Mt. Greylock Regional School District

The Williams Center’s goal – "to maximize the academic value the college can provide Mt. Greylock" -- remains intentionally broad as we continue to work towards finding the most productive ways to make educationally rich and exciting connections between the two institutions. In year three we will continue our focus on writing and research including the Williams Writing Fellows Program, science outreach, support of the math department, after-school homework help, the Youth Environmental Squad garden initiative and college essay help.   Some programs require financial support, while others are simply "matchmaking"—introducing Williams faculty/students to their Mt. Greylock counterparts (and vice versa), figuring out the logistics of transporting Williams students to Mt. Greylock, and spreading the word at Mt. Greylock about enriching events and opportunities at Williams.

Regular updates of resources and opportunities can be found on this web site or will be sent out through the school announcements. Please also feel free to contact Williams Center Coordinator, Kaatje White with your ideas and questions at kwhite@williams.edu for more information.

Read the Williams Center 2009-2010 Year End Report

This year, here are some of the areas of focus:

• The Williams Writing Fellows Program
  Writing clearly and effectively across the curriculum is a goal for all students at Mt. Greylock Regional School. Writing well indicates clear thinking and having the tools to communicate successfully. Such skills are critical in school, in the work force and in life. The Writing Fellows Program pairs Williams College students with Mt. Greylock teachers  and their classes to help our students gain these critical skills.
  
  The Williams students are utilized in a variety of ways, depending on the needs of the class and teacher.  For example, some writing fellows work individually with students, conferencing on drafts and suggesting revisions. These sessions might take place either in the classroom or online. While other fellows are woven into the classroom dynamic and participate in class discussion, give sample lessons and help out as needed. 
  
  This coming year writing fellows are working in selected classrooms in grades 7,9 and 10.  For more information contact Writing Fellows coordinator, Liz Costley at lizcostley@gmail.com
• Science Outreach
  Support is provided to high school teachers when appropriate to facilitate hands-on science opportunities. Our goal is to create sustainable lab experiences that can be replicated and added to over the coming years.
  • AP Chemistry and AP Physics Labs - Each year--depending on the rotation--three or four advanced Chemistry and Physics labs are held on the Williams campus and are taught in collaboration with Williams Chemistry and Physics professors.This year, Chemisitry labs will occur in September, December and the spring TBD.
  • 11th Grade Biology Research Project - All 11th grade biology students design and carry out a science research project. Williams science professors and the Williams science librarians work with Greylock teachers to support this project. During  January, Greylock students will visit the Williams campus for science library orientation.  Williams professors are available for research conferences as students develop research questions and design their projects. In some cases, Greylock students may utilize the resources of one of the college labs The librarians will be available for research meetings at the Schow Science Library to help students identify and find relevant source materials.
  • BioEyes Lab -  Biology classes will participate this spring in this genetics/embryology lab. Using zebra fish and embryos provided by Williams, students will participate in this hands-on science experience designed to introduce students to real scientific methodologies.
  • Where are We? - All day hands-on environmental awareness day for 11th graders in early June. Students and Greylock faculty select from a variety of workshops taught by Williams faculty and community members. Program offerings change yearly. (2010 handout)
• Homework Help
  • Tuesday Night On-Campus at Williams
    Guidance counselor Beverly Maselli works with a group of Williams students who tutor high school students one-on-one on Tuesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 on campus at Williams. Tutoring is generally available in all subjects.  The program is free. For more information: contact Beverly Maselli
  • Private Tutoring, Fee Involved
    Opportunities are available to hire college students as tutors in specific academic subject areas. Rate for hiring college students for private tutoring is $15/hr. If you need help finding a private tutor contact Kaatje White
  • Physic  Study group at Williams-Sunday morning study group led by Williams students are open to all students for a $5 per session charge.  Sessions last one hour and focus on group review for Mondays test, hands-on demos and peer support. Please see Sean Burdick to sign-up and for more information.
• Other Areas of Support
  • Williams College Library Orientation for 10th graders
    Honors English 10th graders meet with the Williams Sawyer library staff at Williams for a special workshop designed to help students use a college library. This opportunity supports the mandatory 10th grade research project.
  • Math
    This December the Williams math department, in collaboration with the Greylock math department, is once again offering MathBLast (Download the 2010 Flyer in PDF format), a half day hands-on math experience on the Williams campus. All 10th grade students will participate.
  • College Guidance                                                                                                                             Phil Smith, former director of Williams admissions, college students, and community members offer a workshop and ongoing online college essay review.  Williams Admission officers visit 12th grade classes to offer a mini-workshop in the essay process. Contact Liz Costley .  A three-morning College Application Camp is offered at Mt. Greylock in late June for rising seniors. Also, Williams students offer SAT review in the evenings during April to prepare for May tests.  For more information about these resources, please contact Kaatje White.
  • Classes at Williams
    Students in good standing may take selected classes at Williams College during their senior year. Please contact Mt Greylock Guidance for more information about this program and guidelines for registering.
  • Peer Team Support
    The peer team receives training and orientation from various Williams student groups. For more information contact Lisa Jennings, Peer Team coordinator.
  • Language Conversation
    Members of the College community are available to meet outside of school for casual conversation in a variety of languages. Please contact Kaatje White to help locate a conversation mate.

