NMH Summer Family Newsletter | July 26, 2024
Gre et ings from NMH Summer!
Another full and exciting week here at NMH Summer – with just one more engaging, purposeful week to go! Our 2-week students are in the swing of their courses and activities, and our 5-week students and teachers already are gearing up for final projects and assessments
NMH Summer teachers continue to amaze and impress with their creativity! Here are just several examples: Our geometry class visited the local Peace Pagoda to apply their geometry and trigonometry skills to measure its dimensions. Our community service class visited Just Roots, a local CSA, to assist in harvesting vegetables and then helped to prepare them for meals at the Stone Soup Cafe, a local food kitchen Students in NMH Summer ar ts and M A K E classes are preparing to share their work at the upcoming galleries at the end of this week (see below) This week our ELI students and their teachers transformed Grandin Lounge into a full-bodied, high energy international sharing experience (see below, too). And public speaking students will put their new skills to the test as they orate and declaim at this week’s Summer Showcase
The annual NMH Summer Talent Show returns this weekend featuring student, faculty and teaching fellow talents The NMH Summer Volunteer Stage Band will make its debut and a professional mentalist also will enter tain all. (He is not your grandparents’ mind reader…). At our all-campus meeting, Wallace and South Crossley Halls contributed homemade videos And the enterprising residents of Hayden Hall set up their own cosmetology shop and are offering free facials, make up and braiding after evening study hall
This summer we have revived our day-long visit to the cradle of American freedom – Boston, MA This Sunday, a large cohor t of NMH Summer students and teachers will enjoy a fun day of sightseeing, food and walking in the steps of our New England patriots of yore. And while the redcoats are not coming NMH Summer also has stunning, must-have hats for sale Encourage your children to get you one!
You're invited to join us on campus to witness some of the end-of-NMH-Summer projects, sharings, and creations this Friday, August 2, 2024:
○ Ar t and Maker Galleries 2:45-3:15 pm, Rhodes Ar ts Center
○ Summer Showcase, 3:15-4:15 pm, Rhodes Ar ts Center
(Note that the very popular end-of-NMH Summer dance also occurs on this Friday from 8:00-11:00 pm Many students are planning to attend this annual dance )
Follow us on social media, please!
Charlie Tierney, NMH Summer Director for the NMH Summer Team #NMHSummer, #NMHSummer24
On July 26th, 2024, the NMH Summer English Language Immersion (ELI) program celebrated its third annual Cultural Jubilee Every student in the program par ticipated by sharing a traditional family dish, a craft, a performance, and various other aspects of their cultures The students were very excited and proud to share par t of their culture with the NMH Summer and NMH community Each student also shared a favorite song from their respective country, which was played in the background
In kitchens across the NMH Summer campus, preparation of 16 different dishes took place on Thursday evening and Friday morning, featuring cuisines from six different countries: China, Japan, Ecuador, Germany, Vietnam, and Thailand. Among the dishes were Tangyuan, Malatang, Okonomiyaki, Milk tea, dumplings, Tanghulu, green tea and dango, and a traditional schnitzel and potato gratin from Germany.
Visitors and par ticipants experienced interactive stations, such as calligraphy, Chinese ar ts and crafts, Kehaigiri (foam sword fighting), Ecuadorian chocolate and some norms, Chinese accessories from the Han Dynasty, and Chinese knots
Overall, the event was a huge success, filled with happiness and positive energy
NMH Summer Scorecard
NMH Summer’s popular Student vs Faculty Soccer Match-Up continued this week on Thursday evening. After a series of losses, the faculty enjoyed their outing against the 9-12 grade students with a 4-0 win over these younger and faster opponents The Faculty also posted a win over the NMH Summer 7-8 grade squad this week with a 2-0 victory. One more set of titanic contests remain in this summer soccer series
This Tuesday, NMH Summer teams traveled to Cushing with some scores to settle after the last NMH-Cushing matchup Phoenix-like, NMH Summer teams rose from the ashes of prior defeat and handed Cushing multiple losses in front of their home fans. While both NMH Summer basketball teams struggled, the rest of the teams managed respectable wins Huzzah!
