This fall, the freshmen welcomed new classmates from Garrison and Manitou. We interviewed five of them about their first impressions of their new high school.
What made you choose to come to Haldane?
Out of the five freshmen we interviewed, three of them (Kaiser Toribio, Henry Amadei, and Lotta Schweizer) answered that they came to Haldane partly because they already had friends here, either because they live in Cold Spring or because they’ve done extracurriculars in Cold Spring. “I have several close friends here that really make me want to smile every day,” said Kaiser Toribio, who attended Garrison.
Another answer we received was that students came to Haldane because of its involvement in Cold Spring and location in town. “I thought it was a really nice community and I liked how intertwined it was with Cold Spring,” said Alice Stevenson, who came from Manitou. Indeed, one of Haldane’s draws is that it offers students who already live in Philipstown a chance to get more involved in their town, because of how easy it is to walk from the school to Main Street, and because of community events, like the band marching in parades in Cold Spring, or collaborations between Haldane clubs and Cold Spring businesses.
Additionally, an attraction for Garrison and Manitou students specifically is that they are frequently allowed to take Chemistry instead of Earth Science freshman year. Archie Stubbs, from Garrison, said that he came to Haldane for “the classes- especially chemistry.”
Were you connected to the Haldane community before you came?
Four out five of the freshmen answered that yes, they knew people from Haldane before they came. Because Garrison isn’t big enough to have its own modified sports teams, its students can play modified sports at Haldane, which Toribio said he had participated in. There were also family connections; Henry Amadei, from Manitou, said, “I have friends here and my parents know some other parents here.” In addition, many Manitou kids already live in Cold Spring. “I had friends, and whenever I would walk into town I would always see people from Haldane,” said Lotta Shweizer, from Manitou.
What’s the biggest difference between Haldane and your middle school?
“The size,” Toribio answered. “We only had two hundred people total in the Garrison school.” Schweizer responded similarly. “In middle school it was a really small community and you did not have any choice of who you wanted to be friends with, but here you can be friends with anyone.” Most of the freshmen agreed, which makes sense considering that only six eighth graders graduated from Manitou in 2024. Amadei also thought that the amount of people was a big difference, although in a different way. “I definitely think the teaching style [is different]. At Manitou it was so much smaller and you were a lot closer with your teachers. At Haldane it’s a lot bigger, which I kind of like because you’re kind of able to go a lot more on your own and not have as much focus on you.”
Stevenson said it wasn’t the amount of students at the school that was an adjustment for her, but the physical size of the campus. “At Haldane there’s a lot of walking down the hill and up the hill. I like it because then I’m not just sitting all day, I get to stretch my legs.”
Stubbs pointed out one other interesting difference: “The lunch.” Even though Garrison is a public school, it doesn’t offer a consistent school lunch. Garrison serves pizza on Fridays, and it had a hot lunch program before COVID, but only on Tuesdays. So for Garrison students (and often their parents), the option to buy lunch every day in the cafeteria is very helpful.
What’s your favorite thing about Haldane so far?
Amadei and Stubbs both said their favorite part of Haldane is the sports- cross country and soccer, respectively. Schweizer answered, “The people, because everyone is super nice here,” and Stevenson responded similarly. Finally, Toribio responded, “Everything about it if I’m gonna be honest. The people here are awesome, the teachers here are awesome, walking in the halls is even awesome.”
The transition from a different middle school to Haldane can be difficult, but year after year many freshmen are eager to make the switch. This is a good reminder not to take anything for granted, because some of the things that seem obvious to us, like a school lunch and a class of more than six kids, can be so exciting to people who come from different places.