Issue 1: Welcome Back

The Record Volume 118 Issue 1

POLICY CHANGES 2-3 MIKE ROONEY OBITUARY 4 DEFUND THE POLICE PRO/CON 6 RETHINKING SUMMER SCHOOL 7 BERNIKER AND CARNOCHAN FAREWELLS 8-9 STUDENT SUMMER INITIATIVES 10-11 NEW FACULTY 14-17

record.horacemann.org Septemper 9, 2020

WELCOME BACK.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Jackson Feigin/Photo Editor

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THE RECORD NEWS SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

School takes precautionary measures against coronavirus

Claire Goldberg Staff Writer

STUDENTS MUST

WEAR ID CARDS

After six months apart, all faculty and students will return for in-person schooling until Thanksgiving break, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly wrote in an email. “Any time we can spend together — employees and students — physically on campus, dramatically enhances our collectively shared outcomes for the year,” Kelly wrote in the Horace Mann School Plan to Reopen in the Fall (HMSPRF).

For the safety of the community, each student, faculty, and staff member will complete a daily symptom check that screens for symptoms and exposure to the virus before arriving at school, Nurse DeAnna Cooper said.

The check will include a temperature check as well as a series of questions about exposure to the coronavirus, testing history, and any symptoms a member of the community may be experiencing, according to the HMSPRF. If students report any symptoms or exposures, they will be directed to stay home and see their healthcare provider to be tested, Cooper said.

In addition to symptom checks, face coverings will be required at all times, with the exception of lunch, distanced physical education activities, and other outdoor and distanced opportunities where students are sitting more than six feet apart. Reusable cloth masks will be distributed to each student on the first day of school, Kelly wrote.

The school will remove any student or faculty member who refuses to wear a mask from campus, Kelly wrote. “This is not the time to test limits,” he wrote. “It is important for everyone to understand that by ‘removal,’ I don’t mean moving an individual to remote learning; I mean separating them from the community.”

Because masks conceal people’s faces, students will be asked to wear their ID cards around their necks on a lanyard for easier identification, Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein said. Zeba Packer (9), a new student, said the ID cards will make it easier for incoming students to learn students’ and teachers’ names.

There will be additional handwashing and Purell stations across campus, Cooper said. As soon as students enter the school, they will be required to sanitize their hands at a station in the lobby and head straight to class.

Within the classrooms, Harkness tables, the large, wooden tables in history and English classrooms, have been replaced with rows of distanced desks to comply with social distancing guidelines,

according to the HMSPRF. The desks will have clear GuardXPro partitions, which are glass dividers that have self-cleaning protection. The GuardXPros have been proven to eliminate 99.87% of COVID-19 particles after 60 minutes of contact, according to the

HANDWASHING S

TATIONS

HMSPRF. This will be history teacher Barry Bienstock’s first time

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

teaching without the Harkness tables in 20 years. “I imagine that it will take days or even weeks to adjust to the new physical environment,” he said. Bienstock is worried that the absence of Harkness tables may initially hinder conversation, he said.

All indoor areas will have a Medify Air MA-40 medical grade air purifier, tested to remove 99.9% of particles, according to the HMSPRF. Classrooms

anticipate being very stressed, so not having the option is something I’m worried about.”

There will be 20 tented areas across campus, including space on Kelly’s side yard, he wrote. The Steven M. Friedman Gymnasium will also be converted to a large study hall space, he wrote. While no classes will be permanently held outdoors, teachers will have the option to reserve outdoor spaces for individual classes, Levenstein said.

Students can also use the library during frees to study, Bartels said. Because the library will not allow any food or

VIRTUAL ASSEM

OUTDOOR BREAK

BLIES

and high-touch areas, like door handles, will be cleaned multiple times throughout the day.

Students can expect to receive their own safety goggles for science labs to avoid sharing, Science Department Chair Dr. Lisa Rosenblum said. Any shared materials will be sterilized with alcohol between uses. Students will still be allowed to have in-person labs and do group work, because the lab tables are large enough to accommodate social distancing, she said.

However, some classes may have virtual labs so that students and teachers can acclimate to the platform before the school goes online in November. The Science Department experimented last year with two virtual lab platforms: Beyond Labz and Labster, Rosenblum said.

New mask and social distancing guidelines may also provide a significant barrier to language learning, World Languages Department Chair Pilar Valencia said. “Language itself is hard to understand without seeing the lips.”

To accommodate this barrier, Valencia said that she will emphasize proper articulation. “If we have to go slower, we’ll go slower, because the important thing is that we keep trying to let the learning and education happen.”

This year, classes will dismiss students five minutes early on days without tests to ease congestion in the hallways, Levenstein said. In the hallways, students will follow new signage and tapes on the floor to navigate hallways. Cones, floor tape, and retractable belt stanchions will modify traffic patterns by balancing population density, according to the HMSPRF. “With masks on and good hygiene being practiced, people should not be alarmed if they find themselves in a crowd, as long as it is moving and everyone is keeping their hands to themselves,” Kelly wrote.

As the clock strikes 10 a.m. and students leave their classes, they will use the hallway guidelines to make their way outside rather than to the library.

Every Tuesday, students will meet with their advisories, either

for regular advisory or to stream the assembly, Levenstein said. Bartels said that she is working to host exciting speakers, even if the assemblies are virtual.

Students will have a number of options for free periods this year.

The school has mandated a closed-campus policy, which prohibits students from leaving campus during frees, according to the HMSPRF. Instead, students are encouraged to socialize with one another in outdoor tents set up across the campus, Levenstein said.

A closed campus policy may make students feel a little trapped, Yana Gitelman (12) said. “I really like the walk to Starbucks as a de-stressing thing, and I

75-MINUTE SCIE

NCE LABS

drinks, there will probably be less socializing this year, she said.

The second floor desks will remain in place for silent, individual studying. Gordon Jensen, Director of Facilities, will determine room capacity for study rooms, she said.

During frees, students can also meet with teachers. English teacher Dr. Andrew Fippinger said that meetings will be essential this fall to establish an in-person relationship before school goes online. “I don’t think I would be nearly as effective a teacher if I couldn’t meet with my students,” he said.

When the school day ends, all students must leave campus unless they are on an athletic team, Levenstein said. Because the school is prioritizing holding classes and avoiding an outbreak, there will be no club or publication meetings on campus in September, she said.

Only time-sensitive club meetings will be held virtually, because not all faculty will be available to attend online meetings on a regular basis.

While the school has implemented changes to prevent an outbreak on campus, they have planned for that scenario too, Cooper said. “If someone presents symptoms on campus, they will be isolated in my office until they can get picked up and go to their doctor to have a test,” she said. The isolation room was previously a college counselor’s office, which has now been relocated. If the person tests positive, the school and the Department of Health will identify their close contacts so that they can then quarantine too, Cooper said.

The campus may close for one or two days for cleaning and disinfection if a student who was on campus tests positive, according to the HMSPRF. The school will shut down completely if 15% of employees and students are quarantined at one time or if 15 individuals in the Middle or Upper Division

p a r o f s e i c Poli report symptoms, though the closure of one division does not ensure the closure of another.

Alex Pustilnik P’24 P’22 wants his children to return to school, despite potential exposures to the virus, he said. “It is very important for them to have school in-person for both their academic and social development,” he said. “With the right measures in place, like mask wearing and social distancing, and given the current low levels of infection in the NYC area, I believe my kids will be safe going back to school.”

Ultimately, this year is in the hands of the students, faculty, and staff; to be on campus, everyone will have to follow all of the new rules, Levenstein said. “If students are cavalier about their masks and any protocol, the direct result will be closed schools, and I don’t think people really want that,” she said. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to really just follow these protocols and then we can continue to be together and to be safe.”

HARKNESS TABLE

S REMOVED

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HORACE MANN NEWS SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

SuperTrans adds safety regulations Liliana Greyf Staff Writer

For the safety of the hundreds of students who take school-provided transportation every day, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly, Director of Transportation Robert Forcelli, and SuperTrans Bus Company Owner Nick Vallone have created new guidelines that enforce limited contact, maskwearing, and daily sanitization of buses, Forcelli said.

While the Centers for Disease Control

INDIVIDUAL SEA TS

and Prevention does not require social distancing on transportation, noting it only as a best practice, Kelly still decided to make the switch, he said. Each student will have their own seat with the exception of siblings, who will sit together to maximize space, according to the Horace Mann School Plan to Reopen in the Fall.

As a result, a school bus that would seat 44 students in a normal year now only seats 22, Forcelli said. Because of this, the school is hiring extra buses at no extra cost to the parents.

The number of large buses that will be used this year has increased from 18 to 28, Forcelli said. The final number of buses to be used is uncertain, but Forcelli estimates that the smaller buses and vans will increase by around five each. The school’s plan requires every student to wear a mask at all times on the bus.

To minimize unnecessary contact between

students, each individual will be allowed on only one bus route, Forcelli said. “The bus drivers will be given a list of students on their bus, and that is it,” he said. “You get on one bus in the morning, and you go home on the same bus.”

“The inability to simply hop on any bus for a ride home, even to a friend’s house or apartment will be the biggest inconvenience of them all,” Kelly said.

“But I think it’s worth it and a small price to pay given our need to reduce the number of students on each bus, let alone our need for contact tracing.”

To further minimize the possibility of crosscontamination between different

Forcelli urged families to sign their children up for the bus over the summer; although they will likely be able to sign up in the fall, their bus may not be able to stop conveniently near their desired pickup location, he said.

Although it was designed to minimize the spread of the virus, this new plan may have other advantages, Vallone said. “We do expect routes to be a little bit shorter actually than in years past, because there will be less kids to pick up,” he said. “At the same time, that may be counterbalanced by the fact that there are a lot more people in New York City now driving their personal cars in order to avoid subways. So, the routes might

DAILY BUS CLEA N

ING

groups, buses will no longer be shared by the three hill schools, Vallone said.

Additionally, SuperTrans is newly committed to cleaning the vehicles used for transportation once every day, Vallone said. “After each school day, the buses will be disinfected,” Forcelli said. “This is not something that we have ever had to do.”

Bus drivers will be instructed to open windows and overhead exits during routes to ventilate the vehicles, weather permitting, Vallone said.

Currently, around 700 students are signed up to take the bus — a number that is slightly lower than that of last year, Forcelli said. However, he believes that more parents will sign their children up throughout the year. “When people see it’s working, we are going to get a lot more people signing up,” he said.

r a e y c i m e pand Claire Goldberg and Hanna Hornfeld Staff Writers All food and drinks will be free this September to limit crowding around the cashier — one of the many changes to school policy implemented to ensure students’ and faculty members’ safety while eating on campus, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly wrote in an email.

The school’s food service company, FLIK, has added two new alternatives to the cafeteria due to the school’s closed-campus policy, Head of Upper Division (UD) Dr. Jessica Levenstein said.

To prevent contamination, all food — both hot and cold — will be pre-packaged to encourage students

Lauren Kim /Art

be a little bit shorter than they have been in the past, or they could be the same amount of time due to the traffic patterns changing.”

Students like Gillian Ho (8) will contribute to this increase in vehicles on the way to school; because her family is worried about the safety of schoolprovided transportation, Ho will be driven to and from school by her parents.

Alexei Le (11) has taken the opposite approach, reconsidering the safety of public transportation.

This year, Le will be taking the school bus for his first time since middle school. “[My parents] feel

Director

WINDOWS OPEN

ED

remain free for teachers this year, Nivison said, so the switch was sensible for her.

This switch still causes some inconveniences, Nivison said. “I teach A period, so I would really like to get to school earlier than just on time,” she said. “Still, this is a great opportunity, and we will just have to see how it goes.”

FLIK adjusts lunch options

he wrote.

To further decrease crowding, there will be no bake sales or breakfast this year, according to the Student Guidelines in Response to COVID-19.

The school is also discouraging students from bringing lunch from home. “We are not set up for the storing of lunches nor do we have the facilities for the cleaning of personal utensils and storage containers,” Kelly wrote. However, the school will make exceptions for students with allergies or those who cannot find suitable options at school.

FLIK employees will be mandated to wear face coverings and gloves, Cohn said. They will also undergo training for the proper use of personal protective equipment, the safety and sanitation protocols, and the new style of food service. Kitchen areas will be disinfected at least once a day, and kitchen equipment will be disinfected multiple times a day, according to the Horace Mann School Plan to Reopen in the Fall.

Before eating lunch, students will have to wash their hands at one of the new sanitizing stations, Nurse DeAnna Cooper said.

These stations will be located outside of the cafeteria and at any location students may eat.

In the cafeteria, students will

Jackson Feigi n/

Photo Direc tor

to “grab and go,” Kelly wrote. Students will also receive individual kits with disposable cutlery to limit shared utensils.

The new dining options consist of a food truck on Tibbett Avenue and tents on Fisher Hall Patio and next to Friedman Hall. At the food truck, students will have access to daily options of noodles and rice, as well as sushi on Tuesdays, Head of FLIK Staff Brenda Cohn said. Both tents will have barbecue stations, where food will be made on the spot and then packaged in individual containers.

The new options should help students spread out around campus instead of crowding a single area, Levenstein said.

The Café in Lutnick Hall will not be open in September, Kelly wrote in an email. “What nobody anticipated when the Café initially opened was how popular it would be,” he wrote.

“Now is not the time to have long lines anywhere on campus.”

The administration will revisit opening the Café in October,

comfortable with the school guidelines,” he said.

“They would rather have me social distance on a bus than on the subway.”

“We are in uncharted waters, but we are trying our hardest [to keep students safe],” Forcelli said.

Like Le, science teacher Camille Nivison is also switching from her usual routine of public transportation this school year, she said. She feels safer staying within the school’s community on her commute. The bus services

able to prevent groups from forming in eating spaces. “For a lot of people, this is their first time seeing their friends in months,” she said. “Food is inherently social, so it is inevitable that people are going to want to be together during their meals.”

Normally, Jake Federman (12) loves spending his frees socializing and eating with his friends in large groups. “We pack more chairs into a single table than can possibly be imagined,” he said. However, given the circumstances, Federman plans on eating in smaller groups and expects that most students will do the same.

Eshan Mehere (10) said eating outdoors may inhibit his ability to do work during lunch. “I usually do my homework while eating in the library, and I definitely don’t think that I will be able to work half as well outside,” he said.

Because students can’t eat lunch in class this year, the school is focusing on giving students lunch block frees more than usual, Dean of Class of 2022 Dr. Glenn Wallach wrote in an email. However, due to double lab periods in science classes, some students still do not have frees on certain days. As a result, the Science Department is shortening all lab periods from 90 to 75 minutes to give students ample time to eat lunch, UD Science Department Chair Lisa Rosenblum said.

Because bringing food from faculty and students’ homes is prohibited, all snacks served during break will come from DAILY O

PTIONS AT FOOD

CAFE CLOSED

NO BREAKFAST O

be guided through the main student servery by signs intended to control the flow of traffic and maintain social distancing, Cohn said.

In the cove, where the salad and sandwich bars are usually located, students will have access to the salad bar and a coffee and dessert station. The sandwich station has been moved to the inside of the cafeteria.

To ensure that students remain socially distanced while they eat in the cafeteria, the number of chairs per table will be reduced, and chairs in all eating areas will be separated by GuardXPro barriers. Students will also be encouraged to demask and eat in one of the 20 tents on Alumni Field and next to Spence Cottage, which will also have GuardXPro barriers, Kelly wrote.

