Lenox Principals attend the National Conference on School Leadership
Lenox— Superintendent William Collins is proud to share that Lenox Memorial Middle High School Principal Jeremiah Ames and Morris Elementary School Principal Brenda Kelley recently attended UNITED, the National Conference on School Leadership.
Elementary and secondary school leaders from around the nation gathered in Nashville for an unparalleled opportunity to collaborate and discuss the most pressing topics in education. The Lenox Principals joined a record number of Massachusetts principals attending this year’s conference.
“It’s always nice to have an opportunity to think about school removed from the environment we’re in throughout the school year,” said Principal Ames. “It provides a valuable lens to think about and discuss issues we’re faced with all year long.”
“This conference provided a fantastic platform for collaboration and discussion on current education topics. Networking with principals nationwide, including many from Massachusetts, was invaluable,” said Principal Kelley. “It was inspiring to exchange ideas and strategies. The expert-led sessions offered new insights and innovative approaches I am eager to bring back to Lenox.”
“It is valuable for principals to network with instructional leaders from around the country and to share ideas, learn about the latest research, and hear firsthand about the current best approaches in teaching and learning,” Dr. Collins said. “I commend the commitment of Mrs. Kelley and Dr. Ames to stay current in educational leadership trends. LPS is fortunate to have such dedicated leaders.”
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1Berkshire welcomes Youth Leadership Program class of 2025
Berkshire— 1Berkshire is excited to welcome its 13th class into the Berkshire Youth Leadership Program. This group of 29 rising high school juniors from across the Berkshires was selected through a competitive application process to begin a year-long leadership development program that kicked off in June with a three-day, two-night retreat held at Camp Chimney Corners.
The 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program is focused on helping students in our region develop and grow through career opportunity awareness, leadership skill development, and the design and completion of a collective impact project focused on positively impacting the Berkshires. Selected students have shown a significant capacity to grow their leadership skills and a strong desire to have a positive impact on their communities.
Over the next nine months, these 29 students will convene at locations all around the region to participate in workshops, engage in meaningful group dialogues, learn from speakers and one another, and to develop and execute their selected collective impact project. With a focus on sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion, this year’s program will also aim to engage students in meaningful discussions that create critical reflection and new levels of self awareness as we seek to support qualities associated with global citizenry and cultural humility.
Kevin Pink, Deputy Director of Economic Development at 1Berkshire, and co-director of the Youth Leadership Program notes, “During this year’s kick-off retreat, our students began to build connections and think about how their individual learning and communication styles interact.” He adds, “We are thrilled to embark on another wonderful year in which our students will learn about career opportunities and resources available to them here in the Berkshires, as well as designing and executing a project to make a positive impact here in our region and in the world.”
Students in the Youth Leadership Program leave with a new group of friends from all around the county, a unique and deep understanding of career opportunities here in the Berkshires, and the pride of completing a project that has positively impacted their community.
The 2024-2025 Youth Leadership Class participants are:
- Natalie Aldrich – Wahconah Regional High School
- Sophie Alsmaan – Wahconah Regional High School
- Lauren Bridges – Lenox Memorial Middle and High School
- Lilianna Choque – BART Charter Public School
- Nyla Dion – Hoosac Valley Regional High School
- Athan Dungey – Wahconah Regional High School
- Nyx Hall – BART Charter Public School
- Autumn Higa – Monument Mountain Regional High School
- Charlie Keator – Lenox Memorial Middle and High School
- Isla Kirchner – Pittsfield High School
- Ellen Klepetar – Pittsfield High School
- Maddy Kotek – Lee High School
- Kiera Kristensen – Mount Greylock Regional High School
- Sophia LaMalfa – Pittsfield High School
- Brooklynn Lamke – Lenox Memorial Middle and High School
- Sarah Leedham – BART Charter Public School
- Connor McCormack – Lenox Memorial Middle and High School
- Audrianna Pelkey – Mount Greylock Regional High School
- Isabella Pereira – Lenox Memorial Middle and High School
- Maddie Powell – Mount Greylock Regional High School
- Kylah Rivard – BART Charter Public School
- James Smith – Pittsfield High School
- Francesca Stanmeyer – Monument Mountain Regional High School
- Sadie Suters – Monument Mountain Regional High School
- Jo Tessier – Lenox Memorial Middle and High School
- Charlotte Towler – Mount Greylock Regional High School
- Ben Westlake – Lenox Memorial Middle and High School
- Mateo Whalen-Loux – Mount Greylock Regional High School
- Nina Wied – Mount Greylock Regional High School
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Berkshire Community College announces spring dean’s list
Pittsfield— Berkshire Community College (BCC) is pleased to announce it has named 391 students to the spring 2024 dean’s list.
