BULLETINBULLETINSPR ING 2 011

T h e W i l l i s t o n N o r t h a m p t o n S c h o o l

John Hazen White ’76: Savings and Sustainability

Mr. Blanchette Says Farewell

Science Education, Then and Now

Eudora Welty: Photographs of the 30s and 40sDuring the 1930s, in her spare time as ajunior publicist for the WPA, Eudora Weltycaptured rural Mississippi with her camera.Her images convey an honest curiosity toward people affected by their Southernsurroundings during the Depression, andan engaging interest in the people andplaces that would later flourish in her stories. The Pulitzer Prize-winning authorwould later write, “Making pictures of peo-ple in all sorts of situations, I learned thatevery feeling waits upon its gesture; and I had to be prepared to recognize this mo-ment when I saw it.” Welty’s photographshave been exhibited in the Smithsonian,the National Museum of Women in theArts, the Museum of the City of New York,and now in the Grubbs Gallery in the ReedCampus Center. In conjunction with thePhotographers’ Lecture Series, a selectionof Welty’s silver gelatin prints were onview this spring, loaned from the collec-tions of John and Melody Maxey and BarryMoser and Emily Crowe. Ephemera andaudio narratives of people who met the author reounded out the exhibition, includ-ing a story by illustrator and former facultymember Barry Moser.

Nonprofit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDThe WillistonNorthampton School19 Payson Avenue

Easthampton, MA 01027

(413) 529-3000

www.williston.com

Change service requested

Parents: If this issue is addressed to your son or daughter who no longermaintains a permanent address at yourhome, please notify the Alumni Officeof the correct new mailing address bycontacting us at alumni@williston.comor (800) 469-4559. Thank you.

The WillistonNorthampton School

Please send class notes, obituaries, and changes of address to: The Williston Northampton SchoolAlumni Office 19 Payson AvenueEasthampton, MA 01027t(413) 529-3301f(413) 529-3427 alumni@williston.com

Send letters to the editor and other correspondence to the Communications Office at the address above, or sendemail to info@williston.com.

CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICEREric Yates

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONSAND MARKETINGAndrew Shelffo

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONSKathleen Unruh

COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATEBurns Maxey

COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATEKathryn Good-Schiff

Originally issued in 1915, the Bulletin is published by the Advancement Office for the benefit of alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the school.

There was plenty to celebrate thisspring for these seniors, each ofwhom signed a National Letter of

Intent to play NCAA athletics:

Kay Samples-Smart of Bogota, NJ(top), will play basketball at Bethune-

Cookman University.

Hannah Oleksak of Blandford, MA,(right) will swim at Pace University.

Alexis Speliotis of Westford, MA,(right, with her parents) will join theUniversity of Louisville’s crew team.

Read about other seniors who haveplans to play college athletics,

including Meghann Treacy (ice hockey,University of Maine) at:

www.williston.com/CollegeAthletes

Athletes Sign National Letters of Intent

CLASS OF 1961

ELM TREE ASSOCIATES

�

Richard Adelmann

Anonymous

Barbara Curtis Baker

Nancy Blish (DEC)

Faith Barrington

Jim DeAngelis

Carl Farrington

Jim Hamilton

Joan Montgomery Mihalakos

Dave Shaw

Patrick Sheehan

Martha Goman Wemett

At this year’s Reunion, a special group of alumni will gather

in Easthampton to share laughter and memories. These

people are special not just because they’ll be celebrating their

50th reunion, but because they are all members of the Elm Tree

Society. The Class of ’61 has more Elm Tree Society members

than any other class. The 12 people listed here have chosen to

demonstrate their commitment to the long-term success of the

school by remembering Williston Northampton in their estate

planning, thereby ensuring that tomorrow’s students will receive

the exceptional college preparatory experience that they did.

1961�

A Class of Distinction

CONGRATULATIONS

AND

THANK YOUTO THE

50TH REUNION

CLASS

VOLUME 97, NUMBER 2

FEATURES

10 New Things on CampusA review of notable new things that have been spotted around campus lately.

12 Winter Sports ReviewWilliston Athletics highlights

14 John Hazen White ’76 Has Something to SayJohn Hazen White talks about energy efficiency and giving back.

16 Seeds of ChangeFilmmaker brothers Matt ’99 and Loren ’01 Feinstein promote an empowering message.

16 Connecting to the EnvironmentEnvironmental awareness spreads through the curriculum.

20 Science Teaching, Then and NowA look at Williston’s science curriculum over the years.

22 Campus Master Plan Guides DevelopmentThe plan outlines long-range projects.

24 Mr. Blanchette Listens to the Little VoiceBob Blanchette is retiring.

26 Not a Coda, but an IntroMusic teacher Deb Sherr moves on to her next challenge.

Cover Photograph by Mark Lutch

DEPARTMENTS

2 From the Head of School

3 Campus News

27 Class Notes

61 In Memoriam

64 From the Archives

Spring is the timeof year when

our thoughts turnto all things green.Here at Willistonwe think—andact—green year-round, in ways visi-ble and not. In thisissue of the Bulletinyou’ll learn aboutsome of the wayswe’re making surewe’re always green.

2 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

he terrible news of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan reached Easthampton in theearly morning of March 11. We’d gone to bed the night before thinking of spring break and awell-deserved rest. Most of our students were already gone, classes having finished the day be-fore, and the rest of us had some grading and meetings to get through, and then we would befree, too. That all changed when we heard the news, and our thoughts turned immediately to

our Japanese students, families, and alumni. Because Williston has a long history of welcoming students from Asia into its community, we have

strong ties to that part of the world. We also have nine Japanese students currently attending Williston.This was not a situation where we could mourn from afar—we had to do something right away to helpour students. This is the first time I’ve had to deal with this type of a situation while at Williston, and Ihave to report just how amazed and impressed I was with this community’s professional, caring, andcompassionate response to the tragedy.

The first order of business was to make sure that our students made contact with their families inJapan. Bridget Choo, our international student coordinator, opened her office and helped students asthey tried over and over again to reach their families, using every means they could think of: cell phone,email, Skype, text, Facebook. Thankfully, everyone learned that their family members were okay. Butthen the issue of travel came up: because it was spring break, these students were all scheduled to flyhome, but travel to Japan was limited in the aftermath of the earthquake.

At Williston, we are a family; so many people here went above and beyond to help out in this situa-tion, from our dining services staff to our health services staff, dorm parents, the Parents’ Association—the list goes on and on. We all know the thousands of little things that have to get done to keepeveryone safe and happy: food, clothing, shelter, transportation, care, support.

When our Japanese students returned to campus after spring break, I had them and Bridget Chooover to my house for tea. It was remarkable to see the close bonds that these students formed with eachother, and with the Williston community as a whole. They hadn’t seen each other since that day in Bridget’s office, and they spent some time discussing their experiences in Japan. Very quickly, though,they turned their attention to what they could do to help disaster victims back home in Japan.

They came up with several creative ideas with which to fundraise for the Red Cross in Japan, in-cluding a Willy Wears Red and White Day, a night of fine Asian dining at the Hills’ house, and a 1000thcrane ceremony at the school’s Peace Pole, which was erected in the fall. The fundraising impulse evenextended to some of the youngest members of our community, as faculty children made paper cranes tosupport the victims. I can tell you that cranes have been seen flying all over Easthampton.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami triggered a national disaster that is almost beyond comprehension, and the Japanese will undoubtedly be dealing with its effects for years to come. Whatoften helps most in times of crisis, when we all can feel so helpless, is knowing that you are part of acommunity that cares and is always willing to help. Williston is that kind of community, and I am proudto be a member.

