Welcome to Junior Albany Road (The JAR) !
Junior Albany Road (The JAR) fosters creativity in arts and literature among youth in Western Massachusetts. Deerfield students in the JAR host writing and art workshops with children from local schools, publish magazine issues, and showcase student-created pieces on the website. This is a space where young writers and artists can come together to express themselves and inspire others. We believe in the power of creativity to transform lives and communities. Join us in this incredible journey of artistic exploration and growth!
Mission Statement
Albany Road, Deerfield Academy’s official arts and literature magazine, holds very dear the value of spaces for Deerfield students to celebrate and exhibit their creative works. Junior
Albany Road (The JAR) extends this vision to the town community beyond the high school.
As the name suggests, Junior Albany Road hopes to actualize the core mission of fostering creativity in arts and literature among youth (middle-school-aged or younger) in the greater Deerfield community.
Two Branches
First Branch
Depending on the availability of transportation, a group of DA students host writing and art workshops on Zoom meetings with young children or connect with them in person at Frontier Regional School, the Bement School, the Eaglebrook School, Stoneleigh-Burnham, Four Rivers Charter School, PVCICS, and the Deerfield Elementary School.
These creative workshops may include but are not limited to collaborative story chains, art scavenger hunts, picture prompts, Mad Libs, found poetry with newspapers, and various other arts and crafts with young kids. Broader areas of interest include photography, visual art, short stories, poetry, and prose.
Second Branch
This group works toward publishing the physical end product of a magazine of children’s creative works produced with the JAR’s first branch. Deerfield students meet here at DA to compile, edit online, and publish the student pieces in a Junior Albany Road magazine issue. Later in the 2024-2025 school year, the JAR will launch a website to showcase student-created pieces in an online youth literary and arts journal.