The Williston Northampton School

Photographer Thatcher Cook will give a lecture at The Williston Northampton School’s Photographers’ Lecture Series in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center on April 18, 2011, at 6:30 p.m.

Documentary photographer Thatcher Cook works for social change and human rights by capturing the human condition in over 60 countries. His clients are primarily humanitarian aid and development organizations (NGOs) that work with refugees and other people affected by war, economic upheaval, and natural disasters. He has a particular interest in photographing forced human migration and nomadic life that he hopes will bring awareness to the world’s most vulnerable populations. When he is not on assignment for international aid organizations, Cook teaches workshops at the Maine Media Workshops and around the globe. He is a co-founder of Pictographers, an organization committed to creating and teaching social change through written and photographic documentation. He also published A Guide to Field Techniques for Documentary Photographers, a guidebook on how to produce, prepare for, and realize long-term documentary projects.

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. Full biographies of the visiting lecturers can be found at http://www.williston.com/photographers.

Professor Ken Gormley, dean of Duquesne University Law School and author of The Death of American Virtue, will be on campus for two events Monday, April 11. He will first visit a history class and lead a discussion of his scholarship on the Clinton impeachment trial and the Watergate investigation. At 6:30 p.m. he will give a public presentation in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center.

In his recent book, Gormley presents new information on the tension between President Bill Clinton and special prosecutor Ken Starr, and how it morphed from an investigation of financial dealings into an investigation of personal behavior. According to Steve Weinberg of the Star Tribune, “Gormley comes across as nonpartisan while chronicling one of the most politically partisan messes in American history.”

Gormley has taught at Duquesne since 1994, specializing in Constitutional law, state Constitutional law, the First Amendment, and the American Presidency. He is also the author of Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation. He was twice awarded the Bruce K. Gould Book Award for outstanding publication related to the law, in 1999 and in 2010. He has also published dozens of scholarly articles, written features and opinion pieces for newspapers across the nation, testified twice before the United States Senate, appeared on national TV and radio as a legal commentator, and lectured at prestigious venues including Harvard, Stanford, and the John F. Kennedy Library.

Diane Williams may not be a superhero, but she does have an alter ego. She balances teaching and coaching at Williston with her own athletic endeavors as a member of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby. Ms. Williams came to Williston from Smith College, where she coached volleyball and track and field. She has master’s degrees in exercise and sports studies (from Smith) and social justice education (from UMass Amherst). Now she is the head coach of the Williston volleyball team, coaches thirds squash and track and field, is a dorm parent in Memorial Hall, and teaches geography in the Middle School.

“The great thing about geography is it encompasses everything,” Ms. Williams says. “It’s interdisciplinary by nature.” Her seventh grade students are at an age where she believes they are really starting to pay attention to the world around them, so they are interested in and curious about the physical geography, history, and social issues of the regions they study. “They come into class already talking about the news,” she says. For example, in January, the class studied the human and physical impact of the Haitian earthquake of 2010. When the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March, the class was able to draw on this experience to begin to understand the impact of this tragedy.

Ms. Williams describes her first year at Williston as “challenging, exciting, and really fun.” She enjoys the students and the faculty and staff, and appreciates the culture of support at the school. “I like the way people engage with each other and cheer each other on.”

Her colleagues and students will have the opportunity on Saturday, April 9, to cheer on Ms. Williams’ alter ego, Lady Hulk, when her roller derby team comes to Lossone Rink for their season-opening bout. Roller derby, a contact sport with roots in sports entertainment, is based on formation roller skating around an oval track by two teams. Points are scored when the designated scorer of a given team laps members of the opposing team. A member of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby since 2009, Ms. Williams says that derby is “worth checking out” for those who may not have heard of the sport. “It’s fun and unique. It’s very athletic, and is always a good show.”

Bout details: On Saturday, April 9, the Western Mass Destruction of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby will play the Sufferjets of the Ithaca League of Women Rollers with a halftime expo from the men of the Dirty Dozen. Tickets are $10 (kids $5) at the door. $8 advance tickets are available at Off the Map Tattoo, 112 Cottage Street, Easthampton. Lossone Rink opens at 5:00 and the game starts at 6:00 p.m.

Art students from The Williston Northampton School will curate Joint Venture, an exhibition showcasing paintings by individuals in the Riverside Industry arts program. Joint Venture will exhibit at the Grubbs Gallery in the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School from April 12-29, 2011. An opening reception will be held on April 17, 2011, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

This semester, five Williston students who are the advisees of Williston art teacher Marcia Reed have joined art classes at Riverside Industries—a non-profit organization that serves people with disabilities. Riverside Industries is located in Easthampton in the One Cottage Street mill building, just a few blocks from Williston’s campus. The organization offers art classes to clients, giving them the opportunity to explore and express their creativity. In this semester’s classes, the students of Williston and Riverside worked together to create artwork as they talked about their processes and interests. During the final class preceding spring break, Williston students worked with Marcia Reed and Denise Herzog, art director at Riverside Industries, to select individual pieces for the exhibit in the Grubbs Gallery.

Marcia Reed says about the class, “All of my advisees this semester are all art students. I thought this could be a good community service project and a way for them to interact with the Riverside. I approached Denise and she thought it was a good idea, too. I thought that it would be a great opportunity for them to curate the show, select the art, and help to hang it. They could be part of that whole process.”

During one class, Williston and Riverside students casually chatted around a table about their hometowns as they painted on large pieces of paper. With Williston students’ hometowns ranging from Saudi Arabia to Easthampton, MA, and Riverside Industry clients coming from all of the surrounding pioneer valley area, the group learned about a variety of places, some near and far.

During the discussion, a Riverside client named Jen turned to Williston student Ashley Wong, a senior from Hong Kong, China, and asked what color should she use next on her drawing. Ashley, a senior at Williston, encouraged her to pick a color that she liked. Ashley has been enthusiastic about the program since the group began visiting Riverside. She says, “All the students have their own style. They are very independent. There is a student named Tony, his work is amazing! He captures so much detail.”

Denise Herzog toured the Willliston art studios in the Reed Campus Center and was enthusiastic about the work on view. Herzog says, “I’m very impressed with this group from Williston. They are very mature for their age. To come into a new situation like this class, one has to adjust their comfort levels. They did it quickly.”

The exhibit is free and open to the public and takes place in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information see www.williston.com/grubbsgallery.

Williston senior Dongyang “Don” Cheng ‘11 has qualified as a semifinalist for the 2011 U.S. Physics Olympics Team, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced recently. Don was one of approximately 3,000 students who participated in the first phase of the selection process by taking the “Fnet=ma Exam” in January. As one of only 400 semifinalists nationwide, Don took a second exam in March, the results of which will be used as the basis for selection as a member of the 20-member U.S. Physics Team.

The US Physics Olympiad Program is a joint initiative of AAPT in partnership with the member societies of the American Institute for Physics (AIP): Acoustical Society of America, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, American Astronomical Society, American Crystallographic Society, American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society, AVS, Optical Society America, and the Society of Rheology. Science teacher Lauren Benson was Don’s sponsor for the test. In February, Don was inducted into Williston’s Cum Laude Society.

Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture, a documentary described by the Washington Post as “an education film that gets it,” will be screened for the public on Thursday, April 14, at 6:30 p.m. in the Williston Theatre at 18 Payson Avenue. Tickets are $10 general admission ($5 for students; $15 at the door) and may be purchased online.

In Race to Nowhere, Vicky Abeles, a concerned mother turned filmmaker, aims her camera at the high-stakes, high-pressure culture that creates unhealthy, disengaged, unprepared, and stressed-out youth.  The film describes “a silent epidemic” among high school students in the United States by which many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired. Race to Nowhere seeks to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

“Race to Nowhere shines a light on the crisis of learning and meaning facing American education,” says New York Times bestselling author Rachel Simmons (Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls). “The film is both a call to arms and a beacon of hope, a source of relief and outrage and a way forward for all of us.”

This weekend, Easthampton area residents are invited to Williston’s Lossone Rink to peruse and purchase quality, gently used children’s clothing, equipment, furniture, and more from over 120 consigners. The All-4-Kids sale is open to the public on Saturday, March 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 27, from noon to 3:00 p.m. There is no admission fee. On Sunday, many items will be sold at an additional 50% discount.

Williston alumna, tutor, and softball coach Molly Couch Ward ’82 has organized the semiannual All-4-Kids event since 2003. The two-day consignment sale traditionally donates a portion of the profits to local and regional charities. Unsold items are given to Cradles to Crayons, a children’s charity in Boston.

The sale had previously used the parish hall at St. Philip’s Church, but Molly says they were “busting at the seams there so we have been looking for a new and bigger location for a couple of years now.” What started as a small church fundraiser has grown into a “huge ministry.” She says, “It’s a win-win situation for everybody. People enjoy buying quality items and recycling at the same time.”

For more information about the sale, email all4kids128@yahoo.com.

Dr. Michael Lesy will give a lecture at The Williston Northampton School’ for the Photographers’ Lecture Series in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center on April 1, 2011, at 6:30 p.m.

Lesy is a writer and professor of literary journalism at Hampshire College. His books, which combine historical photographs with his own writing, include Wisconsin Death Trip, Time Frames: The Meaning of Family Pictures, Bearing Witness: A Photographic Chronicle of American Life, and Dreamland: America at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century. He was recently interviewed by the BBC radio on the Great Depression and his books have been reviewed The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Guardian. In his book Long Time Coming, Lesy gathered a collection of 400 photographs by searching more than 150,000 photographs in the Farm Security Administration’s Documentary Photography Program archives at the Library of Congress.

Remaining lecturers in this year’s series are scheduled as follows:

Thatcher Cook, April 18

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. Full biographies of the visiting lecturers can be found at http://www.williston.com/photographers.

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Club members with Easthampton police officers

The Community Service Club at The Williston Northampton School has collected over 400 new and used stuffed animals that will be given to children experiencing traumatic situations. The club teamed up with the Easthampton Police Department, which has agreed to distribute what they can to local children. Any excess animals will be given to other charitable organizations such as the Red Cross.

Senior Jeff Eichenberger, a boarding student from Midland Park, NJ, is the community service club president. He got the idea for this project because he had a pile of stuffed animals that were “no longer getting love” in his house. He researched what to do with them and found a group called Stuffed Animals for Emergencies (SAFE) that collects stuffed animals to be distributed by law enforcement personnel and firefighters to children in emergencies. Jeff says, “Though I myself have been fortunate enough to never have experienced such a situation, I found the concept of donation very appealing.”

Since there is no Western Massachusetts chapter of SAFE, and the club had decided they would like to make the effects of the collection accessible as locally as possible, they worked with members of the Easthampton Police Department, who agreed to take the donations. Jeff says, “This is a prime example to the giving nature of the Williston community, and I imagine many children will be delighted to have a companion in their time of need.”

From November 2010 through January 2011, a total of 408 stuffed animals were generously donated by Williston students, parents, faculty, and staff members.

As February draws to a close, a number of Williston athletes will be competing in conference and national championships, and the varsity hockey teams will play their last home games of the season.

Tony Alvarez ‘11

Two Williston wrestlers, Tony Alvarez ‘11 and Connor Adams ‘12, qualified for the National Prep Wrestling Championships taking place February 24-26 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. They are the first Williston wrestlers to qualify for the Nationals since 2008. Tony qualified by finishing 6th at the New England Championships in the 160-lb weight class last weekend. Coach Matt KaneLong says, “Tony is a two-year captain who struggled all last season with shoulder injuries, but honed his craft and has come back strong after off-season surgery. He lulls opponents into a sense of security and then pins them.”

Connor Adams ‘12

Connor qualified after successfully petitioning for entry after he was unable to compete in the 2011 NEPSAC Wrestling Championships held last week at Brooks School. Coach KaneLong says, “Connor has been our most-winning wrestler over the past 2 years.”

Other Williston teams competing in championships this weekend include the boys’ and girls’ squash teams competing in the New England Squash Tournament. The girls will be competing at Westminster and the boys at Brooks. Peter Gunn coaches the girls’ squash team and Stan Samuelson coaches the boys’.

A number of Williston swimmers will be competing in the Western New England championships at Hopkins.

Finally, the last girls’ ice hockey varsity home game is tonight at 5:00 at Lossone Rink against Winchendon. The last boys’ home game is tomorrow at 3:30 against Pomfret.

Photographer Ken Sklute will give a lecture at The Williston Northampton School’s Photographers’ Lecture Series in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center on March 1, 2011, at 6:30 p.m.

Ken Sklute has been passionate about photographing both people and drag racing for 32 years. His images have been published in National Dragster Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN the Magazine. He has received numerous awards, including Drag Racing Photographer of the Year from CompetitionPlus.com, Wedding Photographer of the Year and Photojournalist of the Year from the Professional Photographers of California, as well as receiving 13 Kodak Gallery awards and 14 Fuji Masterpiece Awards. He was also awarded Photographer of the Year and Best in Show from the Western States Regional Print Competition. Ken spends much of his time teaching and lecturing both nationally and internationally and has been honored as one of Canon’s Explorers of Light, a designation shared by only 48 photographers worldwide.

Remaining Lecturers in this year’s series are scheduled as follows:

Michael Lesy, April 1

Thatcher Cook, April 18

 All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. Full biographies of the visiting lecturers can be found at www.williston.com/photographers. For more information, please call 413-529-3237. Dates are subject to change.

Students and faculty members have been sharing some of their personal beliefs at The Williston Northampton School’s weekly assemblies. Based on the series of the same name that is a weekly feature on National Public Radio, “This I Believe” invites individuals to reflect on what is important to them.

Williston chaplain and teacher Daphne Burt developed the series in 2010 by inviting SA Fogleman ’10 and Maike Blakely ’10 to speak. Language Department Head Nat Simpson kicked off the 2010-11 series when he spoke on his belief that the study of language can change one’s life.

Now, Pastor Burt says, “students have really seen how cool it is,” and they have begun volunteering to speak as part of the series. This winter and spring the Williston community will hear presentations by Chad Adams ’12, Walter McLaughlin ’12, Marisa Roth ’11, and David King ’11.

Videos of several of the speeches can be found at www.williston.com/video.

Noted violinist Erin Keefe ’98, who in 2008 had a day named after her by the City of Northampton, recently appeared on PBS as part of the Live from Lincoln Center series. As a member of the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she performed in String Sextet by Brahms. Now in its 35th season, Live From Lincoln Center makes performances by Lincoln Center’s great artists accessible to home viewers across the United States.

A graduate of The Williston Northampton School, The Curtis Institute, and The Juilliard School, Erin has been hailed by The New York Times as “an impressive violin soloist.” Winner of the 2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant, she is quickly establishing a reputation and earning praise as a compelling artist who is “among the top violinists of her generation” (The Albuquerque Journal).

Erin will return to her home turf of Northampton, MA, to perform Brahms’ Double Concerto in A minor and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor with the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra on May 21, 2011, at the Academy of Music. She also has upcoming performances in Sarasota Springs, Boston, Minneapolis, and elsewhere. Read more at her website.

The following seniors at The Williston Northampton School were inducted into the Cum Laude Society on Tuesday, February 1, 2011, at an assembly in the Phillips Stevens Chapel on campus:

• Jose “Tony” Alvarez of Chicago, IL
• Dongyang “Don” Cheng of Houston, TX
• Derek Dombrowski of Holyoke, MA
• Ross Ewing of Keene, NH
• Sarah Fay of South Hadley, MA
• Byung Hee “Brian” Ko of Republic of Korea
• Becca Macdonald of Topsfield, MA
• Kyung Jun “Charlie” Park of Republic of Korea
• Rae Underberg of Douglaston, NY
• Garrett Welson of Northampton, MA

Williston teacher Robert Blanchette P’92, ’94 was the event’s distinguished speaker. The president of Williston’s Cum Laude Society since 2001, Bob has been at Williston since 1972 in a variety of roles including French teacher, math teacher, summer school director, golf coach, Language Department head, and director of admission. In his address, Bob related stories about his first teaching and coaching job, which inspired his life-long dedication to educating and nurturing young people. Watch the video.