Community Games! All Are Welcome to Play
Saturday Morning Programming: College Prep, Y.O.U. and Doughnuts!
Each Saturday morning, all NMH Summer students and faculty members gather outside the Rhodes Ar ts Center to enjoy delicious local doughnuts and chat with friends and colleagues. After doughnuts, students entering grades 10-12 enjoy our College Prep workshop, designed by the College Counseling Team at NMH And students entering grades 7-9 join our ‘Identify Y O U’ program..
For students in grades 10-12, the College Prep program aims to build confidence and reduce the stress surrounding the college application process NMH Summer is proud to incorporate college preparation sessions for all high school students each Saturday morning, in order to ensure that they depar t with a better sense of who they are and what they are looking for as they approach this next adventure Through lectures, writing workshops, local college visits, discussions about both domestic and international oppor tunities, and meetings with admissions officers and current college students,, we intentionally prepare each of them to begin this impor tant process!
For all students in grades 7-9, NMH Summer’s ‘Identify Y O U ' curriculum develops student understanding of wellness, motivation, empathy, leadership, and community In dormitory, advisory, and all-campus meetings, students par ticipate in activities, collaborate on ideas, and reflect on their appreciation of the topics The ‘Identify Y O U ’ program emphasizes the impor tance of community, belonging, and inclusion, and how to foster a safe and suppor tive environment for all par ticipants Activities have included a campus-wide scavenger hunt, thank you note writing, meditation, yoga, poetry, dance, and theater improv games. Along the way, each student gains a better understanding of who they are as individuals and as community members!
“Talk Amongst Yourselves” NMH Summer’s No-Tech/Low-Tech Mealtimes
To build campus community, foster friendships, and encourage mealtime conversations, NMH Summer has maintained a no-technology policy during lunch (Monday - Friday) and during dinner (Monday - Thursday) So, no cell phones, earbuds, headphones, smar twatches, laptops or tablets in use at the tables in Alumni Hall during the designated meals. In addition, cell phones are collected from students during their classes and study halls (“low-technology”), and they are not allowed to use their cell phones during activities or all-campus meetings The limited device use at NMH Summer provides students impor tant breaks from screen time and promotes greater connectedness, belonging and understanding among our community members
Red Pickup Truck Cafe
Every week during NMH Summer, the Red Pickup Truck Cafe has created convivial social time following study hall while providing fun evening treats for sale Selections have included cheeseburgers, soft pretzels with mustard, bubble tea, snowcones, walking tacos, rootbeer floats, and Fenway Franks For Free each Friday!
Hat ’s Off! NMH Summer “Merch” Available
Recently arrived! We have a limited number of handsome NMH Summer ball caps available for purchase at the NMH Summer office. Just $25 for these stylish additions to anyone’s smar t summer wardrobe Students may pay cash or use their NMH account card A nice looking hat and great memory piece for all NMH Summer students and their families! Why not get 2!
NMH Summer Activity Programming and Excursions
Check out NMH Summer’s on-campus and off-campus excursions and activities from this past week AND for the week ahead Additional on-campus activities include open gym, swimming, pickleball, sand volleyball, outdoor basketball, hiking, and more This coming week’s list will be shared with your students on Sunday. Please encourage them to sign up for this coming week’s programming by the Monday afternoon at 1:00 pm deadline Some excursions and activities require parental waivers and additional fees.
