Babies on Board By Olivia Silverman
Within the last few weeks, Berkshire has witnessed the addition of three new members of the community. Mrs. Anselmi, Mrs. Bjurlin, and Mrs. Turner delivered babies within a month of each other, and the Berkshire community is eager to welcome them to campus. Oscar Maurice Bjurlin was born on March 11, 2015 at 8:17 am; the newborn was measured 8 pounds, 8 ounces, and 21.5 inches. Oscar was named after both Mr. and Mrs. Bjurin’s grandfathers. Mrs. Bjurlin states about the relationship between Frida and Oscar, “It’s been a full mix of emotions for big sis Frida, from pride and happiness to confusion and jealousy, but ultimately she’s very loving and cares a lot about her little bro Oscar!” Mr. and Mrs. Anselmi celebrated the birth of Hudson Ketcham Anselmi on April 7, 2015 at Hudson Ketcham Anselmi 10:18 am; he measured in at 8.5 pounds on the Charlotte Cooper Sarandon Turner day of his birth. “Words can’t really describe it...I have been tired and exhausted, but full of energy and joy By Hayden Graham at the same time...every time I look at Hudson it makes me so happy and thankful...it feels me with a new sense of pride and joy knowing that Friday April 10 in the atrium of Berkshire I am a father,” says Mr. Anselmi on his feelings Hall 8 Students performed in the Vocal Cabaret. The members of the group in the of being a new father. Along with the glee that Mr. Anselmi feels event were Tucker Donelan ‘18, Manqing about his newborn son, he also raved about the (Maggie) Zhu ‘18, Andrea Cass ‘18, Liza Jane Branch ‘15, Alyssa Cass ‘15, Hayden Graham support from the Berkshire community and shared, “It’s been a crazy first week (like it is for 15, Gerry Gimenez ‘15, and Jordan Greco all first time parents), and while I have always ‘15. Each member performed 1 to 3 pieces of known and felt the warmth and acceptance of the Berkshire Community, everybody’s sup- their choice accompanied by Dr. Tazia Wu on the piano. The pieces performed ranged port the last week has touched our family so much and reaffirmed why we love this place so from jazz numbers from the roaring 20’s, Disney pieces, and contemporary musical much!” The Turner family is most recently excited numbers. about the arrival of their new sister and daugh- Because of time constraints, everyone ter Charlotte Cooper Sarandon Turner, who who was singing in Cabaret had only two Oscar Maurice Bjurlin weeks to rehearse with Dr. Wu. Over the two was born at 4:08 pm on April 13, 2015. She weeks, students could be found in the music wanted to optimize her time so that everyweighed in at 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and 18 room working on their pieces. one can get time to practice with her. inches long, and will be referred to as “Charlie”. “Our meetings will be quick and efficient,” The singers also got advice, and pracStudents and faculty are excited about the were the words of Dr. Wu addressing the tice time, from vocal teacher Mrs. Judith fresh faces, and cannot wait to greet these new matter of practice time with the performers. Gray Marturana. She gives a number of the babies! She knew she had a lot of songs to learn and singers private voice lessons and was kind
Vocal Cabaret
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April 24, 2015
No Bahr Too High By Sam Mogul
On April 11, it was announced that newcomer Peter Bahr would be the All-School President for the 2015-16 school year. On April 6, Peter Bahr, Derrick Burt, Noah Faison, Chris Maratea, Minh Nguyen, Samantha Reagan, and Terryl Wilson gave their case for All-School President in front of the entire Berkshire School. Each candidate gave a brief opening remark Faison gave his speech via video from China, where he is studying abroad, Nguyen gave his speak in the form of a spoken word poem, and both Bahr and Burt introduced the slogans “Raising the Bahr” and “Free the knee,” respectively. Each candidate was then asked a question that they were forced to answer on the spot, which is often considered to be the most dif-
ficult part of the whole meeting. When asked about a program that he thought should be stronger, Maratea said that he believes the Big/Little Brother/Sister bond between III and V former should be greater. The candidates then gave short final remarks. Both Wilson and Reagan remarked that while they would like to win, they both stated that they would be happy to have any of the candidates as All-School President. At lunch that day, all students, forms IIIV, went to the polls at lunch. A runoff election was needed to determine a true winner between Derrick Burt and Peter Bahr, and on Friday, the students went back to the polls in Benson Commons.
The New Leadership Application
By Lexi Merison As the fourth quarter is under way, many sition the same amount of responsibility. juniors begin to prepare for their senior year. Not to lower the importance of prefects, With this being said, juniors begin applying as they are the students that sit on the honor for leadership positions. In the past, the lead- committee, but this new application creership application has only been for prefect ates more opportunities for students to get candidates. However this year a slight change involved. has been made to the leadership application. Berkshire has expanded leadership opFor the first time the application has an portunities by creating a number of positions area where the applicant lists their preference to be filled. The newest addition to student for which position they hope to fulfill in the leadership being, the Benson Commons upcoming year. Proctor. Ranging from prefects to philanthropy The purpose of the Benson Proctor is to there are seven positions to be filled by “work closely with the Student Life Office, roughly forty rising seniors. These positions student government, student activities, and President Peter Bahr poses for photographer Annette Key all aim to get the students heavily involved the Director of Berkshire’s Custodial Departin the running of the school. The leadership ment to insure all events and daily activities Vocal Cabaret positions aim to maintain a healthy school held in Benson Commons and the Student continued from page 1 through the relationship of both student Center are organized and supported by enough to come to the dress rehearsal for Cableaders and the administration. students, faculty and families of Berkshire According to Mr. Quilty, the administraSchool. Some of the Benson Commons Proc- aret to offer her advice to each performer. The turnout for the event was great, every tion has made this minor change of directing tors responsibilities include; serving as Head seat was filled with students, teachers and parthe application not at prefects, but rather at Waiters for Community Dinner, being reents. There were even people standing behind leadership throughout the school in order sponsible for student lead initiatives focused the chairs and on the second floor watching of creating a consistency in what the school on the improvement and maintenance of the from above. asks of student leaders. facility and to act as the main student liaiDuring the show Gerry dedicated the song The 2015 application gives students runson between the school and the Post Office, “To Build a Home,”by The Cinematic Orchesning the chance to communicate which Bookstore, Shawn’s Place, and Sage Dining tra, to all of the memories that he has made position they find themselves fulfilling rather Services.” during his time at Berkshire. then awarding them a position in which they Over all the administration is eager for the “My favorite piece was hands down O’Sole do not feel fit to lead. upcoming year as they have expanded leadMio,” says Gerry Gimenez. “It was so much Over the years many students have come ership opportunities to improve the structure fun to do as a trio.” Similar feelings were to believe that prefect is the most important and organization of the student government. expressed by a number of the audience memstudent leadership position offered. This new With the overall goal of having students bers. application looks to give each leadership poheavily involved in the running of the school.
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Promposals By Olivia Good
‘Tis the season, and preparation for prom is buzzing throughout Berkshire’s campus. It is an exciting time of year for students, as the unpredictable ‘promposals’ begin to occur more frequently everyday. It has become a hot topic around campus and more and more people are dying to know “who’s going with whom?” Along with the excitement, some students are also overcome with nerves and anxiety as they prepare to ask their special someone. In the past, Berkshire has set the bar high for memorable ‘promposals’, so a lot of thought and creativity is placed behind the asking process. Here are examples of some promposals so far. Liza Jane Branch ‘15 hung a colorful array of posters with a poem written out, asking Derrick Burt ‘16 to prom across the Berkshire Hall atrium. Joel Mayo ‘15 designed a replica of the signs seen at amusement parks, which mark the height each person must be to ride a specific roller coaster. Instead, Joel’s sign marked the height Sandra Stephan ‘15 had to
be in order to refuse his invitation to prom. Sandy didn’t make the cut standing 2 inches too short, looks like she’ll be riding with Joel to prom. Mike Schiffer ‘15 applied his advanced math-science research skills by spelling PROM with yeast on a petri in the lab for Elizabeth Hosage ‘15. Olivia Silverman ‘15 was surprised when a drone landed next to her outside of Godman, carrying a note with “prom?” written on it. Credit to Pete Giordano’s ‘15 creativity. Brooks Kiley ‘15 found a song on Spotify named “Maggie will you go to prom with me?” and played it for Maggie Curran ‘17 when she walked back to her dorm from Berkshire Hall. For many seniors, prom will come with bittersweet feelings. It will be their last formal school dance and last high school prom. This year’s theme for Prom will be Oscar Night, and everyone is preparing to ‘dress to impress’ for the red carpet event.
