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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Lanesborough OKs Open Space Plan, Short-Term Rental Forms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set fees for short-term rentals and adopted an Open Space and Recreation Plan.
 
Town Administrator Gina Dario discussed the draft for STR registration and certificate of inspection since the new bylaws were passed at the annual town meeting.
 
The draft shows the process to file for inspection through Permit Eyes, the town's online permitting system that includes the state building code and safety requirements. Dario said members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the building commissioner looked at other town models to come up with the best process for registration.
 
Inspections will be annually for non-owner occupied units and five years for owner-occupied. The inspection fee is a flat $50. The last suggestion discussed was the posting requirements for key information.
 
Dario said they looked at about four other communities on how they used non-sensitive information on owner contacts. Chair Deborah Maynard motioned to have the information posted both inside and out to help with law enforcement if needed.
 
"I'm going to make a motion that we put that relevant information not only on the inside of the short-term rental but on the outside, so if the police need to respond, ambulance needs to respond, fire especially needs to respond, all that information is there, nobody has to go searching for it," she said. "If push comes to shove, and it's a matter of minutes, that's going to make a big, a big difference in the outcome of the incident."
 
The board then heard a presentation from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's community planner Andrew McKeever and Open Space and Recreation Committee Vice Chair Mark Hawthorne.
 
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