Promises of noodles spur on epic tennis victory
Amherst boys’ tennis enjoying a very successful season, with only one loss so far. The team is ranked second in Western Mass and has already qualified for the playoffs with three matches left in...
The Ultimate event: Amherst Invitational a draw for nation’s best teams
Walking through the Amherst High School parking lot you can hear yelling all around you. You turn the corner of the school to see the fields engulfed by dozens of tents and Frisbees flying...
Frugal living: what’s the cost?
Every day, students from ARHS stop at Dunkin Donuts or other coffee shops for their fix of delicious caffeine. This is not something I do, mostly because I’m too frugal to drop that much...
ARHS grad Xinef Afriam pursuing community service, on path to ministry
Xinef Afriam, formerly known as Taylor Middleton, is a 26-year-old ARHS graduate who is now working in social justice and on his path to becoming a minister. “Listening to the word is one thing...
Budget breakdown: end to Preschool, Culinary and move for Summit Academy
Next year, facing a a $1.1 million budget shortfall, the district was forced to shoulder some of the most difficult cuts in a decade. Administrators decided to shutter the high school’s off-site “public day...
Students crushed to lose Foods
ARHS students were crushed by the announcement of all Foods and Culinary Arts classes being cut from the high school for good, due to budget cuts. The Culinary programs offered to students were one...
ARHS Preschool cut mourned
Due to a 1.1 million dollar budget to the district, a much-loved Preschool Program will be cut. “It was not an easy call,” Principal Mark Jackson said of the decision. “People love the Preschool,...
Summit Academy relocates to high school
Summit Academy is an Amherst-Pelham Regional “public day school” located on South East Street in Amherst, Mass., that provides a different path for students than that offered at the larger, more conventional main campus...
PGO grant funds months-long mindfulness program for faculty, staff
Once a month, at the end of the school day, 30 teachers file into room 175 to meditate and learn about mindfulness. Teachers learn how to deal with the stresses of their jobs...
.5 reduction in MS language study felt at HS
After almost three years of middle school scheduling changes, students taking classes with curriculum that extends from middle school into high school will be completing their first year at ARHS. As a result, ARHS...
Scholastic Art and Writing Award winners
Twelve ARHS students were recently awarded honorable mentions and Gold and Silver Key awards in the 2018 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Kasey Bumgardner, Sophie Foulkes, Leija Helling, Amaya Lopez, Patricia Sittauer, Grace Spalding-Fecher,...
MAICEI program opens opportunities to special education students
The Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative (MAICEI) allows students who might not otherwise be able to attend college to audit one college class per semester. In this work, “Massachusetts is a leader,” said Crystal...
Grabbing that cash: the push to get seniors to apply for scholarships
Here at ARHS, students consistently overlook the importance of applying to local scholarships. Seventeen days before the scholarship deadline this spring, “only two students [had] done them so far,” said Connie Cappelli, Guidance Secretary...
A dangerous reality: community reactions to living in an era of mass shootings
On February 14 in Parkland, FL, an average school day was disrupted when a former student, Nikolas Cruz, walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, shooting and killing 17 people and injuring another 14....
Spring musical a success
This spring’s musical, The Putnam County Spelling Bee was performed by the ARHS theater department to rave reviews. A huge number of students from all over the school were involved. It was performed four...
IEPs, special ed explained
Most high school students feel stressed at some point each day, and often find their school work challenging. Now, just imagine having an identified learning disability, too. Most learning disabilities are “invisible” and you...
Marching for their lives: students walk out of school, rally in D.C. against gun violence
Hundreds of Amherst Regional High school students flooded out of the building on March 14 at 10 a.m., protesting gun violence in solidarity with thousands of their peers nationwide. Facilitators wearing orange bandanas began...
Design firm, AD collaborate to fix ‘torched’ fields
Frustrated after years of managing a sports program that practices and competes on poorly maintained athletic fields that have become dangerous, Athletic Director Rich Ferro is thrilled that a plan is in place to...
Theater dept wins Sammy
In the midst of another successful theater season, the ARHS Theater Company will be acclaimed for its successes beyond the school community. On April 26, 2018, at 6 p.m., the Amherst Regional High School...
Social studies elective shift
The 2016-2017 school year began the phasing in of a new social studies curriculum, in which ninth graders take Global History One rather than World Civilizations. The 2018-2019 school year will be the first...
All Hands and Hearts: Ms. Vicente, Mr. Shaw provide hurricane relief
Hurricane Maria made contact with Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Maria is thought to have been the most devastating recorded natural disaster to hit the island, with wind speeds up to 175 mph...
College classes offer chance to live and learn like twentysomethings
Over the course of the 12 weeks that college classes were in session during the fall 2017 semester, one group of college-going ARHS students calculated that they spent a total of over $50 on...
‘Black Panther’ inspires, awes audiences
The Disney-Marvel hit superhero movie Black Panther was released Friday, February 16, and made a historic, estimated $387 million in its opening week, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time by a black director,...
Amherst Town Meeting replaced by charter in contentious vote
On Tuesday, March 27, Amherst residents voted 59 to 41 percent to replace Town Meeting with a new form of government. In August 2015, a group of Amherst citizens collected 3,500 signatures on a...
Anti-Islamophobia club open to all
According to a 2010 ABC News and Washington Post poll, only 37 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of Islam, partly due to biased perceptions and misrepresentations of Muslims in politics, the media,...
Four days of music at the nation’s capital
Most years, the ARHS music department takes a day trip to New York City to see a Broadway show. This year, however, students travelled to Washington D.C. for four days of bonding, music education,...
Senegambian exchange ‘filled a gap of knowledge’
After three weeks of travel to Senegal and The Gambia, ARHS students felt like they not only experienced the culture, but learned a great deal. “For me, it filled a gap of knowledge that...
Plato, Nietzsche, and Rawls, oh my!
Tristan Whalen’s love of philosophy is no secret to those who know him best. In the past two years alone he has completed courses at Hampshire College in Plato’s Moral and Political Philosophy and...
Celtics win off ‘killer play’
The 2018 boys’ recreational basketball championship took place on March 11, 2018 at 4:05 p.m. in the high school gym. This year was the battle between the Bulls and the Celtics. The bleachers were...
Hard work pays off for wrestling team
ARHS, is face to face with his opponent before a wrestling match. Sweat gathers on his palms, his heart racing fast, but his mind is calm. Although his opponent is significantly larger than him,...
