Category Archives: Williston Northampton News

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse Visits Campus as Diversity Keynote

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As Mayor, 24-year-old Alex B. Morse calls himself the Chief Marketing Officer for the city of Holyoke.  Kicking off the eleventh annual Diversity Conference last Thursday evening, he explained,  “We needed people with a fresh perspective for the city and someone who was going to mix things up, and that is essentially why I ran for the position.”

The youngest, and first openly gay, mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Morse announced he was running for office as a senior at Brown University.  Rather than move to DC, Boston, or New York, Morse said he wanted to, “come home to the city that had given [him] so many opportunities.”

Holyoke Roots
“My family was pretty poor,” said Morse a Holyoke native.  Both of his parents grew up in Holyoke and met at Whiting Farms, one of the city’s low-income housing projects.  Morse’s mother married his father, at 17, when she became pregnant with the first of Morse’s two older brothers.

A proud product of the Holyoke public school system, Morse recalls high school as being a, “really great time,” but in his sophomore year his confidence started to wane.  “There was something about me that I didn’t feel was correct,” he said.  In February of that year, when Morse was 16, he came out to his best friend Alexandra.  “Once I did that I wanted to stop telling my friends because I didn’t want my parents to find out from a friend or a parent of a friend,” he said. Continue reading →

Posted in: Events, Special Programs, Upper School, Visiting Speakers, Williston Northampton News

Curricular Technology Initiative: FAQs for Families

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By Dr. Andrew Shelffo, chief information officer and English teacher

Beginning in September 2013, students will be able to use a hybrid tablet device as part of Williston’s Curricular Technology Initiative, or CTI, which is designed to bring consistent technology to campus so that students can quickly and easily access the digital tools they need to succeed, and in the process not just keep up with the latest innovations but use them in their education.

Preparing students for success in college and beyond in the 21st century means teaching them how to take full advantage of information technology. The CTI will put the latest computing technology into the hands of every student and teacher and bring important systems—Schoology, SkyDrive, OneNote, video and audio conferencing—right into the classroom.  The goal is to teach students how to use technology with purpose, passion, and integrity.

What are the key elements of the Curricular Technology Initiative?
The Curricular Technology Initiative (CTI) will allow students to take full advantage of the software and systems Williston has in place on campus to both complement and expand their education. By using such programs as SkyDrive, OneNote, and Schoology—on campus, at home, or anywhere else—students will be able to collaborate effectively with teachers and each other and learn important organizational skills. Through this mission-driven program, students will learn how to use technology with purpose, passion, and integrity in an anywhere, anytime environment.

Does Williston have the infrastructure to support this program?
Williston’s connection to the Internet is 200 Mbps. Students can access the network wirelessly in all of their classrooms and by September 2013, in any dorm, as well.

What device will my child be issued as part of this program?
Every student and teacher at Williston will be issued the same device. This provides consistency in the academic experience in all classrooms and dorm or home. Currently the school is evaluating devices, and a final decision is expected in the next few weeks. Whatever the device, it will be a tablet with a detachable keyboard running Windows 8 with native stylus capability.

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Posted in: Special Programs, Williston Northampton News

Williston Children’s Theater Presents Kabuki Theater

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Beginning February 18 the Williston Theatre program presents Wondrous Tales of Old Japan.  Written by David Furumoto, the play consists of four folktales told in the theatrically magical style of Japanese Kabuki theater.

The tales told in Wondrous Tales of Old Japan include the story of a boy born from a peach, a fisherman who goes on an undersea journey with a turtle, why cherry trees blossom so early, and the transformation of the Snow Woman.

“Our characters spring to life in front of your eyes and will be walking so close that you could reach out and touch them,” said Theatre Technical Director Charles Raffetto.

Wondrous Tales of Old Japan is produced by special arrangement with Plays For Young Audiences, a partnership of Seattle Children’s Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis.

Wondrous Tales of Old Japan by David Furumoto
February 18-23, 2012 at 3:30 pm
Tickets: $7 students/seniors, $10 adults and can be purchased here:
https://wnsboxoffice.tixato.com/buy

Williston students, faculty, and staff are free.
The Williston Theatre
18 Payson Avenue, Easthampton

Illustration designed by Rob Kimmel, robkimmeldesign.com.

Posted in: Arts, Events, Williston Northampton News, Williston Theatre

An Open Letter to the Williston Northampton Community

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Dear Williston Northampton Community,

Thank you all for the feedback you’ve provided over the past several days. I am trying to respond by email to each person who has written a comment. Given the inclement weather today, I am afraid to say I’m falling a bit behind on my responses. As some of you may have seen, we are canceling Saturday classes and games and many of our day students are leaving campus this afternoon before the end of the academic day. We are working hard to stay on top of the updates as the weather changes and have been posting any new information on our Community Alerts page.

We are truly grateful for your input and for your willingness to take the time to write to us. The reason we posted this story was because we wanted feedback and we wanted to connect with you (no matter how painful that feedback can be for us to hear).

I wanted to clarify a couple of points, since the same questions seem to be appearing in the comments below. The first is that the seal is not going away. We will continue to use it on our official materials—including diplomas and legal documents. As you can see from the image in the article, the seal still has the tree, the full school name, the founding year, and an outline of Mount Tom—the same elements that it has had since it was first created. The only change we’ve made to the seal is to clarify some of the elements to make it easier to print and read (and to see when it’s reduced to a very small size). The new shield is just one more tool in our Williston Northampton toolbox.

As an alumnus noted in the comments, design by committee is never a good idea. That said, we collected as much input as we could from as many people as we could during this process. We posted the article because we wanted to share it. And, frankly, we’re proud of the work of the school and we’re excited about the future of Williston Northampton.

We feel fortunate that so many alumni care so deeply about the school and feel connected to the community online. We’re grateful you pay attention. And we’d like to hear from you more often about other aspects of the school and the broader Williston Northampton community. Please make sure we have your accurate contact information so we can get in touch with you about any future efforts that we undertake by taking a moment to update your information online (or send us an email at info@williston.com if you need your log in information).

Thank you again. Please stay safe and warm if you are in an area that’s being affected by Nemo today. We hope to be in touch with you again soon.

Best,

Traci Wolfe
Director of Communications

Posted in: Williston Northampton News