Making goals, on ice and off
The Amherst co-ed ice hockey team had a record of 16 wins and 5 losses, in yet another great season. Though they lost in their playoff game for the Western Mass championship on Saturday...
Who likes the cold? Nordic skiiers make the most of New England
For the majority of ARHS students, winter and its harsh temperatures are dreaded. But there was one group of students who looked forward to this season all year: the ARHS Nordic ski team. They...
‘Swim family’ making strides
The ARHS girls’ swim team has had a strong season, led by co-captains Vianka Acosta-McKenzie, Maggie Thibault, and Sophie Schilling. Acosta-McKenzie’s swim team is coached by Jen Albertine. Acosta-McKenzie said that her love for...
Girls b-ball: ‘Every game is a big game’
The Amherst girls’ varsity basketball team has had a fantastic season, ending the season with a record of 9-11, showing tremendous improvement since last year. Coach Dustin James has been with the team for...
Dr. Gromacki makes swift, smooth transition into principalship
Interim Principal Miki Lee Gromacki makes being the leader of a school look easy, but do you really know what it takes to be a principal? Becoming a principal takes a lot of hard...
Summit Academy: up and running
Over the summer, Summit Academy relocated from its South Amherst location to a corner of ARHS that formerly housed English classes, a Culinary Arts program, and a preschool. Although we now share a building,...
Recreational marijuana legal in Western Massachusetts
The legalization of marijuana is among of the great political debates of the 21st century. In the 1970s, authorities were more concerned about illegal possession of marijuana than that of cocaine. The war on...
French Dinner delights all
This year’s French Dinner, hosted by the ARHS French Club and Madame Cisse’s classes, was one of the best attended ever. According to Jamie Simonson, the club’s president, planning for the event started in...
Ms. Custard now in assistant principal role
After Principal Mark Jackson’s unexpected departure in October of this year, former Dean Mary Custard jumped into the role of Interim Assistant Principal so that Miki Gromacki could take on the school principalship. In...
Gamer girl fights back against online harassment
There’s nothing like sitting down at my computer chair after a long school day, turning on my computer and waiting to hear the sweet buzz. I pull my hair back into a hairtie, so...
Welcome, Dean Akosua
After the resignation of principal Mark Jackson, when Miki Gromacki moved up to the position of principal, Mary Custard moved up to assistant principal. So ARHS needed to hire a new staffer to fill...
Readers unite: book lovers find joyful outlet in new Literary Club
On a Monday afternoon, about 10 students gathered in Mr. Despres’ English classroom for a meeting of the Literary Club. Co-leaders, Amina Mednicoff-Misra and Anu Sitaraman came prepared with snacks and materials for their...
SAGA hosts Gay, Lesbian, Straight (GLSEN) Educator Network conference at ARHS
As students entered the halls of ARHS on November 3, 2018 (the weekend before Massachusetts voters went to the polls to decide whether to preserve or dismantle a law protecting transgender people from discrimination...
Faculty hair survey: how staff ‘do their dos’ and feel about their tresses
My normal hair routine until recently? To cover my fingers in some hair gel and vigorously mess up my hair. But once I accidentally left the lid off the top of the hair gel...
‘It’s not magic,’ it’s the custodians: the hardworking team that keeps ARHS clean, by day and night
It’s lunch time and you’re sitting across from your friends. You’re joking around and throwing food at each other. You don’t think twice about leaving the mess you just made; in fact, the very...
Pioneer Valley Ballet brings ‘Nutcracker’ to life at Academy of Music
For many people, the holiday season is synonymous with the sweeping score of The Nutcracker ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; holiday traditions are incomplete without an evening spent at the ballet, watching snowflakes...
Engineering courses highly enrolled, and teacher would love to offer even more
Engineering classes at ARHS have always been popular. Despite this, budget cuts have kept teacher Nick Harrison from expanding the program and offering more advanced classes. ARHS currently offers mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and...
When a parent gets ill: how teens and families cope
You come home from another normal day at school and enter the house to see your parents; in one hand they hold tissues and their other hands are clasped together. Their eyes are about...
Freedom of choice: a dress code with dignity
School dress codes are supposed to help support a positive learning environment in which all students feel comfortable. They don’t always achieve that. Some institutions are accused of being discriminatory in regards to the...
One big happy family: parents and kids ‘share’ ARHS
Having a school that feels “like home” is an ideal for most, but it’s a reality for the ARHS students whose parents teach at the high school. A look into the lives of some...
Senior assistant director of admissions offers big scoop on what colleges want
It is one of the most rewarding, but perhaps most nerve wracking, rites of passage for many high school seniors across the United States: college applications. Your life is compartmentalized and stripped down to...
Teens on wheels: licensed to drive
I still remember the day I got my license because I barely passed my test. I was mostly fine. I used correct signals; I correctly parallel parked. In fact, it was perfect until the...
ARHS students sound off on controversial rapper 6ix9ine
This year on Nov 19, one of the most viral and controversial people in the modern rap industry, Tekashi 6ix9ine, was arrested by the federal government after being affiliated with the Nine Trey Gangsta...
Part-time jobs a ‘worthwhile experience’
For some high school students, the last thing they want to do after getting home from a long day of school is go right back out and devote a few more hours to work....
Fantasy football fans obsessed with ‘the win’
Philly Brainin coasted through the first round of the fantasy football playoffs, and is now in the championship game, competing for the title of League Champ. “It gives me the chance to compete with...
Laramie lessons: ‘connection vital to restoring relationships and unlearning bigotry’
A biker, slightly shaken from falling off his bike in rural Wyoming, notices what he thinks is a scarecrow on a fence up ahead. As the biker draws closer, he realizes it is a...
Dakin adoptions: new furry friends bring joy
Rosco was born on the streets. His mother was dumped there when her owner found out she was pregnant, and he has had to fend for himself, emaciated and skinny, getting by off of...
Far-flung family and friends: students who move to US experience homesickness
ARHS is home to students from all over the world, many of whom have parents or other relatives who sacrificed a great deal to bring them to Massachusetts for their schooling. And while these...
Stan Lee’s life story inspires fans and increases diversity in Marvel universe
Stan Lee changed my life. I was seven years old when I watched my first Marvel movie, the first “Iron Man.” Since that defining night, I have watched that same movie close to 10...
Street wear: the ‘hype culture’ at ARHS
Streetwear has been a huge influence for the past four decades. If it’s your first time hearing brands such as Gucci, Supreme, and Burberry, and you would like to get into the hype culture...
