Marilyn Fenster slipped quietly into retirement at the end of the last school year. Marilyn had an impressive teaching style, sharing her love for the students, past and present, as well as a huge commitment to Harley. Marilyn (along with Kim Bednarcyk P ’16, Lower School 1981 – present) also partnered with the Development Office as a Lower School faculty representative for the Harley Fund for years. No matter when you saw her, she had a smile on her face. Marilyn sent out an update to friends and we asked her if I could share it:
Hello family and friends,
As 2021 comes to a close, I am writing a not so brief update to fill you in on our comings and goings.
I retired this past summer after a very happy 37 years of teaching at The Harley School–31 in K-1, five in special education, and last year as a remote educator for grades K-3–a hard, challenging, but oddly rewarding year as I found ways to connect with kids via screens. Retirement was not an easy decision for me, but it was the right one. I want to see my grandchildren and children more. I have been advised not to take on too much until I learn how to BE retired–plus I have a big house to empty and a townhouse to make a home. Remy sold his customer list to a printing business in Rochester that wanted to add promotional items. He works for them now. He keeps busy, as always. He still sells honey at the public market, sings in his choir at Eastman School of Music (Covid carefully) and is on the board of a community partnership that provides transportation to people our age–I guess we are senior citizens or whatever the new buzz word is used now.
Several months in 2021 gave us the opportunity to see Jason and Gavi’s two beautiful sons (being a Bubbie is the BEST) more than in 2020. They are still living in Illinois. Jason is in his 5th year as Associate Rabbi at a lovely congregation. They love him, but we wished they lived closer–13 hours door to door, but worth every mile and minute. Benjamin (4 in December) and Henry (almost 23 months–2 in Feb) are adorable, verbal, musical, funny, and smart. We keep in touch via Tiny Beans photos and videos, Face Times several times a week, and Friday night candles, wine and challah Zooms before Jason has to conduct services. Gavi is teaching Kindergarten at a day school. Her educational philosophies are near and dear to my progressive heart. Remy and I read stories to the kids and “play” with toys we have in their toy box in our living room–I am grateful for these opportunities via FaceTime.
The arrival of Maya Isabelle to Aaron and Lana on December 5 brought joy to all of us. She is a teeny little bundle–and beautiful! We spent some careful time in DC getting to know her. Covid made going out or seeing others impossible during our visit. Aaron is COO of a nonprofit in Maryland and Lana works in communications.
I am still very active at our synagogue, volunteer in the community when Covid allows, edit the NCJW bulletin for our Rochester chapter, and recently joined a board that oversees a summer program for urban youth. ( I taught and did some admin stuff for 26 summers in the program.) I am guardedly exploring some new opportunities–mindful of the advice given to me by those retired wise ones. The board I recently joined tugged at my heartstrings.
Cataract surgery last winter allows me the opportunity to wear glasses only for driving and close work after wearing glasses for 60 years!
This past year brought sorrows and joys–saying goodbye to some very dear friends who passed and celebrating milestones and simchas via Zoom. Remy turned 65 on December 28–yay for Medicare! He does not, however, let me forget that I am older. We celebrated 39 years in November.
Hope you are not too bored by all of this. I am terrible at keeping in touch, but love you all.
I hope your holiday celebrations were joyous, and wish you and yours a happy, HEALTHY, peaceful new year.
Love, Marilyn Fenster
After emailing with Marilyn about this, she sent along a few more updates: I joined the Horizons at Harley Board! Just an FYI that I taught at Harley from 1975-80, spent 9 years as a career counselor, missed teaching, and returned in 1989 to the same classroom I left in 1980. My first year of teaching was in the old building!
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College Counseling
Harley’s Approach to College Counseling is highly individualized and student-centered. Students have direct access to college counselors throughout their Upper School experience, but really, each student is part of a team including faculty, administration, and staff. It’s our job to support each student and we want nothing more than to send students on to the next step of their journey at a right fit school for them. The student centered and driven process is wrapped in care, expertise, and professionalism.
We host college reps during times students are available (no need to miss a class) so they can make connections and learn more about potential schools. We also arrange campus visits for classes as field trips, host an alumni college day (where recent Upper School graduates return to share advice and answer questions), and help connect students with our international alumni network. In fact, representatives from schools all over the world actively seek opportunities to come to Harley and meet with our students!
Our college counselors are accredited and are part of national/global conversations on admission trends. They also attend and present at conferences across the country.
Beginning with our Grade 11 parent night, we offer informational sessions for parents, including one devoted just to financial aid. Our partnership with families is critical, as the college admissions world changes very quickly and having an expert to guide students and families through the process is essential.
Clubs
“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.
A few of this year’s choices: Sports Media, Social Action Club, Journalism Club, Feminism Club, Student of Color & Allies (SOCA), Gay-Straight Alliance, Tri M (music honor society), E-Sports Club, Euchre, Key Club (service), Animation Club, Dungeons & Dragons, Sustainability Club, Jewish Cultural Club, Astronomy Club, Biomimicry, and Beyond Soup (social justice/service).
