Category Archives: Parents’ Association

Parent Diversity Committee Today

4.27.13 11:00am – 12:00pm Parent Association Room

· Ground rules for speaking in the meeting
o Speak responsibility
o Confidentiality
o Respect other’s opinions
o Use “I” statements
o Avoid using “should”
o Provide solutions
· Introductions
· Reporting: Interns, Proctor interviews & past minutes.
· Cultural Guide: once we have a proposal for topics student and faculty committee will contribute, then on to communications for edit, review and publication.
o Authentic ethnic restaurants: ranging from soul food and good BBQ to Asian.
o Ethnic grocery stores with product reference guide.
o Places of worship and/or local religious organizations – churches of all denominations, synagogues, mosques, and other religious gatherings
o Local organizations which support diverse interests: LGBT issues, NAACP, Hispanic support organizations, etc…
o Services for things such as hair…
· Next steps: vision statement, set next meeting

For those parents not on campus….
We have a conference phone;

The Conference phone that we have is tied to our phone system and acts like a normal school phone. Parties connect to the number 413-529-3500 (password 2864).

I value the dialogue that we have had and will have and I think it will enrich the diversity programs in our community. Thank you for your time.

Bridget M. Choo
Director of Diversity

Family Weekend Student Activities April 26-29

Make sure to get to the Activities Board to secure your spot for off-campus trips.  Have fun and take care of each other.

Friday April 26                    Sunny Low 60’s.

  • Laramie Project 7:30 p.m.  PRIDE selling refreshment

Saturday April 27               Sunny.  Low 60’s.

  • Laramie Project 7 p.m.      PRIDE selling refreshments
  • Open Gym 7:15-10:45 pm                                                           Open Reed w/ Karaoke 7:30-10:45 p.m.  All your favorite songs including Leon, Ronald Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Joey Yung, Eason Chan, Sally Ye Twins, Nicholas Tse and more!
  • Shuttle to Northampton   7:15-10:45 p.m.
  • Trip to Gohyang Korean Restaurant 7:30-10:30 p.m.
  • Trip to Movies                    7-10:45 p.m.

 Sunday April 28        Sunny  High 60’s.

  • Community Service Northampton Homeless Shelter Clean-up 9:30-11:30 a.m.
  • Open Gym 1-5 p.m.
  • Six Flags trip 1-5 p.m.
  • Shuttle to Northampton 7:15-0-10:00 p.m.
  • Asian Food from Great Wall and Movies, Check-In @Stu Bop  6:00 p.m.-10:45 p.m.
  • Open Gym 7:30-10:45 p.m.

Monday April 29 Sunny. Mid 60’s.

  • Trip to NYC Departing campus 9:30 a.m., Arriving in NYC 12:45 p.m., Departing NYC 7:30 p.m. -Shopping, Central Park, Restaurants, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim, Food.
  • Open Gym            1-5 p.m.
  • Open Reed 1:15-5 p.m.
  • Open Gym 7:30 p.m.-10:45 p.m.
  • Open Reed 7-10:30 p.m.
  • Trip to the Movies 6:30 p.m.-10:30pm

Weekend Activities+ April 6-7

Make sure to get over to the Activities Office in Reed to mark your spot for the trips off campus.

Friday April 5
Williston Faculty vs. Easthampton Police and Fire Charity Basketball game  7 p.m. in the gym.                      Raffles Prizes Drawn at Half Time.

Saturday April 6

  • Open Gym 7:00-10:45 p.m.
  • Open Reed 7:15-10:45pm w/ Final Four Louisville-Wichita St. 6pm   Michigan-‘Cuse 8:50pm Pizza and wings at 9 p.m.
  • Pioneer Valley Go-Kart

Sunday April 7             

  • Open Gym 1:15-5:15pm
  • Open Reed 1:00-5:00pm w/movie “Total Recall”
  • Holyoke Mall 1-5 p.m.
  • Trip to the Movies
  • Roller Derby @ UMass Mullins Center 3pm
  • Sign up for Red Sox vs. Rays Sunday April 14, departing campus at 10 a.m.
  • Sign up to help clean up Northampton Homeless Shelter Sunday April 28 at 9:30 a.m. http://www.shelterlistings.org/details/31786/   As you heard from me in assembly, we are going there on Sunday April 28, at 9:30 a.m. to help them do their seasonal cleanup for a couple of hours.  They will provide Munchkins and all the cleaning supplies.  There are gloves for all the helpers to wear.  This is during Long Weekend, but many of us will be around to help.  “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”Winston Churchill

Weekend Activities March 29-31

Friday is a revisit day, so make sure to include the guests on campus in the Activities happening here!  Also, make sure to sign up on the Activities Board in Reed as soon as possible. Have fun.

Friday Mar 29

  • Video Vibe: Record Your Own Music Video  In the lower Stu Bop from 7:15-10:45pm http://www.partyvision.com/entertainment-events-rentals/video-vibes/
  • Open Reed w/ March Madness    7:00-10:45pm
  • Open Gym                          7:15-10:45pm
  • Northampton Shuttle      7:15-10:45pm
  • Trip to the Movies            7:00-10:45pm

Saturday Mar 30             

  • Open Gym 7:00-10:45 p.m.
  • Open Reed 7:15-10:45pm w/ Elite Eight showing
  • Trip to the Movies     6:30-10 p.m.
  • Northampton Shuttle  7:15-10:45pm
  • Smith College Concert Van Departs Schoolhouse at 7:25. Music by Boccherini, Schubert, Chopin, and Franck  $5.00 for Williston students!

