List of 20 news stories.

• 

  Celebrating Those Who Inspire: New Teacher Award Honors Excellence

  Alia Mojibian '29 Assistant Features Editor
  At Hopkins, many teachers leave an impact long after our school bell rings. This year, the 2025-2026 Student Council committee introduced the Student Council Award for Excellence in Teaching, a new honor that is designed to recognize teachers who leave their mark and go above and beyond in the classroom and in the Hopkins community.
• 

  The Page Turners: Hopkins’s First Reading Challenge

  Ashley Deng '27 Features Editor
  Walk into Calarco these days and something on the walls might catch your eye: a sprawling poster of book covers, each one printed to represent a title someone has finished. The display is part of Hopkins's first library reading challenge, and according to the librarians behind it, the idea was simple.
• 

  The Spring Service Trip: Supporting and Serving the Community

  Clarissa Castilho '29 Assistant Features Editor
  At Hopkins, community service isn't only for the Hopkins community, it extends to the New Haven community as well. For many years, Hopkins has maintained a strong relationship with New Haven through community service on campus to benefit the local community. StuCo and Maroon Key Board's volunteering opportunities make service a core part of Hopkins. One of these volunteering opportunities for students to get involved with the community is the spring service trip which partners with local organizations to educate students about food insecurity and community service.
• 

  The Thirst for More: Gen Z’s Newest Hyperfixation

  Aurelia Wen '27 Lead Features Editor
  A butter yellow 30 oz. Stanley quencher, with a mini keychain dangling from the handle and a yellow silicone boot. Together they match your OOTD. From a container, to insulated tumbler, to an outfit essential, water bottles have transformed a lot in recent years. Is it just another trend and victim of mass consumerism? Or does it help people, especially kids, drink more water? 
• 

  2016 to 2026: Superstars to Sambas

  Ashley Deng '27 Assistant Features Editor
  Ten years ago, the “right sneakers could carry you through all of middle school,” says Betty Yang ‘30. Now, a pair can feel “old” before the semester even ends. From Adidas Superstars to Jordans to Sambas, each wave of shoes arrives and it can feel like everyone suddenly has a pair. In a decade shaped by microtrends, the lifespan of the “it” sneaker has shrunk dramatically. What once defined years of pictures and school dances now cycles out within months. The rise and fall of the “it” shoe reveals more than changing fashion. It displays more than changing fashion, but the bigger picture of how quickly social influence, especially online, can transform something from optional to essential. 

• Course Choice Consensus

  Elona Spiewak '26 Feature Editor
  With 109 courses available to choose from, it is not easy to find another person who has taken the exact same courses as you. Although there is not complete freedom in course selection due to graduation requirements, there is room to personalize one’s high school experience, especially with Hopkins’s decision to replace AP courses with more in-depth electives. With freedom, however, comes responsibility: How to create the schedule for oneself? In an identified survey sent via school email, where 62 students across 7-12 grades voluntarily responded, their opinions on different subjects showed the importance of self-awareness during the course selection process.
• 

  EXCLUSIVE: Assembly Speeches Now Powered by MattGPT, Founded in 1660

  Rebecca Li '27 Features Editors
  For 366 years, Hopkins School has prided itself on producing leaders, scholars, and citizens capable of facing the complexities of an ever-changing world. But allegedly, the individual currently tasked with guiding those leaders may not be facing those complexities alone. 

  He’s got a little help from his digital friend. 

• Entrepreneurship: HSIP and Assemblies

  Anya Huang '29 Campus Correspondent
  This year, Hopkins introduced a new entrepreneurship program for Juniors and Seniors- HESIP, standing for Hopkins Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Program. So far, 36 students have applied for 14 open spots.
• 

  Hopkins Gallops into the Year of the Horse

  Aurelia Wen '27 Assistant Features Editor
  Parents roll out dough and fold dumplings in Upper Heath while students test their chopstick skills, practice calligraphy, and watch a papercut artist work near the café. The scenes are part of Hopkins’ annual Lunar New Year celebration, a campus tradition that blends food, art, and family customs from across Asia.

• Love Actually: Hopkins Edition

  Rebecca Li '27 Features Editor
  The word love is heavy: ambiguous, and often deemed as a cliché. Romance, in high school, is usually framed as fleeting, intense, and short-lived, meaningful only in hindsight. At Hopkins, where days move fast, and faces blur in the hallways, it can be easy to overlook the private lives unfolding beyond the schedule. And yet, love exists in moments of certainty and hesitation alike — sometimes unnoticed, sometimes unspoken, but always deeply felt. Or, as Hugh Grant's character says in "Love Actually," "If you look for it... You'll find that love, actually, is all around."
• 

  Not All Bathrooms Are Created Equal

  Abby Rakotomavo '26 Lead Features Editor and Ashley Deng '27 Assistant Features Editor
  If you ask someone at Hopkins where the nearest bathroom is, you are likely to get more than just directions.
• 

  New Year’s Resolutions and Achievements

  The Razor asked Hopkins community members for their New Year’s resolutions for 2026 and their 2025 achievements.
• 

  Now I’m Shinin’: Last-Minute Guide to Giving Gifts

  Abby Rakotomavo ’26 Lead Features Editor
  As Term 1 comes to an end and the holiday season is upon us again, some may find themselves scrambling to throw together gifts for their friends and family. Don’t panic! Even if you only have five minutes or five dollars, these last-minute ideas from the Hopkins community can save you from showing up empty-handed.
• 

  On the Fifth Day of Hopkins: Five Golden Rings 2025

  Ashley Deng ’27 Assistant Features Editor
  It’s that time of the year again, when the halls smell faintly of peppermint mochas, AirPods blast “Last Christmas” by Wham!, and Starbucks cups everywhere are filled with Sugar Cookie Lattes. The snow piles up just enough to cancel class, and people begin to whisper the same question: What are the seniors going to do for Five Golden Rings?

• Senior Holiday Wishlist

  I wish...
• 

  What Faculty and Staff Do Over Break

  Aurelia Wen ’27 Assistant Features Editor
  Thanksgiving and winter break are not only weeks for students to rest but also for teachers and faculty to take some time off from intense schedules and everlasting numbers of  homework and assessments to grade.
• 

  Democracy in Present Tense: 21st Century Democracy class

  Rebecca Li '27 Features Editor
  At Hopkins, the 21st Century Democracy class stands out for its immediacy. Instead of focusing solely on the past, it brings students directly into American history as it unfolds in the present. 
• 

  More Than Nice: Students Redefine Kindness in Action

  Ashley Deng '27 Assistant Features Editor
  In recognition of the upcoming World Kindness Day on November 13th, Hopkins students and faculty shared what kindness meant to them and the ways they bring it to life in our community.
• 

  Welcome, New Hopkins Faculty!

  Matt Glasz
  

  Where did you grow up?

  North Haven, CT

  What is your academic background?

  I attended North Haven High School and Trinity College
• 

  The Students’ Choice Awards: 2025 Faculty Superlatives

  Ashley Deng ’27 Assistant Features Editor, and Aurelia Wen ’27 Assistant Features Editor
  Who says superlatives are just for seniors? Hopkins faculty members have worked hard this entire school year. They have officially earned their moment to shine, thanks to a round of nominations by our students, and they are way cooler than we thought! Here are the winners of this year’s Faculty Superlatives.