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Reverse Selfies and Acts of Kindness at Williston’s 173rd Convocation

As he stepped to the podium for Williston Northampton School’s 173rd Convocation, Head of School Robert W. Hill III pulled a cell phone from his pocket. With the school community looking forward to a year of new technology, it was only appropriate that Mr. Hill kick off the ceremonial beginning with what he described as a  “reverse selfie.”

Mr. Hill turned his phone toward his audience and took a quick panorama of the assembled students in their formal jackets and dresses. The students waved and smiled.

In thinking about the upcoming year, Mr. Hill said he was reminded of another modern wonder: the Panama Canal.  Mr. Hill said there was a metaphor in the human ingenuity, colossal machines, and transnational cooperation that each canal passage required.

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Williston Northampton School to issue portable Microsoft computers to every student and teacher in September

Originally published Monday, August 12, 2013 in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
By BARBARA SOLOW

EASTHAMPTON — When classes start next month, students at the Williston Northampton School will have something new to put in their backpacks: A portable Microsoft Surface Pro computer.

The school has purchased 650 of the touch-screen “laptops in tablet form,” as Microsoft describes them — enough for every one of Williston’s 543 students and 85 teachers, and a few in reserve.

The tablets, which sell for about $800 apiece, have been customized with school-approved software and equipped with USB ports to connect to keyboards, printers and hard drives, said Andrew Shelffo, Williston’s chief information officer, who oversees technology at the school.

Students will be able to write papers, check their grades, share documents, access research websites and, yes, even play games on their portable tablets. The 2-pound Surface Pro computers come with a stylus, so users can handwrite as well as type notes on the 10.6-inch screen.

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Commencement 2013: Senior Awards

The Williston Northampton School celebrates the outstanding members of the senior class during two celebrations at the end of the year. Two prizes are presented during the Athletic Awards Ceremony, held on May 24, 2013; The George Denman Award and Alumni Bowl celebrate “general participation in athletics, with a special emphasis being placed upon faithful training, good sportsmanship, helpful spirit, and loyal devotion to the best interests of the school.”

The recipient of The George Denman Award was Andy Pierce.

The recipients of Alumnae Bowl were Amanda Cronin and Karly Simpson.

Other prizes, including Williston Northampton’s top three awards (Galbraith prize, the White Blazer award, and the Valedictory prize) are voted on by the full faculty. The following are the Senior Prizes, awarded each year at Commencement, as voted by the full faculty. The awards were presented on May 26 by Head of School Robert W. Hill III.

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Academic Awards 2013

“The achievements we honor today are not measured in hundredths of seconds or in won loss records,” Head of School Robert W. Hill III told students and teachers during the annual Academic Awards Ceremony on May 25. Read the full text of Mr. Hill’s welcome here.

“But they do have in common with their athletic counterparts, Purpose and Passion and Integrity,” he said. “It takes really hard work to be good at something—doing good well is not easy no matter what the venue.”

Watch the full ceremony or see the list of award winners below.

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Chattman and Zide at Photographers’ Lecture Series

Braden Chattman

A pair of photography instructors who approach the natural world from vastly different perspectives will visit the Williston Northampton School for the final in this year’s Photographers’ Lecture Series. The event, held in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center on Tuesday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m., is free and open to the public.

Braden Chattman and Michael Zide, both instructors at the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, will speak about their work, how their approaches have changed over time, and how others can explore their own authentic voices.

While Mr. Zide looks to capture what he describes as “moments of wonder in the landscape,” Mr. Chattman combines photos he takes over time to form landscapes of his own.

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