4 in 650: by Ned Kleiner an Interview with Asma, at About Ten O’Clock on Tues- Dr

Drama Preview: As You Like It -See Page 4- The Greylock Echo Monday, November 9th Mount Greylock RHS Williamstown, Mass MAJOR ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES DUE FOR NEXT YEAR 4 in 650: By NED KLEINER An interview with Asma, At about ten o’clock on Tues- Dr. Rose Ellis, who had already a success, facilitating new curric- day, October 20th, Carrie Greene served as the WES superintendent ular alignment and shared teacher Salma, Seema, and stood up in front of the Mt. Grey- for a number of years. The move, development resources. Carrie lock School Committee to talk however, turned out largely to be Greene, a first-year member of Naseema about the future of the high the Mount Greylock School school. At the end of this Committee, suggested that By CATE COSTLEY year, Dr. Travis’s contract Mt. Greylock follow the el- will expire, and he has in- ementary schools’ example. dicated that he is interested Until Greene’s an- in retiring. Greene was sup- nouncement at the School posed to report on how the Committee meeting, a differ- school should go about find- ent outcome seemed likely. ing his replacement. To the The Massachusetts Depart- surprise of the committee, ment of Education supports Greene, who had spent more “Regionalization,” in which than thirty hours interview- the Northern Berkshire high ing town and state officials, schools (Drury, Hoosac, and recommended that Mt. Mt. Greylock) would com- Greylock join Superinten- bine into one super-region. dency Union 71. David Archibald, the chair On July 1, 2008, the ad- of the School Committee, ministrations at William- outlined one of the benefits stown and Lanesborough of regionalization to me: “if Elementary Schools joined you need a hundred thousand to create Union 71. This dollars at [one school in the merger allowed the two dis- region], and you have fallen tricts to share the positions of into some money at [another Photo: Cate Costley superintendent, SPED direc- school in the region], you can This fall, four sisters began the year at Mount Greylock, only weeks tor, business manager, and effect a seamless transfer of after arriving in the United States from Afghanistan. The changes have assistant to the superinten- those funds, because the su- been immense, but all four girls have been remarkable in their resil- dent, cutting a large chunk perintendent is in control… ience and poise. The two older girls, Asma and Salma, are seniors, of administrative costs. In of the funds for the entire re- while Seema and Naseema are in eighth-grade and seventh-grade, re- the debate about the “union- gion.” spectively. Please continue to welcome them and help them settle into ization,” many of the facul- Dr. Travis’s familiar face will likely be According to Greene, our school. ty, especially those teaching absent next year. Last month, he expressed however, the idea of form- in Lanesborough, were very an intent to retire, and discussions ing a “super-region” had al- Q: All right, give us a little information about your background. How upset about the prospect of regarding Mt. Greylock’s administrative most no support among the old are you? Where were you born? Where have you lived since then? sharing a superintendent, future are ongoing. Administration, Contin- Seema: I am 13 years old. My sisters and I were born in Peshawar, Photo: Katie Rathbun ued on Page 2 Pakistan. I lived in Pakistan for most of my life, up until 8th grade. We moved to Kabul, Afghanistan then because my father became a governor. We lived there for a year and we did not go to school; now H1N1 and Mt. Greylock we are here. Naseema: I am eleven. By NAOMI LACHANCE Asma: I am eighteen years old. This is not your average flu season. The regular it off. A vaccine appears to be the next step neces- Salma: I am also eighteen. seasonal flu, killing 36,000 a year, is bad enough. sary in fighting the pandemic. “They make a vaccine This year, H1N1 (swine) flu is attacking immune for the flu, a new strain comes up, they make a new Q: What languages do you speak? systems everywhere, too. one,” said Mt. Greylock chemistry teacher Bob Ian- All four sisters: We speak five languages: Pashtu, Urdu, Hindi, Farsi, Precautions (sometimes irrational) are being tak- nitelli, “It’s been a rush for this one because it came and English. en around the world. In Egypt, officials killed thou- up so quickly.” Asma: We are still working on English! sands of pigs before a single case had been reported The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is hoping in their country. In France, authorities urged people to have the H1N1 flu vaccination available for the Q: What was school like in Pakistan? to refrain from “la bise,” the cheek-to-cheek kiss general public around the last week of