Sunday Mar 31                

Weekend Activities March 23-24

Welcome back everyone!
Here’s what’s going on this weekend.  Plan ahead and have fun with your friends.

Saturday night we’re having hypnotist Jim Spinnato come to the Stu Bop.  The show starts at 8:30pm.  If you weren’t there last year, ask somebody who saw Jill Dahrooge and Kiernan Zehring dancing around what they thought.  It’s going to be a blast!  Click here for a preview.  Get there a little early for a snack, a seat to participate, and watch your friends get hypnotized.  Saturday, Stu Bop, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 23

  • Open Reed 7:30-10:45pm
  • Hypnotist Jim Spinnato 8:30-10:00pm in the Stu Bop 
  • Open Gym 7:15-10:45pm
  • Trip to the Movies in West Springfield 7-10:45pm                                                         
  • Springfield Armory vs. Maine Redclaws Basketball 6:30-10:30pm                                                 

Sunday, March 24

  • 194 Main St. Dorm Green Cup Challenge Celebration
  • Open Reed/March Madness on the Big Screen 1:15-5:15pm             
  • Open Gym          1-5pm                                                                           
  • Holyoke Mall Trip 1-5pm                                                                             
  • WalMart/Supplies/Northampton Shuttle  1-5pm     

Take care of each other and have fun!

Green Cup Challenge National Ranking

Hey Wildcats!

The final National Ranking for the 2013 Green Cup Energy Challenge is out today from the Green Schools Alliance.  http://www.greencupchallenge.net/GCEnergy/results2013rank.html

As you can see, Williston Northampton places 19th out of 117 schools.  We should take pride in the steps we took towards this initiative.  Students and dorm parents consolidated food to one fridge in order to unplug an unnecessary one.  Our community used natural lighting from the Sun instead of turning the lights on with the shades closed.  Wise choices were made in the use of common space lights and appliances during the day and in study hall.  Conscious decisions were made about personal use of laundry rooms and dorm room lighting and appliances.

When we return from Spring Break, remember that small things add up over time and we make collective decisions that impact all of us.  The amount of CO2 we conserved from entering our atmosphere by reducing our electrical energy consumption over a 4-week period is significant.  Imagine what we can do over the course of a whole trimester, year, or lifetime?

“For God’s sake, be economical with your lamps and candles! not a gallon you burn, but at least one drop of man’s blood was spilled for it”.  Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Weekend Activities February 9-10

We know snow is on the way, but we’re going to be safe and have fun

Saturday

  • Williston Snow Ball 7:30-11p.m.    Please inform the Deans of guest dates to this formal event.  Jackets, ties, and slacks for gentlemen, dresses or other formal attire for ladies.  Wait until you see the Video dance party, photographer, and ice sculpture set up in the Birch Dining Commons!
  • Open Gym 7:30-10:45pm

Sunday

  • Blood Drive 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in Reed
  • Open Reed w/ movie “The Invention of Lying” and popcorn  1:15-5:15 p.m.
  • Open Gym cancelled due to NE Wrestling Tournament  1-5  p.m.  Go see some great Wildcat wrestling!
  • Holyoke Mall 1-5 p.m.
  • Snow Games on the Quad 1-5 p.m.       Sledding, snowmen, etc.

Parents’ Point of View: Three Questions for Matt Spearing, Director of Student Activities (and Renaissance Man)

Matt Spearing has a movie-theater popcorn machine in his office, and to us, that signals a man who is serious about making sure students have a much-needed outlet for their inner child.

As Director of Student Activities, Matt organizes several student activities every weekend, as well as bigger productions that include WillyGras. He finds the DJ for Prom, and helps to coordinate the lock-in afterward. He also teaches AP Environmental Science, is a dorm parent, and coaches JV football in the fall. He’s the class adviser for the Class of 2015, along with Christa Talbot.

Some judicious Google-ing revealed that he is a world traveler as well, having taught in Cairo and Abu Dhabi. That’s more than either of us have done, ever, and we are both old enough to be his…ahem…older sisters. We asked him Three Questions, but we found out way more than we asked.

1. What the heck is it that you do?

Matt plans all weekend activities for all the boarding students—and day students are welcome to do any of those activities as well. That might include a trip to the mall (very popular), a movie night in the StuBop, Open Gym activities in the Athletic Center, or trips to New York or Boston. There will be a Super Bowl viewing party on the big screen, and dances. By the way, parents can find the weekly activity schedule on WillyNet, on the “On The Quad” link.

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Starting the New Year With Confidence

Catherine Sanderson at Williston 2012

Last Wednesday, the Parent’s Association held our first meeting of 2013, and hosted Catherine Sanderson, Associate Professor of Psychology at Amherst College, who presented a talk called “Five Strategies for Parenting a More Confident Teenager: What the Most Current Research Shows.”

We think we speak for everyone who was in the room when we say this was completely fascinating. Professor Sanderson is a gifted speaker, despite a post-cold touch of laryngitis, and captivated a crowd of concerned parents and faculty/staff.  We will get personal for a moment, and put it right out there that being a parent of a preteen or adolescent involves tremendous effort–with no reciprocal encouragement about 90 per cent of the time. Hearing Professor Sanderson identify our anxiety provoking and confusing  parenting moments as the norm was very comforting.

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