In the wake of the tornado that ravaged the Pumpkin Hollow section of Conway last Saturday evening, the Class of 2020 joined in the Franklin Land Trust's clean-up effort in that area on Wednesday afternoon. The meadow, field and stream where we worked are on a soon-to-be protected parcel. The Recorder was on hand and published an article about the clean-up project. This video is online at the Recorder's site - see if you can spot our students!

Community service is a hallmark of our school, and we have a tradition of responding to needs as they come up and as we are able. Students were quite stunned by the devastation wrought by the winds, and were grateful to be able to help.

The Greenfield Recorder published its annual "Celebrating our Youth" supplement on March 2, with a cover feature on community service at The Academy. For those who didn't see the paper, click here to read the article.

Intro to French students have been exploring French Impressionism. In an interdisciplinary effort, each researched a French Impressionist artist of their choice and presented their findings to fellow students in French class. In art class, they chose one of their artist's work and rendered it according to their own interpretation. The results are impressive!

As the culminating experience in our exploration of French Impressionism there will be a class trip to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute on Wednesday, March 8.  We will be off campus from 9:45 AM to 1:15 PM. Please do not order school lunch for your child that day. Instead please plan on sending a snack and a bag lunch with your child to be consumed on the bus to and from Williamstown. For additional questions, please contact Sabine Mauri.  Additional chaperones will be Andrae Green and Doug Forbes.

The Academy strives to give students’ opportunities to reflect on their learning and progress in school. While they are supported by a team of peers and adults, it is ultimately the students that are responsible for setting goals for themselves, tracking their progress, and gathering and responding to feedback. Twice a year, at the end of the first and third quarter, students will be responsible for reflecting on their learning and progress toward their goals through facilitating conferences in each discipline that include their parents or guardians, and teacher. These conferences will put students in a leadership role - rather than in a typical conference role of bystander - as they lead the discussion about their successes and areas for growth while responding to questions and feedback from the adult participants in the conversation.

We ask everyone to please sign up for a conference slot by Friday, March 10. We will then create a schedule for when you are here so that you have 15-minute sessions with each individual teacher during your conference period. We shall do our best to stick to the agreed-upon schedule, but unforeseen circumstances sometimes require that people must remain a few minutes after their scheduled end time in order to meet.

Thank you. We look forward to seeing you all in person. Please remember that there is no school for students on Thursday or Friday April 6 and 7.

The Academy at Charlemont presents A SEASON IN HELL, created & directed by Benjamin Michalak ('17) as his Senior Independent Project, and based on a poem by Arthur Rimbaud. Performances will be March 31 and April 1, 7:00-9:30 PM at The Academy. The performances are free, but participation is available on a first come, first serve basis. Sign up HERE.

A SEASON IN HELL tells the story of Arthur, a flawed, depressed, and unfaithful man. In this production, the audience member acts as a life-long friend of Arthur and his estranged lover, Beauty. Throughout the show, the audience will find themselves immersed in dreary apartments and abandoned cocktail lounges, while intimately dealing with the downfall and redemption of their friend, Arthur. The cast includes students in grades 9 through 12 who are a part of Ben's Studio Block class.  

We are looking for two Academy students and families interested in hosting two 10th graders from Erding, Germany, during the fall of 2017. Erding students visit us every year as part of the longstanding Erding-Charlemont Exchange. The American host students then have a chance – if interested – to go to Germany the following summer. The host families on both sides of the Atlantic are expected to provide room and board and are expected to show the student around the region. There is a $500 family stipend available to help defray related expenses. The Erding students will be here next fall from approximately October 22 to December 22.

This year we have three applicants from Germany, two of whom we will invite to join us. Please take a look at the three brief bios of Hannah, Veronika and Julian, and discuss this wonderful opportunity with your family. FYI: Academy hosts do not have to be rising 10th graders. 

To learn more about the Erding-Charlemont Exchange in general, please click here. Contact Sabine Mauri if interested. 

CLASSROOM CLOSE UPS

Students in Ms. Falco's 7th grade Geography class studied four of the religions that originated in India - Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism - and created visual representations of a chosen aspect of a religion. Ruby C. finished off the presentations with a "festival" of sorts, modeled after the Sikh festival Holla Mohalla, complete with music, turban tying, and homemade samosas and chutney!

Art, left to right: a Buddhist mandala by Greta, the Sanskrit syllable "Om" by Tess, a rendering of the Buddha by Ella R., the Bodhisattva Green Tara by Elisa, and below, the Endless Knot, a Tibetan Buddhist symbol, by Nick F.

Liberation Library is a Chicago-based organization that distributes books to incarcerated youth. Through reading and relationships, the organization aims to “empower young people to change the criminal justice system.” Click here for their story. 

Incarcerated youth at four detention centers have requested a variety of books that both reflect their own experiences and offer glimpses into the world beyond. You can find their Amazon wish list linked here. 

The Social Justice Council’s goal is to purchase and donate twenty-five books from this list to the Liberation Library. Those interested in supporting this endeavor should make checks payable to The Academy at Charlemont with “Liberation Library” in the memo line. If you are interested in directing your contribution toward a specific book, please enclose a note with the title in the envelope with your check .

Like the Liberation Library, the Social Justice Council believes that access to books and information is a right, not a privilege, and we thank you for your continued support for this and future efforts.

Next year's calendar has been finalized and is accessible HERE as a PDF. These dates are posted on our online calendar as well.

Grandparents and Special Persons Day has been rescheduled from Friday, April 14 to Friday, April 28. Please update any addresses on file or send additional invitee names and addresses to Carol Foote before next Friday, March 10.