• Science Outreach
  Support is provided to middle school teachers when appropriate to facilitate hands-on science opportunities. Our goal is to create sustainable lab experiences that can be replicated and added to over the coming years. Please contact Kaatje White to get involved.
• Homework Help in grades 7-9
  • At Greylock After School
    Sue Strizzi, Mt. Greylock Middle School Science teacher, supervises college students who monitor an after-school study hall, math support room, as well as a small group of Williams students who work one-on-one with students in specific academic areas. Tutoring will take place on Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 - 4pm. This program will begin the week of September 28th, and run while the college is in session. Contact: Sue Strizzi.
  • Private Tutoring, Fee Involved
    Opportunities are available to hire Williams students as tutors in most academic subject areas. Contact the appropriate college department office to see if student tutors are available. Rate for hiring Williams students for private tutoring is $15/hr. If you need help contacting the departmental office, contact Kaatje White.

• Evening Life Drawing Open Studio
  Interested students may attend the open drawing studio in the Spencer Art building on Tuesday and Thursday evenings free of charge. Contact; Kaatje White or Doug Paisley if you are interested in participating.
• Clubs
  • Youth Environmental Squad (Y.E.S)
    Y.E.S, in its third year, has strong membership within both the middle and high schools at Mt. Greylock. Last  year, Y.E.S succeeded, with the help of the Williams Center, in establishing a composting system for Mt. Greylock's cafeteria. In addition, YES with the help of the Williams Center and the larger community, was able to build a garden which supplies food to the cafeteria and local food pantries. Please contact  (greengreylock@gmail.com) to get involved with these exciting projects.
  • Greylock Literary Magazine
    Get involved with IRIS the school literary magazine. For more information contact: Liz Costley

• Office of Information Technology
  The Williams College Office of Information Technology would like to extend an invitation to all members of the Greylock community to participate in any of its workshops.  The workshops are offered on a regular basis and people can find the updated list and schedule by going to http://oit.williams.edu/workshops/.  The workshops are generally offered at 2 PM, however OIT will be willing to start a bit later if Greylock members needed to get there after school.  Sign-up is required and can either be done through Kaatje White, or by going directly to the OIT site.
• Williams College Museum of Art
  Special collaborative programming is offered. Field trips are worked out on a year-by-year basis with the Mt. Greylock teachers and the education department at WCMA. For more information about the Williams College Museum of Art go to: www.wcma.org.
• Williams College Library
  Borrowing privileges are open to all Greylock students and faculty. Williamstown residents may directly borrow books from the college library. Students from Lanesborough and Hancock may obtain books from the library through inter-library loan. Please contact Kathy Share, Mt. Greylock librarian. For more information about the Williams Library contact Librarian Christine Menard or go to: library.williams.edu.
• ‘62 Center for Theater and Dance
  All Williams student productions and Center Series events are open to the public. Tickets are free to Mt. Greylock students with school ID (does not apply to Williamstown Theater Festival). Advanced reservations suggested. For more information about ‘62 events, go to 62center.williams.edu.
• Williams Music Events
  All College events are open to the Greylock community. For the full calendar of music offerings go to music.williams.edu.
• Lectures and other events
  For a full listing of events at Williams go to williams.edu/go/atwilliams. To receive a weekly e-mail of these events subscribe here.