When you see the following Wildcats—all 302 of them—please give them your heartiest congratulations! In making the honor roll for Trimester 2, they have made tremendous academic achievements, and we are so proud of them. Continue reading
All posts by Kate Snyder
BuzzFeed Managing Editor Kate Nocera ’01 Speaks to Williston Journalism Class
With the aid of Skype, Matt Liebowitz’s journalism class spoke to Kate Nocera ’01, from her Washington, D.C., office where she’s managing editor of BuzzFeed News. Last Friday, as Republicans in Congress were about to invoke the “nuclear option” to facilitate the confirmation of Pres. Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, Nocera took a break from the hectic day to answer questions from students.
Ava Yates ’17 asked Nocera about her involvement in journalism while she was a student at Williston. Nocera answered that she was more about fiction writing then. Ellie Wolfe ’19 asked if sources took BuzzFeed seriously. Cat jokes aside, Nocera responded, readers respect the award-winning international coverage BuzzFeed provides (this year the site was nominated for a Pulitzer for international reporting). Mr. Liebowitz asked how she got her start. Nocera described her beginnings in journalism as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News covering cops, courts, and school committee meetings. Continue reading
Williston Delegates Receive Awards at Model UN Conference
A Model UN conference at Choate Rosemary Hall last weekend considered the topic of nuclear vulnerability. History and global studies teacher Andrew Syfu took 25 Williston students to the meet, which addressed subjects such as nuclear nonproliferation, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and nuclear energy and climate change. Four of our delegates received awards, including the best delegate, which is the top honor of the event. Congratulations!
Honorable mention delegate
- Reilly Gluz ’19 (Afghanistan—Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference)
- Sophie Little ’19 (Armenia—Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference)
Outstanding delegate
- Keyu Lu ’20 (Australia—Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference for beginners)
Best delegate
- Josh Calianos ’18 (India—United Nations Security Council on the Iran Nuclear Deal)
Math Students Head to Yale University for Competition
Twelve Williston Mathletes headed to Yale University this weekend to participate in the MMATHs competition.
The two Williston teams of six competed in individual and team rounds, as well as a round where they worked collaboratively with students from other schools. Williston’s Steven Wang ’20 came in third place out of 140 competitors. Congratulations to all!
Middle Schoolers Dive in to Five College Opportunities
Recent field trips sent seventh and eighth graders to area colleges to expand on work they were doing in the classroom.
Will Eberle’s eighth grade Latin class visited Mount Holyoke College’s museum to explore its collection of statues of Roman Lares (household gods).
The quotation from Cicero reads, “The most sacred, the most hallowed place on earth is the home of each and every citizen. There are his sacred hearth and his household gods, there the very center of his worship, religion, and domestic ritual.”
Back in the classroom, students went on to create their own Lares and a shrine for them, called a lararium.
All 70 Middle Schoolers traveled to the biomechanics lab at the University of Massachusetts recently to participate in a fitness study with UMass faculty and graduate students. Williston students were actively involved in generating, collecting, and analyzing data that scientists will use to refine our understanding of exercise and health.
“Kinesiology is an interdisciplinary field of study that allowed the students to see real science in action where biology, chemistry, and physics come together to investigate nature and find solutions to problems,” said science teacher Jane Lucia. “We could see and feel from the folks there that science is creative and collaborative, and fun!”
Ms. Lucia continued, “The uses of technology were eye-opening. From the special eye visors in the military lab to the life size virtual human cadaver in the anatomy and physiology lab, students experienced how embedded and valuable technology is to the advancement of ideas toward useful applications.”
Students from the Middle School also recently participated in Classics Day at Mount Holyoke College. Read about that here.
Williston Chemistry Olympian Heads to National Competition
Science teacher William Berghoff and five Williston students braved the mid-March snowstorm over spring recess to participate in the Chemistry Olympiad at the University of Massachusetts.
This event brings high school chemistry students from across western New England for a competition that decides the U.S. representatives for the international Olympiad over the summer. Continue reading
Two Williston Students Head to Prestigious Writers Conference
Sophia Schaefer ’18 and Harrison Winrow ’18 have been accepted to the prestigious New England Young Writers Conference at the Bread Loaf campus of Middlebury College. The program accepts a maximum of two students from high schools across the country and takes place May 18-21.
Williston’s English Department Head Sarah Sawyer said the program is “excellent—and selective.” Williston students have gone every year since 2010.
It’s Sophia’s second time attending the conference; she was there last year. “I loved it. I am so excited and happy to be going back,” she said. “You are surrounded by people who love to read and write. It was a liberating experience for me. The conference is like an oasis where I can just focus on writing and reading.” Continue reading
Empowering Girls to Succeed in College
At Williston, we strive to help all students develop as thinkers, athletes, artists, and people, but we are especially proud of how we help female students grow into strong, thoughtful, young women, ready to take on college and the world with confidence. In our supportive, yet challenging environment, girls are surrounded by other amazing female students, as well as excellent female teachers, coaches, and dorm parents, who create an environment where young women feel as though they can do anything. Here are three seniors in their final months at Williston, well prepared for what their futures hold. Continue reading
Helping Students Find the Perfect College Fit
College Counseling Director Catherine McGraw has made it her mission to expose Williston students in earlier grades to the college-search process. As part of that process, she strives to help students identify a college or university that best fits their unique strengths and interests.
She’s been beyond pleased to witness Williston students meet with success as acceptance letters arrive from Dartmouth, Georgetown, Kenyon, University of Pennsylvania, Vassar, Williams, and many more. Building on that success, she’s instituted new initiatives and continued other tried-and-true programs that provide students and parents what they need to choose the college that fits them best.
“My philosophy emphasizes reflection and self-awareness,” McGraw said. “As students engage in a college search, I want them to feel that they are in the driver’s seat.” Continue reading
Williston Model UN Team Heads to MIT
Guest Blog Post by Josh Calianos ’18
A delegation of 12 Williston students will join hundreds of students from across the globe to participate in a Model United Nations simulation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the weekend of February 10-12. At Model UN, students represent delegates from United Nation member countries and debate international issues.
The MIT conference is a three-day event where students will spend most of their time (8 hours a day) in various committees discussing and debating the most pressing international issues. The ultimate goal is to create consensus in the form of a resolution, or a proposal for how the UN should address the issue. Read more about the conference at our student-run Model UN blog.
Williston Northampton delegation:
UNSC France: Sophie Little
IAEA DPRK: Josh Calianos
WTO Czech Republic: Sydney Kim
WHO Singapore: Brooke Smith
Futuristic Uganda: Reilly Gluz
ASEAN Vanuatu: Francois Kaeppelin
ECOSOC Peru: Vishnu Sekar
IMF Greece: Simon Kim
Historical Horatio Gates: Alexander Foster
DISEC Colombia: Eleanor (Ellie) Scott
EU Vatican City: Sofia Flores
UNECLC ROK: Eleanor (Ellie) Wolfe