Liberated Learners, Fall, 2012

FALL2012

LIBERATEDLEARNERS North Star member Sylvia Simmons looks on as Alumnus Jesse Shotland returns to share his photography skills with Mau Abascal’s Images class. photo by Michelle Alcott

New Friends, Old Friends

By Ken Danford, Executive Director

This fall we are setting forth on our seventeenth year of programming, and my sense of confidence and optimism about our approach is at an all-time high. Our current members and staff have established a daily atmosphere here that is full of fun, warmth, and purpose. Our updates from alumni who have moved on both recently and long ago are inspirational. And on a daily basis, I am able to offer hope and possibilities to inquiring families seeking something different for their teens who feel limited in school. The stream of visitors interested in replicating our model elsewhere forces me to carefully evaluate North Star through fresh eyes, and I see a solid organization worthy of emulation.

These first few weeks of fall have been a delightful time of reconnecting with returning members and welcoming new families into our community. Program Director Catherine Gobron worked especially

hard over the summer to have our calendar more full on day one than ever before. Some of our new offerings include Arduino, Growing Up Female, Essays and Ideas, Real Numbers, and The Story of Science.

We especially welcome some new staff members in expanded roles. Josh Wachtel, in his first full year, and long-time staff member John Sprague are coaching a North Star Band and organizing a set of Variety Shows.

Ellen Morbyrne, supported by alumna and Assistant Theater Director Nia Steiner, now has two Theater groups.

Mauricio Abascal, teacher of Food, Images, Audio Recording, Movement, and Spanish Conversation, is now an official member of our staff. Lauren Wolk has moved into her position as Outreach Director, full of ambitious ideas. One of these great ideas includes an Ambassadors program that offers current members a role in promoting North Star with the public.

This group’s first plan is to assist with the production of this newsletter!

Meanwhile, the success of our summer Replication Workshop has led to a steady set of emails and phone calls from people around the country (New Haven, Boston, Colorado Springs, Portland OR, Ft. Lauderdale, Oakland) and around the world (Canada, Brazil, Ireland) who are interested in North Star. Joel Hammon, founder of The Princeton Learning Cooperative, is joining me in developing an organized approach to following up with and supporting these people and projects.

Every new year brings a certain amount of continuity and a certain amount of change. This fall the smoothness of getting started reflects our thoughtful staff and healthy participants. Please consider visiting one of our Open Houses to gain your own impression of our community.

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e-philanthropy event 12.12.12 North Star makes it possible for ANY family to choose an inspiring alternative to middle or high school.

That means we provide over $50,000 in fee reductions to families in the Pioneer Valley each year.

Please help us continue helping kids to THRIVE RIGHT NOW.

Help North Star with the $10,000 Golden Ticket on 12.12.12!

Your gift could be the one!

What is Valley Gives?

Valley Gives is a one-of-a-kind celebration of generosity for western Massachusetts. On 12.12.12, residents of Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties will join together for 24 hours in special events and online campaigns with the goal of getting thousands of Valley residents to make gifts to their favorite charities. In a single day we hope to raise many thousands of dollars to support the important nonprofits working to make our region an amazing place to live. Every gift will have greater impact as participating nonprofits

will be eligible on that day for special cash awards to fund their good work. $150,000 prize pool!

How does it work?

When donors come to the Valley Gives website between 12 AM and 11:59 PM on 12.12.12, they will be able to make gifts to their favorite nonprofits. At the end of 24 hours, the top three nonprofits that have raised the most money and the top three nonprofits that have the most donors will be rewarded with special grants of $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000.

This means if everyone in our

community gives $1, we could win thousands! The nonprofit in 12th place in each category will receive $1,200. In addition to those prizes, participating nonprofits will be eligible for special bonus gifts given to randomly selected winners.

Finally, one lucky nonprofit will receive a gift of $10,000 from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

What if I am an annual contributor to North Star?

Thank you! We ask that you make your yearly contribution via Valley Gives this year.

www.valleygivesday.org

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LIBERATEDLEARNERS Fall, 2012

This essay from Laura Ross is longer than our usual Liberated Learners essays. Laura has beautifully described her personal journey of the last few years, and I couldn’t find a word to eliminate. Laura has always possessed a strong degree of self-awareness, intellectual curiosity, and impressive talents.

This year she has made the decision to take some new risks.

Her desire to share her experience publicly is, in itself, a profound example of Laura’s choice to interact with the world in a new way. For me, her story is one of patience, resilience, and growth. It is uplifting and inspiring, and, in combination with her mother’s essay, explains why we believe North Star needs to exist. I am honored and delighted to have Laura share her life with our community.

-Ken Danford

Making the Impossible Possible.

by Laura Ross

As a child, I always loved school. The summer after sixth grade I couldn’t wait until the next school year started. Little did I know that seventh grade would change everything for me. It was radically different from sixth grade. We were becoming teenagers, and it was clear from the way the teachers treated us that this was not a good thing.

We were apparently incapable of making even the most basic decisions for ourselves. We had to raise our hands for permission to even use the restroom, a request that was almost always denied. I had begun to experience frequent stomach problems, and the feeling of being trapped in the classroom as my symptoms worsened gave me tremendous anxiety.

School had begun to feel like a stifling waste of time, a monotonous and degrading job that I had no way of quitting. I hated every minute of it.

Eventually it got so bad that I couldn’t even sit in a classroom without having a panic attack.

Every day I begged my parents not to make me go to school, and every day my mother would drive me there, park, unlock the doors, and say, “Okay, it’s time to go.” I would sob and plead with her and most days she would insist until I finally got out.

Other days she would finally give in and drive me home. Even at home, however, there was always the prospect of that next day at school. I saw no way out. Eventually the anguish I felt every day became

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too much, and I started to feel nothing at all. cried the whole way there, begging her not to Looking back, this was the hardest part of my life, make me go. When we got there she walked me and it’s still hard for me to talk about. It felt inside and instead of making me go to class we something like being constantly underwater, met with the guidance counselor. He claimed to be watching things going by from afar but not really willing to help, and we worked out a plan where I knowing or caring very much about them. More could go to school for just a class or two each day than anything, I just wanted to sleep, and it didn’t until I felt more comfortable. In actuality, however, much matter when or if I woke up. this arrangement only worked for a week or so; the

My parents finally pulled me out of school. school quickly began pressuring to attend more Despite our efforts we had received no support classes. I refused. At the time, it was from the school. In the last few weeks I had started unimaginable. Reluctantly, my mother pulled me hiding out in the bathroom or the guidance office out of school once again. We knew homeschooling for most of the day. I didn’t go to class. I couldn’t. wasn’t going to work for us. We were in desperate I left for February vacation and never went back. need of help.

We didn’t have a plan. My mother didn’t

Enter North Star. want to homeschool me but agreed to out of

In September of 2009, I knew almost necessity. It was very hard on her, and it was hard nothing about it. My mother had mentioned it to for me to see her struggling. It also became clear me only once, in passing, and from her description that we had very different ideas of what I had imagined it as just another school, another homeschooling should personal hell. My mother be. My mother viewed Over the years, confused relatives have had dismissed it it, very literally, as asked me this question a thousand times: immediately because of its school at home, lack of structure. When she “So, when are you going back to high whereas I was so looked it up a second time, exhausted after the however, it suddenly school?” whole ordeal that I just While I always try to politely explain my sounded like a miracle. wanted to spend my Within just a week or so of situation, it’s hard not to get frustrated officially pulling me out of time reading and because the answer, in short, is never. writing and not doing school she had arranged a much else. She visit. At this point I was persisted, however, and still skeptical. The idea of most days I would only work on two subjects – having to go to class with other kids my age math and Spanish – neither of which I was sounded terrifying. Still, I knew anything had to be particularly interested in. I was moody and distant better than returning my local school. I hoped that and she was frustrated and overwhelmed. It wasn’t somehow it would work out. a good combination. We barely made it to the end

That first meeting with Ken was wonderful. of the school year.

I was blown away by how respectfully he spoke to

It wasn’t until the summer that I finally me; it was nothing like the condescending derision began to recover. Spending time with my family I so often received from teachers. He asked me doing the things I love had allowed me to start what I liked to do outside of school and made me feeling like me again. For the first time in a long feel comfortable and, above all, heard. The time, I felt happy. Somehow, my mother got the fundamental principle of North Star (“You don’t idea that I wanted to return to school in the fall. like school? Don’t go.”) seemed incredibly foreign Neither of us have any idea how she got this in her and revolutionary to me. I loved the idea. I was head; I didn’t then, and I certainly don’t now. She immediately on board.

hired a tutor to get me up to speed on Algebra and

We came to North Star the next day and sat then expected I would just ease right back into the in the common room for what must have been school system. As the first day approached, I grew several hours. Every time anyone would come more and more bewildered. How could she downstairs to announce a class, my mom would possibly think I would go back? Nothing had nudge me and say, “Okay, go.” I knew it wasn’t changed. On the first day we drove to school and I possible for me to get through a class with my

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hard to believe I could ever have been so embarrassed about something so seemingly benign.

For the first time, North Star has given me control of my own life. Over the last year I have realized that I am no longer the person I was when I came here. I am more confident, more open, and more willing to take chances. I realized that the prospect of sitting in a class and talking to other kids my age was no longer frightening, so I decided it was time to finally give classes a try. This year I have been attending The Story of Science and Social Issues, as well as participating in both the North Star Band and the ambassadors program. I am also co-facilitating my own class, Growing Up Female, with my advisor.

Three years ago that would have seemed completely impossible.

North Star has also given me the space to really explore my interests, something that wasn’t possible with my hectic school schedule. In my time here I have discovered a passion for science that I never knew I had, and I have had the time and support to really delve into reading, writing, and, above all, music. During my time at North Star I have taken on three new instruments, and I’ve even experimented with vocals. As of this year I am playing in two different bands, one of which plays original music that I am proud of having contributed to. I’m a member of the North Star ensemble, as well as a percussion ensemble outside of North Star.

I also take three dance classes, participate in the Springfield Stars Club, and plan on auditing classes at Hampshire College and Springfield Technical Community College later this year. Without the confines of a standard high school curriculum I have been able to explore quantum physics, relativity, evolutionary biology, and many other subjects that barely merited a mention in traditional school.

I love North Star. I don’t think I can say that enough times. This is a wonderful, wonderful place, and I don’t know what I would have done if we hadn’t found it. Over the years confused relatives have asked me this question a thousand times: “So, when are you going back to high school?” While I always try to politely explain my situation, it’s hard not to get frustrated because the answer, in short, is never. I used to think that maybe if my health got better I might try to get back into school, but now the thought doesn’t even cross my mind. I couldn’t be happier, and I wouldn’t give this place up for anything.

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LIBERATEDLEARNERS Fall, 2012

anxiety, and I refused to go. It was starting to look like North Star might not work out after all.

My advisor, Susannah, found me later in the day. We had met briefly earlier when my mom had tried to convince me to go to her Writer’s Workshop.

We went outside, and I told her honestly why I didn’t think I could go to class. She explained to me that it was completely possible to go to North Star without going to classes. Instead, I could opt for only one-on-one tutorials. The idea still seemed daunting, but I really wanted to give it a try.

I started out by participating in just a few tutorials: philosophy with John and social issues with Ken, as well as weekly meetings with Susannah. It was wonderful having so many people for support. My meetings with Susannah really helped me to work through my anxiety, and it was wonderful to have someone to confide in. Coming to North Star was hard at first. I felt anxious being in a building with so many other teens, and I could hardly sit through even a one-on-one meeting without feeling some form of anxiety. Thanks to the constant support of everyone here, however, I began to feel more comfortable. Tutorials became easier, and I took on math and science as well. In addition to beginning to feel better about myself, I learned many new things and discovered interests I never even knew that I had. Both Ken and John really helped me to explore my own beliefs as well as the beliefs of others, and as that first year went on I became more and more comfortable with having views that were completely my own. I no longer worried what people would think of me if I disagreed with them. In my second year here I started a science tutorial with Sam and this is our third year meeting together. Over the past three years we have discussed everything from the inner workings of consciousness to the complex mechanics of string theory.

