Anime Club one of most popular clubs at ARHS
For the first time ever, there is an Anime Club here at ARHS. Senior Phoenix Ferreira Ford is excited to be the co-advisor of the popular club. “Over 100 people signed up and there...
Advice from a senior
I rarely feel like a senior. For me, and the rest of the class of 2022, the pandemic stole the latter half of our sophomore year and the vast majority of our junior year....
Field hockey team has deep bonds, growth mindset
Despite a tough fall season, the ARHS girls’ field hockey team worked hard both on and off the field to create a strong community. Their team was smaller this year, leading to some challenges,...
Boys’ soccer coach asks best of players
The Amherst boys’ soccer season finally came to a close on Saturday, November 13 as they lost to Canton in the quarterfinals of States. The Hurricanes (ranked 20) upset both Silver Lake (13) and...
Volleyball team rides on wins and great chemistry
The ARHS girls varsity volleyball team had a breakout season this year, and seniors Delaney MacPhetres and Nicole Lambert and junior Audrey Bowen played key roles in making that happen. Last season, the team...
Commitment, transparency, and equality: the girls’ XC formula for success
Three banners hang in Amherst Regional High School’s gymnasium filled with dates of every Western Massachusetts championship title won by the girls’ cross country team, starting in 1989 and ending with 2019. No sport...
Girls’ soccer team logs win after win
The Amherst Hurricane girls’ varsity soccer team has had one of the best seasons in recent years, with an overall record of 9 wins and 1 loss despite having many new members on their...
Golf team feels like a family
The ARHS varsity golf team had a fast and intense season. Coach Carl Vigeland was glad that the team had two weeks of practicing before school and the season started. “Our first match was...
Weighing Winston: APD comfort dog brings joy, increases police presence at school
It’s 8:45 a.m. and students are filing in the main doors at ARHS. But some stop traffic when they see an impossibly cute and uplifting sight: Winston, the Amherst Police Department’s comfort dog. On...
Return to school, reopening: a breath of fresh air
During the seemingly endless year-long stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which many worked or attended school from home, wore masks, and reduced contact with family and friends, many started to feel reopening was...
Staying home: students who remained remote all year
Following the emergence of COVID-19 last March, ARHS was closed to students for over a year. But this spring, as COVID-19 restrictions began to lift, life started to return to normal, and ARHS finally...
Retiree Haygood wore many hats and was a beacon for students and colleagues
It’s a sunny day on the track. PE teacher Elizabeth Haygood is in her yellow official’s jacket corralling athletes into their heats and lanes. That’s her job. But she also goes above and beyond,...
Retiree Vernon always a ‘mover’ and a lover of the arts
The drums are roaring and the singers are belting out a traditional Puerto Rican call and response. Dancers in colorful flowing skirts and the occasional fedora prance down the floor in lines, and Tracy...
Retiree Moriarty talks Tai Chi, the flow of life, and the importance of failure
At the start of each English class, Mark Moriarty and his students stand and face the windows in his room, breathing quietly and practicing the opening structure of Tai Chi. “It’s about bringing everything...
Retiree Leopold says knowing history helps us transform the present
Social Studies teacher Becca Leopold cannot believe she’s been teaching in the Amherst district for 24 years. While she both faces retirement and looks back on her career, she said she has many positive...
Retiree Blauner loves that physics helps her figure out ‘just about anything’
After 19 fantastic years working at ARHS, long time physics teacher Patty Blauner is ready to retire. Ms. Blauner attended high school just outside of Philadelphia. She then went on to do her undergraduate...
Posting social justice infographics online: activism or performativity?
Anybody using Instagram this past summer during uprisings for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd’s death probably knows what a social justice infographic looks like. If not, check out the site’s @soyouwanttotalkabout...
Juggling act: students balance frontline jobs and online school
Every time I go to Big Y in Hadley, I am almost guaranteed to hear ARHS grad Miguel Cruz yelling my name to say hello from another part of the store, as he helps...
Seniors talk gap year plans
Seniors in high school all over the nation decided to apply to college in record-high numbers this fall and winter, thrilled by the potential return of in-person classes and the prospect of robust social...
Love of nature growing exponentially
When COVID-19 struck last spring, many found themselves isolated and trapped in their own homes. Like many of us in Western Mass, I felt fortunate to have access to the beautiful landscape of our...
Body art surges during pandemic
The pandemic was a time for introspection and self-reflection. This caused many people to think about their image and consider new ways to express themselves. Others were searching for ways to regain confidence after...
The fields behind the school were alive with The Sound of Music
At around 3:30 p.m. for the past few months, anyone passing by the lawn outside the cafeteria could hear the sounds of students singing. An hour later, in the back of the school behind...
Summit clinician spearheads anti-racist art project
Following a year of protest and racial unrest throughout the country, many searched for ways in which they could join the movement towards a less divided world. For Summit Academy clinician Erin Edinson, this...
Isabelle Bouvier wins UMass Young Artist Award
Isabelle Bouvier took a leap this spring when she submitted materials for the UMass Young Artist award competition for the 11th and 12th-grade student voice category; Bouvier sang opera. She anxiously waited two weeks...
Greg Carvel brings UMass puck to next level
Greg Carvel, head hockey coach at UMass, has had an amazing year. Under his direction, a once-struggling team came back to win Nationals, and devoted UMass fans were thrilled to have him as their...
AAPI students condemn Asian hate and describe years of microaggressions
On Saturday, March 27, the Amherst Common bustled with activity as people gathered, holding signs of support for the Asian community with slogans like “Hate is a Virus,” “Stop Asian Hate,” and “USA For...
Sadiq, offered permanent principal slot, talks about year one
On Friday, Amherst-Pelham Regional School District Superintendent Michael Morris sent out an all-school email blast with some great news: Talib Sadiq, who held the Interim Principal position at ARHS this year, got the permanent...
Students praise later start time, reduced workload, longer lunch schedule, and reflect on May return
For me, online school has been much more challenging than in-person learning, due to the reduction in time spent with teachers and peers face to face and the loss of the social interactions school...
I’m not throwing away my shot: students talk joys of vaccination
Though Massachusetts is inching toward the final phase of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan slated to make shots available to all state residents on April 19, millions have already been vaccinated in phases 1...
Resistance to MCAS growing despite DESE’s desire to test kids
This year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is full steam ahead in its plan to administer the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test, despite growing resistance by educators, families, students,...
