by Najee J. (’11) & Sophia R. (’12)

Teachers and students welcome five very ecstatic teachers who are being added as part of the school’s expansion to the Kurt Hahn family. With the new freshmen coming in September more teachers are needed!

Ms. Osborne the new social studies teacher sees coming to this school as a new opportunity to work with students one on one. She likes the small school atmosphere. And in her class she believes that if you are having trouble that you should talk to her about tutoring.

The new math teacher Mr. Inot has been a teacher for 19 years, and believes a good way of teaching is through hands on experience. He said that students, “can learn by exploring and discovering new things.”  His definition of a civic leader is someone who is  willing to go the extra mile and is willing to sacrifice.  Ms. Lustick the new English teacher’s definition of a civic leader is “someone who has strength of character.” She believes that a good way to teach is through building relationships with the students. This is going to be her 2^nd year of teaching.

New and returning teachers at the Outward Bound Center climbing wall in Queens for professional development. (Counterclockwise for upper left: Mr. Bolduc, Mr. Inot, Ms. Gou, Mr. Sacerdote, Ms. Sealey, Ms. Osborne, Ms. Lustick, & Mr. Doyle)

Two teacher prior to coming to Kurt Hahn have worked in Tilden Campus. The new science teacher Mr. Sacerdote ,  has worked at Tilden Campus for 11 years, he teaches using  Humor and sarcasm. He feels like Kurt Hahn is the most academic out of the four schools in Tilden Campus. He feels like we have a positive demeanor. He also happens to be related to Mr. Latour. He said that,”Well we don’t have the same mother and father but otherwise yes.” Ms. Sealy the new instructional support teacher. This is a new experience for her. She wants her teaching environment to be safe and all her teachings will have some emphasis on literacy. Her definition of a civic leader is “some one who is prepared for responsibility and can encourage others to succeed.”

Many of the students and teachers, are excited and a bit nervous as to how well these new teachers are going to do. According to Latrisa G. “The new teachers should not be to nice in the beginning or let the students take over but other wise it will be a great experience” “There is also a lot of stress that comes with the job,Take care of yourself and try not to get burned out because there is a lot of pressure from work, so make sure you get free time, sleep and eat healthy.  If not the stress and problems will get worse,” according to Mr. Latour a current teacher at Kurt Hahn.  But everyone of the five teachers said they were very excited about working with the students and  other teachers.

By Justin V. (’12) & Sophia W. (’12)

Changes at the Kurt Hahn School for next year, addition of  new teachers, new freshman, and the expansion of the school`s hallway, leaves many excited while others confused.

Some changes are expected as part of a new growing school, while others are a response to what students need.

Construction and renovation includes new wires, lights, and pipes.

Expected changes include more rooms, needed for the amount of students and  teachers coming to Kurt Hahn.  One student suggested that sophomores and juniors should help by making the teachers feel welcomed.  Sophomores and juniors should consider helping the freshmans become scholars and leaders.

by Ms. Lawit (advisor)

Sophomores and juniors establish school’s first online news paper, The Kurt Hahn Chronicle, after participating in a special summer explore week focused on civic journalism.

In order to prepare to launch the paper, students learned about civic journalism.  ”A civic journalist,” sophomore Sophia R. explained, “is someone who can take what they know and incorporate it into the world that’s around them.”  Najee J. and Sophia R. said they are not civic journalists yet, but that through hard work and practice they hope to someday become them.  As part of their journalist training, students developed their interview skills, and learned how to write a news article.  Sophomore, Sophia W. was surprised by the work, but excited to try something new and meet new people.

Students also visited the offices of online school news website, GothamSchools.  There, students interviewed GothamSchools writer Philissa Cramer, who has been writing for a paper since she was a junior in high school. She described the daily life of a journalist, and offered the following advice to students: “do as much practice as you can,…and read the news.  That’s how you get a sense and build it into yourself how a news story works.”  Sophomore Justin V., was surprised by the opportunity to “interview the interviewers.”

The Kurt Hahn Chronicle will differ from traditional school papers because it will be published online, and include features designed to make the site more fun and dynamic such as polls, photos, videos, and a calendar.

Students at the Kurt Hahn School were enthusiastic about the new site.  Junior, Hashakay V. looks forward to reading about, “school activities, trips, things going on in the school like Student Led Conferences, different school meetings, community meeting.”  Another junior, Xavier W., added the paper will help students, “stay alert and know what’s going on in the school.”

Teacher, Mr. Latour thinks the paper will help the students working on the paper develop their writing skills, and teach all students the importance of substantiating facts and not reacting to rumors and hearsay.  Student journalist and junior Najee J. hopes that The Kurt Hahn Chronicle will help “Kurt Hahn students know what is going on in the school, so they can better themselves.”

New staff (from left to right, Sophia R., Najee J., Justin V., & Sophia W.) work on news stories.