Blog

REMINDER: We are CLOSED on MONDAY for the holiday.

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This week was so busy it's hard to know where to begin.  The art room was descended upon by at least 15 members led by staff member Michelle and is now covered in paint and art.  Have a look if you have time!

Last week we had our most attended Open House ever with 7 families filling up the room!  Meanwhile the phone is ringing off the hook and it seems like Ken is in meetings with new families all day.  Some kind of critical mass/collective consciousness is afoot, and we're very happy about it.

The parent coffee last Friday was again a delightful way to spend the morning; we hope you can come next month on March 5th.

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FROM CATHERINE:

One of the great strengths of North Star is the diversity of teens that we accomodate.  We don't have an extensive amount of racial or ethnic diversity, a la the Pioneer Valley, but we do have a great collection of individuals, each with his or her own set of experiences, world-view, assumptions, expectations, and needs.  This range is considerable, indeed.  We are proud of our ability to work with each teen in a highly personalized, tailored way.  An even more challenging task however, and one at which we largely succeed, is to create community from this motley assortment of unique beings. 

As North Star continues to grow we find ourselves spending a lot of time on community issues, and though Ken and I and the rest of the staff can certainly become exasperated in some moments, we are happy to put in this work because the skills that we are hopefully imparting- tolerance, acceptance, empathy, self-understanding, communication- may be among the most important aspects of our teens' educations.  We see the fruit of our work on this front every day- teens who would not likely speak to each other due to age, class, or identity in another setting have engaging and positive interactions with each other at North Star.  That kind of learning, becoming open to the Other, is invaluable.

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FROM JOHN:

North Star is brimming with life these days.  New families show up every day.  Our class schedule is overflowing. However, in the true North Star spirit, it is what happens spontaneously, self-directedly, that is the heart of what North Star is about.  Here is one of many vignettes from yesterday.

Towards the end of the day, I knew that something was going on in the piano / dance room, but hadn't looked in yet.  So finally I looked in, and this is what I saw:

There appears to be a theater workshop going on. Quite a few kids are sitting or reclining as audience, facing the back of the room where two students are performing a scene.  The first is reading his lines from a text, and the second is responding quite dynamically with lines that she appears to have memorized.  The whole effect is high quality.  Finally they finish the scene, to lots of group appreciation, and then I ask what's going on. They explain that they have  the scripts of three plays, and the game is: one person reads lines from a play, and a second improvises his or her lines in response. The improvised lines do not have to fit the original play and may create a completely different scene from the one in the actual play. This seems to have been going on for a while, since they talk enthusiastically about previous scenes they had created.

I was amazed; it seemed so creative and well run, requiring a lot of cooperation and group synergy.  No staff was involved.   At that moment, I felt like North Star had reached a new level of member initiated, self-directed learning activity.

Welcome to our many new members that are currently flocking in!  Happy to have you!  There's a lot of energy here, a very exciting time for us.

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FOR NEW PARENTS (or those who haven't signed up yet):

Hi North Star parents and caregivers!

 At our last parents meeting we talked about making a listserve for North Star parents and caregivers to connect with resources, opportunities, events, carpooling, questions and support. We thought it might be especially helpful for when families are going to an event they think other folks might be interested in, or if they have an extra seat available in their car, etc.  It will also be a place to ask questions and get support as we work with our kids.  The list will not administered by North Star staff, so it will be important to remember that feedback about North Star and issues specific to North Star should be communicated to the staff directly.

The group will be closed to the public and open to North Star families.  You will be able to set up the emails to come individually, in digest form (daily), or not at all and you can go to the group site to read the threads.  To sign up, simply send and email to NorthstarGrownups-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  You will recieve a confirmation email from yahoo, which you need to reply to, and then you are set.  I will be happy to administer the group and approve all the signups as they come in.  The discussion will be unmoderated.

 Thanks so much and I look forward to getting to know you all better.

 Peace,

Carol Allman-Morton (Sam and Abbey's step-mom!)

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A great program to know about:  Boys To Men Teen Mentoring Network of Western Mass. and Southern Vermont, led by John Berkowitz.

Here's the update on the Boys To Men Teen Mentoring Network.  We're off to a great start in Greenfield, and into our second year with twice as many boys in Brattleboro!
9 boys, between the ages of 13 and 17 and living in the Greenfield MA and Brattleboro VT areas, completed the Rite of Passage Adventure Weekend in late August, a physically and emotionally challenging, and safe, initiation into young manhood. 
They are now called  'Journeymen',  on their journey through adolescence to manhood.   They will meet for the next year in Greenfield every other Sunday  in a group of 5 boys and 5 mentors, and in Brattleboro once a month in a group of 9 boys (including 5 who have been in the group for the past year) and 5 mentors.  
They will participate in fun and challenging indoor and outdoor sports and activities, as well as discuss issues they are facing as teens and what it means to grow up into a healthy manhood.
We are open to and seeking new families with teen boys, as well as new mentors, to participate in additional groups in Brattleboro and Greenfield.  

For More info:   John Berkowitz, 413-625-6374, johnberk@crocker.com, www.boystomennewengland.org,  www.boystomen.org

Watch a trailer about the 60-minute film "Journeyman", which documents the positive impact of the Boys To Men Mentoring program:

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ANOTHER SHAMELESS PROMOTION FROM CATHERINE AND JOE:

Tomorrow night, (Saturday, February 6), Omulu Guanabara Capoeira presents Naia Kete.  Kete was a North Star member for her 8th grade year before going on to PVPA then leaving school to pursue her musical career.  2 albums and hundreds of performances later she is rocking the east coast, soon to be rocking the nation.  Come see her perform at North Star, a rare opportunity to see her with her full band in a close and personal setting.  Doors open at 8 pm.  All ages.  Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, to benefit Omulu Guanabara Capoeira.  Call 413-386-8316 for more information.

Listen to her on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/naiakete