Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Brian Li (V) This fall, the Upper School English Department welcomes Dr. Barrett Ward, who will be teaching English 9 for freshmen as well as senior electives Ethical Dilemma and Magical Realism.
Dr. Barrett Ward graduated from Texas Christian University, where he received a B.A. in History. He then continued his education at the University of Texas at Austin, where he obtained a M.A. and a Ph.D. in English Literature.
Afterwards, he served as an Officer in the United States Army for just under 14 years. During his initial five years in the Army, he was an Armored Cavalry Officer and served as a paratrooper and a “trainer for combat soldiers,” said Dr. Ward. He then moved into intelligence work and became an Intelligence Officer, where he commanded an “intelligence and interrogation analysis company” in Baghdad, Iraq, until 2010. Subsequently, Dr. Ward taught at West Point for three years, and in 2015 and 2016, served as a Liaison Officer for an army intelligence unit in Daegu, South Korea. Most recently, he taught English Literature at the United States Air Force Academy. Needless to say, he has an extremely unique and interesting career background.
Dr. Ward hopes to meet as many members of the Pingry community as he can and support his students whenever possible. Welcome to Pingry, Dr. Ward!
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Mae Lange (III)
Mr. Matthew Osborne, known as “Herr Osborne” to his students, has joined the Middle and Upper School World Language Departments. In addition to teaching German C, German 2, and Latin 3, he serves as an assistant coach for the girls’ cross country team and is a member of the LGBT Faculty and Staff Affinity Group. Herr Osborne attended Northwestern University, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in World Language and Education. Before coming to Pingry, he taught at multiple schools, most recently at a large public school in the Washington D.C. area.
Herr Osborne became a teacher due to his own love for learning, which he strives to spread among his students. So far, he has greatly appreciated the strong sense of community and welcoming feeling that his colleagues and students have fostered, and his goals for his first year at Pingry are to learn about the school, to develop good connections, and to thrive despite this challenging year. Outside of school, Herr Osborne enjoys hiking, cooking/baking, and exploring the general NYC area. His message to students is that “Latin and German are optime!”, and that they should, given the chance, study those languages.
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Ava Kotsen (IV)
This fall, Pingry welcomed Mrs. Kathryn Smoot; she will teach two blocks of World History 9 and 10. She joins Pingry with thirteen years of experience teaching in public schools; she most recently taught at Florham Park Middle School, and worked in Bellevue, Washington and New York City prior to that. Mrs. Smoot is a graduate of Boston University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree. Additionally, she earned her MA in Teaching from New York University and MS in Educational Leadership from Baruch College.
In her freetime, Mrs. Smoot enjoys spending time with her family; they often go for hikes or bike rides, or go geocaching. She also enjoys cooking up new recipes, solving puzzles, and reading science fiction and fantasy books. A particular love of Mrs. Smoot’s is traveling. After she graduated college, she spent a year traveling in Europe. One of her favorite trips was the cross-country road trip her family took from Washington to New Jersey when they moved here; along the way, they visited numerous American landmarks, monuments, and national parks, including Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.
Mrs. Smoot is excited to be at Pingry and teaching high school again, as she finds that high schoolers suit her personality best. She looks forward to getting to know the students and faculty and eagerly anticipates the day when she can finally meet them without masks. Welcome Mrs. Smoot!
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Sarah Kloss (V) This fall, the Lower School welcomes Ms. Kendall Davies, who will be teaching kindergarten students.
Ms. Davies received a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Miami University in Ohio. Before coming to Pingry, she taught kindergarten to second grade at Stevens Cooperative School in Hoboken for three years. Her passion for teaching started at a young age: “For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a teacher. As a kid, my favorite toy to play with was my chalkboard. I love being around the children, and I feel like I learn from them just as much as they learn from me.”
One of her favorite things about teaching kindergarten is the writer’s workshop. “I love seeing my students move through the writing process and bring their stories to life,” Ms. Davies said. In addition to being a homeroom teacher, Ms. Davies is an instructional design coach at Pingry; she helps lower school faculty get acclimated to the Pingry Anywhere model, specifically using the classroom technology.