Athletics
Each and every year, students at The Harley School participate in HAC Athletics, and their success continues to be impressive, both as students and athletes. Our athletic program is an integral part of Harley, teaching student-athletes invaluable lessons about teamwork, time management, persistence, and competition. Our program allows them to develop physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally as they represent their school on and off the field. They grow, mature, and work hard to be the best teammate they can, while creating lifelong memories with teammates who often remain friends for life.
Helping our athletes to reach their potential are some of HAC’s best assets: our coaches. More often than not, they are drawn from the ranks of our faculty and have a deep understanding of the personalities and abilities of the student-athletes on their teams.
We strive to find the right balance of academics, exercise, and personal growth for everyone. By offering a variety of sports at many different levels, all student-athletes find a sport they can be successful in. It is with great pride and pleasure that my team and I work to enrich the athletic lives of all our HAC student-athletes. Go Wolves!
To learn more check out our athletics page.
Student Leadership
Our Upper School is filled with formal and informal opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. Whether following passions or learning new skills, student-driven opportunities take many shapes.
– Independent study: one trimester, full year, and multi-year projects have included automating our solar chimneys, coding handmade musical instruments, or developing a class on financial literacy for underserved high school students.
– Serving on student council
– STEM: Climate curriculum program, biomimicry program, NASA Hunch program
Clubs
“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.
A few of this year’s choices: Sports Media, Social Action Club, Journalism Club, Feminism Club, Student of Color & Allies (SOCA), Gay-Straight Alliance, Tri M (music honor society), E-Sports Club, Euchre, Key Club (service), Animation Club, Dungeons & Dragons, Sustainability Club, Jewish Cultural Club, Astronomy Club, Biomimicry, and Beyond Soup (social justice/service).
Hospice
Unlike this class, death is not an elective. Although it is one of two universal human experiences, our culture often ignores, denies, or misconstrues the true nature of death and dying. What happens when we bear witness to this natural process in the cycle of life and develop our ability to be fully present with others when they need us more than ever? It has the potential to change us deeply and fundamentally while shining a brilliant light on the path of our own lives.
With the support of their classmates, teacher, and comfort care home communities, senior students are offered the chance to care for others who truly need their purposeful, non-judgmental attention. In the home-like setting of a comfort care home, opportunities for learning extend beyond a traditional classroom rubric and conventional methods of evaluation. In this course, students will certainly find tangible “learning outcomes” by studying the medical/physical processes associated with dying and the basic nursing assistant skills of comfort care. The ultimate goal, however, will always be rooted in true relationships and connection, which occurs only through empathy and compassion.
Learn more about the Hospice Program at Harley HERE.
Capstone/Independent Studies
This program utilizes environmentally-focused approaches to education and hands-on learning in order to foster the next generation of leaders through a lens of sustainability and problem-solving.
Food & Farm: These year-long and trimester-long classes are held outside as much as possible, allowing students to become leaders in our various growing spaces. They cover environmental justice issues as well as hands-on work such as planning and overseeing planting, harvesting, and preparation of the gardens.
Past year-long focus projects have included: Creating a native plant shade garden in the Wild Wood area, redesigning our hydroponic system, overhauling Harley’s high tunnel, and improving the irrigation system for the MicroFarm.
Culinary Arts: These classes have a two-fold purpose: to give students practical skills in cooking and the science behind different techniques in the kitchen, learning about food justice, food sourcing, labor topics, and sustainability.
Past topics have included: Examining a plant-based diet, looking at the carbon footprint of different meals and food preparation methods, proposing a low carbon footprint menu to the dining hall, links between food labeling and environmental issues of food production.
Beekeeping: This one trimester class provides hands-on training in beekeeping, how to be a beekeeper, and safety and other techniques for working with bees. Once trained students help with all aspects of Harley beekeeping such as hive inspections, honey collection and extraction, and teaching students in Lower School about our hives.
Students pick a research topic addressing honeybee health and the larger environmental picture.
Social Justice
At Harley, our students learn how to evaluate social systems in order to identify complex problems in society through a lens of social justice. They take a hands-on approach to working for a fair, equitable society by researching, exploring and evaluating different perspectives, and offering solutions—both theoretical and practical.
Our faculty integrate social justice into our broader curriculum to assist students in gaining a foundational knowledge about what makes a democracy function. By gaining skills in ideating supportive pathways they become more exposed and experienced to how communities can undergo healing and restorative actions.
Capstone/Independent Studies
Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. They are empowered to create their own curriculum, set goals, and work on time management skills in order to accomplish their objectives.
Independent Studies run the gamut from The Psychology of Sports to Furniture Design to The Neuroimaging of Alzheimer’s Disease. Capstones, meanwhile, are as diverse as the students who pursue them: Fictional Rochester, Autobiographical Art, Biomimicry Education, Organic Fuel, and Rochester Refugees.
Indicative of Upper School curiosity and creativity, pursuits such as these distinguish our graduates in college. Through deep dives of this sort, Harley students master more than speaking, writing, and computing: they learn to communicate, advocate, collaborate, organize, listen, and empathize.
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