A Day in the Life of a New 2nd Grader

     Have you ever been new to a grade? How did you feel? At Hackley we have 3 second grade classes with approximately 16 new students a year. We interviewed two new second grade students from 2F , Charlie and Marlowe, and asked them questions about Hackley. We asked them about what a typical day in school was like , and this is how they responded: 

     When asked what a typical morning is like, Charlie said, “we order lunch, get settled, have morning meeting, and go to science or music. When we return to class, we usually have math.” We then asked Marlowe what a typical afternoon is like. She said, we eat lunch, have PE every day. Then we have guided reading or social studies. At the end of the week, we have a reflection.”

     Another question we asked was about their favorite subject. Charlie and Marlowe both reported that their favorite subject is social studies. Charlie and Marlowe said that they love learning about different countries, continents and landscapes. When asked how they are adjusting to a new school, both students said it’s getting easier and they are more comfortable at Hackley. So now you know what it is like to be a new student in second grade at Hackley!

by Sid M. and Madan M.

Pencils, crayons, paper! These are all materials that we find in our classrooms. But the question remains….how do we get these items? Where do they come from? Hackley is part of a supply chain that gets the materials needed as soon as possible. But sometimes it takes longer than it should. Well, we interviewed Nicholas Muzyka, Hackley’s purchasing agent and asked him questions related to Hackley’s role in the supply chain. These were some of his responses: Copy paper was a problem to get, he announced. Mr. Muzyka also said technology has been delayed. For example, Mr Muzyka said two iPads he ordered in October 2021 are coming in January 2022. Also, masks and office furniture are taking way too long to be delivered.

There is a problem with the food too! We interviewed Michael Yanez, the head of Flik at Hackley. He reported that we are having the most trouble getting the simplest of things, such as chicken, beef and fish. Normally, it would take two deliveries to replace items that were shorted from a previous delivery. Chicken tenders and fries were also hard to get, according to Mr. Yanez. We had to over purchase to keep a high inventory of meats, so we would not run out. The good news is that some foods have been easy to get, like fruits (apples, oranges, bananas), vegetables (broccoli, green beans, cauliflower) and lettuce for salads. When asked what are some of the most popular foods, Mr. Yanez said that chicken tenders, pasta, burgers, bananas, fruit salad, roasted broccoli, bagels, and caesar salad are the most popular with students and teachers. 

We want to thank Mr. Muzyka and Mr. Yanez for answering our questions and giving us important information.

By Henry K., Sophie P., and Neil D-S. 

Have you ever wondered about socialization and its effects in children? Well, come with us and learn about socialization! For the purposes of this article, we define socialization as the amount of time students spend with each other outside of class. We did some research, and according to the CDC, children should have at least 60 minutes (an hour) of activity.  Using our observation skills and interviewing Mrs. Foerder and Mrs. Enow-Pluchino, we found that fourth graders at Hackley School have 20 minutes of recess and 40 minutes of PE, which is  enough. Kindergarteners have met the amount of socialization; which ranges from 1 hour to 2 hours. Second graders meet the expectations (especially Mrs. Foerder’s class). 3rd graders got about 110 minutes of recess a day, exceeding their expectations. First grade has 60 minutes of recess, meeting the expectations of socialization in their grade.

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Though they do get plenty of social activity, some kids in upper school and higher grades in middle school are on their phones a lot of the time. Hackley has been doing a good job at making sure their phone time is limited, but we can always do more! When children spend more time on their phones, they tend not to do well at social interactions, which can have a negative impact on their life. Due to the UV light emitted by their screens, phones also can cause serious eye damage which can be extremely important. We feel that Hackley needs to make sure students are not too attached to their phones. 

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Socialization has many positive effects on children. Socialization helps make interactions better with one another, and is extremely beneficial for your body. When you socialize with other people, you are able to communicate with other people better. In conclusion, Hackley has done a good job making sure children get enough socialization with each other. 

By Tate W. and Marlowe H.

We interviewed Mr. Kilgariff about him being new here. First, we asked him why he came to Hackley. He responded, “When I first came to visit Hackley, I met so many great people who talked a lot about the Hackley community. I have worked at many schools that don’t have the same sense of community that Hackley has and I wanted to be part of it.” Then we asked him, “Why do you like working at Hackley?” He said, “I enjoy coming to work and seeing so many smiling faces and working with students who are happy to learn every time they come into the classroom.” Next, we asked him why he came to America. He responded, “I have worked in different international schools for about 15 years. My wife is from Oregon and she has family in Boston so we always planned to move back to the US. Working around the world made it very difficult to get home and be close to family, especially around the holidays, so it is nice to be in a place that is a direct flight away to visit my family in England, or see family in Oregon.” Then we asked him, “How long have you been teaching?” He said, “I started teaching in 2010. When I finished college, I moved to South Korea to teach English and lived there for 4 years. After Korea, I moved to Brazil where I taught as a teaching assistant in Grade 1 and lived for 2 years before moving to Bangladesh, teaching Design and Technology for 5 years.”