By Danielle Sidi ’14, Staff Writer, Anna Hope Emerson ’16, Staff Writer, and Rakhi Kundra ’17, Staff Writer

Every year, Newark Academy says hello and goodbye to members of our community. This fall the community has welcomed eleven new faculty members. The new teachers not only contribute to our learning environment in the classroom, but also outside on the field or even in club meetings.

In the foreign language department, there are four new teachers joining the staff this year: Spanish teachers Ms. Barker and Mr. Romay and French teachers Dr. Fall and Ms. Williams.

Ms. Lynne Barker joined Newark Academy because of, “the feeling I got when I walked through the door. There was just a great vibe here, and a kind, caring community.” She had recently gotten her masters at Columbia University in Private School Leadership. Before studying, she taught at boarding schools. Ms. Barker decided it was “time for a change” in her life. She is “thrilled to be here. It is a privilege.” As a Spanish instructor, she plans on finishing the year with accomplished speaking Spanish students, who are satisfied with the hard work they’ll do. According to her “the ultimate goal” is that when her students decide to travel abroad, that they will be able to communicate with the native people. However Spanish class is not her only involvement with Newark Academy. She is also an assistant coach for field hockey, and plans on coaching the Middle School Girl’s Lacrosse Team in the spring. Between her busy academic and sports schedule, Ms. Barker is grateful for the “helpful, kind people here.”

Similarly, Mr. Alexis Romay has had a positive experience at Newark Academy so far. “The school is awesome, welcoming and wonderful.” He is teaching four IB Spanish classes and plans to ready his students for the exam at the end of the year. He hopes his students in Spanish 3 Honors will, “appreciate the language and therefore, want to take IB Spanish.” Mr. Romay chose Newark Academy because he wanted to start teaching again. “Newark Academy has the opportunity to work with highly motivated students, people who want to be challenged and people who want to take their language skills to a native level. Before Newark Academy, I was working as an editor. I have two published books in Spanish.” Mr. Romay is a Spanish instructor, a coach for Junior Varsity Women’s soccer, and a writer. His busy schedule shows his dedication to teaching, and his “appreciation for this school”.

Dr. Fall was born and raised in Senegal, in West Africa. He grew up and received part of his education there before coming to the United States in 1998. He lived first in New York City, before leaving to attend the University of Iowa, where he received his Masters Degree and later his Ph.D. In 2011, he took a job at the University of South Dakota in order to reconstruct the failing French program there and increase enrollment. After successfully completing this job, he and his wife decided to move to the East Coast, which is how he ended up at Newark Academy. He said that “the main reason why I chose Newark Academy is because there is a very strong sense of community.” His impression of Newark Academy before coming to the school was that it had good students, a good reputation, and a strong international orientation. “What I’ve seen of the school and the students so far confirm my initial positive impression”, he continued, “I’m very happy to be here”. When asked what he was looking forward to this year, he answered, “I’m looking forward to getting to know my students and helping them have a positive learning experience.” He is also looking forward to helping the French program benefit from his more than 15 years of experience teaching French. “I cannot wait to learn more about the school and about the students, and learn how I can better serve the students because that’s the main reason I’m here.”

Mrs. Williams is a part time French teacher here at Newark Academy. She is from Rye, New York. Before coming to Newark Academy, she worked for ten years at the Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City. She and her husband moved to New Jersey last summer, so her husband could take on a job at the United States Golf Association. When Mrs. Williams isn’t working here at Newark Academy, she takes care of her 6-year-old daughter Josephine and her 4-year-old twin boys Rhys and Flynn. “I’m so excited to be back in the classroom”, she said. “I really missed teaching, having students, and learning from them. One of the best parts about teaching is that I am always learning something new!”

In the English department this year there are many new faces. This year, Ms. Fitzpatrick will be teaching seventh and ninth grade English, a fresh and exciting new face to younger students in the school. Ms. Fitzpatrick had the unique experience of being a volunteer for the Peace Corps, having served in Nicaragua. She joins the Academy after having taught at the Wilmington Friends School in Delaware. In addition, she holds a B.A. from Colgate University and a Master of Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Fitzpatrick will also be co-coaching the Middle School Track Team.