Her goal for the school year is to continue to grow as an educator by learning from all of the amazing teachers around her. “I have absolutely loved my time at Pingry so far and already feel at home here,” Ms. Davies said. During her free time, Ms. Davies loves spending time with her friends and family.; she also enjoys going for walks and reading mystery novels.
Welcome Ms. Davies!
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Maya Khan (III)
This fall, Mr. Marquis Ormond joins the Pingry faculty as a permanent Upper School and Middle School substitute teacher and sub-coordinator. Mr. Ormond earned his bachelor’s degree at Southern Connecticut State University.
Before Pingry, he worked as a physical therapy aide with senior citizens. His interest in teaching younger generations sparked when he began working with young lacrosse athletes, recognizing their eagerness and determination to improve. When asked about his experience at Pingry so far, Mr. Ormond noted how supportive and welcoming the community has been during these times, remarking that “If someone doesn’t know the answer to something, they’ll find the answer for you.”
Despite this year being a significant adjustment for the Pingry community, Mr. Ormond is making the best of it and encourages students to reach out for support. He welcomes students to keep an eye out for his new club that showcases documentaries in hopes to further bring awareness to the community about America’s racial injustices.
Looking forward to the school year ahead, Mr. Ormond says that he is “incredibly excited to get to know everyone in the community and can’t wait to see what the year has in store.” He enjoys coaching the freshmen football team, loves supporting the Eagles football team as a “die-hard fan,” and likes finding new places to eat in his free time.
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Saniya Kamat (III) Pingry welcomes Dr. Parminder Haven, who will be teaching Chemistry 1 and 2, while serving as an iRT advisor and Form V co-advisor.
Dr. Haven was born and raised in Punjab, a state in the northern part of India, where she lived until she turned 24. Dr. Haven received her Bachelors in Education and Science from Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Punjab, and received her Masters in Chemistry from Punjabi University in Patiala, Punjab. She then earned her PhD from Hunter College in New York.
Before coming to Pingry, Dr. Haven was a long-term substitute teacher at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx and taught at an all-girls school in New York City. After spending twelve years in research, while also teaching college students, Dr. Haven decided to come to Pingry. She described her decision: “For the love of science! [I] wanted to inspire young kids to not be afraid of science.”
In her free time, Dr. Haven enjoys running, cooking, going on long drives with her family, reading Punjabi literature, and baking without eggs. “I make a really good eggless cake,” she said, “Chemistry helped me with that.” So far, Dr. Haven has “absolutely love[d] everything about Pingry . . . It’s very inspirational to see young minds doing the right thing and embodying Honor Code.”. This year, Dr. Haven hopes to develop a bond with her students; she wants to “help them thrive to the best of their capacities and do the best they can.” Welcome to Pingry, Dr. Haven!
Nov 10, 2020 | Mirika Jambudi, New Faculty
By Mirika Jambudi (IV) This fall, the Pingry community welcomes Dr. Feeley to the Upper School English Department, where she is teaching English 9, American Literature, and American Perspectives.
Dr. Feeley obtained her Bachelor of Arts at Cornell University and her Doctorate in English at Duke. After finishing her Ph.D., she taught history, literature, and American studies at Harvard University at the collegiate level for three years.
Before arriving at Pingry, she was a teacher at the Northwest School in Seattle, Washington. There, she taught the interdisciplinary humanities, combining history and literature. Dr. Feeley remarks that she has “always had a love for literature.” Even in high school, she was drawn to academia because she “wanted to discuss literature with people who were also engaged and interested in thinking about it.”
So far, Dr. Feeley loves Pingry. “The Pingry environment and community members have been very welcoming, and I am excited to get to know all my students this year,” she remarked. Her goals for this year at Pingry are to create an anti-racist community in her classroom, and to “bring in practices of equity and inclusion.” She hopes to promote an environment where students feel safe, welcomed, and encouraged to participate.
