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A RARE GLIMPSE OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA Global Speaker – Matthew Reichel ’05 Matthew Reichel, co-founding partner and executive director of Pyongyang Project, visited Newark Academy as the first global speaker of the 2013-2014 Global Speaker Series. After graduating from Brown University in 2009, Reichel co-founded Pyongyang Project, a Vancouver-based education and capacitybuilding organization dedicated to responsible engagement with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Reichel’s presentation focused on Korea’s insecurity and turbulent history of repeated occupation, and described some of the challenges of working in North Korea.
Matt Reichel ’05 with Craig Haratz ’14 of the NA Global Speaker Committee
TALK TO ME! NA Hosts TEDx
UPPER SCHOOL ACADEMIC CENTER GETS GOLD FOR GOING GREEN The Upper School Academic Center has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The building is the first in Livingston to earn coveted gold status. The certification process for new construction of schools is based on a checklist that tallies possible points for environmental stewardship in areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Newark Academy worked with Nadaskay Kopelson (NK) Architects of Morristown on the design, and with Joseph A. Natoli Corporation on the construction plan for the building that would maximize sustainability. Among its green features, the building is equipped with eco-friendly heating and cooling systems; water-conserving plumbing fixtures; indoor finishes that use recycled and sustainable materials; and classrooms designed to maximize effective acoustics and natural light to create high-performing learning environments. “The lesson NA students can take from this achievement is that every sustainability initiative matters – from grassroots efforts to large-scale construction projects – and impacts the future health of our environment,” said Head of School Don Austin. “Beyond the Newark Academy campus, the future of the surrounding community rests with the organizations that take on the responsibility of environmental stewardship.”
Originally started as a conference bringing together people from the worlds of Technology, Entertainment and Design, “TED” is a nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” TED conferences around the world challenge fascinating people to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. NA is getting in on the act through the TEDx program, which gives communities the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TEDlike experiences at the local level. With the help of Olivier Sherman ’07, now on staff at TED, a dedicated group of students and faculty, led by Humanities Department Chair Jeff Vinikoor and Claudia Lu ’15, applied for a license to host a TEDx event. In May 2014, TEDx Newark Academy will host its first event with talk topics focusing on “skills for the future.” NA community members will give their own original TED-style talks and screen TED talks from the famed conferences.
OUTREACH fall 2013