Step Inside Spring 2011 by Williston Northampton School

The Williston Northampton School

tep nside S I

19 Payson Avenue, Easthampton, MA 01027 | 413.529.3000 | www.williston.com

Abbie Foster ‘16, Olivia Foster ‘14, Ashley Wong ’11, Ross Ewing ‘11, and Tony Alvarez ’11 Read about them inside!

hat does it mean to be a part of a community? At Williston it means that you’ll find a lot of great people who do a lot of interesting things and who are really interested in what you are all about. Here people don’t see themselves as just one thing or one “type” of student. Our football players act in the play, our soccer players sing with the Caterwaulers or Widdigers, our artists are good at geometry. One of our best math students also climbs mountains.

Because no one is restricted to being a part of just one group, great collaborations happen here all the time, both inside the classroom and out. You could find yourself with your geometry class at an art gallery along with your friends who are taking drawing, because your teachers work closely with each other. You could collaborate with your sister on a website about a topic that’s really important to you, like Olivia and Abbie Foster have. Or you could find that your very best friend is someone who comes from a completely different background than you do, but he or she still knows you better than anyone. In a great community, everyone knows each other and genuinely cares about each other. That’s what you’ll find here at Williston. Here, everyone wants everyone else to succeed—and every day, our students experience the joy of not just having succeeded, but being able to share that success with people who care.

WILLISTON LEXICON

Insider’s Guide to Some of Williston’s Daily Chatter

Sammy Card & Button Bucks Named for Samuel Williston, button manufacturer and founder of Williston in 1841, these cards are more than identification cards. They are also swipe cards for keyless dorm access and they allow students to purchase items on and off-campus, without using cash.

Proctor Student proctors lend peer support. Living in the dorm that they are assigned to, they provide friendship and advice to students every day.

ECB In the Reed Campus Center, the StuBop (student snack bar) offers quick food including the popular and tasty egg, cheese, and bacon (ECB) on your choice of bread.

WillyNet An intranet for students, parents, faculty, and alumni that acts as an information hub for the school.

Meet WILLISTON w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / w i l l i s t o n n o r t h a m p t o n

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INITIATIVE

Educating Their Peers about the Law fter their school day, athletics,

and homework are done, sisters Olivia and Abbie Foster are still not quite ready to

relax. The two run their own website, TeenJury.com, which aims to educate young people about how law and the judicial system affect teens. The site summarizes current U.S. Supreme Court cases and other notable legal issues that have importance for younger Americans so readers can more easily understand how the courts work.

ABBIE FOSTER ’16 Hometown: Longmeadow, MA Interests: Law & graphic design Kudos: Teenjury.com Extracurricular: Art

Olivia conceived of the project after hearing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer give a talk in nearby Springfield. She was able to meet with the justice after his talk, and he invited Olivia and her father to sit in on Supreme Court arguments when they visited Washington, DC, last November. “We saw two totally different cases,” Olivia says. “That’s what I love about law. Lawyers and courts work on so many different things.” TeenJury.com is always changing as well— the sisters update it several times per week. Abbie, who is interested in a graphic design career, takes care of the site’s look and feel, while Olivia writes many of the articles. Sometimes Abbie or other young writers contribute articles as well.

Olivia decided that creating a website would be the best way to spread the word about how the law and judicial system affect teens, since not everyone can travel to the Supreme Court as she was able to. “I wanted a way to both use my knowledge and to spread knowledge,” she says. To keep up with what’s happening in the courts, she researches legal issues regularly, writing and posting 2-5 articles per week. The goals of TeenJury.com are the same as most Web publications: to grow readership and to educate readers; and the Fosters have found success with both. Visitors to the site can learn interesting facts about cases ranging from alleged discrimination against religious organizations at a state university to alleged price fixing of music downloads. The site has already received several thousand visits from readers in over 50 countries. Of her Williston experience, ninth grader Olivia says that when she was looking at schools, “Williston looked perfect.” She was intrigued by the extensive campus, “which felt like a college.” She was attracted to the many athletic options and the strong academics. Additionally, she says, “everybody looked so friendly.”

