Above, salutatorian Tia Kareh tells the class to live in the moment. Below, valedictorian Kathryn Scholz says the class has shown it can adapt to anything. See more photos here.
CHESHIRE. Mass. — Salutatorian Tia Kareh asked the 50 members of the class of 2023 on Friday to not rush out of the Hoosac Valley High School gymnasium at the end of the graduation ceremony but to take a second to dwell in the moment.
"All those years ago we began as a collective … now, we have developed our own personalities, built our values, grown into the individuals we are today, and fight over who's taking shotgun in car rides," she said. "We grew up cherishing our time and making memories that will last a lifetime. What was once one month left until graduation, turned into one week, one minute. But we never realized how much we would want another minute."
She recalled collective memories: important bonds with teachers who were friends, mentors, and providers of snacks when "bored and hungry in third-period study hall."
She noted that the class of 2023 is the first to graduate without any COVID-19 restrictions since 2020 and relished in the return to normalcy at the back end of their high school career. She did ask the class to not dwell in this dark spot that plagued the early part of their high school experience.
"We can not control what we lost or what we know we deserved to get, what we were told we would receive," she said. "... Today is not about looking back on the bad, but forward on the good … But one thing I want you all to take away from this is that we spend too much time wanting something to end, that we never appreciate it in the moment. So stay with me here, and be in this moment."
She closed by saying the class of 2023 must have faith and they must have hope. She asked her classmates to believe in themselves as they left campus one final time.
"We must have faith in the future, and most importantly faith in ourselves. Pursue what you want, what you deserve with passion and purpose because each of you sitting behind me, or in this room should never settle for mediocrity, but instead strive for more, because the sky's the limit," she said. "No matter what you choose or where to go, chase your dreams, and make a difference in the world. We are the change that we want to see."
Valedictorian Kathryn Sholz said the class of 2023 has learned how to adapt by navigating a portion of their high school careers through a pandemic.
"We persevered through the hard days and enjoyed the easy ones, but our path was not clear yet, as we got to start the summer of our freshman year three months early due to COVID," she said. "We took the road less traveled as we navigated zoom classes in our pajamas, hybrid classes with our specific cohorts, and eventually by the end of our sophomore year, full in person classes. So again we adapted and eventually succeeded, but not without the constant support of our teachers who were adapting right along with us.
She said upon returning to the actual classroom they were able to rediscover many school activities that they have taken for granted over the years. From the regular school musicals to sporting events, concerts, clubs and activities like the yearly bonfire.
Sholz added that as the class of 2023 moves out into the world, they can look back at their time at Hoosac Valley and know they are ready for anything.
"So as we chase our next adventure, I encourage us to remember all that we have adapted to over our high school career, every challenge we have overcome and persevered through," she said. "We know it is possible. Why? Because we have accomplished it again and again in the past. We have shown how we can adapt to anything in our way."
Principal Colleen Byrd, Superintendent Aaron Dean and School Committee Chairwoman Bethany DeMarco-Gaylord presented the graduates with their diplomas.
The high school band played the processional, recessional, as well as the national anthem. Before closing the ceremony, the band played the Hoosac Valley High School song.
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Greylock 14U Softball Team Tops Dalton
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The Greylock Thunder 14-and-under travel softball team Saturday ended pool play in its Summer Storm Tournament just like it began pool play on Friday: with a win over Berkshire County rival.
Genevieve Lagess went 2-for-2 with a pair of triples and scored three times, and the Thunder overcame an early deficit to take a 13-9 win over Dalton in the pool play finale on Francis Millard Field.
On Sunday morning, the eight teams in the tournament will be seeded for the 10 a.m. quarter-final round.
The four survivors move on to a pair of 1:30 p.m. semi-finals with the title game scheduled for about 3:30 p.m.
The Thunder, which beat the Berkshire Force on Friday night, started its Saturday with an 8-3 loss to the South Troy Dodgers.
Then it started its third game of the tournament with a 3-0 lead after Lagess tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the first and Marlee Arnhold and Sadie Stuebner scored in the second.
But Dalton battled back in the bottom of the second.
More than three dozen members of the Kolis family stretching across at least three generations on Saturday celebrated 100 years in the home their dziadziu and babci built. click for more
Gratitude was the theme of Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's 38th annual meeting on Friday morning but there was a heavy dose of collaboration as well. click for more
Partners CJ Garner and Marcus Lyon hope locals and visitors alike will feel at home here, where their take on "modern American comfort food" has already found a solid base of regulars in its five weeks of operation. click for more
Firefighters were working in difficult conditions — hot muggy weather in the 90s and a torrential rainstorm that turned Commercial Street into a river right after the call came in.
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he town will have to vote on a Proposition 2 1/2 override to raise taxes in order to fund its portion of the budget for the Hoosac Valley Regional School District.
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