NMH Summer Activities Enjoyed July 22 - July 28
Monday, July 24
Student vs. Faculty Basketball
Wednesday, July 25
On-Campus: Cookie Decorating and Spikeball
Whitewater Rafting
College Visit: Smith College
Ingleside Mall
Greenfield Movie: Twisters
Mini-Golf
Friday, July 26
Saturday, July 27
Sunday, July 28
Swamp Bats Baseball Game (All 7th-8th)
Fenway Frank Friday
College Prep and Y.O.U. Programming
NMH Summer World Famous Doughnuts
On-Campus: Movie and Popcorn
Local Town Tour: Brattleboro, VT
Paintball
FunZ Trampoline Park
Ice Skating
On-Campus: Mentalist and NMHS Talent Show
On-Campus: Morning Car toons
Trip to Boston, MA
Laurel Lake
Creamie / Corner Store Trip
NMH Summer Activities Planned for July 29 - August 2
Monday, July 29
Wednesday, July 31
Thursday Aug 1
Friday, Aug. 2
On-Campus Community Game: Basketball
On-Campus: Slip ‘n’ Slide, Spikeball, & Ice Cream
College Visit: Amherst College
Ingleside Mall
Mountain Coaster & Creamie
Blueberry Picking
Yankee Candle
Final Student vs. Faculty Soccer Game
Ar t and Maker Galleries, 2:45-3:15 pm
Saturday, Aug 3
Summer Showcase, 3:15-4:15 pm
End-of-Summer Summer Dance, 8:00-11:00 pm
NMH Summer World Famous Doughnuts
NMH Summer Faculty Spotlights
Hanane Boumghait
Hanane, born and raised in New Jersey, is proud of her Moroccan heritage. She taught ESOL in Morocco for 7 years. Back in the U.S., Hanane has worked as a preschool teacher for several years then transitioned to working in special education in Avon, CT, for the past 4 years This is Hanane’s first NMH Summer experience teaching ELI and serving as Wallace Hall house director. FUN FACT: Hanane loves to dance and taught it in Morocco. Alex Duquette
Alex just completed his first year teaching Chemistry and coaching boys rowing and girls hockey at NMH Originally from Western Massachusetts, Alex studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Lewis & Clark University for his B.S. degree. Currently pursuing his masters in education as a UPenn Fellow, Alex is teaching Algebra 1 and living at North Crossley Hall for his first NMH Summer!
Leslie Fitzpatrick
Leslie teaches middle school science in NH after 23 years of high school and university teaching. A former college professor (Mercyhurst University and the University of New Hampshire) specializing in forensic anthropology and stable isotope biogeochemistry, Leslie earned her Ph D from the University of Wyoming in Anthropology/Bioarchaeology, her M.A. in Anthropology/Bioarchaeology from Georgia State University, her mathematics/special education teaching certificate from the University of Georgia, and her B S in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech Leslie is teaching forensic science and marine biology at NMH Summer.
Jeremy Geragotelis
Jeremy is working on his Ph D in American Studies/English at UMass Amherst and joins the NMH community for his first summer teaching College Writing. Jeremy graduated from Bennington College and received his M.F.A. from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop in 2022. Outside of his work as an academic, Jeremy is a published playwright and composer and has received several national awards for his music theater pieces: The Preparation to the Death of Mary Dyer and It’s Like Riding a Bike.
Tobias Hughes
Toby Hughes is a Class of 2022 NMH alumnus and an ultimate frisbee phenom who has lived in beautiful western Massachusetts his whole life (so far). A student at Kenyon College in Ohio, Toby is majoring in Religious Studies with minors in French and Anthropology He has always loved the positive environment an engaged classroom creates for a student, so now he is eager to facilitate that as a teaching fellow at NMH summer. According to Toby, every student has so much to share when they actually feel excited to come to class!
Harrison Keator
Another proud NMH alumnus, Harrison Keator is a 2021 graduate from NMH and is currently a student at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania He plays on the men's soccer team and is studying applied health science with a pre-med concentration. For Harison it has been a joy this summer to spend time growing with, instructing, and coaching students in Wallace Hall, in the Forensic Science, Marine Biology, and Astronomy classrooms, and on the soccer field
Kyle Kretzer
This will be Kyle’s third year as NMH’s Director of the Center for Academic Strategies and Achievement (CASA), yet this will be Kyle’s first time working with NMH Summer In addition to working with teaching fellows on learning skills training, Kyle is shifting gears and teaching the 2-week Pre-Algebra mathematics intensive course. Kyle earned their undergraduate degree in German at Mount Holyoke College, an M Ed at Springfield College, along with graduate certificates and coursework from Westfield State College, Simmons College and University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Grace Rehnquist
Grace completed her 9th year at NMH, serving as an associate dean of students, girls varsity basketball coach, and the Class of 2025 adviser Grace knows western Massachusetts and graduated from Williams College with a B A in History She has since earned a masters in Sport Management from Southern New Hampshire. Prior to becoming associate dean, Grace was an admissions counselor. At NMH Summer she is debuting in the “Boarding School Prep” class
Jackie Ricca
Jackie began at NMH Summer as a teaching fellow in 2018 and returns this summer as a lead teacher in Field Biology Her background is in the sciences and outdoor experiential education. She earned my Bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College where she double majored in Earth and Oceanographic Sciences and Environmental studies as well as minored in Education And she earned her M S in Environmental Education from Bard College Center for Environmental Policy During the school year, she teaches 7th and 8th grade science at the Horace Mann School in New York City.