Dalia Pustilnik (11) is worried that the school will not be

R BAKE SALES

TRUCK AND FIS HER HALL

PATIO

the FLIK staff. “I know we can’t still decorate cookies and have that crowd of kids frosting things together in the library, but we could still give each of them individually wrapped [FLIK] cookies,” UD Library Department Chair Caroline Bartels said. The library will serve these snacks in a tent outside, she said.

Bartels is confident that, despite the policy changes, students will still be able to enjoy traditions like coffee on Fridays and snacks during break. “I would like to keep life as normal as we can,” she said. “We’re definitely going to have to figure it out as we go, but I’m hopeful that it will work and I’m ready to go all in.”

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THE RECORD NEWS SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

A LOSS IN OUR COMMUNITY:

Public Safety Officer Mike Rooney passes away Emily Shi and Vivien Sweet Features Editors For 31 years, beloved public safety officer Mike Rooney was the first face to greet students and faculty walking onto campus.

To the deep sorrow of the school community, Rooney, who retired in 2017, passed away of heart failure on June 3 at the age of 66.

The school community remembers Rooney as a cheerful, friendly, and welcoming person, Head of Upper Division (UD) Dr. Jessica Levenstein said. He had a knack for remembering the names of students and faculty across the four divisions.

“He remembered everybody — I don’t know how he did that,” said Patricia Zuroski, former Head of the Nursery Division (ND) and Director of the Office for Identity, Culture and Institutional Equity (ICIE).

“Even when we came up in the high school in 2010, I remember he would point kids out hanging around the lobby and say, ‘Yeah, I remember that kid when he was three or four,’ and he could name him.”

Rooney joined the school as the first fulltime security guard after the formation of the school’s Public Safety Department, then called the Department of Security, Fire, and Safety. Previously, he had worked as a public safety officer at Manhattan College and as an auxiliary lieutenant for the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) 15th precinct.

Rooney’s family hosted a funeral procession down Mosholu Avenue in the Bronx rather than a formal funeral or wake due to social distancing measures. Family and close friends, including members of the school community, watched the procession from the curb to pay their respects.

The NYPD Emerald Society Pipes & Drums group performed at Rooney’s service as a final tribute. Assistant Director of Courtesy of Barry Mason

ALL SMILES Rooney poses for the camera.

Public Safety Peter Clancy, a member of the society, said the ceremony felt fitting as a way to honor Rooney. “I know Mike would have loved it,” he said. “Mike was a big fan and supporter of the pipe band.”

Rooney’s experiences working on all of the school’s campuses — beginning in Riverdale in 1987, moving to the ND on the Upper East Side in 1996, and back to Riverdale in 2010 — helped Rooney develop long-lasting relationships with community members.

“He knew the most intimate things about people,” Zuroski said. “It seemed like you could pick something up off the security desk, and he’d say, ‘Oh, I know who that belongs to.’ He kept track of all these little details. He just had an amazing mind that way.”

Josh Underberg (12) said he felt sheer excitement every day before school at the ND Manhattan campus when Rooney would high-five and check in with each student.

Even this past year, Underberg felt inspired

by Rooney’s continued commitment to the

supported the New York Mets, bonded with Rooney — a loyal fan of the Chicago Bears

Courtesy of Patricia Zuroski

HARD AT WORK Rooney reads at his office desk. school and students. “The student body changes, the teachers change — but he’s that one person who’s been that consistent factor in my life at Horace Mann for 14 years.”

Levenstein remembers daily greetings from Rooney as a reminder to maintain human connection, she said. “My perpetual memory of Mr. Rooney is a person who set the tone for the school.”

During Rooney’s time in the ND, he often engaged in the school’s traditions for younger students such as the Holiday Sing, during which faculty members sang with the students and showered fake snow in the classrooms. One year, Zuroski rode a sleigh into the classroom, and Rooney agreed to be the “horse” that would pull her, much to the amusement of the students, Zuroski said.

“He put the rope around his waist and had two people pushing from behind,” Zuroski said. “He was pulling the kids around the room — we had so much fun. It was an amazing moment for the kids because they associated him with just being [the] official in the front door.”

In kindergarten, Jesse Lowey ‘17 and his siblings won a “Be Mr. Rooney for A Day” raffle, which Lowey considers one of his most memorable experiences with Rooney.

They spent the day completely in Rooney’s shoes — high-fiving each student as they walked in, sitting at the front desk, playing with the coffee machine, and acclimating to what being a security guard entailed.

As a result of their meaningful conversations before, after, and during school, Lowey values Rooney as one of the top three most important faculty members to shape his upbringing and education.“He’s just one of those people that always puts a smile on your face no matter what,” Lowey said. “You can tell he’s genuinely curious and interested in and cared about my life, and I did the same for him.”

During many free periods, Lowey, who

and New York Yankees — in conversations about baseball rivalries and the season.

Baseball was Rooney’s “first love,” and he counted down to spring training every year in the winter, Zuroski said. “He’d stop [me] in February and he’d go, ‘So you know what’s coming, you know what’s coming?’” During the baseball season, Rooney kept Zuroski and other staff members in touch every time the Yankees won. Every time they lost, it would be a “sad day,” Zuroski said.

At his desk in Olshan Lobby, Rooney came to know many students and faculty well, even remembering their birthdays and hobbies, Zuroski said.

“He knew students who would pass by for decades,” Levenstein said. “He really cherished those long term relationships.”

While most people leave jobs permanently after retirement, Rooney “couldn’t stay away,” Clancy said. Even after Rooney’s retirement in 2017, he returned to campus in many capacities, from filling in at the switchboard to taking over the front desk, when the school was short-handed.

“Whenever I called upon him to do anything, if I needed something special or a shift covered, I don’t remember Mike ever saying that he couldn’t do it,” Director of Public Safety Mike McCaw said.

Rooney was one of the first Public Safety officers McCaw met, and he helped acclimate McCaw to the operational side of the Public Safety Department as well as to the school’s customs. Rooney knew the school in and out, especially the type of security that the school was looking for, McCaw said. “I used him as a resource and I picked his brain to understand the culture of the school and the environment that we work in.”

Before Rooney retired, he walked Public Safety Specialist Glenn Smith through all of the procedures necessary for the front desk.

“He was pretty knowledgeable about the school, and he basically let me know what to

expect when I’m here,” Smith said.

Prior to the school’s installation of security cameras, Rooney kept a handwritten record of everything that happened in the ND Lobby, such as who passed through the vicinity, when they left, and when they returned. “He could find people,” Zuroski said. “He could tell if they were in the building and he could tell if they weren’t.”

Rooney was also known to be a jokester around his colleagues — someone you could always have a laugh with, McCaw said.

“I would run into him during my visits to the uptown campus and he would playfully tease that he was keeping an eye on me at the Nursery,” Head of ND Marinés Arroyo wrote in an email.

Smith, who took over Rooney’s position at the front desk when he retired, said Rooney loved to tell jokes to anyone who passed by the desk. “Anyone who knows him [knows] that they were pretty corny jokes, but we always listened to them.”

During his time at the school, Rooney formed close friendships with his colleagues that he strengthened off-campus. UD telephone receptionist Olive Keegan, who had known Rooney for 30 years, said he would often come to parties at her house.

“He loved my family dearly, and they knew him very well.”

Keegan, who attended Rooney’s service, said Rooney considered the school to be his family. “We will all miss him very much,” Keegan said. “It’s kind of hard to express sympathy for him because I think he’s still with us, even though he’s not in person.”

Rooney’s hospitable and benevolent presence on campus made life a little easier for every member of the community, Zuroski said. “I can’t imagine having worked all these years at Horace Mann without him being part of it,” Zuroski said. “He added to Courtesy of The Riverdale Press

EN GARDE Rooney defends the school. my life a personal immediacy that made me feel like someone knew I was there every day.”

To many students and faculty, Rooney will long be remembered for embodying the caring and welcoming spirit of the school.

“He’s the first guy I saw everyday walking into school from when I was three and the last guy I saw walking out on my last day when I graduated,” Lowey said. “To me, he was Horace Mann.”

5

HORACE MANN NEWS SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Black students demand change at HM Arushi Talwar Staff Writer

Over the summer, nearly 40 students from 12 schools in the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) formed Black Students Demanding Change (BSDC), an organization that advocates for racially equitable reform in private schools.

In June, the school approved BSDC’s list of demands, which covered five categories: culture, accountability, representation, education, and support (CARES).

Representative Nya Marshall (12) joined the organization in late May after participating in a large group chat of Black students across NYSAIS. “Everybody was talking about institutional changes they would like to see at their school,” she said. BSDC creates actions that can be brought to the administration at their respective schools.

BSDC first focused on developing their mission through social media. “In the beginning, it was the question of how we would present ourselves: Would we go to social media and talk about our stories, or would we create a list of institutional action steps and bring it to the administration?” Marshall said.

After a group vote, BSDC decided to send demands directly to schools and to use social media to share their mission and progress with their followers.

Then, BSDC split into committees: writing, outreach, webinar, executive, social media, and treasury.

Lauren Gay (12), another BSDC representative, is on the writing committee, which created a list of demands applicable to all schools. From there, representatives catered the demands towards their schools based on what they thought needed to be emphasized, she said.

In the culture section, BSDC asked schools to “foster environments of cultural competency and mutual respect where diverse identities and perspectives are truly welcomed and valued.”

The school has placed priority on “ensuring candidates of color in the final round of all job searches,” Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly wrote.

The school also founded a new committee, which has the purpose of bi-annually assessing the school’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work while also providing feedback, Kelly said.

This will help the school to hold itself and its members accountable.

The education section outlines learning

“with a focus on examining the presence and impact of various forms of racism (institutional, systemic, and interpersonal) and including content that celebrates BIPOC voices.”

Therefore, the History Department will create a new speaker series this year that will discuss issues including the Black Lives Matter Movement, immigration, voter suppression, policing, indigenous rights, mass incarceration, and the intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein wrote.

Since these talks will be conducted over Zoom, the school invited experts whose schedules wouldn’t have otherwise allowed them to come to the school. “It’s an amazing opportunity for the whole school to learn more about these important issues and to engage in discussions about them,” Levenstein wrote.

The school will also implement changes in relation to the faculty evaluation process, admissions programming, and development opportunities for teachers.

Representatives Marshall, Gay, and Nshera Tutu (12) sent the first draft of demands to Candice Powell-Caldwell, Director of the Office for Identity, Culture, and Institutional Equity, for review and advice.

Later, the representatives met with the school’s Administrative Council, which

Courtesy of Nya Marshall

being done by this office within the context of an increasingly diverse student body,” Kelly wrote. Although they are still looking for one in the Upper Division, the Middle Division has a psychologist of color, Gay said.

Within two weeks of meeting with Levenstein and the Administrative Council, the school agreed to implement all of BSDC’s changes. “The administration has been really open about acknowledging that things need to

“As we’ve seen with the BSDC, students, faculty, and administration can bring about meaningful change at the school, if we communicate openly with one another, listen to each other with humility, and think creatively.”

- Dr. Levenstein consists of all division and faculty heads, to answer any questions related to the changes.

During this meeting, they talked about making the school community increasingly racially literate by consistently implementing changes such as anti-bias training for employees, students, and parents, Kelly wrote.

The administration heard that many students of color wanted to have a psychologist of color in the Upper Division. “Notwithstanding the good work of our current Guidance & Counseling Office, our student representatives spoke passionately about why a clinician of color would contribute greatly to the work

change and trying to address our demands,” Gay said.

After the meeting, Levenstein met with Marshall, Gay, and Tutu separately to discuss issues more specific to the Upper Division.

“One topic that came up was the need for more clarity around reporting incidents of bias,” Levenstein wrote. Levenstein then created protocol that will be included in the family handbook regarding the school’s procedures for such incidents. The handbook writes that any such incident should be reported to a “trusted adult, who is then obliged to bring the incident to the Upper Division Head.”

From there, it will be investigated according to the Harassment/Bullying policy and lead to situation-appropriate consequences The protocol will ease students’ uncertainty who find themselves in uncomfortable situations, Marshall said.

Kelly said there has already been a positive effect on the community at large. “Regardless, there is more work to be done and I look forward to doing it in partnership with our BSDC representatives, members of the administrative council, and a growing number of faculty and staff members and parents,” he said.

Continued dialogue is important, Levenstein wrote. “To me, the most important quality each of us will want to cultivate to promote an inclusive learning environment is humility,” she said. “As we’ve seen with the BSDC, students, faculty, and administration can bring about meaningful change at the school, if we communicate openly with one another, listen to each other with humility, and think creatively.”

The community should continue to listen to different perspectives, Gay said. “Students who do not identify as a person of color, and people who do, should listen to others who are talking about their experiences and microaggressions that can be harmful,” she said. “Everybody is able to do better, and taking the time to learn how to better support their peers is something I hope people are able to take away from these initiatives.”

Upper Division Orientation welcomes students Rowan Malley and Ayesha Sen Staff Writers

The annual Upper Division Orientation (UDO) occurred over Zoom on September 4, replacing the three-day Dorr campus experience.

This year, 54 new students and 63 returning students at UDO were divided into 10 groups, Director of Dorr Glenn Sherratt said. Each group was led by a faculty member from Dorr or the Upper Division.

Initially, the students met all together and they later moved into breakout rooms within small groups to engage in online problem-solving games and activities.

While sleeping in tents, climbing, eating communal meals together, singing, dancing, and roasting Dorrmores were not a part of the virtual program, the goals of UDO remained the same but were just accomplished in a different way, Sherratt said. “There is a common thread that runs through the orientation at Dorr and this virtual one, and that is that the intent of the program is still to nurture a sense of belonging and community among the

students.”

Before the Zoom meeting, incoming student Ashleigh Conner (10) didn’t think she would connect with her peers, she said. “I assumed that the lack of physical interaction would hinder the experience because there is definitely more formality through Zoom, which is not ideal in friendship.”

After the Zoom call, however, Conner said that the program exceeded her expectations. “Even though we weren’t able to go to Dorr, I still had a lot of fun meeting the other students,” she said. “I hope to be able to go to Dorr in the future for the full experience, but the Zoom call was still a lot of fun, and I’m really excited to go to school.”

UDO mentor Walker McCarthy (11) said the move to Zoom changed the experience for both mentors and incoming students. “For me, being up at Dorr is such a fundamental part of the UDO experience,” he said.

“Dorr gives us the chance to interact with people from different grades in an informal way that is not always possible at school.”

At a typical UDO, mentor Bailey

Hecht (10) said she would enjoy having free time to play games and introduce mentees to other students. “Last year in just three days, I was able to meet basically every new kid in our grade, which I think shows how effective the in-person format is,” she said.

Although mentor Steve Yang (10) was disappointed that he was not able to attend Dorr this year, he believes the benefits of UDO were just as rewarding. Specifically, Yang said that online UDO still allowed mentors to help new students transition to school, as mentors were still able to address the concerns of their mentees.

McCarthy also remains confident in the program’s effectiveness. “I know that everyone involved with UDO — faculty and mentors — wanted it to be a great experience for new students and I think that came out over Zoom,” he said.

“I was just happy to get the chance to see people’s faces,” Conner said.

“Until I saw them and heard their voices, these (students) that I learned about were in a sense just concepts, not actual people.”

Because the pandemic has caused greater uncertainty about the academic

and social aspects at the school, Hecht reached out to her mentee, Conner, to get her excited for the first day of school. “It is definitely scary starting a new school, especially when you

Gabby Fischberg/Art Director

are not starting in the middle of a pandemic,” she said. “But both in and out of UDO, mentors will be there for their mentees.”

6

THE RECORD OPINIONS SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Sarah Sun/Design Editor

Jiyon Chatterjee The role policing plays in upholding systemic racism in the United States has been under close examination following the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two unarmed Black Americans, at the hands of white police officers.

