The BSE FlowCovering Shelburne Falls and Beyond Free

Student-run newspaper of the buckland-shelburne ELEMENTARY school communitY • Shelburne falls, mass.

Vol. 2, no. 3 • April 16, 2015

INDEXNews .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2Op/Ed ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . A2Advice ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Book review ............ A3 Alumni .................... A4 Kids in Concert .......... B1 Cool careers .............. B2Health and sports ...... B3Horoscope .............. B4 Traditions .............. B4

By Catherine Fahy Green with Brooke Looman

A record 68 packets were mailed to families of preschool-aged children

in advance of the April 3 regis-tration at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School, where for most families, the possibility of free preschool has made BSE a lot more attractive.

Free half-day tuition for students from Buckland and Shelburne is part of the proposal by the Mohawk Trail Regional School District’s Long Range Planning Committee to improve early learning opportunities in every district elementary school with a preschool program. Full-day programs, along with before- and after-school care, would be available by fee.

District Superintendent Mi-chael Buoniconti said the School

Local Town Meeting members to weigh budget May 5, 6

Growth, awards as organization

turns a happy 25

Committee included $220,000 in its fiscal year 2016 budget to cover preschool tuition. The budget now heads to member towns at their upcoming town meetings (in Shelburne, May 5 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall; in Buckland, May 6 at 7 p.m. at Mohawk) — so for now, any changes are speculative.

“If [the FY 2016 budget] isn’t passed by the towns, the School Committee would need to con-sider whether to resubmit at its current level or to make adjust-ments,” Buoniconti said.

In addition to town assess-ments, money for the preschool programs would come from state grant funding and tuition revenues from out-of-district students, Buoniconti said.

Free tuition would cover one of two daily three-hour sessions, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. or from

> Continued on Page A4

SHELBURNE FALLS—The Mary Lyon Foundation kicks off a yearlong celebration May 3 to mark 25 years of innova-tive support of local education in West County schools and communities.

Established in 1990 and incorporated in March of 1991, the foundation has a long and outstanding history of providing services and programs to en-hance local education.

The annual Spring Lyonnaise, a free, family-friendly event to celebrate excellence in local education, is held this year on Sunday, May 3, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Shelburne Buckland Com-munity Center on Main Street in Shelburne Falls.

According to Executive Director Sue Samoriski in the event announcement, a special announcement will be made at the event “regarding an ex-pansion and other plans at the organization.”

Awards to be given include the Spirit of Adventure Award, to Gabriel Coler; the Outstand-ing Mohawk Graduate Award, to Brendan Lattrell; the Business Award, to Baker Pharmacy; and the Exemplary Career Award, to Melinda Gougeon, Ed.D.

The 2015 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, Dr. Jeffrey Shea, a teacher at Belmont High School, will speak about glob-al education for all students. School projects and artwork will be on display.

Music is provided by Mohawk middle and high school students under the direction of Gina Glover and Scott Halligan. A dramatic presentation by Heath Elementary students, directed by Jonathan Diamond, also is scheduled.

Student work for the exhib-it hall may be brought to the community center on Friday afternoon, May 1.

Mary Lyon Foundation Lyonnaise

May 3

SHELBURNE — State standards say Trish Perlman’s students should be able to interpret maps, recognize different kinds of maps, and see how maps are used in the world.

But the Common Core doesn’t give her any instruction that her kids should actually use a map to get from one place to another.

“Mapping is a sixth-grade skill but I wanted to make it real for them and really apply it to a real-life problem. When I talked to the kids, I found out they didn’t have any idea that that’s what maps were used for, driving from A to B. They have Siri, MapQuest, and GPS,” she said.

Aiming to procure a bunch of the big, floppy, fold-out roadmaps that spread the commonwealth before them, Perlman wanted to enhance a unit on kids’ city design.

One March day after school she went up to Davenport’s Service Sta-tion on the Mohawk Trail to pick up maps for everybody in class: a thick stack.

“And I thought they would be free or about $1. And I only carry so much money with me to school,” she told the Flow.

“I get up to the checkout counter with 15 maps, and the guy says, ‘Do you know how much these are?’ And I said no. ‘They’re $6.95 apiece.’ And I said, ‘Uh-oh, I’ve got to put them back.’ And a man standing behind me said, ‘I’ll buy them. Are you a teach-er? I’ll buy them.’ And I said, ‘Oh my God, I couldn’t.’ He said, ‘No, I know what schoolteachers get paid and I know teachers spend a lot of their own money.’ And he wouldn’t even tell me his name. He said, ‘Nope. Just let me do this.’”

She accepted his offer.“Then I set out challenges for the

kids. They had to plot routes, figure out mileage, avoid highways or only use highways… it was really fun. Just all the keys, the compass rose… They learned so much about Massachusetts just lying on their bellies on the floor. That was a nice guy.”

Families flock to ‘free pre-k’ proposal

Davenport’s Service mystery man puts sixth-graders on the map

“I said, ‘Uh-oh, I’ve got to put them back.’ And a man standing behind me said, ‘I’ll buy them.

Are you a teacher? I’ll buy them. ’” — Trish Perlman

BSE mom Carol Foote with kids Lydia, 8, and Augustus, who is in home day care. Her family is considering full-day preschool here for Augustus.

The BSE Flow

“How many state parks are there? Where does the Mass Pike start and end? Where are the cities? Where are we in the state? They really didn’t have a sense of where things were be-fore,” Perlman said.