The event was webcast and viewers logged on from around the country and the world to watch. Students and their parents also attended a reception following the assembly at the home of Head of School Robert W. Hill III and Kathryn Hill P’15.

The Cum Laude Society recognizes academic achievement by students in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Areté), justice (Diké), and honor (Timé). Founded in 1906, the society modeled Cum Laude after Phi Beta Kappa and in the years since its founding, Cum Laude has grown to 350 chapters around the world. Williston Academy became a member of the society in 1921, Northampton School for Girls received its charter in 1951, and in 1971 a new charter was created for The Williston Northampton School.

Eudora Welty: Photographs of the 1930s and 40s will be exhibited in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School from February 27 – April 9, 2011. A reception will be held on February 27 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

During her spare time as a junior publicist for the WPA in the 1930s, Eudora Welty captured people and places in Mississippi with her camera. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author would later write in her memoir One Writer’s Beginning, “Photography taught me that to be able to capture transience, by being ready to click the shutter at the crucial moment, was the greatest need I had. Making pictures of people in all sorts of situations, I learned that every feeling waits upon its gesture; and I had to be prepared to recognize this moment when I saw it.” Eudora Welty was known for her writing, yet her photographic documentation of the Depression-era created a compelling record of the time and place that would greatly influence all of her creative works. Her photographs have been shown in the Smithsonian, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Museum of the City of New York.

This exhibit will focus on the story of the photographer and how Welty’s influence has permeated other lives. Alongside the 20-plus silver gelatin prints there will be supplemental multimedia materials exhibited. Ephemera and audio narratives of people who met Eudora Welty will be part of the exhibition and will include a story by renowned illustrator Barry Moser who is a former Williston teacher and currently a professor in residence at Smith College.

The Eudora Welty: Photographs of the 1930s and 40s exhibit is also free and open to the public and takes place in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School.

Hours
M-F: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Open during Class Saturdays on April 2 and 9

Upcoming Lecturers in this year’s series are scheduled as follows:

Ken Sklute, March 1

Michael Lesy, April 1

Thatcher Cook, April 18

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. Full biographies of the visiting lecturers can be found at http://www.williston.com/photographers.

The Photographers’ Lecture Series features internationally acclaimed photographers who present and discuss their work to the school and community. Advanced photography students will have the opportunity to participate in a class taught by the photographers preceding the public lecture. Past visiting photographers have included photojournalist Yunghi Kim, who is known for her coverage of international conflicts; Sean Hemmerle, an architectural and landscape photographer; and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Ed Keating.

For more information, please call 413-529-3237. Dates are subject to change.

The Williston Northampton School will hold its ninth annual Diversity Conference on Thursday, January 27, 2011. The theme of this year’s event is “Be the Change You Wish to See in the World.” All students will participate in their choice of over 90 workshops led by fellow students, staff, faculty, parents, alumni, and community members on many aspects of diversity including age, ability, race, gender, political affiliation, language, religion, socio-economic status, family composition, ethnicity, sexual orientation, adoption, and more.

Workshop presenters include former Smith College professor Sheri Lyn Schmidt of The Ethel Walker School; Bessie Jones, founder of Mothers of Color Awareness Initiative; Mark C Franczyk ’00, a financial analyst at J.P. Morgan; Lissa Pierce Bonifaz of the Massachusetts Latino political organization ¿Oíste?; Veterans Education Project; and Easthampton Police Department.

The opening keynote speaker for the event is comedian and stroke survivor John Kawie ’68. Kawie’s solo show, “Brain Freeze,” about his journey through the aftermath of a stroke, has been performed off Broadway and at theaters and hospitals throughout the country, and won Best Solo Show in the 2003 International Fringe Festival in New York City. Kawie writes a column called “Life At The Curb” for the American Heart Association’s magazine Stroke Connection and has numerous credits as a writer and comedian.

The conference will culminate with an afternoon performance by Jeremy Cohen of ThisWorldMusic and Nani Kwashi Agbeli of Woezo, who will offer what is sure to be a high-energy performance of west African drumming and dance that will also feature students who have spent the day in drumming and dance workshops.

Photographer Michael Itkoff will give a lecture at The Williston Northampton School’s Photographers’ Lecture Series in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center on January 25, 2011, at 6:30 p.m.

Michael Itkoff is a photographer and a founding editor of Daylight Magazine, a photography publication dedicated to publishing in-depth photographic essays on important issues of the day. In his photography, Itkoff captures his subjects in a documentary style by investigating topics ranging from demolition derbies to portrait studies. In 2009, Charta Books published Street Portraits, Itkoff’s exploration of the artifice of portraiture. Itkoff’s photographs are in public and private collections in the United States, and he has been a recipient of the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advancement of Photojournalism, a Creative Artists Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Arts Council, and a Puffin Foundation Grant. In 2010, Itkoff received an MFA from the ICP-Bard program in 2010.

Upcoming Lecturers in this year’s series are scheduled as follows:
Vince Cianni, February 17
Ken Sklute, March 1
Michael Lesy, April 1
Thatcher Cook, April 18

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. Complete information about the lecture series and program can be found at http://www.williston.com/photographers.

The Williston Northampton School will hold its semiannual Cum Laude Society induction on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel on Park Street. At this assembly, seniors chosen from the top 10 percent of their class will be inducted into Williston’s Cum Laude Society.

A member of the New York State Bar, Ms. Alcock is recognized as a leading employee benefits lawyer by The Best Lawyers in America and The Legal 500. She received a JD degree in 1993 from Yale Law School and received her undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Yale University.

The Cum Laude Society recognizes academic achievement by students in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Aretè), justice (Dikè), and honor (Timè.) Founded in 1906, the society modeled Cum Laude after Phi Beta Kappa and in the years since its founding, Cum Laude has grown to 350 chapters around the world.

Babson College

Barnard College

Bentley University

College of the Holy Cross

Columbia University

Emory University

Eugene Lang College

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Jewish Theological Seminary

Middlebury College

NYU (2)

Roanoke College

Sewanee - University of the South

Skidmore College(2)

Union College

On Tuesday, December 8, student musicians from The Williston Northampton School will perform in this year’s Winter Instrumental Concert.

The Chamber Orchestra, Upper School Chamber Ensemble, Concert Band, Jazz Band, 8th Grade Quartet, and several soloists will perform works by Handel, Mozart, Pachelbel, Tchaikovsky, Coldplay, Haydn, Barber, and others.

Members of the community and the public are welcome to join us for a wonderful winter’s evening of beautiful music. The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center.

For Williston parents and friends who are unable to attend the concert, it will be webcast. To watch the live performance, click on this link or paste it into your browser at the time of the concert: www.williston.com/live.

Sponsored by the Easthampton Democratic Committee, The Williston Northampton School invites the community of Easthampton to a forum of the Easthampton candidates for mayor on October 14, 2009, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel located at 45 Park Street.

Former Williston Athletic Director Rick Francis has been selected for induction into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. A ceremony of his induction will be held on October 9, 2009, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Rick’s extensive career at Williston began in 1958 when he was elected as a math teacher. He also coached football and basketball. Soon after joining Willliston, he became the Assistant Athletic Director and then Athletic Director. During his tenure at the school he was head football coach and coached varsity and thirds basketball. He remained Athletic Director for over 30 years, retiring in 2000. An active member of the Williston community, Rick and his wife, Marilyn, are parents of Jeff ’81 and Todd ’83.

Francis joins alumnus and former girls’ basketball coach Ray Brown ’55 as an inductee to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, Brown was honored in 2006. “I humbly accept such an award. I enjoyed my 22 years as a varsity coach (at Williston) and another 10-15 working with the younger boys,” says Francis.

The New England Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony has become one of the largest sports dinners in America, attracting over 1,000 attendees at each of the previous four gatherings. For more information on attending this event, visit www.internationalsport.com/basketball.

The Williston Northampton School will host Easthampton Bear Fest speaker Ben Kilham on September 30, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Center. This program is a free and open to the public.

Ben Kilham is a leading scholar and rehabilitator of black bear cubs. He is the author of Among the Bears, Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild. Featured in National Geographic, Kilham has raised and released over 75 black bear cubs, spending countless hours studying bear behavior. George Schaller, a noted field biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, says, "He’s a naturalist in the best old-fashioned tradition. He’s gained insights into bear behavior which nobody else has been able to do." Featured in the Boston Globe and numerous television programs, Kilham has been deemed “the foremost expert on the black bear.” His second book is currently awaiting publication.

This event is organized by the Easthampton Bear Fest, a citywide event featuring 20 life-sized bears, 15 smaller bears, and 35-40 baby bears decorated by local artists. The bears were exhibited throughout the streets and stores in Easthampton from June to October. They will be auctioned off in October with proceeds from bear auctions going towards Easthampton art programs. Ben Kilham’s lecture is sponsored by The Williston Northampton School, Easthampton City Arts, Fleury Lumber, New Beginnings Chiropractic PC, Pure Food Market, and Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary.

Ben Killam’s books and DVDs will be available for sale following the lecture. For more information on the Easthampton Bear Fest, visit www.easthamptonbearfest.com.

The Williston Northampton School’s Health Services has made a number of contingency plans in preparation for the potential threat of an influenza outbreak.

Here is some important information about our expectations for the opening of school and, more specifically, our plans for responding to H1N1 influenza (“swine flu”).

1. Any student who has a fever, respiratory tract infection, stomach upset, or muscle aches prior to traveling to school should remain at home until cleared by a medical provider. The student should also notify the Dean of Students Office that he/she will not be here for registration.

2. Any student who becomes ill while traveling to school should, upon arrival on campus, go directly to Health Services and not begin registration procedures.

3. All students, faculty, and staff members are reminded to cough/sneeze into your sleeve and wash your hands frequently.

• Please use the hand sanitizers that can be found around campus. The school has increased the number of locations for hand sanitizer to include entrances to all school buildings and each classroom. Individual-sized bottles will be distributed at registration and be available at no charge in the campus store.

4. We strongly encourage each student receive the seasonal influenza vaccine.

• For boarding students, we have the vaccine on campus and will administer to each student with parent permission. There is a fee for this, and it will be charged to your account.
• For day students, we recommend that you arrange to receive the vaccine through your primary care provider. If you have difficulty obtaining the vaccine, please notify Health Services. Depending on availability, Health Services may be able to administer it. The fee for this service charged to your account.

Recognizing that H1N1 influenza may be a serious threat this year, Health Services has been in frequent communication with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). The school has contingency plans in case of an H1N1 outbreak on campus. Parents will be notified if their child becomes ill.

A vaccine for H1N1 is in production at this time, but the specifics for its use have not been published. When supplies of the vaccine become available, the school will follow the recommendation of the CDC and DPH concerning its use. At that time, we will be in contact with all parents about the procedures we will follow.

Please remember that not every cough, sneeze, or sore throat means someone has the flu! In addition, important factors in staying healthy are good nutrition and adequate sleep every night – for teens this should be at least eight hours!

Please call Health Services with any question or concerns at (413) 529-3234.

Effective August 21, 2009, Williston students now have a new email username and password. Student email addresses have not changed.

The new usernames and passwords can also be used to log into Williston computers on campus, and to access WillyNet.

Students who need their new login information should contact the Technology Department by email or phone at (413) 529-3338.

WillyNet, the online community of The Williston Northampton School, offers

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Nancy Campbell, a printmaker and professor of art at Mt. Holyoke College, will present “Work on Paper,” at the Grubbs Gallery in the Reed Center at The Williston Northampton School from September 8 through October 31, 2009. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, September 20, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

The exhibit will feature Campbell’s prints that she develops by overlapping layers of information from a wide range of sources that include medieval Japanese scroll paintings, the media, children’s art, and studies from nature. “The measured process of making a print allows me to adjust and fine‐tune my images over a long period of time,” says Campbell. “In contrast to the slow pace of my printing process, I simultaneously work out ideas quickly using collage and drawing. Recycled information from earlier works generates new outcomes as I layer and weave together disparate ideas,” she explains.

Her meticulous stage‐by‐stage process is disguised by a spontaneous result that often explores the concept of flux and opposites coexisting. She says, “Implicit in my work are stories waiting to be told. I find conceptual parallels and formal connections to Japanese narrative picture scrolls that I have ardently studied in museum collections and in reproduction. Their stories are often evasive, reticent, subtle, and fleeting. The continuous play of opposites that is at the heart of Japanese aesthetics is echoed in my work.”

Campbel has been exhibited widely in national and international exhibitions and is included in numerous public collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, Springfield Museum of Art in Missouri, and the Worcester Art Museum. In 2008 she won Grand Prize at the American Impressions: National Print Exhibition in Ben Shawn Center Galleries at William Paterson University, where she also had a one‐person show this year. She has been a visiting artist at Trinity College, in Hartford; the University of Maine at Orono; University of Dallas; and Stewart and Stewart Prints, Bloomfield Hills.

The exhibit is free and open to the public and takes place in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. Gallery directions and open hours are available online at www.williston.com/grubbsgallery.

Poet Martín Espada will open The Williston Northampton School’s 12th annual Writers’ Workshop Series. He will speak in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center on September 22, 2009, at 7:00 p.m.

Accomplished author of several collections of poetry, Martín Espada has been called “the Latino poet of his generation” and “the Pablo Neruda of North American authors.” His The Republic of Poetry was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, and Alabanza: New and Selected Poems (1982‐2002) was named an American Library Association Notable Book of the year. In 2006 Espada was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Massachusetts of Amherst, where he teaches creative writing and courses that examine the work of Pablo Neruda.

Along with Espada, three other accomplished authors will offer readings and discussions of their work this fall: Joan Wickersham (The Suicide Index) on October 13, Daniel Jones (Modern Love: 50 True and Extraordinary Tales of Desire) on October 20, and Sebastian Stuart (The Hour Between ) on November 3. The series began in 1998 as an advanced class for aspiring student writers. Since its inception, the series has hosted an impressive group of accomplished authors, including Elinor Lipman (My Latest Grievance) and Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors); Pulitzer Prize‐winners Richard Russo (Empire Falls) and Gregory Maguire (Wicked); as well as Sue Miller (The Good Mother), Anita Shreve (The Pilot’s Wife), Arthur Golden (Memoirs of a Geisha), and many other outstanding guests.

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call 413‐529‐3237 or go to www.williston.com/writersworkshop.

The Williston Northampton School’s 168th Commencement took place on Saturday, May 30, at 9:30 a.m. on the Williston quadrangle in front of the Reed Campus Center with 130 students graduating.

Andre White and Nimrod Phillippe – Technical Theater
The Spring Gala, an evening of performances by student musicians, actors, and dancers, is the culmination of Andre and Nimrod’s study of technical theater. As production directors for the Gala, Andre and Nim are responsible for all aspects of the lighting, sound, set conception, design, and construction, and for stage management.

The show will be held May 22 at 6:30 p.m. in The Williston Theatre.

Madeline Godine – Painting
Madeline Godine has studied surrealism in Advanced Painting classes and made this style the focus of her Senior Project. Her exhibit of paintings and drawings will be on display in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center with an opening set for May 25th.

Rafael Cortina and Kyle Zesiger – Filmmaking
Rafael “Raffy” Cortina’s Senior Project in filmmaking involves the creation of three movies, each filmed from a different aesthetic standpoint through which he explores several film genres. In the first film, he focuses on creating a sense of mystery as the plot unfolds during a play performance. Another is filmed entirely in silhouette style, and the third explores aesthetics to express conflict between its characters.

Kyle Zesiger is making a “film noir” movie that involves murder, mystery, and romance. The film is entirely in black and white, evoking a feeling of nostalgia and drama.

Construction has begun on the new public garden that The Williston Northampton School is building in cooperation with the City of Easthampton and with the support of an anonymous donor. Soon city residents and users of the nearby Manhan Rail Trail will be able to enjoy winding paths, shade trees, flower beds, and artist-designed outdoor furniture.

Last fall, Williston placed a call to artists around the country to submit designs for the benches and trash receptacles that will be featured in the garden. Dozens of submissions were received and carefully reviewed by a committee of Williston faculty and alumni and Easthampton residents and artists. The winners of the competition are:

D. Czerniejewski of Chicago, IL - trash receptacle
Peter Flanary of Mineral Point, WI - bench
Jay Gibson of Morrill, ME – bench
Matt Evald Johnson of Easthampton, MA - trash receptacle
Cameron Van Dyke of Grand Rapids, MI – bench

The criteria for the competition were based on aesthetics, cost, safety, and durability. The artists are due to deliver and install their furniture in June.

The garden will be situated alongside the Manhan Rail Trail near Union Street and will abut the studio and residence of Williston painting teacher Marcia Reed. The land is owned partly by the school and partly by the City of Easthampton. Last year, representatives from the school met with Easthampton city officials who agreed to the park’s design and with Williston being responsible for the regular upkeep and maintenance of the park.

-view park design-

On Tuesday, May 12, The Williston Northampton School will present its annual Spring Choral Concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel at 45 Park Street. The highlight of the program will be Frostiana by Randall Thompson, a preeminent American composer of 20th century choral music. Commissioned in 1959 by the Town of Amherst as part of its bicentennial celebration, Frostiana features seven poems by Robert Frost, one of New England's most beloved poets, set to music. It is written for men's, women's, and combined choirs with orchestra. Williston's performance will feature the Teller Chorus, the a cappella groups Caterwaulers and Widdigers, and the Chamber Orchestra, along with members of the Williston Concert Band and additional instrumentalists from the community.

The following week, on Tuesday, May 19, Williston will present its annual Spring Instrumental Concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center. This evening of music will feature the Williston Concert Band, Chamber Orchestra, Upper School String Ensemble, and Jazz Band, along with several student soloists.

Both events are free and open to the public.

The Second Annual Williston Film Festival will screen New England area student films on May 8, at 6:30 p.m., in The Williston Theatre. This year’s festival organizers are billing the evening as a ”red carpet” affair with festive or formal attire encouraged.

After attracting a full house last year, Williston Film Festival organizers are hoping for an even greater response this year. “There is definitely an interested audience. We contacted New England prep and public schools that have film clubs or classes by sending them informational packets about the festival. We are anticipating the submissions to be even more competitive in both quality and quantity,” says Raffy Cortina ’09, president of the Williston Film Club.

After the audience previews a selection of five-to-ten-minute student films, the three judges will confer and announce the award winners including ‘best film’ and ‘best edited film.’ This year’s judges are: Tamar Hacker, multi-Emmy award winning producer, who has produced PBS' "American Masters and "Art in Progress", a series devoted to the lives of contemporary artists; Lucretia Knapp, a film, video, and new media artist who teaches in the Film Studies Department at Smith College and at the International Center of Photography in New York; and Anne Cieko, an international cinema educator, academic researcher, critic and arts/culture writer, and curator. She is also an Associate Professor of Communications at UMass, Amherst.

In attendance will be filmmakers from The Williston Northampton School, Concord Academy, Easthampton High School, Hampshire Regional High School, The Academy at Charlemont, Millbrook School, Hotchkiss School,  and Milton Academy, amongst others.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

For more information, please email filmfestival@williston.com or visit www.williston.com/filmfestival where last year’s winning videos may be viewed.

The Williston Northampton School presents its spring play Dark of the Moon, written by Howard Richardson and William Berney and directed by Williston’s new Director of Theater Emily Ditkovski, Thursday – Saturday, April 23 – 25 and April 30, May 1 – 2.

Set in the Appalachian Mountains during 1915, Dark of the Moon is a mystical folk drama about a witch boy who yearns to become human because he is in love with a girl named Barbara Allen. The superstitious townspeople and the mystical witch realm resent their happiness, resulting in violence and misfortune. Written in 1942, the play, rich in folk music and dance, follows Romeo and Juliet’s theme of tragic love.

All shows take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Williston Theatre, 18 Payson Avenue, in Easthampton. Please call the box office at (413) 529-3434 to reserve tickets, which are $5 each for general admission. The April 24 performance is free for all Williston families.

Cast list:
John: Jay Axelrod ‘09
Conjur Man: Josh Parad ‘09
Dark Witch: Sydney Sainte ‘10
Fair Witch: Madeline Godine ‘09
Other Witches: Nadine Muniz ‘10, Deirdre Quirk ‘10, Zephaniah Phillipe ‘11, Victoria Vasquez ‘11
Conjur Woman: Alana Horton ‘10
Mr. Jenkins: Chris Zombik ‘10
Mr. Atkins: Ciero Wang ‘10
Edna Summey: Sofie Belkin-Sessler ‘10
Hank Gudger: Jaime Thomson ‘10
Uncle Smelicue: Timi Onafowaken ‘10
Miss Metcalf: Amanda Lovell ‘09
Ella Bergen: Stephanie Hall ‘09
Floyd Allen: Jake Robbins ‘10
Mr. Bergen: Chris Viceconte ‘10
Mrs. Bergen: Debbie Andres ‘11
Greeny Gorman: Shannon Sullivan ‘10
Mr. Summey: Kyle Zesiger ‘09
Mrs. Summey: Lauren Kenney ‘10
Burt Dinwtty: Rafael Cortina ‘09
Hattie Heffner: Elizabeth Howard ‘11
Mrs. Allen: Jansyn Thaw ‘09
Mr. Allen: Jasper Hellweg ‘09
Marvin Hudgens: Quinn Maguire ‘09
Barbara Allen: Ashley Gearing ‘09
Preacher Haggler: Jarrad Green ‘10

Samantha Healy Vardaman ’89 is the recipient of this year's Robert A. Ward Medal for outstanding service to humanity. She will receive this award in a special assembly on Tuesday, May 5, at 8:00 a.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel.

As Director of Programs at Shared Hope International, Vardaman led a team of undercover human rights investigators in Japan, The Netherlands, Jamaica, and the United States. The resulting report and documentary spurred new legislation to combat human trafficking in several countries. According to her colleague Melissa Snow, “It is no understatement to say that hundreds of thousands of lives have been rebuilt and restored because of her work.”

Vardaman’s interest in justice and international issues began early on. While a student at The Williston Northampton School, she was inspired by a guest speaker from the U.S. Department of State to look into service opportunities abroad. After becoming a lawyer, she applied for a position with the American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI), which sends pro bono attorneys to accomplish its rule of law objectives in democratizing countries of the former Soviet Union. The first available spot was in Moldova, which Vardaman describes as “a tiny country landlocked between Romania and Ukraine, which held a terrific history and a wonderful culture.”

During her time in Moldova, Vardaman was instrumental in persuading law schools to open legal clinics, which gave law students practical experience and provided underprivileged citizens with pro bono legal services. She also trained attorneys to help voters in need during a critical election. Additionally, she worked with Shared Hope International and several other anti-trafficking organizations to hold a Path-breaking Strategies Summit that led to the passage of anti-trafficking legislation in Moldova and the adoption of a National Action Plan to combat human trafficking. After three years with the ABA/CEELI, Vardaman returned to the U.S. and took her current position with Shared Hope International.

Created in 1987 and awarded annually by the Williston Northampton Alumni Council, the Ward Medal recognizes a member of the Williston Northampton community who exemplifies the values of humanitarian service, has made outstanding contributions to his or her community, and— in the words of former Headmaster Robert A. Ward, for whom the medal is named— “has done some good… and done it well.”

 All donations will benefit the J.J. Dushane Memorial Fund established to honor J.J. Dushane, who died tragically in a car accident in 2008. The proceeds are for the renovation and building of two basketball courts in Nonotuck Park in Easthampton.

The event was organized the class of 2011 and Associate Dean for Student Programming and Activities Ara Brown. Now in its fifth year, the competition was originally started by then-senior Eliza Worthley to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children. Last year's game donated funds to the LemonAid Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit project that raises money to fund high school education for girls in China.

For further information, please contact Associate Dean for Student Programming and Activities Ara Brown at 413-529-3340.
 

We know that the admission process can be long and arduous, but we truly appreciate all the time and effort that you and your family put in and hope that news of your admission to Williston was worth the wait.

The Williston Northampton School will be hosting Second Visit Days for accepted students and their parents on March 28, April 3, 4, and 7. Second Visit Days give students and their families the opportunity to see firsthand what life is like at Williston. Visitors can attend classes in subjects they're interested in, meet other accepted students and families, talk to current Williston students and faculty, and eat lunch with teachers, coaches, and advisors.

Second Visit Day Highlights

• Attend classes
• Meet other accepted students
• Attend Academic and College Counseling Panel
• Discuss campus life with current Williston students and faculty
• Eat lunch with teachers, coaches, current parents, and other prospective families

Reservations are required for Second Visit Days. We look forward to welcoming you to our campus!

Second Visit Day Schedules

Saturday, March 28, 2009
(8:45 AM arrival, 1:00 estimated departure)
Register by March 25

Friday, April 3, 2009
(8:30 AM arrival, 1:30 estimated departure/ 2:00 for postgraduates.)
Register by April 1

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Saturday, April 4 (8:45 AM arrival, 1:00 estimated departure)
Register by April 1

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 (9:30 AM arrival, 1:45 estimated departure)
Register by April 2

Lunch will be included on each of the three days.If possible, we ask that postgraduates attend on Friday, April 4. We will have a special additional panel specifically about the PG experience on that day.

The Williston Northampton School is pleased to present a talk by photographer Ed Keating on April 7, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of The Reed Campus Center. The presentation is part of the Photographers' Lecture Series which brings notable photographers to the Williston campus each spring for a public lecture and in-depth classroom instruction for Williston students.

Ed Keating is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who was a staff photographer for The New York Times for 11 years. His “New York City” images have been exhibited at Leica Gallery in New York and most recently at the Pingyao International Photography Festival in Pingyao, China. In 1992, he began photographing for “Vows,” the weekly wedding column for The New York Times. This led to the publishing of VOWS: Weddings of the Nineties, a book of excerpts and images from the popular column. His photography has led him to cover diverse subject matter including “Race in America,” a view of a pork processing plant in North Carolina, and a cross-country view of Route 66.

The Photographers' Lecture series features internationally acclaimed photographers who present and discuss their work to the school and community. Advanced photography students will have the opportunity to participate in a class taught by the photographers preceding the public lecture. Past visiting photographers have included Steve McCurry, known for his National Geographic magazine cover of the girl from Afghanistan, and photojournalist Ed Kashi, who is known for his unique approach to storytelling with new technologies in his coverage of current worldwide political and social issues.

Read more about the 2009 Photographers' Lecture Series.

 All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call 413-529-3237. Dates are subject to change.

The Williston Northampton School is pleased to present a talk by photographer Karen Ballard on March 3, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of The Reed Campus Center. The presentation is part of the Photographers' Lecture Series which brings notable photographers to the Williston campus each spring for a public lecture and in-depth classroom instruction for Williston students.

Award-winning photographer Karen Ballard has followed a diverse career in photography from portraiture to motion pictures. Her focus on timely issues led her on travels to the Middle East where she photographed Saddam Hussein’s trial. As a Washington-based photographer, she has worked to capture the faces of political figures such as John Edwards and Al Sharpton. Recently, Ballard has directed her attention towards Hollywood movies. She has been the principal photographer on Steven Spielberg’s Munich, Rambo IV, and The Hunting Party. Her latest adventure as a unit photographer is on the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Ballard’s images have been seen in numerous publications including Time, Newsweek, and National Geographic.

The Photographers' Lecture series features internationally acclaimed photographers who present and discuss their work to the school and community. Advanced photography students will have the opportunity to participate in a class taught by the photographers preceding the public lecture. Past visiting photographers have included Steve McCurry, known for his National Geographic magazine cover of the girl from Afghanistan, and photojournalist Ed Kashi, who is known for his unique approach to storytelling with new technologies in his coverage of current worldwide political and social issues. Photographer Ed Keating will follow Ballard.

Read more about the 2009 Photographers' Lecture Series.

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call 413-529-3237. Dates are subject to change.

Project Elements Easthampton is a four-part, multi-media project by Burns Maxey about the elements—earth, water, fire, and air—and how these elements relate to the town of Easthampton, MA. The works are separate explorations of the elements in the forms of historical study, myth, photography, environmental art, collected audio stories, illustration, video, installation, music, and more.

The first project for Project Elements Easthampton, Earth began in February 2007. After deconstructing what qualities make up earth and how they best relate to the city of Easthampton, Maxey studied the nature, structures, and people of the small city. The results consist of 24” x 36” color photographs of houses in Easthampton that will be part of an installation. Also included are gathered audio stories and sounds filtered through telephones on grass-covered chairs.The piece will involve a cell phone audio tour of mostly unknown historical stories that occurred in Easthampton about everyday people from 1885 to the present. Simultaneously, illustrations representing more historical stories about the people in Easthampton will be shown in a separate display. This preview at the Grubbs Gallery is an introduction to some of these individual works that are components of the final installation. “This show will be an inside look into my creative process in making this piece, which for me has become as significant as the final presentation,” says Maxey. Through written explanations, Maxey shares her thoughts and stories about creating this project. See www.projectelementseasthampton.com for a model of the final project that is scheduled to show in the fall of 2009.

Burns Maxey is a multi-media artist based in Easthampton, MA. She is a graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design and has exhibited in San Francisco, Washington, DC, New York City, and throughout the New England area. Maxey is continuously interested in finding ways to combine new technologies, art, and innovative exhibition spaces outside of the gallery confines. Most recently she performed and created visual pieces for a collaborative experimental show at Mobius in Boston.

This exhibit is free and open to the public and takes place in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call (413) 529-3000. Please note that the gallery will be closed for spring break from March 6- 22.

The Williston Northampton School is pleased to present a talk by photographer Sean Hemmerle on February  26, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of The Reed Campus Center. The presentation is part of the Photographers' Lecture Series which brings notable photographers to the Williston campus each spring for a public lecture and in-depth classroom instruction for Williston students.

Sean Hemmerle is a New York-based photographer who specializes in architectural and landscape photography. His work has been exhibited extensively in many renowned museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Hemmerle’s photos appear regularly in many national and international magazines. His photos have twice been selected for Time‘s Photos of the Year. A former U.S. Army Sergeant, Hemmerle has reentered the combat zone in the Middle East with a medium format camera, capturing the torn landscapes.

The Photographers' Lecture series features internationally acclaimed photographers who present and discuss their work to the school and community. Advanced photography students will have the opportunity to participate in a class taught by the photographers preceding the public lecture. Past visiting photographers have included Steve McCurry, known for his National Geographic magazine cover of the girl from Afghanistan, and photojournalist Ed Kashi, who is known for his unique approach to storytelling with new technologies in his coverage of current worldwide political and social issues. Photographers Karen Ballard and Ed Keating will follow Hemmerle.

Read more about the 2009 Photographers' Lecture Series.

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call 413-529-3237. Dates are subject to change.

Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, child and adult psychiatrist and best-selling author of 15 books, will be at The Williston Northampton School in Easthampton on Monday, February 23. He will give a presentation titled Looking for the Hidden Gifts in Our Children and Giving Them the Tools They Need to Succeed! This public event is intended for parents, educators, and interested adults. The discussion will cover a broad range of issues, including reframing ADD/ADHD as a gift that is sometimes difficult to unwrap; helping pre-teens and teens handle the daily pressures in their lives; the anxiety-provoking process of applying to college; and the tools necessary to lead a happy life.

The presentation will take place on February 23 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel on Park Street. It will be followed by a book signing. This free, public event is sponsored by Williston’s Community Life Program. Contact Director of Community Life Programs Susanna White for more information at 413-529-3088 or swhite@williston.com.

A graduate of Harvard College and Tulane School of Medicine, Dr. Hallowell is a child and adult psychiatrist and the founder of The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Sudbury, Massachuetts. Considered one of the foremost experts on ADD, he is the co-author, with Dr. John Ratey, of Driven to Distraction. Dr. Hallowell has long argued that ADD is too often misunderstood, mistreated, and mislabeled as a “disability.” In addition to his renown in the world of ADD, Dr. Hallowell is an expert in parenting, managing anxiety, and understanding the importance of connection and forgiveness.

On Tuesday, February 24, at 10:00 a.m. Dr. Hallowell will address Williston students at an all-school assembly. The topic will be Forgiveness – What It Is, Why It’s Important, and How to Do It. For more information about Dr. Hallowell’s talk on February 24, contact Director of Community Life Programs Susanna White for more information at 413-529-3088 or swhite@williston.com.

Read more about Dr. Hallowell.

The Williston Northampton School held its seventh annual Diversity Conference (formerly "Diversity Day") on Thursday, January 22. The theme of this year’s event was “Be the Change You Want to See in the World.”

Over 80 workshops were led by faculty, students, and members of the Williston community. Workshop titles included The Power of Language, Chinese Spring Festival, A Behind -the -Scenes Look at Poverty in America, and Hip Hop Dance.

One of the conference highlights was an Oxfam hunger banquet during the lunch period where participants were given the chance to experience a meal as a low income, middle income, or upper income global citizen. This was one of thousands of hunger banquets that take place annually throughout the United States. Money raised during the hunger banquet will be donated locally to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and to Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.

This year the hunger banquet benefitted from the generous support of these local businesses: Big E's Grocery Store, Bueno y Sano, Dynasy Gourmet, Eastside Grill, India Palace, Mantis Graphics, Northampton Rental, Ralphine’s Deli, Serio’s Market, State Street Deli, Thai Garden, and Village Pizza. Most of these businesses contributed for the second year in a row.

The conference opened on Wednesday evening with a performance of Indian dance by the Nataraj Dance Company, a traditional Indian dance troupe led by former Williston parent Ranjanaa Devi. Thursday’s activities began with a keynote address by Albert Gonzales, a former gang member who has since developed a series of youth intervention and prevention programs.

The conference concluded with a moving performance by spoken word artist and Williston alumna Queen GodIs, who presented original poetry and songs that addressed themes of struggle, change, and self-empowerment. Queen also initiated a spontaneous fundraiser during her performance. With her encouragement, the Williston community raised over $200, which will be donated to a deserving child or school in the city of Springfield, MA.

For its 18th Annual Four Sundays in February Series, the Northampton Arts Council presents 10 fun-filled events over 22 days that are sure to cure the winter blues. This year students, faculty, and past parents of The Williston Northampton School will be participating in everything from the symphony orchestra to circus acts.

On Saturday, February 21, YouthFilm will be held at Northampton’s Academy of Music. This festival features films created by and starring local children and teens. The films of two Williston filmmakers, Rafael Cortina ‘09 and Kyle Zesiger ’09, were selected for this year’s festival. Cortina’s short film “Made In Peril“ is the story of a well-meaning urban youth who looks for a way to avoid the vices of his city by applying to a prestigious prep school but once there must overcome adversity of his past. The short film won “best edited” at The Williston Northampton School’s Film Festival in 2008. Two of Zesigers’ films, “Chapstick Charlie” and “Two-Headed Boy,” were created and screened in New York City last summer after he studied filmmaking at New York University. Zesiger wrote, produced, edited, and directed "Chapstick Charlie,” the story of a boy with an addiction to chapstick and a love for lost coins. The YouthFilm festival begins at noon with all seats $3 at the door for those over 19, and free to anyone 18 and under.

On the following Sunday, February 22 Williston English teacher Lisa Levchuk will read from her critically acclaimed debut novel Everything Beautiful in the World during “The Really Big Show,” which traditionally closes the Four Sundays in February Series. Levchuk, who has an MFA in creative writing from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and two master’s degrees from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, has taught English at The Williston Northampton School since 1998. She will be sharing the bill with the Young at Heart Chorus and Silas Kopf P’98, who has two previously performed as “The Really Big Show” host Ed Sullivan. This year he will be sharing some comedic views from “delving into the psyches of animals.”

The affair promises to be an entertaining and comedic extravaganza. All seats are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Advanced tickets may be purchased at Cooper’s Corners, Food for Thought, Guild Art Centre, Northampton Arts Council, State Street Fruit, and World Eye Books. For information, call The Northampton Arts Council at 587-1269 or visit their website.

The Williston Northampton School is pleased to present a talk by photographer Caitlin Mitchell '98 on February 19, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of The Reed Campus Center. The presentation is part of the Photographers' Lecture Series which brings notable photographers to the Williston campus each spring for a public lecture and in-depth classroom instruction for Williston students.

Caitlin Mitchell ’98 began her career in portrait and fashion photography in 2002. After graduating from Lewis and Clark University in Oregon, she moved to New York City where she quickly established a career in photography and began collaborating with production teams and some of the world’s most talented photographers. Her experience ranges from working with leading fashion companies to popular magazines and current television shows. As a student at The Williston Northampton School, Mitchell took a Photography 1 course taught by Ed Hing ‘77 who remembers her as “an energetic student full of ideas.”

The Photographers' Lecture series features internationally acclaimed photographers who present and discuss their work to the school and community. Advanced photography students will have the opportunity to participate in a class taught by the photographers preceding the public lecture. Past visiting photographers have included Steve McCurry, known for his National Geographic magazine cover of the girl from Afghanistan, and photojournalist Ed Kashi, who is known for his unique approach to storytelling with new technologies in his coverage of current worldwide political and social issues. This year's distinguished guests following Mitchell's visit are Sean Hemmerle, Karen Ballard, and Ed Keating. 

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call 413-529-3237. Dates are subject to change.

The Williston Northampton School presents “Change”, an exhibition of student, faculty, and staff works at the Grubbs Gallery in the Reed Campus Center from February 16- 29, 2009. A reception will be held on February 17 at 6:00 p.m.

The group exhibition will show a variety of media addressing the issue of change in conjunction with the school’s Diversity Conference held on January 22. The Conference’s theme was “Be the Change You Want to See in the World,” and students, faculty, and guests took part in over 80 workshops that concentrated on issues of change and diversity in the world. Students, faculty, and staff submitted artwork that was created during the Diversity Conference or followed a similar theme. Some of the artwork shown is collaborative effort by students in science and art classes who worked together to create visual pieces that represent the varied poverty levels in the world.

The Williston Northampton School is hosting the sixth annual Summer
Opportunities Fair on Sunday February 15, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the
Reed Campus Center.

This unique showcase gives students in elementary through high school
grades and their parents a chance to explore the many options for
summer enrichment that are available both locally and abroad. Programs
include arts and academic study, community service, cultural immersion,
and travel abroad, and many offer scholarships or discounts. Talk with
representatives from a variety of programs including ActionQuest,
Adventures in Chinese Summer Camp, Cornell University Summer College,
Eastern Soccer, Global Leadership Adventures, The Hartsbrook School,
Harvard Summer School Secondary, School Program, Longacre Expeditions,
Summer Programs at Bay Path College, SmithSings, Stoneleigh-Burnham
Summer Programs, Strings at Smith, SummerMath at Mt Holyoke, Rustic
Pathways, Windsor Mountain International, Worcester Polytechnic
Institute, and World Sports Camp.

The following Williston Northampton seniors were inducted into the Cum
Laude Society on Tuesday, February 3, 2009, at an assembly in the
Phillips Stevens Chapel on campus:

Liam Abbott of Hatfield, MA

Arye Barnehama of Leeds, MA

Brianna Cameron of Mattituck, NY

Sarah Gagnon of Easthampton, MA

Douglas Hall of Florence, MA

Mason Krause of Ithaca, NY

Andrew Les of Palmer, MA

Seo Yoon Oh of Fort Lee, NJ

Si Shen of Tianjin, China

Jansyn Thaw of Amherst, MA

Matthew Thompson of Amherst, MA

Students and their parents were invited to attend the assembly and
reception following the event at Headmaster Brian R. Wright’s house.
Dorothy Perkins ‘66 was the guest speaker for this January’s induction.
A Cum Laude Society member, Ms. Perkins is the former Deputy Director –
Technical of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. She is the recipient of
two Presidential Rank Awards and a NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

The Cum Laude Society recognizes academic achievement by students in
secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Areté),
justice (Diké), and honor (Timé). Founded in 1906, the society modeled
Cum Laude after Phi Beta Kappa and in the years since its founding, Cum
Laude has grown to 350 chapters around the world.

The Williston Northampton School will hold its semiannual Cum Laude Society induction on February 3, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel on Park Street. At this assembly, seniors chosen from the top 10 percent of their class will be inducted into Williston’s Cum Laude Society.

The distinguished speaker at the event will be Dorothy “Dolly” Perkins ’66, who will reflect on her experiences at Northampton School for Girls. A Cum Laude Society member, Ms. Perkins is the former Deputy Director – Technical of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. She is the recipient of two Presidential Rank Awards and a NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Born in Easthampton, Ms. Perkins attended Wellesley College, where she received a B.A in mathematics. She began her career at Goddard in 1981 as a software manager. In 1990, she joined the Mission Operations Division as Associate Chief, becoming Division Chief in 1994. She was appointed Deputy Director of Applied Engineering and Technology at Goddard in 1998, where she served until being assigned as the Deputy Associate Director of Flight Programs and Projects/Deputy Program Manager for EOS Operations at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

The Cum Laude Society recognizes academic achievement by students in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Aretè), justice (Dikè), and honor (Timè.) Founded in 1906, the society modeled Cum Laude after Phi Beta Kappa and in the years since its founding, Cum Laude has grown to 350 chapters around the world.

The Williston Northampton School has released its third e-appeal. This brief slideshow, which portrays “a day in the life” of a typical student, was developed in collaboration with Visibl, a local design firm. The presentation highlights everything students do at Williston that is supported by gifts to the Annual Fund. 

The Annual Fund support the school's fundamental needs: faculty salaries, physical plant, library acquisitions, athletics, and the arts. The Annual Fund also supports the 45 percent of students who receive financial aid.

View slideshow

On December 17, 2008, The Williston Northampton School’s Community Service Club donated four boxes of food and $200 to the Easthampton Community Center’s Food Drive.

Seniors Annie Wheeler and Stephanie Hall delivered donations to Robin Bialecki, coordinator of the Easthampton Food Pantry and Director of the Easthampton Community Center, at the beginning of the holiday season on behalf of the Community Service Club. The group collected canned and dry goods for a month and raised $200 during lunch the week before exams. The numbers of clients that the food pantry assists has risen from 45 to 300 families in the past year. This increase inspired the Community Service Club’s efforts to raise funds and collect donations to the food pantry.

“We will be doing more work with the Easthampton Community Center in the next few months,“ says Wheeler, co-president of the Community Service Club. She joined the club when she came to Williston because she enjoys working with her community and helping others. Wheeler says, “I have always enjoyed volunteering in my church and when I got to Williston, this club was a great place for me to be involved.”

Williston’s Community Service Club has future plans to sponsor a school-wide dance-a-thon to raise money for an outside organization, as well as working hands-on with other local organizations.
 

After carefully reviewing the numerous submitted proposals, a jury
comprised of local artists and Williston faculty concluded judging the
design competition for a new public garden located in downtown
Easthampton. The garden will feature unique benches and trash
receptacles designed by the following artists from around the country:

D. Czerniejewski of Chicago, IL - trash receptacles
Peter Flanary of Mineral Point, WI - bench
Jay Gibson of Morrill, ME – bench
Matt Evald Johnson of Easthampton, MA - trash receptacles
Cameron Van Dyke of Grand Rapids, MI - bench

The criteria for the competition was based on aesthetics, cost,
safety, and durability. A total of $40,000 was offered for the winning
benches and trash receptacles.

Williston is developing a parcel of land in downtown Easthampton
into a public garden. The land, which runs alongside the Manhan Rail
Trail off Union Street, is owned partly by the school and partly by the
City of Easthampton.

 

Williston Northampton's annual Christmas Vespers service will take place on Sunday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Phillips Stevens Chapel on 45 Park Street. Everyone is invited to come share an evening of candlelight, carols, and scripture. A reception will follow at the home of Headmaster Brian Wright at 37 Park Street.

Vespers has been a tradition at Williston since 1972, the year following the merger of Northampton School for Girls with Williston Academy. The service is now led by Williston's chaplain, The Reverend Dr. Daphne Burt, and includes music from Williston choral groups interspersed with scriptural readings. The congregation is invited to join the choir in singing the following carols:

• "O Come All Ye Faithful"
• “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
• “Silent Night”
• “Go Tell it on the Mountain”
• “Joy to the World”

The service will feature seasonal readings and performances by Williston groups, the Caterwaulers and Widdigers. Directed by music teacher Ben Demerath, the Caterwaulers is a men’s group made up of Scott Cook ’09, Christopher Dorman ’09, Jarrad Green ’10, Woo-Sung “Kevin” Jung ’10,Kyung Jun “Charlie” Park ’11, Samuel Smith ’09, Harris Teiger ’10, Christopher Zombik ’10. The Widdigers a women’s singing group, is directed by music teacher Catherine Kay, includes Christina Ayele Djossa ’10, Shuyue “Shirley” Li ’11, Nadine Muniz ’10, Shannon Sullivan ’10, Rebecca Swanson ’10, Shi Kun “Aerin” Zhang ’10.

The directors chose the following pieces for the occasion:

• “Sim Shalom” by Max Janowski
• “Breath of Heaven” (Mary’s Song) by Chris Eaton and Amy Grant
• “Adoramus Te” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1514 – 1594)

The Reverend Dr. Daphne Burt organized and selected the readings. She says, “Part of the fun of choosing the readers is picking a group who represents the depth and breadth of the Williston community. It truly makes us appreciate the power and profundity of the season.” Readers include Katie Dupuis ’10, Kyle Zesiger ’09, Zephaniah Philippe ’11, Connor Adams ’12, Laura McCullagh ’13.

Though Vespers celebrates the nativity, it is also an occasion that honors joy, peace, and goodwill. All are welcome.
 

On Tuesday, December 9, fifty student musicians from The Williston Northampton School will perform in this year's Winter Instrumental Concert.

The Chamber Orchestra, Upper School Chamber Ensemble, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and individual soloists will play music ranging from the Baroque to “Pirates of the Caribbean."

Highlights include solo violinist Sarah Hubbard in Vivaldi’s “Winter” from The Four Seasons, and pianist Sam Smith in a special appearance with the Chamber Orchestra in “America” from West Side Story. The Concert Band will delight with favorites like “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In addition, violinist Emelyn Bashour and pianists Daniella Shin and Janet Lee will play solos.

Members of the community and the public are welcome to join us for a wonderful winter’s evening of beautiful music. The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) has selected Sam DeMello '09 to the Secondary School boys All-American Soccer Team. Each year, the NSCAA selects All-American teams at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels to honor excellence in sports and academics.

DeMello is one of only two prep school boys in New England to receive this honor. He is the eighth Williston student to receive this honor following Mark Timm (1975), Paul Stockwell (1977), Giles Steele-Perkins (1985), Steve Owens (1989), Cory Turner (1992), Katie Coffey (2003) and Spenser Allaway (2007).

DeMello is also a three-time team MVP, and was selected as a member of the All-State, All-New England, and All-WNEPSSA teams. DeMello will formally accept this award at the All-American luncheon honoring this year's recipients at the NSCAA annual conference in St. Louis, MO.

The Williston Northampton School presents an exhibition “Subject + Matter,” curated by Doris Madsen. The six women artists included in the show are Julia Courtney, Kathy Klompas, Mimi Lempart, Doris Madsen, Hannah Richards, and Kathleen Trestka. The work will be on display at the Grubbs Gallery December 3- January 5, 2009. An artists’ reception will be held in the gallery on December 7 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. The show will also participate in Easthampton’s Art Walk taking place on December 13, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Artist and guest curator Doris Madsen has brought together the art of six women who depict their lives through their processes of disassembling, assembling, melding, transforming, finding meaning, and coalescing the forces that create the artists’ conception of subject matter. With various materials and styles, these works complement each other through their creative explorations and attempts to make sense of materials and art. Madsen says, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts and each piece present in the show exemplifies an understanding of matter, personal, artistic, and perhaps more ethereal than originally obvious. Matter is not necessarily visible to the eye. Perhaps what these pieces reveal is obvious or perhaps not.”

Julia Courtney of Wilbraham is a Curator of Springfield Museums. In her series, titled Fragments, she reflects on the importance and use of objects in society and their placement in museums. She uses common objects such as china, pottery, strings of pearls, and glass. Some of the sea glass in her mosaics was collected while she traveled to museums in Europe and Asia.

Fabric artist Kathleen Klompas uses her mixed media work to explore and resolve complicated issues of personal identity and worth and exactly what is important in life. Her current work focuses on textures, color, and rhythm of pattern with the use of paper. She has background in fiber arts and theatrical costume shop management and is currently manager of a large bridal shop in Albany, NY.

Printmaker, librarian, and guest curator Doris Madsen uses expressive mixed media representations of library catalog cards both as an historic curiosity and an artistic form. A resident of Easthampton, MA, Madsen is a painter and a printmaker at Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, MA. A graduate of Smith College and Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Doris is currently a librarian at Springfield City Library.

Hannah Richards is pursuing her MFA at UMass Amherst. Her work encompasses multiplicity and repetitiveness in abstract depictions of bodily forms. She is primarily a painter and printmaker, though she views her work as less medium-specific and more a means of making, through various tools and processes.

Mimi Lempart works as a cataloger in the Smith College Libraries and has created art since childhood. During the past 10 years she has studied pastel landscape painting, mandala design, Russian Icon painting, and illuminated lettering, all here in the Pioneer Valley. Since 1998 she has participated in the Staff Visions exhibitions for Smith College employees, and has taught mandala design workshops during Interterm at Smith and at Cancer Connection.

Kathleen Trestka is a multidisciplinary artist based in Easthampton, MA, whose work bridges East and West and ancient and contemporary, with mixed-and multi-media works on paper, paintings, and 3-D constructions. A graduate of studio art from Smith College, Trestka has exhibited at Canal Gallery, Taber Art Gallery, Easthampton City Arts, and many other galleries. She is in private practice as a CAM, a complementary alternative medicine therapist.

The exhibit is free and open to the public and takes place in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call (413) 529-3000.

The Williston Northampton School’s 11th annual Writers’ Workshop Series concludes with author Les Standiford. He will speak in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center on December 2, 2008, at 7:00 p.m.

An author with many voices, Les Standiford has written numerous thriller and suspense novels as well as several works of nonfiction. His latest book, Washington Burning, is a historical account of the rise of Washington, D.C. and the ambitious people who built it. He also contributed the text for the photographic essay collection Miami: City of Dreams. Standiford’s short stories and articles have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, including The Kansas Quarterly, Fodor’s
Guide, Three American Literatures, and Communion: Contemporary Fiction Writers Reread the Bible. He is a recipient of the Frank O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction. Currently, Standiford is a professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University.

The 11th annual Writer’s Workshop began with Gregory Maguire (Wicked) who kicked off the series at the beginning of September followed by authors Kevin Sweeney (Captors and Captives: The 1704 French and Indian Raid on Deerfield), and Cammie McGovern (Art of Seeing), and Sue Miller (The Good Mother).

The Writers’ Workshop Series at Williston began in 1998 as an advanced class for aspiring student writers. Since its inception, the series has hosted an impressive group of accomplished authors, including Elinor Lipman (My Latest Grievance) and Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors), Pulitzer Prize-winners Richard Russo (Empire Falls) and Joseph Ellis (Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation), as well as Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep), Anita Shreve (The Pilot’s Wife), Arthur Golden (Memoirs of a Geisha), and many other outstanding guests.

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call 413-529-3237.


 

Marcia Reed, Fine Arts teacher and curator of The Williston Northampton School’s Grubbs Gallery, is participating in the Paradise City Arts Festival, November 21, 22, and 23, at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA.

Marcia Reed was selected from among nearly 1000 applicants to participate in the Paradise City Arts Festival. A distinguished jury of arts professionals viewed five thousand images last April during a painstaking review process and chose only 175 artists from all over America for this show. The applicants' work was judged on the basis of imagination, technical excellence, design, and originality. Paradise City was named the #1 art fair in the United States this year by AmericanStyle magazine, which declared it “innovative, always fresh and vibrant, with the best selection anywhere.” The event that The Boston Globe has declared “the jewel of craft shows”
is an opportunity to spend a weekend surrounded by creativity, imagination, and beauty. From emerging to established artists, visitors will see the newest work at the cutting edge of design at Boston’s most acclaimed show of fine art and contemporary craft.

Marcia Reed, art teacher and Grubbs Gallery curator at Williston, has participated in several Paradise City Arts Festivals. She will show recent paintings from her extensive travels that capture each environment with vibrant oils and watercolors. Her lush landscapes have been shown nationally and internationally. She earned an MFA from UMass and has shown in numerous galleries including recent solo exhibitions at the Jasper Rand Art Museum of Westfield Athenaeum and the Elusie Gallery in Easthampton. Reed will also be opening her studio for viewing in the upcoming Easthampton Artwalk on December 13, at 1 Railroad St., Easthampton, MA.

The Paradise City Arts Festival will be held at the Royal Plaza Trade Center, 181 Boston Post Road West (Route 20W), Marlborough, MA, on Friday, November 21, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday, November 22, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday, November 23, 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Admission is $12 adults; $8 seniors and students, and $15 for a weekend pass. Children under 12 are admitted for free. Complete show and travel information can be found online at www.paradisecityarts.com or call 1-800.511.9725.

The Williston Northampton School will host its semiannual blood drive for the American Red Cross on Friday, November 21. The drive will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center. All are welcome to attend, particularly parents who might wish to donate with their children.

The blood drive takes place on the Friday before Thanksgiving because demand for blood increases at this time of year due to holiday travel, and supply falls because people are busy. “It's difficult … to get donations right before the holidays, so our participation is crucial and appreciated," says history teacher Peter Gunn, who organizes the event on campus.

In order to donate blood, individuals must be generally healthy, at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and not have donated in the last eight weeks. The entire donation process takes 50 to 60 minutes. The staff is careful to make sure that donors feel “good to go” before leaving. More information on donating is available at the Red Cross website.

According to the Red Cross, volunteers who meet all other physical requirements are sometimes "deferred” due to low blood iron. To help ensure a successful blood draw, please remember to “pump up” before the big day with iron-rich foods like raisins and apricots, spinach, almonds, beans, fortified cereals, tuna, red meat, or turkey.

The Red Cross blood drive has become a tradition at Williston. In 2007, students, faculty members, parents, and people from the community donated over 150 pints of blood. Every pint donated can help up to three people. For more information, including tips for a good donation experience and more reasons to give blood, visit  www.givelife.org.

The Dance Ensemble presents its Fall Dance Concert, eNeRGy, for two nights only: Friday, November 14, and Saturday, November 15, at 8 p.m. in the Williston Theatre. 

Student choreographers Dennishia Bell ’10 and Dominique Rowe ’10 will present original hip hop dances to the music of Rhianna and Ne-Yo. Sarah Gagnon ’09 and LaVasjah Williams ’09 will perform their original, collaborative duet. The concert will also feature modern dances to music by Beethoven and Vivaldi, and jazz dance to the music of Basement Jaxx.

This event is free and open to the public.  For more information call 413-529-3237.

The seventh annual Run/Walk for Tara will be held Tuesday, November 11, at The Williston Northampton School’s Galbraith Fields. This 5K non-competitive race is held in memory of Tara Sheehan and benefits the Tara Fund.

Sheehan was a Williston alumna who passed away in 2002 from complications due to anorexia. Tuesday would have been Tara’s 32nd birthday. The Tara Fund continues her legacy by assisting others with eating disorders and providing grants to eating disorder education and treatment programs.

Entry Fees are $15 general and $10 students. Walkers begin at 10:00 a.m. and runners at 10:30 a.m. For registration forms or more information, please visit www.runfortara.org.

*Galbraith Fields are located off of Park Street and Taft Avenue.

* From Northampton: Take Route 10 to Easthampton. Merge around town green. At light, merge left onto Park Street. Turn left on Taft Avenue.

* From Holyoke/Springfield: Take Interstate 91 to Exit 17B to Easthampton (Route 141). Travel approximately 3.5 miles, bear left onto Cottage Street. Turn left on Williston (at Nashawannuck Pond). Turn right on Ward Street, then turn left on Hisgen. Turn right on Taft Avenue.

* From Westfield: Take Route 10 to Easthampton, through Southampton. Turn right on South Street, then sharp left onto Park Street. Turn right on Taft Avenue.
 

Author Sue Miller is the fourth visiting lecturer in The Williston Northampton School’s 11th annual Writers’ Workshop Series. She will speak in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center on November 10, 2008, at 7:00 p.m.


Sue Miller is the best-selling author of nine works of fiction, including The World Below, While I Was Gone, The Good Mother, and a memoir, The Story of My Father. Her short story Inventing the Abbotts was made into a major motion picture in 1997 and starred Liv Tyler and Joaquin Phoenix. Her most recent book, The Senator’s Wife
(2008), is the story of Delia Naughton, the wife of the two
term liberal senator Tom Naughton, and her neighbor, Meri. In the
novel, Miller re-explores familiar ideas of the trials of imperfect
relationships with a timely political theme. “The characters are
fascinating, the story engrossing, and the novel incredibly readable,”
says the Library Journal.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization that works to cease drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, and prevent underage drinking. The speaker, a victim of drunk driving, will share a story and address students participating in the Drivers’ Education course at The Williston Northampton School.

This lecture is free and open to the public and takes place in the Reed Campus Center located at 19 Payson Avenue, Easthampton, MA 01027. For more information, please call (413) 529-3237.
 

Come celebrate The Williston Northampton School and its Faculty and Student Enrichment programs at Barnes and Noble with a book signing and reading by author and Williston teacher Lisa Levchuk, entertaining musical performances, displayed student artwork, and more. The event will be held from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 9, 2008, at Barnes and Noble located in Holyoke near the Holyoke Mall.

Debut author and Williston English teacher Lisa Levchuk will read from her first book, Everything Beautiful in the World, published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Set in the early 1980s, the novel tells the story of 17-year-old Edna, a junior at a New Jersey high school. With a keen understanding of how adolescents view the world, Levchuk crafts a captivating tale that one reviewer has called “astonishing in its bravery.” Levchuk has a MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master’s of Liberal Arts and a master’s of Eastern Classics from St. John’s University in Santa Fe, NM. Levchuk has taught English at The Williston Northampton School since 1998. A book signing will follow the reading.

Music throughout the day in the Barnes and Noble café includes performances by student choral groups the Widdigers and the Caterwaulers, a special fiddle performance by ninth grader Sarah Hubbard, and more. Artwork by students of Williston’s Fine Arts Department will also be exhibited.

Barnes and Noble will contribute to Williston’s Faculty and Student Enrichment programs a percentage of every sale made with the voucher #406082 from noon to 5:00 p.m. 

This event is free and open to the public and takes place in Barnes and Noble located at 7 Holyoke Street, Holyoke, MA, near the Holyoke Mall. For further information, please call 413-529-3237.
 

Catherine Sanderson of Amherst College presents “Get Your Head in the Game" in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center on November 7, at 6:30 p.m. This lecture is in conjunction with The Williston Northampton School’s Athletics and History departments and is free and open to the public.

Dr. Catherine Sanderson, Psychology Chair and associate professor at Amherst College, will discuss strategies for finding the balance between athletics and academics in high school. The talk will be geared towards student captains and coaches and will touch on topics including team motivation, the pressures of being a captain, communication with coaches, leadership skills, conflict resolution, pressure for academic success, and stress.

Among the popular courses Dr. Sanderson teaches at Amherst are "Close Relationships," "Health Psychology," and "Introduction to Psychology,"which is the single largest class on campus. Sanderson received her undergraduate degree from Stanford, and her master’s and PhD from Princeton. While at Princeton, she received the Psychology Department's First Year Merit Prize, a National Science Foundation Fellowship, and a Dissertation Research Award from the American Psychological Association. Sanderson's research, which has received funding from the National Institute of Health, examines issues within close relationships and health-related behavior, including the influence of personal goals on relationship satisfaction and strategies for preventing eating disorders. Sanderson also writes a "Body Talk" blog for Psychology Today. In addition, she is the author of Slow and Steady Parenting: Active Child-Raising for the Long Haul as well as two textbooks: Social Psychology and Health Psychology.

This lecture is free and open to the public and takes place in the Dodge Room in the Reed Center located at 19 Payson Avenue, Easthampton, MA 01027. For more information, please call (413) 529-3237.
 

A woman named Olive who lives in Newfoundland agreed to let artist Betty Wolfson photograph her 'unmentionables' and other garments blowing in the wind. Now, her laundry, along with many others’ garments are represented in pastel, watercolor, and collage in “Let it All Hang Out, Choices for Our Future,” an exhibit at the Grubbs Gallery in the Reed Center at The Williston Northampton School. The exhibit will run from November 3 - November 30, with an artist’s reception on Saturday, November 8, from 2:00- 5:00 p.m.

Wolfson explores the visuals of laundry on the clothesline. “The act of hanging your laundry is a meditation for some, and for other busy individuals, perhaps the only time to hear the birds, feel the sun and breezes on their skin and literally, stop to smell the roses. The vibrant articles on clotheslines, whipped by the wind, are in my opinion quite beautiful! I recognize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and laundry may not be beautiful to everyone,” Wolfson says.

The artist also puts new meaning to performance art, where the performers are the viewers, inspired to become an engaged and conscientiously making choices with the work. Along with her two-dimensional pieces, the exhibit will include an inspirational reading area, where books, magazines, newspaper articles, 'good news' news, poetry, and inspirational quotations, will be assembled, inviting the viewer to sit in the rocker and read a bit. It is the artist's hope that the viewers will be motivated to interact with the work and create their own—adding their own words and thoughts to the exhibition. It is a play on hanging your laundry up for everyone to see, and all are invited to share.

The exhibit is free and open to the public and takes place in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School. For more information, please call (413) 529-3000.

With the final days approaching in the presidential election, Professor Howard Gold of Smith College will present “The Electoral Landscape with Four Days to Go” in the Williston Theatre on October 31, at 2:00 p.m. This discussion is in conjunction with History and Social Sciences classes at The Williston Northampton School.