Among the most prominent but controversial of the solutions raised by activists is the idea of defunding the police, a concept of divestment from police budgets that has its roots both in activism as well as academia.

A prominent proponent of the idea is Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and author of the 2017 book “The End of Policing,” who explains that U.S. police departments are tasked with handling a broad sweep of social concerns from drug abuse to homelessness to mental health.

The problem is that police departments themselves are unequipped to manage these issues.

By overfunding the police and neglecting social services, municipal governments shove the responsibility for societal problems onto the shoulders of the police instead of addressing the problems at their roots. Punitive measures that place drug users behind bars and combat homelessness through legal avenues do not actually solve the problems of drug abuse and homelessness; instead, policing only punishes individuals for these afflictions. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, over 80% of police arrests in the United States were classified as “minor offenses,” dealing with issues including drug possession and public alcohol consumption. Less than 5% of all arrests,

Yesh Nikam & Xander Cox If we want to live in a fairer and safer society, defunding the police is not the answer. Take Southeastern Washington DC, where, according to the Washington Post, officials announced a $15 million police budget cut in mid-June. On the Fourth of July, in the Frederick Douglass apartment complex, 11-year-old Devon McNeal was murdered as a result of gang violence. In an interview with Turning Point USA, residents of the complex were later asked if they approved of the movement to defund the police. One woman responded, “We need to put more police on every corner.” We need to take into consideration the effect this movement will have on communities of lower income and of color — like Devon’s, which are currently experiencing a disturbing spike in murder rates throughout the nation. Yet there is relatively little mass-media coverage about this young boy or the myriad other violent incidents plaguing America’s cities.

The police play an important role in law enforcement. If you diminish police presence, laws are perceived as weaker; a power vacuum emerges on which criminals, mobs, and gangs will pounce. While law-abiding citizens will continue to follow the regulations, criminals will use violent and predatory tactics to gain control and target vulnerable, helpless citizens. If we reduce the police force, we will endanger American lives by depriving them of the protection that they rightfully deserve.

for comparison, were due to violent crime. The data demonstrates how law enforcement primarily handles social problems instead of solely focusing on protecting communities from malevolent criminal intentions.

These arrest patterns are a result of bloated police budgets and starved social funding in cities like New York. According to Vox, the 2020 New York City budget appropriated nearly $6 billion to policing, which was about three times the funding for homeless services, three times the health budget, and about six times larger than youth development and jobs programs put together.

To be clear, “defunding” does not necessitate the “abolition” of policing. If anything, a targeted reallocation of resources from police budgets towards social services, education, and antipoverty programs will yield a net surplus for true crime reduction efforts. Not only is this a more comprehensive approach towards crime prevention, but shifting responsibility for societal ills away from policing and towards social services will allow police officers to focus on serious crime.

Other cities and countries around the world can give us an idea of whether this divest-andinvest model has been a success. In 2015, the city of Stockholm, Sweden, narrowed the scope of their police department’s responsibilities by creating a mental health ambulance service to respond exclusively to psychological crises — without police involvement. Sweden additionally has an extensive welfare state that takes a holistic approach in tackling societal problems. The crisis intervention and social investment strategy has worked: In Sweden, the 2018 data for violent crime reported about 1.06 instances of deadly violence per 100,000 inhabitants, while the U.S. had a rate of about 5.0 incidents per 100,000 people in the same year, according to The Local.

Furthermore, the divest model can be applied to homelessness, as Finland has demonstrated with its “housing first” program. Rather than locking up homeless individuals who do not comply with mandatory shelter laws (which exist in U.S. cities like Las Vegas), the Finnish government provides the homeless with permanent homes as well as longterm support services that can assist with finding work opportunities and combating addiction. As

This dynamic is already manifesting itself across the country. America’s biggest cities — the epi-centers of the movement to defund the police — have seen a considerable increase in crime this past year with significant upticks in the past two months, indicating that merely perceived reduction in policing is detrimental to American neighborhoods. A Wall Street Journal analysis of crime in America’s 50 biggest cities noted a 24% rise in homicides this past year, with a similar increase in shooting and gun violence while petty crime levels have maintained steady. According to the New York Police Department crime statistic, New York — a city that received a $1 billion budget cut in policing this summer — saw the number of shooting related incidents increase by 130% in June and 177% in July, compared to the same months last year. America’s biggest cities hold the largest minority populations and have subsequently experienced the brunt of these increases in crime.

According to NBC News New York, 97% of the shooting victims in New York City during the month of June were from a community of color.

Since violent crime disproportionately affects Black and brown neighborhoods, these same neighborhoods should have a strong say in the state of the nation’s policing. According to a Gallup poll taken in late June, 81% of African Americans and 83% of Hispanic Americans either want increased or the same amount of police presence in their neighborhoods. Wealthy and predominantly white communities often have the resources to hire private security firms to protect their neighborhoods, leaving the poorest Americans to deal with the consequences of a lack of policing.

The increase in crime following the recent movement against the police does not represent a unique incident either. According to USA Today, after the horrific Freddie Gray shooting in Baltimore in 2015, the Baltimore Police Department significantly reduced their activity, decreasing responses to calls, pursuing fewer people through search warrants, and dropping the

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

reported in the Washington Post, homelessness in Finland has dropped by over 42% since the start of the program in 2008 – without any help from law enforcement.

However, if the goal is to eviscerate racism in the United States, divesting from police budgets is not enough. It is important to reform policing practices themselves. Publicly funded municipal policing in America evolved from 18th Century slave patrols, which were designed to keep slaves subjugated and track down runaway slaves. Even now, systemic inequities such as the denial of financial services to Black families, race-based job discrimination, and underfunded public schools in predominantly Black neighborhoods have resulted in higher poverty rates among Black Americans, meaning that the current policing system that deals with social issues will have disproportionately more run-ins with Black citizens. Defunding the police can help to partially solve this problem by investing in social mobility and assistance.

But there are just as many examples of explicit racial bias in the law enforcement and criminal justice system. The fact that Black Americans are arrested at four times the rate of white Americans for marijuana possession laws, despite both races using the substance at roughly the same rate according to NORML, is clear enough evidence of race-based disparity in how the police are doing

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

number of field interviews by 70%; they effectively diminished their community engagement. In the year following these changes, Baltimore experienced a record high number of murders and saw the number of shootings triple. A less engaged police force will leave American communities more, not less, vulnerable.

If we want to see higher quality, safer policing of our communities, allocating funds for better police training is a significantly better alternative than defunding the police. Depriving the police of adequate resources to train its cadets will only cause the institution as a whole to worsen.

According to a Gallup poll, 94% of Americans agree police reform is needed. Cutting back on the ability to reevaluate and better train police forces will lead to a continuation, if not a rise, in police

their jobs. Other notorious examples of biased policing include policies like stop-and-frisk, which attempted to justify racial profiling.

This is not to say that the concept of policing itself is racist but that racism in American policing is a result of its specific history. The militant nature of U.S. policing has far more in common with early American slave patrols than it does with modernday law enforcement in countries like the U.K., where responsible, nonviolent social policing is emphasized through three-year national policing colleges and standardized use-of-force guidelines, and police officers are held accountable through a National Registry of Dismissed Officers and an independent police complaints commission, as laid out in a Cambridge University report. In contrast, American officers train for as little as 10 weeks and are largely protected from legal action by doctrines like qualified immunity, which prevents victims from suing officers for brutality unless a very narrow scope of rights has been breached.

America needs an integrated approach in combating crime and reducing racism in policing.

A smart crime reduction policy includes social development just as much as it includes policing.

Partially divesting from police budgets, along with comprehensive police reform, is a first step towards an America where police can truly protect and serve, rather than control and kill.

brutality. Improving police background checks is one tactic that can help eliminate poor policing.

Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with the murder of George Floyd, was a mentor for junior officers. According to the Marshall Project, dozens had filed complaints against Chauvin in his 19 years in the Minneapolis Police Department, but he was still permitted to mentor younger trainees, teaching poor policing tactics to countless cadets.

Sufficient background checks and repercussions for dangerous officers like Chauvin would be an effective change that would contribute to safer policing.

A typical argument for defunding the police is allocating the additional funds to school systems.

This argument fails to consider that, according to Fox News Baltimore, failing school districts sometimes receive the largest funds in the country.

In an interview with Governing Magazine, Marta Mossberg, a visiting fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, noted that schools within Maryland have seen an increase in funding by over 40% in the last 20 years, causing an increase in the number of teachers and staff. Yet student scores have stagnated and the condition of many of these public schools has worsened, as guaranteed steppay increases provide no incentive to improve teachers’ quality of teaching. Simply adding more money to schools will only further weaken the quality of teaching at low-income public schools. Defunding police to fund schools without addressing structural problems and inequalities in schooling will have detrimental effects on both systems.

When considering to defund the police, we must look at the numbers and listen to the voices of those who will be affected. Celebrities and media influencers should not dictate the amount of protection for those living in crimeridden neighborhoods. We all want to see our communities safer and rid of harmful policing, but defunding the police brings us further from, rather than closer to that goal.

7

THE RECORD FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Rethinking Summer School

Students, faculty consider the benefits of enrichment courses over current model Lauren Ho Staff Writer

“The only class that takes a trip to the beach isn’t as relaxing as you’d think,” Jaden Richards (12) said in reference to the Summer Physics course that he took last summer.

Most summers, over 100 students take rigorous classes at the school, working for several hours every day to complete year-long classes condensed into just a few weeks for school credit.

All Summer School classes were canceled this past summer due to the pandemic. Currently, the school is considering replacing the traditional model of Summer School with not-for-credit enrichment courses — “learning for the sake of learning” — Head of Summer School Caroline Bartels said.

With the current Summer School program, students spend their entire summer focused on solely one subject and don’t have time for anything

Chemistry teacher Dr. Megan Reesbeck said.

Rhea Patel (11) took Summer Chemistry to take another science class the following school year. The class allowed Patel to grow close to her classmates, she said. “We actually ended up bonding over the difficulty and intensity of the class and would help each other prepare for tests by quizzing each other in the mornings before class.”

Studying with classmates was also useful in order to keep up with the fast pace of the class, Patel said.

“The hardest part of the class was the pace: if you didn’t understand something, you didn’t have the time to wrap your head around it and think about it for a while.”

Reesbeck enjoys teaching Summer School but recognizes that its pace isn’t for every student.

“The pace does make it challenging to internalize the content for some students, but it also allows for students to see the threads within the content more seamlessly,” she said.

Sophia Brothers (12), who took Summer Physics

Gabby Fischberg/Art Director

else, Head of Upper Division (UD) Dr. Jessica Levenstein said. “I would like to see Summer School become something more experimental, more playful, and an opportunity to learn things that are not in our curriculum.”

In past years, Summer School courses included mostly for-credit classes like Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Geometry, and Global Architecture. There also are free and non-for-credit courses, such as the SAT and ACT prep courses, the Summer Film Institute, and Street Photography NYC, which run for one to three weeks.

Before Bartels became Head of Summer School 10 years ago, Summer School offered both credit and preview courses. The previews weren’t structured, and teachers would teach as much as they could, which would usually be around a halfyear of material. “It would end up giving those who took the course almost a half-year advantage on other students, which also allowed them to have a grade that didn’t reflect how they would have performed had they not taken the preview course,” she said.

When Bartels became Head of Summer School, she eliminated the preview courses. Now, grades earned in Summer School courses are reflective of how a student would have performed had they taken the yearlong class, she said.

UD students may take a Summer School class because it offers them a chance to double-up in a subject, to take another class in the same subject, or to replace that class with a different subject during the school year, Bartels said.

“Summer Chemistry is an excellent opportunity for interested and strong students to accelerate and be able to take more upper level electives,” Summer

in order to be able to take more science classes, also enjoyed her class community, she said. The class helped each other keep up with the heavy course load, she said.

In Summer Physics, there is a quiz every day and a test every three days, in addition to a graded problem set, a graded lab, and optional homework every night. The heavy workload made it easy to burn out, Brothers said.

However, Jolie Nelsen (12) said the class environment was competitive. While the class usually worked together, classmates were still driven to outperform each other since everyone knew everyone else’s grades and was aware of where they stood in the class, she said.

Two sources of tension in the class were the teaching assistants (TAs) and tutors, Richards said.

In Summer Physics, there were five teachers: science teacher Oleg Zvezdin, the head teacher; science teacher George Epstein, the assistant teacher; and three TAs, alumni from the class of 2019.

Since there were only three TAs for a class of over 20 students, it felt like students were competing for the TAs’ help, Richards said.

The TAs helped students by working on homework and problem sets with them for two hours after school and were available for private tutoring at a cost. Bartels gave students a list of tutors ranging from seniors who loved Lauren Kim/Art Director Physics to professional private tutors. Each student could receive 15 hours of free tutoring if they requested it.

Richards said the free tutoring was unfair because students who hired outof-school tutors received nearly unlimited hours, which is why he decided not to use a private tutor. “There was a lot of frustration surrounding tutoring,” Richards said.

Courtesy of HM Flickr

ROCKET SCIENCE Students focus in summer physics.

Even with tutoring, many students’ grades and mental health suffered, Richards said. After difficult lessons or tests, students would go into Bartels’s office, where she kept snacks and coffee, to cry or to get a supportive hug, she said.

However, Zvezdin made the class fun by cracking jokes, Richards said. “Mr. Zvezdin was also committed to seeing all of the students improve, and I think his dedication was what really allowed me to improve throughout the summer.”

Brothers is glad that she took Summer Physics and hopes that the class is continued so that more students can gain flexibility in their schedules, she said. “Although it was extremely difficult and I cried numerous times throughout the course, it was immensely helpful in allowing me to take more science classes,” she said. “To me, it was worth it.”

For Nelsen, the course was an opportunity to immerse herself in one subject, she said. “Before [Summer Physics] I really disliked physics, and now I may even major in physics in college.”

Before Geometry with Problem Solving was created for students on the B-math track, who are a year behind in math, Pascale Zissu (12) took Summer Geometry in order to later take calculus.

Zissu enjoyed her time in Summer Geometry because the class was smaller than it would be during the school year, affording her more attention from the teacher.

The Summer Geometry workload was very manageable, and the class didn’t feel overwhelming, she said. “The days were perfectly well-timed and we got many breaks, so we had a very good balance.”

Although past students found their own upsides and pitfalls of Summer School, the cancellation of Summer School this year upended some students’ plans. Corey Brooks (11), for example, planned to take Summer Physics to free up space in his schedules to take other classes.

Brooks was frustrated both because he would not be able to take the exact combination of the courses he wanted and because he no longer had summer plans. Brooks initially wanted to take Summer Physics in order to take a full-credit computer science class, so he plans to carve out time for the class in his future schedule. “I’ve realized that if I really want to take another computer science class, I’ll find the opportunity to take it, and it’s definitely not the end of the world,” he said.

If Summer School runs next year, the classes offered will likely be shorter, enrichment courses, Bartels said. “It would be great for our students to be able to step back a little bit from always needing to be driven and taking courses for credit.”

Bartels has been considering offering classes like an astronomy course at Dorr, a one-week Spanish immersion course, a musical theater course, a oneweek dance intensive, and more SAT and ACT prep courses, among many other options, she said.

Enrichment courses would allow students’ interest in a particular topic to be the primary motive behind taking a course. “It’s difficult to imagine all of our for-credit courses going away since many students rely on them in order to be able to fulfill requirements necessary for graduation or in order to have some flexibility in their schedules,” Bartels said.