Trish Perlman photo

Trish Perlman holds a map by Sarah Close

Audrey’s Angels seek donors in

May 17 CF walkSHELBURNE FALLS—Com-

munity support is starting early for the 16th Annual Shelburne Falls Great Strides walk-a-thon, which is raising funds toward a cure for the debilitating disease cystic fibrosis.

The May 17 walk offers one trek at 10 kilometers and an-other at 2.5 kilometers. Both start at BSE and make their way across the Bridge of Flowers. The local event, part of Great Strides, the Cystic Fibrosis Foun-dation's largest national fund-raising event, is in honor of BSE alumna Audrey Clark.

Audrey notes on Great Strides’ “Audrey’s Angels” page that she is fighting for her life against CF, which affects 70,000 people worldwide, including 30,000 Americans. CF is an inherited disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system.

“Cystic fibrosis has caused me to need two double lung trans-plants, the first of which when I was 12. I am 20 now. I have rejected them both and need to wear oxygen to breathe. Only due to the money raised toward research could this have hap-pened and given me this much extra life. Please donate so others don't need to endure the hardships that I have,” she says.

Audrey adds that she plans to walk the 2.5 km route. Regis-tration begins at 1 p.m. and the walk starts at 2. To raise funds as a walker or “virtual walker,” visit http://bit.ly/1ziNKtL.

Each year, more than 125,000 people participate in hundreds of walks across the country to raise funds for cystic fibrosis research and drug development.

Audrey’s mother, Sandra Gaffey, is the bookkeeper at Mohawk. For more information, leave her a message at 413-625-0227 or call the CF Foundation at 800-966-0444.

Solid advice

Kids in Concert

Alumni profiles

Kids in Concert at 10

Sports success

>A3 >A4 >B1 >B3

Editorial

Why should kids take the MCAS?

Sarah Jetzon, director of Curriculum and Assessments for grades 7-12, says a B in a class here might not trans-late to a B in another school, district, or state.

BSE Flow photo

Dance Generators move assembly

John Snyder photo

A2 thursday, April 16, 2015 • The BSE Flow Covering Shelburne Falls and Beyond

News and Opinion Tipline: news@bseflow.com

THE BSE FLOW, founded in 2014 and published monthly, is the independent, student-run newspaper of Shelburne Falls, Mass. Based at Buckland-Shel-burne Elementary School, we serve our village and

its surroundings through the practice of journalism, current events, history, ethics, language arts, and commerce.

We belong with pride to the National Elementary Schools Press Association, the Journalism Education Association, the New England Scholastic Press Association, and the Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association.

news, letters, and correctionsJohn Snyder, adviser, designer, and publisher 75 Mechanic St., Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 Tel. (413) 325-6348 • news@bseflow.com

advertising and promotions John Snyder (413) 325-6348 • ads@bseflow.com

staff 2014-2015, studying titles this Issue

Joy Bohonowicz, grade 5 .....................Editor in chiefAinsley Bogel, grade 4 .......................Assistant editorAreia Heilman, grade 5 ............................News editorBrooke Looman, grade 5 .....................Features editorMyah Grant, grade 4 .................. Circulation managerKylie Lowell, grade 5 .................Advertising managerKatie Martin, grade 5 ...............................Art directorElivia Kingsley, grade 5 .................... Roving reporterEliza Bogel, grade 4 ....................Production assistantBennett Snyder, grade 4 .............Production assistantHarper Brown, grade 4 ..........New York bureau chiefCatherine Fahy ................................ Editorial adviserLinda Rollins ................................Advertising adviser

copyrightThe BSE Flow Vol. 2 No. 3 is © 2015 Advance The Story, Shelburne Falls, MA, 01370. All rights reserved. We print at the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Mass.

Maureen Shea and her “Dance Genera-tors” dance compa-

ny visited the school April 7. Their dancers are aged 25 to 90, and they love dancing together.

According to their flier, they make contemporary modern dances and create scores for improvisations.

Some people we talked with liked it a lot. Others thought it was weird.

There were stretches, mirroring exercises, and a lot of other activities, most set to music.

Ms. Carter said she was blown away by the experience.

“I liked how there were different generations, so you see that you can dance even when you’re older,” she said.

Student Hannah Chase said she thought it was awesome:

“It made me remember about my grandma, who passed away. But in a hap-py way.”

— Katie Martin/staff

Feelin’ it

Friendship forward

Friends and teachers who reached out to Carli Jensen with well-wishes from home: She got your gift in the mail! Carli, who recently moved to Bur-bank, Calif., said she loved getting your messages.

“I’m very sad I had to leave BSE. It’s hot in California and freezing in Massachusetts,” she told the Flow April 14.

It sure looks sunny there. That’s great! The weather’s been much im-proved here, too.

Awesomeness!

CORRECTIONWe apologize to Melissa Leitner Plesnar, whose name we gave incorrectly in our March issue, page B3, in an

item about coaches being sought for girls’ softball.

The opinion of this newspaper is mixed on taking the MCAS,

which we are taking now. The Massachusetts

Comprehensive Assess-ment System tests us on English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. It counts what we learn and compares how students, schools, and districts per-form statewide.

We in the newsroom discussed our opinions about MCAS. Here are a few quotes:

• “MCAS doesn’t really matter. Different people learn different ways. You can’t have one test for everyone and expect them to sit down and do it.”

