Waldorf education in the Berkshires of Massachusetts
You have questions about high school.
We have answers.
Monday, April 12, 2021
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Students, parents, and teachers from our school will introduce themselves and answer your questions. Interested? Email Sarah Blexrud, Admissions Director, admissions@berkshirewaldorf.com to obtain a secure link.
Become
yourself.
New times call for new traditions… Students, teachers, parents, board members joined a Zoom call to say the morning verse together. We’ll do this each morning until the end of the school year. So strange, but so lovely.
BHWS Alum Laura Coe, class of 2018, performed with the Harvard Ballet Company for a “virtual presentation of formations.” Laura is currently a sophomore at Harvard University.
Photo and poster design credit: @queenanamaria
The Earth Institute at Columbia University has recently published a paper in the Journal of the International Society for Respiratory Protection that looks into whether disposable masks can be disinfected by heating them without compromising their effectiveness. The authors, who include life and earth science teacher Lee Magadini, also compared the effectiveness of medical-grade masks with homemade ones, and looked into the feasibility of improving masks with homemade nose clips. Here’s a description of a paper she coauthored, which contains a link to the paper itself, published in the Journal of the International Society for Respiratory Protection. Congratulations, Ms. Magadini!
April 20, 2020: The safety of our students, faculty & staff, families, and our community continues to be paramount to us all here at the BWHS. Gov. Charlie Baker has announced that all public and private schools in Massachusetts will remain closed through the end of this school year out of concerns for the safety of students and staff in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For Berkshire Waldorf High School, remote classes will continue through May 29, at which point the school year will end. This is a week earlier than planned, but we have had to cancel trips and other activities, and that has shortened the year. We continue to be in close touch with our students and their families, and offering on-line classes in ways that best work for all of us. We’re saddened that we won’t be able to hold our usual wonderful senior appreciation celebration, but very proud of the work all the seniors are doing in their individual internships and apprenticeships and look forward to sharing with you what they accomplished at a later date.
Juniors and Seniors started working on independent projects yesterday. They will spend the next 3 weeks out of academic classes, focusing on a viola recital, an art portfolio, a research project, building a 3D printer, directing community theater, interning with a local police department, and more. Many have adapted to find projects that suit current circumstances and restrictions.
Here is Mattie Vandiver, Class of 2021, working on her photography portfolio.
While we’re at home and spending so much time on the Internet, why not make it fruitful? This April, Samantha Stier, English and history teacher, is offering a seminar for 11th and 12th graders in Film Studies.
You’re welcome to join in this very different approach to the history of film. Here’s the introduction:
https://youtu.be/xkKy9V72Lw0
9th grade basketry with Mrs. Palmer
Students spent the day MASS MoCA today!
Dr. Sagarin’s Modern & Contemporary Art History seminar had the opportunity to visit Andy Goldsworthy’s “Stone Houses” on a private property in the Berkshires this morning. This is what we mean by “small school – big world.” Educational opportunities are all around us.
