image description
Lenox middle school students use the Lego SPIKE Prime kits purchased with grant funds courtesy of General Dynamics and the United States Navy. (Photo Courtesy Lenox Public Schools).

Lenox Robotics Program Awarded Grant from GD, Navy

Print Story | Email Story
LENOX — Lenox Memorial High School Principal Jeremiah Ames shared that the Lenox Memorial Middle High School Robotics program recently received an $8,000 grant from General Dynamics and the United States Navy to purchase new equipment.
 
The $8,000 in funding was used to purchase 20 new Lego SPIKE Prime kits, which are now being utilized by Lenox students.
 
Two of the kits were donated by Robotics Teacher Matthew Coté to the newly reestablished Middle School Robotics Club. The last time LMMHS had a middle school robotics team was in 2012.
 
Coté has been using Lego Robotics since 2006 in his Grade 8 curriculum. Recently, Lego decided to phase out its old line and replace it with its new line, Lego SPIKE Prime.
 
Coté decided to apply for grant funding to obtain this new equipment through a grant program courtesy of General Dynamics and the United States Navy. The District was notified that it had received a $8,000 grant in early December.
 
The new Lego SPIKE Prime kits will be used in Berkshire Robotics Challenge in March. The Middle School Robotics Club will practice for the annual competition using the donated kits.
 
Coté is acting as co-advisor to the club along with SPED Paraprofessional Amanda Terzigni, and is also the lead mentor for the High School Robotics Club.
 
"I cannot thank General Dynamics and the Navy enough for this grant funding," said Coté.

Tags: grants,   robotics,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Prima Music Foundation To Perform at Ventfort Hall

LENOX, Mass. — Prima Music Foundation returns to the Berkshires with a series of summer concerts at Ventfort Hall.

The first concert in the series will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 4 pm with. There will be a cash bar serving beer and wine and will open one half hour before the concert.

Join Artistic Director, Anastasia Dedik, and the Prima Music Foundation who will present Piano Extravaganza with piano works by J.S. Bach, F. Chopin, C. Chaminade and S. Prokofiev performed by pianists Victor Rosenbaum, Anastasia Dedik, Visha Nguyen and Anna Shelest.

According to a press release:

Anastasia Dedik, born in St. Petersburg into a family of distinguished musicians, holds degrees and honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, and The Juilliard School. Anastasia’s transformative experience at Oberlin as a female Russian immigrant inspired the creation of the Prima Music Foundation—a non-profit dedicated to nurturing and showcasing talented pianists. Through PMF, Anastasia offers performance opportunities and educational guidance, including master classes with esteemed instructors. The annual Rising Stars Piano Camp in Berkshires is held at BMS from June 22 to the 29. The Camp provides an exceptional learning environment, fostering the growth of young artists. As the Artistic Director of the Summer Concert Series at Ventfort Hall in Lenox, Anastasia showcases both established and emerging talents, with ticket proceeds supporting scholarships for the Camp. PMF's primary focus is providing scholarships to those in need.
 
American pianist Victor Rosenbaum has concertized widely as soloist and chamber music performer in the United States, Europe, Israel, Brazil, Russia, and Asia in such prestigious halls as Tully Hall in New York and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. Recently retired from the faculty of New England Conservatory in Boston where he taught for more than fifty years, he chaired its piano department for more than a decade, and was also Chair of Chamber Music.
 
Nguyen Visha was born in Vietnam and holds a PhD from Moscow State Conservatory. She is the laureate of international competitions, including 1st prize at the Rubinstein international competition (Paris, 2008), 1st prize at the Russian Scriabin Conservatory (Paris, 2009), 2nd prize at the International Olympic of Art (Moscow, 2011) and 3rd prize at Scriabin’s International Competition in Moscow (2012). Due to the war in Ukraine she had to move to the USA with her husband, a renowned Russian pianist and teacher and their young child. She continues her musical path in New York City, teaching piano to kids, and at the same time, playing concerts with unique programs. She is the only Vietnamese pianist who played and recorded all 48 Preludes and Fugues, all 6 partitas and Goldberg-variations by Bach.
 
Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch,” Anna Shelest has appeared at numerous venues including Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Wiener Konzerhaus in Vienna, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Anna’s ongoing project, Donna Voce, started in 2019 as a series of recordings surveying music for solo piano and piano and orchestra by women composers from the last three centuries. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Anna makes her home in New York City with her husband and two sons. To learn more, please visit www.AnnaShelest.com


Tickets are $45 general admission. Reservations are required as seats are limited. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call  (413) 637-3206. Note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

 

View Full Story

More Lenox Stories