When Margie reflects on her own experience at NA, she recalls the valuable life skills she learned here that continue to serve her well. “It was Hampton Abney who taught me about time management, helping me create lists of tasks and match them to my calendar – a true necessity now as then. Working with Mr. Parlin I literally doubled my vocabulary in one year, and I have two sets of SAT scores to prove it! I think of him to this day whenever I complete the New York Times crossword puzzles.” Margie recalls Morning Meeting in the mid-1970s, “when everybody had a seat, including the teachers.” It was there that she learned to feel comfortable speaking in front of a group as she announced the basketball team’s latest results. The same basketball
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coach who led her NA team to a State Championship was none other than Bill Blaskopf, math teacher to both mother and son (Nathan ’13). Nate has certainly enjoyed listening to his parents’ and grandfather’s NA stories over the years (his father, Peter Feinberg ’78 is also an alumnus). “When I was a student,” Margie reflects, “kids came to NA for a wide variety of reasons and we all got along whether we were in the AP classes or hung out with the ‘Sweat Hogs.’ Now, admission is so competitive – the kids just keep getting more talented but the sense of community remains the same.” All three generations of their family have found NA to be a place where kids are encouraged to “try something new, take a chance – that’s a tradition that keeps Newark Academy so strong.”
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For Margery Gering Feinberg ’78, the Newark Academy tradition extends to branches both above and below in her family tree. Her father George Gering ’51 paved the way for her. “When I came for my interview,” Margie recalls, “I was meeting with Curly Ford, former faculty member and director of admission, and in walked Catherine Lynham – I’ve never seen my dad stand at attention so quickly!” A beloved and legendary teacher at Newark Academy, Mrs. Lynham had been Mr. Gering’s own faculty mentor. Upon seeing her former student g ’78 r e she ran for her pocketbook and inb Fe returned quickly, pulling from it a g monogrammed silver compact that had been a gift from Mr. Gering’s parents years before.
For the Amin family of Bernardsville, the Newark Academy tradition mirrors the growth of the family’s food distribution business. When Archit Amin ’83 first came to Newark Academy in 1980, his parents were in search of an educational environment where he could get more individual attention, better preparation for college, and ultimately develop the skills he would need to carry Deep Foods, Inc. (the family owned company started by his parents) forward as its future leader. “Right from the start I loved the
Class of 2011 Legacies Legacy Students from the Class of 2011 with their family members Back (l-r): David Richards ’71, Nancy Baird Harwood ’75, Peter Marx ’76, Archit Amin ’83, Monal Amin, Joseph McGrath ’81, Jeffrey Heller ’81, Colleen Szuch, Richard Szuch ’80, Ruth Redmond Bloom ’80, Richard Redmond ’77 middle: Daniel Richards ’11, William (Whit) Harwood ’11, Nicole Friend ’11, Callie Marx ’11, Devon Amin ’11, Sarah McGrath ’11, Emily Heller ’11, Nicholas Szuch ’11, John Bloom ’11, Timothy Redmond ’11 front: Matthew Richards ’08, Vivek Amin ’14, Milan Amin ’09, Richard Redmond, Jr. ’06, Scott Redmond ’09