What's New This School Year? Here's Our Top 10!
Welcome to our 128 new students! As we embark on a new school year, we can’t help but marvel at many of the exciting initiatives and happenings on our campus that have come to fruition while our school community was on summer hiatus. Check out our Top 10!
• Ten New Faculty Members – We have 10 new faculty members including History Dept. Co-Chair Dr. Lisa Hill, Upper School English teachers Jennifer Manley and Robert Cutrofello; Upper School Spanish teacher and Advent Advisor Adriana Alcini Gomez, Lower and Upper School Mandarin teacher Chien-Ju Lin, Middle School English and Upper School history teacher Jose Martinez, Middle School Spanish teacher Maria Caba, Middle and Upper School music teacher Melissa Hudson, Upper School Spanish teacher Juliann (Julie) Sanza, and PreKindergarten Assistant Britney Dumas.
• New Whitney House – Welcome to the newest addition on campus! Classrooms, study centers, and more are now housed in the charming Whitney House, which is adjacent to the Dolven Admissions Center. The first floor has full kitchen, a faculty work space, Sue Gonnelly's office and a large classroom; while the second floor features a study center and the offices of Lisa Motter, Tom Fahy, and Suzanne Hamlin-Smith. Beautiful architecture and fireplaces add ambiance to the home.
• Enhanced Campus Landscaping – The aesthetic of the front of our campus on Whitney Avenue continues to evolve with additional landscaping. Four cherry trees (we can’t wait to see them bloom in the spring!) and 18 knockout roses were planted in the sloped beds that front Taylor Gym. To the right of the gym, six more lilac trees now grace the sidewalk that stretches to the former garage/planned student center and two pine trees, a Vanderwolf and a white, were added in the grassy knoll in that area. Also newly planted were a Colorado spruce and two more Vanderwolfs near our beloved Ernie Russ Colorado spruce tree, all of which now form a semi-circle.
• Lower School Responsive Classroom – The Lower School is embarking on its first full year of implementing the Responsive Classroom following the completion of various training sessions over a three-year period. The Responsive Classroom is a research-based approach to teaching that focuses on the strong link between academic success and social-emotional learning. Through the creation of a positive learning community and a developmentally appropriate curriculum rooted in the most up-to-date research, our students are poised to be well prepared for the future.
• Middle School Technology and Design – Our Middle Schoolers will delve into our design equipment in our MakerSpace Lab and the technology found in our Swain Library and Barbara Olin Taylor Learning Commons as part of this new life skills curriculum addition, which will also include course work in studio art, music, and theatre. On the technology end, students will run the gamut of learning coding skills to making smart, safe, and ethical online decisions. In our MakerSpace Design Lab with new Director Richard Chiaramonte, students will first work in teams on foam core projects that emphasize design – that is, it has to look good and do what it’s supposed to do. Later in the semester, students will either work in groups or fly solo on creative projects that they conceive using materials such as wood, wire, plastic parts, etc. Mr. C. notes that the only limits for the individual projects will be time and the ability to garner the appropriate materials!
• New Upper School Electives – Our Upper School curriculum has been strengthened over the summer months and new electives have been added, such as Tom Iampietro and Sue Toole’s Introduction to Law; Dr. Hill’s African American history class; and Kevin Warnock’s History of New Haven. New English teacher Bob Cutrofello is offering: Literature of the Beat Generation, Modern Drama, and The Bildungsroman.
• New Spectrometry Equipment – Doc Gasparro is excited to introduce his students to his six new PASCO Wireless Spectrometers, which are specifically designed for introductory spectroscopy experiments. The devices connect with tablets and computers and will enable our students to measure intensity, absorbance, transmittance, fluorescence, and more in their chem classes!
• New Basketball Club – Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Sean Doherty has established the school’s first basketball club, which will help basketball enthusiasts with skills, drills, and games on Wednesdays and Sundays. Boys and girls in Grades 3-12 will learn under Coach Doherty, who brings 20 years of college coaching experience to the program.
• New Digital Signage – Four large screens strategically placed around campus will keep our students in the know about all things Hamden Hall. The digital signage features feeds for the school’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and displays the day’s calendar of events and activities. The four screens are in the Lender Refectory, Lower Swain lobby, Whitson Hall lobby, and Beckerman Athletic Center lobby.
• New Theatre Carpet – The Taylor Performing Arts Center’s second floor received new carpeting this summer thanks to a student work study and volunteer crew. Nearly 20 students were on hand to help rip up the old and install the new, which was provided by our own Ray Pagliaro, husband of World Language Dept. Chair Yasmin Haque and father of sophomore Eduardo Pagliaro-Haque.