Meanwhile, Ms. Graham joins us from having taught undergraduates at Columbia University. She not only teaches eighth grade English, but also is the staff advisor for the Middle School Minuteman, helping out young and aspiring journalists. Additionally as a foreigner she cites that one of the reasons that she decided to come teach at Newark Academy was because she  “ was excited by Newark Academy’s reputation for creating citizens of the world.” So far, Ms. Graham has been impressed by the efforts of Newark Academy students and faculty to integrate a diverse, worldly culture. She added that, “Being a foreign citizen myself, I believe there is immeasurable value in taking a global worldview”.

In the Upper School, the English department has welcomed Ms. Gabb, who will be teaching American Literature for the tenth grade and IB English SL for juniors. Furthermore, Ms. Gabb has written a poetry book that is coming out this winter. She is also involved extensively in Newark Academy extracurricular, proving her excitement to be apart of a new community. She said, “This year I will be the assistant coach for the Middle School Girls Tennis Team, a co–staff advisor for The Minuteman, and will be participating in the Hispanic-Heritage morning meeting dance.”

Also joining the Upper School English staff is Ms. Desanta, who will be teaching Literature and Composition for ninth graders and American Literature for tenth graders. When asked why she decided to work at the Academy, Ms. Desanta stated that it was the students as “it is rewarding to teach these students who think that it is ‘cool to be dorky’,” she said. When she came for a trial class last year, she knew that this was the right place for her.  Ms. Desanta will also be a co-staff advisor for The Minuteman, providing her in depth knowledge of the English language to help out the writers and editors.

The lone addition to the Humanities department this year is Mr. Reed, who currently teaches IB History SL and Western Heritage. Although Mr. Reed majored in medieval history in college, he has seamlessly adapted to teaching modern history for juniors and seniors. Hailing from a teaching job at the Boston University Academy, Mr. Reed was drawn to the Academy because of the “academic calibre of the school .” Though he has yet to become involved with other activities in the school, Mr. Reed enthusiastically said, “I love it here! I love the students and my colleagues– I could not be happier.”

Joining the Arts department is Mr. Milani, the new part time film teacher. He is from Warren, NJ. Before coming to Newark Academy, he worked at Conde Nast Publications for the New Yorker and then as a substitute teacher for Gill St. Bernards. He decided to come to Newark Academy because “it provided a great opportunity to teach a subject that I love in a very pleasant school environment”. In addition to working at Newark Academy, Mr. Milani works on his own film projects, as well as other film industry related work. When asked about what he was looking forward to during the upcoming year, he answered “I’m excited to see the film projects my students will create in class”.

Mr. Bunch is this year’s part time technical theatre teacher. He was born and raised in Carson City, Nevada. Before coming to Newark Academy, he worked all over the country doing technical theatre related jobs, mostly as a technical director. Most recently, he worked as the Operations Supervisor at the Lawlor Events Center, a multipurpose events center in Reno, Nevada. “Newark Academy presented new and exciting prospects for me”, said Mr. Bunch, “it allowed me the opportunity to get back into theatre and grow as an artist”. As he just moved into the area, he currently has been taking on odd jobs such as online work in addition to his job here at Newark Academy. In the future, he hopes to contact other theaters in the area and joining their ranks as a technician or designer as well. According to Mr. Bunch he is “looking forward to getting acclimated to my new surroundings and gaining the confidence to let the work and art of theatre to really be my focus. Newark Academy is one of the greatest places I’ve ever been,” he added. “I feel really lucky to join the community.”

Overall, it is clear that there are many new and distinguished faces joining the ranks of the Newark Academy faculty this year. Hailing everywhere from Senegal to Nevada, there is no doubt that this diverse, new crop of teachers will provide fresh insights and dynamic experiences to students of all grades.