“But we don’t want that to be the driving force behind taking a course.”

If Summer Physics is offered next year, Richards hopes that either the course is

lengthened so that students have more time to understand the material or that the course requires a certain grade in previous science courses so that only some students are able to take the class, he said. “While it would make Summer Physics more exclusive, it gives students an idea of how difficult the course is, which currently is not emphasized during the sign-up process,” Richards said.

The sign-up form for Summer Physics is just a Google Form, Nelsen said. “There should be a preface when signing up for Summer Physics that the course can be emotionally damaging and can really hurt your GPA,” she said. “You end up not knowing what you’re getting into.”

Brothers would prefer for Summer Physics to change from a five-day week to a four-day week while increasing the number of weeks in the program, which would give students a break from focusing only on Summer School, she said.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Summer School can be extended, Bartels said. Summer School must start after graduation, and the school must ensure that maintenance has time to clean the school while teachers get a break in August, making the window of possible Summer School timeframes very small.

The future of Summer School is still uncertain since the Summer School teachers haven’t come together yet to discuss the changes in the program, but Bartels is hopeful that the school can begin moving towards enrichment courses for the summer of 2021, she said.

“We have an incredibly vibrant intellectual community, so I want our Summer School to reflect that, and I hope that students see this as a new opportunity,” Levenstein said.

Lauren Kim/Art Director

8

THE RECORD FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Lilliana Greyf and Oliver Lewis Staff Writers Former physical education teacher Neil Berniker began coaching at the school when it was called Barnard School for Boys, not Horace Mann. 57 years later, Berniker has decided to retire due to the pandemic. “I was disappointed to see it end this way,” he said. “But I think it’s time to take a step back.”

For Berniker, the school is much more than a workplace.

Throughout seven decades of coaching, Berniker has formed lasting connections with members of the community of all ages and backgrounds. “He bleeds maroon,” his son Eric Berniker ‘90 said.

“And I think it is also the only color in his wardrobe.”

After graduating from New York University in 1963, Berniker took a job at the school. When he first started, he coached Boys Varsity and Junior Varsity Soccer as well as Boys Junior Varsity Basketball and Baseball. Later, Berniker began coaching Middle Division sports teams in addition to the Upper Division (UD) teams.

Although Berniker coached many teams during his time at the school, his work with Boys Varsity Soccer (BVS) was his most lasting and impactful responsibility — one he took on for more than 20 years. With Berniker as its coach, BVS won three state championships and eight Ivy League championships, successes that Berniker said he cherishes deeply.

Berniker remembers every game fondly, but the first state championship for BVS in 2000 was a particularly exciting event, he said. The team beat United Nations International School (UNIS) by only one point in a shoot-out. “Your first championship is always exciting — for the school, for the coaching staff, and for the players,” he said. “It was just very special to see such a great bunch of guys thrive on playing such a great game.”

While years when BVS was particularly successful were undoubtedly exciting, winning trophies was not all that was important to Berniker.

“Even the years when we didn’t have great seasons, the players always made it memorable,” he said. “I could walk away from the season and say, ‘What a great group.’ They came to practice and played great games and were competitive and respectful.”

Berniker was a tactical and well-versed coach, said Noah Phillips ‘20, who played on BVS for two years. “He really anticipated based on the past year what the strength of our opponents were,” he said.

Because of Berniker’s hard work, the team adjusted their tactics on a weekly basis and made sure they were playing their best, Phillips said. The final game of the 2020 BVS season was a display of the team’s values. “The way we played our hearts out really showed him how much we cared about him,” Phillips said. “Even though we lost, it was a great game, and we played hard for him.”

Kri Galvan-Dubois (11) has played BVS with Berniker as his coach for two years and is sad to see him go. “He always cracks jokes with the players and connects with them on and off the field,” he said. “Whenever a player is feeling down, he talks to them and cheers them up. The team is going to look different without his humor and outgoing self.”

As Berniker’s decades of coaching BVS went on, his beloved players graduated, but every team member still holds a special place in his heart, he said. Although he doesn’t see his former players in daily practice after they leave high school, Berniker makes an effort to reconnect with the athletes he knew well.

Berniker was the commissioner of the Alumni Soccer Game for ten years, and many of his former players have come back to visit and play. “It’s always a surprise to see them,” Berniker said. “We rehash old memories. Now they are mature — people with their own families and kids come back — but the bond that we had [when they were young] stays with us.”

Berniker’s leadership stays with his athletes for years after they graduate, Eric said. One of Berniker’s favorite players, Nick Burko ‘14, recently formed a softball team that plays in Central Park with some of his high school friends. They named the team “Bernie’s Babies” after him. “Last year [the team] won, and they invited me down to their championship dinner,” Berniker said. “It was so nice to see them after several years.”

Because Berniker created so many lasting connections during his time at the school, he knew someone almost everywhere he went, Eric said.

As he grew older, Eric and his brother Scott Berniker ‘87 began to see the impact that his father had had on the people he had worked with and coached. “We would see a mother with a child and he had taught both of them,” Eric said. “Just hearing from people what a special teacher he was for them and how he always pushed them to be better while still being caring became so cool for me. Obviously I had experienced all that myself, but I saw that my dad was being that person to so many people and affecting all these different generations.”

Along with BVS, Berniker spent many years coaching Junior Varsity Baseball (JVB), which Eric played on for one year. “I relished

that — being able to coach my son,” Berniker said.

Ten years ago, Berniker began coaching Boys Varsity Baseball (BVB). He coached the team for a total of five years. Although he spent less time working with the baseball team, the memories he made have been impactful in their own ways, he said. He coached players on this team that have achieved careers in baseball, including Harrison Bader ‘12 who now plays centerfield for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Berniker also spent 21 years as the director of the school’s summer day camp, a recreational sports camp in June. “I always took a lot of

Courtesy of HM Flickr

ATTENTION PLEASE Berniker emcees. pride in developing the community of the camp,” Berniker said.

The nature of Berniker’s job at the school allowed for versatility, giving him the opportunity to announce for basketball teams and teach some physical education classes. “Horace Mann gave me the opportunity to do a lot of different things — one year in the early 60’s I even coached bowling,” he said.

Associate Athletic Director Ray Barile loves to watch Berniker emcee at various events around campus. “He would announce at basketball camp and the kids would just go crazy,” Barile said. “When the Middle School did their end of the year awards, he would go up on the stage. He loved to entertain.”

Courtesy of Mannikin

SOCCER SEASON 2000 BVS team, Berniker honored with Officials Association award, and Alumni Game.

Courtesy of HM Flickr

When Barile was still in college, Berniker hired him to run the middle school’s after school swim program, which was when their friendship began, Barile said.

Now, almost 40 years later, Barile will begin his first year at the school without Berniker as his colleague.

“He has taught me and all the people that he has worked with so much,” Barile said. “In all of the years that I saw him coaching and teaching, I have never heard him raise his voice. Never.” Barile said he learned this coaching technique from Berniker: attempting to create a calmer and less intense environment during practices.

Throughout their four decades of work together, Berniker and Barile have created some lasting memories. “In my first two years of teaching, I would get to work very early some Friday mornings and go sleep on the mats in the Lower Division gym,” Barile said. “Berniker would always come wake me up before the day started.”

Berniker is sure that the connections he has made with members of the school’s community will last long after his retirement. “We’re a very close bunch, the Athletic Department,” he said. “When you work in the same office, conversations will lead to connections. Everybody is so friendly, so congenial, and professional.”

In an email titled “Farewell / ciao,” sent from Berniker to faculty members to announce his retirement, Berniker recalled the many bonds he has formed with his coworkers throughout the years. “I will miss you all, including my frequent calls to 3333 for help (Sheryl, Adam, Jason, and Cassandra) in computer glitches/programs and even to release a real mouse in my printer (no kidding),” he wrote.

Berniker also thanked his colleagues in the Physical Education Department and his friends in the administration. “I take with me through this magical journey the special bond, support, encouragement, and your brilliant style and technique,” he wrote.

“You kept the fire burning in my belly to go day to day and year to year.”

The school was much more than just a job for his father, Eric said.

It was also his extended family and support system. When his wife passed away, and when he went into cardiac arrest while refereeing, the school gave him the assistance he needed to come right back, Eric said. “The school gave so much to him, and he gave so much back to it,” he said.

After so many decades of devotion to the school, Berniker did not imagine that he would have to leave this way, he said. Finally, however, he had several discussions with his sons and came to terms with his underlying health conditions. “I’m at high risk [for COVID-19], and I don’t want to challenge that at all,” he said.

Berniker was looking forward to beginning his 58th year on campus, and he is sad that he was not able to say a proper goodbye.

“It was all so sudden, and it was a very difficult thing for me to do,” he said. “Hopefully when the smoke clears, I’ll come on campus and embrace all the people that I miss.”

Many of Berniker’s students have reached out to him with words of farewell and appreciation. “People are asking when they are going to get to see me and telling me they’ll miss me around here,” he said. “It’s a very good feeling.”

Although Berniker’s farewell is unexpected, there are positive effects of his retirement, he said. He is excited to spend more time with his family than he would in the past and to watch his grandkids Sasha, Madeline, Delilah, and Max grow, he said.

For now, Berniker plans to reminisce about his time at the school and wait until the day that he is able to return to campus to see his colleagues and players. “It has been a privilege to be a part of this community,” he said. “I wouldn’t change a single second of it, not for the world.”

Courtesy of HM Flickr

HORACE MANN FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020 HORACE MANN FEATURES MAY 15TH, 2020

Adam Frommer/Issues Editor

Devin Allard-Neptune and Hanna Hornfeld Staff Writers “I loved the fall,” Spanish teacher Susan Carnochan said. “The excitement of getting back to school and the nerves. I would often have trouble sleeping before the first day of classes, but I miss that already.”

This summer, after 23 years working at the school, Carnochan announced her retirement. Her original plan was to make the announcement this fall and leave at the end of the 2020-21 school year. However, due to pandemic-related concerns and a desire to spend more time with her family, she made the decision in July to retire a year early.

Beyond changing the World Language Department’s teaching methods for the better, Carnochan formed meaningful, lasting friendships, World Languages Department Chair Maria del Pilar Valencia said. “She is like my family,” she said. “To the community she is a ray of sun. She brings light. She brings happiness. She’s just pure, walking kindness.”

Carnochan’s love for Spanish began in high school, where Spanish was the only language offered. Her Spanish teacher “had some magic going on,” as five members of Carnochan’s class fell in love with the language and went on to major in it in college, she said.

At Towson State University, Carnochan majored in both Spanish and secondary education. Carnochan wanted a career path that would provide frequent opportunities to travel and considered pursuing a career as a flight attendant, she said. Ultimately, Carnochan decided to become a Spanish teacher, which allowed her to visit Spanish-speaking countries to perfect her own Spanish.

While studying at Towson, Carnochan took a modern dance class as a PE requirement and fell in love with it. From there, she took similar classes at the college and in various studios.

When Carnochan graduated, she was offered a job teaching in Baltimore, and she decided to try acting as well. By reading reviews of community theater performances in the Baltimore Sun, Carnochan found an audition for a production of Hot l Baltimore, and she was cast. It was during this time that she developed a passion for theater.

After three years in Baltimore, Carnochan went to graduate school at the University of Maryland to study Spanish literature.

Once Carnochan had her master’s degree, Dartmouth Professor John Rassias trained her in the Rassias method, a drama-based method of teaching language. The method spoke to her because it fused her interests, she said. The method involves the teacher acting out a skit, students giving choral and individual responses, and students performing substitution drills before creating language on their own. “It replicates the way little kids learn, but in a super condensed form,” Carnochan said.

Carnochan then moved to New York City to try her hand at professional acting. Soon after, she received a job as the Director of Rassias Method Language Programs at Baruch College. Carnochan continued auditioning and performing on the side, but she stopped after a few years.

In the mid 1990s, Carnochan gave a two hour workshop on the Rassias method at the school. In the workshop, she taught a sample class using Modern Greek so the teachers could experience the method through a student’s perspective, she said.

While arranging the logistics of the workshop, she became aware of job openings for teachers in the World Languages Department. “I

threw my hat in the ring,” she said.

In 1997, she was hired as a Spanish teacher and has taught at the school ever since.

In 2007, when Carnochan and her family moved out of the city, she applied for a job at a different high school, but she decided not to leave. “The vibe was nowhere near HM,” she said. “There’s something really special about Horace Mann students. There’s an energy, and intellectuality, a ‘joie de vivre.’”

Between 2010 and 2018, Carnochan served as World Languages Department Chair. AJ Walker (11), who was in Carnochan’s Spanish 2 class last year, said that her availability and approachability set her apart from his other teachers. “You could tell that she cared about us and about what she was doing.”

For Sadie Hill (12), Carnochan was her “go-to person” whenever she was having trouble with anything, she said. Hill had been in Carnochan’s advisory since her freshman year, so the two would often meet and have long conversations about life in general as well as school. Although Carnochan is no longer her advisor, Hill knows that she will contact her during the year for advice.

Courtesy of Susan Carnochan

POSING BACKSTAGE Carnochan preparing for Sophisticated Ladies.

Along with her availability, Carnochan’s understanding of the classroom made her stand out from other teachers, Emily Marks (12) said. Marks had Carnochan as a teacher for both freshman and junior year, and she was always approachable and supportive, she said. When school first transitioned online, Carnochan postponed the class’s reading of the Spanish novel “Como agua para chocolate” for the first week to allow students to adapt to the new format of learning, Marks said. “She was always in tune to the class.”

Carnochan worked hard to make Spanish class fun, engaging, and fresh, Spanish teacher Diego Argibay said. “She was always trying to reinvent a way of teaching a concept,” he said. “Very seldom did I ever see her recycle material from previous years.”

Courtesy of Susan Carnochan

CARNOCHAN AND FRIENDS Group shots in Gross Theatre, her classroom, and Costa Rica.

Courtesy CourtesyofofSusan SusanCarnochan Carnochan

9

In her time at the school, Carnochan helped expand the World Languages Department’s teaching methods beyond just grammar, Valencia said. “We all need the grammar to make the language work, but her effort has also been to make it an experience so students have a chance to inhabit different cultures and to use it in their daily lives,” she said. “It is a beautiful way to live and learn about others.”

Carnochan also had an impact on Valencia’s understanding of teaching, Valencia said. “She convinced me that the only possible way to teach is to teach through compassion — to understand the process of learning.”

Carnochan’s incorporation of the Rassias method into her teaching helped Walker learn better, he said. “We would mostly have people read [skits] from their seats instead of fully acting them out, but she would always stop us and make sure we did it with emotion,” he said. “The skits were really funny and entertaining, so whenever I struggled with commands I thought back to them.”

Beyond Spanish class, Carnochan took every opportunity possible to participate in performances at school, Valencia said. Two years ago, Carnochan suggested Valencia join her in performing in the spring production, Sophisticated Ladies, and Valencia did.

“When classrooms were empty we were there, rehearsing the steps,” Valencia said. “We were like little kids putting on makeup, asking each other, ‘My eyelashes are OK?’” Carnochan said she enjoyed performing in school productions in part because it allowed her to form connections with students she didn’t teach. “Sharing the camaraderie typical of production rehearsals and performances creates a deep unspoken tie among most performers,” she said. “It is always important for teachers to see our students in sports, music and theater performances, and to see their art and read their publications. We can appreciate and understand the whole student so much better and this fosters deeper ties among us as a community.”

In her last few years at the school, Carnochan worked alongside Dean of Students Michael Dalo to arrange Spanish language trips over the summer. In 2018 and 2019, Spanish teacher Arni Alvarez went to Salamanca, Spain as a supervisor for the trip, he said.

