by Chris Williamson
Head of School
As we come toward the end of October, what a wonderful month it has been for Applewild – and Red Sox and Patriot fans! Thanks so much to co-chairs Bee Tracey and Julie Rodwin for their leadership of the Harvest Fair. It combined community building, fun, creativity, and fund raising to benefit Applewild in many ways. It was fitting that it ended with announcements of winners, thanks to volunteers, and a rainbow!
As part of our ongoing fiftieth year activities, we also enjoyed a joyous celebration of teaching and commitment at Applewild the previous day, October 19, during A Day at Old Applewild. We had more than 25 faculty participate, including present teachers Judy Carr, Todd Goodwin, Mike Mullins, “senior master” Clarence Rabideau, and Ed and Pat Thomas, all of whom began their Applewild careers in the 1970’s. Six of our guests taught at Applewild in 1957 or 1958 as the school was establishing itself. Bill and Donna Marshall returned, and they joined their many colleagues for a reception at Head’s House and then participated in the Marshal Visiting Artist tile making project, as did many former faculty, parents and alumni both on Friday and at Harvest Fair on Saturday. Our students learned some of the history of the school, some of what was taught in the early days, and enjoyed both dressing their parts and seeing the faculty and staff dress “fifties style” (see some examples online in our photo gallery!). Ninth graders (greasers and pink ladies) were definitely not dressed as Applewild students would have been! Parent and alumna Kim Ansin Blanchard created a moving slide show that depicted many of our visitors in action in an early time and brought us from the early years to the present. Our students responded with enthusiasm, and we will look for ways to share the show with parents, perhaps as a preview to our Holiday Concerts in December.
In a brief opening, I reminded particularly our adults of four events that happened in September and October in 1957: Sputnik, the first US military casualty in Vietnam (October 21), President Eisenhower sending troops into Little Rock Arkansas to assure the court ordered integration of Central High School, and (on September 18, as our students knew) Applewild’s first opening day. I noted that we continue, after some lags, to explore space, now in conjunction with the former Soviet space program. We continue to work toward inclusion and tolerance as a country and as individuals. And we continue to enjoy the tremendous sense of community, the caring relationships, and the commitment that so many faculty have helped establish as the Applewild culture over the years.
As you read this the last weekend in October you can see we have another busy weekend, full of Applewild activities and more Sox and Pats, before we look ahead to our Halloween “Parade of Horribles,” November, cooler weather, parent conferences, and Thanksgiving. Thanks to Anna Barker for again taking the lead on the Parent Association rummage sale this weekend. There is an Upper School Dance (grades 7 – 9) on Friday evening, and we also have our first Open House on Sunday, October 28 from 1:00 – 3:00.
As you have heard me say before, our present parents are the single most powerful advocates for Applewild with prospective parents. Do not assume that families automatically know about Applewild or understand independent education. You can articulate better than anyone how Applewild provides an enriching education in which students are both challenged and nurtured to reach their potential in a genuinely friendly, wholesome atmosphere with creative, caring faculty. And you, by the way, know with whom we should be talking about the school. If you are interested in supporting our Admission outreach efforts, let Terry Perlmutter know. We have a series of evening events planned in addition to our Open Houses and regular tours.
I want to formally introduce you to three new members of our faculty and staff, even though two of them need no introduction. When assistant librarian Jane Urban elected suddenly to take a position close to her home in Shutesbury, Bobbie Spiegelman, Julie Bozicas and I considered options and decided to offer the position to Michelle Janoschek, mother of boys in fifth, third, and first grades. Michelle will pick up library classes in third, fourth and perhaps fifth grades and will assist Monday and Friday afternoons and all day on Thursdays. Michelle, a leader in our Parent Association, volunteered regularly in Applewild's library last year. A graduate of Clark University in Biology, she worked at Beth Israel and in the corporate world as a researcher prior to starting her family. She has also taught Sunday school and Hebrew and is now enrolled in the Masters program in Elementary Education at Lesley.
Because we have added students in Kindergarten, we opted to provide support to teacher Ginger Sauer for our youngest children. Michelle will also help us there. The main Kindergarten assistant will be another parent, Katy Niose (boys in fifth and second). Katy, who earned her BA from Keene State College and her Maitrise from the Sorbonne and the Universite de Valenciennes, has been an English instructor at the Universite and worked as a translator in Luxemburg. Returning to this area, Katy has taught French part time at Notre Dame Academy and Julie Country Day and now at Nashoba Montessori while raising her family, and has also been a valued sub in her home town of Lunenburg and for us for the past year. This fall Katy has been helping us in Extended Day on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, which she will continue.
Finally, Paul MacMahan joined us in mid-October to work with Tony Stancato as a member of our maintenance crew. Most recently Paul has spent five years in property management in Braintree and Leominster (at Wingate Properties) after working for four years at Tucker Housewares in Leominster. Paul has experience in plumbing, electrical, heating, and general maintenance work in addition to being a woodworker and gardener. A graduate of Billerica High School, Paul and his wife reside in Leominster and have children and grandchildren.
Welcome to these three additions to the Applewild faculty and staff. They join an impressive group that has maintained the momentum of a caring, creative, academically focused community from our earliest days.
P.S. Thank you to whoever baked the pineapple upside down cake that I purchased at the Harvest Fair bake sale. It is delicious!!!