With great excitement we begin 2010 with our first issue of "The Buzz" The Hudson School Alumni Association Newsletter. Fittingly, the school's theme for this year is community. In that spirit, our newsletter will strive to bring together our amazing family of friends and classmates.

Since most of you were not here in the mid-eighties, I should introduce myself. I entered 5th grade at The Hudson School in 1982, when we had grown to a whopping 52 students in six grades. Back then, we were housed snugly in back of the Hoboken Public Library. Like so many of you, I too went to the farm in 5th grade, took mini-courses in June, and ate lunch from the "General Store" in Church Square Park almost every day. Now, I am a teacher at Hudson, in our new building at 601 Park Ave, and have the sincere pleasure of being a colleague of several of my own former teachers.

You are hearing from me here because I also serve as the Alumni Affairs Coordinator. The Hudson School Alumni Association was initially made possible by a seed grant from the E. E. Ford Foundation. This year, we are primarily working on using electronic communications and networks to find and reconnect our alumni to the school and to one another, as well as gathering representatives to establish a formal Alumni Association. I sincerely look forward to coming together to share our stories and our passions. Best wishes to all of you. Please enjoy the first issue of our newsletter and have a peaceful and joyous new year.

~Sara Herrera, Class of '86

Alumni Association News and Events

2009 Homecoming Reunion
2009 was an eventful year at The Hudson School with many things to be grateful for. One of the highlights of this past year was the Thanksgiving Homecoming Reunion for the high school classes of 2004-2010. The morning began with a breakfast, hosted by Ms. Wasserman. Happily, throughout the day our halls were crowded with friends reuniting and alumni searching out their former teachers. There were plenty of joyful shrieks heard in school that day. At the homecoming assembly, our most recent high school graduates shared stories of the trials and glories of their freshman year of college for the benefit of our college bound seniors.

Following the assembly, some alumni and faculty enjoyed a luncheon at Wild Ginger restaurant, which was cheerfully decorated in black and gold. Thanks to the generosity of our board of trustees, our current seniors were invited and treated to the luncheon as well, making it their first official taste of life as members of our family of Hudson Alumni.

Who are some of the alumni we saw that day? From class of '09: Evelyn Canela, Nikolay (Kolya) Denisov, Chloe Estes, Stephen Hill, Tara-Jo Lewis, Davika Parris, Jeremy Pesner and Jake Sachs. From class of '08: Xenia Fisher, Aaron Moskowitz, Dania Rothenberg and Sam Ziebel. From class of ’07: Myla Mooney and Yale Spector. From class of '05: Alex Loizzo, Robin McGrath, Mey Veral, Jonathan Wohl. From class of '04: Joshua Gonzalez, Viraj Desai

Our Communities

At the Hudson school we were encouraged to consider ourselves in the context of the many communities of which we were part. From social justice, to environmental justice and education, a dedication to community is evident in the paths chosen by many of our fellow graduates. In that light, a few of our alumni, from the many who do incredible work, seem fitting to mention:

Tasha Gill, class of ’87, lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, working for UNISEF as a Child Protection Specialist, addressing the dire health and safety needs of women and children in the war torn southern region.

Auden Schendler, class of ‘81, was named a global warming innovator by Time magazine in 1996. His new book Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution came out in March, 2009. We were fortunate enough to have Auden here at the school to share his work and passions with the students at an inspiring assembly last Spring. He is currently the Executive Director of Sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company and worked previously in corporate sustainability at Rocky Mountain Institute. Additionally, Auden has been a trailer insulator, burger flipper, ambulance medic, Outward Bound instructor, high school math and English teacher, freelance writer, and a Forest Service goose nest island builder! He lives in Basalt, Colorado with his wife Ellen and their children Willa and Elias. Here's a link to Auden's wonderful blog.

Alumni Buzz

We have at least two sets of married alumni: Caitlin Walker '86 is married to William Wuillamey '82, and Johanna Hagelthorn '85 is married to John Foster '86 Are there any others we don't know about...yet?

