Category Archives: Williston Northampton News

Faculty Show Puts Great Moments on Display

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Bud Vases by Natania Hume

From December to January, the Grubbs Gallery will display work by the Fine Arts faculty. Included in the exhibit are pieces by fine arts teachers Susanna White, Natania Hume, and Rachel Chambers; photography teacher Ed Hing ’77; costume designer, Ilene Goldstein; and art intern, Kate Verdickt ’05.

The exhibit features bud vases, in the style of contemporary ceramic artist Edmund de Waal, by Ms. Hume, who is also the gallery curator; costumes and jewelry designs by Ms. Goldstein; and landscapes and abstract paintings by Ms. White. Also featured are a selection of photographs from Mr. Hing’s Ten Years/Ten Countries, celestial paintings by Ms. Verdickt, and Ms. Chamber’s work, an installation made completely out of cardboard that covers part of the gallery in undulating 3D forms. Read statements from each artist here.

“It is a first for me, a genuine, humbling thrill. It is one of those great moments in my profession, when I literally see what it is that I love about my job,” Ms. White noted in her artist statement about the show. “Our gallery is an educational gallery and I think it will be interesting for my students to see the different types of work I enjoy doing most.”

The Visual Arts Faculty Show runs through January 6, 2014. There will be a reception with the artists on December 18 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Grubbs Gallery. Located at 40 Park Street, Easthampton, in the Reed Campus Center, the gallery is open on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Cruz, Krol, and Ostberg Sign National Letters of Intent

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Mr. Cruz, Coach Sawyer, Mr. Krol, and Mr. Ostberg. Photo by Paul Rutherford.

On Thursday, November 14 and Monday, November 18, three members of the Williston Northampton varsity baseball team signed National Letters of Intent to play college baseball.

Erik Ostberg ’14 signed with the University of Hartford on Thursday. On Monday Anthony Cruz ’14 signed with Quinnipiac University and Adam Krol ’14 signed with St. Anslem College. By signing the letters, and agreeing to the respective scholarship agreements, the three students notified other schools that they may no longer be recruited.

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Sleep is Homework And Other Tips About the Brain

The special assembly with Andrew Watson, of Translate the Brain, began with a game. The Upper School students had 30 seconds to examine a chart and, using three simple conversion rules, figure out solutions to several strings of numbers.

But there was a trick to this game. After calling time, Mr. Watson asked if any of the students had picked up on it. The key, he said, was in the numbers: the first half of the answers mirrored the last. Those who recognized that could complete the task in half the time.

Why was this relevant to students on an early November morning? Mr. Watson promised his talk, entitled “How to Study Less and Learn More”—and bizarrely subtitled Import Anthill Wontons!—could give students half a dozen strategies for achieving higher grades while doing less work.

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Mary Jo Salter on Common Human Experience

DSC_0821The best ideas and strangest rhymes come to her when she is half asleep said poet Mary Jo Salter on November 11 during her Writers’ Workshop Series lecture at the Williston Northampton School.

Madeleine Blais, co-founder of the Writers’ Workshop Series, likened Ms. Salter’s poetry to “the gift of water from ice,” in her introduction of the John Hopkins professor. Ms. Salter was the fourth and final speaker in the 16th annual series.

“She takes the moment that is utterly forgettable and turns it into something utterly memorable, which is to say her words are shapeshifting and miraculous,” said Ms. Blais.

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William Kamkwamba to Speak at Fourth Annual Wattles Perry ’77 Lecture

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Mr. Kamkwamba with his windmill in the background (Photo courtesy of HarperCollins)

Malawi is a country struggling to overcome the effects of famine, poverty, and AIDS. The country has limited electricity, their main source of light in rural regions is kerosene lamps; these areas also have little access to running water. However, thanks to the ingenuity of William Kamkwamba, a boy from a farming community, one village was able to overcome these limitations. Mr. Kamkwamba will address the Williston Northampton School in the fourth annual Sara Wattles Perry ’77 lecture, on December 5 at 8:30 a.m. in the Athletic Center.

Forced to leave school when his parents could no longer afford the $80 fee, Mr. Kamkwamba continued his studies by pouring over books in the local library. He developed a love for science and technology, and wanted to find a way to bring electricity and running water to his home.

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Mr. Kamkwamba atop his windmill (Photo courtesy of HarperCollins)

After reading donated textbooks, Mr. Kamkwamba designed and built a windmill from scrap metal that continues to supply his village with electricity and running water today. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope, which he co-authored with journalist Bryan Mealer, chronicles the creation of this windmill. In an interview with publishing firm HarperCollins, Mr. Kamkwamba said, “All things are made possible when your dreams are powered by your heart.”

Currently a student at Dartmouth College, Mr. Kamkwamba travels across the country speaking to groups about his life since building the windmill and the publication of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.