黑料不打烊 has received a $2 million endowment gift from alumna Carol Stein 鈥�61 to establish the Norwood Hinkle Faculty Chair in Music, honoring the legendary educator who shaped the school鈥檚 music curriculum for more than three decades. The endowment will support the position of Director of Music, ensuring long-term stability for a program that has been central to 黑料不打烊鈥檚 identity since its founding.

Norwood Hinkle served as music director at 黑料不打烊 from 1939 to 1972, developing a program defined by exacting standards and musical excellence. He created a culture where students experienced music as an integral part of their education and lives. His imprint on the rhythms of the school lives on in traditions such as Community Sing.

鈥淢usic was one of the most important things about 黑料不打烊 when I was there and it continues to shape my life,鈥� Stein says. 鈥淚 want music to be a significant feature of the school going forward, and hope others will join me in making this the strongest program we can build.鈥�

Income from the endowment will support competitive compensation, professional development, and program resources for the Director of Music.

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Harvest Festival is a tradition that dates back to the school鈥檚 founding in 1935.

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The exhibit features artists Eric Slayton and Elena Lyakir, who explore the intersection of place and belonging, creating a dialogue between the inner and the outer. Elena, born in Ukraine, creates layered landscapes and photographs of birds in flight, which seek to unravel the trauma of dislocation she experienced as an immigrant, restoring a sense of wholeness and continuity aligned with the natural world. Eric’s brutalist architectural structures evoke the urban horizons that nature eventually reclaims, as he believes that nature is the ever-present principle. His work is a meditation on resilience, time, and transformation. World travelers and longtime city dwellers, Eric and Elena now live and work in Marlboro, Vt.

Eric Slayton Artist Statement:

Eric’s attraction to a pallet of industrial materials, combined with the Japanese practice of process with intention, articulates an organic modernist and even brutalist approach in the formation of his works. From conception to actualization, and then the eventual patina, the story reads as 鈥渘ature into art toward time.鈥�

He celebrates the beauty of imperfection and incorporates the time-marinating created during the aging process. Unrefined surfaces contained within percipient proportions, merged with an understanding of bio-centric processes, accurately describe his path and practice.

The symbolism of these monoliths is as conspicuous as is the simplicity in form. The applied principles are gingerly gleaned from the iconic shapes of contemporary architecture that proliferate urban horizons of this geologic epoch now labeled as the Anthropocean.
Scale and proportions are crucial to the integrity and esthetic, yet the walls of each side provide the canvas where the piece鈥檚 story unfolds. Even the top, which may be too high to see, is an underutilized opportunity.

For Eric, the 鈥渂eauty鈥� in his works comes from the belief that in the end nature is the ever-present principle. Confirmed in that all efforts are conceived of knowing that those reclamation forces of time are guaranteed.

Elena Lyakir Artist Statement:

As an immigrant, I am perpetually searching for a place that feels like home, and my creative expression stems from this longing. Although my work is not a direct commentary on my experiences as a refugee, it serves as a metaphor for emotions that crystallize within when we search for our place in the world. The ethereal, poetically layered landscapes and bird photographs I create symbolize the complexities that shape and color our perception of reality, as we all perceive the world through a unique and individual lens.

Through my work I explore themes of memory, perception, belonging, and nostalgia, gently unraveling the trauma of displacement. Layer by layer, I seek to rebuild the fragmented soul by filling in the gaps left by upheaval and disruption, restoring a sense of wholeness and continuity aligned with the natural world. I attempt to ignite a dialogue between internal and external landscapes, transcending the boundaries of reality and imagination. My work is a meditation on the poignant duality of beauty intertwined with a sense of nostalgia, which the dislocated, like myself, are destined to inhabit.

My practice is often informed by site-specific work. The preparation for a new project involves immersing myself in a landscape, spending many hours listening, contemplating, and investigating. To capture the dreamlike landscapes, I employ a range of techniques, including tilt shift lenses, makeshift filters, and in-camera multi-exposures. The intuitive nature of my creative process is a means of transcendence, healing, and revelation of the extraordinary.

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“It explains how the tobacco industry 鈥� a pillar of American political economy since the early colonial period 鈥� was utterly transformed in the decades after the Civil War,” O’Connor said. “Broadly speaking, I am interested in how law and politics shape markets and the costs for those who lack the political power to participate in that process.”

