Williston Northampton School

The Williston Northampton School
Location
Easthampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Information
School type Private, college preparatory; boarding and day
Founded 1841
Headmaster Robert Hill[1]
Faculty 114
Grades 7-PG
Enrollment 539
Average class size 13
Campus type Suburban
Color(s) Blue and green
        
Mascot Williston Wildcats
Newspaper The Willistonian
Website williston.com

The Williston Northampton School, or "Williston," is a private co-educational preparatory school for boarding and day students in seventh grade through post-graduate year located in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

History

Samuel Williston
Samuel Williston

Williston Seminary was founded by Samuel Williston (1795–1874), a wealthy button manufacturer, in February 1841;[2] the school opened that December, with a dedication address by Mark Hopkins, president of nearby Williams College. The idea of opening a new academy in the neighborhood had been in the air ever since the closing in 1834 of the Round Hill School in nearby Northampton.[3] In its early days, there was no arrangement of studies by terms and the students were not classified. Luther Wright, its principal from 1841 to 1849, believed it was desirable to have his pupils study together in a single room under his direction. However, the school's student population grew rapidly and the one-room schoolhouse scheme was soon no longer practicable, as more instructors and new buildings were added. By the 1850s the schools campus was dominated by three large buildings: North Hall, Middle Hall and South Hall. For many years the school was co-educational, with the students divided and taught separately in male and female departments, but in 1864 the female division was discontinued.[4][5]

The seminary comprised two faculties: classical and scientific. With the departure in 1863 of the school's second president, Josiah Clark, a classicist Greek and Latin scholar who had vigorously fought against the expansion of the English department, the school's curriculum began to be modernized. Samuel Williston remained the dominant influence in the school's growth until his death in 1874. In the late 19th century the dual curricula had evolved into a more modern comprehensive course (e.g. with "scientific and preparatory departments",[6] and in 1924 the school was renamed Williston Academy. During the 1960s Williston began to examine possibilities for coeducation, and in 1971, merged with its longtime sister school, the Northampton School for Girls, to become the Williston Northampton School. Starting as a preparatory academy for those seeking the clergy, the school now integrates a core college preparatory curriculum with electives and special opportunities, while emphasizing mastery of language, clarity of thought and academic integrity.[1][7]

Students and faculty

Old Campus
Old Campus, Williston

Williston Northampton encompasses the middle school (7th and 8th grade) and the upper school (9th-12th).

The school had 535 students in the 2009-2010 academic year, including 78 in the middle school (7th and 8th grade), all of whom are day students. The boarding students come from 25 states and 20 countries around the world. International students come from eastern Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Every year, a dozen or so post-graduate students – students who have graduated from another high school but take an extra year before college – matriculate into the 12th grade.

Williston employs 114 teachers, making for a student-teacher ratio of approximately 4.75:1. The average class consists of 13 students. Most teachers also take on the roles of dorm parents, advisors, and athletics coaches, fostering deep relationships with students. Arts programs at Williston include photography, filmmaking, drawing, painting, theatre, and dance.

According to the school, 62% of students taking the 2009 AP exams scored 4 or 5, and 51 members of the class of 2009 gained admission at Barron's 75 most competitive colleges. Over a ten-year period, six students were published in The Concord Review.

The campus

Williston campus viewed from pond
Ford Hall and Birch Dining Commons, viewed from the Williston pond

The 125-acre (0.51 km2) campus is located in Easthampton, Massachusetts, within view of Mount Tom. Located in the Pioneer Valley, the school is within 15 miles (24 km) of Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire colleges as well as the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Many of the school's buildings and dorms are situated around the main quad. The Schoolhouse, a former factory building remodeled in the 1950s to resemble the old schoolhouse building on the original Main Street campus, holds English and math classes and also contains administrative offices. In 1996, the former gymnasium, originally built in 1924, was transformed into the Reed Campus Center. The Dodge Room is the setting for many guest speakers and instrumental and choral concerts.

After a fire destroyed the school's theater building in 1994, it was rebuilt adjacent to the science laboratories, Scott Hall. The Williston Theatre is a 288-seat performance space. Among the improvements is the new theater's flexibility; the seating and stage areas can be moved to create a traditional theater with stage, a thrust stage, or a theater in the round. The theater also boasts a fly system, high-tech computerized lighting system, upgraded sound system, and an attached scene shop directly behind the stage. Downstairs are the new theater studio (rehearsal space), costume shop, and dressing rooms.

The Robert Clapp Memorial Library is located near the center of the campus. The library has a 40,000+ collection. The librarians select books, online databases, periodicals, videos, DVDs, and music CDs to meet these goals.

The Middle School is housed in the Whitaker-Bement Center, created in 1972 in honor of the Northampton School for Girls founders Sarah B. Whitaker and Dorothy M. Bement, is kept fairly separate from the action of upper school life. However, it does not restrict students from taking part in school activities, such as clubs and after school athletics. The Phillips Stevens Chapel (1964) hosts both the weekly assembly in its traditional chapel and language classes in its basement.

Life at Williston

The school year begins in September and usually ends in the first week of June. Each student typically takes five classes at a time. 19 courses may be taken at Advanced Placement (AP) level. Classes begin at 8:30 a.m. and end in the early afternoon, when many students head off to their athletic practices. For upper school students, there are Saturday classes every other week.

