by Julian Stanton, Class of 2011 - 26 Jan 2009

As Dr. Sagarin opened a big cardboard box, pulled out stacks of beautifully printed greeting cards, and placed them onto the table, I remembered the complex process we students went through to make them.

It all started when Ms. Lombardi walked into the classroom and told us that we were going to make block prints. Piles of pictures – some post cards, some newspaper clippings, and some magazines cut outs were laid out on the tables. She told us to take one of the pictures and to draw it on large pieces of paper. When we finished drawing we traced in onto the back of the large sheet of paper, using a light box.

Carefully, we copied our drawing onto a large piece of wood by laying the paper over the wood and pressing along the edges of the drawing. This made an indented picture on the wood, which we darkened with a lead pencil. Then we began carving out the light parts of the drawing. When that was finished we used a special roller to roll thick ink onto the wood carving. The ink only went onto these places we did not carve. When we put paper on the wet ink, the picture was transferred onto the paper.

We sent the paper to be copied, shrunk, and copied onto a card-sized paper.
Cost is $10 for a box of ten cards plus envelopes. Contact the high school for more information: 413 528-8833.

Caren Kuster and Florian Mathias, two spunky German visiting students, came to our high school last fall. Both students had no idea what they were in for, but they came with open minds and creative spirits, wanting to make the best of it.

Florian Mathias, a tenth grader at a Waldorf high school in Munich, was hosted by Martin Summer. “It was cool to have him around,” says Martin. “We had a lot of fun together.”

Caren Kuster, a ninth grader at a public school near Munich, stayed with Ari Meyerowitz. Both Caren and Florian had strange, fun, and memorable times with their families that will remain with them forever.

Throughout their three-month stay they took classes in blacksmithing, creating block prints, drawing, and joined in our musical performances. They also learned about the history of art, the United States constitution, joined the scary challenges of a high ropes course, went kayaking, hiking, and took a jumpy trip to New York City. All of these activities were unusual, hilarious, and exciting, and most of them were new experiences for both the students.

In this long and colorful trimester, we all became close and good friends and will share these unforgettable experiences for a lifetime. We thank both of them for coming, and hope one day they can return to our high school.

by Teruko Kushi, Class of 2012 - 26 Jan 2009

by Caren Küster ’10 - 30 Sep 2008
On my first day, when I came into the school, I was surprised! I asked myself where are all the students? From the information I was given, I was expecting twenty students per class, and that would have been a very small class in Germany.

Twenty students on a whole school would be impossible!

My school is near Starnberg in Bavaria, directly at the lake. It has a total of 740 students, organized in 21 classes, accommodated in 24 rooms, split into eight buildings.

I like the idea of having only four long lessons a day instead of at least six 45min lessons. I think many different people, from different ages, are as interesting as many people from your grade are. Although I really miss my loud and sometimes crazy, and sometimes really annoying class, I want to say thank you to all of you for to gathering Florian and me in such a way, and I’m looking forward to a great time, including interesting activities and lots of fun.

by Gertrude H. Wilson - 30 Nov 2004

Dear Friends,

I am an avid reader and diehard fan of The Globe. I have received, read, and re-read every one of the publications and am enchanted. You are doing a wonderful thing by starting a high school. I have one question for you: Am I your only reader? Do you publish the Globe solely for my enjoyment? Your ìletters to the editorî column is so empty. You should encourage the community to send letters with their thoughts and feelings.

How many new students have you got? Do you like your new location? I apologize if you have aleady said these things, but it takes weeks for the Globe to arrive here in Alaska.
Since I know so much about you I will tell you a little about myself. My name is Gertrude Harriet Wilson. I am 71 years old and live alone in my log cabin with my malamutes who pull my sled. I am 5í4î (Emma and Nadia, youíre not alone) and I enjoy fishing. I hope you will all come and visit me one day on one of your exciting excursions.
Keep the Globe coming!

Sincerely,
Gertrude H. Wilson

by Stephen Sagarin, 11th grade advisor - 30 Nov 2004

In August 1988, before the start of my third year of teaching, I dreamed I stood before a difficult class in the school library. I wore my shirt, jacket and tie, but nothing else; this was embarrassing. No one noticed, but I was uncomfortable and tried to find excuses to leave. The class became more and more unruly until I walked over and slapped a studentóhe shall remain nameless, but he was someone very specific – across the face, hard.

Fortunately, these anxiety dreams tend to pass as we mature as teachers. We begin to forget about ourselves. Beginning teachers tend to focus on themselves. This is almost a first stage in becoming a teacher. Is my dress appropriate? My manner? My technique? My hair? Am I adequate for this job? Try to learn to forget about yourself.

In the next stage, many teachers become preoccupied with their subject, with the material of their class. What should I teach? What can I leave out? What is important? I have 14 topics and only five days left in the course… Gradually, we forget about the subject. When we are learning to play the piano, we think about playing the piano, and it is difficult to make music. When we have learned to play the piano, we forget the piano and begin to play. Try to learn to forget your subject. At the end of life, who will say, ìGee, I wish I had learned just a bit more algebra. I wish I had been a better speller?î
I recently read something that included the beautiful phrase, the ìfruitfulness of forgetting.î Apply the fruitfulness of forgetting to your work. Part of the value of forgetting is that our attention is freed to engage the world anew. A third stage in the development of a teacher occurs when your attention goes, finally, where it belongs: To your students. Learn to attend to your students. Forget the rest. And students: Pay attention to your teachers!

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.