Howard Gold, who has been teaching government at Smith College since 1988, is a frequent commentator in the media on U.S. voting behavior. Gold teaches courses on elections, polls, the mass media, and statistics for political scientists. He is the author of Hollow Mandates: American Public Opinion and the Conservative Shift and several articles on partisanship, third parties, and voting behavior. His new book Parties, Polarization and Democracy in the United States, co-authored with Donald Baumer, will be published in 2009.

The Williston Northampton School presents Bernard Pomerance’s Tony Award winning play, October 23-25 and October 30-November 1. All performances are at 7:30 p.m. except Friday, October 24, when the production begins at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $5.00 and may be reserved by calling 413-529-3434.

The Elephant Man is loosely based on the real life story of John Merrick, a deformed man who lived the early part of his life in traveling side shows. He was “saved” by the ambitious, and ultimately famous, young doctor Frederick Treves. The play is a highly theatrical and stylized meditation on society, success, and identity. Who are we, and how successful is the carefully constructed veneer we’ve worked so hard to create?

The production is open to the public and takes place in the Williston Theatre at The Williston Northampton School located at 18 Payson Avenue, Easthampton, MA, 01027. For more information, please call (413) 529-3434.

The Cast:
Frederick Treves, a surgeon and teacher: Kyle Zesiger
Carr Gomm, administrator of the London Hospital: Jasper Hellweg
Ross, Manager of the Elephant Man: Josh Parad
John Merrick, the Elephant Man: Jarrad Green
Bishop How: Nim Philippe
Mrs. Kendal, an actress: Sydney Sainte

The Company:
Linus Billings
Sophie Belkin-Sessler
Stephanie Hall
Alana Horton
Maddy Godine
Lauren Kenney
Joe Lake
Bryan Perley
Deirdre Quirk
Jake Robbins
Alex Schurr
Jansyn Thaw

Author Cammie McGovern is the third visiting lecturer in The Williston Northampton School’s 11th annual Writers’ Workshop Series. She will speak in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center on October 14, 2008, at 7:00 p.m.


Cammie McGovern is the author of two novels, The Art of Seeing and Eye Contact, and has had short stories appear in many magazines, including Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, and Seventeen.

The Art of Seeing tells the story of two sisters, Rozzie and Jemma, and their artistic ambitions that threaten their relationship. The New York Times Book Review
described the book as “True and moving, McGovern parses the ways in
which the illusions of celebrity affect a whole family and community as
well.”


Cammie McGovern was awarded a creative writing fellowship at Stanford
University and has received numerous prizes for her short fiction. She
lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with her husband and three children,
the eldest of whom is autistic. She is one of the founders of Whole
Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs
for children with special needs.


Along with McGovern, two remaining accomplished authors will offers
readings and discussions of their work this fall: Sue Miller (Inventing the Abbots, The Senator’s Wife) on November 10, and Les Standiford (Washington Burning) on December 2. Author Gregory Maguire (Wicked) kicked off the series at the beginning of September followed by historian and Amherst professor Kevin Sweeney (Captors and Captives: The 1704 French and Indian Raid on Deerfield).

The Writers’ Workshop Series at
Williston began in 1998 as an advanced class for aspiring student
writers. Since its inception, the series has hosted an impressive group
of accomplished authors, including Elinor Lipman (My Latest Grievance) and Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors), Pulitzer Prize-winners Richard Russo (Empire Falls) and Joseph Ellis (Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation), as well as Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep), Anita Shreve (The Pilot’s Wife), Arthur Golden (Memoirs of a Geisha), and many other outstanding guests.

The Williston Northampton School presents Recent Work by Faculty in the Williston Fine and Performing Arts Department at the Grubbs Gallery in the Reed Center, October 2 - 31, 2008. The Fine and Performing Arts Faculty will exhibit an array of styles and medias in this exhibition from photography to quilting. Artists showing are Edward Hing, Natania Hume, Amy Putnam, Marcia Reed, and Susanna White. A reception will be held in the gallery on October 5, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Marcia Reed, Director of the Grubbs Gallery, has curated exhibitions since the gallery opened in 1996. This will be the second faculty show at Williston. Reed, who will also be exhibiting in the show, has taught at Williston since 1978. Her landscapes have been shown internationally. Reed travels extensively capturing each new environment with oils and watercolors. She earned an MFA from UMass and has shown in numerous galleries including recent solo exhibitions at the Jasper Rand Art Museum of Westfield Athenaeum and the Elusie Gallery in Easthampton.

Photography Teacher Edward Hing will show black and white landscape panoramic photographs taken with a Hasselblad xPan panoramic camera. Although his photographs are originally taken with 35mm film, Hing scans them and works with images digitally, sometimes for up to 20 hours. “Initially I began printing these black and white negatives in the traditional 'wet' darkroom but became frustrated with the lack of control and began scanning the film and working on the images in Photoshop. I have found this to be a superior method to finesse the subtleties of the photograph. I also appreciate the fact that I can work in small chunks of time and can 'build' the final photo over an extended period,” says Hing. The resulting 9” x 24” image is an awe-inspiring idyllic cascading views. Before joining Williston in 1997, Hing was a commercial photographer.

Natania Hume holds a BFA from the UMass and a master’s degree in art education from Southern Oregon University. She currently teaches sculpture, ceramics, and English at Williston’s Middle School. Previously, she taught art at the Channing School in London, England, and worked as an art education consultant and teacher for public school districts in both Massachusetts and Oregon. She was also an adjunct Art Education Instructor at Southern Oregon University for two years. She has recently studied painting at the Provincetown Museum School and works in clay as well. Hume’s oil landscapes and ceramic vessels will be exhibited.

Amy Putnam first started quilting at age 16 with her grandmother. She made quilts for the next fifteen years, but it wasn’t until she went to Smith and studied theater and became a set designer that she began to incorporate quilting into her set designs. “While I had always appreciated the beauty of geometric quilt designs, as well as the idea that I was creating a piece of functional art, I was enthralled with the idea of creating images and pictures in the fabric of the quilt. I became a woman possessed. I read books, fell in love with appliqué, went to shows, and began to make three or four quilts a year,” says Putnam, who has been the Williston Theatre Production Manager since 2002. Now she hangs her pieces in galleries, takes commissions, and participates in art shows.

Susanna White currently teaches drawing at Williston in addition to her role as the Director of Community Life. She has been teaching art at all levels and in a variety of settings for over 15 years, with appointments at Mount Holyoke College, Tulane University, and Maine College of Art, among others. White received her BA from Mount Holyoke, her Studio Certificate in painting from the Art Institute of Chicago, and her M.F.A. in painting from Tulane University. During this past summer she was an artist in residence at the Nantucket Island School of Design and at the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has been featured in previous Faculty Shows at the Grubbs Gallery, as well as other exhibits in Maine and Louisiana. White will display several mixed media cloudscapes and landscapes.

The Grubbs Gallery hosts exhibitions of regional artists throughout the academic year. All exhibits are free and open to the public and take place in the Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School.
 

Author Kevin Sweeney is the second visiting lecturer in The Williston Northampton School’s 11th annual Writers’ Workshop Series.He will speak in the Phillips Stevens Chapel on September 26 at 7:00 p.m.

In his book Captors and Captives: The 1704 French and Indian Raid on Deerfield , Kevin Sweeney and his co-editor, Evan Haefeli, reconstruct the narratives of both captors and captives in telling the story of the 1704 Deerfield massacre. From Mohawk stories to Puritan captive memoirs, readers gain insight into the different points of views that inhabited this historical event through first-hand accounts, maps, and illustrations.

Author and editor Kevin Sweeney was trained as a colonial historian at Yale, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1986. He has taught American Studies at Amherst College since 1989 and has written numerous articles on the architecture and material culture of colonial New England. Currently, he is researching the possession and use of firearms in early America.

Along with Sweeney, three other accomplished authors will offers readings and discussions of their work this fall as part of the 11th annual Writers’ Workshop Series: Cammie McGovern (The Art of Seeing, Eye Contact) on October 14, Sue Miller (Inventing the Abbots, The Senator’s Wife) on November 10, and Les Standiford on December 2. Author Gregory Maguire (Wicked) kicked off the series at the beginning of September.

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place at
7:00 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton School with the exception of Kevin Sweeney who will speak in the Phillips Stevens Chapel.

Celebrated Violinist Erin Keefe '98 Performs in Western Massachusetts

The City of Northampton proclaimed Saturday, September 20 as Erin Keefe Day as part of Pioneer Valley Symphony & Chorus Week. The City chose to honor the organization’s many contributions to the cultural life of the Valley, and in singling out Ms. Keefe, the City recognized her extraordinary musical talent. An outstanding violinist, Keefe has earned praise nationwide as a compelling artist who combines exhilarating temperament and fierce integrity. Winner of the 2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant, she is also a top prize winner in several recent international competitions, which have resulted in performances and re-engagements in the United States, Europe and Asia.

The City celebrated Keefe’s “musical homecoming” to her native city, where she studied under such noted teachers as Rose Lander, Dianna Peelle, and Smith College Professor Emeritus of Music Philipp Naegele. Ms. Keefe took the stage at the Academy of Music on September 20 and performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Pioneer Valley Symphony & Chorus, one of best-known of all concertos in her instrument’s repertory.

More information about Keefe can be found at the PVS website. Visit YouTube to view Erin Keefe performing the Bach Partita II-Chacone, Paganini's Capriccio N. 20, or Sibelius' Romance op. 78.

The Williston Northampton School is developing a parcel of land in downtown Easthampton into a public garden. The swath of unused grass runs alongside the Manhan Rail Trail near Union Street and abuts the studio and residence of painting teacher Marcia Reed. The plan calls for a garden with winding paths, shade trees, flower beds, and plenty of opportunities for visitors to stop and sit.

The land is owned partly by the school and partly by the City of Easthampton. Representatives from the school met with Easthampton city officials who agreed to the park’s design and with Williston being responsible for the regular upkeep and maintenance of the park.

The garden will feature unique benches and trash receptacles designed by artists from around the country as part of a juried design competition. Submissions will be judged by a committee made up of Williston arts faculty and administrators, and Easthampton residents and artists.

The criteria for the competition will be based on aesthetics, cost, safety, and durability. There are no restrictions on materials. Metal, wood, stone, concrete, and plastic will all be considered. A total of $40,000 is available for three winning benches and three winning trash receptacles.

Submissions must be postmarked by November 15, 2008. They may also be delivered in person (call ahead for delivery information). Decisions will be announced on the school's website.

Williston welcomes author Gregory Maguire to the 11th annual Writers' Workshop Series on September 16, 2008, 7:00 p.m. in the Williston Theatre.


Gregory Maguire’s latest novel, Son of a Witch, tells the story of Liir, the son of the Wicked Witch killed by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Son of a Witch is the sequel to Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which has since been made into an award-winning Broadway musical. In addition to Son of a Witch and Wicked, Maguire has written two other novels for adults, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Mirror Mirror; and more than a dozen novels for children. After the publication of Wicked in 1995, John Updike praised the book in The New Yorker as “an amazing novel.” The Boston Globe described Son of a Witch
as “vintage Maguire, thoroughly entertaining even at its darkest. Oz is
as complex and satisfying a fantastic world as ever, wonderfully
described." Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American
Literature from Tufts University and is co-director of Children's
Literature New England, Incorporated, a non-profit educational charity
that focuses attention on the significance of literature in the lives
of children.

Williston hosts four other acclaimed authors this fall as part of the 11th annual Writers’ Workshop Series: Kevin Sweeney, Cammie McGovern, Sue Miller, Les Standiford.  The authors will offer readings and discussions of their work this fall.

All presentations, which are free and open to the public, take place at

7:00 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston
Northampton School with the exception of Gregory Maguire, who will
speak in The Williston Theatre and Kevin Sweeney who will speak in the
Phillips Stevens Chapel. 

Williston Northampton presents "Mixed Media Abstraction," by Carl Caivano
on exhibit at the Grubbs Gallery September 2 - 30, 2008. An artist's
reception will be held in the gallery on September 14 from 2:00 to 5:00
p.m.


Carl Caivano creates abstract colorful wall reliefs referring to shapes
found in both nature and culture. His self-described "three dimensional
paintings" explore formal artistic elements such as space and form with
the use of non-traditional materials. Although spontaneity is evident
in his work, Caivano is precise, producing a controlled chaos, and has
an unmistakable affinity to abstract expressionism and improvisational
jazz music.


"What is hard to define but critical to the life of these works is the
visceral, instinctual nature that informs them. When a work is
successful, it sets off a series of responses that pure formalism does
not. I arrive to the completion of the work by intuitive searching. I
do not want to arrive at a specific result or a specific meaning but
prefer to gather meaning as the work evolves," says Caivano.


A visiting lecturer of design and drawing at Smith College since 1987,
Cavaino has had his work shown in selected galleries and museums,
including the DeCordova Museum and the Ward Nasse Gallery and Fusion
Arts Museum in New York City. He earned his MFA from UMass in 1984.

The exhibit is free and open to the public and takes place in the
Grubbs Gallery of the Reed Campus Center at The Williston Northampton
School.  For further information, please call (413) 529-3000.

The corner of Easthampton's Payson Lane and Main Street has seen a
lot of construction over the past year as The Williston Northampton
School has worked to transform an old Victorian home into the school's
first new dormitory in 45 years. To celebrate the completion of this
project, the school is holding an open house on August 27, 2008 from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. The celebration is open to all and refreshments will be served.

The new dormitory will house 32 ninth grade boys and offers students
a safer path to the Main Campus quad. The building also features
geothermal heating and cooling, which means that no oil or natural gas
will be needed to heat or cool the dorm.

Join us for the Open House Celebration. Directed tours will be
offered from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Andrew Shelffo at 413-529-3237. 

Kimberly Zern Evelti  has been appointed Curriculum Development Specialist for Five College Resources.  In this role she is poised to bring a new focus to Williston's longstanding association with the Five Colleges. As the liaison and facilitator who will help Williston faculty maintain established relationships with Five Colleges faculty, and build new ones, Evelti says, "The possibilities for connection are limitless, and I'm inspired by the creativity and energy the faculty have already brought to identifying and incorporating them."

The school's location in the Five College area  provides unique access to faculty and facilities and to an amazing assortment of concerts, lectures, theater offerings, and sporting events at the Five Colleges: Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith and the University of Massachusetts.

Five College faculty members who have visited Williston recently include:
- Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Ellis, professor of history at Mount Holyoke College
- Amherst College professor of religion Jamal Elias, whose specialties include Islamic art and culture
- Composer and ethnomusicologist Imani Sanga, Five College Scholar from Tanzania
- Printmaker and Smith College professor Dwight Pogue

Classes have made use of Smith College's science and museum facilities and heard lectures at the University of Massachusetts. Singers have performed with Amherst College's Zumbyes and UMass Dynamics a cappella groups. Athletic teams have gone to a variety of college-level games. Students have taken advanced mathematics at Smith College, played in their orchestra, or studied physics at Amherst College.

This year, says Evelti, "I look forward to supporting these efforts and creating a unique, rich, and dynamic educational experience for Williston students."

Evelti earned an MEd from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BS from Ursinus College. Last year she taught mathematics in The Williston Northampton Middle School.

The house is The Birthplace, the childhood home of Samuel Williston,
Easthampton industrialist and founder of Williston Academy. The house
move is part of a larger construction project that includes the
construction of a new ninth grade boys' dormitory and the creation of a
residential quad that will house students closer to the center of
campus. The Birthplace's relocation will accommodate a walkway from the
new dorm, which is located on Payson and Main Street, to the campus
quadrangle.