• Ten New Faculty Members – We have 10 new faculty members including History Dept. Co-Chair Dr. Lisa Hill, Upper School English teachers Jennifer Manley and Robert Cutrofello; Upper School Spanish teacher and Advent Advisor Adriana Alcini Gomez, Lower and Upper School Mandarin teacher Chien-Ju Lin, Middle School English and Upper School history teacher Jose Martinez, Middle School Spanish teacher Maria Caba, Middle and Upper School music teacher Melissa Hudson, Upper School Spanish teacher Juliann (Julie) Sanza, and PreKindergarten Assistant Britney Dumas.
• New Whitney House – Welcome to the newest addition on campus! Classrooms, study centers, and more are now housed in the charming Whitney House, which is adjacent to the Dolven Admissions Center. The first floor has full kitchen, a faculty work space, Sue Gonnelly's office and a large classroom; while the second floor features a study center and the offices of Lisa Motter, Tom Fahy, and Suzanne Hamlin-Smith. Beautiful architecture and fireplaces add ambiance to the home.
• Enhanced Campus Landscaping – The aesthetic of the front of our campus on Whitney Avenue continues to evolve with additional landscaping. Four cherry trees (we can’t wait to see them bloom in the spring!) and 18 knockout roses were planted in the sloped beds that front Taylor Gym. To the right of the gym, six more lilac trees now grace the sidewalk that stretches to the former garage/planned student center and two pine trees, a Vanderwolf and a white, were added in the grassy knoll in that area. Also newly planted were a Colorado spruce and two more Vanderwolfs near our beloved Ernie Russ Colorado spruce tree, all of which now form a semi-circle.
• Lower School Responsive Classroom – The Lower School is embarking on its first full year of implementing the Responsive Classroom following the completion of various training sessions over a three-year period. The Responsive Classroom is a research-based approach to teaching that focuses on the strong link between academic success and social-emotional learning. Through the creation of a positive learning community and a developmentally appropriate curriculum rooted in the most up-to-date research, our students are poised to be well prepared for the future.
• Middle School Technology and Design – Our Middle Schoolers will delve into our design equipment in our MakerSpace Lab and the technology found in our Swain Library and Barbara Olin Taylor Learning Commons as part of this new life skills curriculum addition, which will also include course work in studio art, music, and theatre. On the technology end, students will run the gamut of learning coding skills to making smart, safe, and ethical online decisions. In our MakerSpace Design Lab with new Director Richard Chiaramonte, students will first work in teams on foam core projects that emphasize design – that is, it has to look good and do what it’s supposed to do. Later in the semester, students will either work in groups or fly solo on creative projects that they conceive using materials such as wood, wire, plastic parts, etc. Mr. C. notes that the only limits for the individual projects will be time and the ability to garner the appropriate materials!
• New Upper School Electives – Our Upper School curriculum has been strengthened over the summer months and new electives have been added, such as Tom Iampietro and Sue Toole’s Introduction to Law; Dr. Hill’s African American history class; and Kevin Warnock’s History of New Haven. New English teacher Bob Cutrofello is offering: Literature of the Beat Generation, Modern Drama, and The Bildungsroman.
• New Spectrometry Equipment – Doc Gasparro is excited to introduce his students to his six new PASCO Wireless Spectrometers, which are specifically designed for introductory spectroscopy experiments. The devices connect with tablets and computers and will enable our students to measure intensity, absorbance, transmittance, fluorescence, and more in their chem classes!
• New Basketball Club – Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Sean Doherty has established the school’s first basketball club, which will help basketball enthusiasts with skills, drills, and games on Wednesdays and Sundays. Boys and girls in Grades 3-12 will learn under Coach Doherty, who brings 20 years of college coaching experience to the program.
• New Digital Signage – Four large screens strategically placed around campus will keep our students in the know about all things Hamden Hall. The digital signage features feeds for the school’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and displays the day’s calendar of events and activities. The four screens are in the Lender Refectory, Lower Swain lobby, Whitson Hall lobby, and Beckerman Athletic Center lobby.
• New Theatre Carpet – The Taylor Performing Arts Center’s second floor received new carpeting this summer thanks to a student work study and volunteer crew. Nearly 20 students were on hand to help rip up the old and install the new, which was provided by our own Ray Pagliaro, husband of World Language Dept. Chair Yasmin Haque and father of sophomore Eduardo Pagliaro-Haque.
Hamden Hall Country Day School
1108 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, Connecticut 06517
Phone: 203-752-2600
Fax: 203-752-2651
admissions@hamdenhall.org
Hamden, Connecticut 06517
Phone: 203-752-2600
Fax: 203-752-2651
admissions@hamdenhall.org
About Us
Hamden Hall Country Day School, located less than two miles from Yale University, is one of the best private schools in Connecticut to enroll elementary, middle, and high school students. Our nurturing and inclusive community provides a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence by understanding each child and fostering their individual growth.
