Hackley Review Summer 2015: Lower School Science

FEATURE
30
By Amanda Esteves-Kraus
Discovering Magic:
Regina DiStefano and Hackley Lower
School Science
This article is part of a series on faculty holders of Hackley’s endowed chairs. Regina
DiStefano was named to The Parents’ Chair for a three year term, beginning in 2013.
The Chair was endowed by the Hackley Parents’ Association to recognize excellence in
teaching and is awarded to faculty following nomination by their faculty peers.
Full disclosure: children under the age of 10 scare me.
I spend my days in the science classrooms of the
Upper School—teaching biology to juniors and
seniors—and my conversations with students occur
at eye level. So it was with some trepidation that
I entered the Hackley Lower School—a beautiful
building sized for individuals who barely reach my
hip—to gather my research on Regina DiStefano.
I say “research” because over the last few months,
I poked and prodded many individuals in order to
gather data on Regina and Hackley Lower School
science. Scientists know that only with data can you
formulate a conclusion. Let me share with you some
numbers that I picked up on my first day of this
social experiment.
Table 1: Comparative Summary of Hackley LS versus
US Science Divisions
Upper School
Lower School
Number of Teachers 9 1
Number of Classes
Taught per Teacher
Maximum Number
of Students Taught
Number of Teachers
who Teach in Heels
4 11
68 166
(Every student
grades 1st–4th)
0 1
Average Heel Height 0 4 inches
One of her colleagues said it best, “She literally is
SUPER WOMAN.” And I have to agree. But what
struck me most as I explored the world of Lower
School science was just how much my goals for my
“big kids” matched the goals Regina has for her
“little kids.”
When Regina and I first met to talk about her
program, I asked her what she believes defines her
approach to Hackley Lower School science. At the
center of her multifaceted response was her desire
for her students to “find meaning in the world” and
to “constantly be wondering.” Amongst the haze
of SATs, college-applications, and dramatic promposals*
this is the same lesson I hope to impart on
my students.
So how do we as teachers accomplish these goals?
The answer to that question varies from teacher
to teacher, but what is clear is that the groundwork
for inquiry-based science at Hackley begins with
Regina DiStefano in the Lower School.
* Prom-posal (präm-pozel)
noun
1. An all-consuming Hackley phenomenon during the
weeks leading up to prom that involves the juniors and
seniors developing elaborate, entertaining, and sometimes
odd ways to invite their heart’s desire to prom
2. An offer of a prom date

31
Lower School science students building cars they will later race, testing the effects of friction and other forces. The project is
part of a unit on simple machines; cars combine levers, wheels and axles.
Families touring Hackley will often say the school
resembles Hogwarts. If so, then Regina’s second-floor
classroom is that magical room at the top of several
moving staircases that manages to make you feel
that you are no longer inside, but instead exploring
the natural world outside. Windows cover one entire
wall of the Lower School science classroom. When
I walked in for the first time, I felt enveloped in the
trees. None of the surrounding school buildings or
neighborhood houses were visible. Instead, the view
was a panorama of tree branches, the sky, and birds
as they flitted past the windows. In elementary school,
teachers chastised me for staring out the window; this
classroom would have been my downfall.
Luckily, what I soon discovered was that the inside
of the classroom was just as lively and magical as the
outside world. Old hornets’ hives and birds’ nests
hang from the ceiling. Colorful solar system projects
cover another wall. There are books everywhere,
posters of local bird species, and reconstructed owl
pellets. And just when I began to border on sensory
overload, my eyes landed on what might be the bestkept
secret of Hackley—the Science Word Wall. It is
a wall full of science vocabulary. Words like “crenate,”
“arachnid,” “conduction,” and “momentum” stand
proudly on the wall in big, glossy, black letters.
True magic!
You may think I am the biggest nerd for falling in
love with this wall, but when I told my juniors and
seniors about this phenomenal creation—well, actually,
first they did laugh at me—but then they started
pestering me to create their own Science Word
Wall in my classroom. At the core of all sciences,
but especially biology, is a bevy of new vocabulary.
I often write on graded assessments, “Please use
your science vocabulary.” The smooth endoplasmic
reticulum produces lipids, whereas the rough endoplasmic
reticulum produces proteins. Fail to delineate
the adjective, smooth or rough, and it is impossible to
know this particular organelle’s function. Even within
these two sentences, new questions pop up in relation
to vocabulary; “What is a lipid again? An organelle?”
It can be never-ending—hence the begging for an
Upper School Science Word Wall.
When I asked Regina about the Word Wall, she told
me it was “just the best” classroom aid, reminding
students to focus on what they say and how they say
it. Exploring and discovering meaning is all well and
good, but without the basic skill set of vocabulary,
students cannot ask the appropriate questions. It
is not enough in Regina’s classroom to say “seethrough”
when “transparent” is on the Word Wall.
She believes students “feel better and more capable if
the work is hard for them,” and part of that capability
is appropriate use of science vocabulary.
This conversation about language underscores a
central tenant of effective science education. These
days, the buzz in science education is all about
“STEM,” and many curricula—and more important,
many students—seek to compartmentalize
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)
as subjects completely detached from humanities
classes. Not only does this reinforce old stereotypes,
encouraging those students who naturally gravitate