This move marks the second time The Birthplace has been relocated.
Built in 1790, the house in 1843 was moved across Park Street. In its
original location The Homestead now stands, the house where Samuel and
Emily Williston raised their children and where Samuel lived until his
death in 1874. After Samuel's death, Emily gifted the property to
Williston Seminary. The Homestead currently houses The Williston
Northampton School's Admission Office.

In a process that took 8 hours, The Birthplace was carefully moved
to its new foundation in a process that ensured no structural damage
and no shifted furniture or knick knacks. Williston's Physical Plant
department joined a construction crew in overseeing the building
relocation.

The new dorm project broke ground at the beginning of the 2007-08
fall semester and plans to be open for the upcoming fall semester.

The girls' track team finished the season with a 9-3 record. This impressive performance in 2008 was fueled by record-setting efforts on the part of several team members.

In the first meet of the season, against Chesire and Vermont Academy, captains Lindsey Millikin and Annie Huyler each set two school records. Millikin tied the 200-meter dash record and broke the 100-meter record, which she had tied two years ago. Huyler broke a 25-year-old shot put record and surpassed the triple jump record easily.

Over the course of the season, Millikin broke her own 100-meter dash record two more times on the way to a new record of 12.1 seconds.

In the meet against Westminster, Millikin and Huyler teamed up with Dani Glenn and Betsy Collins to set a school record of 51.52 seconds in the 4 x 100 meter relay.

You can see all of the current girls track and field records here.

The theme for the mural was the "evolving mosaic of Easthampton".
Pappalardo's design won out over other, more ambitious entries because
of his clever use of space that incorporated the brick wall's 8 windows
while maintaining the spirit of the theme.

The ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Michael Tautznik, Tom
Pappalardo, and the Easthampton City Arts Coordinating Committee will
be on Friday, June 20, at 12:30 p.m. with light refreshments and cake.
For further information please call (413)527-8278 (UART)

Other sponsors of the project were Hampton Wholesale Auto, LLC,
Easthampton Cultural Council, and Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Williston Northampton School's 167th Commencement took place on Saturday, May 31, at 9:30 a.m. in The Athletics Center. All 140 graduating seniors have been accepted into colleges, including two students who have chosen to defer for a year to take advantage of other opportunities. Distinguished speaker and Hampshire College President Dr. Ralph Hexter delivered the commencement address. He encouraged students to exercise their imaginations and pursue knowledge throughout their lives.

In addition to Hexter's address, the Commencement program included the announcement of prizes, the induction of new Cum Laude Society members, the presentation of diplomas, and words from the senior class speaker, Robert W. Jeffway.

Several graduates were honored with Senior Prizes, which are presented each year at Commencement as voted by the faculty.

• THE VALEDICTORY PRIZE
  Awarded to the first scholar of the class. It is a combination of two awards from an era in the school's history, when the Edmund H. Sawyer Prize was given for work in the classical curriculum and the Horatio G. Knight Prize was given for work in the scientific curriculum. These prizes are now combined into one. It honors the student who by record of performance during the senior year is judged by the faculty to be pre-eminent in academic achievement.
  The Valedictory prize was awarded to Rachael Doty Volpe of Hatfield, MA who will be attending United States Military Academy at West Point.
  
  
• ARCHIBALD V. GALBRAITH PRIZE
  Honoring the 8th Headmaster of Williston Academy, 1919-1949, is awarded to that young man who in academics, athletics, and citizenship is exemplary, representing that which is best in the school.
  Matthew Alexander Kahane- Westhampton, MA
  
  
• SARAH B. WHITAKER PRIZE
  Honoring a co-founder of the Northampton School for Girls, and co-Principal, 1924-1962, is also known as the White Blazer Award. The White Blazer is given to the young woman who has distinguished herself with the greatest contributions to the academic, athletic, and community life of the school while exhibiting exemplary leadership and integrity.
  Spenser Bowes Allaway- Halifax, Canada
  
  
• THE TIM WALLIS, CLASS OF 1962 PRIZE
  Established in memory of an English Speaking Union exchange student at Williston; the prize is given at Commencement to that senior "who gets much from the School because he or she puts much in."
  Lauren Michelle McCarthy- Beverly, MA
  
  
• CLASS OF 1942 PRIZE
  Awarded in recognition of "Outstanding Service to the School."
  James Andrew Hamilton- Armonk, NY
  
  
• GEORGE H. HIGGINS PRIZE
  Given to "that student in the graduating class who has displayed outstanding character in school life."
  Rachael Doty Volpe- Hatfield, MA
  
  
• THE KATHERINE M. OCKENDEN, CLASS OF 1949 PRIZE
  Given to that senior who "in the opinion of the faculty has contributed moral, positive leadership."
  Anthony Ryan Prinzivalli- Hadley, MA
  
  
• WESTCOTT E. S. MOULTON AWARD
  Honors a member of the Class of 1927 and Williston Alumni Secretary, 1961-1973, is presented to that member of the senior class who has shown a high degree of effort in publications, sportsmanship, leadership, and community involvement leading to continued loyalty and interest as an alumna or alumnus.
  Elizabeth Rose Cohen-Scheer- Northampton, MA
  
  
• L. G. TREADWAY CITIZENSHIP PRIZE
  Established by Richard Treadway, Class of 1932, in honor of his father, is awarded to a senior who has been at the school for at least two years, who has maintained a strong scholastic standing, and who has given promise of future achievement. The chief qualities to be considered are personal integrity and contributions made to the best citizenship of the school.
  Samuel Eliot Hathaway- Northampton, MA
  
  
• JOSEPH SAWYER MEMORIAL PRIZE
  Honoring the 7th Headmaster of Williston Academy, 1886-1919, is awarded to a young man who has made outstanding contributions to the intellectual and community life of the school.
  Samuel Alexander Grant- Southampton, MA
  
  
• DOROTHY BEMENT PRIZE
  Honoring a co-founder of The Northampton School for Girls, is given to the young woman who has exhibited excellence in her academic endeavors and in her contributions to citizenship and the overall life of the school.
  Allison Woodland Rosenblatt- Easthampton, MA

The Cum Laude Society recognizes academic achievement by students in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Aretè), justice (Dikè), and honor (Timè) Founded in 1906, the society modeled Cum Laude after Phi Beta Kappa and in the years since its founding, Cum Laude has grown to 350 chapters around the world. The following students were new inductees into Cum Laude during the Commencement ceremony:

Shin Hye Cha of Gunsan, Korea
Alexandra B. Clionsky of Longmeadow, MA
Elizabeth R. Cohen-Scheer of Northampton, MA
Hudson W.B. Coley of South Deerfield, MA
Somyah M. Dahdul of West Springfield, MA
Chantal M. Deaton of Longmeadow, MA
Anne H. Huyler of Hatfield, MA
Eriko Inagaki of Tokyo, Japan
Kristina A. Jacques of Wilbraham, MA
Brendan C. McCartney of Amherst, MA
Eliza S. Walker of Cambridge, MA

The following seniors were inducted in to Cum Laudein January 2008
Spenser B. Allaway of Halifax, Canada
Cooper Findley of Montague, MA
Katherine A.D. France of Roanoke, VA
Rosa S. Goldman of Florence, MA
Samuel A. Grant of Southampton, MA
Samuel E. Hathaway of Northampton, MA
Matthew Kahane of Westhampton, MA
Edmund M. Keyes III of Shutesbury, MA
Dan Bi Kim of Seoul, Korea
Anthony R. Prinzivalli of Hadley, MA
Allison W. Rosenblatt of Easthampton, MA

Rachael D. Volpe of Hatfield, MA

OTHER AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The Senior Athletic Awards are given to one young man and one young woman for "General participation in Athletics, with a special emphasis being placed upon faithful training, good sportsmanship, helpful spirit, and loyal devotion to the best interest of the school."

THE GEORGE DENMAN AWARD
Scott Robert Kessler - Shutesbury, MA

ALUMNAE BOWL
Spenser Bowes Allaway - Halifax, Canada

This year three seniors have been awarded the mark of PASS WITH DISTINCTIONfor their spring projects.
Claire Hartley Ewing - Keene, New Hampshire
Dorothea Vasicek - Westfield, MA
Madeline Rose Wattles - Kalamazoo, MI

The Williston Northampton School is pleased to announce that Hampshire College President Dr. Ralph J. Hexter will give the 2008 Commencement address to the school's 140 graduating seniors and the Williston community on May 31, at 9:30 a.m. The ceremony will take place on the Williston quadrangle in front of the Reed Campus Center, weather permitting. This celebration will mark the 167th Commencement in Williston's history. A baccalaureate ceremony will take place in the Phillips Stevens Chapel the previous night at 8:00 p.m.

President Hexter is the fifth Hampshire College president, having assumed the post in 2005. Prior to his role at Hampshire College, Hexter served as Executive Dean of Letters and Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley. Before that, he was a professor of classics and comparative literature and the director of the graduate program in comparative literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His first faculty appointment was at Yale University where he taught for 10 years. There, he was also the director of undergraduate studies in the humanities major and served for one year as acting associate dean of the graduate school. He holds a PhD and MPhil from Yale University, a BA and MA from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and an AB from Harvard College.

Hexter is the author of three books on medieval and ancient literature: Equivocal Oaths and Ordeals in Medieval Literature (1975); Ovid and Medieval Schooling: Studies in Medieval School Commentaries on Ovid's Ars Amatoria, Epistulae ex Ponto and Epistulae Heroidum (1986); and A Guide to the Odyssey: A Commentary on the English Translation of Robert Fitzgerald (1993). He is co-editor, with Daniel Selden, of Innovations of Antiquity (1992). His publications include articles on Vergil, Horace, Goethe, Verdi, and a variety of topics in Medieval Latin in such journals as Modern Language Notes, Helios, Classical Philology, Yale Journal of Criticism, and Cambridge Opera Journal.

On May 30th, 86 students from the Middle School and 10 or so faculty
members spent the last day of the school year spreading the word for
the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts’ program Target: Hunger during
Williston’s annual Community Service Day. Target: Hunger is a program
with goals to reduce hunger in target communities by 10% in four years.
One of the challenges to reducing hunger is reaching the people whom
hunger afflicts and educating them about the resources available in
their communities. In response to that challenge, Williston students
hit the streets of the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield and
delivered information via flyers and brochures to people’s doorsteps.
Last year, Target: Hunger exceeded their numbers expectation at
community wide hunger awareness events like the big community picnic
due in large part to the efforts of the students.

Three months before Community Service Day, a representative from the
Food Bank of Western Massachusetts came and spoke with students about
hunger in the Massachusetts community. The discussion helped them to
understand how important their participation was in solving the
problem. When the day came, Jen Fulcher, Middle School Coordinator of
Student Affairs said, “The students, many of whom had not yet
experienced an inner city, treated the people they met and the project
as a whole with great respect.”

Throughout the year, Middle School students participate in other
local and international community service programs. In the winter,
students help collect goods and money for families for Christmas. They
also raise money to give the gift of an animal to needy families around
the world through Heifer International.

The Williston Northampton School will host a public benefit concert on May 24, at 8:00 p.m. in the Williston Theatre to raise money for the Flywheel Arts Collective, an Easthampton-based music and arts non-profit venue. The night will feature two popular local acts, Mark Schwaber and Spouse, as well as Williston musicians Sarah Hubbard `12, John OíConnor `08, and Jeremy Boyle `08. The benefit, named ìMake Noise!î, is the senior project of Jeremy Boyle. Admission is $5.

The Flywheel Arts Collective recently moved from its location at 2 Holyoke Street in Easthampton into the historic old Town Hall building on Main Street. Before Flywheel can open at its new location, the building needs significant updates, including the installation of a new sprinkler system. All proceeds from the show will go directly to Flywheel to help pay for renovations.

Boyle is a musician who one day hopes to become a concert producer. Under the guidance of Williston music teacher Ben Demerath, Boyle decided to organize a concert for his senior project. Knowing the Flywheel Arts Collective is a positive venue for the arts in Easthampton, he wanted to put together a show that was beneficial to them and entertaining for the community. He hopes to raise at least $1000. Boyle will be closing the night with a special set dedicated to Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie.

See the results of Williston participants below:

LEVEL O1A (7th grade):

Mika Chmielewski `13

FIRST place in Western Massachusetts, FIFTH in nation

Ellie Lewis `13

SECOND place in Western Massachusetts, SEVENTH in nation

Nolan Bishop `13

FOURTH place in Western Massachusetts

Syry Mitchell `13

SIXTH place in Western Massachusetts

Laura McCullagh `13

EIGHTH place in Western Massachusetts

David Fay `13

NINTH place in Western Massachusetts

John Shumway `13

TENTH place in Western Massachusetts

LEVEL 1A (8th grade and French I)

Gillian Barker `10 & Duong “Frankie” Luu `09

SECOND place in Western Massachusetts, FIFTH in nation

Debbie Andres `11

NINTH place in Western Massachusetts

LEVEL 2A (French II and II Honors):

Katie France `08 & Deirdre Quirk `10

FIRST place in Western Massachusetts, SIXTH in nation

Lindsey Dirats `11

SECOND place in Western Massachusetts, SEVENTH in nation

Sarah Fay `11

THIRD place in Western Massachusetts, EIGHTH in nation

Kristyna Bronner `10 & Jennifer Arboleda `10

NINTH place in Western Massachusetts

LEVEL 3A (French III and III Honors):

Samuel Smith `09

SIXTH place in Western Massachusetts, SEVENTH in nation

Jacob Roscoe `10 & Kyrsten Swierzewski `10

SEVENTH place in Western Massachusetts, EIGHTH in nation

Susana Alvarez `09 & Adrienne Singer `10

EIGHTH place in Western Massachusetts, NINTH in nation

LEVEL 4A (French IV and IV Honors):

Calla Sonerson `09

SEVENTH place in Western Massachusetts

Emily Coggins `09 & Michael Elfman `09

TENTH place in Western Massachusetts

LEVEL 5A (AP French Language):

Matthew Kahane `08

SECOND place in Western Mass., FIFTH in nation

TJ Keyes `08

THIRD place in Western Massachusetts, SEVENTH in nation

Stefanie Davis `08

SIXTH place in Western Massachusetts

LEVEL 5C (native speaker family):

Maritza Essis `08

SIXTH place in Western Massachusetts

The Williston Northampton School's dance program proudly presents its spring dance concert Move Along!
to be performed May 15 -17 in the Williston Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available to the general public at the door each night for
$5.  Tickets for Williston staff, faculty, and students are free.

The spring dance concert features new dances performed and
choreographed by students in the Williston Dance Ensemble, a vibrant
extracurricular program that produces two full-length evening concerts
a year. This performance showcases pieces conceived and choreographed
by Amadi Slaughter '08, Allison Rosenblatt '08, and Dennishia Bell '10,
in addition to dances composed by Laurel Salvi, Williston's dance
program director, and guest artists Jillian Grunnah and Kalpana Devi.

The Dance Ensemble strives to give voice to the multiple stories and
dance styles within the group, thus creating a performance that is
beautiful and diverse. For example, Amadi Slaughter's piece is a
hip-hop dance that is all about attitude, while Ali Rosenblatt's work
is inspired by rhythm and uses a fusion of tap and step. Dennishia Bell
has choreographed a fast, fierce, and powerful hip-hop dance to music
by Missy Eliot.

In addition, Move Along! incorporates the work of two guest
artists: Jillian Grunnah, a current Smith College graduate student who
is setting a contemporary modern piece on a quartet of Ensemble
dancers, and Kalpana Devi, who worked with the ensemble on a new
Senagalese dance form. Program Director Laurel Salvi is presenting a
company jazz piece inspired by the well-known favorite "New York, New
York" as well as a conceptual, modern dance piece inspired by the
school's email system.

