Category Archives: Upcoming Events

Student Activities May 13-15, 2016

Student Activities

May 13-May 15, 2016

Reunion Weekend

Friday, May 13

  • Open Reed 7-10:45 p.m.
  • Open Gym with Laser Tag! 7-11 p.m.
  • Boys’ Lacrosse vs Vermont Academy under the lights 7:00 p.m.
  • The Stanford Prison Experiment film in the Theater 8-10:30 p.m.
    • Tim Talbott ’86: 2015 Sundance Film Festival Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Best Feature Screenplay
  • The Golden Scallop film in the Chapel 8-10:30 p.m.
    • Kevin Harrigan: Austin Film Festival 2013 Audience Award Winning Film
  • Piano Coffee House in the Dodge Room with Mr. Harper 8-10:30 p.m.
  • Bonfire with s’mores behind John Wright 8-10:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 14

  • 175th Anniversary Gala Dinner under the tent 6:30-8 p.m.
  • Dancing under the tent 8:00-10:00 p.m.
    • Games outside the tent
  • Phoenix Society Resurrection 9:00 p.m.
    • NSFG alumnae are invited to join faculty member Kate McKillop and our current female students at the Angelus Terrace as a modern version of an old NSFG tradition rises from the ashes.

Sunday, May 15

  • Brunch 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
  • Open Reed 1-5 p.m.
  • Open Gym 1-5 p.m.
  • Holyoke Mall #1 1:00-3:00 p.m. #2 2:00-4:00 p.m. Mini Bus 1
  • Pioneer Valley Indoor Karting departs 12 p.m., returns by 3 p.m. with Mr. Chiavaroli
  • Volleyball Tournament 1:30-3:30 p.m. in Athletics Center

If you sign up for weekend activities, you are expected to attend.  If you do not attend, and do not alert Mr. Spearing, the faculty chaperone, or the Dean on Duty prior to the event you will lose weekend privileges the following week.

Feb 26-28

Student Activities

Off-Campus Trips meet faculty at the Schoolhouse.

  • Friday, February 26
    • Playoffs TBD and other competitions-Go Wildcats!
    • Boys Varsity Hockey vs. Winchendon 5:30 p.m.
    • Choral Coffee House 7:30 p.m.
    • Open Reed 7-10:45 p.m.
    • Open Gym 7-10:45 p.m.
    • Northampton Shuttles #1 7:15-9:45 p.m., #2 7:45-10:15 p.m.
  • Saturday, February 27
    • Open Reed 7-10:45 p.m.
    • Open Gym 7-10:45 p.m.
    • Northampton Shuttles #1 7:15-9:45 p.m., #2 7:45-10:15 p.m.
    • MSU Block Party dance in the Stu Bop 7:30-10:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, February 28
    • Open Reed 1-5 p.m.
    • Open Gym 1-5 p.m.
    • Holyoke Mall Shuttle #1 1-3 p.m.
    • Holyoke Mall Shuttle #2 2-4 p.m.
    • Al LaValle Memorial Dodgeball Tournament 12-2 p.m.
      • Snacks at 1 p.m. in the Lobby of Athletics Center
    • Ski Trip to Butternut? 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
    • Williston Scholars Presentation 2:30 p.m.
    • Winter Pops Concert 7:30 p.m.
  • Monday, February 29 is Review Day
    • Work Hard and Have Confidence on your Assessments

If you sign up for weekend activities, you are expected to attend. If you do not attend, and do not alert Mr. Spearing, the faculty chaperone, or the Dean on Duty prior to the event you will lose weekend privileges the following week.

Upcoming Student Activities at Williston

Plan ahead, have fun, and take care of each other. For your planning and entertainment pleasure:

  • Tonight: John Rush, the Human iPod plays in the Stu Bop. See if you can stump him. Check out his repertoire!
  • Sunday, January 31: Your Student Council is representing you at Loomis-Chaffee at a student council conference with many other schools.
  • February 4-8: Winter Long Weekend.
  • February 12: Magician David Garrity performs in the Theater at 9 p.m.
  • February 13: Easthampton Winterfest, and the 5th Annual Williston Winter Snow Ball. This is a semi-formal dance in the Dining Commons 8-10:30 p.m., so use the mall trips and time during the Long Weekend to get your clothes if you need it. You are allowed to bring a guest to the dance with permission.
  • February 18-20: Theatre Lab-Fish out of Water, Art Reception for Eric Wolf
  • February 21: 15th Annual Muji Muhammad 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament in the Athletics Center
  • February 26: Choral Coffee House 7:30 p.m.
  • February 27: Multicultural Student Union (MSU) Block Party with an opportunity for spoken word before the dance begins.
  • February 28: 2016 Al LaValle Memorial Dodgeball Tournament in the Athletics Center 2-4 p.m., Winter Pops concert 7:30 p.m.
  • February 29: Review Day for Trimester 2 Assessments, Winter Dance Performance 4 p.m.

