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Staples remembers Donna Kenny

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There was a gloomy atmosphere throughout Staples today as students and faculty mourned the loss of an exceptional educator and woman, Donna Kenny.

During Kenny’s time at Staples, she was awarded a Celebration of Excellence Developers Grant for her teaching project “Total Immersion, Recipe for Fluency.”  Kenny also ran the club Hearts for Hope and overall was remembered as a most kind member of the Staples Community.

“The teachers who were close to her have been very affected by it.  It’s something that is not easy to deal with.  It was hard to hear; Staples is a family,” Dodig said.

Throughout the day, Dodig and Director of Guidance Elaine Schwartz went to  each of Kenny’s classes to inform students of this tragic event.  Dodig mentioned that counselling has been set up for mourning teachers and staff.

Guidance counselors, like Christine Talerico, have been working to ensure that everyone makes it through this devastating time.

“A lot of the staff is taking it really hard, harder than the kids.  There were a lot of tears down here this morning.  She was a great woman and a great teacher.  She will be missed around here.”

Daniel Pauker ’16, a student of Kenny’s during his freshman year, was in awe of the whole situation.

“It’s so foreign to me to lose someone like that.  She was always someone I could say, ‘Hi,’ to in the hallway and was really friendly to me.”

Connor Rainey ’16, who had Kenny as a teacher this year, praised her work as an educator.

“She was a terrific teacher; she made the class a bright environment.”  Despite the news, Rainey was confident about his class moving on.  “As a class, we are really close, and we know we can get together and cope with the situation.”

Eric Essagof ’12 said Kenny changed his outlook on learning another language.

“The class was full of kids like me who could not care less about learning the language. This would have discouraged most teachers, but not Mrs. Kenny. Mrs. Kenny taught the class passionately and with the drive of an educator that truly cared about her job. She never viewed me as a lost cause like other teachers had, and I am forever grateful to her for that.”

Staples faculty, students, and alumni will always remember the resilience and strength Donna Kenny had throughout her career and life.

“I just wish I could thank her for not giving up on students like me,” Essagof said.

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About the Contributors
Adam Kaplan, Editor in Chief
Following in his brothers footsteps, Adam Kaplan ‘16, this year's Editor in Chief of Inklings is commonly known throughout the Inklings Community. He will surprise you with his unexpected but very present crazy personality. Like any other freshman Adam started with intro to Journalism which then lead him to be apart of Inklings Sophomore year. Adam not only is apart of Inklings but is apart of Staples Radio, which is a growing program in Staples. Although there are many similarities with Inklings and Radio, Adam talks about the differences, “Inklings rewards teamwork more, as an editor I was rewarded for working with my classmates and people around me. Radio is really just a partnership, it's you and the guy you're working with right by your side.” With all these clubs and activities at staples Adam loves the atmosphere of pressure staples brings. He believes that is what helps him perform to the best of his ability. Adam believes that “One moment in his life can not define what has made me the happiest, but it's the relationships I’ve made.”
Jordan Goodness, Staff Writer
Jordan Goodness ’16 loves acting, plain and simple. She first attended theater camp before she even entered second grade, and every summer since, it’s been much of the same. But this summer, there was one difference: Goodness wrote for Inklings’ Back to School issue, effectively joining the paper she has admired since she first read it in middle school. Goodness has been a part of several productions, despite having just one full year at Staples under her belt, including “Little Shop of Horrors,” “West Side Story,” “Oklahoma,” “Museum,” “Willy Wonka,” and most recently, Staples Players’ summer production of “Bye Bye Birdie.” “I’ve never really been good at sports,” Goodness admitted, “so (acting) is a cool way for me to be in front of people.” In this aspect, journalism differs from theater. However, Goodness sees a connection between her two passions. “I like making something for people to see,” she said. Joining Inklings has allowed her to do so to another extent. What Goodness may lack in size, she makes up for in aspiration; her goal for the future is to make it all the way to Broadway. But until then, she’s happy being a part of Staples Players and of Inklings.  

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    SusanApr 13, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    Thank you for the beautiful tribute to Señora Kenny. I consider myself
    fortunate to have had a 25 year friendship with Mrs. Kenny. Although, I was
    neither a student nor a colleague of hers, it was so apparent how devoted she was
    to her teaching career and to her students. Despite her physical
    limitations, she worked tirelessly during the school year, and many summers she
    traveled to Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries to further her education
    and enhance her skills.

    Her professionalism was underscored for me a few weeks ago as I drove her to
    Yale’s ER, at the insistence of her physician. A few blocks from the
    hospital, she received a call from a parent of a student she had been tutoring.
    In true Mrs. Kenny fashion, she took the call, offering guidance and
    information, never revealing her own dire situation.

    Mrs. Kenny knew the prognosis for a successful outcome to her surgery was very
    poor, yet she faced this recent challenge with her characteristic determination
    and courage.

    We (her students, colleagues, family, and friends) have all lost the friendship
    of a kind, wonderful person, but hopefully, we can learn from her example: to
    face life’s challenges and disappointments without self-pity, but with resolve
    and grace.

    Susan Hathaway

    Reply