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Justin Perry will be going to Atlanta to copete in a national Microsoft Office competition.

McCann Junior To Compete Nationally in Office Competition

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — McCann Junior Justin Perry will compete in the Microsoft Office Specialist National Competition in Atlanta, Ga. this summer.
 
Perry, a business tech student, will represent Massachusetts in June and compete against the best from each state in Microsoft Word.
 
"I am looking forward to the competition," he said. "I have ever been to Atlanta before and I have never been on a plane either."
 
Perry is going to Atlanta because he scored so highly on his Microsoft Office Certification Exam in November. Perry scored  982 out of 1,000.
 
"It is a pretty basic exam; everyone in my grade takes them. We get a little project we have to do and we just have to go through every step," he said. "We have to make flyers, reports and change different aspects of it to make it look the way we want."
 
Perry said the competition isn’t your typical competition and you are less trying to edge out your opponents but rather focus on scoring as highly as you can.
 
Even then, Perry said the pressure was on.
 
"The pressure was on a little bit because there was a lot of stuff to do," he said. "There are 26 different tasks and there are subparts to each one."
 
Perry noted that the national competition will be different than the 45-minute state qualifier and competitors will have to test their mettle for seven hours. 
 
Perry attributes his success to his dedication and work outside of class hours. 
 
"Throughout the past couple of years in my shop, we have done different lessons…and we do projects at the end of each lesson," he said.
 
"I worked really hard and I stayed after school to get more help and I trained at home to work on it and I use a lot in academics."
 
If Perry scores highly again he will compete in the world competition to be held in Orlando, Fla.
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BAAMS' Monthly Studio 9 Series Features Mino Cinelu

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On April 20, Berkshires' Academy of Advanced Musical Studies (BAAMS) will host its fourth in a series of live music concerts at Studio 9.
 
Saturday's performance will feature drummer, guitarist, keyboardist and singer Mino Cinelu.
 
Cinelu has worked with Miles Davis, Sting, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Lou Reed, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Vicente Amigo, Dizzy Gillespie, Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Pino Daniele, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Salif Keita.
 
Cinelu will be joined by Richard Boulger on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dario Boente on piano and keyboards, and Tony Lewis on drums and percussion.
 
Doors open: 6:30pm. Tickets can be purchased here.
 
All proceeds will help support music education at BAAMS, which provides after-school and Saturday music study, as well as a summer jazz-band day camp for students ages 10-18, of all experience levels.
 
Also Saturday, the BAAMS faculty presents master-class workshops for all ages, featuring Cinelu, Boulger, Boente, Lewis and bassist Nathan Peck.
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