by Emma Franco - 14 Oct 2004

There is no long-winded introduction; it does not take twenty pages for anything interesting to happen: right from page one you are caught in the story.

Narrated by the willful and free-spirited Amelia Peabody Emerson, the story takes place mainly in Sudan.

As Amelia and her ruggedly handsome husband, Radcliff Emerson, both well-known archeologists, are preparing for the seasonís dig, a map and a suspicious note arrive.

The map claims to lead to an untouched civilization deep in the heart of the Sudan. The Emersons deem it inconceivable, and along with their prodigy son, Ramses, they head to the Sudan.

Soon overwhelming evidence and curiosity overcome their good judgment.
Because it is filled with cliffhanger moments, mystery and wit, putting down the book will not be an option.

Soon you will find yourself swooning over the thought of Emerson whipping you into his arms and running off on some new mystery-filled adventure with a son who can speak five different Arabic dialects and knows as much as a seasoned archeologist.

Highly recommended!

by Susanne Fili - 14 Oct 2004

The first day in the new building of the high school was amazing.

When I first took a tour of the building, I thought it would be hard to have class in such a small space. I was wrong.

Over the summer many hardworking and dedicated people did miracles to give the space a ìnew look.î At the beginning of the opening ceremony, every student was given a sunflower.

We acknowledged and thanked all who had helped us to get to where we are and to be who we are today. Next, the teachers were introduced, and some of them gave us words of advice for the future.

We all sang a round that our new chorus teacher, Mrs. Schane-Lydon, had written, and we ended the ceremony by putting all our sunflowers into a vase as we entered our new high school one by one.

When we reached the top of the stairs there were refreshments waiting for us. As we all chitchatted about our summers, news reporters from a local newspaper and radio station started to interview some of us.

They asked about the differences between the high school and the lower school, and why we decided to come to this particular high school rather then other college preparatory high schools in the area.

Before we knew it, it was time for classes. The first class we had was Spanish or German. We spoke about our summer vacations and welcomed the new students into the classes. Then we all changed classrooms.

The eleventh graders went into the main seminar room to have algebra II class with our new teacher, Mr. Youmans. We all talked about how much experience we had had with math and how much we liked to do math; it was, basically, a meet and greet.

After that, we had a twenty-minute break and then filed back into our separate classrooms for our daily seminar class. Right now, the 11th grade has Ms. Eliot, and we are learning about the life and plays of William Shakespeare.

From the very first moments of the opening ceremony to the very last minute of our Shakespeare seminar, I knew this year and all the years to come would and will be a great learning experience for all of my peers and me.

by Emma Franco - 14 Oct 2004

Yon huge black cloud looks like a foul bombard that would shed its liquid upon us. The high winds sorely ruffle us and whip against our cheeks.

Somewhere to my left, though the gales do not permit me to see, I hear a soft muttering: ìSamís acold. Flibbertigibbet! Poor Sam’s acold’

‘Tis a pitiful young soul driven mad by lack of warmth and the incessant rain that forms a solid barrier around us. The only other sounds that greet my searching ears is a crack of thunder and the far-off cry of a Polish man: ìI am good guy!î

Wait! Do mine eyes deceive me or is that Tavish upon the high ropes? Could it be? But, alas, my vision leaves with the lighting and I am again clouded in darkness, soaked through and through.

And thus the year beginnith.

by Samantha Stier - 14 Oct 2004

‘Oh Lord, Lord, Lord!’ Desdemona screams as Othello smothers her to death with his bare hands. The woman he loved, he kills.

The man he trusted is evil. Only when it is too late does Othello realize he has been tricked. Too late, because two lie dead – by his hand.

Is it any wonder the 11th grade was intrigued by this dramatic Shakespeare play?

When our teacher, Ms. Eliot, told us we would be studying ìOthelloî in the first part of our Shakespeare seminar, we cannot pretend we were not a little annoyed.

We have spent the last three years studying, watching and performing in various Shakespeare plays, and the thought of picking apart yet another was not welcome.

The Sunday night performance of ìOthelloî at Shakespeare and Co. completely changed our minds. We had not realized how fascinating the play was.

The irony, the emotions, the motives, all weave together this amazing story of one man, Othello, whose only crime was to love ìnot wisely, but too well.î Shakespeare created an immortal character in Othello, the black moor of Venice, who marries a beautiful woman, Desdemona.

Iago, the villain of the play, brilliantly and cunningly manipulates Othelloís mind to the point where he dismisses his most loyal and honorable lieutenant with whom he believes his wife is unfaithful.

Sometimes described as the most dramatic of Shakespeare plays, ìOthelloî stands apart from the other tragedies. Othello is possibly the most intricate of characters, and Iago seems to epitomize evil throughout time.

