With the ‘24-’25 school year being in full swing, students are desperate for a break during the school day, and that is where the student center comes in. The newly renovated space previously known as the media center is now the hub for study hall, a period all students yearn to have on their schedule.
Giving out chromebooks, taking attendance, and greeting students is Mr. Orfini, a veteran administrator of Cresskill who manages all the commotion. While observing, a student walks in, and requests a chromebook. With a smile, Mr. Orfini says “‘sure”’, and quickly turns on his chair to reach for a loaner chromebook. Having the student write their name down on a list, he hands them a chromebook, and sends them on their way. Everything is done very efficiently, with no pressure at all. Having been at the school for 35 years already, he has a deep connection to the space that is now called the student center. “This place here years ago was the gym. Then it became the library with about 25,000 books, then it went to the media center, which housed about 8,000 books with 51 computers. And now it’s a student center slash study hall.” Needless to say, Mr. Orfini definitely seems to be knowledgeable about the history of the space, but does he know what goes on in it? Praising the effort made by the administration to create a student center, he remarks, “It’s a well-used space. It’s a fun space to do a lot of things of personal choice, study, talk to your friends, use your cell phones, many things can be done here in a less stressful environment…It’s a very welcoming and useful period.”
From his own words, it appears to be that everything is glitter and sparkles at the student center. But what opinions do the students themselves foster about the space, and Mr. Orfini himself?
Asking students what they think creates a clear impression of the idea being liked. While she herself doesn’t have a study hall on her class schedule, Noya Levy (‘27), is very fond of the space, but especially Mr. Orfini: “I don’t have it (study hall) as a period, but it does seem fun! I’m not certain what I would do if I did have the chance to be there, but I do know that Mr. Orfini is really nice. Whenever he sees me in the hallway he says hello to me, and he also remembers my name, which is quite nice. I know that if I ever want to talk to someone, Mr. O will definitely be up for it, as well as he’ll definitely have some good insight!” Adding to the widespread fondness of Mr. Orfini and his study hall is a junior athlete, who claims study hall lets them manage their time better as they are short of it during the fall sports season: “Study hall lets me do work I don’t have time to do later, but I’d say the best thing is how free Mr. O is with study hall. Yeah, I’m supposed to catch up on work, but most of the time I just end up talking to my friends. Mr. Orfini is fine with this, and he will only say to stop talking if someone is causing a disturbance. I’d say that makes him like a top administrator.”
Backing up this claim himself is Mr. Orfini, who noted that “As long as the students are focused, are respectful, not disturbing or distracting others in their space, whatever they do that’s appropriate is fine with me.”
With all the excitement circulating around the media center and the attributes that come with it, it would only be logical that some disturbances would arise. Having asked Mr. Orfini whether there is any mischievousness happening, he swiftly responded that through what he has observed as an overseer, “When there is downtime or less restrictive time, students may take advantage of that but only to a minimum.” Being prompted with the questions of Does that ever happen? based on his previous answer, Mr. Orfini added, “Any loud and inappropriate behavior is never tolerated…I right away stop them. It stops immediately.” Being lenient and easy going, Mr. Orfini undoubtedly knows what he is doing when it comes to managing study hall, which only adds to his positive qualities!
From a short observation and interview, Mr. Orfini surely comes off as a positive and welcoming administrator, which is what every school needs. Not only does he dedicate his time to managing the beloved student center, but he also makes genuine connections with students, putting a smile on everyone’s faces.