It has been absolutely incredible for me to have genuine, interesting conversations with adults that treat me like just another human being, and it has been amazing to be exposed to so many different viewpoints and to be part of a community that is so wonderfully accepting. I no longer feel like I have to wear jeans and a t-shirt to fit in. Without the support of my advisor and everyone else at North Star I don’t know how I would ever have overcome my anxiety. They are so incredibly supportive, and they have helped me learn to be honest and not be afraid of asking for help when I need it. Looking back, it’s

LIBERATEDLEARNERS Fall, 2012

I Have to Say, Life is Good.

By Laureen Ross, Laura’s mother

When we finally found North Star our family had been riding an emotional roller coaster for over a year with more terrifying downturns than I care to count. Until that year, school had always been great for Laura and she was a fantastic student. It all seemingly changed at the drop of a hat in seventh grade. Things spiraled out of control at an alarming rate. She wouldn’t get up in the morning; she begged not to go to school; she cried a lot. I’d go to bed each night hoping and praying she would be better in the morning.

She just got worse.

We tried to get her professional help, but there was no track for me to follow, no one to offer assistance. I was on my own and miserable. Laura was in a deep depression and this brought the whole family down. There was no choice but to pull Laura out of school. My husband had always been for homeschooling, not me, the one who would be in charge of homeschooling. I felt inadequate; it’s just not something I had ever imagined doing or desired to do. I reluctantly agreed and we muddled our way through seventh grade, both mother and daughter very unhappy.

The summer brought us some relief; Laura’s depression seemed to be lifting. I got it in my head that Laura wanted to give eighth grade a try. This was a huge mistake and soon we reached our lowest point.

We pulled Laura out again and this time for good.

We discovered North Star by word of her sixth grade Social Studies teacher. I called and Ken answered. He must have talked to this weepy mom for an hour. He gave me hope that Laura didn’t have to go

to school to be happy and successful. North Star was so different than any school I ever imagined. This concept was so foreign to me. I was the poster mom for traditional school. What about a high school diploma or college?

We enrolled Laura at North Star and soon discovered that going to classes wasn’t going to work for Laura. I began to wonder if the program was going to work after all. It wasn’t until Susannah (Laura’s advisor) had a little chat with Laura and arranged their first meeting that things slowly began to change. They met weekly and Laura looked forward to it. It was wonderful to see Laura happy again. Susannah arranged for Laura to do more tutorials and Laura began to blossom.

For the next three years Laura went to North Star one to two times per week for individual tutorials never any group classes or socializing, but this was okay. Susannah was Laura’s advocate; she helped me understand what Laura needed. She helped me realize that Laura could use that first year at North Star to heal and explore. I didn’t have to push her to do math, English and the rest of a traditional curriculum.

It has been quite the journey. I can’t say enough good things about the staff at North Star and how they helped save us and bring Laura back to us.

We are not perfect; we still have our issues to deal with, both emotional and physical, but I have to say life is good. I’m amazed at what Laura has embraced and accomplished so far this year and am very excited to see what the future holds.

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The North Star Garden!

A GIANT THANK YOU to our Garden Sponsors: Home Depot, Hastie Fence, Cowls Building Supply, RK Miles, Cook's Farm, Shumway and Sons, Rocky's Ace Hardware, Sears, Nasami Farm, Hadley Garden Center, Annie's Garden and Gifts, Amherst Farmer's Supply, and Target. This project was inspired and enabled by Catherine Gobron. Thank you to all volunteers who helped make this beautiful garden a reality.

