January 18:   Community Supper - Nat's and Izzy's Team
January 21:   Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No School
January 25:   Community Supper - Lila's and Ishan's Team

This has been an exciting week at The Academy, and a gratifying one. Grinnell Sessions and subsequent presentations to the community, the seniors' "This I Believe" speeches, and a training session for council leaders have marked three days of fabulous programming. See below for details! Our second semester classes began today and the community is energized for the months ahead.

Semester 1 report cards have been published to NetClassroom. Please let John Schatz know if you have any trouble accessing your account or viewing the Report Card, or if you would prefer to have a hard copy of your report card mailed to you.

Our students' Tertulia appearance has been rescheduled! They'll be on the air this coming Sunday, January 13 at 8 PM on NEPR (88.5 FM). Listen in as Izzy B, Lila G, Chessie R-C, and Leni S-F use their Spanish language talents during an interview with Raquel Obregón, host of the bilingual radio show.  If you miss it, you can stream the show here. Their teacher Sra. Valdez reminds us that a tertulia is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Iberia or in Latin America. The word also refers to an informal meeting of people to talk about current affairs, arts, etc.

Art & Activism
“The History of Art & Activism in America” asked students to consider the importance of art as a form of protest and how it serves as a conduit of change. Led by Dr. Fagan and Mrs. BZ, the group surveyed the history of visual protest in America from colonial engravings calling for independence to contemporary works raising awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement and reproductive rights. A visit to the Smith College Museum of Art provided some contemporary examples such as prints by Nell Painter focused on the contemporary experience of racism, and photographs by Lauren Greenfield exploring “girl culture.” The group’s final project was to create a prototype for a larger art piece that compelled its audience to “Wake Up” critiquing passivity and mistaking awareness for change. When creating their work, the students thought carefully about the relationship between text and image, using contrast, a limited color palette, and drawing attention to a short but powerful slogan.

First Aid
Mr. Schatz led students through an American Red Cross First Aid/CPR course while also helping them consider how to respond to emergency situations in more remote environments. Students learned how to address situations that included choking, CPR, using an Automatic External Defibrillator, splinting, burns, strokes, and diabetic, asthmatic, and anaphylaxis emergencies. Through this session, students earned a two year certification in Adult/Pediatric/Infant First Aid & CPR.

Audio Recording
Students in the audio workshop reproduced a recording of A Day in The Life, by The Beatles. This song, off the Sgt. Pepper’s album, is considered one of the great early examples of the recording studio being used as a creative songwriting tool and more than just the means to document a piece of music or performance. The group spent the first few hours learning the material and discussing wasy to approach the recording process and arrangement. Later, they began by tracking maracas, bass, and "guide" vocals for the entire song. On the second day they added more elements of the rhythm section, drums, piano, and guitar. The two violin players wer multi-tracked seeral times to create a igger orchestral sound and finally, they finished up with vocals and vocal overdubs. Music Director Scott Hoffman, who led the session, is proud of the group's focused work and impressed with the output, as were all those in attendance at their presentation. 
Listen here!

Mythology and Theater
Led by Mr. Gay and Mr. Young, this group spent their time immersed in Greek tragedy. The class spent Tuesday learning about the physical theater and the structure of tragedy, and then wrote a scene that incorporated elements discussed during the morning session. The students chose to use Sleeping Beauty as their source material. On Wednesday, they blocked their scene, costumed themselves, and painted tragic masks. Their Thursday performance was well-received and their hard work was evident to all.

Museumtopia
Academy students spent two days with Mr. Green and Mr. Almeida visiting the Norman Rockwell Museum  in Stockbridge and the New Britain (CT) Museum to immerse themselves in American history and the many ways it’s been reflected, challenged, and shaped by the world of art. Professional docents provided additional insight to some truly important pieces. They brought these influences back with them to school, and presented their reflections to fellow members of the community.

