Berkshire Foothills, Massachusetts
Upcoming Events
Webinar for Health Professionals
Tuesday, Oct 15, 7-8pm
Wednesday, Oct 23, 7-8pm
Online
Are you a health professional serving LGBTQ+ teens or their families? If so, we share a similar mission – to help LGBTQ+ youth navigate social and mental health challenges so that they may live lives of promise and authenticity. We invite you to register for one of our upcoming hour-long webinars to learn more about the J.S. Bryant School. Registrants who are unable to attend will be emailed a recording. Email: admissions@jsbryantschool.org for a registration link.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Please RSVP by emailing rsvp@jsbryantschool.org
Behind the Scenes Campus Tour for Students and Families
Saturday, October 19th, 10am - Noon
Learning & Wellness Campus followed by Farming Campus (Indoor/Outdoor)
Behind the Scenes Campus Tour for Students and Families. Curious about the J.S. Bryant School? You're invited to a sneak peek of our work-in-progress on campus. Head of School Allison Druin will introduce you to our unique curriculum, answer your questions, and explain how co-design with LGBTQ+ youth is shaping our vision and spaces. Come see for yourself what we're all about. Now accepting applicants for Fall 2025 for students entering grades 9-11.
You Belong.
Please RSVP by emailing rsvp@jsbryantschool.org
Behind the Scenes Campus Tour for Students and Families
Saturday, November 16th, 10am - Noon
Learning & Wellness Campus followed by Farming Campus (Indoor/Outdoor)
Behind the Scenes Campus Tour for Students and Families. Curious about the J.S. Bryant School? You're invited to a sneak peek of our work-in-progress on campus. Alex Tinari (Admissions Outreach) will introduce you to our unique curriculum, answer your questions, and explain how co-design with LGBTQ+ youth is shaping our vision and spaces. Come see for yourself what we're all about. Now accepting applicants for Fall 2025 for students entering grades 9-11.
You Belong.
Please RSVP by emailing rsvp@jsbryantschool.org
Volunteer Saturdays
Look here for more volunteer opportunities in the Fall.
Past Volunteer Saturdays:
Saturday, September 14th, 9am-noon - Outside: Dismantle some of the "obstacle course" to make room for improved apple orchard fencing - Learning & Wellness Campus.
Saturday, September 28th, 9am-noon - Indoor: continued painting of select rooms - Learning & Wellness Campus.
Interested in an up close and personal experience with goats, burdock root, perennial gardens, a paintbrush, hammers, nails, saws or some other tool or task while you learn about the vision for the school? We’ll gather from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM most Saturdays to give time and labor to the many physical tasks of bringing this school to life. We find joy in sharing this labor of love and invite you to be part of it! Stay for as little or as long as you like. We welcome the hands and hearts of all generations, identities, and abilities into the mix of our community.
Please RSVP by emailing rsvp@jsbryantschool.org
Past Events (2024)
Community Fire
July 13, 2024, 7 - 9 PM
J.S. Bryant Learning & Wellness Campus
We’re fond of building fires to gather around, and smores for everyone to enjoy, so we hope you’ll join us in this opportunity to sit together underneath the evening sky. We’ll offer the opportunity to tour and learn about the school before the fire starts. Then we’ll move into a space of reflection and sharing, storytelling and perhaps even song!
deTours
with Cummington Cultural District
Saturday July 20th, 9:00am - 11:00am
Farming Campus (meet at Bryant Homestead)
The school is named after William Cullen Bryant’s daughter, Julia Sands Bryant. She was the first steward of Bryant’s legacy, and important in her own right as an early queer figure in the region. For this deTour, JS Bryant School team members will lead a program that takes a walk through the land and its history, offering a place-based learning experience for teens, their families, and the local community.
The tour will take place on the Homestead grounds and also on the School grounds, and will take stops throughout to discuss the histories of place and the people who have animated it. The full walk will be roughly 2 miles, and will stop for a break with refreshments about halfway through at the Farm House.
Yin Yoga
with Luke “Tt” King
Saturday, February 17th, 10 - 11:45 AM EST
Location: Virtual
Experience the FIRST class in our new-to-us Learning & Wellness Center! Take a brief virtual tour and learn a little about the school and our mission, and then take a long slow breath and join Luke (he/him) for his Yin Yoga class. This class serves as an introduction to Yin Yoga for the community. Yin is a unique yoga style that focuses on nourishing the joints and the fascia, making it a balancing practice for “Yang” exercises that focus on muscular development. Yin practitioners experience a range of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits from the practice, where the style asks us to enter a pose, find stillness and stay awhile.
A Zoom link and how to donate will be shared prior to the event. A suggested donation of $10 - $50 helps us to open our doors in 2025; everyone is welcome regardless of donation.