FEATURE
32
Students take advantage of Hackley’s largest classroom—our woods!
A fourth grader displays the result of owl pellet dissection.
to quantitative subjects to justify their resistance to
the humanities while marginalizing those who more
naturally gravitate to literature and arts, it fundamentally
detracts from the depth with which each student
can engage with the subject. Through language we
not only learn and build a stronger foundation, but
also unlock other doors.
“Endo,” for example, derives from the Greek endon,
which means “within.” Understanding this, we can
conclude that both the smooth and rough endoplasmic
reticulum must be within something. My
first year teaching at Hackley, a student floored me
by nonchalantly stating, “Of course, the function of
the cloaca [an opening in birds for the release of both
excretory and reproductive products] makes sense
because the Latin association of the word is ‘sewer.’”
With this observation, this student engaged every
other student in the classroom and ensured that no
one would ever forget the term cloaca.
And this is what I think is so phenomenal about
Regina. She understands and manages to create a
science classroom that is incredibly hands-on and
inquiry-based without losing sight of the other skills
students need to have to simply be good students.
One of the days I visited Regina’s class was a day
she deemed “a boring day” because her first grade
students were doing research for their research
projects. Now, I do not know what you were doing
in your school in first grade, but I can assure you, I
was most certainly not involved in research of any
kind. And yet here was a classroom of little people, all
focused on gathering information on their assigned
animals. To make them feel special, and to keep
them focused, Regina set-up blue cardboard dividers
around students to create the feeling of cubicles.
Regina notes, “Students need to learn to look at
sources, understand and question where information
comes from, and draw conclusions from what they
gather—facts or data.” With the amount of information
available to students instantaneously these days,
it is never too early to learn this lesson.
In my conversations with students, parents, and
colleagues, it is clear that Lower School science is fun.
Regina said it best when she told me she loves her job
because she “gets to play all day long.” Students build
racecars and race them in the hallway. The different
modes of heat transfer—conduction, convection, and
radiation—became a delicious lesson when taught
through the vector of popcorn.
A current senior who had Regina in third grade
distinctly remembers the still popular catapultbuilding
activity. The assignment is to build a catapult
out of pieces of wood, paper, glue, and rubber bands.
The activity focused on trial, error, and recording
of results, in order to learn from each attempted
design—in short, the real-life scientific method. He
recalled that his catapult “worked terribly, but it was
a lot of fun to build.” Whenever I perform dissections
with my students, the Hackley lifers always—and I
mean always—remember dissecting the owl pellet in

33
Hackley 4th graders and kindergartners at the Wolf Conservation Center.
The Wolf Project
The swan song of Lower School
Science is the WOLF UNIT. Regina
DiStefano developed the project at
the encouragement of Ron DelMoro,
former Lower School Director. The
project engages Hackley students
in two partnerships: the first, with
the Wolf Conservation Center
located in South Salem, NY, and the
second pairs Hackley fourth graders
and their Kindergarten “buddies.”
The Kindergarten Buddy partnership
extends back decades, as
Hackley’s oldest Lower School
students (once fifth graders, but
fourth graders since 2004 when fifth
grade joined the Middle School),
partner with Hackley’s youngest
students at the start of the school
year, and this relationship blossoms
throughout the year through joint
snack sessions, mini “peer advisory”
meetings, and other activities. At
the end of the year, the kindergartners
sing to the fourth graders at
Step-Up Day.
As the fourth graders begin to learn
everything there is to know about
wolves, they share this information
with their buddies. Regina’s unit
encompasses ecology, biodiversity,
predation habits, and endless other
new vocabulary terms. She uses the
wolf as a framework for studying
the local environment and changing
weather patterns. Meanwhile,
however, the kindergartners read
fiction stories that portray wolves
as “bad,” evil creatures. Hackley
fourth graders share knowledge
that expands the kindergartners’
perspectives so the younger
students may come to appreciate
wolves as more than just fairy
tale villains.
Come springtime, the fourth graders
and their kindergarten buddies
travel to the Wolf Conservation
Center where they get to see live
wolves and ask questions of the
naturalists at the Center. Their
questions reveal the depth of the
knowledge they have gained over
the course of the years. “Why do
the red wolves only have numbers
when the ambassador wolves have
names?” (4th grader). “Can red
wolves and gray wolves breed with
each other?” (4th grader). “Does it
hurt when the elk lose their antlers?”
(kindergartner). “Why do the wolves
pace back and forth like that?”
(4th grader). “How come the wolf
doesn’t like you?”(kindergartner).
The Wolf Unit is one of the staples
of the Lower School science
program that students look forward
to each year. The current fourth
graders can now remember when
they were kindergartners and visited
the Wolf Center with their own
fourth grade buddies. The project
continues to grow and flourish.
Most important, however, by the
end of the unit, students learn that
the “Big, Bad, Wolf” does not really
exist. Regina observes, “If I’m doing
my job right, the students should
understand there really is no such
thing as a ‘bad’ animal.”

