Once a year, the admissions team hosts an Upper School Open House for prospective families to come and visit Hackley. The day includes a range of activities so families get the opportunity to understand what it is like to be a Hackley student.
Juniors Owen Spencer and Alex Aybar helped sign in families and assign them to groups, which they would then go on tours with. Each family received a folder along with a demo-class schedule, map of the Back to the classroom tables, general information about Hackley and details on the application process.
As families arrive, student and parent ambassadors wait in the nest of the Johnson Center. Different ambassadors are tasked with different jobs; some assign families to groups, others help guide them from Pickert lot, and some are left to mingle with families and answer questions.
There was breakfast set up by FLIK for families to snack on as they waited for the check-in process to be over. During this time, families were also given the opportunity to go on tours of the Johnson Center with parent ambassadors and got to see some of the main attractions the Johnson Center has to offer, like the Varsity Gym, Squash Courts, and Indoor Track.
After check-in, families were moved into the varsity gym where the Upper School band, led by Rafi Makiel, performed. Then, Megan O’Callaghan, assistant director of Enrollment Management, welcomed the families to Hackley and thanked the band for their performance. Then Mrs. O’Callaghan introduced Head of School Charles Franklin.
Megan O’Callaghan, assistant director of Enrollment Management, gathers the attention of families and thanks the Upper School band for there performance. The Upper School band is led by Rafi Makiel who assisted the group on the trombone.
Mr. Franklin had families turn and talk to get to know the people around them. In his speech, he emphasized that classes at Hackley are hard, but what matters the most is community. This is exhibited through some of the school’s mottos, including: “Enter here to be and find a friend” and “Character is higher than intellect.”
After this, the families were split into two groups. One group went to Diller Hall to meet with Head of the Upper School Andy King. The other group went to the “Beyond the Classroom” fair. The groups were divided based on the group they would visit demo classes with. If your demo class group was A-J, then you started off in Diller Hall and got to meet the head of the Upper School, Andy King. If your group was K-U, then you started at the Beyond the Classroom fair. Associate Director of Admissions and Outreach, Donna Fitzgerald, along with student ambassador leaders, crafted the schedule so that student ambassadors participating in the “Beyond the Classroom” fair could meet their groups before demo lessons.
At the Beyond the Classroom fair, there were tables for all the different sports teams and organizations, such as Round Square. This was a way for families to get a glimpse of all the non-academic things Hackley has to offer.
After everyone met with Mr. King and attended the Beyond the Classroom fair, families split into their groups, where they got to participate in demo lessons with different Upper School teachers. Each teacher’s demo lesson was centered around what they would teach in one of their own classes.
English teacher Michael Canterino read a short story with his group entitled “Beneath the Gilded Frame.” Each person in the classroom read a section of the story aloud, then passed it on to the person next to them. Then, like in many Upper School classes, families discussed the story across the Harkness table like they would in any other Upper School English class at Hackley.
New Classics teacher Benjamin Driver had students and parents pair up and work together on an activity where they determined whether gods were Greek or Roman. The classics department offers both Latin and Greek classes, so this was a good way for him to incorporate both into an activity that showcased Hackley’s classics department.
Science teacher Katherine Hannon was sick, so Mr. King stepped in and took over her chemistry class for the day. Mr. King gave families an overview of the science department at Hackley, and then led his group in a US history lesson..
To end the day, student ambassadors led families back up to the Johnson
Center, where there were refreshments waiting in the Nest. There was an optional financial aid session where families could learn about how financial aid works at Hackley and how to apply.