The Williston Community Responds to Japan’s Tragedyby Robert W. Hill III P’15

Hiroshi Yoshida (Japanese, 1876-1950), Calm Waters of the Northern Sea - Mt. Rishiri (detail), woodcut, colored inks on paper, 1938.Mount Holyoke College Art Museum; gift of Dorothy L. Blair (Class of 1914). Photograph Laura Weston. Reproduced with permission.

www.williston.com/Japan

Change to Trimesters AllowsGreater Depth, Breadth of Study

Over the course of the 2010-11 school year, the Williston+ Program has expanded itsreach significantly; nearly every student in both the Upper School and the Middle

School has participated in one of its offerings, many students more than once. At its core,the Williston+ Program is about the benefits of collaboration in education and matchingstudents’ interests with the right resources so that they canachieve academically. Both students and teachers can tapinto the rich intellectual exchange that occurs betweenWilliston and the colleges in our community in orderto realize the benefits of collaboration. Beginning next year, students and teachers will

also have the benefit of a new schedule that willallow the Williston+ Program to grow even more.Recently Head of School Bob Hill announcedthat next year the Upper School will operate on a trimester schedule instead of the currentsemester schedule. This new schedule promises a number ofbenefits, including bringing the Upper School schedule into alignmentwith the Middle School and eliminating the imbalance in the number of class days that had developed between the fall and spring semesters. Most importantly, a trimester schedule will give faculty and students more time to take advantage of the collaborative opportunities available through Williston+.The switch to trimesters will also provide additional opportunities for students who choose to work toward

becoming a Williston Scholar, a new program that consists of a one trimester course taught by a Williston facultymember working closely with a colleague at one of the area colleges, and then a one trimester independentstudy. At the end of the independent study, the student’s project will be judged by a committee comprised ofWilliston and college faculty. The school will offer this program beginning in 2011-12; the first two courses willbe The 18th Century in the Connecticut River Valley and Contemporary Art and Culture.

College Counseling Road Trip

On a rainy day in March, every member of the junior class boarded a busand headed off to one of the Five Colleges—Amherst, Hampshire,

Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts—for campus tours and information sessions with admission officers. The purpose of this trip, according to Director of College Counseling Tim Cheney, was “to provide students with early exposure to the variety of options available to them at different colleges and universities.”The day,Tim says, provided “a primer for students, to heighten their

awareness and refine their thinking in advance of going out on their firstactual tours with parents.” Many times juniors will take some time duringspring break to visit a few colleges that they might be interested in. By visiting college campuses with Willistoncollege counselors, and then meeting admission officers at those campuses, Williston students will be better prepared to get the most out of tours they do on their own. Each junior chose which campus he or she would visit on this trip, which was organized by the

Office of College Counseling, with assistance from Kim Evelti, curriculum specialist for Five College resources.Student and parent feedback on the outing has been positive, and plans are underway to make it an annualevent, another way that Williston helps prepare students for the college admission process.

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 3

Students visited the Williston Library on their tour ofMount Holyoke College.

© Janine Norton

www.williston.com/collegecounseling

Michael Itkoff Michael Itkoff is a photographer and a founding editor ofDaylight Magazine, a photography publication dedicated topublishing in-depth photographic essays on important is-sues. In his photography, Itkoff captures his subjects in adocumentary style by investigating topics ranging fromdemolition derbies to portrait studies. In 2009, ChartaBooks published Street Portraits, Itkoff’s exploration of theartifice of portraiture. Itkoff’s photographs are in public andprivate collections in the United States, and he has been arecipient of the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advance-ment of Photojournalism, a Creative Artists Fellowship fromthe Pennsylvania Arts Council, and a Puffin FoundationGrant. In 2010, Itkoff received an MFA from the ICP-Bardprogram.

Vince CianniVincent Cianni’s documentary photography explores com-munity and memory, the human condition, and the use ofimage and text. His photographic project and book WeSkate Hardcore, published by NYU Press and the Center for Documentary Studies, was an eight-year study of urbanLatino youth in New York City. The photographs from WeSkate Hardcore have been widely published in magazinesand journals including Double Take, Aperture, The NewYorker, and La Fotografia. Cianni’s new documentary proj-ect, ‘Gays in the Military: How America Thanked Me,’ ex-plores how the lives of many gay and lesbian servicemembers have been affected by homophobia in the militaryand by the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. His photo-graphs have been exhibited in many museums, includingLACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), MFAH (Mu-seum of Fine Arts, Houston), and the Philadelphia Museumof Art. Cianni teaches photography at Parsons The NewSchool for Design in New York City.

4 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

Capturing the Moment

Since its inception in 2000, the Photographers’Lecture Series at Williston has continued tooffer advanced photography students opportu-nities to work with internationally acclaimedphotographers. Through a network of recom-mendations provided by previous visiting photographers, the caliber of lecturing photog-raphers grows each year, many of whom takenote of the exceptional photography programthat Williston offers.

The free public lecture series that follows theclass instruction has also become a favoriteamong area photographers in the Pioneer Val-ley. This year proved to be no exception in pro-viding another excellent year of programming.

Photographers’ Lecture Series

2011

© Janine Norton

© Michael Itkoff

Visiting photographer Michael Itkoff critiques student work

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 5

Ken SkluteKen Sklute has been passionate about photographing bothpeople and drag racing for 32 years. His images have beenpublished in National Dragster Magazine, Sports Illustrated,and ESPN The Magazine. He has received numerousawards, including Drag Racing Photographer of the Yearfrom CompetitionPlus.com, Wedding Photographer of theYear and Photojournalist of the Year from the ProfessionalPhotographers of California, as well as 13 Kodak Galleryawards and 14 Fuji Masterpiece Awards. He was alsoawarded Photographer of the Year and Best in Show fromthe Western States Regional Print Competition. Ken spendsmuch of his time teaching and lecturing both nationally andinternationally and has been honored as one of Canon’s Explorers of Light, a designation shared by only 48 photog-raphers worldwide.

Michael LesyDr. Michael Lesy is a writer and professor of literary journal-ism at Hampshire College. His books, which combine histor-ical photographs with his own writing, include WisconsinDeath Trip; Time Frames: The Meaning of Family Pictures;Bearing Witness: A Photographic Chronicle of AmericanLife; and Dreamland: America at the Dawn of the TwentiethCentury. He was recently interviewed by BBC Radio on the

Great Depression and his books have been reviewed in TheNew Yorker, The New York Times, and The Guardian. In hisbook Long Time Coming, Lesy gathered a collection of 400photographs by searching more than 150,000 photographsin the Farm Security Administration’s Documentary Photog-raphy Program archives at the Library of Congress.

Thatcher CookDocumentary photographer Thatcher Cook works for socialchange and human rights by capturing the human conditionin over 60 countries. His clients are primarily humanitarianaid and development organizations that work with refugeesand other people affected by war, economic upheaval, andnatural disasters. He has a particular interest in photograph-ing forced human migration and nomadic life that he hopeswill bring awareness to the world’s most vulnerable popula-tions. When he is not on assignment for international aid organizations, Cook teaches workshops at the Maine MediaWorkshops and around the globe. He is a co-founder of Pictographers, an organization committed to creating andteaching social change through written and photographicdocumentation. He also published A Guide to Field Tech-niques for Documentary Photographers, a guidebook onhow to produce, prepare for, and realize long-term docu-mentary projects.

www.williston.com/photographers

© Thatcher Cook

Michael Lesy © Janine Norton

© Michael Itkoff

© Ken Sklute

© Vince Cianni

Students Create Law Website

Sisters Olivia ’14 and Abbie Foster ’16 recently started their own website, TeenJury.com,which aims to educate teens about how law and the judicial system affect them. Abbie, who

is interested in graphic design, takes care of the site’s look and feel, while Olivia researches andwrites the articles, which address cases that range from alleged discrimination against religiousorganizations to alleged price fixing of music downloads. The site has already received thousandsof visits from readers in over 50 countries.

Olivia conceived of the website after hearing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bryer speakin Springfield. When she met the justice after his talk, he invited Olivia and her father to sit inon Supreme Court arguments when they visited Washington, DC, last November. “We saw twototally different cases,” Olivia says. “That’s what I love about law. Lawyers and courts work on somany different things.” She decided that a website would be the best way to spread the wordabout how laws affect teens, since not everyone can travel to the Supreme Court. “I wanted away to both use my knowledge and to spread knowledge,” she says.