Future Little Hornets? There are so many! Most recently, board member, Minal Patel '84 and his wife Asra welcomed their 2nd son. He's our newest Future Little Hornet with his big brother:

Getting Involved

Class Representatives

While we have a few, there are still many class reps needed! In addition to planning and hosting events, the first batch of representative will formally organize the Alumni Association and help to establish its mission and by-laws. email alumni@thehudsonschool.org

Volunteer Opportunities

Writers and Historians- help to create a school Archive and prepare a Historical Time Line for display at the school and online.

Film Makers-"A Day in the Life" @ Hudson, video project, hosted by a middle and high schooler. This would be great to have on our school website.

Scientists- Alumni Science Fair Judges- we normally have parents and outside professionals judge our annual school wide science fair. It would be wonderful to have a few of our alumni who work in the sciences serve as judges.

Composers, Song Writers and Poets- School Song -Mrs. Newman really, really wants a school song! It would be a blast to have a few in a variety of musical styles, as I know we have many musicians among us.

Event Planners please join the planning committees for the upcoming alumni association events. (listed above) We need you!

Anyone of us! -Mini-Courses are still offered at the end of the school year. Do you have an interesting talent or passion that would make the subject of a ½ day course? If you recall, for mini-courses, almost anything goes.

Attend An Event

We would love to have you join us for one of our upcoming events! In the sidebar on the right are a list of upcoming events at The Hudson School. Links to invitations and reply cards are included.

Question posted for discussion on our Facebook page

For our faculty tribute dinner, we would like to select one or two faculty members (current or former) to be our guests of honor. Who would you nominate? Why? Please share your thoughts and memories about your Hudson School teachers. We would like to hear about meaningful lessons learned, the lasting impact of particular teacher on your life, as well as your funniest and fondest memories. That's right; we want the good, the bad and the hard to believe!

Let's Stay Connected!

Facebook Become a fan of The Hudson School Alumni Association page. (See badge in sidebar)

Update your contact information! Update your contact information on The Hudson School website's page for the Alumni Association a or via the form at the bottom of this pagend sign up to receive "The Buzz" and Hudson event invitations directly to your email inbox (...or by snail mail if you prefer)

"The Buzz"- Submit alumni news items, tidbits and articles for this newsletter. (email alumni@thehuudsonschool.org).

Let us know who you stay in touch with by sending us an email and cc-ing your Hudson classmates and friends.

Please do share this newsletter with a classmate who you think would like to hear from us.!

Giving financial contributions can be made via our webpage here and in-kind donations can be made by emailing alumni@thehuudsonschool.org.

Sign Up for our Alumni Mailing List!

Alumni Asociation Events

Contact me to join a planning committee!

- Late Winter/Early Spring Meeting of all class reps

– Do you want to be a representative for your class?

- Faculty Tribute Dinner (late May)

– Any event planners want to volunteer?

- Golf Fundraiser Outing- (mid/early June)

– We are putting together an organizing committee right now, are you interested?

School Events

-Friday, January 22 at 10 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m. Sixth graders will present William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Ms. Baldwin and Ms. Jacobs.

-Sunday, January 31 2:00-5:00 p.m. Opening reception at Hoboken Historical Museum of, faculty member, Peter Ziebel’s photographs “Hoboken Light and Geometry: Selections.” Exhibit runs through March 21.

-Wednesday, February 3, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Elegant four-course fundraising dinner with wine sponsored by the Board of Trustees of The Hudson School at Amanda’s Restaurant. Seating is limited. Tickets are $150 in support of the scholarship fund. (Invitations and return cards can be download here.)

-Tuesday, March 16, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Dinner and Auction sponsored by the Parents' Association. Tickets are $75 in support of the scholarship fund. (Special letter to Alumni can be downloaded here.)

The Hudson School Alumni Association

Promote Your Page Too