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LIBERATEDLEARNERS Fall, 2012

TEACHER PROFILE Chloe Higginbotham:

Critical Media Collective,

the class I am offering at North Star this fall, was developed from my studies in Children's Media Analysis at Hampshire College and my active interest in Media Literacy Education. I believe that students need a chance to share their own existing media knowledge and learn how to analyze the pervasive qualities of media. During our meetings, we learn to deconstruct transnational media archetypes and popular icons, to which students may already relate. In class, we’ve investigated the most highly rated and watched videos on YouTube and learned what it takes to become YouTube famous. We discovered the most talked about YouTube celebrities are often teenagers. The teens in class immediately began to reflect on the reality of star power, and were able to see the ways in which media controls and distorts reality. We have explored consumer culture and the obsessive nature of collecting commodities. Members are excited to talk about the ways that media targets and monopolizes our head space. I am personally invested in media as a source of inquiry. While at Hampshire, I examined race and gender representations in media, radical education, and alternative learning spaces.

During my college career, I did internships with the Children's Museum of Manhattan and Kidspace at MASS MoCA, in museum education and curriculum development. My final thesis project at Hampshire took the form of an interactive gallery exhibition which incorporated my interests in exhibit development and museum education with my passion for children's media. Those interests have fueled the creation of this North Star class. North Star has created a special community where people feel comfortable and fully able to share their ideas-- that is a rare and wonderful quality.

Social Media: Stay Connected

You knew North Star had a FaceBook page.

But now we have a Twitter account!

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Daniel Brewer and NaNoWriMo Fourteen-year-old North Star member Daniel Brewer is a fantasy writer. This November he participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Additionally he organized a group at North Star to support fellow members with their writing endeavors.

Daniel says of his group, “It is a safe place to write and be heard.” Daniel elaborates that all his current members have practiced writing before joining the group. “But everyone develops different skills from their practice. In this group people can share the skills they’ve learned with others. That way we all develop by sharing everyone’s skills and knowledge.”

NaNoWriMo is run by a tiny but mighty nonprofit called the Office of Letters and Light.

Learn more at www.nanowrimo.org

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Rebecca Kirk spent September, 2012 interning at North Star.

She was conducting research with plans to open her own North Starinspired program at home, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

North Star... Why is Everyone Here so Happy?

by Rebecca Kirk

Star teens standing around or draped over the leather couch in the far corner of the room, goofing off and generally enjoying each other’s company.

Tanya, encouraged by her mother and Catherine, placed a package of cookies on the coffee table in the middle of the room, where the four of us were. No one noticed.

Catherine, hands to mouth, megaphone style, made the announcement that cookies were on the table. The “teen couch pod” immediately stopped, looked at the cookies, then, in unison, stormed the table, en masse, sweeping in like locusts and circling back to the couch.

Predictable teen behavior, thus far.

Next, Tanya’s mother called out, with megaphone hands, “And this is Tanya. She’s new here and she brought the cookies.”

Again the teen pod stopped, looked at Tanya, and this time all gave their full attention to the new girl. “Hi, come join us,” someone invited.

Tanya kept her distance, but offered an honest, “I’m new here and you’re scary.”

This opened up a riot of friendly bantering among the pod.

“Oh, we’re not so scary, but George here--you might want to be scared of him.”

“No, I’m afraid I must admit.

I’m the scariest one of all,” inserted After a month visiting, here is a another. Etc. beautiful scene I observed on my final Meanwhile, Amanda, day at North Star (names of teens disentangling herself from the mass, have been changed): walked gently forward toward the middle of the room. Stopping Tanya, a 17 year old, was at halfway, she extended her arm North Star near the end of the day for towards Tanya. “Come join us,” she her first time. Being new here, she invited. was pretty hesitant to join the Tanya was still unsure and shenanigans in the Common Room. did not step forward. A brief moment There were about eight or ten North I first visited North Star for three days in April. As a disillusioned public school teacher drop-out, I had spent the previous eight years exploring many different educational alternatives based on various philosophies: Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, Montessori, Multiple Intelligences, Expeditionary Learning, as well as the more radical Democratic Free Schools, Sudbury, and Summerhill. Each had some very valuable and innovative components.