Sincerely,
Mr. Spearing

Founders Day Schedule

 

Founders Day Schedule:

Sunday, February 21: 7 p.m. screening of the film “One Revolution” with Chris Waddell, a Paralympian and author.

Monday, February 22: Founders Day

8:30 a.m. “Nametags” assembly with Chris Waddell in Phillips Stevens Chapel.Seating by advisory. “It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do with what happens to you.”

9:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m. Question and answer session with Chris Waddell

9:45 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Info and food for thought

10:00-10:15 a.m. break

10:15-11:15 a.m. “Sharing Your Social Identities”: Assigned family groups for cultural awareness.*

11:15-11:25 a.m. break

11:25 a.m.-11:55 p.m. Group A: Lunch in Birch Dining Commons
Group B: Check-in and reflection with Advisory

11:55-12:05 break

12:05-12:35 p.m. Group B: Lunch in Birch Dining Commons
Group A: Check-in and Reflection with Advisory

12:35-12:45 p.m. Go to assigned afternoon workshop location

12:45-1:45 p.m. Exploring personal identities and passions workshops

1:45-1:55 p.m. break.  Go to the Phillips Stevens Chapel

2:00 p.m. Closing assembly in the Phillips Stevens Chapel

 

*Please pay special attention to the following:

Assigned Family Groups (10:15-11:15 a.m.) will allow for dialogue and sharing. Peer and faculty facilitators will be positive and make sure all discussions run smoothly. Family Groups allow for safe and brave space. As we expect on a daily basis, we will be open and respectful of everyone during discussions and exercises. It is an opportunity to share and listen. These are the norms and expectations of participation for the day:

1. Be fully present.
2. Speak from the “I” perspective.
3. Be self-responsible and self-challenging.
4. Listen, listen, listen, and process.
5. Experiment with new behaviors in order to expand your range of response.
6. Accept conflict and its resolution as a necessary catalyst for learning. Listen first.
7. Be comfortable with silence.
8. Be crisp; say what’s core.
9. Treat the candidness of others as a gift; honor confidentiality. What is said in family groups, stays in family groups.
10. Suspend judgment of yourself and of others.

Philosophical Debate Club Meeting Tonight

Tonight, Wednesday (1/27), at 6:00 p.m. in the COX ROOM there will be a Philosophical Debate Club meeting! 

All are welcome to come discuss or listen to what people have to say about this topic. 

The fact of the matter is, nobody likes talking about how we treat old people. We send them to homes and that closes the matter. No matter what we either regard them as burdens or with the highest respect, but we never look at them as on the same plane as ourselves. 

So why do we treat old people so poorly? And, more importantly, what can we do to change how we treat them? 

An article to get your thoughts flowing: http://www.justicemagazine.org/jm/index.php/opinion/21-opinion/149-why-do-we-treat-elderly-people-so-badly

See you there! 

Samuel Canney

President of Your Philosophical Debate Club

Pond Opens for Skating

Dear Wildcats,

It is with great pleasure that we declare the pond open to skating today, January 25, 2016.  The weather has been perfect and the Grounds Crew has completed measuring the ice and putting the safety gear out.  Attached to this email is the “Pond Winter Use Policy”.  The policy is intended to keep everyone, who chooses to use the ice, safe while doing so.  Please read the policy and understand where the boundaries are for the area that is to be used.  It is imperative that you stay within the designated boundaries.  Anyone outside the boundaries will be subject to disciplinary action.

Have fun and be safe!

Ms. O’Connor

Pond Winter Use Policy

  1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES

The Williston Northampton School is fortunate enough to have a pond on campus that becomes a hub of outdoor activities, such as skating, in the cold winter months. Realizing that there comes an inherent risk in using the ice due to fluctuating weather and constant changing of ice conditions, the Physical Plant and Security Departments have created the following policy in an effort to make using the pond in cold weather as safe as possible.