The 鈥渄eeply researched and clearly argued account,鈥� digs into everything from labor to consumption; manufacturing to regulation, and demonstrates how tobacco emerged as a new industry that created immense power and stifling poverty across the nation, according to the description.

As a teacher, O鈥機onnor often stresses to his students that they themselves are historians.

鈥淭hey should know how to generate analytical questions about any information they encounter,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey should know how to find sources that can help them learn how to answer their questions, and then they need to know how to read and interpret those sources and put them into context to understand why they’re important. That’s what historians do professionally, and that’s what our classrooms are intended to help students learn.鈥�

Throughout his book, there鈥檚 no question that O鈥機onnor puts his teaching philosophy into practice.

“My book shows that the American tobacco market changed so much after the Civil War because of politics: manufacturers formed trade associations to shape federal tax policy (and ended up playing a crucial role in the construction of the Bureau of Internal Revenue 鈥攏ow known as the Internal Revenue Service); fertilizer producers and warehouse operators coordinated their efforts to determine international definitions of tobacco’s quality; and crop scientists promoted US tobacco production,” he said. “The tobacco market these people created overlooked, and even dismissed, the interests of tobacco growers, especially newly emancipated Black farmers and impoverished white farmers throughout the South. Like many markets, the tobacco market came to seem natural, but it was not. It was a political creation that rationalized debt, poverty, and intensified labor for thousands of small farmers.”

The Political Reconstruction of American Tobacco, 1862-1933 was published by Fordham University Press. A copy is available at the 黑料不打烊 library.

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鈥淎lthough one of my school鈥檚 fundamental beliefs is ‘to work not for badges and honors,’ I am sincerely grateful,鈥� Almaz谩n-V谩zquez said. 鈥淭his achievement in my teaching career presents an opportunity to continue connecting, collaborating, and learning alongside inspiring educators. I hope to continue lending a hand to the community at large and not just teaching in an “ivory tower.”

The organization looks for those who are innovative, creative, and reflective in their practice, strive for professional growth, inspire and encourage students to become active global citizens, share expertise with colleagues, and exceed professional expectations.

鈥淚n addition to his dedicated work in the classroom, where students learn Spanish language and hispanohablante culture in a variety of authentic ways, Abelardo also serves his school as a soccer coach and dorm parent, among other titles,鈥� VOCALE said in a press release. 鈥淗is colleagues state that 鈥榮tudents are centered and seen in Abelardo鈥檚 classroom,鈥� and 鈥榩eople talk about identity and work-life balance, but Abelardo is a teacher to the bone.鈥�

鈥淗is work on the school鈥檚 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee demonstrates his commitment to his school鈥檚 student body and community as a whole. It is an honor to present Abelardo with the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award, and we at VOCALE congratulate him on his deep and meaningful work.鈥�

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Combining a love of art history and images collected from memory and nature, Abrams work offers a glance at personal observations summoning far off scenes, diffused tree forms, and glints of light reflecting off distant waters, all suggesting a selection of familiar fragments of nature meant to recall memory and emotion and instill longing for an idyllic world.

One of the strongest influences on Abrams practice has been the painters of the Romantic Period in Europe and then in America with the Hudson River School. These artists exemplified this era鈥檚 concept of the sublime in nature and art, robustly, and with an element of theater, extolled the virtues of nature as man’s spiritual cathedral. Their ability to capture the breadth and scale of the natural world exemplified an Arcadian ideal.

Since his move to Vermont in 2008 from lower Manhattan, Abrams has embraced the local natural environment as an increasingly direct influence on his work. Daily observations in the Green Mountains have altered his perception and appreciation of our environment, it鈥檚 fragility and our place in it. Humbled by the abundantly varied vistas and their never-ending seasonal rebirth, the striking physical character of the landscape, the unique qualities of light, and atmosphere oscillating between crystal clear to thickly obscuring, these elements have become key in the story he is telling of his relationship with nature.

The paintings are rendered with a layering of oil glazes mixed with color from semi- transparent to opaque creating an atmospheric and luminous quality.

He has lived and worked in lower Manhattan for thirty plus years and now enjoys life in his studio in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont.

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These are just some examples of how advances in artificial intelligence are permeating our daily lives. With the potential for this technology to transform the future, 黑料不打烊 has launched an intensive summer workshop designed to inspire students to understand and apply AI to improve the world.