Nathaniel Simpson
A member of the NMH Class of 1989, Nat holds the record as the most veteran teacher at NMH Summer with 23 years. He first taught Spanish and then moved over to ELI/ESOL/ESL 15 years ago For Nat, each summer is an experience to meet a new group of motivated, bright, and diverse students from many countries. Their backgrounds, experiences, and goals always teach him so much about their cultures and personalities, and each summer is always a new one–never the same as before! During the school year, Nat teaches at Williston-Northampton.
Spencer Spivy
Spencer grew up in San Francisco, California and attended Williams College as an undergraduate. He now lives in New York City and is pursuing his masters in music composition for media at New York University Spencer sought out NMH Summer because he has an itch to teach, coach, and get outdoors this summer. Spencer is coaching NMH Summer students as they get stronger and healthier in Peak Performance.
Tiffany Thiri
Ti any returns for her 2nd year at NMH Summer. She has worked as an educator for two decades, and this is her fifth year at NMH, where she lives in Shea Family Cottage with her two daughters and two cats She has a BA in Religious Studies and Political Science from Barnard College, and a MST in Mathematics from Pace University. When she is not teaching math and leading the Model United Nations program at NMH, she enjoys exploring the world by reading books and traveling with her kids
Amanda Thibodeau
Amanda hails from Lebanon, New Hampshire, and has just graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in History Education for grades (5-12) This year she will be living in Thailand as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant This is her first time at NMH Summer She is excited to expand her knowledge of ELI at NMH Summer and to become a better educator by learning along with her students.
NMH Summer Wise-Words-of-the-Week Posted Daily
““A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.”
- Helen Keller
“Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
- Lake Wobegon, MN
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
- From Poem 133: The Summer Day, Mary Oliver
“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."
- Emily Dickinson
"You'll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind."
- Irish Proverb
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
- James Baldwin
“The harder I work the more I live.”
-George Bernard Shaw
“Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you're destined for. But don't hurry the journey at all.”
From poem Ithaka (1911) by Constantine P. Cava
NMH Summer Weather on Campus – Past Week-At-A-Glance
Sat, July 20 Sunny, Glorious Day! 82 73
Check out current NMH Summer campus weather conditions here.
Our NMH Summer team is always ready to assist you:
Louisa Edwards (Assistant to the Director) ledwards@nmhschool.org 413.498.3290 (general questions - travel, courses, and so on)
Loubna Boumghait (Assistant Director - English Language Immersion) lboumghait@nmhschool org 413.498.3083
Rebecca Ramos
(Assistant Director - Campus Life & Enrichment)
bramos-s@nmhschool org
413.498.3270
Charlie Tierney (Director)
ctierney@nmhschool org
413.498.3290
Please note that your first contact point should always be your student’s advisor.
The NMH O’Connor Health Center team is available for all your medical questions at nurses@nmhschool org or call (413) 498-3555 between 8:00 am - 8:00 pm EST
Should you need to contact us for emergencies outside of office hours you may call the NMH Summer Duty Dean at 413.498.3326
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“Ruthie” – NMH Summer’s newest mascot! Geometry and Trig and Pagodas - Oh My!
Solutions all around us at NMH Summer…
Stunning NMH Summer evening on soccer pitch.