Features

At the end of this year, Teachers Michael O’Donnell, Sonja O’Donnell, and Virginia Invernizzi will leave Deerfield and begin their sabbaticals. A sabbatical is usually a once-in-a- career opportunity, and these three teachers are ready to make the most of it.

Mr. O’Donnell, chair of the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department, and Mrs. O’Donnell, who teaches English and coaches novice crew and Girls Varsity Swimming, submitted a 12-page proposal that outlined their extensive travel and learning plans for their sabbatical.

“We have many countries on our list,” Mrs. O’Donnell said. “We will start in Europe, with a term at Oxford, but we will be ending up in Asia and possibly as far as New Zealand and Australia.”

The purpose of their travels is more than just …

If you’re a new student this year, you have probably heard a lot of talk about Spring Term. With so much hype, it is easy to wonder what all the fuss is about.

“I don’t know why, but everyone seems much happier , myself included,” said Nick Goss ‘13. “For most people it’s a combination of the river, weather, and sports.”

While new teams, warmer weather, and different classes occupy us all, there are many changes that come with the arrival of spring. However, there is one change in particular that many are looking forward to: the coming of “River Season.”

“When it’s warmer, people will go down if they have a free period, don’t have a co- curricular,” said Maggie Shilling ‘14. “Or if it’s a Sunday, they lie down on towels…

This summer, about 30 Deerfield students will spend four weeks on campus working on energy-focused research projects under the guidance of Science Teacher Ivory Hills.

From July 8 to August 2, participants will attempt to answer questions such as, “Can we capture useful energy from the microorganisms that live in the Deerfield River?” and, “Can we build robots capable of capturing energy from their environment that never need to be recharged by humans?”

While the schedule has not yet been finalized, the program will likely consist of four small- scale, individual projects (one per week), as well as a larger month- long team project.

“Energy can be thought of in three different veins: energy capture, energy storage, and energy use,” explained Dr. Hills, who hopes th…

Cancer, the second leading cause of death in the U.S, has touched the lives of almost every family in America. As a result of the disease’s prevalence, the American Cancer Society began Relay For Life in 1985 to help make progress towards a future without cancer. Since its inception, the relay has included four million people in over 20 countries every year.

“So many people have been affected by cancer, be it friends, parents, or family members. Everyone has connections to it,” said Head Chair of the Relay Caroline Dye ’14.

At last year’s Relay for Life, 144 Deerfield Academy students participated and raised over $20,000, more than any other school-based relay in all of New England. All the money raised in the relay goes directly to cancer research and local programs th…

Mr. McCarthy and I are looking for help from the Deerfield Community. If everyone can just take a couple minutes out of each day from now until May 10th, go to this site (below) and vote for Colin. You would all be changing the lives of everyone in our family. The older and bigger Colin gets, the harder it is to lift him in and out of our van now and get him into a car seat that is too small for him. We then lift his wheelchair into the back of our van as well. Getting a wheelchair-accessible van would change our world!

http://mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/colin-mccarthy-greenfield-ma/…

Although it probably hasn’t crossed your mind, your science or English or math teachers might just be real romantics with exciting stories to tell.

“The transition never ends,” Marsans said.

In a matter of weeks, the dance and video craze called the “Harlem Shake” has swept the nation.

While he said the school is “still defining its strategy regarding global education,” Mr. Miller is on a mission to help the student body gain a better global perspective.

“There’s a contrast between two sides of my family, one planted here and one still in Kahnawake.”