For further information, please email Laurel Salvi at lsalvi@williston.com or call 413-522-6477.

Join the Widdigers, Caterwaulers, and Teller Chorus in their big
spring performance May 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel.

You'll hear works of Palestrina, di Lasso, Randall Thompson, Justin Timberlake, The Beatles, and Queen to name a few.

The Widdigers, the female choral group, and the Caterwaulers, the
male choral group focus on an eclectic variety of music with an
emphasis on close harmony and a capella. These ensembles are trained
and educated using professional standards of rehearsal and performance
with vocal technique, sight singing, and ear training. They are
auditioned groups of up to 16 members.

The Teller Chorus is a repertory choral ensemble which rehearses and
performs vocal/choral music written for mixed (female and male) voices.

Fine arts teacher and Grubbs Gallery curator Marcia Reed will be judging the first annual Easthampton Paint Out plein air competition this weekend, sponsored by the Nashawannuck Gallery, Art Walk Easthampton, and Easthampton Savings Bank.

Artists who wish to participate must first register at Nashawannuck Gallery at 40 Cottage St, Easthampton from May 8 through May 10 and bring in a blank canvas to use for the painting. Set up anywhere outside in Easthampton and paint – no painting from photographs, please. Paintings in oil, acrylic, water color, and mixed media will be accepted. Paintings must be returned to the Nashawannuck Gallery on May 10, at 2:00 p.m. and be either framed or canvas wrapped. A $20 registration fee applies.

The exhibition of all the paintings begins during Art Walk Easthampton at 5:00 p.m. and winners of the competition will be announced at 7:30 p.m. The two winning categories are “Best in Show” and “People’s Choice” with a prize of $300 each. For more complete details, please visit www.nashawannuckgallery.com

High school student filmmakers from around New England, including
six students from Easthampton High School and Northampton High School,
will screen their films on Friday, May 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Reed
Campus Center as part of the first Williston Northampton School Film
Festival. This event was created through the work of students in the
Williston Film Club as a way to spotlight the work of student
filmmakers.

Twenty films will be aired and then judged by three guest judges:
Dr. Anne Ciecko, UMass associate professor of communication and a
participating faculty member in the Interdepartmental Film Program;
Erin Molley, Northampton Center for the Arts YouthFilm Director; and
Kate Merrill of The Williston Northampton School. Awards will be given
to the top films in the following four categories: Best Film, Best
Editing, Most Creative, and Honorable Mention.

In attendance will be filmmakers from The Williston Northampton
School, Easthampton High School, Northampton High School, The Groton
School, Millbrook, Governors Academy, Hotchkiss, Concord Academy, and
Berkshire Academy.

The festival promises a range of film styles from art film to
documentary, with a bit of action and mystery thrown in the mix. Each
film is less than 15 minutes and is appropriate for all ages.
Refreshments will be served.

Questions about The Williston Northampton School Film Festival can be sent to filmfestival@williston.com.

The Williston Northampton School is located at 19 Payson Avenue, Easthampton, MA.

The Williston Northampton School presents the musical City of Angels on April 24, 25, 26 and May 1, 2, 3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.00 and may be purchased in advance through the box office at 529-3434.

Tony Award-winner City of Angels, with music by Cy Coleman,
lyrics by David Zippel, book by Larry Gelbart, and vocal arrangements
by Cy Coleman and Yaron Gershovsky, tells the story of a writer named
Stine, who has been hired to adapt one of his detective novels into a
movie. Half of the musical tells the story of the "real life" Stine and
his troubles in 1930's Hollywood, and the other half of the musical
tells the story of the "movie" detective Stone and his investigations
into a corrupt world of greed, blackmail, and murder. Actors play roles
both in the "real" world and the "movie" world, which makes the set
design visually exciting with rolling platforms, turntables, and
projections presenting the "real" world in color and the "movie" world
in black and white.


The production is open to the public and takes place in the Williston Theatre at The Williston Northampton School located at 18 Payson Avenue, Easthampton, MA, 01027. Campus directions are available here. For more information, please call (413) 529-3434.

The Williston Northampton School is pleased to present a talk by documentary photographer Lori Grinker on April 10, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of The Reed Campus Center.
The presentation is part of the Photographers' Lecture Series which
brings notable photographers to the Williston campus each spring for a
public lecture and in-depth classroom instruction for Williston
students.

While a student at Parsons School of Design, Lori Grinker began her photographic career when Inside Sports
published her photo-essay about a young boxer as its cover story. Later
that year, she met the 13-year old future heavyweight champion Mike
Tyson, whose life she documented for the following decade. Since then,
in addition to her covering the destruction of the World Trade Center,
she has published two books: Afterwar: Veterans from a World in Conflict, a 16-year-long project on veterans of the last century and The Invisible Thread: A Portrait of Jewish American Women.

Grinker's work has been exhibited internationally and is included in
such prestigious collections as The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
and The Jewish Museum of New York City. Seen in major publications, her
work has also been awarded a World Press Photo Foundation Prize, a W.
Eugene Smith Memorial Fund fellowship, and the Ernst Hass Grant, among
others. Grinker is currently on faculty at the International Center of
Photography in New York City.

This lecture is free and open to the public. It will take place on
the The Williston Northampton School campus, 19 Payson Avenue,
Easthampton, MA 01027. 

John Willis’ black and white photographs are a mix of documentary
images and human portraits that address the human condition. "I am not
so interested in offering the viewers an easy perspective with
formulated solutions. Instead, I attempt to rattle the viewers'
existence, raising emotional issues and questions so they may connect
with their own feelings and beliefs,” says Willis about his work.

Willis is also a devoted teacher who has spent much of his life
teaching photography in diverse settings to all age groups, from
first-graders to nursing-home residents. Since 1991, Willis has taught
photography at Marlboro College in Vermont. He is also Co-Founder and
President of the Board for the In-Sight Photography Project, a
volunteer organization that offers free photography classes to teens in
Southern Vermont.

His photographs have been widely exhibited and are included in many
permanent collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art and
the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

The Williston Northampton School is located at 19 Payson Avenue in Easthampton, MA.

The Williston Northampton School presents Little Women: Small Works by Big Talent(ed) Women, a group show of small works by women at the Grubbs Gallery February 16- March 28, 2008. An artist's reception will be held in the gallery on February 17, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.


Originally curated for the Nashawannuck gallery
in Easthampton, "Little Women" travels to the Williston this February.
The exhibit offers a diverse array of mediums such as glass, clay and
mixed media to egg tempera. Many of the artists have shown nationally
and internationally and many of their names are recognizable to pioneer
valley area art viewers. The show includes works by: Mary Ann Kelly, Esthela Bergeron, Anne Burton, Elizabeth Solley Caine, Sharon Carty, Gineen Cooper, Sally Curcio, Karen Dolmanisth, Rosalyn Driscoll,Rita Edelman, Oriole Farb Feshbach, Rachel Folsom, Peggy Grose, Nona Hatay, Barbara Johnson, Ticia Kane, Deborah Kruger, Nancy Miller, Lauren Mills, Susan Montgomery, Holly Murray, Nancy Natale, Lynn Peterfreund, Elizabeth Pols, Georgia Pugh, Marcia Reed, Terry Rooney, Deidre Scherer, Diane Savino, Carolyn Webb, and Belinda Lyons Zucker.

On April 19-20, The Williston Northampton School will host the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) 2008 High School Students of Color Conference.
The conference provides a supportive, educational environment in which
high school students of color are able to raise self-awareness, build
community, provide support for one another, and cultivate leadership
within their community. All high school students are invited to attend
and can register online at the AISNE website, www.aisne.org.
The schedule for the weekend includes a keynote address on Saturday
night by filmmaker Andre Robert Lee, a dance, Sunday morning keynote
speaker Annawon Weedon, a variety of workshops, and a culminating
performance by Queen GodIs.

Director and producer Andre Robert Lee’s film The Prep School Negro
will be a central focus of the conference. Having received a full
scholarship to attend the Germantown Friends School, a private day
school in Philadelphia, Lee is no stranger to the issues faced by
students of color in independent schools. The Prep School Negro was
recently accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival. Lee has also worked
on several other films including Rocket Science, a 2007 Sundance film festival winner. He will address the conference on April 19th at 8:00 p.m.

Annawon Weedon was born and raised on the Narragansett tribal lands in
Charlestown R.I., the community of his father’s people, and is a member
of the Mashpee Wampanoag community of Cape Cod on his mother’s side.
Growing up in these two separate, yet similar, Native American
communities gave Weedon many opportunities to learn the cultural ways
of his people firsthand. As a boy, he traveled throughout New England
conducting educational programs with his family, sharing native songs
and dances that celebrate the Eastern Woodland culture. Currently,
Weedon is the native programs specialist at the Boston Children's
Museum and speaks and performs throughout New England. He will give the
morning address on April 20th at 9:30 a.m.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Queen GodIs is an insightful, thought
provoking, and dynamic spoken word artist whose work extends beyond the
realm of poetry into song and theater performance. A 1995 graduate of The Williston Northampton School, GodIs performs at venues that range
from public schools and cozy cafes to huge concert and university
lecture halls both nationally and abroad. Her feature performances have
included The Trans Atlantic Music Festival (France), BAM Opera House,
The Apollo Theater, The Kennedy Center, artistic residency in India and
the Royal Shakespeare Company's New Work Festival (UK). She is
dedicated to empowering youth all over the world with her work. Her
performance will take place on April 20th at 12:30 p.m.

Participants in the conference will also have the opportunity to
attend a variety of workshops from 10:20 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The workshops include topics such as: Half and Half: What Ethnicity Are
You?, Courting Lo Hispano, and Exploring Hidden Bias.

Performances and workshops will occur throughout The Williston Northampton campus.

The Williston Northampton School is pleased to present a talk by commercial and fine arts photographer Sean Kernan
on April 15, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of The Reed Campus
Center. The presentation is part of the Photographers' Lecture Series
which brings notable photographers to the Williston campus each spring
for a public lecture and in-depth classroom instruction for Williston
students.

A top photographer for the past 20 years, Sean Kernan utilizes an
expansive vision to work on a wide variety of photographic projects.
His commercial studio accepts work from small still life photographs to
large-scale sets and productions that involve costumes and casting. His
client list includes an impressive array of names including the
American Stock Exchange, Pratt & Whitney, Harvard University,
Konica, Polaroid, and The Boston Globe. The Secret Books, a monograph Kernan published in 1999, is a dialogue between Kernan's images and the text of Jorge Luis Borges.

Kernan has also exhibited internationally and published in numerous periodicals such as Communication Arts, Graphis, The New York TimesMagazine and View Camera. When he is not in his studio, Kernan teaches workshops at the Maine and Santa Fe Photographic Workshops.

The Williston Northampton School is located at 19 Payson Avenue in Easthampton, MA. 

The Williston Northampton School's Community Life program welcomed Paula Mirk of the Institute for Global Ethics who spoke to parents, faculty, and the community about how to help children develop an ethical framework on Monday, April 14, 2008.

The Institute for Global Ethics
is an organization that promotes and provides educational tools to
implement ethical decisions and actions in our daily lives. Paula Mirk,
vice president of education at the Institute for Global Ethics, has an
extensive background in education and has introduced ethical awareness
to elementary and secondary school curriculums. Her interests revolve
around global education and character building.

Mirk's talk was part of Williston Northampton's community speaker
and discussion forum, "Choice and Consequence. So that's how I got
here. (Is that how I could get there too?)", a Community Life program.
The program included parent forums that coordinate with relevant topics
presented at student assemblies the following day.

The Williston Northampton School presents an evening of spoken word with artist Mayda del Valle on March 1, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the Reed Campus Center. Her performance highlights Williston’s Women’s History Month and will be preceded by readings by English teacher Sarah Sawyer and students Elizabeth Cohen-Scheer '08 and Maritza Diane Essis '08.

Mayda del Valle became a National Poetry Slam phenomenon in 2001 when she quickly rose through the ranks of the spoken word community after winning her first slam at the Nuyorican Poets’ Café in New York City. From there she went on to compete in the National Poetry Slam and became not only the youngest National Poetry Slam Champion but also the first Latino person to win the title.

She performed in Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry Jam on HBO six times and later on the critically acclaimed Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. She was also a cast member of the Declare Yourself Spoken Word tour in 2004, a non-profit show produced by Norman Lear to encourage young people to vote in the 2004 presidential election, and in that same year she wrote and performed a one woman show entitled The Insecurities of an Eagle, which won the Audience Favorite award at New York City’s 3rd annual Downtown Urban Theater Festival.

Del Valle grew up on the south side of Chicago and first began performing her writing there. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Williams College and moved to New York City after she graduated. Known for her signature “spitfire” delivery, del Valle recounts expressly personal narratives steeped with the cadence and rhythm of hip-hop. The Boston Herald calls her “a wild spirit, determined and defiant and thrilling…” and Latina Magazine says, “Her rhymes are loud, proud and straight from the corazon.”

On Friday, February 29, the basketball courts at Williston will host a competition between the Easthampton Fire and Police Departments and the school's faculty. The charity basketball game begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Williston Athletic Center on Park Street. Admission is $4.

Proceeds from the event will benefit LemonAid Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit project that raises money to fund high school education for girls in China.

 The event was organized by science teacher Brock Dunn and his student advisory. Now in its fourth year, the competition was originally started by then-senior Eliza Worthley to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children. Last year's game raised over $1000 for Riverside Industries, a nonprofit organization in Easthampton that has served people with developmental disabilities for 39 years. 

The Williston Northampton School hosted contemporary artist and
designer Cat Chow in a lecture and workshop on deconstructing and
reconstructing clothing as art. The lecture was held at 7:45 p.m.onFebruary 28, 2008,in theDodge Room of the Reed Campus Center.
The following day, classes worked with Cat Chow in a workshop of
"Deconstruction/Reconstruction," where students altered old clothing to
create new wearable pieces.

An innovative designer, Cat Chow
redefines the boundaries between art, craft, and design. Her
labor-intensive work incorporates non-traditional materials and
everyday objects into well-crafted apparel that fluctuate between
sculpture and style. From a dress made entirely of one zipper to an
elaborate evening dress made of a 1000 shredded dollar bills, Cat
Chow's work is both whimsical and intricate. She believes in conceptual
purity that is achieved through an economy of language. Cat Chow says,
"Design is sometimes excessive. I am interested in making the biggest
impact by saying the least."

Cat Chow has exhibited extensively  in museums and galleries, most
notably The Metropolitan Museum of Art the New Museum of Contemporary
Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Fine
Arts Museum of San Francisco, and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.
She has lectured nationwide and taught at The School of the Art
Institute of Chicago from 2001-2004.

Watch Cat Chow's Lecture

On February 21, 6:30 p.m., The Williston Northampton School kicks off its 2008 Photographers' Lecture Series with visiting photographer Ed Kashi. The series features internationally acclaimed photographers who present and discuss their work to the school and community. Advanced photography students will have the opportunity to participate in a class taught by the photographer preceding the public lecture.

Read about the lecture series.

Rafael "Raffy" Cortina '09 was one of eight student filmmakers from
the Pioneer Valley chosen to show their films in the first annual Youth
Film Showcase: Cultures of Peace juried film screening. As a winner of
the competition, Raffy's film Saw was shown to an audience of approximately 80 people at the Amherst Cinema followed by a Q&A with the directors. 

The showcase was coordinated by Anne Ciecko, Associate Professor in
the Department of Communication and a core participating faculty member
in the Interdepartmental Film program at the University of
Massachusetts. Students in Ceicko's Film/Video: Curating and Public
Programming class helped to organize the event and jury submissions.

Ceicko said, "All my students were very impressed by Rafael's film.
They really responded to his creativity and his level of proficiency as
a filmmaker."