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...
‘Thruples’: a couple, and their best friend
This year, a new term was coined at ARHS: thruple. For those of you living under a rock, a thruple is, as Rafael Depillis explained, “a couple with their best friend.” Natalie Elliott has...
Video production classroom a haven for lovers of film, graphics, and editing
In the back corner of the first floor of the high school, in room 187, is a small space with about 10 computers: Lee Larcheveque’s Video Production classroom. In the front of the room...
Concert Choir: a vocal ensemble experience that builds musical skill
The anticipation builds, as friends and families cheer for the Hurricane Singers and the next group of performers waits for a turn on the stage. They sit, restless, in the fuzzy red seats of...
Birkenstocks: not just for the hippies
The Birkenstock brand traces its roots to Johann Adam Birkenstock, known as a shoemaker in 1744 by local church archives, in the small village of Langen-Bergheim, Hammersbach, Germany. The company originally started out by...
Primo Too, a pizza place that feels like home
To some, Primo Too Pizzeria may just be another place to get a slice in the town of Amherst. Neighboring the Amherst Market, at 255 Triangle Street in Amherst MA, Primo draws a large...
Students with hearing loss struggle to gain full access to athletic programs
A common issue found in various communities throughout Massachusetts is the struggle for students with hearing loss to be provided equal access to opportunities. This can be apparent but is not often discussed when...
Heart-healthy: biking to school
Once the weather begins to warm and the streets thaw out, you will begin to see close to 20 bikes locked up to the old rusted rack outside the athletic office. The current school...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
Keeping the masses driving: mechanics, ‘a cornerstone of society’
Car mechanics are a cornerstone of society, whether most people realize it or not. They affect over 1 billion people around the world and keep all of these people moving through their daily lives....
Technology: easy, efficient, accessible, and yes, annoying
Technology: How could we live without it? Furthermore, how could we teach without it? Over past the two decades, technology has gradually become an essential aspect of education. In 1996, when grades were still...
Raven Used Books: not just a used book store, a ‘literary establishment’
In the center of Northampton, just a ways off of Main Street, stands Raven Used Books, a literary establishment that has made this bustling area of Western Mass its home for over 20 years....
Role model: Banda relishes bond created caring for siblings
Many American teenagers spend after-school time and evenings playing sports, participating clubs and extracurricular activities, or working jobs for a little extra cash. But some have less flexibility; they are needed at home to...
Teens, chronic illness, and school performance
High school is supposed to be the best four years of your life. After all, you’re discovering who you truly are, defining who will look back at you in the mirror. But that mirror...
Public speaking woes: students open up
People fear public speaking as much as they fear spiders, death, and high heights. Many would go to great lengths to avoid experiencing anxiety related to public performances of any kind. When rated on...
Students jumpstart their early mornings with coffee and tea
Getting up for school in the morning is a struggle, especially after a weekend of sleeping in. Many teens, like myself, struggle to make their way out the door early in the morning. To...
Halal cart merges Egyptian street food and New York influences
On North Pleasant Street in front of the Unitarian Church lies a hidden gem in plain sight, a gem worth six bucks with the potential to rock one’s world. Elsayed Fathi, owner of the...
Pit bull owners speak: ‘there’s nothing quite like [their] love’
Pit bulls, like some other breeds of dog, have gotten a bad rap for a long time. Is it well-earned? I found one source that argued that pit bulls contributed to 71 percent of...
Lili’s Restaurant: where the chefs eat
The unassuming small brick storefront of Lili’s Restaurant in downtown Amherst is sandwiched between the neighboring The Toy Box and Amherst Optical and could easily go unnoticed. The interior is just as modest. The...