• “MCAS is meant to see how well the teach-ers are teaching us. They shouldn’t be pressuring us to do it well. They shouldn’t be forcing us with the practices.”

• “It’s good and bad because the state is giving the teachers stuff to teach that’s going to be on the MCAS that we have to learn. It’s stressful having math every day.”

• “I’ll tell you, it’s really stressful! But what’s on the MCAS the teachers have already been teach-ing us, so we’d know it pretty well. It’s kind of a waste of time to learn it all over again.”

• “I think that MCAS, if it’s a test that’s supposed to count how well the teachers are teaching us, then I don’t think they should be pressuring the kids. Maybe they can just can get a copy of some kid’s report card to prove they were taught properly.”

Asked for comment, Sarah Jetzon, director of Curriculum and Assess-ments for grades 7-12, told us schools are ranked at levels from 1 to 5 on how well they perform at MCAS, and that schools with lower-level scores get extra help from the state.

She said BSE is at level 1, the top of the scale, up

from level 3 just a couple of years ago.

“That’s because of im-provements they’ve made. They’ve been working really hard to do that,” she said.

She said the idea na-tionwide is to have an accountability measure for schools to make sure children are getting the education they’re enti-tled to in ELA, math, and science.

Jennifer L. Lagoy, di-rector of Curriculum and Assessment, PK-6, thanked all the people who worked on this year’s ELA MCAS.

She thanked the stu-dents first:

“As I have visited schools this year I have noticed all of you work-ing hard to prepare for the MCAS. I saw many of you learning strategies for taking the ELA MCAS and practicing them with your teachers and classmates.”

She thanked the teach-ers next for their hard work. She also thanked the principals, proctors, and volunteers:

“There were many peo-ple who gathered to serve our students breakfast and snacks on their test day. The work that you do is essential and appreciated greatly,” she said.

Teachers Mary Johansmeyer, left, and Trish Perlman mirror each other’s movements at an ex-hibition of The Dance Generators at BSE April 7. Johansmeyer, who teaches physical education, said she loved how Maureen Shea presented the exercise to the kids. She said the kids picked up on the motions and that she incorporated some of these into her gymnastics unit. “I was amazed how agile and fluid and graceful the [intergenerational] dancers were,” she added.

Nimble artist

Maya Sarich was one of the kids to take Nim-ble Arts up on its offer of circus-skill workshops at BSE March 22.

She later told the Flow she particularly enjoyed hanging upside down in her aerial silks, which are made of strong, soft fabric.

Juggling followed. Kids who participated learned to manipulate objects, from scarves (easy on little hands) to balls and more challenging things. Cindi JensenBecca Sarich

Thursday, april 16, 2015 • The BSE Flow A3Covering Shelburne Falls and Beyond

What it means to be different — and aloneMust-Read

Dear Anonymous,I know this is tough but

you can get through this. Talk to your mom. She

can help you set up time to spend with your dad.

Always remember that your dad is in your heart even if you can’t be with him every day. Talk to your dad so he knows what’s going on with you. It’s important to spend time with both of your parents. It’s important that you let them know that.

This is new for ALL of you. It’s going to take some time to get used to it. From what you say, it sounds like your dad might need a little time alone at first before he is comfortable coming over to pick you up. You might need to give him more time to get used to it. Maybe you can tell your dad about your day with a daily phone call or email to keep him involved in your life.

It might be a good idea to ask your school coun-selor (if you have one) for their advice. I know that you are more important to your parents than whatev-er they got divorced for. They will want to help you.

I admire your bravery for asking about this. Tell me how everything goes.

Your friend,Harper

Harper Brown is one of The BSE Flow’s advice columnists and its New York bureau chief. Got a ques-tion? Write Ask Harper, The BSE Flow, 75 Mechanic St., Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 or advice@bseflow.com. Please include your name and contact information.

Dear Harper: This is very personal so I won’t give my

name. I’ve never even seen anyone’s name ex-cept yours on these things so maybe that’s how it works. My parents are divorced and I rarely see my dad anymore. This makes me sad. Now my mom wants to marry her boyfriend, who actually is a cool guy and I have a lot of fun with him and his son. I just don’t want to never see my dad again, like if he gets his feelings hurt. That would destroy me. So I don’t know what anyone can say but there it is.

— Anonymous

‘You are more important to your parents

than whatever they got

divorced for’

I heard the novel “Out of My Mind” as a read-aloud in Mrs. Eklund’s class. Now I’m reading

it to my mother. Based on the author’s

own daughter, it’s about this girl, Melody Brooks, who has cerebral palsy. She can’t speak or walk. She can only move her thumbs.

Everybody thinks Melo-dy doesn’t know a lot but she’s actually very intel-ligent. The book explains her troubles through fifth grade. She’s alone with her thoughts and feelings. Then she gets a comput-erized device called a Medi-Talker that she can use to help herself be understood.

For the first time she can communicate by voice. She makes friends.

The author says on her website that she didn’t want anyone reading the book to feel sorry for Mel-ody because she wanted to make Melody an un-forgettable character —

Ask Harper

By Harper BROWN

By Kylie LOWELL

Reading ‘Out of My Mind’ by Sharon M. Draper.

Simon & Schuster, 2010

someone to cheer on. She also said she wanted her readers to think people are more alike than differ-ent. And what it’s like to be handicapped.

We know a lot about Melody because the book is written from her perspective, in the first person. She really likes country music. Her favor-ite song is “Elvira,” by the Oak Ridge Boys. Her name is musical, too. This was a good detail.