While the students were taking classes at a school in Salamanca, Carnochan encouraged Alvarez to lead a lesson about the novel “Lazarillo de Tormes,” he said. “Her input allowed me to participate as a teacher during the group, not just as a supervisor.”

Tiger Lily Moreno ’20 met Carnochan on the Spain trip in June 2019, and Moreno was struck by how kind she was, even to students she had never taught. Moreno recalled one day when Carnochan went to check on Moreno and her friend, the three of them ended up speaking for two hours. “[She taught me] the importance of being kind and going out of your way to make sure somebody is feeling good and comfortable,” Moreno said. “Making a connection with your students is really the main goal, and if you go above and beyond like she does, you’re going to be remembered as a great teacher.”

Carnochan loved planning and attending school trips, she said. Now that she is retired, she hopes to travel more, and she is considering spending part of each year in Barcelona.

Although she doesn’t have a fixed retirement plan yet, Carnochan has contemplated pursuing writing. In graduate school, one of her professors and his wife “practically adopted” her, and they became her lifelong friends. The professor had been a judge during the Spanish Civil War, so Carnochan said she is considering writing a story that combines his biography with the history he lived through.

Alternatively, she may write a screenplay of a fictionalized version of her own story, she said.

For now, Carnochan is working with Vote Forward and Indivisible to raise the voter turnout for the 2020 election. “I am deeply concerned about the millions of underrepresented people in our country and the all-too-frequent voter apathy of previous elections,” she said. “I am happy to have the time to do something to contribute to the effort to encourage everyone to vote.” Carnochan is writing postcards to Pennsylvania citizens reminding them to vote by mail and letters to send in late October encouraging unlikely Florida voters to vote. She will soon begin text banking for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as well.

Carnochan’s legacy will remain at the school for a long time, Valencia said. “The fundamental wonder of teaching is that what you do, when you leave, remains,” she said. “She is not here, but she has left such a trail of beautiful things and examples and ways of being a wonderful human being. Those things are not going anywhere.”

Courtesy of Susan Carnochan

10

THE RECORD FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Talwar (11) brings beaded benefits Zachary Kurtz Staff Writer In the midst of the pandemic, Arushi Talwar (11) founded The Beadside, a jewelry company which specializes in glass bead bracelets.

A percentage of the company’s profits are donated to Food Bank 4 NYC, New York City’s largest food bank. The Beadside was able to donate enough funds for 250 meals in its first month alone, Talwar said.

Talwar, who is The Beadside’s sole employee, makes all of the bracelets by hand, sourcing the

Courtesy of @TheBeadside

BLINGED OUT Jillian Lee (10) poses in front of greenery.

glass beads from Mandala Crafts Inc. Each time a bracelet is ordered, she personalizes the packaging before sending it to the buyer. Each bracelet costs $13.50 and has a name such as Sunkissed, Sky High, or Nova, according to The Beadside’s website.

“They’re simple and unique at the same time [with] gorgeous color combos,” Hanna Hornfeld (11) said. “The glass beads make them delicate and understated, but you can layer them on for more of a fun statement.”

Talwar also runs the brand’s social media and website. The Beadside’s Instagram page features posts of its brand ambassadors displaying the bracelets and shares updates on the company. The 25 brand ambassadors receive a discount code to share with their social media followers and help The Beadside decide which products to release next, Talwar said.

Talwar initially came up with the idea for The Beadside the week of the school’s closure. Tie Dye for a Good Cause, a small, student-run business, inspired Talwar and gave her an idea of what she wanted to do and how she could accomplish it, she said.

After learning that one in five children in NYC rely on food pantries for their meals, Talwar knew that this was a cause to which she wanted to contribute. “With COVID-19 seeing such high rates of unemployment, I think it is really important for me to do something that could help people who need it most,” she said.

Courtesy of @TheBeadside

Emily Salzhauer Staff Writer

ICE ON HER WRIST Brand embassador models for the Beadside.

“It’s a really fantastic way for both the seller and the buyer to feel as though they are contributing to something bigger than themselves while also personally benefiting, which is my idea of a perfect company,” Dalia Pustilnik (11) said.

Talwar won’t have as much free time during the school year, which may inhibit her from doing as much work on The Beadside. However, The Beadside is just the beginning of Talwar’s work in commerce. After going step by step through the process of creating a business herself, Talwar said that she gained valuable insight into what it takes to establish a brand.

“I know that I want to have a career in business, so I thought that starting The Beadside would be an interesting jumping off point,” Talwar said. “In the future, I definitely want to take more classes in business and marketing, and this is my first step into the field.”

Migdon’s (12) piloting career takes off Alex Lautin Staff Writer

Courtesy of Max Migdon

On August 20, Max Migdon (12) took off on his first solo flight, during which he felt lighter than he ever had before. “I was definitely nervous but also excited at the same time,” he said. “The responsibility of flying the plane was 100% on me.”

For his entire life, Migdon has been interested in flying.

When he was younger, he played with toy airplanes, but in his freshman year, Migdon decided to make his interest in a reality, he said.

“He’s always been fascinated by transportation, ever since he was extremely little,” Max’s father, Andrew Migdon, said. This spring, Migdon was finally old enough to take lessons.

Migdon began flying out of the Brookhaven Calabro Airport in Shirley, New York once school transitioned online in March. “My favorite part [of flying this summer] has been what we call the ‘cross country phase,’” Migdon said. In this learning period, student pilots fly to destinations to which they wouldn’t normally fly, including Hartford, Poughkeepsie, Block Island, and Montauk.

Flying is a huge commitment, Migdon said. This summer, he has been flying for five to six days every week in order to obtain his private pilot license.

The average time it takes to complete the syllabus for the license is six months to a year; however, Migdon, Courtesy of Max Migdon

FLYING HIGH Migdon in the air.

Mavrides-Calder

PROUD PILOT Migdon stands in front of his plane. one of the younger students in a class ranging from 17 to 70 years of age, would be able to complete it in only two months, said Christian Perricone, Migdon’s flight instructor.

The private pilot’s license allows Migdon to fly with friends and family almost anywhere in the United States during the day or night in visual flight conditions.

According to Epic Flight Academy, obtaining the license is the first step towards becoming a professional pilot. On September 4, after taking written tests, logging 78 hours of flying, and taking ground lessons, Migdon became a certified private pilot. Now that he has his license, he hopes to fly recreationally, he said.

In the future, Migdon plans to obtain both his commercial pilot license and airline transport pilot certificate so that he can become a commercial pilot and fly professionally, he said. According to the Pilot Institute, the commercial pilot license requires the pilot to be 18 and allows them to fly for hire. “The private pilot’s license is just the first step,” Migdon said.

The airline transport certificate is the certificate necessary to fly for airlines, and Migdon will have to be 23 and obtain 1,500 hours of flight time to gain this certification, according to the Aopa Foundation. Migdon also hopes to obtain his instrument rating certification this coming year, which will allow him to fly in all conditions, including bad weather, his father said.

Migdon plans to take a break from flying during the school year, but he will resume in the summer after his senior year.

Flying is a dream come true, Migdon said. “When there’s bad weather for a couple of days, you want to get back up in the air and you want to get back to flying,” he said. “You’re always drawn back towards it.”

This summer, Isabel Mavrides-Calderon (10) started a movement called Turn Pain Into Power, which advocates for people with rare disabilities and chronic pain like herself. “I think that it's really important to empower people with chronic pain and show them that it's not a weakness,” she said. She has been publishing her own articles and using Instagram to publicize her message.

Mavrides-Calderon’s desire to advocate began in 2016, when she suffered from a back injury while practicing gymnastics.

She has been coping with chronic pain ever since, she said. In 2019 she had spinal fusion surgery, but her condition did not improve. After the surgery, MavridesCalderon was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a genetic mutation that affects the collagen gene.

After her diagnosis, Mavrides-Calderon experienced ableism — discrimination against those with disabilites — firsthand while at the grocery store with her mother.

“As we left, the cashier screamed at me and called me an entitled, lazy teen for not helping my mom,” she said. “In

Sum Initia

Hong (10) and Yang (10) ser Hannah Katzke Staff Writer This summer, JoJo Hong (10) and Steve Yang (10) have distributed over 150 kits filled with essential items for combatting the pandemic to New York Common Pantry. Together, they started The Societas Project, named after the Latin word for community.

Hong and Yang distribute their hygiene kits at New York City Relief ’s Harlem Outreach Program as well as at New York Common Pantry. Using money from donations, they source their items from different wholesalers, Yang said. They are considering fundraising through holding different drives, he said.

“We often see on television the reports of the suffering and the economic devastation caused by this crisis through numbers, but this showed the human, physical side of it,” Yang said. “This experience and the pandemic as a whole has made me more cherishing and more appreciative of the things I currently have.”

The Societas Project was initially inspired by a webinar given by Lauren Bush, the founder of FEED, a lifestyle brand that donates meals to children around the world, Hong said.

Courtesy of JoJo Hong

HARD AT WORK Hong and Yang prepares their kits fo Hong and Yang initially wanted to provide food and meals in response to the food insecurity caused by the pandemic, she said. But after talking to many food pantries, they realized that food donation programs had already been established, and the pantries told them they had lacked donations in sanitary supplies.

“We adjusted our mission to focus on providing hygiene kits instead of food,” Hong said.

Along with their work at New York City

11

HORACE MANN FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

ron (11) turns pain into power reality, I couldn’t bend or carry heavy things because I had just had surgery.

People shouldn’t assume that they know the reason why someone is or isn’t doing something.”

To spread her message, MavridesCalderon created the Instagram account @powerfullyisa. “I try to post educational posts about how people should treat people with disabilities and how people can make their world more accessible,” she said. “The whole premise of the account is to give able-bodied people and disabled people ways they can make the world a more accessible and inclusive place.”

On her Instagram, MavridesCalderon educates others about the stigma surrounding chronic pain for women, she said. According to a survey conducted done by the National Pain Record, 90% of women with chronic pain say the healthcare system has discriminated against them because of their gender, Mavrides-Calderon wrote on @powerfullyisa. “A lot of times when women complain about pain, they are told that they are hysterical or they are overreacting,” she said.

Mavrides-Calderon has also been featured on the WEGO Health

Song (11) creates cubes for a cause

Foundation, Fight Like A Warrior, and Femme and Focus, all of which are groups that promote awareness for people with chronic pain and disabilities.

Mavrides-Calderon said she enjoyed being interviewed by these organizations because it gave her an opportunity to share her message with many viewers.

One way members of the school can help support her cause is by examining their behavior and language to see if it is unintentionally ableist, MavridesCalderon said. Self-reflection is especially important because many people do not realize that they are playing into ableism, she said.

Lucas Glickman Staff Writer At any given time this summer, 40 individual tiramisus lined the shelves of Lauren Song’s (11) fridge.

In June, Song started Cubes, an online bakery whose profits she will divide and donate to three nonprofit organizations.

Over the course of the summer, Song has hoped to raise $6,000 in profit to donate to The Trevor Project, the Humane Society International, and the Center of Reproductive Rights.

Song has many friends in the LGBTQ+ community, and she hopes her donations to the Trevor Project will help LGBTQ+ youth find a safe space. She also chose to donate to the Humane Society because she cannot volunteer in an animal shelter due to allergies, she said.

Song decided upon the third charity, the Center of

Courtesy of Lauren Song

CUPCAKES GALORE Song whisks up a storm.

After tiramisu, the second most popular order has been Song’s fresh mochi — a traditional Japanese rice cake made with Shiratamako, a glutinous rice flour, and filled with a variety of flavors. Song also sells Japanese cheesecakes, tarts, and cookies, she said.

Now, in a typical week, Song receives most of the orders on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and conducts deliveries on the weekend, she said.

Baking for Cubes is practically a full-time job, and because of the time commitment, Song will temporarily pause operating the bakery until next summer, she said.

Courtesy of @PowerfullyIsa

mmer atives!

rve Societas

she received. Typically, a customer orders around $40 worth of items, or two to four baked goods. Within a few weeks, however, she realized that it was an incredible amount of work and capped the future weekly orders at 10, she said.

Courtesy of Lauren Song

CREAM OF THE CROP Dessert awaits its customers.

Reproductive Rights, because the organization helped defend abortion rights when Louisiana wanted to pass an anti-abortion law.

Initially, Song believed that setting up the online bakery would be easy. However, while she enjoyed the process, merely designing the menu took over a week to accomplish, she said.

Cubes has been a family effort. While Song does the majority of baking, Leonard Song ‘19 is in charge of the logistics and profits of the business. He keeps track of incoming orders, puts them into spreadsheets, and monitors profit, he said. Leonard has always been supportive of his sister, so when she decided that she wanted to start a bakery, he was more than happy to help with the non-baking aspects, he said.

When Cubes first opened, Song accepted every order

Courtesy of Lauren Song

BAKING ME CRAZY Song makes cheesecakes.

Salsberg (12) devotes summer to fantasy football and research Courtesy of Ari Salsberg

Zachary Kurtz Staff Writer “The late nights with a tall glass of seltzer and a bowl of pretzel M&Ms spent toying with our pricing models and website, the three hour Zoom calls devoted to brainstorming ideas for new features, and the notifications in the middle of the night alerting me to IT system issues gave me my first taste of the highs and lows of running a business,” Ari Salsberg (12) said in regards to the fantasy football aid Felix he created over the summer.

Courtesy of Ari Salsberg

or distribution.

Relief ’s Harlem Outreach and New York Common Pantry, Hong and Yang hope to create a club at school with the help of the school’s Center for Community Values and Actions, Yang said. Their club would do the same work as they have been doing with the Societas Project.

“Our goal is to have a platform to reach out to the most people possible, but right now, we are focusing on the Harlem and the Bronx community,” Yang said.

This summer, Salsberg divided his time between designing Felix, a bot that gives users custom fantasy football advice, and interning at Nephron Research, a company that researches healthcare equity. “I came up with the idea for Felix in December of this year when I lost a fantasy football match-up to Eddie Mantz (12),” Salsberg said. “I was really frustrated because I made a decision that — had I actually done my

research — I would not have made.”

When hiring his team, there were over 100 applicants for some positions, Salsberg said. “I wanted to bring people on board who were interested in the idea and believed in the mission. Six-figure salaries and large chunks of equity weren’t on the table.”

Salsberg used online job boards to create a team of eight people — ranging in age and coming from Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. — to help him code Felix. Since Salsberg had no background in technology, this was the biggest challenge he faced, he said. “What I did have — and in large thanks to my time with Model UN — was a strength in working with others: bringing together a team and delegating tasks.”

Felix, which costs $25 for the NFL season, is a cheaper alternative to other similar fantasy football advice platforms, and it is less work for the user than alternative programs, Salsberg said. Ultimately, Felix’s goal is to give people high-quality answers to their fantasy football questions in a convenient fashion.

Salsberg explored and reached out to people he knew, including family friends, to obtain

an internship at Nephron Research. Nephron conducts healthcare equity research, exploring and analyzing healthcare stocks and healthcare companies for investors and investment management firms.

At Nephron, Salsberg was part of a team, spending his time researching and compiling spreadsheets. “I did research that tracked cell phone movement data to analyze trends as to where people in different states were moving [during the coronavirus pandemic],” he said.

“For example, I could track that in Florida, the number of people in retail and grocery stores rose, which not only had fallouts in terms of a rise in [COVID-19] cases, but it was directly connected to the performance of a number of stocks and businesses.”

Salsberg’s internship also taught him many lessons applicable to Felix. “There are a number of skills in regards to collecting data, organizing data, and manipulating it that I took from my internship and used for Felix,” Salsberg said.