Diversity

OLIVIA FOSTER ‘14 Hometown: Longmeadow, MA Interests: Law & writing Kudos: Teenjury.com Extracurricular: Golf, field hockey, and squash

Now she loves being a part of The Williston Northampton School community. “I love the sports program here at Williston,” she declares (she plays field hockey, squash, and golf). Not surprisingly, her favorite class is World Civilizations, in which students explore major historical themes through close examination of several of the world’s distinct civilizations. Seventh grader Abbie enjoys Williston’s Middle School and is already looking forward to joining her sister in the Upper School. “Williston seems like the best fit for me,” she says. “Everybody fits right in, and the teachers are so nice and understanding.” The sisters agree that maintaining their website is both challenging and fun. That’s what they have found in their Williston educations as well. “It has helped me grow as a person,” Olivia says. “I have learned so many things here, and have made friends from all over the world. I love to be challenged. Being at Williston gives me that opportunity, along with so many more.”

Each year during the annual Diversity Conference, students, faculty, staff, parents, and alums share their experiences with diversity through workshops. This year Advanced Photography students photographed many members of Williston’s community throughout the day and recorded their thoughts on diversity.

Henry Wheeler ‘11

Sarah Hubbard ‘12

Alan Lipp

“To me diversity means the world. You, me, all of us.” – Alan Lipp

“Diversity is the uninhibited self-expression

{Passions & Interests}

Theater

Teaching and all things math-related

Fiddler and tune-writer extraordinaire

{Can be seen}

On stage in the spring play, Macbeth , and in Ford Hall (dorm), where he is a proctor

Autographing his newly published book, The Play's the Thing: Mathematical Games for the Classroom and Beyond

Riding her unicycle to class or winning national music contests

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WORK & PLAY

Four-year friends talk about Williston hen Tony Alvarez and Ross Ewing met during their ninth grade year at Williston, they instantly became good friends. Over the past four years their paths have coincided due to their many shared interests and experiences. As roommates they became dorm proctors and guided younger students to better work habits; they have played on the football field together and cheered on their schoolmates as fans in the stands; and they both have been Gold Key guides, welcoming families visiting the school and giving tours to prospective students. Now, as they make their plans for future years in college, they reflect on how they came to Williston and how their experiences at the school shaped them as individuals and friends.

TONY ALVAREZ ‘11 Hometown: Chicago, IL Interests: Football, politics & government, lacrosse, wrestling Kudos: Cum Laude Extracurricular: Acting, proctor, Gold Key, Writing Center tutor, ultimate bleacher spirit builder Williston Decision Ross: I am actually the fifth member of my family to come to Williston. So when I was applying to school, I applied to a bunch of other places because I didn’t really want to be another legacy kid. When I got in, I re-visited and I fell in love with it and liked it a whole lot more than anywhere else that I checked out. What first struck me about Williston was just how friendly everybody is. It’s an open, accepting community. Tony: In Chicago, there is a scholarship foundation called the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation. The scholarship is really based around getting kids into private schools. When I applied for the scholarship and got it, I did not want to leave home. Then I got into

ROSS EWING ‘11 Hometown: Keene, NH Interests: Football, creative writing, lacrosse, wrestling Kudos: Cum Laude Extracurricular: Acting, proctor, Gold Key, Writing Center tutor, ultimate bleacher spirit builder

Williston. My parents thought it would be good to apply since my sister was here too. And they were like, “Why don’t you go take a visit?” I stayed here overnight and it was great. I fell in love with dorm life. I think coming here helped me to become my own person.

team that I would go but we had football practice. So we were coming off the field late and I remembered the volleyball game. From the field, I just took the whole team and we ran into the stands in our full pads and we were cheering and really fired them up.

School Spirit

Four-Year Evolution

Ross: Last year we went to this girls’ basketball game and I don’t know why but … Tony: … we got into it. Ross: Yeah, we got into it. (laughter) And now that we are seniors we feel like we need to be the really loud, way-too-into-it fans. Ross: My favorite fan moment was during girls’ volleyball. They were playing this big rival team. I promised a bunch of people on the

Tony: I’ve gotten better grades, that’s for sure. I gained a greater work ethic. Also, I learned how to enjoy everything I could about the school. I especially took advantage of that this year, like going out for the play. This is a great community where you can open yourself up to anyone and anything. I think I grew to become a better person by immersing myself in the school. Ross: I was the opposite. I always