The book made me think of how smart peo-ple can really be, even if they’re in a wheelchair — and it made me think badly about how so-called

“normal” people can treat people in wheelchairs. I don’t do this but I have seen it happen.

The cover of “Out of My Mind” shows Melody’s goldfish, Ollie, leaping out of his bowl. We discussed this in class. Melody had felt badly for Ollie be-cause he was swimming in circles, doing the same thing, every day, and then it finally jumped out of the bowl. I think the book is called “Out of My Mind” because Melody is relating to the fish: She’s in her mind; she can’t say her thoughts. She can’t speak.

I think that when the fish jumped out of the bowl she sympathized.

Mrs. Eklund is a very good reader. Our class really liked hearing this story, and we were sad when on certain days we missed it. We were also very sad at certain parts of the story, because Mel-ody’s situation was sad, and then things changed. I admire Melody for having gone through everything she did.

This novel is good for kids and adults. Read it.

What to do when your older siblings are rude to youSibling vs. Sibling

By Ainsley BOGEL

16 State St., Shelburne Falls413-625-6216

www.westendpubinfo.com

At the Bridge of FlowersServing delicious

LUNCH and DINNER with a river view

Sandwiches, salads, paninis, wraps, homemade soups and breads, seafood, steaks and

vegetarian specialtiesMany local items

Full bar serving beer, wine, liquor

Open for lunch and dinner daily, except Mondays

Dear Ainsley: I am the youngest of three sisters. The

other two are teenagers, and they seem to treat me like I don’t exist. They are really good friends with each other but basically ignore me most of the time and are even kind of rude. My mom says it's natural. This really hurts my feelings because, well, for obvious reasons. What would you suggest?

— Left Behind

Dear Left Behind,Find an activity or

hobby that you and your sisters like and try to bond through that. Also, if they keep being rude to you, you should tell them that you don’t like how they are treating you. If that doesn’t work, talk to your parents about how it real-ly hurts you and how they won’t stop.

I checked with school counselor Jana Standish to get her opinion. She agreed with me:

“It’s kind of normal but it sure doesn’t feel good. How about if that girl

makes sure her friend con-nections are really good and gets herself invited over to friends’ houses. Having some activities to do always helps,” Ms. Standish said.

She also suggested your mom sit down with you and your sisters and have a talk. Meet with one sis-ter at a time — only one at a time, Ms. Standish said, to keep the power situation even — and use an “I feel” statement. “I feel really sad when you call me names.”

If you need further help, Ms. Standish said, you can ask your mom.

She added: “Maybe once in a while they can take her along with them or do an activity together for a short period of time. A game or an activity for a few minutes.

“Here’s the deal with siblings,” she said. “It can be really rough at

times. But when the chips are down and somebody really, really needs help or somebody’s hurt, siblings are almost always there for each other. Siblings often — not always — but often end up being really good friends.”

I hope your sisters start treating you better!

Your friend,Ainsley

BSE Alumni Spotlight Tipline: alumni@bseflow.com

A4 thursday, April 16, 2015 • The BSE Flow Covering Shelburne Falls and Beyond

So much for Bacon-Man, the villain introduced in issue 6 who held the world in his

greasy grip! The idea for this comic came from Hannah

Chase in Mrs. Hyer’s 4th grade class!

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12:30-3:30 p.m. The full day program would last six hours from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and cost $12 ($4 per hour for three hours). Families of students who do not live in Buckland or Shel-burne would not qualify for free tuition.

Approximately 30 families filled rows of chairs in the BSE cafeteria for the April 3 registra-tion. Standing at the front of the room, Principal Joanne Giguere said if enrollment swells as expected, the school will have some work to do because she wants to commit to having no more than 16 to 18 students per class. While enrollment is still unclear, it’s nearly certain a third classroom will be needed.

Currently, BSE has two pre-school classes taught by Kate Derry and Martha Parker, each with 16 or fewer students.

Giguere said when she arrived at BSE in 2009, there was one preschool classroom with a lottery system. She said now she wants to make sure that no one from Buckland or Shelburne is turned away.

“We have a good problem to solve,” she said to the assem-bled parents.

Giguere said in a March 25 letter enclosed with the pre-school registration packets that the district’s preschool goals may take a couple of years to fully implement but these are the first steps.

Parents of preschool-age chil-dren are of course thrilled with the proposal but are still trying to determine which proposed time slot fits their schedule.

Cyndee Boehmer, whose 4-year-old daughter Isabela at-tends preschool at BSE, said she is hoping to send her younger daughter, Marlee, next year.

“I’m excited for some ex-tra free time to work,” said Boehmer, heading out of the cafeteria.

Bria Thurber echoed Boeh-mer, saying her son had attend-ed another school and she was looking forward to having him at BSE.

But Boehmer also said she is concerned that three hours is not enough time to get much

done and six hours is too much time in school for a preschool-er. Also, she said the afternoon time slot is not suited for pre-schoolers like hers who are still napping.

And Carol Foote, whose daughter, Lydia, is in second grade here, would love to enroll her son, Augustus.

“How does the timing work during the day? Gosh, I’m a full-time working person. How does this fit into my day?” she said.

She added: “There’s a need here for people to have a full-day pre-k. That’s what I’m look-ing for. I’m not yet sure that’s what’s going to happen here.”

Giguere emphasized that the schedule is still under consider-ation and said it was created in

part to align with the schedules at Colrain Elementary School and Sanderson Academy and in part because the morning drop-off could be crowded with so many additional preschool parents arriving in vehicles.