To be eligible for the dean’s list, students must achieve a GPA of 3.750 to 4.000 to earn high honors, while students with a GPA of 3.250 to 3.749 earn an honors designation. All dean’s list students must be matriculated in a certificate or degree program, complete a minimum of six traditionally graded credit hours, and achieve grades of C or higher in all classes during a semester of one academic year.
The following 190 students qualified for high honors:
Connecticut:
- East Canaan: Benyamin Wurmfeld
- North Canaan: Mercedes Bell
Massachusetts:
- Adams: Casey Alvarez, Jennifer Blair, Kyle Gelaznik, Heather Levy, Tara Quinn, Ashley Satko, Alexander Strauser, Kiersten Vallieres, Gabrielle Vincent, Jamie Willette
- Ashley Falls: Allison Casey, Tracy Stoddard
- Becket: Carrie Lord
- Blandford: Kelsey Martinez
- Cheshire: Edward Depson, Lisa Dubreuil, Kathryn Leblanc, Laura Pratt, Renee Wlodyka
- Clarksburg: Marcia Bailey, Nicholas Fortin, Hillary Maselli, Stephanie Oxton
- Cummington: Jeremiah Reagan
- Dalton: Christine Alberti, Linda Cachat, Karen Drosehn, Michael Farella, Rebecca Jordan Howard, Holden Loverin, Kassidy Thorn, Aiden Trager, Martine Walsh
- Great Barrington: Brendan Holcomb, Sandra Littell, Rachel Moriarty
- Hancock: Mariangel Dus
- Hinsdale: Madison Atkinson, Nathan Brown, Julia Drury, Priscilla Lee, Kevin Mears, Lukas Williams
- Housatonic: Aryane Dos Santos, Dan Hardy, Collin Woods
- Lanesborough: Johanna Beguin, Alexander Digrigoli, Andrea Overbaugh, Dylan Stafford
- Lee: Elizabeth Aquino, Matthew Boisvere, Amber Fabiano, Kaden Kelly, Matthew Reynolds
- Lenox: Anna Cochran, April Harwood, Joshua Levin, Violeta Rabiaj, Samira Zabian
- Lexington: Samuel Zachary
- Middlefield: Melinda Main
- Mill River: Kelsey Eichstedt
- Monterey: Stephanie McMahon
- New Ashford: Riley McInerney
- New Marlborough: Audrey Bartzsch
- North Adams: Matthew Epright, Sarah Fisk, Ian Fletcher, Stefani Forrest, Jamie Kickery, Nicole Kusek, Matthew Lake, Jackie Lehman, Danielle Lemieux, Angela Thompson, Justin Timoney
- North Andover: Brandon Byrne
- Otis: Colleen Granahan, Taylor Marion
- Peru: Jamie Leach, Faith Wehner, Kristin Zuber
- Pittsfield: Akosua Amoako, Stella Asamoah, Lindsay Avery, Kurtis Baronoski, Noah Beauregard, Isabelle Berkel, Joshua Bolduc, Casey Bouchard, Penny Bridges, Raphael Bruno, Laynie Burke, Darwin Carangui, Jaclyn Carnevale, Kyleigh Castagna, Corinne Catan, Olivia Chelstowski, Bernice Cobbinah, Charlotte Coco, Edmond Coleman, Cole Cowan, Allison Crespo, Mya Desautels, Rebekah Dick, Paige Digrigoli, Timothy Dinofrio, Jacob Dipillo, Marlie Fitch, Michelle Foley, Angie Fuentes, Lisa Gallant, Matthew Garrity, William Garrity, Hayleigh Gavin, Andrew Gillman, Sabine Grout Bartlett, Chloe Haas, Jessica Hall, Tricia Hillebrand, Abigail Honbarger, Stephen Jayko, Raja King, Christopher Kowalski, Greta Lacey, Ashara Lindemann, Anya Lyford, Ella Lyon, Jazmyn Majors, Mwila Malama, Madison Manning, Owen McNeil, Ryan McNeil, Maxwell McNulty, Jonathon Mejias, Patrice Mensah, Simeon Mercier, Jasmyne Middleton, Tiffany Moreno, Kyle Moro, Michael Morse, Kimberly O’Brien, Adam Oubtrou, Hugo Pizarro-Gundelfinger, Elisabeth Richman, Amelia Roberts, Kara Roberts, Shelsy Rodriguez, Lorena Rodriguez Lluberes, Brianna Rogers, Ashley Santander, Tyler Seagrave, Clarise Seguin, Jessica Shahzad, Jermaine Sistrunk, Kailee Soberano, Fanta Souare, Jakleen Squires, James Tandoh, Tessie Tierney, Cheryl Turnbough, Anthony Veilleux, Kavita Victor, Alexander White, Kristin Wilcox, Porter Wincuinas, Alexandra Zuber, Gladis Zuna Rodriguez
- Richmond: Alexandra Daley, Grace Ellrodt, Bridgette Moore Stone
- Sheffield: Alexandria Anderson, Lusha Caliendo Martin, Arielle Coon