In our first seminars, we discussed this play, arguing about the way Shakespeare depicts women. We talked about Desdemonaís last words: when asked who had strangled her, she did not tell the truth: that it was her husband, and instead put the blame on herself.

We wondered how it was possible, if you loved someone as much as Othello loved Desdemona, to kill her over flimsy evidence like Iago had given. We wondered if it were possible to love someone so much you went on loving them even as they murdered you.

We have almost finished all five acts, and it is only the first week of classes. Next week, we will start on ìHamlet.î For homework we have to find quotes in the play to present to the class.

Ms. Eliot also has us do other unique work, like acting out scenes from the play, writing about our trip to Hi-Rock – in Shakespearian – and reading an article in the New Yorker about Shakespeare.

We have a lot of fun in this seminar block, and itís a great way to start out the new school year. We look forward to reading ìHamlet.î

by Rachel Fletcher, Housatonic River Walk - 14 Oct 2004
September 29, 2004

Great Barrington Waldorf High School
c/o Rick Shrum
454 Main Street
Geat Barrington, MA 01230

Dear Friends,

River Walk owes each of you a debt of gratitude for your great contribution to our project.

Between removing invasive goutweed, planting native geum plants, and maintaining the trail, you made a terrific difference!

Your contribution will help restore a balanced ecology to the riverbank, attract more wildlife, and help keep the river clean.

From Monica, Heather, Penelope, and myself, thank you so much for lending a hand on Michaelmas Day. You were entirely awesome! I hope we can make this a regular event.

by Stephen Sagarin, 11th grade advisor - 14 Oct 2004

Warning teenagers about the physiological and even the emotional effects of drug use has little value; who feels more immortal and invincible than a teen?

Over twenty years of teaching, I have come to believe strongly, however, that a description of the spiritual effects of drug experimentation can help teenagers choose not to use mind-altering drugs.

Regardless of points of view and interpretation, we teachers in Waldorf schools and Steiner schools share a unity of purpose and vision, and this centers around an understanding of the existence of a spiritual dimension to our world.

When we experience truth – as in the truth of a geometric proof – or beauty – as in a piece of music – we partake of the non-physical, of the spiritual.

A piano produces vibrations, but a human being hears music. Our perceptions of the world can lead us to understand spiritual perception.

Anything we do, then, that distorts our perception of the world makes it more difficult to follow a path that will lead to understanding of the truly spiritual.

This is especially true if the distortion has the quality of spiritual experience, as it does under the influence of mind-altering drugs.

It is not that hallucinations, mild or profound, are illusory because they are false. They are dangerous precisely because they are unearned, unmoored openings into truth and beauty.

And who, shown an easy path, will choose the harder one, especially if the ends are unknown?

(This brief article is a synopsis of remarks Mr. Sagarin made to the high school in a recent forum.)

by Caitlin Blau and Bryan McManus - 14 Oct 2004

People who suffer through challenging experiences together are always closer when the trial is over.

Our teachers came up with the perfect bonding technique: take us out into the woods, make us climb lots of ropes and hike around in the rain.

So, after a short first day of school orientation at our wonderful new building in town, we piled into three cars and drove to Camp Hi-Rock where we met our instructors who would lead the activities.

“You are going to get wet,” our counselor said..
“Oh” we responded. We weren’t expecting THAT.

It rained. And it rained. But the constant pouring rain didnít stop any of us from having a blast. First, we learned teamwork and trust. Right away, we were led through numerous challenging games before we were allowed to eat.

After dinner, we were instructed to create a shelter that could hold a person, out of masking tape and newspaper. Without talking.

We did both the low and high ropes courses at Camp Hi-Rock.

The low ropes emphasized teamwork and responsibility for each other, using elements like The Wall, which everybody had to get over, ladder not included, and everyoneís favorite, the Spiderweb.

Everyone had to get through, no touching, and no using the same hole twice. If you did touch, back to the beginning again. That one took a while…

The high ropes challenged us to challenge ourselves.

For some the challenge was climbing the ladder to the starting platform, 40 feet in the air; for some it was letting go of the belay rope and walking backwards across the slippery Catwalk.

Everyone pushed personal limits and got to cruise down the zip line. Even Ms. Eliot scampered around the high ropes before we left.

On the last day we were led on a long hike around the outskirts of the camp. We trudged through rivers in the pouring rain but with the reward of hot chocolate at the end. Our last activity was canoeing.

After gloating over his last set of dry clothes, Andrew found himself in the lake, fully clothed, along with Tavish and Toby. Drenched, they came out shivering with no dry clothes left at all.

The lesson learned? Three people in a canoe throwing volleyballs at Bryan are just enough force to tip over said canoe and sink it. Happily, it was almost time to go.

After a goodbye speech from our head instructor and ONE last bonding exercise, we packed up our bags and headed home.