Of course, by offering free preschool, BSE could benefit from increased enrollment if its new bumper crop of youngest students stays for kindergar-ten and beyond. It could also benefit from having students who are more prepared to enter kindergarten and may therefore not need as many intervention services, Buoniconti said.

“It is anticipated that this will increase the number of preschool students in all of the elementary schools,” he said.

Families flock to ‘free pre-k’ proposal from section front ................................................................................

Emma Guyette, BSE ’10, is busy planning

well ahead

Saturday, April 25thMohawk Class of 2016

to supp�t

MOHAWK JUNIOR AUCTION

Tag sale st�ts at 8:00 amwith coffee and pas�ies f� sale

Rainb� Run st�ts at 10:00 am Regist� e�ly f� a disc�nted price of $30 at runreg.c�/5414

Aucti� at 11:00 am Thr�gh�t the day th�e will be a bake sale,

Spring cleanup raffle, and lunch. We h�e to see y� th�e!!!

C�e �e and all to theC�e �e and all to the

BSE alumnus and Mo-hawk Middle School student Evan Shippee

is one of only 100 middle schoolers statewide to have landed the presti-gious 2015 John F. Ken-nedy Make a Difference Award “for the impact they have made in their communities through service projects.”

Shippee, who start-ed at BSE in preschool and graduated here in 2014, was nominated for the honor by his sev-enth-grade PBL teacher, Samantha Lydiard.

He’s done everything from stacking wood for people who need help to raising money for Relay for Life.

His mother, Tammy Shippee, noted Evan “is a truly genuine, giving soul. I know I’m his mom, but he has one of the biggest hearts I know. He likes doing things that make

people happy. He likes to make people smile.”

The 2015 Award Cere-mony was held Thursday, April 9, at the Kennedy Library in Boston. Each award winner received a personalized “Make a Difference” award certifi-cate in recognition of his or her service efforts.

Receiving the honor, he tells the Flow, “was really awesome and made me feel special. It felt good to be recognized. I enjoy volunteering and helping people. It makes me feel good. I was a bit shy get-ting up onstage to receive my award. It’s a moment I will always remember.”

In his Inaugural Ad-dress, Jan. 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy famously challenged all Americans, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

— John Snyder

Evan Shippee, BSE ’14, honored with Kennedy ‘difference’ award

Tammy Shippee

Provided photos

Emma Guyette of Buckland would very much like you to

support the Junior Class Auction Saturday, April 25. Her class is putting in a lot of hard work on the fundraiser and has plans for the proceeds.

“We really want to have fun senior year and not worry about money for prom and graduation and yearbooks and stuff like that,” she told the Flow recently.

Her class also would like to plan a class trip some-where beachy — perhaps Cape Cod — as they’ve never taken such a trip.

“We always take our class trips to the Buckland Rec,” she said. “That’s nice too. Not as nice as Cape Cod, maybe...”

Guyette, who plans to run for class secretary in her senior year, is accus-tomed to hard work. She has her courseload at Mohawk, works one day a week after school, and studies French at Green-field Community College three days a week.

She also participated in Mohawk’s Peer Leadership Program, “helping kids at Sanderson feel positive about being great kids.”

The BSE alumna says she plans to pursue a de-gree in American studies or international relations,

which would give her options in everything from political science to teach-ing history to publishing:

“I like knowing how the world works and I really want to be part of that. I’m in tune politically.”

For now her main ex-tracurricular focus is the class auction.

“This is a way to get the money we need. It’s not the easiest way for us, but it’s beneficial and a fun way to bring the com-munity together. We also have a tag sale planned, and then a color run going on where you get dye thrown at you as you run so you look like a tie-dye person,” she said.

At BSE, she recalls her teacher Jacqui Good-man with fondness: “She was great... All the other teachers I had aren’t there anymore.”

She also said that she wishes she had been more alert socially as an ele-mentary school student. Her brother, Will, is a Mohawk student athlete, and he always knew kids from all over.

“I also wanted to arrive here in the more challeng-ing classes. I didn’t know I was in the lower classes at the time. But I’ve made up for it and have had a really positive experience at Mohawk,” she said.

She also praised BSE as it stands today.

“I know people there, and their experience sounds amazing. They have great after-school activities like the news-paper [The BSE Flow] and stuff, and it would have been so beneficial to me when I was there. But we

didn’t have anything like that. I feel like so many teachers there are amaz-ing. BSE is doing a great job right now from what I’ve gathered.”

To donate to the junior class auction, call Guyette at 413-625-2183 or write eguyette19@gmail.com.

Emma Guyette at Mohawk High School today and as a science-minded BSE student. She keeps up with world affairs and is considering a range of careers that will help her connect with and help many others.

The BSE Flow • April 16, 2015

BSection

Thursday, April 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. marks the 10th Annual Kids in Concert

at Mohawk’s auditorium. Music students from all our elementary schools will join in for an evening of great performances.

Sandy Carter says rehearsals are going well for our large, combined band and chorus, and that the audience April 30 is in for a treat worthy of the milestone.

BSE Flow photos

Gina Glover photo

Beautiful musicBSE’s Sandy carter

on Kids in Concert at 10

THE BSE FLOW: What’s it like preparing for the 10-year anniversary of Kids in

Concert?SANDY CARTER: First of all,

I’m very excited it’s the 10th. Because when we first started we had no idea that we would do this every year for 10 years. So it’s kind of cool that we have this consistent, ongoing thing.