- Stockbridge: Renee LeClair
- West Stockbridge: Shane Obryan
- Westfield: Emily Bryant
- Williamstown: Lauren Barenski, Elizabeth Bertolino, Christine Bushey, Jayden Johnson, Alecia Williams
- Windsor: Wyatt Wellington
New York:
- Albany: Paulette Mickle
- Chatham: Erin Smith
- Petersburgh: Savanniah Hunter
West Virginia:
- Charleston: Louis Russo
The following 201 students qualified for honors:
Connecticut:
- Hartford: Alysha Yard
- Norfolk: MacKenzie Muzzulin
- Salisbury: Makala Shelton
Massachusetts:
- Adams: Jennifer Adkins, Bree Ballantyne-Hinckley, Scott Higley, Erica Langnickel, Adam Licht, Alanza Quiñones, Fiona Smith
- Auburndale: Lauren Drezner
- Becket: Sebastian Dowd-Smith
- Cheshire: Samantha Canales, Crystal Chapman, Megan Dubreuil, Aidan Koczela, Marki Larochelle, Samara Maxwell, Sarah Royal, Destiny Tetlow, Jocelyn Tibbetts
- Chicopee: Edwin Juma
- Dalton: Amber Brown, Rhonda Cyr, Hannah Levardi-Earle, Bridget Lussier, Laurie Moselsky, Gabrielle Osborne, Victoria Partridge, Logan Sargent, Courtney St John, Katarina Stefanik, Cristina Suasti, Caitlin Tatro, Julie Winiarski
- Dennis: Divya Poudayal
- Great Barrington: Avery Ball, Julie Doty, Victoria Pevzner, Stephanie Sanchez Heredia, Tatiyana Silvis Falwell, Olivia Vilord
- Hancock: Rose Blodgett, Athena Wingo
- Hinsdale: Erinne Butler, Nathaniel Coyne, Sean Duma, Mari Robinson
- Housatonic: Logan Hunt, William Vansant
- Lanesborough: Isabella Girard, Jamie Golin, Marissa Rivard
- Lee: Alyssa Barnes, Sierra Beckman, Jennifer Donovan, Alexander Estrada, Aiden Fennelly, James Hitchings, Ian Kaehn, Juliana Rodriguez, Alexandra Saunders, Christina Tighe
- Lenox: Amy Alderton, Karina Baver, Arya Fraenkel, Julia Hanson, Anadelia Hart, Chris Schilling, Gianna Vasta
- Monroe: Elijah Smith, Rachel Smith
- North Adams: Suzanne Bateman, Amanda Boesse, Maya Creamer, Carolyn Crews, Carin De Jong, Alexandra Duff-Thompson, Jocelyn Kelly, Rosalyn Lincoln, Cynthia Love, Payton Miller, John Moore, Joseph Moulton, Dylan Mucci, Kelly Therrien, Jonnie Thompson
- Pittsfield: Nanaserwaah Addai, Tano Dylann Chris Junior Addoh, Ahou Claudine Adiatou-Koffi, Ainsworth Ainsley, Alyssa Anderson, Skye Bagley, Grace Barton, Alyson Behan, Anastasiya Bolotova, Jonesy Bones, Makayla Candelari, Samantha Carey, Kaitlyn Chisholm, Sabrina Clark, Mitchell Clayton, Melissa Cobb, Noah Collingwood, Isaac Corbett, Madelyn Croce, Morgan Depson, Ana Dermody, Brianna Dinicola, Jennifer Duchaine, Brittany Filiault, Karizme Fitzpatrick, Alexis Fogle, Valentyna Gagnon, Emily Greb, Thomas Gwinnell, Rain Hajjar, Julia Hannigan, Korpo Harris, Bethany Healey, Albert Hubbard, Bethany Iffetayo, Juliana Johansen, Raisa Kachevsky, Ethan Kirkman, Elizabeth Kwaw, Stephanie Laconto-Doherty, Madison Lamoureaux, Carter Layne, Angelique Levesque, Kaleigh Lovato, Hadyn Lyford, Aidan Mack, Madisyn Manzella, Emma Matthews, Steven Mendez, Kathaleen Mogul, Norah Moindi, Xavier Noyes, Logan Osorio, Augustine Owusu, Kyleigh Pannesco, Rylee Paronto, Tamia Patrick, Layla Pedroza, Luis Penafiel, Paul Penafiel, Darian Powell, Heather Puntin, James Pyne, Morgan Quagliano, Corrisa Regan, Melanie Rivera-Rodriguez, Louis Roberts, Gloria Rodrigues de Souza, Autumn Rose, Faith Santspree, Allison Schnopp, Rose Segarra, Aniya Shea, Julian Shuster, Ashley Smith, Jahim Solomon, Amber Southard
- Samantha Spaulding, Karah Stafford, Walter Suarez, Rosa Tabango, Deaux-Deaux Thibodeaux, Derly Toloza, Cordelia Toomey-Arnold, Christopher Underhill, Izadora Vianna, Corey Walker, Madison Winn, Kacie Yerrick
- Savoy: Michelle Stone
- Sheffield: Matthew Seward, Richard Stetson
- Springfield: Sashaya Lewis
- Stockbridge: Emily Goudey, Matt Petrescu, Shanekia Richmond, Myrna Shapiro, Ariana Shaw-Pas