November Asma: Salma and I were in our first year of college, which is the same that is a traditional greeting, to avoid spreading the and first week of December. “Availability and de- as 11th grade here. Once we completed 4 years of college, we would virus. In California, a high school canceled its senior mand can be unpredictable,” stated the CDC. The have gone to university for two years. These schools were not co-edu- prom after one student was thought to be sick with Northern Berkshire Pandemic Planning Group’s cational; they were all girls. H1N1. plan at Mt. Greylock is to offer a clinic for the high Seema: In school, we must do lots of memorization. We also study and On October 24, President Obama declared the vi- school, and then have a subsequent clinic open for translate the Koran in a madrassa [institution for instruction in Islam]; rus a national emergency. “The rates of illness con- the community. Students will need to fill out a con- I translated 13 chapters of the Koran. tinue to rise rapidly within many communities across sent form and turn it in to the Superintendent’s Office the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic in order to participate. The forms are available on Q: What has been most surprising about life in America? to overburden health care resources in some locali- Mt. Greylock’s website, www.mgrhs.org. Although Naseema and Seema: The way people live here is so… comfortable. ties,” Obama wrote in his declaration. participation is not mandatory, Mt. Greylock nurse The food and way people dress is different, too. There are currently forty-six U.S. states that are Nichole Berry encourages “that all students receive Asma and Salma: Going to a co-ed school is very surprising. reporting widespread H1N1 influenza activity, ac- the shot.” cording to the CDC, or Center for Disease Control Some individuals, particularly those with com- Q: What has been most difficult about life at Mount Greylock? and Prevention. Since the virus’ detection in April promised immune systems, have already received Naseema: Language! 2009, there have been 95 laboratory-confirmed the vaccine. “My insurance called and said I should Asma: It is hard to make friends because people have groups. H1N1 deaths reported to the CDC. The total rate get vaccinated,” explained freshman Emily Silva, of confirmed influenza-related hospitalization is al- who received the shot in late October. She did not Q: What are your favorite foods from back home? ready higher than expected for this time of year, and experience any abnormalities. “It’s pretty much like Naseema: My mother cooks rice and beans. is climbing. a normal flu shot,” she said. Asma: Meatballs. This particular strain of influenza’s virulence can The vaccine contains an inactivated strain of the Q: What are your favorite American foods? be explained by the fact that the human body does H1N1 Continued on Page 4 not naturally have the antibodies required to fight All four sisters: Pizza! Crossword Sports! ************** Trip to Guatemala In an unanticipated turn of Tom Dils, Luke Costley, and Alex White give us a fall events, Mr. Dils churns out sports update alongside Katie Rathbun’s photographic Rebekeh Packer reflects on her The Echo is another crossword of his own trip with the Rural Literacy design for our enjoyment and coverage. Project this past summer. RECYCLABLE! puzzlement. See Pages 5 & 6. See Page 3. Please do NOT See Page 6. throw it in the Shakespeare Cartoon Harry Potter Review trash when done Krista Mangiardi reports Rufus Paisley entertains us again this month with a As part of her senior project, reading. on MG’s production of As Cleo Levin reviews the movie You Like It, which premieres new subject: college applications. made from the wildly popular Thursday at 7:00. 6th Harry Potter book. See Page 4. *************** See Page 4. See Page 3. The Greylock Echo November 9th, 2009 Page 2 NEWS Administration, From Page 1 Greene, though, was adamant in her as- numerous Williamstown, Lanesborough, sertion that unionization was the best ac- NEWS AND EVENTS IN BRIEF and Massachusetts Association of School tion. She stated that, from a purely factual Committees officials she had heard from: standpoint, unionization is just as good as “only two people, out of twenty-six I spoke regionalization. In addition, Greene report- After-School Program Seeking Interested Juniors with, liked the concept of an expanded re- ed that there is no chance that regionaliza- and Seniors gion.” As Archibald explained, regional- tion will happen in the near future, because ization “increases costs, because… if one no one is willing to give up power over The Williamstown Youth Center has started an after-school program for middle teacher’s union is making 17% more than their school.

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