SHELBURNE — A group of Mohawk Trail Regional School District teachers is pondering the question of how to address hate speech in school environments. Led by an ad hoc committee of teachers and staff, the district welcomed educators, School Committee members and community members to the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center in June to start a dialogue about discrimination, hate speech, bias, and how to create school communities that foster openness and a sense of belonging. “The goal was not just to have one event, but to begin many more conversations,” said Boris Samarov, a...

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Turners Falls grads proud of new commencement choices
TURNERS FALLS — Joyce Phillips and Carol Gloski of the Gill-Montague Education Fund gave out about 50 cut pink roses to the same number of graduates who walked across the stage at Turners Falls High School’s 2019 commencement ceremony Friday. The evening, like the...
HEC Academy holds graduation ceremony at Smith College
Senator Jo Comerford (D) was the keynote commencement speaker at HEC Academy graduation services, held the morning of June 7th, 2019 at Smith College’s Sage Hall in Northampton. “Your education has been like a spark, and your job now is to turn that spark into a...
Mohawk Trail grads: On to something new and exciting
BUCKLAND — The graduating class of 63 students filed into the gym to “Pomp and Circumstance” at Mohawk Trail Regional School’s commencement Sunday. Co-Principal Lynn Dole initiated the ceremony, and Salutatorian Jackson Hicks gave a speech focusing on learning to...
NHS graduating class makes itself heard
NORTHAMPTON — From activism to academic achievements, the Northampton High School Class of 2019 has never sat quietly, speakers reflected Sunday afternoon. “When we felt unheard, we screamed louder,” class vice president Cailin Young said to the audience. “When we...
A cross-generational message Mahar graduates hear meaningful message from school’s namesake
ORANGE — It was at the Mahar Regional School graduation ceremony of 1962, when state Sen. Ralph C. Mahar, the school’s namesake, gave some words of advice to the graduating seniors: “May you always have faith in yourselves, whatever hardships may develop in the...
Memories to guide Smith Academy graduates into life’s next stage
HATFIELD — There are three main features of Smith Academy that Class of 2019 valedictorian Maia Seetal said she will always remember. The first, she said, were cheap $3 school lunches. The second, a water fountain in the school’s main lobby, which counted how many...
Franklin Tech graduates urged to ‘never settle’ at Friday ceremony
GREENFIELD — The crowd erupted for each one of Franklin County Technical School’s 122 graduates Friday as they headed to the stage to receive their diploma, marking the end of one chapter — and the start of a new one. Salutatorian Zackery Conway addressed the...
Editorial: Graduation celebration commences in Valley
One of our favorite graduations to cover each year is at Mount Tom Academy. The ceremony on the Holyoke Community College campus is always intimate because class sizes are small and graduates are excited and open about how overcoming struggles led them to this...
‘You’re braver than you believe’ Smith Voc sends 122 grads out into world
NORTHAMPTON — “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” These words, originally spoken by the wise and fictional bear Winnie the Pooh, were quoted by Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School valedictorian Alexandra West in her...
Franklin County Schools sign transportation joint purchase
As the 2018-19 school year winds to a close, five Franklin County School Districts, led by school business managers, have worked together for a new joint transportation bid for services within their districts, that will begin July 1st. The current contract expires...
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