- Washington: Austin Liebenow, Colin Rosier
- West Stockbridge: Tyler Harrington, Katie Kelly, Maxfield Lindner
- Williamstown: Joseph Boni, Brooke Kiger, Conor Byrnes
- Windsor: Carrie Conklin
- Worthington: Aimee Hornickel
New Jersey:
- Madison: Jackson Conroy
New York:
- Albany: Kethia St. Hilaire
- Millerton: Madeline Lazarus
- Stephentown: Ian Tornquist
Vermont:
- Stamford: Ashlyn Belisle, Lauren Mroz
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MountainOne Bank named among most charitable companies in Massachusetts
Berkshire— MountainOne is excited to announce it has been named one of the Commonwealth’s top corporate charitable contributors by the Boston Business Journal. It will be name MountainOne will be honored with a Corporate Citizenship Award in September at the Seaport Hotel in Boston.
The 2024 Top Charitable Contributors in Massachusetts list honors companies that gave $100,000 or more to Massachusetts-based charities in 2023. Collectively, the 96 companies who qualified for the distinction gave more than $362 million in cash contributions.
MountainOne has a strong, long-standing history of supporting nonprofit organizations that directly and positively impact the communities it serves. Among the organizations it contributed to in 2023, notable recipients include:
- 1Berkshire
- Berkshire Running Foundation
- Community Health Programs (CHP)
- Friendship Home
- Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth
- Hillcrest Educational Centers
- Lever, Inc.
- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA)
- Manet Community Health
- Quincy Public Schools
- South Shore Health Foundation
- The Brien Center
“It is an honor to be recognized by the Boston Business Journal as one of the Top Corporate Charitable Contributors in Massachusetts,” said Robert Fraser, President and CEO of MountainOne. “This acknowledgment reflects our longtime dedication to supporting and enriching our communities. I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t take this opportunity to thank our employees, who personally contributed over 600 volunteer hours in our communities in 2023! Each and every Mountaineer takes great pride in our efforts to make a positive impact, and together we will continue to prioritize community engagement as a core commitment at MountainOne.”
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Berkshire Conservation District awarded challenge grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Pittsfield— The Berkshire Conservation District (BCD) was awarded $80,000 in grant funding by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA,) Division of Conservation Services, based on the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan.
The District will use these funds to purchase a 5’6″ no-till seed drill, expanding their equipment rental program, alongside the existing 12′ no-till drill purchased in 2019. Offering two sizes of no-till drills to farmers in the Berkshire region will make the program more accessible to farmers with 40-50 horsepower tractors. In addition, the grant funding will allow the District to increase staff time to manage additional rentals and collaborative programming.
The award of this grant will fund educational programming across the county from first and third graders learning about soil microbes to soil scientists speaking with farmers about fertilizer use, to peer-to-peer farmer dinners.
Other District programs focus on increasing and improving habitats for pollinators on public and private lands, as well as a fall Native Plant Sale. More information on all programs can be found at berkshireconservation.org/programs.
