welcome

Zeyuan graduated from New York Institute of Technology in June 2015 with a degree in Electrical Computer Engineering. Two years later, in June 2017 he graduated from New York University with a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering .

 Zeyuan is a founding board member of Hawthorne Academy. In addition to his role as chief operating officer he also is the Science and Information Communicating Technology Director, and runs our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) club.  

Hello, my name is Barbara Berwick and I am blessed to be working at Hawthorne Academy, currently as a teacher and nurse. I have worked as a registered nurse for many years, both in Arizona and New Hampshire, where I’ve served in diverse environments ranging from Native American health care, to specialized rehab, to school nursing and to home health care/hospice.

In addition to my nursing career, I’ve also spent 25 years a teacher, homeschooling all three of my children and now working at Hawthorne. 

I am privileged to combine my teaching and nursing experience here at Hawthorne Academy. My greatest desire in life is to be faithful to my Lord Jesus Christ and to do His will.  And I know God has great things in store for our school! 

 Chasing stories is a favorite pastime of mine! Reading and literature are an integral part of culture and society and have been a passion of mine since I was a child. My favorite books have always transported me to new worlds, new cultures, and different times. I have fond memories of dancing across the room with the proud Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Battling and barely escaping orcs with the Hobbits in Lord of the Rings. Pining for puff sleeves with Anne of Green Gables.  Escaping chores with Tom Sawyer and learning the differences in culture from various historic novels such as The Good Earth or a recent favorite The Island of Sea Women. 

I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Psychology, Child Development conc. and a Minor in English from Southern New Hampshire University. I received my MEd in Curriculum and Instruction from New England College in 2024.

I am blessed to be able to be Hawthorne Academy’s Language Arts and Literature teacher. I am excited that I will be able to share my love of literature and learning with the students of Hawthorne. 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.” -Dr. Seuss

 

Hello, my name is David Matteson and I recently have had the privilege of being called to serve at Hawthorne Academy as its Principal. I graduated Summa Cum Laude as a History Major from Southern New Hampshire University with a concentration in American History. After serving as Hawthorne Academy's History teacher, I was inspired to continue to develop a school that prepared students for future academic endeavors. My goal is to provide a well rounded education and environment that is enriching, challenging, and loving for our students. In doing so, we can mold life-long learners who promote the Kingdom of Christ.  

My passion is in U.S. history and I believe that it is important to protect our American traditions and ideals. This can only be achieved through education and the preservation of the framework set forth by our founding fathers, and the Herculean task God placed before them. I believe that all people can appreciate and understand the freedoms we hold so dearly by studying our past. “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people…. they are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson

Dr. Peggy LaBrosse, began her formal teaching career in 1976 and has

contributed to a variety of public and private settings, including traditional and

alternative schools. While strongly focused on academic content, her first concern has

always been the physical, emotional, social and spiritual safety and well-being of her

students. This stems from her experience that lack of a safe and secure environment - 

whether at home, in their social lives or in the classroom - adds to students’ cognitive

load, reducing their capacity to take in and retain new learning. Operating under the

rubric “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care,” Peggy

develops a classroom environment of respect and care. She makes her expectations of

the students and what they can expect from her clear from the outset, all the while

giving them freedom with responsibility.

Drawing on an arsenal of instructional strategies that includes curriculum design,

literacy coaching and assessment methods, Peggy passionately delivers subject matter

in various ways, addressing the needs of different learning styles - from the visual and

auditory to the tactile and kinesthetic. This approach encourages students to engage in

the subject matter through “big ideas” and essential questions, rather than relying on

rote memorization, by learning how to learn. This came as a result of her doctoral

program, which radically transformed her teaching practice from one centered on

standard content to one centered on understanding alternative conceptions and how to

dispel misconceptions in science.

 Having Grown up  in a family of educators, I determined  as a college student majoring in Chemistry and Biology, that I did not want to be a teacher.  My determination was apparently lacking. Right out of college I taught in a small Christian school for two years. After a wedding plus a few years, I began a 28+ year homeschooling career. That is until my two youngest attended and graduated from Hawthorne Academy during the 2019-2020 school year.  I’ve enjoyed having more time to garden, bake, and study the Bible, since their graduation, but I have missed learning along with young people. Hawthorne Academy has blessed our family, so I'm happy to join its staff this year to teach Biology.

Scarborough Hall is one of two dormitories at Hawthorne.  Currently, classes take place on the first floor while 44 rooms are available for boarding students on the 2nd and 3rd floor. 

Peabody Hall is the 2nd dormitory building building on campus.  Eventually this dorm will be for our female students.  

Hawthorne has a college-sized gymnasium.  Attached to the front of the gymnasium is our classroom building.  

Our little chapel building was built in 1877.  It is one of the oldest church buildings in NH.  The chapel has a new roof, but still needs some significant work to bring it back to its glory.  It is the hope of all associated with Hawthorne to see this Chapel fully restored. 

The brick portion of this home was built in 1817.  The President's House functions as home for our Executive Trustee and his family

The house at the left of this picture was part of a 5-building estate brought together by  Wyman Kneeland Flint beginning in 1913.    Flint used his property as a summer estate and a gentleman's farm. It later served as the campus of Nathaniel Hawthorne College. Most of his estate is now owned by Hawthorne Academy. The picture also shows one of our students ready for her cross-country skiing lesson.