“I’ve learned so much from actually doing a project and building something from the ground up.”

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THE RECORD FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

13

STATE OF THE ARTS

HORACE MANN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Visual Arts Department Lauren Ho Staff Writer

The Visual Arts Department will safely continue sparking creativity this year through the use of new studio layouts, individual art kits and cubbies, and smaller art projects To prepare for in-person classes, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly and Director of Facilities Management Gordon Jensen gave recommendations on the setup of each studio depending on the discipline, ceramics teacher Keith Renner said. In the ceramics studio, the desks have been moved to align the perimeter of the room, while the pottery wheels are in a checkerboard format in the middle.

The art studios have been rearranged such that students will be positioned facing forward rather than in a circle while teachers will still be able to walk around, Visual Arts Department Chair Dr. Anna Hetherington said.

Many of the large tables have been replaced with individual desks, and the tables that remain will have

Plexiglass dividers to separate students, she said.

Each student will receive their own art supply kit to avoid sharing materials, Hetherington said. Students will receive their kits on the first day of class, which will be their kit for the entire fall semester for Upper Division students or trimester for Middle Division students, she said The kits will vary by art discipline, Renner said. For ceramics students, the kit may include Fimo clay, which can be baked in an oven to dry, and blank tiles with a few primary colors of glaze, he said.

Each student will have a cubby within the studio to store materials and artwork, Visual Arts teacher Mirrie Choi said.

Because all students’ work must fit in cubbies, students may need to limit the size of their three dimensional artwork to safely store their work for this year, she said.

The darkroom, used for photography classes, is closed for demonstrations since it doesn’t enable proper social distancing, Hetherington said. All demonstrations in the darkroom will be held virtually, with the teacher going into the darkroom by themselves; however, students will also be able to work individually in the darkroom.

Renner said he will also change his teaching methods.

When learning how to throw on the pottery wheel, Renner typically puts his hands over the students’ as the wheel is

spinning to teach them how to shape the clay. Now, he plans to teach it from a distance by demonstrating hand positions with a piece of clay while giving verbal instructions.

Ceramics student Ahana Nayar (10) does not think that the changes to the studio will have a negative impact on her learning. “As long as I’m touching clay and working with it, I’m always learning something new,” she said.

Lian Aydemir (11), who is taking Drawing and Painting 4 this year, does not anticipate any changes to the curriculum of her class. “The methods my art teachers have used do not require us to be physically close, and all of our artwork is individual and small,” she said. “Even through the changes, we, as artists, will always find ways to create our art and express ourselves creatively.”

Theatre, Dance & Film Studies Department Madison Xu Contributing Writer

This year, the Theatre, Dance & Film Studies Department and Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly have replaced the annual fall, winter, and spring productions with smaller monthly performances centered around specific themes or holidays, Chair of the Theatre, Dance & Film Studies Department Alison Kolinski said. The performances will include Haila, a spooky piece in October, a Horace Mann Theatre Company (HMTC) staged reading in November, a virtual studentchoreographed dance concert in January, and female monologues from Shakespeare’s plays in March for Women’s Month.

The performances will be recorded in Gross Theatre and streamed online on the school’s website or a webinar, Kolinski said. The online format will be used both when school is open and when it returns to online learning.

Productions will be sent out for the community to enjoy, theatre teacher Benjamin Posner said.

Smaller-scale performances are more manageable

and flexible towards sudden changes. “We don’t know from week to week what’s going to happen,” Kolinski said. “So if we do simpler or smaller projects, if we have to go from being in person to online, then we can adjust pretty quickly.”

HMTC Co-President Sarah Taub (11) is optimistic about the audiences that will attend virtually. “For people who couldn’t have come to our shows before, such as grandparents or alum, or people who wouldn’t have made the effort to come, it would be much easier [for them] to access the event,” she said.

The Dance Performance classes and Art of Mindfulness Yoga, both of which rely heavily on aerial movement, will transition to appreciation classes or history courses, Kolinski said.

Theatre and design teacher Caitie Miller will limit the sharing of tools when building sets for plays by assigning particular tools to each person in class. Usually her students design the sets, lights, and costumes for bigger productions, but now, students will be creating many smaller projects for these short-term productions instead, Miller said.

Theatre classes like Acting I and Musical Theatre Performance rely heavily on speech and collaboration.

Because students are not allowed to sit and talk in small circles this year, Posner will try to bring his students

Music Department Emily Sun Staff Writer

The Music Department will not allow students to sing or to play wind and brass instruments in school and will move concerts online this year. Though masks or instrument coverings may decrease the spread of respiratory droplets, students will not use them because there is not enough data to prove that they prevent transmission of the coronavirus, music teacher Nathan Hetherington said.

The Choirs, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds Ensemble, and Jazz Combo will use class time to practice the skills they need to record themselves for virtual concerts,music instructor Dr. Amir Khosrowpour said. Students will learn how to sing with a backing track or play to a metronome, frame their camera, look engaged, and position their microphone to capture the clearest audio.

Additionally, ensembles will relocate so that they have more space. Middle Division choirs, Glee Club, Concert Glee Club, and Treble Choir will relocate to Gross Theater. Steel Drum Ensembles will move from their shared room with Jazz Combo and Wind Ensemble to the choral room. Orchestra and String Sinfonietta will remain in the Recital Hall, but students will sit in

the audience as well as onstage to social distance, Hetherington said.

Private music lessons will be virtual and will take place after school, as it is not feasible to open practice rooms and sanitize them after every use or to bring in outside musicians, Khosrowpour said.

For concerts, Sinfonietta and Steel Bands may be able to record their performances as a group, because they are small ensembles that do not include wind or brass instruments, Hetherington said. Orchestra can rehearse together, because they can wear masks while they play, but the group may be too large to film in one room, so students may need to videotape themselves individually. Members of all the other ensembles will rehearse and record separately.

Khosrowpour and music teacher Doug Epstein will work with video editors outside of the school to combine the students’ individual clips into one piece. The ensembles aim to distribute videos on the regular concert schedule, Khosrowpour said.

Concerts will not be the same, music teacher Michael Bomwell said. “[A performance] is an exchange of energy between performer and listener, and you can’t replicate that [online].”

Alex Rosenblatt (10) said taking cues and bouncing ideas off ensemble members are integral parts of Orchestra and Jazz Combo, aspects of playing which will become difficult virtually.

Rather than relying on the group, students will need to know what a song sounds like on their own in order to adjust the rhythm, pitch, and articulation of each note, Hetherington said. It will be a challenge to develop a cohesive sound when

outside as much as possible, he said.

Posner is also brainstorming exercises and activities that do not require the use of voice. Instead of viewing mandatory masks as a setback, his students will use them to build their acting skills. “I do a lot of mask work in my class even before this as mask technique is a form of acting training,” he said.

“So I’m going to incorporate a lot more of that.”

Musical theatre students may also have to record themselves outside of class and share those recordings in place of live performance, Posner said. Posner will teach his students how to record themselves at home by explaining which equipment they should use and how they can achieve the best sound quality.

“I’m nervous simply because of the uncertainty of it,” Bailey Hecht (10) said. However, Hecht hopes that theatre will continue to bring happiness to the school’s community and that the incoming freshman can have similar experiences as her.

the students aren’t playing together, so they will have to show initiative and independence, he said.

It will also be more difficult for ensembles to make connections, Rosenblatt said. Students bond through long dress rehearsals, Secret Santas, and circles in the Black Box before concerts where they put their hands or bows in the center and shout ‘concert starts now!’ he said.

Without those moments, Rosenblatt worries they will lose that familial feeling, and new ensemble members may not want to continue in the future.

However, teachers can use extra class time for bonding exercises to build a sense of camaraderie, Bomwell said. They can also discuss subjects they could not in previous years, like music history, music theory, and sheet music transcription. Bomwell wants students to gain experience in music technology so that they can use Soundtrap, an online music studio, to help edit the videos for their concert.

As the year begins, the Music Department will continue to adjust their plans to keep students safe, help them grow as musicians, and have “meaningful musical moments,” Bomwell said.

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THE RECORD FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Courtesy of Alicia Demaio

gn Editor

Sarah Sun/Desi

Oliver Lewis, Jillian Lee, Lucas Glickman, and Simon Schackner Staff Writers

ALICIA DEMAIO

HISTORY

History teacher Dr. Alicia DeMaio has been immersed in history from an early age. This year, she will be joining the History Department to teach Atlantic World History and United States History. DeMaio said she is excited to teach both classes, as she studied American History with a substantial focus on the Atlantic World at Harvard University. As part of her PhD program at Harvard, DeMaio taught her own class, American History Through Music, offered in the curriculum of the university‘s Pre-College program. The class allowed her to mesh two subjects she is passionate about: history and musical theater, she said. DeMaio was excited to move to New York from Boston to experience the shows that the city has to offer; however, because of the pandemic, she cannot attend any yet. While living in Boston during her PhD program, DeMaio took up figure skating for the first time. To stay busy during quarantine, she has been baking and completing complex puzzles. In high school, DeMaio was drawn to history because of her fascination with the similarities and differences between the way people behave in the past and the present, she said. She volunteered at Brandywine Battlefield in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, which was one of her earliest experiences teaching history. DeMaio was drawn to the school because of its commitment to writing, and she especially loves the school’s numerous student publications, she said. As an avid reader, she is excited to use the Katz Library. Her favorite book is “Moby Dick,” a novel she finds amusing, and her most recent read was Chanel Miller’s memoir, “Know My Name.”

Courtesy of Ally August

STEVEN FABIAN

LAUREN MEYER

History runs in history teacher Dr. Lauren Meyer’s blood. “My father was a history teacher for 40 years, so I grew up learning about history from a very young age,” Meyer said. “As I grew older and studied history as an undergraduate, and then in my doctoral program, I found that learning about history gave me the tools not just to understand the operation of the world around me, but helped to probe my place in it.” Meyer will join the History Department this year to teach Atlantic World History and United States History. “Learning history offers [us] the skills to think critically and specifically about oneself and one’s place in the world — in short, it helps us to be better humans,” she said. Growing up, Meyer’s family vacations incorporated trips to historical sites. She often read historical fiction for fun, and she learned to ask questions about how and why the world looks the way it does now, Meyer said. Prior to earning her PhD in African American Studies from Yale University, she taught high school history for seven years in Massachusetts and New York, focusing on ancient and modern world history, United States history, and sexual politics.

Meyer also taught classes at Yale University in the African American Studies Department such as Black Freedom Struggles, Civil Rights and Women’s Liberation and African American History: Emancipation to the Present.With two young children at home, Meyer has had an active summer that involved hikes, beach trips, and playing in the garden, she said. During quarantine, Meyer said she learned to be more present, to heal, and to be thankful through a “gratitude group” with her friends. On March 1, Meyer gathered with some friends who decided to share a list of what they are grateful for each day, a habit she has continued since then. “I can remember every day to be thankful for something like my breath, which during the time of COVID-19, is truly something to be grateful for,” she said.

Gabby Fischberg/Art Director

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Courtesy of Ally August

“Students at Horace Mann may find me making exaggerated facial expressions from time to time,” history teacher Dr. Steven Fabian said. “One can’t live with a mime for over two years and not come away with a heightened sense of how to use one’s eyebrows.” Fabian’s entry into teaching children began when he worked as an au pair for a family in Vienna, Austria when he was 19, where the family’s father was a former mime and stage performer. Fabian will be teaching Atlantic World History and Asia and Africa Since 1945 this year. This summer, Fabian co-edited a special issue of the New York University History Journal, Radical History Review, which highlights the ways in which people were able to break past the gatekeepers of media organizations and governments to share stories that were otherwise suppressed or distorted by people in power, he said. Previously, Fabian taught for 13 years at the State University of New York at Fredonia. Fabian’s classes focused on African history; however, Fabian has also taught classes such as World History Since 1500, Ending Empire, and Struggles of Nation Building, which cover similar material as the classes he will teach this year. Fabian said he was drawn to teaching history by the stories his grandparents shared about their early lives during the Great Depression and World War II. With an urban historian background, Fabian is fascinated by how diverse peoples learn to live in shared spaces, how people come to identify with cities, and how cities grow and develop over time with dynamic population groups. “I love cities, a reason that drew me to Horace Mann, situated as it is in New York City,” Fabian said. In his free time, Fabian hikes and reads for pleasure. During quarantine, Fabian set aside an hour each day to read for leisure. This summer, he completed Amitav Ghosh’s epic “Ibis” trilogy, a historical fiction set during the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China in 1839-1840, which he highly recommends, he said.

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COLLEGE COUNSELING

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Courtesy of Ally August

JENNIE KIM

Courtesy of Osdany Morales

OSDANY MORALES

Spanish teacher Dr. Osdany Morales, who has written two novels, will be teaching Spanish 2 Honors and Spanish 4 this year. Morales was born in Cuba and spent his undergraduate years studying architecture, going on to work as an architect in Havana, Cuba for two years. During his time at university in Cuba, Morales developed a passion for fiction. “I was reading a ton of books and decided that I was just going to start writing some myself,” he said. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in architecture, Morales published his first work of writing, a series of short stories titled “Minuciosas Puertas Estrechas.” He moved to New York in 2011, where he received his PhD at New York University in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature. While studying at New York University, he published his second book, “The Last Librarian,” an award-winning novel about a writer who honors his muses through creating literature. Morales will emphasize teaching his students about Spanish culture. This includes reading poems by popular Spanish poets, such as “Pablo Neruda,” and watching Spanish movies, alongside teaching the actual language, he said. “It does not make sense to separate the language from the culture that comes with it,” he said. Although Morales taught Spanish at NYU, he will face an entirely new challenge teaching high school Spanish classes, he said. “Teaching people who are just beginning to interact with the language is a good test for me,” he said. “I will have to adjust.” Spanish Department Chair Pilar Valencia is looking forward to having Morales join the department. “Dr. Morales impressed us with his professionalism, his calm demeanor, and the intelligently crafted and clear lessons he prepared during the interview process,” she said. “I’m confident that students are in for a treat.”

MATH

Associate Director of College Counseling Jennie Kim — a self-taught calligrapher and an avid Yelp reviewer — will be joining the College Counseling Department this year. Having grown up in New Jersey, Kim is looking forward to returning to the Tri-state area after working at the Noble and Greenough School in Massachusetts. Kim has worked at independent schools all over the world, including the Bugil Academy GLP in South Korea and the Iolani School in Hawaii. “I’m excited to plant my roots and get to know Horace Mann as a school, culture, and community,” Kim said. At the University of Pennsylvania, Kim majored in Psychology while working in academic counseling, which led her to find an occupational niche: college counseling, a job she believes fits her best, she said. “This allows me to be that liaison between motivated students and their end goals.” Kim has a master’s degree in Counseling, which is a bit unusual for college counselors at independent schools, Executive Director of College Counseling Canh Oxelson said. Her prior experience with student wellness and health will make her an invaluable addition to the school’s community, he said.

Kim’s philosophy is to instill self-esteem in her students regarding every decision they make while still stressing the importance of family involvement in the college process, she said. She has found that every student has their own story to share, with their own goals, priorities, and family values.

For the first half of this coming school year, Kim will learn about the school’s traditions and the technicalities of the College Counseling Office, Oxelson said. She will also be assigned members of the Class of 2022 to help them research colleges. Although Kim will not be assigned any seniors, she will proofread their essays and prepare them for interviews.

