Eighth graders say farewell to KCS

Eighth graders say farewell to KCS

Andrew See and Benjamin Baird head to high school.

Alexander Wilburn

KENT — Kent Center School held its 96th commence exercise as 24 eighth-grade students graduated in a ceremony held outside in the school’s courtyard on Tuesday, June 11.

Principal Michelle Mott congratulated the Class of 2024, noting their “hard work, dedication and perseverance.” She continued that their “achievements thus far are a testament to your resilience and determination to succeed. Today marks a new beginning and an exciting new chapter in your lives. High school will bring your challenges and opportunities, and will shape your future in ways you cannot yet imagine.”

Class essayist Katherine Joseph Farewell reminisced on the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic had on their academic careers at Kent Center School. “We all know how much everyone struggled during lockdown and how hard it was to try and teach 4th graders over a Zoom call. Even though our parents probably had it the worst with our kids at home, they were able to keep us together and make sure we stayed connected to the Wi-Fi. Our parents have always been there to give us love and motivation in the universe.”

Farewell also looked ahead to the future, noting that the school had prepared the class well for what was to come as they embarked on a new experience in the fall. “High school will bring us many opportunities, and with those opportunities will come challenges. There will be times when you might feel overwhelmed or stressed by a new loss, but then you can take the time to look back and see how far you’ve come. You can look back and see how the obstacles we’ve overcome and all the problems we’ve solved can be motivation to keep us going. And when all else fails, there is always Google. As we close this chapter in our lives and begin a new one, we can all take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and how much we have left to go.”

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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