6 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

Golden Shovel, Golden SpoonAwarded

In an all-school assembly onMarch 1, Williston’s PhysicalPlant and Dining Services staffmembers were awarded theGolden Shovel and the GoldenSpoon, respectively. Theseawards recognized the out-standing efforts of staff mem-bers who kept the campusgoing during an exceptionallytough winter. Upon receipt oftheir awards, the staff mem-bers received a standing ova-tion from faculty and students. ©

2011 The Republican Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Schools Collaborate on Competition Preparation

Director of Dining Services KevinMartin and Director of the PhysicalPlant Jeff Tannatt P’98, ‘00 acceptedthe symbolic tools of their trades at an all-school assembly.

www.teenjury.com

Senior Don Cheng’s Olympic Achievements

Dongyang “Don” Cheng ’11 has qualified as a semifinalist for the 2011 U.S. Physics OlympicsTeam, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced recently. Don was

one of approximately 3,000 students who participated in the first phase of the selection processby taking the “Fnet=ma Exam” in January. One of only 400 semifinalists nationwide, Don tooka second exam in March, the results of which will be used as the basis for selection as a memberof the 20-member U.S. Physics Team.

Further adding to his achievements, Don qualified for the USA Mathematical Olympiad(USAMO) based upon his work in two previous competitions. For the Olympiad, Don willcompete on a nine-hour exam. In this highly selective competition, approximately 250 studentsare chosen out of the several hundred thousand who competed in the first round.

Every year since 1998, Peter Gunn’s U.S. History stu-dents prepare for the statewide We the People aca-

demic competition by investigating the philosophy anddevelopment of the U.S. government. Working in smallgroups, they prepare remarks and practice respondingwithout notes to questions from a panel of judges.

This year, Mr. Gunn collaborated with colleaguesat Easthampton High School and organized a publicshowcase for both school’s teams. Judges and specialguests at the event included State Senator MichaelKnapik, State Representative John Scibak, Superintend-ent of Easthampton Schools Nancy Follansbee P’04,

and Easthampton City Council members Andrea Burns,Salem Derby, Daniel Hagan, and Joy Winnie.

On January 29, our students competed in Bostonand tied for sixth place. Among the judges for the com-petition were Williston alumni Emma Freeman ’05, whois in her first year at Harvard Law School, and attorneysJamie Gass ’87 and Sasha Kopf ’98. Williston has fin-ished in the top three places four times, including win-ning the honor of representing Massachusetts in thenational finals in 2000. This year was the first time thatEasthampton High School participated.

campus news

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 7

Willy the Wildcat and Head of SchoolBob Hill were among those welcom-ing applicants to campus during Sec-ond Visit Days in April.

Dongyang “Don” Cheng ’11 following his induction into the Cum Laude Society in February

Applications ReachRecord High

Over 700 students applied toWilliston this year, setting anew record.

85 students had their phototaken with the Wildcat dur-ing Second Visit Days.

1,357 people “like” theschool’s Facebook page, and that number growsevery day.

8 hours after receiving heracceptance email, one stu-dent purchased her firstWilliston sweatshirt online.

Photos © Janine Norton

www.williston.com/congratulations

read more

8 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

Faculty Awards

In February at the weekly UpperSchool assembly in the PhillipsStevens Chapel, Head of School Bob Hill awarded faculty chairs and instructorships to five deservingfaculty members.

Faculty chairs are awarded for a pe-riod of five years and carry withthem stipends that can be used forprofessional development or in sup-port of the recipients’ department orthe school as a whole. Latin andEnglish teacher Emily Vezina wasawarded the Charles GardnerGranniss ’29 and Eugenie WilliamsGranniss Faculty Chair, and mathteacher Kurt Whipple was awardedthe Dennis H. Grubbs Faculty Chair.

Instructorships are awarded for athree-year period and carry stipendswith them as well. Math teacherMonique Conroy was awarded theNorthampton School for Girls In-structorship, English teacher KevinKudla was awarded the Karin O’NeilInstructorship, and fine arts teacherNatania Hume was awarded theGeorge E. Gregory and Catherine B.Gregory Instructorship.

mpus news

The Art of Community Service

This semester, five Williston students who are the advisees of art teacher Marcia Reedjoined art classes at Riverside Industries—a nonprofit organization that serves peo-

ple with disabilities. Riverside Industries is located in Easthampton in the One CottageStreet mill building, just a few blocks from Williston’s campus. The organization offersart 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 tocreate artwork as they talked about their processes and interests. During the final classpreceding spring break, Williston students worked with Marcia Reed and Denise Herzog, art director at Riverside Industries, to select individual pieces for an exhibit,Joint Venture, that was on display in the Grubbs Gallery in April.

Marcia Reed says about the class, “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 approached Denise, and she thought it was a good idea,too. I thought that it would be a great opportunity for them to curate the show, selectthe art, and help to hang it. They were part of that whole process.”

read more

Community Service Club PresidentJeff Eichenberger ’11 and members ofthe club presented more than 400stuffed animals to the EasthamptonPolice Department. Officer Gary Shep-herd P’04 accepted the donation.

Standing behind Jeff are KathrynYochim ’12 and Dan Gould ’13. Otherclub members involved in the presen-tation included Vice President Addi-son Coley ’12, David Fay ’13, AlexNunnelly ’12, Advisor Stan Samuel-son, Ming Fung “Eric” Suen ’12, andEric Yarrows ’13.

Online Annual Report Details Impact

In the school’s first online-only AnnualReport, thirteen individuals and fami-lies representing seven decades ofschool life share how the growth theyexperienced at Williston impacted theirlives. Some of their reflections include:

“I was a rather bad boy.” –Alan Dayton ’43

“My friends and I weren’t interested inacademics and I simply didn’t have thematurity to study [before attendingWilliston’s PG program].”–James Maxymillian ’56

“I stopped chewing gum immediatelyand started to truly stand on my owntwo feet. It felt great!” –Holly Steuart-Richardson ’80

“It felt like a high school without thetypical hierarchy of the cool kids on topand everyone else on the bottom.”–Amber Hamilton ’94

“The idea of being a teacher was al-ways in the back of my head...and Ilook forward to affecting my studentsas my teachers did me.”–Tim Hirsch ’95

“It’s amazing how doors can open up for you.”–Becca MacDonald ’11

www.williston.com/impact

Brett Beaney is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist

During assembly on Tuesday March 29, Head of School BobHill announced that Brett Beaney ’11 of Scarborough,

Maine, is a finalist in the 2011 competition for the NationalMerit Scholarship Program. Brett was presented a Certificate ofMerit for his advancement to finalist standing.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academiccompetition for recognition and scholarships that began in1955. High school students enter the National Merit Programby taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit ScholarshipQualifying Test—a test that serves as an initial screen of morethan 1.5 million entrants each year—and by meeting published program participationrequirements. Semifinalists are named in the fall and must advance to finalist standingbefore they are considered for an Achievement Scholarship award. Scholarship awardeeswill be notified in May 2011. Less than one percent of students who take the qualifyingtest become finalists.

Community Service Club Has Local Impact

Williston’s Community Service Club recently collected 408 stuffed animals for dis-tribution to children experiencing traumatic situations. Club president Jeff

Eichenberger ’11 got the idea from the pile of stuffed animals at his house that were, inhis words, “no longer getting love.” The club worked with the Easthampton Police Department, which will give the animals to children in order to comfort them. “This isa prime example of the giving nature of the Williston community,” Jeff says. “I imaginemany children will be delighted to have a companion in their time of need.”

The club also sponsors Habitat for Humanity trips. Recent work included tarringthe foundation and painting the basement of a new house in Florence. Ken Bor-dewieck, a member of Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity’s Finance Committee, says,“It is always inspiring to have the students come in to help. They have so much energyand enthusiasm. It keeps the rest of us going.”

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 9

impact

The Williston Northampton School | 2009-10

campus newsPhotos © Janine Norton

10 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

10new things on campusA review of notable new things spotted around campus lately

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1Williston’s new mobileapp and mobile website launched in May.

www.williston.com/mobile

2This spring, students can sign up for Advanced Placement Environmental Science, which

will debut in the 2011-12 school year.

3Another Advanced Placement class, AP MusicTheory, will also be available to students nextyear. The course aims to develop students’ abil-

ity to recognize, understand, and describe the basicmaterials and processes of music that are heard orpresented in a score.

4In response to the devastating earthquake andtsunami in Japan, Williston’s students were inspired to fold 1,000 origami cranes for a

fundraiser, a number that, according to legend, willgrant a wish to those who fold them.