Fight Choreography
Ms. Overtree and guest instructor Chris Rose worked with interested students to teach them the fine art of fight choreography - how to punch, kick, hit, and fall with style, all while NOT causing harm or getting injured. They demonstrated what they learned in a "Black Friday" skit, to the amazement and appreciation of the audience. 

Fermentation
What do kimchi, kombucha, bread, and pickles have in common? Led by Ms. Falco, Mr. Miller, and Mme Mauri, students explored the power of bacteria to transform ordinary ingredients through the fabulous process of fermentation! They visited Artisan Beverage Cooperative and Real Pickles in Greenfield, worked with Sam Coates-Finke from Backyard Bread, made their own kombucha, kimchi, and sourdough bread. We were all grateful to them for sharing their culinary products, and helping us all understand better the science of fermentation.

Hispanic Cultural Traditions
Although thwarted in their attempt to have an authentic shopping experience where they could use their language skills, this session's participants persevered and found hominy and other ingredients after an extensive search elsewhere. They cooked non-stop for two days to make tamales, posole (Solly dubs it "Posolly"), and the controversial menudo (made with tripe, or cow stomach), and to fabricate and decorate three piñatas.

While several sauces and dishes were simmering, they watched two films, a parody of Mexican soap operas with a meaningful social commentary (in which Will Ferrell speaks only Spanish), and a Spanish dark comedy. 

On the first day the students spoke only "español" and Señora Valdez was impressed by their cooperation, clean up, and respect. They were gracious in sharing the food they prepared (as well as the piñatas) with the whole school community. 

Board Game Development
It has been said that in every person there is a board game waiting to be created. In Mr. Miller's board game development session, this notion was put to the test with amazing results! Six new games emerged from the workshop, with themes ranging from city development to knight combat to exploration on the high seas. Students brainstormed themes, drafted rules, created components, and play-tested everything over and over. Who knew board game design could be so much work - and so much fun at the same time? On Thursday, they set up their games in the Common Room for all to play, observe, and enjoy.

In 1951, Edward R. Murrow invited listeners of the CBS radio network to compose short essays about their personal beliefs and read them on air, on a program fittingly titled “This I Believe.” Murrow’s invitation was an attempt to expand participation in national discussions about morality, fear, love, social upheaval, and the nature of truth. He believed that abstractions are powerful, and that sharing what we value can help forge common ground, or simply offer solace in times of flux and change. 

Each year, we extend Murrow’s invitation to the senior class, and this year's speeches were all powerful examples of how our students are supported as they "find their voices and speak their minds". Read their remarks here.

Student and faculty leaders in our Council program were treated to an hour of leadership training on Thursday by Kim Pisinski (P22, 24). The conversations included the importance of goals and objectives, delegation of tasks, the unrealistic idea of complete consensus, agenda-setting, and how to best plan time and meeting management, among other relevant topics. Our leaders are poised and excited to bring us into the second half of the year with a clear vision of how to make our time in Councils more productive and enriching for all.

Hosted by Baystate Franklin Medical Center and the Communities that Care Coalition and co-sponsored by Greenfield Safe Schools and the Safe Streets Coalition, this free presentation and open discussion will be led by Kat Allen, Coalition Coordinator at the Partnership for Youth; Dr. Kinan Hreib, Chief Medical Officer at Baystate Franklin Medical Center; and Cheryl Pascucci, Nurse Practitioner. Topics include local substance use rates, how to talk to teens about drugs, long term effects and impacts of use, and prevention.

Registration is not required but seating is limited so pre-register to help ensure that there are enough seats and food (pizza will be served at 6:00 PM). 

Vegetarian and gluten free options will, as always, be available next week, for the following menu: 

Monday:        Loaded tater tots with BBQ Chicken
Tuesday:       French bread pizza
Wednesday: Cheetos crusted mac 'n cheese

Thursday:     Grilled chicken over salad, garlic bread
Friday:           Vegan curry