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Once again, Williston’s Latin students came, saw and conquered Classics Day at Mount Holyoke College. Students attended workshops, examined the classical antiquities of the Mount Holyoke Museum of Art, and distinguished themselves in the many competitions held throughout the day.  Classics Day is hosted by the Pioneer Valley Classical Association and was attended by Middle...

Author and Williams College Senior Lecturer Karen Shepard read from her collection of short stories, Kiss Me Someone (see the New York Times review here) at the final installment of the Writers’ Workshop on January 14. During her visit on campus, she visited the Writers’ Workshop English class and gave a public reading. The author...

Louisa Weed ’20- Girls Varsity Squash Louisa plays squash with purpose, passion, and integrity.  She thrives on hard work in practice and is extremely coachable. She has moved herself up to #2 spot on the team’s ladder and shows increasing self-confidence. A self-aware athlete, who adjusts continuously during matches, Louisa also displays equal measures of good sportsmanship...

Dancer and filmmaker Ben Needham-Wood was on the Williston Northampton School campus January 7 to 11 as part of the Grum Project. The series, funded by a generous alumna, brings artists across disciplines to work with the entire Williston Northampton School community. Needham-Wood worked with dancers preparing a number for the spring concert; screened his...

Thirteen young alumni returned to the Williston Northampton School campus this week to talk with juniors and seniors about the upcoming transition to college. They explained how they made crucial decisions, such as how many schools to visit, and which ones to apply to, as well as how to prepare for the all-important interview and compose...

Emma Gentile ‘19- Girls Varsity Basketball Emma, a senior guard, has been a consistent play maker so far this season for the Wildcats. This past week she proved extremely valuable yet again as she had a fantastic shooting game against Berkshire on Saturday. She went 4 for 6 from three-point land, many of which were...

The Cum Laude honor society welcomed 10 new Williston student members during a ceremony in the Phillips Stevens Chapel on January 4. The society, modeled after Phi Beta Kappa, recognizes academic achievement by students in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Areté), justice (Diké), and honor (Timé). The inductees, top performers in the senior...

Owen Dietrich ‘23- Varsity Wrestling Owen had a great week on the mat for the Wildcats in his second season as a wrestler. On Saturday, he won his first varsity match by pin, wrestling up a weight from his class of 138# to 145#.  Owen has always been willing to wrestle whoever steps on the...

On November 24 and 25, the Boys Varsity Hockey team became closer than anyone could have imagined when Jeff Levin, a sports psychologist out of Boston and New Hampshire, visited campus and led a team-bonding workshop. The idea behind Levin’s program was to create an environment where everybody felt completely comfortable making mistakes in front...

Swim season has started off strong. Our swim team has been NEPSAC champions in Division 2 three times in a row, and this season’s crop of athletes is poised to keep the streak strong. The Williston girls swimming team consists of 37 girls lead by senior captains Sally Alrutz, Sydney Joyce, and Sabrina Shao. The...

The girls varsity basketball team has started off the season with an incredible record of 3-0, and even though half the team is new, they’re winning like they’ve been playing together for years. The team boasts a 3-0 record after victories against Kingswood-Oxford, St. Mark’s, and Suffield. The varsity team consists of six new players:...

Jess Ekstrom’s road to business and personal success was unpaved, full of roadblocks, potholes, dead ends, and a devastating $10,000 swindle. But to hear her tell her story, it couldn’t have been any other way. Ekstrom, the founder and CEO of Headbands of Hope, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based company which for every headband sold donates...

Congratulations to the following students who made honor roll during the first trimester of the 2018-19 school year. Grade 9 I Hang U, Honors Julia Borden, High Honors Tevah Rose, High Honors Jackson Frechette, Honors Adeline Hume, Honors Sofia Michalski, High Honors Cristina Negron, High Honors Raymond Toth, High Honors Michael Toth, Honors Tucker Motyka,...

Imagine our delight when a thickly padded package, postmarked Kenosha, Wisconsin, recently arrived at the Homestead. Among the gems contained within: a 1951 edition of the Northampton School for Girls’ yearbook; a pair of neatly-filled-out dance cards; a senior prom photo; and a class ring inscribed on the inner band to E.A.K. ’51. The initials...

Maddy Scott ’16 and former trustee Diane Yelle Spence ’68 may have graduated a half century apart, but when they met at Reunion last spring, they quickly discovered much in common—from a passion for their schools to similar career choices. Spence, a Smith College graduate, worked as fundraiser for educational institutions, including several independent schools....

On paper, Shaun Chapman ’98 and Michael George ’98 seem like polar opposites. Shaun is a gregarious showman who can own a room. Michael is reserved, content to run the show from behind the scenes. Yet the two friends share a thoughtful, curious way of approaching the world that unites them. And there’s one other...

How Planning and persistence—and the work of a phantom—helped the class of ’68 set a new bar for Reunion success   Ask Reunion Committee Chair Chip Keeney to explain why a record 44 percent of his class attended their 50th Reunion, and he notes that the class of 1968 is extremely tight-knit. “It wasn’t hard...

A revealing look at Williston’s state-of-the-art new dormitory, John Hazen White House, the centerpiece of our evolving Residential Quad   It’s a crisp October afternoon and the energy outside Williston’s newest dorm is starting to build. A buzzing throng of students and faculty gather on the lawn of the new Residential Quad as Head of...

Catherine McGraw shares how her office is bringing new approaches to the college application process. When Williston seniors learn of their acceptance to colleges and universities this spring, the news will be the culmination of a process that—for better or worse—has been a central focus of their lives for years. To provide support during this...

The amazing work of photographer Jim Hollander ’68   The list of what Jim Hollander ’68 has photographed is mind-boggling. The Olympics. The running of the bulls in Pamplona. Conflicts in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Middle East. Three different pope’s visits to the Holy Land. And that’s just for starters. An award-winning photojournalist, Hollander has...