The other neat thing about it is we have some things that are ex-actly the same from the first and some things that have changed, and this particular concert some things that I’m excited about is that we’re bringing back a couple

of the pieces we originally played in the first one, for example, the “Ode to Joy,” which is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music, written by Beethoven, and to do that again like we did 10 years ago, it’s very exciting.

The other thing I’m really excit-ed about is that we have a piece of music that we did in the very first concert, and we gave it to Alice Parker, who is a very well-known composer who happens to live right near here, and that she has written a new arrangement of the song that we did the first time. So we’re doing the same song but with a new arrange-

ment. And she will be there to hear it.

The third thing is that we haven’t kept track of how many students I’ve had participating but I am really excited about BSE participating because I was just counting and getting everybody’s permission slip, and there’s just about 50 kids from BSE partic-ipating, and that seems to me like a really good anniversary number.

BSE FLOW: How do you feel? A little nervous, or…

SANDY CARTER: You always get nervous when you perform no matter how many times you’ve

done it, whether you’re a fifth-grade flute player or a piano player or a conductor who’s been playing for many, many, many years. You always have that little bit of nervousness.

But I always like to think that’s important because it makes you stay focused: That keeps you in the game and not treat the con-cert like it’s just something else. It gives it that special feeling. Even though I’ve conducted “Ode to Joy” before it’s with a whole new group of people, so it could be completely different than how we’ve done it before. So that part makes me nervous and excited.

MagazineDiggity Dogs — Page B2

Becca Sarich — Page B3

Sport notes — Page B3

Thank you, Tish — Page B4

By Areia HEILMAN

Katie Martin

Cool Careers Tipline: news@bseflow.com

B2 thursday, April 16, 2015 • The BSE Flow Covering Shelburne Falls and Beyond

Diggity Dogs offers people in need a helping pawBy Brooke Looman

with Kara Bohonowicz

Diggity Dogs Service Dogs on the Mo-hawk Trail trains

service dogs and arranges local foster care for dogs going through service dog training.

They specialize in psy-chiatric and medical alert service dogs. These are dogs that help people with mobility, post-traumat-ic-stress disorder, and a range of psychiatric needs. Medical alert dogs can serve people with seizure disorders.

Sarah Meikle, founder of Diggity Dogs, studied psy-chology at Smith College. She began to research psychiatric dogs and then enrolled in Psychiatric Service Dog Academy in Florida to experience the practical side of her studies.

She started her organi-zation a year ago. A board of directors and a board of advisors support it. They work primarily with rescue dogs. They take breeder donations, which are usually hypoallergenic dogs for people who have allergies.

The dogs are assessed then fostered a couple weeks after being pulled out of shelters. The foster

families attend weekly classes and work in-home with Sarah. Fosters bring the dogs to work so the dog gets experience living as a service dog.

The dogs learn how to travel, shop, and go into restaurants and other pub-lic settings in their first level.

However, these are spe-cialized service dogs. With two people with the same condition, the symptoms may manifest differently.

For example, Sarah ex-plains, people who suffer from PTSD often suffer from nightmares. The re-sponse from the dog that the person wants may be very different from anoth-er person.

Sarah says some vet-erans have told her that they worry about being startled by their dog if it should lick their face. They don’t want to lash out and punch it.

Other people may find a dog’s lick comforting.

The process of training the dog specifically for one person intensifies af-ter they have been trained in the standards for public access.

Applicants go through one to two weeks of inten-sive classes with the dogs. Afterward they spend a year in continued training.

Woof!

According to Sarah, many applicants even live well outside the region, coming from as far as Cal-ifornia for a Diggity Dog.

However, the nonprofit tries to help as many local people as possible. Most people looking for service

dogs have to wait two to five years.

The fees are $10,000 to $25,000. Sarah says she tries to defray these costs by using rescue dogs and foster volunteers. She places dogs for $5,000.

Community effortThe community sup-

ports Diggity Dogs. One of their patron saints is Joe Palmeri, a local business owner, who waived the rent of Diggity Dogs’ Mo-hawk Trail training center for its first six months. Hope & Olive in Green-field, and The Rendezvous in Turners Falls, have helped raise funds. Central Connecticut River Valley Institute sponsored Dig-gity Dogs until it got its official nonprofit status.

One applicant who had a dog placed with her from a shelter has an autoimmune disorder. She has many difficulties

that cause her to spend an enormous amount of time in the hospital, Sarah said.

The applicant, a vio-linist from Puerto Rico, was studying law. She was relocated to Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Sarah says she recently received letters from her, and the doctors gave a remarkable testimony to the power of the service dog Diggity Dogs placed with her.

They reported a tremen-dous improvement physi-cally. Her body is healing rapidly, and her symptoms have dropped. If they had known this would have had such an amazing ef-fect on her life they would have prescribed it years ago, she said.

“Her emotional state being addressed with the help of the dog is help-ing her physical health,” Sarah adds.

“We are young, but the demand is overwhelming,” Sarah says. She explains she often gets more than one application a day. Many applicants need fi-nancial support to afford a service dog. Diggity Dogs has a link on its website where people can support an applicant.

For more information, visit www.indogswetrust.org.

Diggity Dogs Service Dogs Executive Director Sarah Meikle with Royce, a recent graduate of her program.

Beth Reynolds/Base Camp Photo, Greenfield

Several of Meikle’s desk reference books.