黑料不打烊 Summer Programs will host a 1-week session in partnership with , where instructors from Stanford and MIT will teach students the foundations of machine learning, and explore different applications of machine learning models.

Running from July 27 鈥� August 1, the workshop is for middle and high school students (rising 8th through 12th graders), and is open to 黑料不打烊 School students, as well as students from other schools.

The AI workshop builds upon 黑料不打烊鈥檚 well-established Summer Arts programs for teens and adults, applying the innovative values the school is known for to an emerging industry across science and technology, said Dan Folgar, director of 黑料不打烊 Summer Programs:

We had tried a STEM program in the past that ran during the arts program. It was a different kind of creative energy that came from that program. With this AI workshop, we are bringing something similar back to the summer, and giving it its own dedicated week.

Immersing students in cutting-edge trends speaks to 黑料不打烊鈥檚 commitment to progressive education, where students 鈥榣earn by doing鈥� through a hands-on approach. During the workshop, students will not only gain an understanding of artificial intelligence applications, foundational concepts and programming tools, but they鈥檒l complete a group project that applies AI to a particular discipline such as music, healthcare, astrophysics, or finance.

While the AI workshop may be new, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 tendency to find ways for students to learn from ground-breaking experiences is not. In another project, Lumi at 黑料不打烊, 黑料不打烊 students were selected to test an AI-powered chatbot being developed by Boston College researchers. The app is described as a reflective intelligence co-pilot designed to help users clarify an intentional path forward.

Students have been putting it to good use during Project Weeks to flesh out their goals, identify the steps to take to be successful, and to reflect on what went well and what they could have done better.

The AI summer workshop is another way for 黑料不打烊 to empower students by providing them with the skills they鈥檒l need not just in high school, but in life, says Folgar.

鈥淪tudents,鈥� he said, 鈥渁re getting the opportunity to explore this technology, to learn how it works, and to better prepare themselves for the future.鈥�

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Both of 黑料不打烊’s new dorms are open and housing 44 students and four faculty families total. They were the most sought-after dorm request for student housing this year, and students’ excitement for them is clear. Last spring, residents of the Sarah and Geoffrey Gund House (called Gund House by the students) gave us a video tour of their new space. Their shared sense of responsibility as early inhabitants set a high bar of care for the dorms, which is lovely to behold. Take a few minutes to enjoy the tour. Since the dorms’ openings (and since making the video), students have taken greater ownership by adding art to the common spaces, plants to the common rooms, and other touches that make the dorms truly feel like home. Hepper House and the Sarah and Geoffrey Gund house have transformed the 黑料不打烊 experience for their residents. We are grateful for the generosity of our lead donors and all the people who stretched to make the construction of these dorms possible. As we work to raise the remaining funds necessary to fully pay for the dorms, we encourage you to consider helping 黑料不打烊 reach that finish line. Please reach out to the development team if you鈥檇 like to partner with 黑料不打烊 to help complete this project.

Thank you for showing up鈥攜our participation and support is essential, and your partnership means so much to us all.

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The Michael S. Currier Center Gallery at 黑料不打烊 will present ‘The Weight,’ a soft sculpture show by artist Ruth Shafer. The exhibit will open January 10 鈥� March 1. There will be an Opening Reception on Friday, January 10 from 4:30 p.m. 鈥� 6 p.m.

The Weight

Arms. Legs. Feet. A soft, comforting embrace when you get home. A place of pride and a back bent from service.

Am I describing your mother, or your couch?

Made up of four soft sculpture installations, The Weight asks the viewer to consider the myriad overlapping ways that the feminine body and domestic service are taken for granted. As our most intimate memories are formed while surrounded by fabrics, so are our expectations of domestic labor, emotional support, and gender identity. With humor (boob pillows!) and rage (are women furniture?), these pieces ask the viewer to confront their assumptions about comfort and responsibility.

This show was created with the support of a Creation Grant, awarded by the Vermont Arts Council in 2021.

About the Artist

Ruth Shafer sculpts at the intersection of craft, domesticity, and feminism. By conflating the female form with furniture and furnishings, Shafer explores the feminine body鈥檚 place in the home, in art history, and in the ways that the past becomes the future. With humor, abstraction, and the familiarity of repurposed fabrics, Shafer鈥檚 work confronts the dualities of domesticity; safety vs confinement, decoration vs identity, opportunity vs obligation. She works from her home studio in Brattleboro, Vermont.

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