Whole school gets into the auction

By Glenn DrohanPrint Story | Email Story
From left are fifth-grade teacher Rebecca Leonard (kneeling), second-grade part-time teacher Maureen Andersen and her daughter Riley, 4, fifth-graders Cooper Gangemi and Annie Flynn, art teacher Merry Harsch and paraprofessional Bonnie Phelps Burns.
WILLIAMSTOWN — In addition to an extensive array of fancy gifts, exotic vacations, dinner packages and more, the Dec. 5 auction at Taconic Restaurant to benefit the Williamstown Elementary School Endowment Fund will offer bargain hunters a blue plate special — or just about any color plate they like. All 29 classes at the school have created commemorative platters or fruit bowls, hand-painted by every student in each class and fired in the school’s own kiln. Auctioning the plates was the brainchild of Merry Harsch, the school’s art teacher. “I had the idea a long time ago and kept pitching it to the PTO, but we had so many things going on, it never took off,” Harsch said last week. “Now it’s the perfect time — but I wasn’t thinking we were going to make one for every class!” The project became quite the undertaking, with all classes developing their own themes for the artwork, based on subjects they were studying. The kindergarten did self-portraits, the first graders fish, second graders butterflies, third graders birds, fourth graders clowns, fifth graders plants and flowers and the sixth graders insects. Even the three preschool classes got into the act, with a theme of, as Harsch described it, “shapes and colors.” “Call them abstract,” she said, adding, “Some kid’s preschool mom is going to love them.” The school ordered plain “bisque” kiln-fired platters and bowls from Sheffield Pottery. The children hand-painted them with under-glaze in the various decorations. They then applied a final glaze coating — a thick pink liquid — in preparation for the kiln firing. “The kids call it Pepto Bismal — that’s what it looks like,” Harsch said. Miraculously, none of the plates were broken, despite being handled by so many tiny hands — although the school had ordered extras just in case. Jane Swift, a new member of the endowment fund’s board of directors, and her husband, Chuck Hunt, donated all the plates and glaze materials. The works of student art will start at a minimum bid of $30 apiece, with $10 bid increments encouraged. They are dishwasher-safe and can be used for serving or (of course) for decorative displays. Parents can make advance bids before the auction. The plates are on display in the front lobby this week. They have also been advertised in spot news segments on the school’s news program by WKDZ (Williamstown Kids). Fifth-graders Cooper Gangemi and Annie Flynn said they really enjoyed the project. “It was kind of fun because I like painting,” Annie said. Asked how much she thought the fifth-grade plate was worth, she said, “Oh I don’t know, at least $25.” “No, $40,” burst in Cooper, who was well aware of the $30 bid minimum. Preschooler Riley Andersen, 4, who stopped by the art room with her mother, part-time second-grade teacher Maureen Andersen, planned to break with the abstract theme and paint a butterfly — and a pink butterfly at that. Harsch, although admitting to having a somewhat glazed look in her eye after such an intensive endeavor, said she was delighted at the enthusiasm the children brought to the project. “Nobody said, ‘I don’t want to do it; mine won’t be good enough.’ They all took part,” she said. Now, auction organizers hope parents and school supporters in the community will do their part — by stepping up to the plates. An entire list of the more than 125 auction items, which include a week in the Caribbean, a weekend on the Vineyard, a cocktail party for up to 50, piano lessons and much, much more, will be posted soon on the school’s Web site, http://williamstownelementary.org. The Love Galaxy Jazzstonauts will provide live entertainment at the auction and cocktail party from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door and can be bought at the school, Where’d You Get That, Milne Public Library, the Mountain Goat and Wild Oats Cooperative.
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Senior Golf Series Returns in September

Community submission
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Berkshire County Fall Senior Golf series returns in September with events on five consecutive Wednesdays starting Sept. 18.
 
It is the 22nd year of the series, which is a fund-raiser for junior golf in the county, and it is open to players aged 50 and up.
 
The series will feature two divisions for each event based on the combined ages of the playing partners.
 
Golfers play from the white tees (or equivalent) with participants 70 and over or who have a handicap of more than 9 able to play from the forward tees.
 
Gross and net prices will be available in each division.
 
The cost is $55 per event and includes a round of golf, food and prizes. Carts are available for an additional fee.
 
Golfers should call the pro shop at the course for that week's event no sooner than two weeks before the event to register.
 
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