5New digital messages board have been installed in the Dining Commons, the ReedCenter, the Athletic Center, the Schoolhouse,

and the Middle School. Now there’s no excuse fornot knowing what’s happening on campus!

6The Athletic Center fitness room now features new Life Fitness weightlifting equipment.

7One-to-one computing arrived this year in theMiddle School. Students use personal computers during the class day and can access

any files they need from home that night.

8Vending machines that dispense healthysnacks have been a big hit on campus.

9Upgraded heating and cooling systems in campus buildings mean more energy efficiencyand more comfort.

10Okay, so it’s not really new but a lot ofpeople saw it for the first time because ofthis year’s record snowfall: The 36 hp

diesel Kuboda snowblower enabled Physical Plantstaff members to clear more than four miles of sidewalks after each snowstorm, in addition to the campus roadways and parking lots.

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SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 11

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12 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

Wrestling

The team finished with a dual meetrecord of 9-10. At the Class A leaguetournament held at Deerfield, the teamfinished in fifth place out of the 12schools that participated. Tony Alvarez’11 and Connor Adams ’12 representedWilliston at the National PrepWrestling tournament held at LehighUniversity in Pennsylvania.

Ski Team

Our ski teams enjoyed the bounty ofan old-fashioned, snowy New Englandwinter and completed successful sea-sons as part of the Mountain InstituteLeague. Led by captain Jake Webber’11, the varsity boys team finished insixth place in the 12-school league. In the final standings, Jake finished in13th place out of the 74 skiers whocompeted.

The girls’ team had another verysuccessful season, finishing in thirdplace in the league. At the Class B NewEngland championships held at Berk-shire East, two girls had very strongperformances and earned medals: Mad-die Dirats ’14 finished seventh in theslalom while her big sister Lindsey ’11finished third in the giant slalom.

Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving

90 percent of the team set personalrecords at the season-ending New Eng-land championships at Exeter. At theBud Erich Invitational held at HopkinsSchool, the girls won the Division IIchampionship. They also finished inthird place in the small school divisionat the New England championships.

The boys also had their share ofsuccess this winter. During the ErichInvitational, the boys finished in secondplace in Division II and a week laterfinished in fifth place at the New Eng-land championships. Isaac Sterman ’11finished his outstanding career by set-ting two school records in both the 6-dive and the 11-dive competitions. Isaachas broken both the 6-dive record andthe 11-dive record twice, during hisjunior and senior years. His record indual meet competition over the past

two years was 20-1! He was named anAll-New England diver, finishing insecond place in all of New England thiswinter. He has also qualified for poten-tial All-American recognition.

Boys Basketball

The varsity boys basketball team com-peted valiantly all season against a verychallenging schedule. Highlights oftheir season included a season-openingwin over Gunnery, led by a triple dou-ble from captain Ryan Palumbo ’11;and a thrilling, decisive, late-season vic-tory over a strong Cheshire Academysquad that knocked them out of con-tention for a tournament berth. For hisexceptional play throughout the season,Ryan was named Second Team All-New England at season’s end.

Girls Basketball

The girls played hard throughout theseason and enjoyed several highlights,including a season-opening win overSt. Mark’s; a heart-stopping, 31-30 roadvictory over Berkshire in which KaySamples-Smart ’11 hit two free throwswith only 2 seconds left on the clock; athrilling 37-34 overtime victory overDeerfield; and an equally exciting 34-33 victory over Hotchkiss. For her out-standing play during the season, Kaywas named both to the Ray Brown All-Tournament Team in December and tothe NEPSAC Class A/B All-Star team.

Boys Hockey

Under Coaches Derek Cunha andMike Fay, the varsity boys hockey teamfaced a rebuilding year after returningonly three players from last year’ssquad. Highlights of the season includea shootout win over Northwood afterthe game ended 0-0. GianLucaPalmieri ’11 made 39 saves during thegame and overtime, and several more inthe shootout, before captain RichardSpiker ’11 won the game in dramaticfashion. The second highlight was thethrilling 5-4 victory over Deerfield, inwhich Andrew Luzzi ’11 scored thego-ahead goal with six minutes to playand GianLuca made several excitingsaves to preserve the victory.

Girls Hockey

The varsity girls ice hockey team en-joyed another terrific season under theleadership of Coaches Christa Talbot’98 and Erin Davey and nearlymatched the 2009-10 squad’s record-setting total of 18 wins, finishing with arecord of 17-10. Included in that wintotal are victories over two schools thatWilliston had not beaten in 14 years,Cushing and Hotchkiss. The teamplayed an incredible seven overtimegames and finished the season on ahigh note when, led by goalieMeghann Treacy ’11, they shut outWinchendon 3-0 on Senior Day.

Girls Squash

The girls varsity squash team had an-other very good year, finishing with arecord of seven wins and six losses. Thismarked their fifth straight winning sea-son. Highlights included exciting 4-3victories over both St. Mark’s and MissPorter’s, and convincing victories overPomfret, Kingswood, and Berkshire. JillGrant ’11 went 7-2 on the season andearned a #3 seed at the New Englandtournament, and fellow senior JanetLee, playing at #4, had a strong 8-5record. Sarah Fay ’11 became the firstgirl in Williston history to earn five let-ters in girls’ squash.

Boys Squash

Under the guidance of Coach StanSamuelson, the varsity boys squashteam enjoyed another very successfulseason, finishing with a 7-6 record.Highlights of the season included three7-0 shutout victories over Suffield,Millbrook and St. Mark’s, and hardfought victories over Trinity Pawlingand Avon. The boys finished their regu-lar season with an exciting 4-3 victoryover Kingswood. The team competedat the Class B New England’s atBrooks School, finishing in 4th place.In their respective draws, Watt Iamsuri’12 finished second, Jerry Lo ’11 fin-ished third, and Byung Ho “Ben” Ko’12 and Gary Ng ’11 finished fifth,winning the consolation bracket.

winter sports review

Isaac Sterman ’11set two new schoolrecords this winter,breaking his ownrecords in the 6-dive and 11-dive,set in his junioryear.

See our sports pictures:facebook.com/willistonnorthampton

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 13

webextras

Trimester ScheduleAllows Depth,Breadth of Study

www.williston.com/Courses

Olivia and Abbie Foster Follow theSupreme Court

www.teenjury.com

Interviews with Visiting Photographers

www.williston.com/Podcasts

www.williston.com/bulletin/webextras

Bob Blanchette Speaksat Cum Laude

www.williston.com/CumLaude

Ciclovida: Lifecycle

www.williston.com/Ciclovida

Juniors Tour Five Colleges

www.williston.com/CollegeSearch

Williston’s New Mobile WebsiteLaunched

www.williston.com/Mobile

Williston Responds to Japan’s Tragedywww.williston.com/Japan

Over the past 30 years, our attitudes about the environment and our impact on it have changed significantly.Here at The Williston Northampton School, it’s more unusual to not see one of those blue recycling binsaround, and we have all grown used to “trayless dining” to cut down on water use and wasted food. The Mid-dle School grows more food each year in the garden, we don’t have to be reminded so often to turn out thelights when we leave the room, and the Green Cup challenge is now an annual tradition. This change in atti-tude and behavior benefits everyone, because we are taking better care of our resources. But as accustomed aswe might have become to thinking differently about the environment, there is a certain danger in becomingtoo complacent, too comfortable with our relationship with the world.

Attention:

John Hazen White ’76 Has Something To Say

by Andrew Shelffo

Photos © Michael Lutch

The same thing could be said with regard to the way somealumni think about their relationship with Williston. If you askedthese people, they would most likely tell you that the school wasgreat for them; but for too many, it seems, Williston has faded intothe background of their lives.

John Hazen White, Jr. ’76 has something to say to these alumni.White is president and CEO of Taco, Inc., a company based inCranston, Rhode Island, that manufactures hydronic systems andequipment for residential, light commercial, and industrial

applications. The family-owned company is now overseen by athird generation of the White family. In addition to running thefamily businesses, John has earned a reputation across Rhode Island for speaking his mind. He keeps a blog, occasionally co-hosts a popular radio show, and in 2005, he hosted his ownself-financed cable television show, Lookout, where he interviewedguests on hot-button issues. He told the Providence Journal that thepurpose of the show was to “push people to action.”