  1. POLICY
  • The School will use the Massachusetts Wildlife Ice Strength and Safety Guidelines as a guide for permissible weight, or load, on ice. Activities on the frozen pond will only be allowed if there is a minimum of five inches of ice, measured in six locations.
  • The weather will determine when the pond can be used for activities.   As soon as it has been cold for several, consecutive days and it is deemed safe for employees to go out on the ice, it will be tested for thickness and safety. Testing of the ice will include drilling in six different locations to test for the thickness.
  • No one shall go out on the ice until an initial test of the ice has been completed and it has been determined to be safe, with five inches of ice present, by the Physical Plant.
  • After the initial testing, and a result that indicates five inches of ice are present, the ice will be tested by members of the Physical Plant as needed. The result of the test will determine if the ice is safe to use. Members of the Physical Plant, and the weather, will determine how often the ice testing will be done.
  • Once the ice is considered safe and ready for use, Williston students, staff, and faculty will receive an email indicating such. After the initial email, additional emails acknowledging the condition of the ice and whether it is safe for activity will be sent out as needed. All email communications shall be internal and shall not be intended for anyone outside of the Williston community.
  • The Physical Plant and Security Departments will not endorse the safety of the pond for anyone outside of the Williston community. All others use the pond at their own risk.
  • A designated area of ice will be available for activities on the pond. This area shall be marked by being shoveled and cleared of all debris. Anyone looking to gain access to this area should approach it from the nearest side.
  • The designated area will be determined and created by the Physical Plant. After the initial clearing of this area, those using the ice will be responsible for keeping it shoveled off.
  • When school is not in session, the ice will not be tested and those that go out on the ice do so at their own risk.
  • Safety equipment, such as ladders and ropes, will be provided on each shore in case of an emergency. This equipment shall be visible and accessible and shall only be used in an emergency.
  • All other areas of the pond, other than the designated area and the area leading to each nearest shore, shall be considered unsafe and shall not be used or walked upon. Only the designated area will be tested for ice thickness.
  • Anyone playing hockey on the pond, using sticks and a puck(s), shall wear a helmet.
  • Both ends of the pond shall be considered unsafe. The area of the pond from the foot bridge toward the road (Park Street) and the area past the rope, which runs shore-to-shore, shall be considered unsafe! No one shall ever be on the ice in these areas!
  • The Physical Plant staff has the right to deem the ice unsafe at any time.

 

2nd Founders Day Diversity Workshop Brainstorming Session

Please consider joining us in the Cox Room today for our second brainstorming session for Founders Day workshops. Student leaders will lead us in some exercises we plan to share with the community. See you at 3 p.m. in the Cox Room of the Dining Commons tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Matt Spearing
Director of Student Activities
Director of Inclusion
10th Grade Dean
Science, Coach, Dorm Head

Classics Day 2016

On Friday, January 15, Will Eberle, Lori Pelliccia, Daniel Roe and I brought all 61 Williston Latin students to Mount Holyoke College for Classics Day.  We joined around 300 students from a number of other schools, including Amherst Regional, Lenox, BCD and Academy Hill. Our students had a blast attending workshops, examining—and even handling—the antiquities in the Mount Holyoke Museum, and competing in contests.   Everyone participated in at least one contest, and everyone had fun.  We are so proud of our prize-winners:

-Gabe Moon: third place in military art for his amazing shield.

-Oscar DeFrancis and Nat Markey: third place for their model of the baths at Aquae Sulis.

-Rida Kareem, Molly Zawacki, and Sebi Herrera: second place for their costumed portrayal of Venus, Psyche and Cupid.

-Anabelle Farnham: second place for her memorized recitation of a poem by Sappho in Greek.  

We had so many more prize-worthy entries!  My personal favorites were Jaden Tanguay’s extraordinarily realistic spear and Anabelle, Chloe, and Neha as the three Fates: Clotho/Neha (who spins the thread of life), Lachesis/Chloe (who measures it) and Atropos/Anabelle (who cuts the thread and ends life).  I’ve never seen students make bed-sheets look so authentically like ancient Greek garb! Neha even made her own spindle.  

Thanks to all of you who helped us make this day a success and especially to our cheerful, tireless chaperones, Dan and Lori.  

Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus!  (We came, we saw, we conquered!)

Beatrice Cody