April 24, 2015
Ladybugs Take Over Chelsea Leeds
As soon as I stepped into my room after a refreshing three-week vacation, I witnessed a shocking site: ladybugs everywhere or specifically Asian lady beetles. Dead and alive, they were scattered on the floor and windowsills. I immediately walked out and texted the head dorm parent of Spurr, Ms. Cohan. I refused to go back into the room, so I waited in a friend’s room until my roommate, Mary Corcoran, returned. This was just the beginning of an ongoing struggle Mary and I face everyday. Regardless of the fact that we keep our windows locked and the shades down, they always come. They cover the windows and crawl on the walls and at worst fly around the room. Our strategy to tackle this issue is a handheld vacuum that Mary purchased the week we got back from break for the sole purpose of getting rid of them. It is convenient and far easier than using the huge Spurr vacuum. While I was avid about sucking away the bugs in the beginning, Mary has taken over and continuously vacuums throughout the day. With a small amount research, we were able to discover why all the ladybugs gravitate to our room only. Southwestern sun exposure seems to be the answer. Due to the position of our room in Spurr, the ladybugs try hard to make their way through small cracks and windows to find warmth. While Mary and I have had a difficult experience with the ladybugs this year, we are not the only ones. All over campus ladybugs make their way into buildings, forming blankets on walls and piles inside light fixtures. To gain a greater understanding of ladybugs and their habits, I consulted Tom Tyning, a professor at Berkshire County College and expert in vernal pools and amphibians. When I described the problem I was facing, he enlightened me with the fact that most of the ladybugs found in the area are not native, but instead brought in by gardeners from China. I also discovered that the ladybird beetle species resumes its activity in March and April, which led to the aggregation of ladybugs in my room when I was away on break. The final piece of information he shared with me gave me hope: ladybugs start to leave the indoors and venture outside by May. Fingers crossed.
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April 24, 2015
Hit the Ground Running By Emily Czajkowski
Track and field is off to a quick start; they had their first meet on Saturday at Berkshire, where the boys and girls teams raced against Williston and Canterbury. The boys’ team beat both Williston and Canterbury putting them in first place and the girls team beat Canterbury but lost to Williston, putting them in second place. The track and field team has not had ideal weather so far, but they have been making the best out of it, Olivia Silverman (’15) shared, “There has been a lot of rain so practicing outside has been a struggle. We are doing well for the conditions we have had to practice with,” She said, “It definitely has had an affect on our Photo of Terryl Wilson ‘16 and Komar Martinez-Paiz ‘15 by Lyn Biasin. Submitted by CoachCohan. practices. It is very hard to practice for track indoors, but we have been doing well.” Another member of the track and field program, Terryl Wilson (’16), added, “When the weather is not great we practice inside the Jack which isn’t too bad, we always have somewhere to go when we can’t be outside.” The remainder of the season is looking good for both of these strong track and field teams, and when asked what their goals are for the rest of the season Silverman and Wilson had very similar responses. Silverman eagerly shared her goal, “I want to make New England’s again in all of my events and I really want to break the high jump record for girls.” Likewise, when asked what his goals were for Boys’ varsity tennis poses after a huge win. the rest of the season, Wilson said, “My goals are to go to New England’s and finally get a first place medal in my race. I will work hard and make sure I do my workouts to the best of By PJ Webb my ability.” Berkshire’s tennis campaign of 2015 has potential we should have a really good shot.” The track and field team looks forward to large hopes and expectations. Both the Boys The boys hope to continue their strong start a great season and continues to practice like and Girls aim to follow the culture set by at Williston on Wednesday. champions. previous teams, and to continue to carry out The Girls team, who finished secBerkshire’s strong tennis reputation. ond in New England just last spring, is back The Boys team, who return five of six and reloaded after losing several crucial starters from last spring, stand with a 2-0 seniors. Strong additions to the team include record; winning 7-0 against both Millbrook PG’s Taylor Wray and Marianna Echeverria. and Northfield Mount Hermon. New players The Girls are off to a 1-1 start. They faced a Editors to the lineup include post-grad Matt Daly tough Taft team this past Wednesday and Samantha Reagan ‘16 and sophomore Charlie Boyle. When asked unfortunately left with a defeat. However, Peter Dunn ‘15 about his hopes for season, newcomer Charon Saturday, the Girls showed incredible relie Boyle ’17 said, “Personally, I hope to imsilience with a huge 5-4 victory over Loomis Faculty Advisors prove my game both mentally and physically, Chaffee. When asked about her aspirations Mr. Perkins and to contribute to the team as best I can. for the 2015 season, Fearless leader Liza Ms. Woodworth As a team, we hope to be the first Berkshire Jane Branch ’15 said,“ I hope we can really Ms. McGovern tennis team to win the New England Chamcome together as a team and to go into every pionship. If we can compete to our highest match with a positive attitude.”
A Strong Start