14

John himself is not afraid to take action. When hewas approached about joining Williston’s Board ofTrustees, he was a bit hesitant because he was alreadycommitted to a number of other boards. Once he madeup his mind to become a trustee, he resigned from everyother board except Johnson & Wales University, whichhe calls the “second love of my life, educationally,” afterWilliston. He officially joined the board in 2004, just asthe Campaign for Williston Northampton: Legacy and Visionwas gathering steam. He soon began working with theschool on a long-term project that combines his desirefor action with his deep knowledge of HVAC systemsand his love ofWilliston. The school has now begun tosee the benefits of this project in the form of significantsavings on heating bills. This year Williston celebrates its 170th anniversary,

and if there were any doubts that theschool has been around for a longtime, all one had to do was take alook at how some of the buildingswere heated: by underground steampipes that, in some cases, were in-stalled before the buildings becamepart of the school. Such systems areincredibly inefficient compared tomodern hot water heating systems,even when they are working perfectly,which Williston’s were not. That’swhy even during the coldest andsnowiest winters, grass would be visi-ble between the Clapp Library andScott Hall. By replacing the steamheating systems with high-efficiencyboilers, the school could realize signif-icant savings in heating costs, providea more comfortable environment forpeople working or studying in thebuildings, and reduce the school’s carbon footprint.John worked closely with the school, particularly

the Business Office and Jeff Tannatt, director of thephysical plant, on a plan to install new boilers in thebuildings that used steam heat. An anonymous donorpaid for the cost of the boilers and the installation.John donated all of the necessary fittings and controlsfor the boilers and contributed to the cost of installa-tion. The boilers were manufactured by Mestek,which is owned by John Reed ’33. David Teece ’72,president of Northampton Plumbing Supply, storedthe boilers as work was done on the buildings to pre-pare for their installation. It was a group effort in-volving people committed to doing something goodfor the school. The project began in 2006 when Williston, with

the help of John White and Taco, updated the heating

system in Conant House. Almost immediately, theschool realized significant savings on heating the for-mer “Willy Cottage.” With the opening of the 194Main Street dormitory in 2008, the school took ahuge leap forward in high-efficiency, sustainabletechnology with a geothermal heating and coolingsystem that uses 15 bore holes, each 350 feet deep, asits energy source. It did not take long for the schoolto begin looking at how it could update the heatingsystems in its other buildings. What emerged was athree-phase plan that by 2013 will have new boilersand controls installed in the Robert A. Ward School-house, Scott Hall, Whitaker-Bement, the AthleticCenter, the Clapp Library, Memorial East and Memorial West dormitories, and Ford Hall. The firstboilers were installed last summer. Now, with spring

upon us, we’ve been able to look atthe energy usage numbers. Jeff Tan-natt explains that “over the courseof a very cold winter, as we had thisyear, we would expect to see in-creases in heating costs in somebuildings up to 30 percent. Thisyear the school saw an average sav-ings of eight to nine percent.Whitaker-Bement was at 78 per-cent of what it was last year, andother buildings are at 130 percent.”The savings from this project overtime will be significant. The long-term interests of the

school are most important to John.“This is the key thing—efficiencyhas to be part of a system. We wantto build a highly efficient system tobenefit the entire school. But wewant people to be comfortable, too.

You can have the most energy efficient system in theworld, but if the occupants aren’t comfortable, it isn’tworth much. We came up with a design that wasboth energy efficient and comfortable,” he saysproudly.So what would he say to his fellow alumni? “If

you’re a Williston grad who can look back and say, ‘Idon’t care about that time in my life,’ then I guessthe school didn’t mean much. But if you look backand say, that was great, then stand up tall and giveback. Because this school needs to go on foreverdoing for others what it did for me. If it can do forten percent of graduates what it did for me, then ithas created a whole lot of marvelous people.”Clearly John White does not take the important

things in his life for granted.

“We want to build

a highly efficient

system to benefit

the entire

school.”

The Williston Physi-cal Plant has beeninvolved in makingintelligent, energy-saving decisionslonger than the“green” movementhas been popular.The entire Willistoncommunity has be-lieved for years inthe ideals that havebecome the hall-marks of the greenmovement: effi-ciency and minimiz-ing impact on theenvironment. As JeffTannatt points out,“Resources notused are the green-est resources avail-able.” For more thanten years, the Physi-cal Plant staff hasbeen involved in anumber of “green”projects, rangingfrom new boilers tofoam insulation toLED lighting. Youcan see a full list ofprojects atwww.williston.com/greenprojects.

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 15

16 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

Seeds of ChangeBrothers Help Farmers Tell Their Story by Kathryn Good-Schiff

They didn’t intend to become filmmakers, but brothers Matt ’99 andLoren Feinstein ’01 are now. Their documentary film Ciclovida: Lifecycle was an official selection of the Blue Planet Film Festival

and won Best Environmental Film at both the Green Screen Environmen-tal Film Festival and the Byron Bay Film Festival. The brothers continue to be busy promoting both the film and its environmental and social message.

Ciclovida: Lifecycle follows two Brazilian farmers, Ivania de Alencar andInacio do Nacimento, on what became an epic journey across SouthAmerica. Ivania and Inacio, who are also musicians and activists for eco-logical and social justice, travel in search of the historical sources of geneticagricultural diversity that would allow them to grow healthy food on theBarra do Lemme collective farm in Brazil where they live with their fami-lies. They are farmers in the traditional sense, who wish to grow smallamounts of diverse crops in harmony with the land, and they ally them-selves against large-scale industrial agriculture, which they report has haddevastating environmental and social effects in their country.

The groundwork for the film was laid when Matt was studying Inter-national Development and Social Change at Clark University. He met Iva-nia and Inacio while studying abroad and working with social movementsin South America in 2002. He stayed in touch with them and in 2006they told him about their bike trip and asked if he could help them make

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 17

Ciclovida: Lifecyle, which has alreadybeen shown in various locations in theUnited States and South America, will go onbike tour this spring down the East Coast,accompanied by the film’s protagonists whowill travel from Brazil to help promote it. Formore information or to schedule a showingin your community, visit www.ciclovida.org.

Loren ’01 and Matt ’99 Feinstein

a film about it. Matt turned to his brother Loren, who had worked at theMedia Education Foundation in Northampton, MA, and had some film-making experience, and the two decided to take on this worthy cause.

“While at Williston I connected deeply with several international stu-dents,” says Matt, who currently works at Worcester Roots Project, an or-ganization that seeks to promote economic, social, and environmentaljustice. “This continued my interest in international studies and global sol-idarity. I received a strong Spanish base [at Williston] with Señora Robin-son, from which learning Portuguese was much more attainable.”

Ciclovida: Lifecycle follows Ivania and Inacio as they bicycle more than6,000 miles in the course of a year searching for natural, heirloom seeds togrow on their farm. They wish to rekindle the time-honored practice inwhich small farmers produce their own seeds for the next year from thefood crops they grow, instead of buying genetically engineered seeds fromlarge companies who, according to Matt and Loren, do not have the smallfarmers’ best interest in mind. As Loren describes it, “In Brazil, governmentprograms, along with big agribusiness, subsidize and distribute genetically-modified and hybridized seeds to farmers. Once naturally reproducingseeds become scarce or go extinct, the large foreign corporations then con-

trol the seed supply of that region.” If farmers cannot afford to buy seeds,they may be forced to quit farming and end up in urban slums.

The film raises awareness of this issue as it follows the two farmers ontheir sometimes joyful, sometimes challenging journey. Along the way,they meet up with like-minded people and document some of the envi-ronmental and social costs of industrial agriculture, such as deforestationand children made ill from pesticides. But the film ends with a positivemessage, as Ivania and Inacio return home with a supply of seeds andbegin to grow new crops.

The Williston Northampton School held a public screening of Ciclovida: Lifecyle on February 11, 2011, in the Reed Campus Center, andanother screening is planned for Reunion 2011. Matt and Loren werehappy to share their film and the story of its creation with faculty and stu-dents. “I was really pleased to see how interested the students were,” saysLoren. “I was surprised by how immediately they wanted to become in-volved.” He emphasizes that the film was done with no budget and all-volunteer labor, but a very professional product came out of it, thanks tothe dedication and vision of those involved, which is a great lesson for aspiring filmmakers.