Community Conversation
Monday, February 26th, 6:30 - 8 PM EST
Location: Virtual
Please join us for a virtual Community Conversation about the J. S. Bryant School. We'll share our vision for a therapeutic high school to support LGBTQ+ students struggling with anxiety and depression. We’ll talk about where we are in the process, answer your questions, and share what our next steps are to open the doors in 2025! We invite your ideas and your curiosity in shaping how a historic farm in the Berkshire Foothills becomes a learning community for wellness and creative activation.
A Zoom link will be shared prior to the event.
Friends & Family Maple Tour & Tasting!
with Two Mama’s Farm, Hilltown Land Trust and High Five Books
Saturday, March 16th, 11 AM - 1 PM
Bad Weather: Sun., Mar. 17th, 11 AM - 1 PM
Location: Two Mama’s Farm, 11 Porter Hill Road, Cummington
Join Two Mamas Farm, the Hilltown Land Trust, High Five Books and the J.S. Bryant School for a very special family-friendly tour of queer-run Two Mamas Farm, where you'll learn more about small-scale maple tapping and sugaring, their sustainable practices and their approach to land conservation. The tour will also include a tasting of the different grades of maple syrup from their sugarbush, a community potluck, and opportunities to connect around the fire!
The High Five Team will be available throughout the event in the barn with beanbags, books, and activities related to maple trees for all of the kids and kids-at-heart to enjoy! Join us in this beginner and family-friendly experience. LGBTQ+ community and allies invited.
A suggested donation of $0 - $50 is encouraged, with donations being shared between the Hilltown Land Trust and the J.S. Bryant School. Everyone is welcome regardless of donation.
Read details about the event [pdf].
Seasonal Baking Class
with Rori of Lemon Bakery
Monday, March 18th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM EST
Location: Virtual
Do you LOVE baking?! Do you LOVE learning how to bake with in-season ingredients?! Well, you’re in luck! We’re partnering with Rori (they/them) of Lemon Bakery to explore what delicious savory treats you can bake in-season during this time of the year. We’ll give you an opportunity to learn more about the school throughout the process, and we’ll hold space for questions about baking and the school, as we wait for our treats to finish baking. Bakers at any and all levels are welcome!
A Zoom link and how to donate will be shared prior to the event. A suggested donation of $10 - $50 helps us to open our doors in 2025; everyone is welcome regardless of donation.
LGBTQ+ & Allies Trivia Night
with Ivy of Skye Trivia in the Pioneer Valley
Thursday, March 28th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Location: Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, 130 Pine St., Florence, MA
In this special edition of trivia, Ivy will share a wide range of trivia questions about the LGBTQ+ community, their allies, and the J.S. Bryant School and team. You’re guaranteed to laugh, to enjoy the company of those around you, to be humbled, to celebrate, and to learn. The perfect way to spend your evening whether you bring your family, your partner, or someone from your chosen family. Join us as we find our way through the last of the cold and gray days of March into the Spring!
A suggested donation of $10 - $50 helps us to open our doors in 2025; everyone is welcome regardless of donation. RSVPs are required for this event.
Community Conversation
Hosted by Zen Frog Cafe
Thursday, April 18th, 6 - 7:30 PM
Location: Zen Frog Cafe, 90 Maple St, Florence
Please join us at Zen Frog Cafe for a Community Conversation about the J. S. Bryant School. We'll share our vision for a therapeutic high school to support LGBTQ+ students struggling with anxiety and depression. We’ll talk about where we are in the process, answer your questions, and share what our next steps are to open the doors in 2025! We invite your ideas and your curiosity in shaping how a historic farm in the Berkshire Foothills becomes a learning community for wellness and creative activation.
Community Work Parties: Planting Our Apple Tree Orchard
Friday April 26th, 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Saturday, April 27th, 9:30 AM - 3 PM
Rain Dates, May 10th & 11th
Location: J.S. Bryant Farming Campus
There are many physical tasks to be completed in preparation for opening our doors in 2025; this Spring we’re planting over 200 apple trees so that when our students arrive for their first months with us, they will have an orchard full of apples as part of their educational and culinary experience! We welcome the hands and hearts of all generations, identities, and abilities into the mix of our community work party. Join us for a day of connecting with the earth, with others in the community, and delicious snacks!
Past Events (2023)
Volunteer Fridays
Fridays, Sept 8 – Nov 17, 2023
9 AM - NOON
Interested in an up close and personal experience with goats, burdock root, perennial gardens, a paintbrush or some other tool or task while you learn about the vision for the school? We’ll gather from 9 AM - 12 PM most Fridays to give time and labor to the many physical tasks of bringing this school to life. We find joy in sharing this labor of love and invite you to be part of it! Stay for as little or as long as you like. We welcome the hands and hearts of all generations, identities, and abilities into the mix of our community. Send an email to rsvp@jsbryantschool.org to let us know that you’re interested in joining us!