BSE Flow

Doggie DaycareDoggie DaycareHomestyle Homestyle

Linda (413) 455-6403*must be dog friendly!*must be dog friendly!

BoardingDog Walking

In-Home Care

three walks

every day!

Better than DeadBetter than DeadBetter than Dead

Painting event Sat., April 18, noon to 2In the BSE cafeteria

to benefit the "Stars of Hope"

Relay for Life team$30/includes

two hours' instruction with cookies and juice!

{Adults and kids 5 and up}Have fun creating your own

masterpiece!For tickets, see Rita Deyo or call (413) 625-6498

Cookies & Canvas

Treat your Mother to dinner atThe Blue Rock this Mothers’ Day orsurprise her with our Mothers’ Day brunch.

SUNDAY, MAY 10TH, 10-1PM & 5-9PMRESERVATIONS SUGGESTED

CALL (413) 625-8133

Health, Sports, & Rec. Tipline: sports@bseflow.com

Thursday, april 16, 2015 • The BSE Flow B3Covering Shelburne Falls and Beyond

Spring signifies awak-ening, cleansing, and purification as well as

new life, new directions, and creative energy. Just as in the rhythm of nature, the same occurs in our bodies seasonally.

Winter is a cold, slow time and often our diges-tion gets sluggish, we may want to sleep more, and our foods are heavier. Our bodies naturally want to cleanse and remove toxins in the springtime.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the spring season is associated with the liver, our pri-mary detoxification and transformation organ. I’d like to share some ways to foster your body’s innate wisdom toward balance by introducing (or reminding

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you) of traditional practic-es for seasonal transitions.

Skin BrushingYour skin is actually

your largest organ and does a bulk of elimination for your body. Skin brush-ing helps by removing

dead skin cells, enhances digestion circulation and moves the lymph (your cleansing system), among other benefits. It requires a soft natural brush with a long handle (check our local natural food stores for one).

Before bathing or show-ering, use long, sweeping strokes from the bottom of your feet up toward your torso, then from your hands up to your shoul-ders, and around your tor-so to your heart. Use the long handle to reach your back. Use a light pressure, and go gently over sensi-tive areas. It only takes a few minutes and can have long-lasting results!

Eating for spring health

Cooling and bitter foods help the liver specifically. Here are some examples:

• GREENS! OK, I know what you’re thinking: “Yikes, but I don’t like them.” Or maybe you’re like me and think, “Yes, please!” Either way, leafy green vegetables like collards, kale, dandelion greens, mustard greens, and Romaine lettuce can help you feel more ener-gized and lighten your liver’s load.

Get creative. Make kale chips in the oven. Sprinkle them with some home-made dressing you enjoy, or start mixing them with other foods you do love. I love making a pesto of

half basil leaves and half dandelion leaves.

• Lemon juice, raw apple cider vinegar and olive oil. These all strengthen the liver and together make an awesome dressing for your greens or other steamed or raw vegetables. In the winter, I advise more cooked foods, but as we slowly transition into spring, you can incorpo-rate more raw plant foods into your daily routine.

Things to start limiting or avoiding:

• Overly spicy foods, fried foods, creamy or sweet foods, and eating too much at one time.

MovementGet your body moving

daily! We flush toxins

through our lymph sys-tem, which is only stimu-lated by movement and it helps clear your head and invigorates all systems of your body!

We want to feel vital and energized to do all the creative, fun things we love in the spring. Let’s help that process by paying attention to the little details that make up our health and each day do something small to enhance it!

Becca Sarich is an RN, nurse-midwife, herbalist, and holistic healthcare pro-vider. She is a mom to two children at BSE. Learn more about her healing practice at www.beccasarich.com.

Embrace a lively, healthy you this spring — here’s howTo Your Health

Sport Notes

Student-athlete Erika Looman, at right, with her family.

For the final three springs of her BSE career she was a

Shelburne Falls Huskie. Now she plays softball for Mohawk Middle School, and No. 27 Erika Looman says that school presents new rules.

“At Mohawk, to play any sport, you have to make sure you aren’t failing any classes. If you are, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association will simply say you have to sit out for the season,” she tells us.

That’s in contrast to el-ementary school softball, where “your grades don’t necessarily affect you playing softball.”

Second, she says, her new team is a mix of many of the people she played against in the Hilltown League, “so your enemies are now your friends.”

Erika’s advice for Mohawk softball success: Dedicate yourself to it.

“In the beginning of our season, which started mid-March, my coach warned us that if we stopped going to practice she wouldn’t let us play in games. In the elemen-tary league, it was ‘come if you can,’ which led to some teammates not be-ing as strong as others.”

She’s having fun though, and invites you to check out Hilltown Soft-ball during April vacation at the Arms Softball Field in Shelburne Falls.

For game information, visit schedulestar.com.

Team meeting for 16U tourney softball April 26

Joe Bompastore of 16U Tournament Softball says a team meeting is set for April 26 at 4 p.m. at Mohawk.

Interested players and parents are welcome. For more information, call Joe at 413-386-6162.

Girls 14U tryouts May 9

Jennifer Sinistore of Mohawk girls 14U sub-urban softball league writes to say that tryouts are Saturday, May 9, on the Mohawk varsity field from 10 a.m. to noon. Rain date is Sunday, May 10, at the same time.

