Miss Hall's Students Named Pickett Scholars

Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Miss Hall's School senior Diamond Best of Danvers, Mass., and junior Izabella Nunes of Glen Gardner, N.J., have been named by the Lenox School Alumni Association as recipients of this year's Mansfield Pickett Scholarships.

The awards are named in memory of Mansfield E. (Peter) Pickett, who was a longtime teacher both at the former Lenox School and at Miss Hall's School. The scholarships are awarded annually to two students who exhibit outstanding performance in academics and extracurricular activities. This is the 14th year the association has honored Miss Hall's students.

Paul Denzel and Robert J. Sansone, representatives of the Lenox School Alumni Association, recently presented the awards to Diamond and Izabella, who is also known as Izzy. Both students are active members of the MHS community.

Diamond, the daughter of Tracy Best, is a proctor and member of the school's Athletic Association, serving as co-head during junior year, when she was also a member of the Student Council. A three-sport varsity athlete, Diamond has excelled in soccer, basketball and lacrosse during her four years at Miss Hall's, captaining the soccer and lacrosse teams and being named a league all-star for the 2015 and 2016 soccer seasons.


Diamond will attend Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Mass., where she will play women's soccer.

Izzy, the daughter of Elisangela and Antonio Santos, is an Admission Ambassador and Junior Class Representative to the Diversity Coalition, which represents three student clubs essential to the School’s commitment to promoting diversity awareness in the community. Izzy is also co-Head of the Droppin' Mics spoken word club and a member of the school's International Student Alliance. She participates in Model U.N., plays on the varsity tennis team, and serves on the staff of SoL, the school's literary magazine.

Pickett, who died in 1996, was beloved by students and faculty alike. The father of Tabitha Pickett Vahle, MHS Class of 1978, and grandfather of Wendy Panchy, MHS Class of 1985, Mr. Pickett taught Latin and English at Miss Hall's from 1973 — when the Lenox School closed — to 1992. He also served as MHS Director of Development from 1973 to 1975.

The Lenox School Alumni Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the spirit and camaraderie of Lenox School, which was an independent, all-boy secondary school founded in 1926. The school operated on the grounds of what is today the home of Shakespeare & Company.

 


Tags: award,   miss hall's school,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said. 

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories