Athletic Director Victoria Stewart
This summer, Rich Ferro resigned as the ARHS and ARMS athletic director, a position he’d held since 2012, and took on his former role as a science teacher at ARMS. Luckily, ARHS, UMass Amherst,...
Deidre Cuffee-Gray brings a new vision
Myra Ross left big shoes to fill when she retired after 20 years of college counseling, but ARHS lucked out with a vibrant, experienced, and multi-talented new college and career advisor, Deidre Cuffee-Gray. Cuffee-Gray...
Chemistry: cooler as you go
Evan Mahnken is enjoying his new home in Amherst. “I like it out here, I really do,” said Mahnken. “I like the idea of living where my commute to work could be ten minutes.” ...
Suzanne Bowes, ray of mathematical sunshine
“My students inspire me every day,” said Suzanne Bowes, a new math teacher at ARHS.“I always welcome and try to get feedback from my students, and I use that to reflect on how I...
Azrilyan honored to teach here
Between finding her Intentional Living community in Shutesbury, being close to her friends and family in Boston and New York City, and landing her brand new ELL teaching job at ARHS, Alla Azrilyan gushed...
Lopez bringing youth together
There’s a new ELL teacher at ARHS this year, Ms. Stephani Lopez. “I love being an ELL teacher at ARHS because the students in my classes come from so many different countries,” said Lopez. ...
Welcome, Mr. Grandin!
Philip Grandin, also known as Mr. Grandin to his students, is a new math teacher at ARHS. He teaches Algebra to mostly ninth and tenth graders and geometry to a mix of 9-11 graders....
Hall monitor Darius Collins loves job, feels ‘free and open’
You may have seen a friendly new face outside the cafeteria or meandering through the halls of ARHS: new hall monitor Darius Collins. Collins likes a lot about his job so far, from “the...
Ms. Hutch: a new para in town
There’s a new paraeducator on the block. Her name is Erin Hutchinson, and she grew up in Connecticut and lived and taught in South Korea. Ms. “Hutch” joined the staff of ARHS in September,...
Welcome, Magistra Cefalo!
Patricia Cefalo is the newest Latin teacher here at ARHS. Her students call her Magistra, which is the Latin word for “teacher.” Cefalo began studying Latin in high school, then added Ancient Greek to...
Kristie Morrison: surrounded by books
Kristie Morrison never thought she would be back at her own high school after graduating in 2015. As the new ARHS library paraprofessional, though, that’s exactly where is, and she describes this unlikely return...
Girls cross country team looks for third championship
The ARHS girls’ cross country team has dominated over the competition for a long time. The team won Western Mass for the last two years, and they are hoping for a third win this...
Boys’ soccer: working hard, loving the crowds, with a championship mentality
For the ARHS boys’ varsity soccer team, the difference between the 2018 and 2019 seasons has amounted to a complete 180 degree turn. The crowds are back, “The Naysh” is alive, and the boys...
Golf: a season like no other
The Amherst boys’ golf team believes they have a shot at qualifying for States and maybe even winning Western Mass this season, a goal that all current members remember seeming very far-fetched in seasons...
Field hockey approach: ‘a marathon, not a sprint’
When Michelle Risch took over the reins of the ARHS field hockey program four years ago, she was given a small group of hard working players and a single senior who bought into her...
Girls’ soccer looking to create a ‘new culture’ of improvement
“We weren’t going to go from losing every game to winning every game but my goal was to inspire a new culture surrounding girls soccer at the high school,” said Casey Flueckiger, one of...
Puul: what everyone is really doing in the bathroom
“Please, bro, just one hit.” This mantra has become standard in the bathrooms at ARHS. Every day, students cut class to feed their new habit. Teachers have reported concerns that some of their students...
Winners of the “six word horror stories” Halloween contest sponsored by the Literary Club
“Why are your eyes glowing?” -Anu Sitaraman “ARHS makes Jack a dull boy.” -Innis Gallagher “Seconds later, the barricades fell apart.” -Schuyler Mann “The floorboards creaked. I live alone.” -Katherine Leonard “The dead man winked at...
Ban The Box pledge helps the formerly incarcerated
Contracting with prisons is easy when inmates are behind bars, but are the same institutions willing to employ ex-prisoners upon their release? Many believe that employers need to begin to shift their thinking on...
Reupholstering behind bars: Massachusetts prisoners repair auditorium chairs at ARHS, ARMS
On March 21, the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District and Massachusetts Correctional Industries (MassCor) inked a contract that set up prisoners at MCI-Norfolk to reupholster the 1,105 badly worn auditorium seats at Amherst Regional High...
Welcome, incoming Principal Gene Jones!
Incoming ARHS Principal Gene Jones has “always enjoyed working with kids.” Mr. Jones was born and raised in Virginia, in a “multi-generational house.” His close-knit family emphasized supporting each other. “My great grandmother, my...
Pedro Mendez, restoring justice
ARHS has a new face attached to its restorative justice program, Pedro Mendez, whom you might have seen greeting students at the door in the morning, along with Stephen Bechtold. Mr. Mendez was hired...
As measles outbreak scares nation, vaccines more important than ever
According to an article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, by Greta Jochem, the 764 confirmed measles cases this year makes it the largest outbreak nationally since 1994. Measles is a highly contagious, infectious viral...
College counselor Myra Ross ready ‘to graduate’
Before working at ARHS, Myra Ross was an elected member of the School Committee and worked on capital planning for the rebuilding of the school. “My name is on the plaque out there in...
Copy that: Anne Marie Picard is retiring!
Ann Marie Picard sits behind a large desk, personalized with neatly arranged portraits of family members and covered in organized piles of papers. Every object in the room appears to have an exact purpose...
Susie Zygmont: mark her absent next year
“If there’s a hard way to do something, I’ll do it,” joked Susie Zygmont, secretary in the Deans’ office, who is in charge of ARHS’s daily attendance. Ms. Zygmont is retiring at the end...
After 30 years teaching, Ms. Abdow poised for new adventures
Sue Abdow’s third floor classroom is noticeably different from others. An entire wall is filled with photographs of students on field trips and end of the year picnics. Their smiles light up the room....
Library paraeducator Annie Figliola ready to contra dance into retirement
Annie Figliola, a library paraeducator better known as Ms. Fig, is ready to retire after 11 happy years working at ARHS. Ms. Fig grew up in the university town of New Paltz, New York....
Ms. Palmer ready to relax with family, travel
Sharon Palmer’s path to high school teaching has been paved with adventure. She was born in Pennsylvania but moved to rural San Francisco when she was young. Palmer never thought she would be a...
Mr. Blatner ready to paddle on
After 15 years of teaching at ARHS, William Blatner, math teacher, former civil engineer, and avid whitewater paddler, is retiring at the end of the year. Mr. Blatner grew up in western New York....
