May 25, 2020
Aloha Seabury Hall Community,
There’s no such thing as goodbyes and farewells when it comes to teachers because their teachings forever stay in the minds and hearts of their students. (Unknown)
We have worked to find creative ways to celebrate our graduates, our scholars and our students who have risen to the Distance Learning occasion, however we find that there is a very important celebration that must also be a part of our end of May festivities. We want to celebrate our Seabury Hall Teacher Retirees!
Please join us in honoring three of our revered and respected educators who announced their retirement from teaching and from Seabury Hall last October. I am sure these three seasoned educators never expected that their last 10 weeks at Seabury Hall would be so memorable! We are glad that we were able to take advantage of their experience and dedication to Seabury Hall students during these challenging times. Evelyn Lacanienta, Andrew Bulkley and Fred Silverman have impacted the lives of countless students. Rather than have me describe, we felt it best to hear from their former students.
“Who could forget Mrs. Lacanienta's chemistry class? Mrs. Lac made a difficult subject (for me) understandable and approachable. I can still hear her voice explaining about the charges of protons, electrons and neutrons, and see those models she used to help us visualize the structure of atoms.” - Rachel Hodara ‘04
“Mrs. Lacanienta was an instrumental part of me pushing towards becoming an engineer. Back when I was in high school, I knew I enjoyed math and science, but did not know what direction to push those interests. During long conversations with her in Chemistry Honors class, as well as later on in AP Env. Science, she directed me towards chemical engineering with the passions for Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus. I will also never forget the time she convinced me to put on a few chemistry experiments for some of the younger Seabury Hall students. I cannot recall if it was for an open house or some other similar event, but I conducted the “elephant toothpaste” experiment, and she trusted my clumsy self to not mess it up too badly. It was a great time for all involved. She was always a good mentor and guide in and out of the classroom, and I will be forever thankful for that.” - Filiberto Colon ‘07
“I loved Ms. Lac's AP Environmental Science class so much that I nearly threw out all my plans in college to study it. After trying out a college chemistry class, I quickly remembered that I am NOT a scientist and stuck to my strengths in the arts but I think it's a testament to Ms. Lac's teaching that she gave me such a strong passion for environmental science that (for a short time) I thought about changing the course of my life. Ms. Lac, I'm still not sure how you were simultaneously able to be so caring and sweet while also commanding and inspiring a room of rowdy teenagers. Your excitement for the material was contagious and I really felt the passion and energy you put into making every student care about the subject as much as you did. Although I didn't wind up studying environmental science in college, you had a real impact on me. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from you and I wish you all the best in your much-deserved retirement” Best wishes, Skyla Lowery '10
“Mrs. Lacanienta class, which I remember being very hard, was where I really started to love and enjoy more rigorous science. She forced us to think and really understand science if we were going to succeed. I am grateful for that, it taught me the value of hard work (while doing something I enjoyed). Mrs. Lacanienta, and several other teachers from Seabury, are what lead me to pursue a career in engineering and science.” - Leo Ludwick '96
“Mr. Silverman, is someone who I truly believe to be one of the most talented teachers I have had the privilege to learn from. I was always impressed with his ability to communicate concepts so clearly and I appreciated the meticulous time he took to work example problems on the board with such precision and organization. He was so knowledgeable. His class was hard, it challenged me, but it also grew me and prepared me so well. I am grateful for the material I learned in his class but more significantly the work ethic and discipline I gained from his course. I learned to not give up, how to study well, and how to use failure as a means of learning for the future. All of which things have continued to greatly impact my life in college. My favorite memory of Mr. Silverman was when he chaperoned my senior year prom and all of the students got him and his wife to ballroom dance on the dance floor.” - Marina Northey '17
“Whether you spent four or seven years at Seabury Hall, you know who Mr. Silverman is... If you don’t, you probably never made it to Junior year Physics. Although I'm doubtful he recalls this, the first day of my freshman year at Seabury is also the day I have my first memory of Mr. Fred Silverman; a couple had been accidentally blocking my locker in an embrace that seemed to last forever until he came by and broke it up, saving me a really awkward “Excuse me” on my first day of high school. Two years and a few dress codes later when it was finally time to take his class, the mold of “strict physics teacher” that I had created for him in my head crumbled. Mr. Silverman wrote neatly on the board, answered every stupid question and was NEVER late. Obviously these are all great qualities for a teacher to have but more importantly I feel that he genuinely rooted for his students to do well (even the ones who he may have not been too fond of) and encouraged all of our academic victories. I graduated from Seabury in 2016 - after my time there plus four years at University, I have yet to encounter another academic figure who I felt had the whole craft of teaching down to a science the way he does. Cheers to Mr. Silverman, his retirement and those meticulously polished shoes the next physics teacher has to fill.” - River Christensen '16
“Mr. Bulkley has left me with great memories of learning Japanese! I remember our classroom in the gym with Mr. Bulkley and wonderful memories of working with the Japanese girls every summer that came to Seabury under the program that Mr. Bulkley helped organize.” - Rachel Hodara ‘04
“Mr. Bulkley has always been a main-stay at Seabury, having been there even before I joined the 6th grade back in 2000. He was always up for a laugh at assembly, participating in many of the funny skits or banter that would be had in the assemblies, and I always saw him as a great piece of the Seabury Hall faculty.” - Filiberto Colon ‘07
“It has taken me a long time to be okay with lacking even the smallest bit of natural ability with respect to foreign language learning, but I now accept that any achievement on that front will be painfully, painstakingly hard won. Apparently I wasn't up for that kind of pain in high school, and was just crossing my fingers for natural ability, because I took three (maybe even four!) years of Japanese Language and today rely almost exclusively on a single utterance: "Wakarimasen". Though Mr. Bulkley's retirement does seem like a good time to play the blame game, and get into some roasting, I should note that he is not at all culpable in this! Thank you, Mr. Bulkley. I wish you all the best in your next life's rhythm.” - Jubilee Felsing-Watkins ‘01 Ellison
I speak for everyone at Seabury Hall as we offer our warmest congratulations for a well deserved and healthy retirement. We are grateful for your dedication to our students and your positive impact on their education, preparation, and success.
