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Stories and updates from around campus

Practice Makes Perfect

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Ron Wyatt’s best tip for getting to know your camera is to leave your manual in the bathroom.

“Every time you spend quality time in the bathroom you’ll learn something new,” he said on Thursday, April 11 in the Dodge Room of the Williston Northampton School. “Great photo opportunities come up, you don’t want to be playing around trying to figure out how to work your camera.”

An Explosive Entrance to Freelancing
On December 5, 1970 the Linden, NJ Exxon refinery exploded.  Working nearby on the General Motors assembly line, Mr. Wyatt ran to the scene and photographed the aftermath.  Later that day he called an area newspaper to see if they were interested.  Although they didn’t want photographs of the explosion, they reviewed his work and offered him a position as a freelance photographer. Continue reading →

Posted in: Photographers' Lecture Series, Williston Northampton News

The Myth of the Good Girl and Boys in Skirts

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“I’ve never met a girl who doesn’t have something to be sorry about,” said Rachel Simmons to her female audience on April 12. “It’s not, ‘people were so mean to me and now I’m so nice.’ No one’s perfect.”

Rachel Simmons at WillistonOn April 12, Ms. Simmons, a nationally regarded speaker on bullying prevention and female empowerment, spoke to the girls of the Williston Northampton School about how they could identify hurtful behavior, and change the patterns that created it.

The Upper School had divided in two for the special morning assembly. Girls listened to Ms. Simmons in the Phillips Stevens Chapel, while boys headed to the Williston Theatre to hear Dr. Christopher Overtree, director of the Psychological Services Center (PSC) at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an expert on the prevention of bullying and harassment.

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

Completing a National Challenge

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As an eighth grader, Olivia Foster was looking for a challenge. Then she came across the Congressional Award online—a national program where students can earn medals for completing tasks in areas such as public service, personal development, physical fitness, and exploration—and her path became clear.  Now a junior, Ms. Foster will be awarded the highest youth award in the program, the gold medal, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in June.

Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to “recognize initiative, achievement, and service in young people,” the Congressional Medal program is open to American citizens aged 14 to 23 years old.  Participants can earn bronze, silver, and gold certificates, or bronze, silver, and gold medals.

In order to qualify for the award, participants must complete a number of hours in four areas: Personal Development, Volunteer Public Service, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration.

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Posted in: Student Profile, Upper School, Williston Northampton News

Ron Wyatt at Williston’s Photographers’ Lecture Series

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Sports photographer Ron Wyatt will present the next in Williston Northampton School’s ongoing lecture series on Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room, Reed Campus Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Mr. Wyatt was assigned by Kodak to photograph the Summer Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, and is a self-taught photographer. In his presentation, Mr. Wyatt will talk about his experiences covering the Olympic Games, as well as finding the right equipment and camera set-up, planning a shooting strategy, and the importance of knowing the game.

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Posted in: Events, Photographers' Lecture Series

Spring Visitors Bring Information, Fun to Assemblies

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Rob Hackenson pulled a ladder out of his bag and began taping pieces of paper to it. “High school” went on one rung, “college” on another, and then “job,” “family,” “retirement,” and “travel.”

It was, he told Williston Northampton students during an assembly on March 29, the general route that each one of them would take during the course of their lives.

“Each and every one of you have certain aspirations and things you want to obtain,” Mr. Hackenson said. “Certain decisions can help you attain them, and certain things can make them much more difficult.”

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

Stories and updates from around campus