Congratulations to the Class of 2026! Sunday’s graduation marked the pinnacle of many years of hard work, growth, and perseverance for the senior class. On June 16th, the eighth graders will follow suit. The entire BHRSD community is incredibly proud of you all and look forward to what’s next in your lives and careers. With just five days of classes remaining, I encourage everyone to reflect on the deep learning, meaningful relationships, and wonderful memories that have shaped the past year. Thanks to each of you for helping make our schools such vibrant and supportive places to learn and grow. Wishing everyone a strong finish to the year and a wonderful summer ahead.

The District’s own Miles DeBruicker, Romiah Morales, and Lou Stokes were among those behind last month’s five-course Culinary Arts Apprenticeship Dinner at Barrington Hall—the culmination of an eight-week program aimed at giving students hands-on culinary experience in a professional kitchen. The annual event, hosted by Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP), celebrates the accomplishments of local youth while showing them a path forward. “[Our apprenticeship program] is an opportunity for young people to explore career pathways, gain skills, and connect with mentors who become important possibility models,” said RSYP Executive Director Ananda Timpane who reminds students that “doing something you love, and finding success, can happen right here in the Berkshires.” 

Thanks to the remarkable generosity of our community, more than $700,000 in local scholarship funding was awarded to graduating seniors through contributions from community organizations, businesses, families, and endowed scholarship funds. Kestrel Duke received the Class Artist Award; Andrea Paul earned the Stone House Properties LLC Pathways to a Trade Scholarship; Oliver Curtis and Steven Woodard were presented Hope Fire Company Scholarships in Memory of Francis Larkin, Ike Mullany & Rod Mead; and Mya Dupont and Quest Kent-Limon received the Housatonic Hose Company Francis Barry Memorial Scholarship. For the complete list of this year’s award recipients, please refer to this piece in The Berkshire Eagle.

Thanks to a Better Together grant from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, eighth-grade students concluded the school year with a meaningful exploration of the life and legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois. Through a walking tour of significant sites in Great Barrington, students connected classroom learning to local history while examining Du Bois’ scholarship and activism. The experience served as a springboard for a photo essay project in which students identified issues important to their own communities and applied Du Bois’ research-based approach to social change. Download the Great Barrington Walking Tour app and continue learning this summer.

Growing up, Grace Lin and her two sisters were the only Asian girls in their elementary school. On Friday, the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator visited Muddy Brook for a lively discussion of her books and the inspiration behind them. Fourth graders who read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon as part of the school’s literacy curriculum pilot connected with the Chinese folklore woven throughout the fantasy-adventure novel. A champion of Asian American representation in children’s literature, Lin described storytelling as a bridge between culture, identity, and literacy. Her visit concluded with a Readers’ Theatre starring seven student volunteers who helped tell the story of chef Shangu and his famous stir-fried noodles—a dish Chinese immigrants carried to America and shared in their restaurants as chow mein. 

Ten budding musicians in grades 2–4 recently participated in a four-session Ukulele and Song Workshop led by local musician Robin O'Herin. Funded through a grant awarded to Berkshire Music School, the program introduced students to the fundamentals of playing the ukulele while fostering creativity, confidence, and self-expression—hallmarks of the Community Learning & Enrichment Opportunities (CLEO) after-school program. "The more hands-on the experience, the better the outcomes and the more happiness we saw," said Molly Murray, CLEO's Muddy Brook Elementary Site Coordinator. Stay tuned for more arts-based programming, aimed at connecting students with enriching community-based learning opportunities, come fall.

Students at Du Bois were all smiles during recess on Tuesday, June 2 thanks to a sweet treat from the PTO: Cake with Jake, an hour-long celebration of Principal Jake McCandless who will retire at the end of the school year. Dr. McCandless evoked Mister Rogers who famously described heaven as the connections we make in the course of a life. Students cheered when he told them, “you all have been heavenly to get to know and to work with.” Perhaps a single anonymous middle-schooler summed up the current principal and former superintendent’s 33 years of public-school education when they wrote: Thank you for keeping our school a safe and inclusive environment.