After over three years at The Hill School, Athey Family Master of Science Wayne Finkbeiner has decided to retire from teaching. Finkbeiner began as a long-term substitute teacher in the spring of 2017. Prior to this, he had already retired from teaching and coaching in public schools.

“He was a wonderful addition to our community and faculty,” Headmaster Zachary Lehman said. “I asked him to stay on for another year, then another, then another and then another!” He and his wife Kathy Finkbeiner were huge fans of Hill’s Athletics and could be easily spotted on the sidelines.”

“He was so sweet, generous, and helpful!” said Maeve Redmond ’23. “During the winter term, Mr. Finkbeiner was my table head and he was always incredibly kind and cared about his students so much!”

“What Mr. Finkbeiner was able to do that even the most veteran teachers can have difficulty with, is to allow his students an inside look both into his life and subject at the same time, creating an ethos where learning became something that simply happened, often unbeknownst to the students themselves,“ said Senior Master of Science Bill Yinger. “That story, that demonstration, that day in the lab; you were learning all along. Moreover, Mr. Finkbeiner made physics matter even to those who really weren’t sure they liked physics. He did so, again, with a genuine love of both his student and his subject.”

Although Hill will miss Finkbeiner’s presence, we wish him well as he begins a fun-filled retirement.