By Anika Lippke ‘24, News Editor

With a new school year comes a host of enthusiastic new teachers to the Newark Academy Upper School Community. After the first few weeks of the 2022-2023 school year, these five teachers are quickly learning to integrate themselves into the community. 

Warm welcomes from peers and students have made these teachers’ transitions to NA smooth, leaving them already feeling like vital parts of the community. Nevertheless, there is still plenty we can learn about these teachers and their lives leading up to their time here at NA! 

Where were you before NA? 

Mr. Gold teaches Middle School, Intermediate, and IB Film.

Daniel Gold: 

Mr. Gold taught initially at Tampa Preparatory School, FL. He describes the school as having a similar vibe to Newark Academy: a small, closely-knit private high and middle school of about seven hundred students. 

Mr. Smith teaches Chemistry and Physics.

Russell Smith:

Before teaching at Newark Academy, Mr. Smith taught in Brooklyn, at a school that he also described as being familiar to NA. Before teaching altogether, Mr. Smith was an engineer.

Dr. Nouaime teaches IB Economics.

Haifa Nouaime: 

Dr. Nouaime was a professor of microeconomics at Montclair State University before she came to Newark Academy. She’s lived in Maplewood for the past 20 years. 

Mr. Mamukelashvilli, known colloquially to students as Dati, teaches English 9 and Creative Writing. 

David Mamukelashvilli:

Dati taught at Blair Academy in Hillside, New Jersey, for four years before coming to Newark Academy. Because Blair is a boarding school, Dati was able to quickly connect with many of his students while working there, and he therefore found it difficult to leave. 

“It was easy to have an impact there,” he said about his time at Blair. 

Dr. Vega teaches AB Calculus and Algebra 2/Trigonometry Honors.

Valentina Vega: 

Dr. Vega describes her shift from William Paterson University (NJ) to NA as being a “big adjustment in level”, but nevertheless feels that her transition so far has been going great. 

What attracted you to Newark Academy?

DG: 

Originally from Randolph, NJ, Mr. Gold feels that his familiarity with the area played a large part in his decision to transition to Newark Academy from Tampa Prep, because of their “similar vibe.” 

RS:

Mr. Smith came from Tinton Falls, New Jersey, which he also describes as being a familiar place to his origins. Additionally, he was drawn to the school’s reputation, and how NA prides itself on excellence, pushing students to be “better than they think they can be.” 

HN:

“The eagerness to learn was very, very obvious,” Dr. Nouaime noticed soon after arriving at NA.

She said that it’s that drive that makes teachers’ jobs even more satisfying, because the motivation to learn is there– she describes it as being “physical”. 

DM:

“I considered eight schools before coming here and really researched them all,” said Dati. 

He loved being at a boarding school although it required a lot of him, hence his hesitance to switch to NA. He credits his choice to the “informed gut feeling” that led him to gravitate subconsciously to NA. 

VV:

Dr. Vega explained that she became aware of NA through friends. From their experiences, she felt that she could see how students here help and care for each other. 

“I actually felt like (NA was a family) so it’s nice to come and feel welcomed and valued here. People care about me, and I can feel them helping me out as I go.” 

What are your hopes for your growth as a teacher? 

DG: 

Mr. Gold said that he believes that he’s still growing and adapting to his own style. 

“Film is a fun class. It should be laid back but students should also be able to get work done when they need to,” he explained. “People should be able to express themselves.”

RS:

Mr. Smith’s biggest aspiration is that he’ll be able to make his content engaging to everyone. 

“I hate to see kids being bored in class,” he added. 

DM:

His biggest goal is to be relatable, so that students feel comfortable with him. 

“I want people to seek me out,” he said. “And I want to act as a megaphone for my students so that everybody is heard. Not just seen, but heard.” 

HN:

“I hope to be inventive in my teaching style. Even though I’ve taught this class so many times, I learn something new every time I teach it. I don’t have definite, measurable objectives at this point but to keep improving.” 

VV:

“I’m always trying to be a better teacher,” Dr. Vega said earnestly. 

Her goal is to continuously catch herself in a state of improvement. 

“My overall goal is to be the best teacher, which is funny, because you can never be the best… What you can do is just keep trying to get better and better as you go.” 

Do you have a teaching philosophy?

DG:

Mr. Gold doesn’t believe in a set philosophy for teaching, but as a film teacher, he said this: 

“Film is very technical and in the weeds with a lot of it, so I would say to not be so overbearing when teaching tech stuff. Students will inevitably make mistakes, and they’ll learn from them.”

RS:

A large component of being in science, and especially as an engineer, is roadblocks, Mr. Smith noted. 

“You have to be flexible, find different ways to adapt. The advantage to being wrong is that you can see where the pitfalls are, and learn to work around them.”

HN:

“The world is your lab!” Dr. Nouaime said. 

“I’m just a facilitator on students’ journeys to learn, to observe, and ask questions.” 

Her mentality is to ensure that the topics that she’s teaching have relevance in the real world and are engaging, rather than just being part of a textbook curriculum. 

DM:

Dati’s mentality is to build honesty and transparency with his students so that they feel comfortable expressing themselves within his classes. 

“Right now I see suspension cords,” he said, “and I’m working towards building those up into bridges.”

VV:

“Have a class that’s open to questions and mistakes. Create activities that can challenge everybody.” 

Dr. Vega’s philosophy is to create a teaching style that works for all sorts of learners. 

Can you think of a word of advice for future new teachers?

DG:

“Involve yourself as much as possible, make friends. Let your students teach you.” 

RS:

“It takes time. Be patient with building confidence; we have degrees in what we’re teaching, and our students are still learning.”

HN:

“Stay connected with students, and show interest in what they’re doing, and learning.” 

DM: 

“Forgive yourself. Teachers are so hard on themselves, constantly looking for things to improve on. Be the flow; don’t be too hard on yourself.”

VV:

“Try to be as open as possible to accommodate every different type of need. Some students learn in different ways, so just keep your eyes open for that.”

All in all, each of these teachers are going into their time at NA with an overwhelmingly positive mindset, and are ready to start off their year strong. 

Make sure to say hello if you see these teachers around!