Student Union builds community
Since 2011, the ARHS Student Union has been working to achieve a positive school environment and “improve the general social atmosphere of the school.” Previously, they have worked on creating the language of the...
Best Buddies Club takes off
Every Tuesday in the ARHS English hallway, the Best Buddies club meets in the Pathways to Independence Program (PIP) room. Best Buddies is an international organization that aims to promote friendship and social opportunities...
Students for a Free Tibet Club
The Buddhist mountainous region of Tibet has been governed by Communist China since 1959, after a failed uprising to gain its independence. Since then, many activists and dissidents have been arrested, tortured, or exiled...
POCU bigger than ever
POCU, or People Of Color United, is a club that has been at ARHS for decades. Interim Assistant Principal Mary Custard and health and physical education teacher Elizabeth Haygood co-advise the club. This year’s...
Captains Kayser-Hirsh and Rutherford lead young golf core
With a winning record of 8-3, the Amherst golf team is headed straight to the playoffs. “Amherst golf has been steadily improving throughout my time at the high school, and I think it will...
Cross country achievements
Led by a group of elite runners, the ARHS cross country programs are at the top of their game in 2018, with ambitions to win big this year. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams...
Boys’ soccer: ‘an expectation of hard work’
The ARHS boys’ soccer team hold themselves to a high standard on and off the field. This is in part due to the environment and culture fostered by head coach Michael Rudd. Junior defender...
Girls’ field hockey: ‘we play best when happy’
“All the people who don’t play field hockey and say it’s not a sport or whatever, they’re just jealous,” said Jenna Schilling, a member of the JV ARHS field hockey team, embodying the mentality...
Girls’ volleyball: operating on chemistry and drive
As the varsity volleyball season comes to a close, the team has been able to clinch a spot in the playoffs with a current record of 9-7. The team won against Wahconah but lost...
Amherst football looks to ride momentum in second straight playoff appearance
Last season was the first time since 1999 that the Amherst varsity football team qualified for the playoffs. The team is hoping to reach that goal again this year and with a 5-2 record...
Girls’ soccer team stays positive
Amherst girls’ soccer had a difficult time finding their footing this year, but they were tenaciously finding ways to move forward from their 0-12 record in late October. The team has been rebuilding their...
Girls’ lacrosse proud of season
For the first time since 2012, the Amherst girls’ lacrosse team went to playoffs. Confidently winning a game 20-4 against Pope Francis secured the girls a playoff seed in the MIAA D1 western central...
Self-awareness is key to academic success
College is a big goal for most people my age, and working hard to achieve in high school is a very real aspect to that journey. The problem is that I’m not always driven...
Artists bemoan STEM pressure
The first four months of my senior year were dedicated to stressing about the Common Application, visiting schools I wouldn’t end up applying to, applying to schools I wouldn’t visit, and frantically writing essays...
Protecting the wallet: AP tests not worth it
As a junior in high school, I’m all too familiar with standardized testing. I’ve taken the MCAS, the PSAT, the SAT. All the acronyms start to make my head spin. By the end of...
‘So close we’re like a cult’: Survival Living crew braves a weekend in woods
Everyone needs food and water to survive, but very often, just the basic physical needs aren’t enough for people. Humans also crave love, attention, and company, and stray away from loneliness. However, groups of...
Exempt or not exempt? You decide
As the school year winds to a close for seniors, many realize they may be exempt from exams for the first (and last) time in their high school careers. They have to meet certain...
As Schools Match Wits wins big
On June 9, on WGBY, the final episode of “As Schools Match Wits” aired, and ARHS took the crown, winning the championship against Northampton High. The team was undefeated all season. “The finals [leading...
Office team known as “Sunny” and “Bright” ready to retire together
The phone is ringing, a line of people are waiting to ask you a question, you’re filling out paperwork, the doorbell is ringing in the background, and you’re signing for a package from Fedex,...
Connie Cappelli eager to play trombone, golf, exercise, and hang with family
Everyone wishes they had the skills of multitasking and being able to handle any situation well. There are only a few people in this world that are able to achieve that grace. One retiree...
“The Breakfast Club” gets a makeover
For years, ARHS’s Creative Writing classes have been a place where students learn about the writing craft as they pen short stories, plays, and poems of their own. This semester, a teacher of one...
Friends plan post-graduation China trip
It is not unusual for groups of high schoolers to plan fun trips together over the summer, but one group of ARHS seniors is thinking bigger than a simple road trip. Six members of...
Leslie Lomasson honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Amherst Regional High School’s head librarian, Leslie Lomasson, recently found out she won the Peggy Hallisey Lifetime Achievement Award, just a few months before her retirement. “It was an unexpected honor,” Ms. Lomasson said....
Sean Smith poised to bike, garden, and read
ARHS Latin teacher and Language Department head Sean Oscar Francis Smith, will retire this June after 34 years of teaching at ARHS. Mr. Smith is well-liked by his students and colleagues for his charisma,...
Winning walks: the trails not to miss in our backyard
The other day, my mom asked me to go grocery shopping for her. I obliged, and set off for Whole Foods with a standard shopping list: bread, apples, milk, cheese, lunch meat, tuna, mayonnaise,...
Terry Leatart: it’s a ‘good life’
After 17 years of working at ARHS, the uplifting Terry Leatart will retire at the end of this school year. Ms. Leatart started her career at ARHS as a tutor and substitute, back in...
Lake Wyola, here comes Fownes
Before coming to Amherst Regional High School, science teacher Jim Fownes was a professor for 22 years. He enjoyed it, and was very successful, enjoying many days spent on research, as well. Dr. Fownes...
Ellen Reich will stay involved in education
Ellen Reich, an ARHS English teacher for close to 20 years and an ARPS teacher for 23 years, is retiring at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. Over her career, she taught Tenth...
Humming along: Steve Saxenian will explore love of sculpture, art, and hiking in retirement
As far as interesting people go, Mr. Steve Saxenian is high on the list. As a teacher, he loves to explore the concepts of prime numbers and infinity and he seeks to find a...
Fortnite Battle Royale: a fun, addictive, ‘great game’
Whether it is through social media or through your friends and peers, chances are, you have heard of Fortnite: Battle Royale. This game has exploded in popularity, with an estimated 3.4 million users as...
