On Tuesday October 14, Williston will be the host for the 2014 Genetics Update Conference with keynote speaker Sam Rhine. Schools from across the Pioneer Valley will be on campus for the day to hear about such topics as cancer stem cells and tissue engineering. Williston’s AP Biology class and Genetics class will be participating in this workshop.

Junior Alex Fay spent his summer working on an important concern – what do to with nuclear waste. He connected with some leading minds in the field and recently launched the following website. 

You can read the biographies here

Alex will be presenting to the community on Monday 10/13 in the Cox room at 6:30.

See Alex interviewed on TV.

Coming up this Wednesday morning (6:55 am) is what is called the “Blood Moon”, a full lunar eclipse! The moon will have a red color, caused by the sunlight traveling though the earth’s atmosphere (those that took physics last year will remember that the same effect causes the sunsets). For more information, see lunar eclipse

After the building emptied and went dark tonight, our night-blooming cereus treated Mr. Pelliccia and me to some amazing fragrance and sights! Thanks to Ilene Goldstein for alerting us to its imminent opening!

Williston is pleased to welcome two new faces to our department. Kevin Garrity joins the team teaching physics and chemistry after a long tenure in the science department at the Gunnery School. Kevin and his wife Kate live in John Wright and Kevin will also be involved with the after school programs coaching crew and basketball. Chris Pelliccia will be teaching several levels of chemistry and brings a wealth of experience in the classroom gained from his experiences at both St. Stevens in DC and the Millbrook School as well as some time with STEM work in the DC area. Chris and his wife Lori live in Conant and he will also be involved with the after school program coaching cross country and track.

This blog is intended to inform the community about important events within the science department at Williston Northampton School, as well interesting scientific information that might be useful.