Athletics

Athletic Center
Athletic Center

Athletics play an important role in the school, as students are required to participate in after-school sports, although students may opt for an alternative elective course. Practice includes both strength training and aerobic practices as well as actual play of sports. The facilities support the program's 63 teams played in 30 sports during the course of the school year. Wednesday classes finish at 12:25, early enough for most teams to make it to their afternoon athletic competition. Williston often plays rival schools such as long time cross valley rival Deerfield Academy, or Northfield Mount Hermon, Choate Rosemary Hall, or Suffield Academy. Athletic competitions are also often held Wednesday and Saturday.

The school's athletic facilities include a recently redesigned Athletic Center, and a new football field/lacrosse field. Recently, the twelve new tennis courts, soccer fields, discus cage, and track, that have been pending construction, were finished. Facilities include the Athletic Center, which houses two basketball courts, a swimming pool, four squash courts, a fitness center, and more. The Lossone Arena provides a fully enclosed ice rink for teams and recreational skaters. Both Galbraith Fields and Sawyer Field have undergone major renovations, including converting two fields to synthetic playing surfaces.

Williston traditions

The weekly Williston assembly is the site of many school traditions. Most of the Tuesday gatherings are for general announcements and presentations by both outside speakers and by students, often addressing their peers as part of class assignments. However, there are four special awards assemblies per year: one for each of the three sports seasons and one for academic awards. Another assembly marks the induction of accepted seniors into the Cum Laude Society. Seniors in the top 10% of their class are eligible; this is the highest academic honor the school confers. At the last assembly of the year, the graduating seniors (seated at the front of the chapel) traditionally leave first, the juniors fill their places, and so on as each class files downward, signifying their move to a new grade.

Lion mascot statue
Lion mascot statue

One of the most ubiquitous enduring traditions at the Williston Northampton School is the painting of the school lion. At least several times a year, boarding students sneak out of their dorms (breaking the strict curfew regulations) or day students sneak back to campus late at night to spray paint the statue of a lion on the center of campus. These art projects sometimes have a theme, such as the patriotic colors the lion displayed for the entire fall semester following the events of September 11, 2001, but more often, probably due to time constraints imposed by the necessity of remaining unseen, they are simply random colors. Occasionally the lion is painted in response to disciplinary action by the school's disciplinary committee, especially expulsions.

Male varsity and junior varsity athletes will go beyond the normal dress code on game days and wear a tie and jacket at the discretion of the team's captains or head coach. Female varsity athletes will periodically wear obviously and outrageously clashing outfits on game days. Game day dress in winter has been known to involve summer dresses with sunglasses and totes. Female game day dress is typically enforced by team captains and not team coaches in contrast to male game day dress enforcement.

Students can also choose to write for the student newspaper, The Willistonian, which holds the title of the longest continuously published high school newspaper in the country.

Still another tradition at the school is ringing the victory bell after winning an athletic event. Usually the whole team will run up from the field and ring the bell multiple times if it was a good game. The whole campus can hear the bell from where it is stationed between Reed Hall and the dining hall.

School song

Sheet music for "O Williston"
Sheet music for "O Williston"

The school's alma mater, O Williston, made its debut on September 14, 2007, and is performed at formal occasions such as Convocation and Baccalaureate. New lyrics were set to an 1867 hymn by Henry Smart.

Other school songs include "Sammy", which refers to founding headmaster Samuel Williston. Singing "Sammy" at midfield has become a tradition for the varsity football team after home victories:

Sammy, my Sammy, my heart yearns for thee
Yearns for your campus and your old elm tree
Long may we cherish in years yet to come
Long may we cherish Williston

The "Williston Hymn" was a standby at the beginning and end of year assemblies, as well as at the Cum Laude assembly, for many decades, but was discontinued sometime in the 2000s. The tune of the hymn was that of the German national anthem, "Deutschlandlied". Long before Germany adopted it, the melody was composed by Joseph Haydn as "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser", an anthem to Francis II of Austria. In 1797, Haydn incorporated it into the second movement of his Emperor Quartet, op. 76, no. 3. The text was:

Notable alumni and faculty

References

  1. 1 2 Mirabelli, Manon L. (May 31, 2010). "Williston Northampton graduates 136 seniors". The Republican. Springfield, Mass. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27.
  2. ↑ Adams, George (1853). "Education in Massachusetts: Incorporated Academies". Massachusetts Register. Boston: Printed by Damrell and Moore.
  3. ↑ "A Group of Classical Schools (II)". Harper's New Monthly Magazine: 706. October 1877.
  4. ↑ Cutter, William Richard (1910). Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts. Lewis Historical Publishing Co. p. 338.
  5. ↑ Howard, Philip Eugene (1906). The life story of Henry Clay Trumbull. International Committee of Young Men's Christian Association. p. 39.
  6. ↑ "Williston Seminary". The Independent. July 6, 1914. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  7. ↑ "A Brief History of The Williston Northampton School". Archived from the original on 2009-04-21.
  8. ↑ Rapkin, Mickey (October 3, 2008). "Who is Dick Gregory?". Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Archived from the original on 2016-05-26.

Coordinates: 42°16′00.33″N 72°40′18.41″W / 42.2667583°N 72.6717806°W / 42.2667583; -72.6717806

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