The brothers hope that their film will educate viewers about the environmental and social challenges in Brazil, but they also want to buildexcitement closer to home. Loren says, “This is a story that shows peasantfarmers who have very few resources and yet enact a major, sustainablechange in their area. It is an inspirational story for everyone to take thatenergy and put it into important projects.”

“This is a story that shows peasant farmers who have very few resources and yet enact a major, sustainable change in their area. It is an inspirational story for everyone.”

Photos by Matthew Feinstein © Ciclovida 2008

18 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

oes every bird have a beak?” This might seem like an odd question, but on a March afternoonin Scott Hall, the “birds” are ninth grade biology students and the “beaks” are forks, knives,

spoons, chopsticks, and binder clips. Students are preparing todo a lab that measures feeding rates of different beak types,from which theories of survival and reproduction can be extrapolated.

In the winter, biology labs take place inside, but in the fall,students were outside taking water samples from the WillistonPond before returning indoors to examine their findings.Teacher Ken Choo says the Williston Pond is a great place tobegin the biology course. “It’s a living system right in ourown backyard.” In the beginning of the year, the course em-phasizes ecology and introduces the scientific method. Mr.Choo says that learning about cycles of matter and energy getsstudents thinking “about how everything is connected.” Thenthe course shifts to evolution and genetics (the birds and theirbeaks), and in the spring a study of photosynthesis again lendsitself to outdoor sampling when time permits.

“They’re so curious at this age,” Mr. Choo says of his

students. “I don’t mind if the class discussion wanders a bit,because I want to encourage them in future research.” Thisyear he has added a few op-ed assignments that get studentsthinking about political and social aspects of scientific topics.“It’s important for them to both form opinions and to respectothers’ opinions,” he says. “Ultimately, we want to create re-sponsible, thoughtful people for the future of the country andthe world.”

While ninth graders can be spotted taking samples fromthe pond, juniors and seniors taking Outdoor Ecology fre-quent the banks of the Manhan River. Teacher Paul Luikarttakes the class there weekly; along the way they look for signsof animal activity. The content of these nature walks is ever-changing and depends on seasonal events.

One winter morning, the class finds tracks and a two-toned tuft of hair, concluding the hair belonged to a raccoon.At the river they observe two sets of tracks, one possibly frombeaver and one possibly from weasel. Walking back throughthe open floodplain, a discussion of how rivers shape thelandscape is interrupted by a flying visitor. Mr. Luikart identi-fies it as an immature bald eagle due to its feathers and wing

On a weekly nature hike, the Outdoor Ecology class isrewarded with a sighting of an immature bald eagle.

“DWilliston Science Teachers Kindle a Spark

Students in Jane Lucia’s Life Science class thrive withhands-on study. “It all starts with the Middle School gar-den” says Jeff Ketcham, science teacher and associatehead of school.

CONNECTING TO

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 19

shape. “Eagles hold their wings straightout,” he says, demonstrating with both arms.“Vultures’ wings point up in a V shape, andhawk wings point slightly down.” In the classroom, Outdoor Ecology cov-

ers three main areas: how ecosystems work, human useof and impact on various ecosystems, and stewardship ofthe environment. While Mr. Luikart addresses many envi-ronmental challenges, he also points out positive stories, suchas the health of the Manhan River and the return from nearextinction of wild turkeys and bald eagles.

Williston students who are passionate about science andinterested in life sciences in particular will have a new optionavailable to them in the coming year: AP Environmental Science (APES). According to Associate Head of School andscience teacher Jeff Ketcham, APES will round out Williston’sscience curriculum so that students can develop knowledgeabout not only natural systems and resources but also land andwater use, energy consumption, pollution, and global change.

While the course will follow the APES syllabus and allstudents will take the AP Exam, Mr. Ketcham says the school

is offering it primarily as an opportunity for advanced studyby passionate students. He also notes that APES is intrinsi-cally interdisciplinary and will lend itself well to the kind ofexciting collaborations that are already taking place throughthe Williston+ program.

Environmental awareness has been increasing on campusfor years, says Mr. Ketcham. The recycling program has growntremendously over a ten-year period. The 194 Main Streetdormitory features an environmentally friendly geothermalheating and cooling system. And, since 2007, teacher JaneLucia has led Middle School students in planting, maintaining,and harvesting a vegetable garden. The garden helps youngpeople connect their experiences to curricular concepts suchas plant and animal life cycles, nutrient cycles, and concepts ofecology and sustainability.

For a student whose interest in life sciences has beensparked by something along the way—whether in the garden,at the pond, or by the river—APES is yet another opportu-nity for them to go further in pursuit of their passion. It isalso yet another means of inspiring Williston students to bethoughtful, interested, global citizens throughout their lives.

Biology students use their “beaks” to gather food in a lab focused on evolution.

Outdoor Ecology teacher Paul Luikart demon-strates raptor wing position: “Eagles hold theirwings straight out, vultures’ wings point up in aV shape, and hawk wings point slightly down.”

THE ENVIRONMENTby Kathryn Good-Schiff

Photos © Janine Norton

by Archivist Richard Teller ’70

In many respects, we take science for granted. We can manipulatethe human genome. Space flight is practically old news. Whileour pockets bulge with electronic marvels, we are secure in thebelief that wonders await, even as the news reminds us that tech-nology can create as many problems as it solves. Samuel Willis-

ton, born in 1795, grew up in another era of technological ferment,as the Enlightenment led to the Industrial Revolution. But with fewexceptions, scientific education in the early 19th century lagged wellbehind scientific progress. Phillips Academy, Andover, where SamuelWilliston enrolled in 1814, offered no instruction in the sciences atall, according to Andover’s Archivist, Tim Sprattler. This was typicalof most secondary schools of the time.

Society was beginning to demand a different model. Rapid in-dustrialization on both sides of the Atlantic, and the westward ex-pansion of the United States, created a need for a technologicallyadept population. In the U.S., a few schools began to offer an “English” curriculum, as opposed to “Classical,” emphasizing sci-ence and mathematics rather than Greek and Latin. One suchschool was Leicester Academy, near Worcester, Massachusetts, whosePrincipal was Samuel Williston’s boyhood friend Luther Wright.Williston consulted Wright as he planned his “English College,”and ultimately hired him as principal when Williston Seminaryopened in 1841.

Seminary students chose between two curricula: the traditionalClassical, and English. While the former was intended to preparestudents for university entrance, the English curriculum was de-signed for students who did not necessarily expect to attend col-lege, but who wished to work in such technological professions assurveying and engineering. English students in the early years stud-ied mathematics through advanced trigonometry, surveying, civilengineering, chemistry, and botany, along with bookkeeping, English grammar, moral philosophy, and a smattering of history andgeography.

When Principal Marshall Henshaw arrived in 1863, he foundSamuel Williston frustrated by his science academy’s failure tothrive. Williston’s good intentions and open wallet had not trans-lated into an environment conducive to scientific discovery. Almostall learning was by rote. Students read their textbooks, attended lec-tures, and “recited.” The earliest documents of the school providefew indications that anything resembling hands-on learning, or ex-perimentation, or much of anything that might capture a teenageimagination, was taking place. And the results were predictable.Henshaw convinced Williston that increased expenditure on sci-ence faculty and laboratory equipment was essential. Henshaw alsoinitiated an evolution in science teaching style, relying more on student participation and observation.

Henshaw’s reforms would add geology to the curriculum,along with natural philosophy (physics) and a second year of chem-istry. Henshaw also convinced Samuel Williston to address theproblem of facilities. They purchased the very best scientific appara-tus and created a laboratory classroom to house it. Astronomy stu-dents even had the use of a good telescope, housed in a brickobservatory behind what today’s students know as Sawyer House.