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WELCOME NEW UPPER DIVISION FACULTY

SPANISH

HORACE MANN FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Courtesy of Varun Prabakar

Courtesy of Juan Auli

VARUN PRABAKAR Not long ago, math teacher Varun Prabakar was on stage performing a satirical song at the Second City, a comedy club in Chicago. Now, Prabakar will be teaching Geometry and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry at the school. At Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, Prabakar studied statistics and probability, two of his favorite mathematical topics, he said.

After Wharton, Prabakar worked at Hard Eight Futures, a proprietary trading firm. The firm uses statistics and other types of math to make educated bets on the stock market and invests in it. Prabakar is looking forward to teaching in a new work environment. “Everybody seemed so self-critical,” he said. “They held themselves up to a very high standard as teachers.” He said he seeks to push these standards of teaching even further. In his classes, Prabakar hopes to show students the beauty of math and its importance in the real world. “It offers as much room for creativity as any other subject,” he said. Problem solving in math directly translates to problem solving skills in the real world, he said. This is a discovery to which he aims to lead his students. Prabakar’s interests extend far beyond math and business. He is also a devoted comedian, and he specializes in sketch comedy, which is a short series of acted-out scenes, such as those seen on Saturday Night Live. Prabakar spends lots of time writing sketch comedy, and he has participated in improv comedy at the Second City, he said.

JUAN AULI

An avid soccer fan who likes to play the sport during his free time, math teacher Dr. Juan Auli will join the Mathematics Department to teach Geometry and PreCalculus AB. Auli was born in Colombia and lived there during high school and college. He later received a PhD in mathematics from Dartmouth College. “During my PhD, I learned that math has no boundaries,” Auli said. “We can always learn more.” Two of Auli’s favorite aspects of math are number theory and combinatorics, which he studied as part of his PhD program. “They are such seemingly simple topics that really have so much complexity in them,” he said. In his free time, Auli likes to listen to Ambulante, his favorite podcast, he said. The podcast discusses Latin American news stories that are often not reported in the mainstream media, according to its website. Auli has spent most of the summer relaxing and reviewing the course material for his classes. This year, Auli said he hopes to see his students express themselves creatively through math. “I want to counter the narrative that math is just a set of rules,” he said. Auli will try to spark his students’ interest in math through math-related games like Magic Squares, a game in which the player attempts to create a square divided into smaller squares of integers, such that the rows, columns and diagonals all equal the same sum. “They make complicated topics, such as probability, much easier to understand,” he said. Math Department Chair Meghan Fergusson said the department is lucky to welcome somebody as educated and invested in math as Auli, and she looks forward to learning from him in the years to come. “He is engaging, and he loves to talk about why math is interesting and meaningful,” she said. “I have no doubt that students will love him.”

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THE RECORD FEATURES SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

COMPUTER SCIENCE

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Courtesy of Ally August

SAMUEL GRUNEBAUM

All the way from Malaga, Spain, computer science teacher Samuel Grunebaum is bringing his technological knowledge to the school, where he will teach Programming in Python, Computer Science 2, and Mobile App Development. Grunebaum is particularly fascinated by how computers run programs, connect to the Internet, and connect to other devices. He enjoys teaching because it allows him to learn while helping others learn. “Teaching helps me think about things in new ways constantly,” Grunebaum said. When deciding where to teach, Grunebaum was drawn to the school because of its students’ interest in discussing advanced subjects, he said. “My impression of Horace Mann is that there’s a lot of really driven students there who are really enthusiastic about learning.” After deciding to apply to teach at the school, computer science teacher Lester Lee, a former college classmate of Grunebaum, helped Grunebaum learn more about life at the school. “He had a lot of positive things to say about his first year working at Horace Mann, so that definitely drew me to apply and to ultimately start working here,” Grunebaum said. While Grunebaum is excited to teach his computer science courses, he also hopes to participate in the music program at the school, he said. He has been playing piano since he was five, and he performed in New York City jazz clubs in high school.

SAMUEL GRUEN

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FRENCH

Computer science teacher Samuel Gruen ‘04 will be returning to the school to spearhead the expansion of the engineering section of the Computer Science Department. “This is kind of a homecoming for me,” Gruen said. Gruen, who will be teaching Introduction to Engineering, said he is looking forward to working with students who have new perspectives on engineering problems. “While Mr. Gruen certainly has computing experience, his degree is in industrial engineering and bringing a product to and through development and into production is really his expertise,” Dean of Faculty Dr. Matthew Wallenfang said. After his graduation from the school, Gruen attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he majored in History. Gruen later attended New York University and earned his Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering. Gruen used his engineering experience at the Mount Sinai health system to improve the flow of patients in and out of the hospital, the patient registration, and the electronic medical record systems in which patient information is held, he said.

This summer, Gruen also worked with a company to open a COVID-19 testing facility based in Manhattan that will process as many as 40,000 tests per day. Gruen considered teaching for many years, and he felt that this teaching position at the school would be a good fit for him, he said. “When I was thinking about what I wanted to do next in my career, I thought back on what I enjoyed the most, and it was working with other people on my team or others in an organization and mentoring,” Gruen said. Additionally, Gruen wants his Introduction to Engineering class to spend time working in the engineering lab, he said. “I hope students come to the classroom really excited to get their hands dirty, figuratively and literally.”

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Courtesy of Samuel Gruen

Courtesy of The St. Johns’s School Review Courtesy of Rollins College Flickr

STELLA VINCENOT-DASH

“Whatever the level of French [is] or the class I’m teaching, what is most important for me is to give my students a love for French and Francophone culture,” said French teacher Stella Vincenot-Dash, who will be teaching French 2, 3, and 3 Honors. After studying in France and the Caribbean, Vincenot-Dash received her PhD in French Literature and French from New York University. Prior to coming to the school, she was a lecturer at Rollins College. She is adamant about providing her students with the best education possible by staying informed about the latest educational tools, World Languages Department Chair Pilar Valencia said.

Education has had a tremendous impact on her life, Vincenot-Dash said. “It’s one of the most important jobs because it really allows a person to experience things beyond what they would experience in their family, for example, or their community.” Additionally, Vincenot-Dash values the school because it is an inclusive environment where education can thrive. “I know it’s a community I trust,” Vincenot-Dash said. “It’s a community for which the question of diversity is very important.” Vincenot-Dash is witty, intelligent, and charming, and she will form wonderful connections with her pupils, Valencia said. Vincenot-Dash’s students can expect to be fully engaged and always on their feet in her class, she said. “A school with students [that] are very motivated and the emphasis put into academic achievement was really appealing,” Vincenot-Dash said. “I look forward to getting to know them and contribute to the school.”

Gabby Fischberg/Art Director

JOHN TOMCZAK

A decade ago, computer science teacher John Tomczak entered high school and was introduced to computer science for the first time. He immediately became intrigued by the subject, and now, he hopes to inspire the same enthusiasm in his students. He will be teaching Introduction to Python, Introduction to Java, and AP Computer Science. While Tomczak knew he wanted his career to be centered around computer science since high school, he did not consider teaching until his senior year of college, when he reflected on his positive experience with his high school teachers. “I love those people,” he said. “I don’t know why I wouldn’t try to be that.”

Tomczak’s first teaching experience was at the St. Johns School in Houston, Texas, where he not only taught computer science courses and electives, but also coached the golf team, assisted in running a finance study group, and chaperoned programming competitions. After leaving Houston and temporarily moving home to Buffalo to teach virtually, Tomczak was drawn to the school because of its reputation of having excellent teachers, students, and curriculums, he said.

Tomczak then met with Dean of Faculty Dr. Matthew Wallenfang and learned that the school’s Computer Science Department is significantly larger than that of his previous school, where he was one of two teachers in the department. “I was shocked and thrilled by the prospect of having a full department with a full department head,” Tomczak said. During the summer, Tomczak and his family spent time outdoors in Buffalo, often sailing, golfing, wakeboarding, or water skiing.

Tomczak is eager to meet students and faculty in person this fall, he said. “I’m looking forward to bringing what I learned over to you guys, but also learning how to adapt to the culture, the systems, the needs, and the desires of Horace Mann.”

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WELCOME NEW MIDDLE DIVISION FACULTY

Emma Colacino, Jillian Lee, Lucas Glickman and Katya Tolunsky Staff Writers

FRENCH

HORACE MANN MIDDLE DIVISION SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Courtesy of Ally August

CAITIE MILLER

“In the theatre, you get to create something wild and insane,” Theatre design teacher and Technical Director Caitie Miller said. “It lasts for three weeks, 50 people see it, and then it’s gone.”

Miller will be joining the Theater, Dance & Film Studies Department to help run schoolwide productions and teach both Middle and Upper Division design and technical theatre classes.

Beyond that, Miller will be a mentor to students interested in the technical aspect of theatre, involving lighting and prop design, Theatre, Dance & Film Studies Department Chair Alison Kolinski said. Prior to joining the school, Miller graduated from a three year master’s program in Design and Theatre Technology at Brooklyn College. During her third year as a student, she taught a college-level course called Introduction to Design and worked in the scene shop. Miller wants to offer a course similar to the one she taught at the college level, in which students’ work will be used in schoolwide plays, she said. “I first found that I loved teaching when I was working with younger students in my undergrad scene shop,” Miller said. “Watching them grow from complete novices to competent carpenters was a delight, and I look to recapture that feeling in all my classes.” Kolinski was struck by Miller’s spectacular scenic and lighting designs. Miller is wellrounded, as she specializes in design and technology but also has experience in stage managing and designing costumes, Kolinski said. Miller will be the first female theatre design teacher and Technical Director at the school. Kolinski is particularly excited for her to join the department because she will be a role model for female students interested in technology and design, Kolinski said. This year, Miller will be ready to “go with the flow,” and she will be crucial in helping the Theatre Department with any technological changes, Kolinski said.

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ANNA SALZMAN

“Horace Mann has kind of remained my home in my heart,” French teacher Anna Salzman ’09 said. “It’s a very exciting moment to realize I’ve gone from pupil to teacher.” After graduating from Horace Mann, Salzman attended Johns Hopkins University, where she double majored in French and Art History. She then lived in France for three years, where she continued to study French and taught English to students. Salzman later received her master’s degree in History and Literature from Columbia University and conducted research on 19th century French travel literature for two years at Yale University. Last year, she taught French at the Princeton Charter School in Princeton, New Jersey.

Salzman said her love of teaching evolved from her love of learning. “I think the life of the mind is something Horace Mann emphasized when I was there, which just stuck with me.” She loves French for a number of reasons, in part because of its ability to open one’s mind to other worlds and cultures.

“French is like yoga: you can feel your flexibility grow as you put more time into it,” she said. “As I became more and more literate in French, I’ve had access to more of their art and culture and poetry and novels.” Salzman is grateful that she knows the school well and said it will be an advantage when starting her job. “One of the privileges I have as an alumna is that I have lived the experience that you guys are going through,” she said. “I’ll relate to what you’re going through and I’ll hopefully be able to offer some wisdom.” Outside of teaching, Salzman enjoys watching French films, listening to music, attending concerts, and taking photos, she said.

SCEINCE

THEATRE

Courtesy of Caitie Miller

Courtesy of Ally August

NOAH KAMINSKY KAMIN

With five years of teaching experience, Noah Kaminsky is eager to join the Middle Division Science Department to teach seventh grade. “I’m looking forward to being a part of a collaborative science team that does something really great for the students,” he said. Kaminsky grew up in Riverdale and attended Cornell University, where he majored in the Science of Earth Systems with a focus on geochemistry and received a master’s degree in teaching. His father is a research scientist and his mother practices intellectual property law for chemical inventions. “I don’t think there was ever any question about what I was going to do with my life, because science has always been something that’s been a family value,” Kaminsky said. Although Kaminsky didn’t plan on becoming a teacher, he harbored a love for teaching from a young age. “I’ve always been able to communicate with young people well,” he said. After receiving his master’s degree, Kaminsky began teaching science at a public school in East Harlem. “It was a classic inner-city teaching experience — high-need school, limited resources,” he said. “It was tough, but it taught me a lot about management and how schools, staff, and students operate.” Kaminsky then taught at Hunter College High School for four years. Outside of teaching, he coaches and writes about track and field and coaches and trains at a pole vaulting club. Kaminsky is looking forward to working in the neighborhood in which he grew up, and he is excited about the school in particular. “Ultimately, Horace Mann is a really well-rounded and well-respected school,” he said. “Everyone who I interviewed with was really friendly and welcoming, so it seemed like a really nice place to be.”

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THE RECORD MIDDLE DIVISION SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Q: What is the best way to keep track of homework? What do you do when you feel like you have too much? Is it worth it to stress out?

A: The planners that the school provides are very helpful. With a spot for each period, the planner makes it easy to write down and organize your assignments. If the teacher tells you the homework in class, you should write it down then. As you complete the assignments you can check them off. If you feel as if you have too much work, you can meet with your teacher or advisor who can help you manage the assignments and stress. It’s also good to take breaks from work to do things that help you relax if you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed. It’s not worth it to stress. As long as you tell your teachers and advisor about what’s overwhelming you, they will understand and help you work through it. - Naina Mehrotra Q: What would you tell your

younger self at the beginning of sixth grade?

A: I would tell my younger self at the beginning of sixth grade to not be afraid to ask questions in class/meet with teachers because the more you involve yourself in the class the more you will be able to really understand the concepts. If you ever need help on a certain topic in your class it is always good to email your teachers so that they can help you understand it better.

- Skylar Fraser

Q: How do I keep my backpack light? It was very heavy in fifth grade.

A: Lockers! At my old school, there were no lockers. Take advantage of your lockers. Seriously. Go to your locker before A period and get all of your class stuff for A to lunch, and then after lunch get all of the things you’ll need for afternoon classes. Then, at the end of the school day, go to your locker, look at your planner, and only bring home what you need.

- Lexi Lawsky

Q: How do you get around school in the first few weeks if you’re new and don’t know where everything is?

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A: The schedules might look like a bunch of scrambled letters and

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numbers, but when you understand how they work (whether it’s your advisor explaining to you or a mentor), it’s much easier

to navigate. Part of getting to know the layout of HM is just

first-person experience. I’m sure anyone on campus will be glad to give you directions if you’re lost, though.

- Emily Wang

Q: How different is Middle School from fifth grade? Was it hard to adjust?

A: Coming into Middle School, I was new to HM.

Before the first day, I was super nervous and didn’t know what to expect. But once I stepped foot onto the campus as a student, I realized that everyone here is super supportive and encouraging, and I quickly

grew to love the community.

- Ellen Wang

Q: How do you make friends at a school filled with new people?

A: The easiest way to make friends is to put yourself out there. Be the one to make the first move — whether it’s complimenting their clothes, asking a question, or simply just saying “hi, what’s your name?” Keep in mind that there are a ton of new people just like yourself, so it’s not like everyone’s got a pack of friends already. If you’re feeling shy, then fake your confidence, and I can guarantee that after a while, you won’t be

faking anymore.

- Nikita Pande

MD ADVICE:

EIGHTH GRADERS GIVE THEIR FIVE CENTS

Gabby Fischberg/Art Director

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HORACE MANN LIONS’ DEN AND MIDDLE DIVISION SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

Lions trapped in the den: intramural fall season Louise Kim Staff Writer Although the Ivy Preparatory School League decided not to operate its interscholastic fall athletics program, fall athletes will participate in a new intraschool athletics program, Director of Athletics, Health, and Physical Education Robert Annunziata wrote in the UD Athletics Reopening Plan and Protocols in an email sent on September 1.

“Although the decision to cancel fall interscholastic play was difficult for all of us who are passionate about the value of interschool competition, our coaches and staff are eager to start the fall 2020 season,” he wrote.

