North Star Updated Class Descriptions: November, 2022-January, 2023

Computer Programming (Gabe Woodsum) In computer programming we have continued to learn the language JavaScript. We have been learning how to program simple 2D games and animations. The coding topics we have learned include classes, functions, arrays and loops. We have worked with both free video game images, and custom shapes and art as well.

Electronics (Gabe Woodsum) In electronics we have been combining Lego technic pieces with electronic parts to make remote controlled vehicles. We have used the Adafruit programmable circuit, which is a beginner friendly device that allows for programming motors. We have experimented with DC, Servo, and Stepper motors.

Body Modification In Different Cultural Contexts (Tonya Bushway-Flynn) Due to the instructor being out on a family medical leave the class had recently resumed after a hiatus. Since restarting, the class has learned about different types of dental modifications and has begun to discuss tattoos.

Service Trip to Washington, DC (Loran Saito) In the late fall and early winter our group has balanced fundraising efforts (yard work, bake sale, sale of self-designed t-shirts, pizza/cookie dough sales, etc.) with trip planning. Various members of the group have taken on different responsibilities, including planning the schedule in detail, contacting volunteering organizations, contacting our senators and Congressional representative, finding a suitable rental house, researching museums, etc. We are now weeks away from our trip and we are all very excited!

Volunteering at Amherst Survival Center (Loran Saito) Our steady group of 4-5 volunteers has worked consistently at the Survival Center every Friday morning. Our main responsibility has been sorting and displaying fresh food for distribution. Everyone has become quite smooth and skilled in the routines of the day, from unloading the delivery truck to checking produce items for freshness. It’s exciting having North Star represented so well in the community!

Hiking Group (Loran Saito) Over the past few months, with colder weather, our numbers have dwindled somewhat, but we still have a steady core of 5-7 hikers who go out every Monday to explore new trails in the area.

Bread (Loran Saito) Each Wednesday morning our group meets on Zoom and works together, from our own separate kitchens, on one kind of bread. We alternate weekly between a yeast bread and a quick bread.

Desserts/Sweets & Treats (Loran Saito and Kizzi Collier) We have been renting the kitchen at First Congregational Church since the fall. We have limited the group size to 8 so that each participant can be actively involved in the making of the week’s dessert.

Playmaking (Ellen Morbyrne) We spent November through December really digging into gathering source material for our interview-based piece in the spring. We began writing and editing our interview questions, did some test interviewing (both in class and with willing friends and family members), talked about theatre culture and structures/systems in education and in society, and occasionally got up and moved around and made noise. But mostly we’ve been doing a lot of reading and writing, including that between December and January everyone interviewed at least three people (some did up to 5 interviews!) with our final draft of interview questions, and we’ve been reading them all aloud in class, and then working to select which pieces of the 72+ pages(!) of raw interview material we want to use as the basis for our play. We will spend the spring curating, creating, and rehearsing our new play, and look forward to welcoming audiences to our performances at the Shea Theater the first weekend in June.