Written By: Valentina Platt-Higgins, Chloe Berg, and Emma Wolff

After a long winter break, students are gradually re-adapting to the school environment. But while they were enjoying vacations or catching up on rest at home, our teachers were too.

Mr. Kyle, Upper School Dean, spent his winter break at home, seeing friends and family. He was excited to visit his grandchildren and to see his daughter, who came home to visit. He was especially anticipatory of a visit to his sister’s house, a Christmas Eve tradition. There, he played games, spent time with family, and enjoyed “Good food, good people, and a good time.”

Mr. Derby, Upper School Math Teacher, spent his break mostly at home along with a trip to Vermont to go skiing. His favorite holiday is Christmas, and he enjoyed the tradition of skating on a frozen pond, one of the perks of the icy temperatures. He spent most of break with his immediate family, but he also had some quality time with friends over New Year’s Eve. He also caught up on some much needed sleep, with no need for the early alarms of the school year. 

Mr. Hirsch, Upper School Science Teacher, had a relaxing and fun winter break in Portland, Maine with his wife to visit her family. Over break, he enjoyed building a giant Lego Christmas village, a holiday tradition. Every year, he expands it, adding more pictures, and now, it is over 100,000 pieces. “However big you think it is, it’s bigger” he says. You can see it in the yearly video he posts on his instagram. He also spent the break with his son, who helped him decorate his music studio. His goal was to finish all his songs from The Naturalist, his album for his upcoming play. The things he was most excited about included finishing the songs from his album along with spending entire days working on his play and recording. 

This winter break Ms. Doran, Upper School Science Teacher and Grade 9 Dean, went to upstate New York to visit her mother-in-law with the rest of her family. The family goes a couple times a year to relax and hang out by the lake and in the mountains. Ms. Doran says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, as she loves its meaning and the message of feeling grateful and giving. She also loves the idea of “friendsgiving.” In terms of the winter holidays, she loves annually watching the holiday markets, trees, other decorations in New York City and the vibe of the whole city. Similarly, she loves watching the nutcracker to kick off the winter season. Ms. Doran spent the break with her daughter, husband, in-laws and other friends. Back in December, Ms. Doran described how she was excited to see her friends and family and have a break from the craziness that is school before the holidays. Additionally she was planning on hosting three parties: one for her and her friends, one for her daughter and her friends, and a big Christmas Eve party.