The apparatus enabled teachers and students to experimentand observe physical processes firsthand. Among the Archives’ treas-ures is a physics notebook, kept by student Charles A. Thompson in1881, that includes drawings of some of the laboratory equipmentwith notes on how it worked. Botany and surveying classes werepopular because they took students outdoors. Some documents survive from those classes, including an album of preserved plantspecimens and several volumes of a plant census, valuable today as asource of information about climate change and its effect on localspecies.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries brought further change.Williston’s parallel classical and scientific curricula had become increasingly irrelevant to the demands of the university and the

Science Teaching

20 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

The chemistry lab in Middle Hall on the Old Campus, late 1940s. Theinstructor is Earl N. Johnston.

Chemistry students, ca. 1890.

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 21

workplace. Indeed, by the 1880s, the idea that a student with onlyhigh school training in civil engineering was qualified to designand build a road or bridge had become laughable. Change cameslowly at Williston and elsewhere, but by the 1890s HeadmasterJoseph Sawyer, as part of his effort to re-imagine the school’s mis-sion, had begun to break down the divisions between the scientificand classical departments in favor of a more comprehensive cur-riculum. This reform continued through 1930, when the distinc-tion was abandoned altogether. With these changes came moderncourses in chemistry, biology, and physics. The instructional modelcontinued to evolve from professorial lectures and demonstrationsto student-driven discovery through experimentation. Curriculargrowth remained relatively slow. This writer’s late-1960s Willistonoffered first-class science teaching, in a core curriculum of PhysicalScience, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. But only one sciencecourse was required for graduation, there were few elective options,and only the most mathematically adept students pursued physics.Northampton School’s offerings were similar. In the 1980s and1990s the number of science courses, and students enrolling inthem, began to grow quickly.

It is fair to note that facilities did not keep pace with curriculardemands. In 1950 students worked in the same laboratories that hadbeen state-of-the-art eight decades earlier, but had not aged well.The move to the new campus in 1951 did not improve matters atall; science classrooms were shoehorned into the basement of thenow-demolished Language Building, until the school opened itspresent Science Building, now called Scott Hall, in 1957. Thatstructure provided six spacious and well-equipped laboratories.While additional labs have since been created by reallocating areasonce devoted to other purposes, in 2011 we offer four times thenumber of science courses that were available 54 years ago, in virtu-ally the same space.

Science teaching thrives at Williston. Part of the stated missionof today’s Science Department is to “instill a passion for science ...to challenge our students to understand what they cannot see.” Allstudents take a minimum of two science classes, and many take fouror more. Along with the traditional core courses, all of which haveAdvanced Placement sections, the department offers many electives,including Organic Chemistry, Animal Behavior, Astronomy 1 and 2,Genetics, Ecology, and Human Physiology. Senior Debbie Andres,who will major in mechanical engineering next fall, notes that herWilliston science education has encouraged her creativity. “It’s notjust applying formulas. It’s working with problems and being able toapply them in real-life situations. It’s analyzing data and consideringalternative ways to achieve a result. And especially, I’ve learned dif-ferent ways of looking at my world.” As for next year, “I feel likeI’m really well prepared.”

Charles Thompson's 1881 physicsnotebook, illustrating an air pump.

“It’s not just applying formulas. I’ve learned different ways of looking at my world.”

–Debbie Andres ’11

Then and Now

© Janine Norton

www.williston.com/archives

22 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

Plans for John Wright House include renovation and additional dormitory space.

Plans for a residential quad began to be realized with the opening

of the 194 Main Street dormitory in 2008.

© Edward Judice

© Robert Benson

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 23

A key component of the plan is the creation of a residen-tial campus quad located between Park Street and MainStreet and stretching from Brewster Avenue to Payson Lane.The opening of the 194 Main Street dormitory in 2008 wasthe first step toward realizing this vision. The fully realized residential quad will feature three dor-

mitories in addition to 194 Main Street, each large enoughto house 32 students, with attached faculty housing for atotal of six faculty families. One would include a relocatedPitcher House; another would be attached to a renovatedJohn P. Wright House. The residential quad envisioned in the plan would pro-

vide the school with a number of advantages. It wouldachieve the long-sought-after goal of moving students outof the Main Street dorms, eliminating the need for them tocross Main Street, which has seen a noticeable increase intraffic over the past few years. It would also allow the schoolto take some of the older dorms, which are increasingly ex-pensive to maintain, out of service. The plan calls for Clare,Conant, Logan, French, Hathaway, and Swan Cottage all tobe decommissioned as the residential quad gets built. Thenew dorms would also be highly energy efficient, utilizinggeothermal heating and cooling.

Most important, the residential quad with new dormswill create a more comfortable and modern campus envi-ronment and make the school more attractive to prospectivestudents. The 194 Main Street dormitory was the first newdorm built on campus in 45 years. A new science facility is another key component of the

plan. Scott Hall opened in 1957 and at the time was hailedin the Bulletin for the “modern facilities [which] offergreater ease and effectiveness [for scientific study].” Overthe years, Scott Hall has served well the scientific needs ofstudents and faculty. However, the demands of today’s mod-ern science curriculum are close to the point where ScottHall will no longer be able to provide adequate support.The plan takes this eventuality into account. Schematics cre-ated as part of the plan in 2001, and updated in 2006, depicta modern science and math facility attached to Scott Hallthat would serve the school’s needs well into the future.While it’s a long journey from schematic to ribbon cutting,whatever the new facility entails, it will in part be a reflec-tion of the careful thought and hard work that continues togo into the Campus Master Plan.

Campus Master Plan Guides Development

Plans include a new dormitory and faculty homes connected to Pitcher House.

This year marks the tenth year that the school has been operating under the guide-lines established by the Campus Master Plan that the Board of Trustees adopted in2001. The plan outlines the school’s long-range plans for the development of itcampus. As Business Manager Chuck McCullagh P’10, ’12 explains, the plan detailsthe projects that the school would like to accomplish, including such things as build-

ing renovations and property acquisitions. These projects are reviewed regularly by the board,which will often re-prioritize them based on current realities and available resources. The planwas last updated significantly in 2006.

n admittedly nervous Mr. Blanchettestepped to the podium in the PhillipsStevens Chapel during this winter’sCum Laude assembly and gave an inspi-rational speech in which he describedthe early days of his teaching career andhow he ended up at Williston in the first

place. He told the story of how a “little voice” spoke tohim almost 40 years ago and told him that even though itseemed like a crazy idea to take a temporary one-yearteaching position at Williston, especially when he had other,more secure teaching offers, he should go ahead and do it. He explained, “In my experience, I have found that

many of the events that most influenced my life werecompletely unplanned, and I am truly thankful that I wasopen to listening at those moments and willing to let my-self be led into uncharted waters.” Everyone who has ever had the chance to meet Bob

over the course of his career should also be thankful that helistened to the little voice, because he leaves behind a legacyof kindness, dedication, and excellence that will be missed.It may have been a little voice that prodded him to teachhere, but Bob leaves behind a pair of large shoes to fill. “I don’t want to succeed Bob,” has become a common,

half-joking refrain around the Math Department since heannounced that this would be his last year at the school.The comment recognizes the high standards Bob has estab-lished in each of the many different roles he has held at theschool. It is almost in-evitable that the more timeyou spend at a school likeWilliston, the more thingsyou get involved in, butover the course of his career,Bob has gone beyond whatcan reasonably be expectedof anyone. He was hired by Phil

Stevens in 1972 to teachFrench and coach soccerand golf, and he will retireas a math teacher and golfcoach. In between, he hasworked as admission direc-tor, financial aid assistant,class advisor, summer school director, department head, andLog advisor. He also helped establish Williston’s successful AsSchools Match Wits team, the French Club, and the Invest-ment Club. He has been the president of Williston’s CumLaude Society since 2001, he was awarded the Grubbs Fac-ulty Chair in 2000, and he was this year’s Cum Laude speaker.

In 2002, after having already being at Williston for 30 years,he took a sabbatical to learn how to teach math. When hecame back, he taught both French and math for a period oftime, sometimes to the same students in the same classroomsbut in different periods. And these are just some of Bob’smost visible accomplishments. What is harder to quantify isthe tremendous impact he’s had on generations of Willistonstudents and faculty. Claire Frierson, who has been teaching with Bob since

1982, has this to say about Bob’s retirement: “I am in the unfortunate position of not being able to relax when Bob retires, because I’ve already had to step into his shoes in a

Everyone who hasever had the chanceto meet Bob over thecourse of his career

should also be thank-ful that he listened to the little voice,

because he leaves be-hind a legacy of kind-ness, dedication, andexcellence that will be

missed.

