Berkshire Country Day School Announces Teacher for New 2-Year-Old Program

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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Julia Kreilkamp will join the Berkshire Country Day School faculty as the lead preschool teacher for its Reggio-Emilia-inspired 2-year-old class for the program's inaugural year in Fall 2017.

Kreilkamp has more than 20 years of teaching experience, most recently for 10 years as the pre-kindergarten teacher at the Middletown Springs School in Vermont, where she developed several new programs. She received a B.A. from Macalester College and a M.A. in Elementary Education from College of St. Joseph. Of special note, Kreilkamp received the University of Vermont's Outstanding Teacher Award in 2010.

Ms. Kreilkamps's strengths as an educator and communicator will be fundamental to establishing the program, which has been added for the 2017-2018 year in response to growing demand, expanding the school's current 3- and 4-year-old early education. Kreilkamp has been designing the new 2-year-olds classroom and planning for the "investigation stations" that are a hallmark of the Reggio Emilia approach.


"I love getting to know each child individually and presenting opportunities to stretch them in their exploration, play, and learning. They never fail to impress me with how boldly they meet new challenges, and with each step, their confidence and abilities grow," she said.

Berkshire Country Day School is the only preschool in the area currently offering the Reggio Emilia style of early childhood education, which embraces children's natural intellectual inclinations and innate abilities and fosters these dispositions and talents. Today, the core beliefs of Reggio Emilia have been embraced worldwide, and the approach is considered by many to be one of the best and most innovative, and one that is most consistent with how young children learn.

The new program at BCD will expand current offerings and enroll up to 10 children aged 24-35 months, who will be fully incorporated into the school’s intentional, independent, and inspired community of learners. The preschoolers will also enjoy ready access to the many resources of BCD's historic 27-acre campus — from an adjacent playground to the new Kevin Hirt Library and Learning Commons and Kim and James Taylor Music/Performance Space. For more information, visit the website.


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Companion Corner: Freya, Fudge & Charlotte

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — If looking for the perfect feline pet, why not triple the fun? There's a threesome at Berkshire Humane Society waiting for a family to call their own.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

We highlighted Freya, Charlotte and Fudge last month and they are still looking for their new home together. 

Kittens Fudge and Charlotte and their mother, Freya, have been at the shelter and in a foster home since April. All three have tested positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), often described as feline HIV/AIDS

Feline/small animal adoption counselor Alyssa Petell introduced us to them. 

"They originally were brought in from animal control. The conditions weren't the best in the home. But when they came in, they were tested positive for feline AIDS (FIV). We do send our kittens normally to foster programs to get socialized with the mom. So they got sent to a foster program for about two months to get socialized," she said.

The shelter preferably would like the three to as a family, and to a home with respectful children that will keep them inside.

"We would prefer if they could all go together, but they are a very sweet trio of kitties. They would have to be indoor only because of them being feline AIDS positive," Petell said. "It is OK for them to go into a home with other cats. We prefer if they go into a home with feline AIDS-positive cats, but even if they are negative for feline AIDS, as long as they're not actively scratching each other and biting each other to transmit it, then it should be OK."

Each cat has their own personality. The two kittens love to play with an abundance of toys; one is shy and the other is outgoing. They both like to curl up and sleep in your lap once they get to know you.

It turns out that Fudge is actually a girl. In our previous article, he was mistakenly identified as a boy. 

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