The season, which starts on September 23, will offer each sport as one all-inclusive program with no cuts or distinction between Varsity and Junior Varsity (JV) teams. “This combined critical mass of student athletes gives us the number of participants to provide competitive and spirited intramural play,” Annunziata wrote in the email.

The Reopening Plan states that each sports team will be divided into cohorts of five to 10 athletes. The socially distanced cohorts will be consistent day-to-day, and different cohorts will not train together.

Coaches will review team-specific expectations, plans, protocols, and additional state guidelines during orientation meetings on September 14. The following five days will replace typical preseason practices. All athletes will participate in afterschool training sessions in their cohorts to build individual skills and cardiovascular conditioning and provide

athletes and coaches with the opportunity to become familiar with the Reopening Plan. After completing the training sessions, teams will hold traditional practices. Coaches may choose A/B alternating day schedules to facilitate the need for practices and competitions or allow for another team to have full facility access,

education.

“All involved agreed to go their separate ways in terms of how best to handle the various athletic programs and teams representing each school,” Kelly said. “In light of HM’s athletic success — virtual practices and team meetings — during the spring semester online, the

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

Annunziata wrote in the plan.

Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly wrote in an email that the athletic directors representing the Ivy League spent much of the summer considering the fall athletic season. By the last week in August, the majority of the schools did not believe that a fall interschool season was viable given the restrictions on physical

decision was made to move forward with an intramural athletic program.”

Volleyball player Clementine Bondor (10) is excited about the potential of the new sports program. “Overall, the most important part is the team spirit,” she said. “The excitement about the game isn’t going anywhere, nor is the ambition to drill and perfect skills, or the team

support when someone reaches a goal toward which they’ve been working for a long time, and that’s what makes the game so incredible to watch and fun to play.”

The volleyball team met on Zoom on September 1 to discuss new protocol, such as wearing masks unless a match is in session, staggering practice times, and disinfecting equipment, Bondor said. “It’s reassuring to know that so much is being done to keep us safe, and I’m really grateful.”

Some of the downsides to the intraschool program are that players won’t have the opportunity to enjoy bonding trips at away games, play in other schools’ gyms, or see their friends at other schools, Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach Jason Torres said. Similarly, interschool tournaments were an opportunity for many coaches in the league to catch up with each other, but most coaches won’t be able to see each other for a long time, he said.

Athletes will also miss annual interschool traditions. This year, the Boys Varsity Soccer team was scheduled to play on Alumni Field during Homecoming, which would have given the players even more support from the crowd than usual, Jake Federman (12) said. Federman was excited to feel the crowd’s energy and potentially send the fans home happy by securing a win.

Jonas Jacobson (12), who was due to complete his football career as a senior, will focus on fostering a connection between upperclassmen and underclassmen, creating a sense of unity, and building a winning culture, he said.

Fuks (6), classmates bring joy to Queens Hospital Center Vidhatrie Keetha Staff Writer “In the midst of hell, this was a very nice glimpse of hope and humanity,” said Dr. Aleksandr Fuks, the Director of the OB/GYN Department at Queens Hospital Center.

Towards the end of April, Aleksandr’s daughter, Abey Fuks (6), and her fifthgrade classmates wrote about 15 to 20 letters to different units in the department her father oversees. Now, the letters are displayed in the hospital’s Labor and Delivery department on a colorful poster board Abey created.

“It’s like a little shrine that they started,” Aleksandr said. “Everyone was so touched and very positively affected by it.”

The students discussed how they could give back to their community throughout the spring, said Emily Perelman, who was Abey’s fifth grade teacher. “As soon as we got online, and started talking about what was happening around us, there were definitely some sparks of ideas among the fifth graders about how we can help.”

After mentioning that her father was a healthcare worker, Abey told Perelman over a Zoom call that she wanted to involve other students in the process of writing letters to the hospital where he worked, Perelman said.

Even though Abey had initially pitched the idea to her teacher, Abey and her classmates spearheaded the project, Perelman said. “I was just like a cheerleader and told them how proud I was of them,” she said. “I was so impressed at the initiative they took to send love and positivity and

appreciation to those caring for members of our community.”

Abey was inspired to write the letters by the stories her father told her about what he and his colleagues went through during the pandemic, she said.

“I think pairing [that] up with what she had to go through, sitting at home during quarantine, she felt compelled to support us,” Aleksandr said.

Although Abey’s classmates each wrote individual letters thanking the healthcare Courtesy of Helen Vaysman

STANDING PROUD Abey holds up her sign. workers outside of class, some of her classmates wrote their letters together online, she said.

Mischa Abend (6) was honored to have been included in the project, she said. “I

thanked the healthcare workers for risking their and their families’ lives to help others,” she said. “I [thought] that if they saw those letters, it would empower them to keep on going and doing what they’re doing.”

Jane Rosenblum (6) said writing the letters was a touching experience. “It made me feel grateful,” she said. “And that [the healthcare workers] are actually going to read what I wrote, and that’s really special, because I know that what they’re doing is really hard.”

The impact of Abey and her classmates’ letters was visible in the recipients’ reactions. “The nurses were so happy, some of them cried,” Aleksandr said. “Some of them have children and grandchildren around the same age, and they were so happy that some of them said you know what, I’ll tell my children to do the same thing.”

Gloria Sacco, who works as a Physician Assistant in the OB/GYN department, said the letters provided much needed distraction from the work at hand. She remembers walking into Labor and Delivery and seeing Abey’s note, which had caught her attention because of how similar the handwriting was to that of her son, who is the same age as Abey.

The letters helped boost morale in the hospital, which was hit hard by the pandemic in March and April, Sacco said. “We work in a city hospital in an underserved area and I feel like we work really hard, and sometimes that pat on the back doesn’t come so often,” she said. “To see the letters pouring in definitely cheered us up and encouraged us to keep going.”

To convey their gratitude, the staff sent a card to Abey and her classmates, Aleksandr

said. The students were additionally recognized for their efforts in a letter addressed to them from the hospital itself.

The letter demonstrated the impact the students’ actions had on others, Perelman said. “We spend a lot of time in the Lower Division talking about emotional intelligence and being able to understand how other people are feeling,” she said. “I was so happy that they were recognized, because it was really important work.”

Abey said she and her classmates were proud to have made an impact. The recognition showed her that the healthcare workers had been affected positively by the letters she had written, she said.

The students’ actions reflect their character, Aleksandr said. “The fact that Abey and her friends and classmates found in their heart the desire to make others’ lives a bit easier and better by writing these letters tells us something about these kids,” he said.

Courtesy of Helen Vaysman

WRITING ON THE WALL Board displays letters.

20

THE RECORD OPINIONS SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020

So you’re new to the Upper Division...

this enough: failing a test or essay is not the end of the world. Don’t be too hard on yourself — you will bounce back.

“Hey Ben, how do I decide on what extracurriculars to do?”

In the UD, you may find yourself overwhelmed with an enormous list of extracurriculars to choose from.

It’s up to you to find and pursue activities that are of interest to you. I know this may sound crazy, but a quick way to accomplish this is to sign up for everything that remotely interests you at the clubs’ fair. By doing this, you can sample a wide range of activities and filter out those that are most meaningful. By managing club announcements, you can get involved in a variety of activities that don’t overlap. If you want to write for a publication, play a sport, and volunteer at a local school, go for it!

As you try to balance school and extracurricular life, you may think it’s best to be involved in everything. That’s what colleges want, right? Well, no.

Remember you shouldn’t do any extracurricular activities “for college”; you should do them for yourself and for the people with whom you will interact. You should do what you love to do, and hopefully you do that really well. The most important thing you can do is leave free time for yourself. I certainly can be a “try-hard,” but I promise that high school is just high school. Never push yourself past your physical and mental limits. Go outside, take a nap, or ask Yana to serenade you. School can be draining at times, but a nice break will make a world of a difference.

Yana Gitelman and Ben Feldman Dear new students, So, you’re starting HM this week. We know you probably have plenty of questions. Good thing we’re here to help!

“Ben, what major changes can I expect in the Upper Division (UD)?”

“What are the best ways for incoming students to make friends?”

One of the most prominent differences Gabby Fi schberg/ Art Direc that you may notice are smaller class sizes. Given tor that the median class size is 13 students, you’ll have many opportunities to participate and work in small groups. I’m no social butterfly, but the teachers and students in the UD encourage collaboration and communication.

Remember it’s just as important to build relationships with teachers outside the classroom as it is in class. Whether setting up a one-on-one meeting or sending an email at 2 a.m. (don’t do that), you’ll have many opportunities to ask your teachers questions, go over tests, or rant about what’s on your mind.

The workload increases, and it’s better to accept that the work is going to come than to deny that it will. Remember that there is no formula for tackling a heavy workload: you just need to find a method that works best for you. Lastly, whether you’re coming from the Middle Division (MD) or another school, chances are you won’t be used to having as much free time throughout the day as you do here. Find a way to be productive, but also use the time to relax. If you see Yana or me in the library or halls, don’t hesitate to show some love!

Even though it may not seem like it, every new student is in the same awkward boat. Whether you’ve been at the school since kindergarten or are just starting this year, high school is a fresh start. Nonetheless, there is an outgoing student body that will be eager to meet and learn all about you. Use extracurriculars to meet peers with similar interests. Class is also a great time to collaborate, whether through a simple ice-breaker or a longer group project. With such a diverse student body, you will be constantly surprised by your classmates’ backgrounds and talents.

Remember: there is NO formula for making friends. Be yourself, and people will come to you. Finally, if you have a relationship with an upperclassmen in any capacity, ask them for advice. We’re writing this article to help you, but this shouldn’t be the only time that you seek our help. Upperclassmen are approachable, so please talk to us — we’re bored and tired, and our knowledge is so vast that we’ll surely have the answers to all your questions.

“Yana, how do you cope with the workload?”

“Yana, you haven’t spent enough time talking about yourself. Please tell us, what do you wish you knew going into high school?”

First, know that we have full faith that you will be able to handle it. My first piece of advice is to be organized. You can try out Google Calendars or pick up a planner in the front office or bookstore. Use the first couple of weeks to figure out where and when you work best.

Use your free periods to your advantage, especially if you’re busy after school with work or extracurriculars. A wonderful physics teacher once said, “if you can explain something, you really understand it.” (Thanks, Mr. Z!) To study for a test or quiz, try explaining key concepts to a classmate, a sibling, or the scoreboard on Alumni Field.

I won’t tell you not to procrastinate. Instead, I’ll tell you to do so productively. While putting off that English essay, get your biology project done. Work in spurts if that floats your boat.

If you feel like you’re falling behind, you’re not alone! You have tons of resources available to you. Introduce yourself to your teachers sooner rather than later, and tell them what you’re struggling with. No matter what it is, your teacher will be happy to help you. I cannot stress

First, I wish I hadn’t compared myself to others so much. Do not be afraid to speak out and share your ideas! Don’t hesitate to go to older members of a club with ideas or to raise your hand in class. Second, focus on the present. Don’t stress yourself out unnecessarily early and miss out on valuable time to hang out with your friends and discover what you’re interested in. Lastly, use your resources! Meet with your teachers!

Chances are they’ll have a pep talk or some study tips for you, and you’ll start to foster a helpful relationship.

If you are struggling, do not hesitate to go to Guidance and Counseling or another faculty member you feel comfortable with. Overall, if you need something, just ask.

Peace, Yana and Ben

EDITORIAL Black lives matter. Throughout this summer, members of our school and the greater United States have protested against police brutality and systemic racism.

The Record Volume 118 Editorial Board stands with the collective voices that have called out racial injustice across the country and strives to be a part of the effort that is working within our own community to create an actively anti-racist environment.

In this regard, The Record strongly supports Black Students Demanding Change (BSDC), which has successfully advocated for immediate institutional reform.

As BSDC has demanded the school confront and act upon its biases, The Record is also committed to self-examination. We have created The Record’s first Code of Ethics to outline proper reporting practices as well as our first Diversity and Inclusion guide, which instructs our writers on how to empathetically report on communities to which they do not belong. In the coming weeks, we will publish articles on issues including the use of social media within the BLM movement and short takes from students on books, films, and other media that have inspired

education and action; throughout the year, we expect our coverage to span issues relevant to a multitude of different identities and communities.

But as the school reflects on its shortcomings, we too recognize our own; we acknowledge that the diversity of our editorial board does not adequately represent the diversity of our school’s student body. We are and will always be constantly seeking new perspectives. If you would like to write specifically for our Opinions section or for The Record as a whole, please contact us at record@horacemann.org at any point this year.

In this regard, we also encourage the community to hold us to the highest standard.

If you are unsatisfied with the content or presentation of an article, please send us a Letter to the Editor, which we will print in our next issue, or contact us by email for continued dialogue. Actively listening and engaging in discussion are essential steps to change, and The Record Volume 118 is dedicated to promoting both this year.

Volume 118 Editorial Board Managing Editor Talia Winiarsky News Sam Chiang Yesh Nikam Marina Kazarian

Features Henry Owens Emily Shi Vivien Sweet

Opinions Maurice Campbell Avi Kapadia Natalie Sweet

A&E Izzy Abbott Abby Beckler Oliver Steinman

Editor-in-Chief Julia Goldberg Lions’ Den Yotam Hahn Alison Isko Josh Underberg

Middle Division Adrian Arnaboldi Bradley Bennett Jack Crovitz

Staff Staff Writers Devin Allard-Neptune, Chloe Choi, Emma Colacino, Yin Fei, Lucas Glickman, Claire Goldberg, Liliana Greyf, Lauren Ho, Hanna Hornfeld, Oliver Lewis, Rowan Mally, Walker McCarthy, Morgan Smith, Arushi Talwar, Katya Tolunsky, Nathan Zelizer, Max Chasin, Alex Lautin, Jillian Lee, Hannah Katzke, Vidhatrie Keetha, Louise Kim, Clio Rao, Ayesha Sen, Emily Salzhauer, Emily Sun Staff Photographers Kelly Troop, Sophie Gordon, Amanda Wein, Emma Colacino, AJ Walker, Lucas Glickman, Lauren Ho Staff Artists Eliza Becker, Felix Brenner, Riva Vig

Issues Editor Adam Frommer Design Ally August Lowell Finster John Mauro Sarah Sun

Art Annabelle Chan Gabby Fischberg Lauren Kim Rachel Zhu

Photography Jackson Feigin Julia Isko Maxwell Shopkorn

Faculty Advisor David Berenson

Editorial Policy About Founded in 1903, The Record is Horace Mann School’s awardwinning weekly student newspaper. We publish approximately 30 times during the academic year, offering news, features, opinions, arts, Middle Division and sports coverage relevant to the school community. The Record serves as a public forum to provide the community with information, entertainment, and an outlet for various viewpoints. As a student publication, the contents of The Record are the views and work of the students and do not necessarily represent those of the faculty or administration of the Horace Mann School. Horace Mann School is not responsible for the accuracy and contents of The Record and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein.

Editorials All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar, and layout are made by the senior editorial board. The unsigned editorial represents the opinion of the majority of the board.

Opinions Opinion columns represent the viewpoint of the author and not of The Record or the school. We encourage students, alumni, faculty, staff, and parents to submit opinions by emailing record@horacemann.org.

Letters Letters to the editor often respond to editorials, articles, and opinions pieces, allowing The Record to uphold its commitment to open discourse within the school community. They too represent the opinion of the author and not of The Record or the school.

To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters should

be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or email (record@horacemann.org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed.

Contact For all tips, comments, queries, story suggestions, complaints and corrections, please contact us by email at record@ horacemann.org.