24 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

Mr. Blanchette Listens to the Little Voiceby Andrew Shelffo

A

number of areas, and each year that I spend doing jobs he usedto do—teaching French III, leading the Quebec trip, coachingthe Academic Team—makes me realize even more completelywhat a hard act to follow he is, and how fortunate the Willis-ton community has been to have Bob among us for the past39 years.”Director of Admission Ann Pickrell, who has worked with

Bob for 29 years, says “Bob is a truly gifted leader with a lovefor Williston.” The school has benefitted tremendously fromthe little voice that spoke to Bob in the first place, so weshouldn’t complain too much that the voice has spoken toBob once again. As he explained in his Cum Laude speech,

“That little voice came back again recently—this time saying‘It’s been a nice run, Bob, you’ve enjoyed one of the mostsatisfying careers you could have dreamed of, but don’t pushyour luck—it’s time to move on.’” Now Williston will haveto move on as well.Bob has no definite plans for what he’s going to do after

Williston, and he admits that going through the day withoutbeing beholden to a typical, busy Williston schedule will be abit challenging. But you can be sure that he’ll keep on listen-ing to that little voice. We wish him well.

SPRING 2011 BULLETIN 25

Over the years, Bob has been (clockwise from left) Cum Laude speaker, recipient of the Dennis H. Grubbs Faculty Chair, As Schools Match Wits moderator,French teacher, Cum Laude Society officer, and math teacher, plus much more to his students and colleagues.

www.williston.com/cumlaude

Not a Coda, but an Intro

26 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

by Andrew Shelffo

The end of the 2010-11 school year marks the end of an erain music at Williston as music teacher Deb Sherr moves onto a new and exciting project. Deb began at Williston in1988 as a part-time music teacher in the Middle School.She leaves 23 years later having been one of the longest-serving department heads in school history and the recipi-

ent of the Zachs Faculty Chair. She also leaves with the deep respectand admiration of her colleagues and the deep gratitude of her manycurrent and former students.

The Fine Arts Department as a whole, and the music program inparticular, have flourished during Deb’s time at Williston. “The musicprogram has evolved in a very positive way. When I got here, there wasno such thing as the music and arts alternative to sports. Now we havethat. Choruses and wind and string ensembles were not classes. Nowthey are, which means that students who might not have tried music be-fore do so now because they can get academic credit. Those were im-portant changes for the school and a big reason why music is much morea central part of daily academic life here at Williston.” Fine Arts TeacherMarcia Reed has taught with Deb since 1995. She says, “Beyond being acompetent professional cellist, conductor, music instructor and arts ad-ministrator, Deb is the genuine article. She really understands the artistic/music temperament in young people and adults.”

Students break into song after games, at assembly the entire schooloften sings “Sammy” or the Alma Mater. This spring, to mark the returnfrom spring break and the opening of baseball season, the Upper Schoolstudents and faculty sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” led by twoof Deb’s fine arts colleagues, Cathy Kay and Ben Demerath. Music isprominent all over campus, thanks in large part to Deb’s hard work. “Itake great pride in the fact that I shepherded in many new arts courses as department head.”

Cathy and Ben will take over many of Deb’s responsibilities, includingteaching music history classes and scheduling music lessons. “Wonderfulcolleagues and friends,” Deb says when he talks about her fellow Fine ArtsDepartment faculty. “I’ve loved being involved with the whole depart-ment—they’re just so supportive and creative.” That’s one of the thingsshe’ll miss most when she leaves Williston: the feeling of camaraderie inthe department. She also admits that she’ll miss the classroom teaching.

So what is she going to do? In September she will begin working oncreating an artists’ retreat in New Hampshire for young, emergent cham-ber musicians. “A place where they can work intensely,” she explains.“This doesn’t exist anywhere in the country.” Because of that, it’s a prettydaunting project, but while Deb is nervous, she is excited as well and be-lieves it is the right time in her life for this project. “I’ve been so gratefulfor my experience here, for myself, for my kids. I’m leaving and it’s bit-tersweet, but it’s the right thing in this phase of my life. And I think it’sgoing to be the right thing all around.”

“The music program has evolved in a very positive way.”

© Janine Norton

© Janine Norton

© Janine Norton

From top: Deb Sherr conducts the 2010 instrumental recital; gives a piano lesson in 1998; and spends a few minutes with colleague Marcia Reed before Commencement 2010.

Top, left to right: Chemistry at Northampton School for Girls,mid-1940s; and at Williston, with Ralph “Doc” Phillips, ca. 1958;Wilmot Babcock teaching physics, late ’40s. Above: a Northampton School class, ca. 1968Left: biology by the pond, ca. 1995

64 SPRING 2011 BULLETIN

© William Rittase

© William Rittase

by Archivist Richard Teller ’70

from the archives

S C I E N C E C L A S S E S O V E R T H E D E C A D E S

W I L L I S T O N N O R T H A M P T O N H I S T O R Y I S Y O U R H I S T O R Y !The Archives collect school documents and memorabilia of all kinds. We’re especially interested in student journals and letters,academic work, photographs, and much more. We’d also like to fill gaps in certain school publications, notably Northampton Schoolyearbooks for 1934 and 1956, and many issues of the Northampton Annual Catalogue, Pegasus, and The Willistonian. Don’t letthese important pieces of our history be lost to future generations! If you have material you would like to share or stories to tell,please contact Archivist Richard Teller ’70 at (413) 529-3288 or rteller@williston.com.

www.williston.com/archives

CLASS OF 1961

ELM TREE ASSOCIATES

�

Richard Adelmann

Anonymous

Barbara Curtis Baker

Nancy Blish (DEC)

Faith Barrington

Jim DeAngelis

Carl Farrington

Jim Hamilton

Joan Montgomery Mihalakos

Dave Shaw

Patrick Sheehan

Martha Goman Wemett

At this year’s Reunion, a special group of alumni will gather

in Easthampton to share laughter and memories. These

people are special not just because they’ll be celebrating their

50th reunion, but because they are all members of the Elm Tree

Society. The Class of ’61 has more Elm Tree Society members

than any other class. The 12 people listed here have chosen to

demonstrate their commitment to the long-term success of the

school by remembering Williston Northampton in their estate

planning, thereby ensuring that tomorrow’s students will receive

the exceptional college preparatory experience that they did.

1961�

A Class of Distinction

CONGRATULATIONS

AND

THANK YOUTO THE

50TH REUNION

CLASS

BULLETINBULLETINSPR ING 2 011

T h e W i l l i s t o n N o r t h a m p t o n S c h o o l

John Hazen White ’76: Savings and Sustainability

Mr. Blanchette Says Farewell

Science Education, Then and Now

Eudora Welty: Photographs of the 30s and 40sDuring the 1930s, in her spare time as ajunior publicist for the WPA, Eudora Weltycaptured rural Mississippi with her camera.Her images convey an honest curiosity toward people affected by their Southernsurroundings during the Depression, andan engaging interest in the people andplaces that would later flourish in her stories. The Pulitzer Prize-winning authorwould later write, “Making pictures of peo-ple in all sorts of situations, I learned thatevery feeling waits upon its gesture; and I had to be prepared to recognize this mo-ment when I saw it.” Welty’s photographshave been exhibited in the Smithsonian,the National Museum of Women in theArts, the Museum of the City of New York,and now in the Grubbs Gallery in the ReedCampus Center. In conjunction with thePhotographers’ Lecture Series, a selectionof Welty’s silver gelatin prints were onview this spring, loaned from the collec-tions of John and Melody Maxey and BarryMoser and Emily Crowe. Ephemera andaudio narratives of people who met the author reounded out the exhibition, includ-ing a story by illustrator and former facultymember Barry Moser.

Nonprofit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDThe WillistonNorthampton School19 Payson Avenue

Easthampton, MA 01027

(413) 529-3000

www.williston.com

Change service requested

Parents: If this issue is addressed to your son or daughter who no longermaintains a permanent address at yourhome, please notify the Alumni Officeof the correct new mailing address bycontacting us at alumni@williston.comor (800) 469-4559. Thank you.

The WillistonNorthampton School