by Emma Franco – 11 Jul 2004

I looked out at the beautiful view of the garden from my bedroom window. I’m actually in Germany, I thought. After months of planning and many fundraisers we had made it to Germany. In the course of eight hours I had gone from 11p.m on Saturday to 7 pm on Sunday. The plane ride from JFK to Amsterdam flew by and the flight from Amsterdam to Munich was even shorter. By then we were all nervous and we couldn’t stop laughing. When we landed our hosts were all waiting for us. The first mix-up of the trip was when my host, Amelie, was asking which one, Caitlin or I, was vegetarian. Caitlin thought Amelie was asking if she played the guitar and started some air strumming. [Read more…]

by Stephen Sagarin, Tenth Grade Advisor – 11 Jul 2004

Part of Ninth Grade History of the Modern World addresses this question: how does the world change? Not the natural, forest fire-earthquake-volcano part of the world, but the world of ideas and events, the human world. The simple answer is that change comes through the work of human beings. This is not to deny the effects of unintended consequences. Louis XIV centralized power in France, drawing nobles away from the provinces and their fiefdoms to serve him at Versailles. One effect of this policy? Nobility itself became trivial and weak, laying part of the groundwork for the French Revolution. On the other hand, the bureaucracy that Louis and his cardinals furthered is still in place in France despite the Revolution. [Read more…]

by Andrew Sagarin – 11 Jul 2004

Should pro athletes be kids’ role models? The answer is no. Many athletes such as Allen Iverson, Randy Moss, and Jeremy Shockey, are big babies who have let their celebrity go to their heads. They have bad attitudes and believe that the world revolves around them. [Read more…]

by Emma Franco – 11 Jul 2004

“So – does everyone know what the Odyssey is about?”Ms. Eliot asked us on the first day of our Odyssey seminar. [Read more…]

by Rick Shrum – 11 Jul 2004

As we wrap up the last couple of weeks of this school year, we look forward with great anticipation to the opening of the new Great Barrington Waldorf High School in September. During the summer months we will begin to transform the spaces of our new downtown location, making some renovations, touching up the paint, and making it look and feel like a Waldorf school. [Read more…]

by Rick Shrum for the Board of Trustees – 29 Apr 2004

The Board of Trustees of the new Great Barrington Waldorf High School would like to thank you for your enthusiasm and perseverance regarding the initiation of this high school. Your bold determination to have a Waldorf high school experience in the Berkshires has been the driving force behind our work. It takes courage to step forward, ask for what you want, and to be willing to blaze the trail as pioneers. You have also done well in representing yourselves to this community and demonstrating that adolescents may be big and boisterous, but can also be responsible, caring, young adults who have much to offer. [Read more…]

by Stephen Sagarin, 10th grade advisor – 09 Mar 2004 [Read more…]

by Rick Shrum – 09 Feb 2004 [Read more…]

We’ll never forget the day when Mr. Shrum bounced into our midst, more excited than usual, and said: “A letter is being mailed this week announcing that the high school is going forward.” He wanted us to be the first to know about our future at our school, our home of learning. We all responded with cheers of joy. [Read more…]