FEATURE
34
The Science Word Wall
Lower School—slowly pulling apart the regurgitated
pellet looking for bones that they have to then rebuild
into a complete mouse skeleton. Students learn to
identify the bones not only by structure, but also by
name. This activity is time-consuming, meticulous
work that requires attention to detail and patience.
These are the moments that resonate with Hackley
students. Science is a living, breathing, constantly
evolving process, and if done properly, a fun process
as well. My current students do not remember doing
research in Regina’s class. They do not remember
her focus on the scientific method and using proper
terminology. What they do remember are the owl
pellets, the final fourth grade “Wolf Unit” [see
previous page], and the opportunity to venture out
and explore the 250 or so acres of woods on Hackley’s
285 acre campus. But whether the students who have
gone through the Lower School are aware of it or
not, this strong foundation is lodged in their brains.
I see it everyday in my classroom and outside of
my classroom.
When I say outside, I mean outside. My classes trek
through the wilds of Hackley regularly. Upper School
Biology and Ecology teacher Tessa Johnson’s Ecology
classes are in the woods every day. Often, Tessa’s
students pair up with Regina’s Lower School students
to check for salamanders in varying locations in the
woods. These Upper School-Lower School student
partnerships continue throughout the year and
often evolve to lasting devotion. (One Lower Schooler
frequented the sports games of his Upper School
“salamander buddy.”) The Upper School students are
amazed by how much knowledge of science and the
woods the little people have and it is all a testament
to Regina. She introduces the students to the Hackley
woods, to the plants and animals local to the area, and
all the while holding the students accountable for the
proper names of species, and encouraging them to view
the world with wider eyes.
Tessa and I have hatched ducks in our classroom for the
last three years. The level of craziness in our classroom
the first few days after the ducks hatch may in fact rival
prom-posal season. Regina brings many of her science
classes to visit the ducks throughout the process—from
eggs, to hatchlings, to toddler ducks. Tessa and I take
turns talking to the Lower Schoolers who come to visit.
Often our Upper School students will even take over and
speak. It’s wonderful to watch the Upper Schoolers step
into these responsible roles and tread into the world of
communication with youngsters. We are always struck
by how observant Regina’s students are. They notice
how the water rolls of the ducks’ oily feathers, or can
point out bloods vessels in the developing embryo while
it is still in the egg.
My Upper Schoolers are always surprised to find how
smart and curious Regina’s students are and I have
to remind many of them that I am sure they were like
that in Lower School. They shrug and respond, “debat-

35
Testing reflexes
Success in machine building—it moves!
[Regina] introduces the students to the Hackley woods, to the plants and animals
local to the area, and all the while holding the students accountable for the proper
names of species, and encouraging them to view the world with wider eyes.
able.” Once the little people leave our classroom, the
overall energy level of the room immediately drops
and there is a quiet moment of reflection. Another
Hackley lifer informed me that she loved when the
Lower Schoolers visit because she remembers being
a kindergartner and having a fourth grade “buddy”
during Regina’s legendary “Wolf Unit.” She once
thought her fourth grade “buddy” was the coolest
person ever and couldn’t image being on the brink
of leaving Lower School to enter Middle School. Now
this lifer is about to graduate from Hackley. I say
graduate intentionally, because I do believe once you
are part of Hackley, you never truly leave Hackley.
But when this student does leave Hackley, I know that
she will leave with a strong foundation in science that
all started with Regina. She will leave with a desire
to explore the world around her, a desire to question,
and with a fondness for owl pellets. Most important,
she will graduate with the knowledge that there are
certain key skills—language, writing, communication,
the importance of sources—that not only apply to
science, but have also been key elements of her many
other Hackley classes.
This is what makes Regina so outstanding as a
teacher. As one of her colleagues noted, “Our Lower
School students are taught the same procedure for
conducting an experiment as the Middle and Upper
School students as they formulate a hypothesis and
either prove or disprove it methodically.” Regina
makes it fun and creative without losing academic
rigor and while building stronger students. Not to
mention, she’s doing all of this in heels.
After spending this time in the Lower School world,
I realize that in so many ways, my students are really
just Regina’s students trapped in big bodies. There
is no such thing as Lower, Middle, or Upper School
Science at Hackley. There is only Hackley Science.
And Regina is its foundation.
Ω Amanda Esteves-Kraus joined the Hackley Science
faculty in 2012 after completing her undergraduate degree
at Williams College, where she majored in Biology and
Art History. A member of Hackley’s Boarding faculty, she
also conducts Upper School Admissions interviews and
serves as Unity Alumni Coordinator in Hackley’s Upper
School Diversity program. She begins graduate work
in Biology at Teachers College, Columbia University,
in September.