PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Raeayn Warren and Jac Lun Lin have been named valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, of the Taconic High School class of 2017.
Principal John Vosburgh has announced that the school will hold its 47th commencement exercises at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, in the gymnasium, as has been tradition at the school for many years.
Warren, daughter of Holly and Derek Warren, has a grade average of 102.1 and has been recognized by the College Board as an Advanced Placement Scholar and received the Superintendents Award for Academic Excellence. She scored "advanced" on all three Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessement System exams required for graduation and is a recipient of a John and Abigail Adams Scholarship.
She has been an active member of the Academy of Information Technology, earning various commendations in state and national competitions with Business Professionals of America. Additionally, she was selected to represent Taconic at the 2016 Girls State event, and has received Awards for Excellence in Chemistry, AP U.S. History, English, and Spanish.
Warren is a member of the National Honor Society and the Taconic Quiz Team, and is a Student Ambassador. In addition to her accomplishments and contributions to Taconic High School, she has volunteered as a Tanglewood Ambassador, with Berkshire Youth United, and as a youth coach with the Ice Shockers through the Pittsfield Parks Speed Skating Club.
Warren will attend Saint Michael's College in Vermont to pursue a bachelor of science in computer science.
Lin, son of Xiao Fang Zheng and Qing Zhuang Lin, has a grade average of 100.9 and also received the Superintendents Award for Academic Excellence. He has completed 10 AP courses and exams, equivalent to one full year of college coursework. Deemed an AP Scholar with Honors by College Board, he earned Awards of Excellence in biology, chemistry, AP chemistry and biology, as well as for Latin at both novice and advanced levels. He also scored silver and gold medals on the National Latin Exam and was the recipient of the Cornell Book Award.
He participated in the Massachusetts Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership conference as a sophomore and continues to volunteer as a HOBY Junior Staff member. He is also involved in organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Berkshire Youth Leadership. During his time at Taconic, he was a Student Ambassador and participated on the soccer and cross country teams, as manager for the track team and withthe Latin and Chemistry clubs, Quiz Team, Prom Committee and World Leadership Congress.
Lin will attend Boston College's biology/pre-medical program of study.
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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
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Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
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Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more