Marcia Reed

Timi Onafowokan ’11

n of individuals in a collective community.” –Sarah Hubbard ’12

got really good grades. But the only sports I played were a little basketball and tennis. I came here and had to choose three sports and I always wanted to play football. I was always that kid who thought, Ahh man, I’d be a really good football player if I tried. I wasn’t. (laughter from both) But I tried it and I struggled for three years. This year I found my niche in football as the really small fullback who somehow manages to block the big guys. I ended up being a football captain. I started wrestling my sophomore year and was a captain this year. I would say Williston has really helped me round out who I am and fill areas that I was missing before. Watch a video of Ross and Tony talk about Williston in the next issue of the Wildcat! www.williston.com/wildcat

Lindsay Lee ’11

“Diversity is Williston.” –Lindsay Lee ’11

{Passions & Interests}

Painting, collage, and teaching

Student government and football

{Can be seen}

Languages: Chinese, French, and English

At an art opening with her canvases hanging in a NYC gallery

At the podium addressing fellow students as senior class president

{Can be seen} In Logan (dorm) where she is a proctor

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IMAGINATION New Perspectives in Creativity

hen Ashley Wong ’11 came to Williston from Hong Kong three years ago, she didn’t know that art would become her passion. However, it didn’t take long for her to figure it out during her first fine arts class, Beginning Elements of Design. Since then, Ashley hasn’t looked back. She has filled her class schedule with art history and painting classes along with her calculus and English courses; she attended an intense pre-college summer program at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) with a focus on interior design; and now she spends her extra hours in the art studio focusing on the final project for her Directed Study in Studio Art with faculty member Marcia Reed. This semester Ashley has encountered a new creative experience. Ms. Reed and her advisees joined art classes at Riverside Industries—a non-profit organization that serves people with disabilities. Riverside Industries is located in Easthampton in a renovated old mill building a few blocks from Williston’s campus. The organization offers art classes to clients, giving them the opportunity to explore and express their creativity. In this semester’s classes, the students of Williston and Riverside worked together to create artwork as they talked about their processes and interests. During the final class preceding spring break, Williston students worked with Ms. Reed and Denise Herzog, art director at Riverside Industries, to select individual pieces for an exhibit in the Grubbs Gallery that will open in April. Ms. Reed explains, “All of my advisees this semester are art students. I thought this could be a good community service project and a way for them to interact with Riverside. I thought that it would be a great opportunity for them to curate the show, select the art, and help to hang it. They could be part of that whole process.” During the class at Riverside, a client named Jen turned to Ashley and asked what color she should use next on her drawing. Instead of telling her what color to pick, Ashley encouraged her to pick a color that she liked. Since the group began visiting Riverside, Ashley has been enthusiastic about the program. She says, “All the students have their own style. They are very independent. There is a student named Tony, his work is amazing! He captures so much detail.” “Ashley responded to the program. She is good with the students and so patient,” says Ms. Reed. “This may be her calling.” And maybe it is, but Ashley isn’t narrowing down her future prospects just yet. Now in her senior year, she has applied to Parsons, RISD, SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) and other competitive art schools. In developing her portfolio, Ashley has been working with a concept inspired by the ancient Chinese allegory of the frog in a shallow well. “It’s about a frog who lives in the shallow well and all he sees is the sky and he thought that was everything.” Creating upon this tale, Ashley’s paintings captured an extreme perspective as if seen from a well. She portrays the view of the sky of places she has lived including the skyline in Hong Kong and Easthampton, MA. Pointing to the final piece that she created for the project, Ashley says, “The last piece shows another city skyline … New York City … one that I don’t know yet!” Expanding her studies in perspective: this is one view Ashley is anticipating following graduation.

ASHLEY WONG ‘11 Hometown: Hong Kong, China Interests: All things visually creative Kudos: 2010 MVP for squash Extracurricular: Dance and choreography

Edward ‘77 & Emma Hing ‘14

Robert W. Hill III, Head of School

Rae Underberg ‘11

“Diversity is knowing who you are, accepting it, and accepting others for who they are.”– Emma Hing ’14

{Passions & Interests} Emma (daughter): Opera & theater tech Edward (father): Photography & teaching

{Can be seen} With a group of Williston students in India this summer

{Passions & Interests}

Education, family, and literature

Volleyball, basketball, and tennis

{Can be seen} All over campus!

{Can be seen} Accepting her Cum Laude certificate