Community Conversation
July 31st, 2023
6 PM - 7:30 PM
Please join us for a Community Conversation on the J. S. Bryant School. We'll share our vision for a therapeutic high school to support LGBTQ+ students struggling with anxiety and depression. We invite your ideas in reimagining how a historic farm in the Berkshire Foothills becomes a learning community for wellness and creative activation.
Sponsorship Event: J.S. Bryant School supports Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market
Saturday, December 2nd, 2023
10 AM - 5 PM
Florence Civic Center, 90 Park Street, Florence, MA
Meet us at this fledgling pop-up market centering LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and emerging artisans and makers exploring their craft. This market is rooted in the belief that there is always room for more spaces in the community to support the financial success of BIPOC, queer, and trans makers, artists, crafters, creators, and entrepreneurs.
Learn more at https://yet-another-queer-pop-up-market.mailchimpsites.com/
Community Picnic Brunch & Music
August 19th, 2023 (rain date of August 20th)
10 AM - 12 PM
Bring a blanket or chair and spend some time with us enjoying brunch picnic treats, the view, and each other as we enjoy the sounds of local and regional musicians, John Bye and Peg Cowen of One Part Luck, cellist Stephen Katz, and singer, songwriter and jazz musician, Pamela Means. Bubbles, games, and laughter are also welcome as we take a moment to pause before the school days begin and Fall returns to the land.
J.S. Bryant School & Bryant Homestead Community Volunteer Work Party
September 30th, 2023 (rain date of October 1st)
9 AM - 12 PM
Join us for a day of community, connection, and tending the historic Bryant Homestead land and building. The history of the J. S. Bryant School land and buildings are deeply entwined with our neighbors, and we look forward to a bright future of collaboration and care as part of the future of our school. Join us indoors as we turn the gift shop back into the historic house kitchen of the homestead...OR work with us outdoors to cut away invasive plant species. All ages and abilities are welcome. Snacks and beverages will be served, and post-party trips to visit with the J. S. Bryant School goats will be included in the event!
Partnership Event
J.S. Bryant School supports High Five Books
October 5th, 2023
6 - 7:30 PM
@ BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity
130 Pine St, Northampton, MA 01062
https://bombyx.live/events/highfivebooks-alexgino/
High Five Books presents award-winning author Alex Gino. Families Welcome!
Community Fire
October 14th, 2023 (rain date 15th)
6 PM - 8 PM
We invite you to join us underneath the evening sky as we individually and collectively reflect on this past year and offer gratitude for the abundance that the seasons have brought to us. We’ll offer the opportunity to tour and learn about the school before the fire starts. Then we’ll move into a space of reflection and sharing, storytelling and perhaps even song. Register to join us for s’mores, cool and crisp air, community, and a beautiful fire amidst a (hopefully) star-filled sky.
Community Walk
May 21st, 2023 (delayed because of rain)
10 AM - 12 PM
We’ll meet at the main house and then meander through the fields and into the woods, exploring and sharing what we each know about the plants and trees of the land. Your plant and tree knowledge is welcome as part of our collective understanding of the landscape, as well as curious minds that are new to this type of exploration. For those who are unable to walk with us or who may need a shorter walk, the house will be open for rest and conversation.
Community Conversation
June 7th, 2023, 7 PM
@ The Bear & Bee Bookshop, North Adams
Please join us for a Community Conversation on the J. S. Bryant School. We'll share our vision for a therapeutic high school to support LGBTQ+ students struggling with anxiety and depression. We invite your ideas in reimagining how a historic farm in the Berkshire Foothills becomes a learning community for wellness and creative activation.
Community Fire
June 15th, 2023 (rain date June 16th)
7 PM - 9 PM
Our co-founder, Ben, is fond of building fires to gather around, so we hope you’ll join us in this opportunity to sit together underneath the evening sky. We’ll find our way into sharing stories about our lives and the lives of those who worked at the farm, and maybe even break into song.
Community
Work Party
July 29th, 2023 (rain date of July 30th)
9 AM - 12 PM
There are many physical tasks to be completed in preparation for opening our doors in 2025. We welcome the hands and hearts of all generations, identities, and abilities into the mix of our community work party. We'll have a range of opportunities for engaging with the land: weeding the demo gardens, cleaning up the old sugar house site, pulling invasives to feed to the goats, planting some livestock medicinal gardens, general landscape care, and so much more!