At none did I encounter such happy and contented teens and adults as I witnessed at North Star: SelfDirected Learning for Teens.

Whatever they were doing, I wanted to find my way to it.

passed before Amanda quietly lowered her arm and her gaze and slipped back into the pod on the couch.

George continued talking to Tanya across the room about how scary he was because he grew so fast.

Someone else in the group started talking with him about the growth marks on the door post in the front entry.

The conversation struck me as both invitational, and, at the same time, very genuine. Nothing insincere here. And ever so slowly, as the pod continued chatting, including her with their gestures, Tanya made her way almost imperceptibly into the group.

It was like some sweet magnetic power drew her so gently that no one seemed to notice. And for the “teen couch pod,” it was really no big deal.

Welcome to North Star.

An hour or so later, as I was leaving the building, a few teens were hanging out on the front porch steps while waiting for their rides.

“Goodbye,” I said. “It’s been really great being here.”

“You’re leaving? For good?” they asked, surprised.

“Yeah. This is my last day.”

“Well, maybe you’ll be back again. Or at least let us know how things go with your center.”

I had no idea they were the least bit interested in what I was doing. “Yeah, maybe I’ll come back and bring some of the teens from my center with me,” I suggested. Their faces lit up. “That would be awesome!” We all smiled.

“Well, thanks for all your sharing with me.” I said, in closing.

“Yeah. And thanks for doing your part to make the world a better place,” Laila offered as we waved goodbye.

Thanks for the blessing, Laila.

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LIBERATEDLEARNERS Fall, 2012

What do the Feldenkrais Method, Contemporary Art, and North Star Have in Common? Lauren Wolk.

North Star’s new Outreach Director reflects on her place at North Star.

Hello North Star community! Please allow me to artist be translated to a public (usually through exhibition introduce myself. I come to this Marketing and Outreach making and essay writing) in a way that is both honest to position from a circuitous path. I am a practitioner of the the artist’s intentions but also leaves space for the viewers’ Feldenkrais method, which is a mode of neuro-muscular re- interpretations. It is a complex act of translation and education. I am also professionally trained as a curator of balance. It is not altogether dissimilar from communicating contemporary art. Additionally, I get fired up about the radical notion of North Star’s mission to skeptical or alternative education. How do these three seemingly anxious families. Through conversations and promotional disparate fields relate? In the Venn diagram of my life, materials, I help build the bridge for these families to walk there is quite a bit of overlap. over; I, along with the rest of the North Star staff, help ease On the body-work table: Feldenkrais is a body awareness their fears about pulling their child out of school. practice. It can be used for myriad “Choosing to live without school may purposes, but is often used to rehabilitate seem like a leap of faith. But it’s not injuries or neurological damage from jumping off a cliff; it’s simply a step in strokes. During a Feldenkrais lesson a the right direction.” (I share an office person is invited to find his/her own, with Ken, and this is the new slogan he’s unique way of doing a sequence of been muttering or shouting at me lately. simple movements nicely and easily. The What do you think?) strategies employed are a reduction of At home: I have spent years working as a effort, an elimination of self-judgment, a counselor, mentor, and teacher at various generative exploration of one’s own therapeutic educational programs for sensations. The founder of the method, teens. I experienced marginal success at Moshe Feldenkrais, believed that if each of them. Four years ago I took on people are able to find pleasing ways of two private home school students: my moving and of being themselves, that godson and my stepdaughter. At the time they will come to appreciate their own they were 12 and 8. I was overwhelmed. existence more fully. To make a How would teach them what they needed comparison: Feldenkrais is to to learn? How would I accommodate for conventional physical therapy what their age difference? What have I gotten Lauren with son Moses. Photo by North Star is to conventional schooling.

North Star alumnus Ben Rosser myself into? I had some requirements of For example, a PT might stress the them, but I let them steer much of their importance of lifting one’s leg ten more times, pushing own curriculum. The year was a blast. The kids blossomed. through one’s pain or limitations to reach a desired physical They were cheerful, curious, and creative. Now, at 16 and result. A Feldenkrais practitioner would invite the person to 12 they are both North Star members (he a veteran lie down, to explore movements of the leg (or other part of member and she a new one.) They come home glowing. the body) that feel easy, even pleasant to the person. This My godson, who struggled immensely in private school, method relies on the tenet: we learn best when we are spends his days at North Star playing music and asking comfortable. People often ask me, “What do you do in a philosophical questions about ethics, love, productivity, etc.

Feldenkrais lesson?” I give them the same answer I give to My stepdaughter, who was lethargic and depressed in people who ask me what kids do at North Star: It depends public school, came bouncing home last week exclaiming, on the person. Feldenkrais, like North Star, is an “I put a dead squirrel in the freezer! I have to skin it for my approach, not a formula.

Ancient Living Skills class next week!” I had never been so In the art gallery: The term curator is derived from a disgusted and so thankful at the same moment.

Latin word which means “overseer.” For centuries the role And so I assume my post at North Star with a deep of the curator has been twofold: to be the caretaker of a appreciation for its mission. Thanks to the current staff, collection of specific objects, but also to be the custodian of teen members, board members, and everyone else in the ideas related to those objects. The contemporary curator North Star community that has welcomed me with open ensures that abstract and often challenging ideas of the arms.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ALUMNI check in: Where are you now? We want to know! E-mail Lauren at lauren@northstarteens.org EMILY ODGERS STORMS DC

TWO NORTH STAR ALUNMAE ROCK OUT

Hannah Mohan (member 2007-08) and Rebecca Lasaponaro (member 2006-08) are members of And The Kids which won the Best New Band award in the Valley Advocate in September! Mark Roessler writes in The Advocate, “Their music is original, magical and downright exciting stuff. ...The band's adventuresome, playful spirit reminds me of several beloved misfit musical explorers.” And The Kids will perform at the Iron Horse in Northampton on December 6, 2012 to celebrate the release of their latest CD. To learn more visit: www.andthekidsmusic.com

Emily Odgers (member 2010-11) writes to us, “I am living and working at the William Penn House in DC, a hostel and Quaker center that provides lodging, service and community to travelers and local residents. Part of my work is simply helping run the hostel which houses people from all over the world. Other times, I am assisting in a service project such as weeding an elderly neighbor's garden or insulating their home before winter. I also organize service and learning programs for groups, such as a Civil Rights Seminar for a class of Evergreen College students coming in November. When not at work I am volunteering at a non-profit called Defending Dissent, taking part in a whole slew of learning and activist opportunities at the Washington Peace Center, writing lots and lots of poetry, and jumping on the plethora of learning and service opportunities DC has to offer.”

LIAM SAITO PERFORMS FOR TWYLA THARP

Liam Saito (member 2009-12) is currently in residence at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

Shortly after he arrived, Liam was called for an audition with dance legend Twyla Tharp, who was in town to produce her new ballet The Princess and the Goblin, co-commissioned by RWB and Atlanta Ballet. The cast featured company dancers, with guest star Paloma Herrera, a principal dancer of American Ballet Theater. A cast of children included roles for two teenagers—one boy and one girl. After two weeks of auditions, Twyla finally selected Liam and one of his classmates (doublecasting) for the role of the teenaged boy. Liam performed in four of the six shows when the ballet opened in October.

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If you support North Star annually, this year please make your contribution through Valley Gives,

the 24-hour e-philanthropy event of Western Massachusetts!

The 3 nonprofits that receive the most donations of any amount will receive prizes of $15,000, $10,000, $5,000!

Help us be one of them!

12.12.12

www.valleygivesday.org Thanks to our Business Sponsors! Bueno Y Sano, The Pilates Studio in Hadley, and Alternative Recycling Systems

North Star is a project of Learning Alternatives, Inc., a non-profit corporation under Massachusetts Law and Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

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A Project of Learning Alternatives, Inc.