Miss Hall's School Graduates 48

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PITTSFIELD, Mass — Forty-eight students graduated on Sunday, June 1, during Miss Hall's School's 127th Commencement.
 
The graduating class included 15 students from Berkshire County.
 
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 Zoom.
 
Hosted by Miss Hall's Head of School Julia Heaton, the ceremony included remarks from Senior Class President Willa Dowling-Paul, of Hinsdale; School President Casey Grace Lai, of Singapore; School Vice President Haley Sacon, of West Stockbridge; and MHS Board of Trustees President Nancy Gustafson Ault, Class of 1973.
 
This year's Commencement Remarks were delivered by Kate Schrauth, Executive Director of iCouldBe, a leading virtual mentoring program working to support young people as they navigate high school and plan for future educational opportunities and careers. Schrauth was introduced by 2025 Miss Hall's graduate Ginamarie Bocchino, of Pittsfield.
 
Schrauth first served as Chair of the Board at iCouldBe from 2001 to 2005, then moved into the Executive Director role in 2006. 
 
Local graduates in the class of 2025 are Bryanna Amankwah, of Pittsfield; Ginamarie Bocchino, of Pittsfield; Lila Boland, of Dalton; Genevieve Buker, of Lee; Willa Dowling-Paul, of Hinsdale; Kady Gentleman, of Lenox; Gabriella Hasperg, of
Cheshire; Emily Keiper, of Washington; Jayda Kimok, of Pittsfield; Alice Kwiatkowski, of West Stockbridge; Chloe Muellers, of Monterey; Mara Rosenthal, of Bennington, Vt.; Haley Sacon, of West Stockbridge; Olivia Whitney, of Cheshire; and Parker Wright, of Richmond.
 
The following awards were also bestowed on members of the Class of 2025:
  • Joseph F. Buerger Memorial School Spirit Cup: Willa Dowling-Paul, of Hinsdale
  • Faculty Commendation Award: Julia Tocchio, of Brasilia, Brazil
  • Christine Fuller Holland '33 Service Prize: Casey Grace Lai, of Singapore
  • Meus Honor Stat Keys Awarded for MHS Core Competencies:
    • Vision: Ginamarie Bocchino, of Pittsfield, and Valentina Romero, of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
    • Voice: Bryanna Amankwah, of Pittsfield, and Willa Dowling-Paul, of Hinsdale
    • Interpersonal Efficacy: EA Peña, of Boston, and Ginger Warner, of Putney, Vt.
    • Gumption: Lila Boland, of Dalton, and Bibi Sahra Sidique, of Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Margaret Witherspoon Award: Ivy Kay, of Lawrence, Mass.
  • Engineering and Technology Innovation Award: Olivia Whitney, of Cheshire
  • Doris E. Pitman English Prize: Inyene Bell, of Bridgeport, Conn.
  • Virginia Breene Wickwire '67 Reading Prize: Valentina Romero, of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
  • Elizabeth Gatchell Klein Studio Art Prize: Bibi Sahra Sidique, of Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Ceramics Award: Jayda Kimok, of Pittsfield
  • Angela Kalischer Theater Prize: EA Peña, of Boston
  • Susanna McCreath Music Prize: Kyana Chainani, of Singapore
  • Photography Award: Manizha Nabizada, of Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Paul C. Cabot, Jr. History Prize: Kady Gentleman, of Lenox
  • Horizons Award: Genevieve Buker, of Lee
  • Monique Jalbert French Prize: Ivy Kay, of Lawrence, Massachusetts
  • Spanish Award: Ginamarie Bocchino, of Pittsfield
  • Mansfield E. Pickett Latin Prize: Gabriella Hasperg, of Cheshire
  • English for Speakers of Other Languages Award: Stella Le, of Binh Duong, Vietnam
  • James K. Ervin Mathematics Prize: Chloe Muellers, of Monterey
  • Iive Rouse Science Award: Haley Sacon, of West Stockbridge
  • Sylvia "Rusty" Shethar Everdell '38 Prize: Anri Teraoka, of Tokyo, Japan
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Capeless Students Raise $5,619 for Charity

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Students at Capeless Elementary School celebrated the season of giving by giving back to organizations that they feel inspired them.

On Monday night, 28 fourth-grade students showed off the projects they did to raise funds for an organization of their choice. They had been given $5 each to start a small business by teachers Jeanna Newton and Lidia White.

Newton created the initiative a dozen years ago after her son did one while in fifth grade at Craneville Elementary School, with teacher Teresa Bills.

"And since it was so powerful to me, I asked her if I could steal the idea, and she said yes. And so the following year, I began, and I've been able to do it every year, except for those two years (during the pandemic)," she said. "And it started off as just sort of a feel-good project, but it has quickly tied into so many of the morals and values that we teach at school anyhow, especially our Portrait of a Graduate program."

Students used the venture capital to sell cookies, run raffles, make jewelry, and more. They chose to donate to charities and organizations like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Berkshire Humane Society and Toys for Tots.

"Teaching them that because they have so much and they're so blessed, recognizing that not everybody in the community has as much, maybe not even in the world," said Newton. "Some of our organizations were close to home. Others were bigger hospitals, and most of our organizations had to do with helping the sick or the elderly, soldiers, people in need."

Once they have finished and presented their projects, the students write an essay on what they did and how it makes them feel.

"So the essay was about the project, what they decided to do, how they raised more money," Newton said. "And now that the project is over, this week, we're writing about how they feel about themselves and we've heard everything from I feel good about myself to this has changed me."

Sandra Kisselbrock raised $470 for St. Jude's by selling homemade cookies.

"It made me feel amazing and happy to help children during the holiday season," she said.

Gavin Burke chose to donate to the Soldier On Food Pantry. He shoveled snow to earn money to buy the food.

"Because they helped. They used to fight for our country and used to help protect us from other countries invading our land and stuff," he said.

Desiree Brignoni-Lay chose to donate to Toys for Tots and bought toys with the $123 she raised.

Luke Tekin raised $225 for the Berkshire Humane Society by selling raffle tickets for a basket of instant hot chocolate and homemade ricotta cookies because he wanted to help the animals.

"Because animals over, like I'm pretty sure, over 1,000 animals are abandoned each year, he said. "So I really want that to go down and people to adopt them."

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