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St. Mary's Team Takes 24th Annual Berkshire Robotics Challenge

Trophies for this year's Robotic Challenge.

DALTON, Mass. — The 24th annual Berkshire Robotics Challenge, hosted and sponsored by the Berkshire Innovation Center, was held Saturday, March 15, at Wahconah Regional High School.  

"This is such a great after school activity for them to get involved in. So they can learn all about science and technology and math, but also have that, you know, learn to collaborate with teammates and work with friends and problem solve as a team, said said Berkshire Innovation Center executive director, Ben Sosne.

"So all those great skills that you learn team activities, plus the science and technology stuff that you learn here."

This year's challenge, "Submerged," featured a field of 27 teams with more than 200 students from all over Berkshire County, using programmable robots to complete a variety of missions. The Submerged theme shines a spotlight on the ocean, which is home to some of the planet's most complex ecosystems and encourages students to explore the layers of the ocean and bring what they learn to the surface.

The teams competed in three rounds with the top eight point-scorers advancing to the Great Eight Playoff. After the great eight, two teams were left, the Lee RoboWildcats and the SMS Coding Crusaders of St. Mary's School in Lee.

They faced off in the finals with the SMS Coding Crusaders hitting first place with a total of 235 points.

Some of the teammates expressed how happy they were with their hard work.

"My year has been really good with this, I've had some struggles but as I went along I found out how to pick them up with some friends.” said eighth-grader Jasmine Filek. 

"It's my last year at St. Mary's right now and I was sincerely hoping that we would get into the great eight but to finish on top and it's my last year too it's just amazing because I get to go out with something I can be proud of," said eighth-grader Sophia Springstead.

We just had a group of kids that were ready to work and support each other and did what was best for the team,” said coach Christine Barry.

The awards ceremony followed the competition:

Best Research Project: Ro-BART-ics

Against All Odds Awards: WES Purple Owls

Comeback Kids: Engenuity 2B (Lenox)

Rookie Team of the Year: Roboty McRobotFace

Best Programming: Lee RoboWildcats

Most Innovative Design: Richmond Robotics

Team Spirit: Crosby Crew

Sportsmanship Award: Pine Cobble PSC Pringles

First Runner Up: Lee RoboWildcats

Challenge Champion: SMS Code Crusaders

Dalton Select Board Candidates Advocate for Change

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:18AM / Friday, April 25, 2025

iBerkshires bureau chief Brittany Polito moderates Thursday's forum.

DALTON, Mass. — The four Select Board candidates answered questions curated by resident submissions in front of nearly 60 attendees on Thursday night. 

 

All of the candidates have served on town committees or are incumbents. Both Marc Strout and Robert Collins are seeking re-election to the Select Board. William Drosehn is the chair of the Finance Committee and the Traffic Commission, and Antonio Pagliarulo serves on the Green Committee and the Public Safety Facility Advisory Committee. 

 

The 90-minute event highlighted topics such as the search for a new town manager, fiscal responsibility, ethical governance, transparency, and community engagement. 

 

The forum at the Senior Center was hosted by iBerkshires.com, with Pittsfield Bureau Chief Brittany Polito moderating, and in partnership with Dalton Community Television.

 

In their opening statements, several candidates highlighted points mentioned in their biographies from our previous article.

 

However, Strout also took a moment to condemn "dirty politics" he said has been spreading around town and on social media, causing upset in his family, and meant to intimidate him. 

 

"It's been a long four days for me and my family. I almost didn't come tonight, but I refuse to bend the knee to dirty politics," he said.