like spending time with young people, I really do,” Fanelli said. She has taught a wide range of math in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade which all have been different experiences, and she will miss teaching. “I enjoy interacting with the students and the teachers,” she said.

Head of the Middle Division Javaid Khan remembers his first conversation with Fanelli about her sons. “She has three and I am one of three boys, and I appreciated listening to the love of a mom for each of her sons who had very different paths and needs in life,” he said.

Working with Fanelli was terrific, she cares deeply about her students and fellow colleagues, Khan said. “She works tirelessly on behalf of her [students], who truly benefit from her attention, care, and wisdom,” he said.

MD math teacher Anil Sookhoo met Fanelli his first year at the school in 2019, when she was his mentor. Sookhoo and Fanelli sat next to each other in the office, where she would always ask him about his day, being very supportive and having positive comments to say. “One memory that stuck out to me is constantly being on Facetime with her during the beginning of the pandemic, working through all of the technical difficulties on Zoom, uploading work for students, and venting most of the time,” he said.

When Sophie Pietrzak (10), one of Fanelli’s former math students, first came to the school, Fanelli welcomed her into the school’s community. “She would always offer to explain concepts to me that I didn’t understand because it was my first year in the United States,” Pietrzak said. Pietrzak began to enjoy math because of Fanelli and is grateful that she was able to help her manage the teaching differences between the education system in England and the United States.

Pietrzak remembers that in class, Fanelli would connect the Smart Board to her Ring camera at home, and they would watch her dog. Fanelli would always bring blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers and Dum Dums lollipops, former advisee Stephanie Lee (10) said.

One of Fanelli’s favorite memories at the school was watching a 747 airplane carry a space shuttle in the sky from Alumni Field in 2014, she said. “It was during Middle Mania and I still have a photograph of it,” she said.

important topics, including decision-making, identity, and different forms of relationships.

Her favorite part about teaching at the middle school was that she got the chance to teach in all three grade levels. “The topics that I covered with students range from self-image to substance use, and it was enlightening to hear students’ perspective and ‘expertise’ on the topics that matter to them,” she said. Many times, those discussions brought laughter. “I just loved being in the classroom with middle schoolers.” Mrs. Rodriguez is someone you can trust, Head of the Middle Division Javaid Khan said. “[She can be trusted] to accomplish tasks, dream new ideas, and bounce ideas off of. If you need to vent, she has some strength in the listening department, as well,” he said.

Four years ago, Rodriguez was appointed by Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly to be the coordinator for the MD advisory program. Last school year, she became the faculty advisor for the Mentor Program. “The mentor program has afforded me the opportunity to work with UD students, some of whom I remembered from middle school,” Rodriguez said.

One of Rogriguez’s favorite moments at the school was four years ago when her eighth grade advisory handed her a thank you card during the Middle Memories ceremonies. “Each one of my advisees had written a lovely sentiment and their expression of gratitude really touched me,” she said.

One card that stuck with her came from a student who wrote, “I view you as my mother at school. Thank you for always being there for me.” Before she retires, Rodriguez will see that same group of students graduate from the school and head off the college. “I am so proud of them,” she said.

Another great memory Rogriguez has from the school is when she volunteered to chaperone a group of eighth grade boys on a service learning trip where they delivered food packages via Project Hope to homebound seniors. “The activity was an eye-opener for many of the students when they realized, in conversation with the seniors, that some had no visitors in months,” she said.

During the debriefing portion of the activity, the students wanted to know what else they could do for the seniors and many said they would sign up again to deliver food packages in the future. “That brought a big smile to my face,” Rodriguez said. Rodriguez will miss the chatter of students, the noisy hallways, and watching nervous sixth graders on the first day of school become confident young teens by the end of their eighth grade year. One of her students who struggled while he was in seventh grade would leave a note on Rodriguez’s desk whenever he wanted to meet with her. “I developed a soft spot for him and I made it my job to make sure he felt supported right through eighth grade,” she said. After all of her help, she received a lovely email from both of the student’s parents and grandmother, thanking Ms. Rodriguez for all that she did for their child. This year, he finished his last year of college.

“I will also miss working with the faculty and my one-on-one discussions with advisors and learning more about them beyond their teaching role,” she said. In her 21 years here, Ms. Rodriguez has developed close friendships with both staff members and faculty.

She was great as an advisor and very comforting, Ariela Shuchman (11), a former advisee of Rodriguez, said. Whenever Schuchman felt overwhelmed or forgot something that was coming up, Rodriguez would bring Shuchman into her office to help her get reorganized and reassure her that she was doing great. “Her passion for the [advisory] program is really amazing to see, but outside of the program she’s just a great person within the school community to go to for support,” Shuchman said.

Although he had Mrs. Rodriguez as his Life Skills teacher in MD, he got to know her much better this year, since she serves as the faculty advisor to the MD Mentor Program, and he is one of the program leaders, Michael Shaari (12) said.

Rodriguez is a very kind, supportive, and understanding teacher who always provides authentic and genuine advice, he said. “The main thing I always notice when working with Rodriguez is how she is very understanding of all circumstances and has the best interests of everybody around in her mind,” Shaari said. She always goes out of her way to help us as students, and that is something he deeply values, he said.

Shaari’s best memory with Rodriguez was at the MD Mentor Program training last year when she made the event very fun, working with the leaders to allow for the most engaging and enjoyable training session. “She understands the importance of being time-efficient and making sure that students stay engaged,” he said.

A few years ago, Rodriguez lost everything in her home to a fire. Two days later, a colleague from the school’s community came to the hotel where she was staying with two shopping bags of new clothes and a check to cover immediate necessities. “This individual took time out of her day to take care of me through her kind gestures and words. I will always carry that memory with me,” she said.

Rodriguez has two grandsons who are a big part of her life and she is looking forward to spending time with them. “Both boys are a big fan of my home cooked meals,” she said.

While she has enjoyed her time at the school immensely, Rodriguez is excited to move on. “I am looking forward to spending time volunteering for organizations that help young children.” Several years ago, she volunteered at the Bereavement Center of Westchester Treehouse, where once a week she worked with young children who had experienced the loss of a parent or sibling. “I found the experience very rewarding and I would love to give my time to helping others,” she said.