This year's Commencement Remarks were delivered by award-winning author Mary Pope Osborne
PITTSFIELD — Forty-six students, including 22 students from Berkshire County and nearby communities, graduated on Sunday, June 2, during Miss Hall's School's 126th Commencement.
The ceremony took place under a large tent behind the Elizabeth Gatchell Klein Arts Center on the School's Holmes Road campus and was shared worldwide via Hudl.
Hosted by Miss Hall's Head of School Julia Heaton, the ceremony included remarks from Senior Class President Naomi Hopkins, of Rabun County, Georgia; School President Iva Knezevic, of Belgrade, Serbia; School Vice President Hanna Heaton Wellenstein, of Pittsfield; and Miss Hall's School Board of Trustees President Nancy Gustafson Ault, Class of 1973.
This year's Commencement Remarks were delivered by award-winning author Mary Pope Osborne, who was introduced by 2024 Miss Hall's graduates Lila and Zadie Juska, of Great Barrington. Mary is the author of many award-winning children's books.
Local graduates are Brianna Babcock, of Pittsfield; Kate Butler, of Pittsfield; Malena Carraro, of Stockbridge; Molly Casey, of Lee; Ella Cohen, of Great Barrington; Leora Cook-Dubin, of Pittsfield; Margaret (Margot) Dionne, of New Lebanon, N.Y.; Honey Fields, of New Marlborough; Sophie Gentleman, of Lenox; Ruby Hauck, of South Lee; Hanna Heaton Wellenstein, of Pittsfield; Isabella Hennessey, of Lenox; Lila Juska, of Great Barrington; Zadie Juska, of Great Barrington; Revan (Revvie) MacQueen, of Lenox; Juliana Mills, of Pittsfield; Alida (Hypnos) Perri, of Pittsfield; Kyla Rosales-Gore, of Great Barrington; Ella Tawes, of Williamstown; Madeline Tillem, of Lenox; Sophia Tillem, of Lenox; and Elise Tyler, of Lenox.
The following awards were also bestowed on members of the Class of 2024:
• Joseph F. Buerger Memorial School Spirit Cup: Kate Butler, of Pittsfield, and Naomi Hopkins, of Rabun County, Georgia
• Margaret Witherspoon Award: Iva Knezevic, of Belgrade, Serbia
• Christine Fuller Holland '33 Service Prize: Welmerly Maria, of Methuen, Massachusetts
• Faculty Commendation Award: Molly Casey, of Lee
• Meus Honor Stat Keys Awarded for MHS Core Competencies:
Vision: Sutra Chakma, of Khagrachari, Bangladesh, and Naomi Hopkins, of Rabun County, Georgia
Voice: Hanna Heaton Wellenstein, of Pittsfield, and Oumou Sidibe, of Bamako, Mali
Interpersonal Efficacy: Naomi Wager, of Cooperstown, N.Y., and Jiaying (Lily) Yao, of Shenzhen, China
Gumption: Leora Cook-Dubin, of Pittsfield, and Kyla Rosales-Gore, of Great Barrington
• Sylvia “Rusty” Shethar Everdell '38 Prize: Kate Butler, of Pittsfield
• Paul C. Cabot, Jr. History Prize: Sophie Gentleman, of Lenox
• Senior Prize in Engineering and Tech Innovation: Isabella Hennessey, of Lenox
• Iive Rouse Science Award: Iva Knezevic, of Belgrade, Serbia
• James K. Ervin Mathematics Prize: Hanna Heaton Wellenstein, of Pittsfield
• Horizons Award: Welmerly Maria, of Methuen, Massachusetts
• English for Speakers of Other Languages Award: Ayako Ogawa, of Tokyo, Japan
• Mansfield E. Pickett Latin Prize: Leora Cook-Dubin, of Pittsfield
• Spanish Award: Ella Tawes, of Williamstown
• Monique Jalbert French Prize: Nathania Williams-Jack, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Virginia Breene Wickwire '67 Reading Prize: Madeline Tillem, of Lenox
• Doris E. Pitman English Prize: Naomi Hopkins, of Rabun County, Georgia
• Photography Award: Honey Fields, of New Marlborough
• Susanna McCreath Music Prize: Jiaying (Lily) Yao, of Shenzhen, China
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BRTA Announces Free Rides Extension
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Governor Maura Healey announced that Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) will receive $699,733 for fare free service from Jan 1, 2025 through Sept. 30, 2025.
Working together, 13 Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities submitted a joint application to disburse the $30 million made available in the state budget based on ridership within their service areas.
Customers riding the fixed route bus and/or the complementary ADA paratransit service will be fare free from Jan. through Sept. 2025. BRTA was already awarded funding to provide free rides for the 2024 Holiday season.
Members of the MassDOT and MBTA boards of directors voted on an agreement to deliver $600 million in state funding to the MBTA for rail and station upgrades that will improve safety and reliability across the system. The funding was made possible by Healey’s proposal in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget that leverages Fair Share funding to support infrastructure investments. The total amount of funding unlocked through this provision is expected to grow throughout the Fiscal Year.
"Our administration is proud to be delivering the most state funding to the MBTA in 20 years. Secretary Tibbits-Nutt and General Manager Eng have been delivering significant results when it comes to improving safety and reliability at the T, and this funding will allow us to build on that progress even further," said Governor Maura Healey. "We're grateful to the Legislature and the MassDOT and MBTA Boards for their partnership on this funding mechanism that will continue to deliver more resources for transportation infrastructure improvements across the state this year and for years to come."
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Last year, $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars was allocated to remove the deteriorating, potentially deadly dam on Wahconah Street. click for more