Age cutoff is Jan. 1.Sinistore adds that

there are many people to thank for helping make this season fun and successful:

“Dave Fried for the AMAZING photos; Gram-pa Johnston for the bath-

Erika Looman offers words of advice on Mohawk sports successroom key; Fred Redecker for the field; the Towns-leys for lime and willing-ness for always wanting to do more; Jon for keeping the book and helping coach; Nick for coaching bases when needed; Nick, Mike, and Pat for helping with the field; Rich and Joe for assisting; Cindy and Chantal for asking me to coach; Olivia, Car-ol, and Gramma Sinis-tore for the snacks; the parents for your endless support; and the FANS

FANS FANS… It truly is a community effort.”

Summer rec registration open

Registration is open for the Mohawk Summer Rec-

reation Program, which runs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from June 22 to July 31. To register and for more information, visit mohawksummerrec.org.

— BSE Flow staff

Please pledge at PledgeReg.com

“Now we have new uniforms, two different bottoms so now we have a choice.

Uniforms, for track at least, are the most dramatic part of our equipment so that’s

pretty important for us.” - A. Funk

“Thank you, MAA, for the useful weight room and workout area. It’s a

great benefit to our training!” - M. Boucias

B4 thursday, April 16, 2015 • The BSE Flow Covering Shelburne Falls and Beyond

Traditions Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting The BSE Flow

Tish Murphy

By Areia HEILMAN

Your BSE Flow Horoscope!

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ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Re-laxed and calm, you will likely have many celebrations and enjoy much. But be conscious and cautious of your decisions for they may be careless and cause much distress. Be responsible. Good will happen.TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Your personality greatly reflects your past and your childhood. You also have trouble letting go of problems. Be aware of how you manage prob-lems and good things will begin to happen.GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Your mind is an asset you often use. You are creative and take pleasure in reading and writing. This is also something you are good at. You are often hard on yourself. Be careful of this flaw and good will come to you. Ignore it and the opposite will occur. CANCER (June 22 - July 22) You are very close with your surround-ing community. You dislike travel and are nervous around new peo-ple, especially those from other places. Be aware of this and many opportunities will begin to come, especially having to do with intel-ligence and career.LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22) You’re confident and greatly excelling in everything you do. You’ll master almost everything you try. But be patient, for you are prone to giv-ing up. Be patient and you will be welcomed and likely find a talent you enjoy.VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) You think your talent comes from what you can do physically, when your expertise comes from your mind. Your ideas and thoughts are what will bring you success and happi-ness. As long as you don’t ignore ideas, good will happen.LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) Some-thing you are about to give up on is going to come to fruition. You are patient and strong-willed. As long as you persist, things you wish for will come to you. Just take care not to discourage others.SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) You are a very pleasant person who bonds with others quickly and well. Most see you as kind and likable.

44. For Tish

Before Ahead Arrives,

Things sour and curdle like promises of honey days gone dog thirsty first, asleep next, then sorry. Who ever knows why the parchment paper-thin grey of the sky does not tear open one day and not the next. Or the animal moment, when the sky is just too far away still still still still still still.

We stare at the bamboo, waiting for it to grow. We ask the question of the quiet but it has no answer. And one thousand times later, it is still silent. (Does it even know?)No one asks the footfall to fell the cake. No one questions the laws of physics or the crunchy crystalline layer that gives up beneath the boot.

For the fire that must burn, there will be heat and ash.For the mountain, there is ice and erosion, warm rocks, and poppies. There is a tree line. For the muscle that cannot go further, there is soft earth and thecurious root, water and maybe a bridge. There is no more work, no more play. There are however, leafy secrets poised in the new shoots of the bamboo. Nibble them, beautiful rat.

Janice SorensenMarch 25, 2015

The staff, and staff families, of this newspaper, like many of us in our towns, are deeply touched by the life, gifts, and passing of Lisa Patricia “Tish” Murphy, of Charlemont, who tended to much. To much. We wish to record

here our thanks to her memory, and our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. We walk with you.

There are, of course, memorials to her everywhere we look. This is spring, after all. Here are two pieces we encountered in recent weeks that we most wanted to share with our readers.

They are here by permission.

You enjoy others’ company. You also are encouraging, and others find you admirable. You are also skillful and a quick learner.SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 20) You are optimistic and often look to the future. You often ignore what’s going on now. If you can accept and be happy about “the now,” you’ll notice yourself enjoying more and being disappointed less.CAPRICORN (Dec. 21 - Jan. 19) You will be very successful and happy. But this will not come true on your own. You will need much help from those around you. Be kind to them. If you are, they’ll bring you lots of joy in life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) You are at a very good time in your life, even if you don’t know it yet. You have many ideas that you want to make a reality. With a little revi-sion they could be spectacular. As long as you stay grounded in re-ality someone will help you with your dream.PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20) You are a dreamer. You are also very capable of more than you may think. You will accomplish quite a lot. You usually have the career you wish for, maybe even the one you wanted as a child. Don’t doubt yourself and you’ll succeed.

Installation by Jane Beatrice Wegscheider and friends at Cowell Gymnasium Saturday, April 11, during The Fabulous Hilltown Draw-Around, which raised money for ARTeens, a pay what you can after-school program. Jane tells the Flow these remembrances have since been given to Tish’s family.

2nd Annual PIANO WORKSHOP for KIDSwith Amy Roberts-Crawford

Shelburne Falls • July 20-24 • 9 a.m. to noon • Ages 8-12Learn or enhance your piano skills • music games • arts & crafts • fun & friends

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