School News

It might seem strange that our News section begins with an event from 1950. That is the year in which Mother Ruth had a vision to bring together children and families of all backgrounds to learn from one another and about one another. That mission is at the heart of all we do, from highlighting student endeavors, to celebrating our recent grads, to catching up with alumni and seeing how they are living our mission every day.

Although the items here in our News section, change frequently, the heart and soul behind remain constant.

In February and Beyond, Students Explore African-American History

“For us, Black History is not just about February; it is every day.”

Head of School’s Response to COVID-19

We are approaching this situation thoughtfully and deliberately, recognizing that the risk to our families is very low. Advice and counsel are being provided by experts in the Mount Sinai Health System.

Champion Hawks: Girls and Boys Basketball Earn NYCAL Honors

St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s Basketball Hawks captured the NYCAL regular season championships for 2019-2020.

Choir NOW and Gary Mitchell Jr. Lead Our Annual Gospel Celebration Through Song and Storytelling

“This event is titled a ‘Gospel Celebration,’” Minister Irventz Garçon said. “However, it is much deeper than that.”

Photography Class Offers a New Way to Capture History

This year St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s introduced an innovative photography course under the leadership of social studies teacher and accomplished photographer Duane Bailey-Castro.

Young Alumni Received Extra Love From their Early Childhood Buddies

On Valentine’s Day, early childhood students reconnected with their former eighth grade buddies, reminding the school’s newest alumni that they still have many friends at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s.

Alumna Author Featured in The Times “1619 Project”

“They Sold Human Beings Here” uncovers the mostly hidden and forgotten locations where enslaved people were bought and sold, accompanied by images of auction sites taken by photographer Dannielle Bowman.

Nursery-Grade 8 Celebrates the Year of the Rat During Our Annual Lunar New Year Celebration

Students and guest performers put on a spectacular Lunar New Year performance which included singing, dancing, and fireworks. View photos from this beloved all-school event here.

New Questions Posted on the Upper Division GeoGames Trivia Board

The popular GeoGames Trivia Board continues to engage grade 4-8 students with challenging geography questions.

St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's Mourns the Death of Sister Elise, Founding Sister, Teacher, and Friend

As St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s marked the 70th anniversary of its opening day on February 2, 2020, it lost one of its founders. Sister Elise, one of the founding members of the Community of the Holy Spirit and one of the school’s first teachers, died on Sunday at the age of 98.

Lower Division Language Students “Learn By Doing,” through Film, Art, and Play

As teachers of young children ages 3 to 9, language teachers Deb Jordan-Levy (French), Elizabeth Ortega (Spanish), and Peng Zeng (Mandarin-Chinese) are unified in their mission to provide a contemporary, immersive, and age-appropriate learning environment for their students.

Basketball Hawks Excel On the Court

The Hawks continue a tradition of basketball excellence this winter. Playing in the NYCAL league, both the boys and girls 7-8 teams have begun the year with an unbeaten record, while a second 7-8 boys "silver team" and the two six grade teams are representing the school with pride.

Alumni Profile: Janos Marton ’96 Campaigns for Office, and for Equity

A lawyer and criminal justice reformer, Janos Martin '96 began to explore his passion for activism in second grade at St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's. Janos is still driven by the values his teachers imparted—morality, civics, and service to community.

Second Graders Bridge Disciplines, Cultures, and Continents through Technology

As the second grade embarked upon their year-long study of the world, their technology class went along on the journey, with a stop-motion movie project to illustrate the movement of the continents, and a re-creation of the Q'eswachaka Rope Bridge in Peru.

November Traditions Inspire Service “Neighbor to Neighbor”

“Our commitment to service comes out of a religious imperative to serve the needs of the poor, just as our patron saints did,” said Head of School Virginia Connor. “It’s why their feast days are marked by days of service—both Hilda and Hugh dedicated their lives to caring for others.”

Play to Learn: Early Childhood “Play Experts” Teach New Skills in Creative Settings

“When children have immersive play experiences, early academic skills—such as literacy, numeracy, vocabulary, and language—all emerge naturally,” says Dr. Lisa Wright, director of the Hollingworth Center at Teachers College Columbia University.

Always a Hawk: Student-Athletes Play with Pride

“‘Always a Hawk’ means doing your best every day. It means that when it’s time to represent your school in uniform, you know how to be a supportive teammate, to be coachable, to work hard, to balance academics, and to represent us with pride.”

Cambridge Ridley Lynch: Museum Educator Inspires Students to Make History

Drawing on her experience as a museum educator Ms. Lynch crafted an innovative, design-thinking research project that asked students to redesign an exhibition of the Native American galleries in the American Museum of Natural History.

Cross Country Hawks Win NYCAL Championship!

Congratulations to the Cross Country Hawks! Several student-athletes achieved personal best performances as the team clinched the NYCAL Middle School championship in their final meet on Thursday, Oct. 25.

Prospective Parents Meet ‘Three Heroes’ in the School’s History

At the annual Admission Open House on Oct. 17, prospective parents “met” three somewhat obscure figures who loom large in the school’s past and present: Hilda of Whitby, Hugh of Lincoln, and Ruth Younger of Harlem, the 20th century nun who founded St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s.

Technology Focus: “A Lens to See the World”

“We are providing the building blocks of what technology is and will be. Coding languages change, tools change, but the skills and ways of thinking remain the same. We don’t know what technology will look like in the future, but we will be ready.”

First Graders Learn Stewardship Lessons in the Greenhouse and Beyond

Lower school social studies, science, and greenhouse lessons teach about stewardship, sustainability, and the many ways of being a good neighbor.

DEIL Team Takes the Lead in Continuing Mother Ruth’s Revolutionary Mission

A new leadership team has been charged with amplifying our founder’s revolutionary mission and the values of equity and inclusion that remain a crucial part of St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s mission.

Alumni Spotlight: Nellie Peyton ('06)

Nellie Peyton (‘06) covers human rights and development as the West Africa Correspondent for the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Her recent work brought her to mining towns in Sierra Leone and displacement camps in Burkina Faso.

Playdeck Car Sends Students on Imaginative Journeys

“It was Head of School Virginia Connor’s vision to create a physical anchor for complex play that would elicit the type of creative scenarios that every child loves, and that build upon children’s innate inventiveness and playfulness,” said Lower Division Director Emily Holt.

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