When she’s not teaching, Dr. Feeley likes to spend time with her family, in nature, and in her garden—where she is experimenting with growing a variety of plants. She is also an avid hiker and is excited to explore New Jersey trails!
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Sarah Gu (III) Ms. Frederique Schachter ’96 P ’27, ’30, ’33 joined Pingry’s Office of Institutional Advancement as the Associate Director of Parent Engagement last spring. Some of her responsibilities include raising money for the Pingry Fund and communicating with parents, faculty, staff, and students.
Before joining Pingry, Ms. Schachter attended Princeton University and majored in politics. In the past, she has worked at Bloomingdales, the NBA, and various nonprofit organizations as a project manager. When asked about what she finds different between her previous workplaces and Pingry, Ms. Schachter stated that Pingry has a “delightful working environment” with dedicated staff and employees who have genuine care and concern for each other. She loves the team she works with and finds her job a positive experience; she was pleasantly surprised at how appreciative the parents were, especially amidst the panic surrounding COVID-19.
Ms. Schachter was already immensely involved in the Pingry community before she joined the staff team. Born and raised in Summit, she graduated from Pingry 24 years ago and also wrote for The Pingry Record as a student. Furthermore, she has three children who currently attend Pingry: one in kindergarten, one in third grade, and a third in sixth grade.
In her free time, Ms. Schachter likes to walk her dog and exercise. She also likes to spend time with her three children and her husband.
This year, Ms. Schachter aims “to engage parents, especially those who are new, with each other and the school.” She has already had many positive experiences with families and looks forward to connecting with even more people.
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Keira Chen (III) This year, Pingry welcomes back Ms. Holmes-Glogower to co-teach Form III Financial Literacy alongside Mr. Weckesser, as well as work as the Director of People Operations and Talent Development. Ms. Holmes-Glogower is also involved with several Pingry groups, including the Alumni Board, the Alumni of Color Affinity group, and the Anti-Racism Task Force.
She has two children, one of whom attends kindergarten at the Pingry Short Hills campus. Ms. Holmes-Glogower graduated from Pingry in ’99 and attended Columbia University, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She later returned to Pingry to fill in several positions because of her love of the community.
Having worked closely with finance in the past, Ms. Holmes-Glogower agreed to teach Financial Literacy, stating that “It just made sense… to leverage that knowledge to help our students.”
Ms. Holmes-Glogower says she’s excited by Pingry’s growth, though she has more in mind for Pingry’s future. Her goal is to create a long-term plan to solidify Pingry’s HR team; this year is just for laying the foundation. Ms. Holmes-Glogower’s free time is mostly spent with her kids, although she enjoys reading, watching soccer, and studying interior design. When asked what else she’d like to share, Ms. Holmes-Glogower responded that she’s “… excited to be back at Pingry, as it’s a place that did a lot for me in my life; to be able to come back and give back to the school in a significant way is really important to me, and I feel really lucky that I’m able to do it.”
Nov 10, 2020 | New Faculty
By Christine Guo (V) This fall, the Pingry community welcomes Ms. Gabrielle D’Amodio to the Upper School Athletics Department. As an athletic trainer, she will be part of the medical personnel for sports practices and games, help rehabilitate athletes, and provide emergency first aid. Prior to arriving at Pingry, Ms. D’Amodio earned a B.A. in social and behavioral science and a master’s degree in athletic training from Seton Hall University.
Ms. D’Amodio has been part of the athletic world from a very early age. She began playing softball at the age of four. After going through an injury during her sophomore year of high school, she realized her passion for athletic training and saw the field as something that she wanted to pursue in college and beyond. She is also accustomed to Pingry after having been an athletic training student here two years ago.
In her free time, Ms. D’Amodio keeps in touch with her athletic side by watching or playing sports. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends and playing the guitar.
So far, Ms. D’Amodio has loved her experience working at Pingry. She commented, “I am excited to be here and the community has been super welcoming!” She is invested in helping students in any way possible. Her goal for the school year is to “help as many people as [she] can, so that they can be safe and play the sports that they love.”
