LIVING PARK’S VALUES: Freshman Alexa Trock came to Park starting in Kindergarten and hasn't looked back since! Here, she shares in her own words what life is like at Park for a longtime student. Alexa Trock '27 I started here in kindergarten and I am now in 9th grade. This will be my 10th year at Park School. This year I have the biggest class in the school at 30 people. The year before I had the biggest at 23. Five classmates left Park after 8th grade, but we gained 12 new students. I look forward to getting to know all the new students. The transition from 8th to 9th has been fairly easy so far. The hardest transition was 6th to 7th, going from most classes with the same teachers to multiple classes with multiple teachers in multiple buildings. What I like about Park School is that the campus is open and no one is stuck in the same building for the entire day. Being outside, even in the winter, is an appreciated break when walking between classes. Because I've been here since Kindergarten, the teachers know me personally. Teachers can tell if something is going on outside of school and they know my strengths and weaknesses in each class. Being a 9th grader, I can now participate in events like prom and join clubs, such as engineering and technology. Upper School opens many opportunities in athletics and honors classes. Being a college preparatory school, starting in Upper School, the college counselor begins talking to freshmen once every rotation about future and current goals. I greatly appreciate the fact that Park School has set lunch periods that cannot be changed. I have friends at other schools that choose to not take a lunch period. Because everyone in the Upper School is in the same lunch period, I get to have lunch with all of my friends. I enjoy my time at Park and wouldn’t choose any other school! ___ We asked some of Alexa's current and former Park teachers to say a few words about her. Amy DiChristina, Head of Middle School: Alexa is a student that works everyday to uphold Park's Core Values of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, and Kindness. In 8th grade she volunteered to join the Middle School Student Government half way through the year when we realized we needed more help in planning events. She was a star of our band program being selected to join the ECMEA Junior High Band, and she also received both the Faculty Award and the Helen Long Spirit Award at the end of 8th grade for her accomplishments both in the classroom and around campus. She is a shining example of a Park student! Macarena Fritz-Cefaratti, Spanish Teacher and Advisor: As a student of mine, she has been a standout in all things, but especially her openness to learn and ambition in her own expectations of herself. She is impressively consistent in her academic performance which is very much driven by her understanding of the necessary work, her commitment to seeing through her assignments, and her dedication to getting the most out of her studies. Charles Hartney, Head of Upper School: I'm struck by Alexa's maturity, her warmth, her welcoming personality, and her ambition. She seems like she is always striving to be the best version of herself and take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. Alexa and grandparents during Grandparents & Special Friends Day at Park in 2018. Alexa and her "senior buddy" at Zoo Day in 2016. 17
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