By Kira Lu ’20 and Justine Seo ’19, Feature Editors

Every year, students and teachers rush out of Newark Academy in June, leaving behind the school year and moving onto a summer outside the borders of the NA day structure, later stumbling back into their new spots in the auditorium once September rolls around. The time in between these events is filled with both relaxation and preparation for the upcoming school year. The memories made in these two months last from year to year, sometimes even for a lifetime. For this article, we decided to interview a few students and teachers to see what their most memorable summer was.

Mr. Manfreda (a new math and economics teacher): “My best summer memory was this past August when I went hiking up a mountain in New Zealand. It was my first time hiking up the side of a mountain when it was covered in snow. It was really cool and I had a lot of fun!”

Sophie Licostie ‘19: “For my summer program we had a curfew every night, except the last night we were allowed to stay up all night as long as we stayed in the building. So after the dance, we went back to the dorm and I played Mario Kart with a counselor, except I was horrible so he handed me a book instead of a controller and wouldn’t let me actually play. And then my friends and I really wanted to order Dominoes, so we convinced one of the counselors to get it for us as long as we let him have some. And so I stayed up all night talking to the counselors and it was very happy!”

Siddharth Chalasani ‘22: “SUMMER CAMP AT YALE!”

Alice Jiang ‘19: “Taking my dog to the dog beach! Seeing other dogs and their owners, and seeing my dog run around. My pork roll had some sand in it but it was still delicious. I also ate nitrogen ice cream and it was kinda weird, so don’t get it.”  

Ms. Eggert (a new math teacher): “All my best summer memories are up in Maine; going hiking with my sister, grandparents.  Going to a place called Thunder Hole in Maine, and just letting the waves crash over you is one of my favorites. One time, my sister and I were sitting close to the water’s edge and the waves were pretty minimal. All of a sudden, a big wave came and almost pulled both of us into the water.  That memory always stands out to me. I grabbed my sister at the last minute, we fell into a little crevice, and here I am today, teaching!”

Rohan Kapur ‘20: “In eighth grade when I was in Los Angeles I cooked an egg on the street. That was top ten greatest moment.”

Kavya Nivarthy ‘21: “Running.”

Melisa Yaman ‘19: “I really enjoyed summer when I was little.  I remember biking with my mom, my sister, and my brother from my grandma’s house out of the city all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.  It was really long and it was fun!”

While summer has come to its close, each special memory stays with us and keeps us warm throughout the year as the days become colder and shorter.  Although the end of the summer oftentimes signifies the start of assessments and stress, we hope that you enjoy the school year as well and make more memories that you can look back on!