Region One schools honor student achievements with annual awards

The Region One schools have announced the names of students who have earned the annual Superintendent Award. 

Region One and other districts in the state recognize one student at each elementary school and two at the high school, honor them with a certificate of excellence and (in normal times) celebrate their achievement at a dinner; this year there will not be a dinner, of course. 

The awards are based on community service and service to others; academic excellence (relative to the student’s ability); and leadership service to the school community. 

In Region One, the elementary-age students are in eighth grade and the high school students are seniors.

The seven schools in the Region One School District are North Canaan Elementary School; the Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village; Cornwall Consolidated School; Salisbury Central School; Kent Center School; Sharon Center School; and Housatonic Valley Regional High School. 

Pamela Vogel is the superintendent for all the Region One schools but has resigned and will leave in June. Assistant Superintendent Lisa Carter will step up as interim superintendent during the search process, which is expected to take a year.

Normally, our staff takes photos of all the students who have been chosen. This year, that is not possible so we asked the families to take a portrait and send it to us. 

The descriptions of the students were sent to us by the superintendent’s office. 

When we requested the photos, we also asked the students to say a few words about anything they might have liked about distance learning. (We did not receive updates from the two high school students.)

— Cynthia Hochswender

 

Hazel Palmer

Town of Canaan (Falls Village)

Lee H. Kellogg School

Hazel Palmer is a kind and respectful eighth-grade student who exemplifies the spirit of community service, teamwork and school spirit.

Whether distributing music at the town’s tree lighting event, serving milk to students or playing a solo in the holiday concert, Hazel gives her all to the community.

A committed member of Student Council, Hazel spearheads many school activities and demonstrates teamwork and sportsmanship in three middle school sports. Hazel Palmer consistently gives 100%.

In response to our question, Hazel’s mother said, “Hazel has been drawing a lot and improving her shading skills, etc. and she has started writing a fictional story.”

 

Harold “Austin” Hoadley

Kent Center School

Austin Hoadley radiates a quality of character that is of the utmost excellence. He is active in our school community and is well-respected by peers and adults alike for his dedication to his studies and his leadership and character.  

A High Honor student, Austin also enjoys playing on our school sports teams, where he continues to be a natural leader.   He is an exceptionally positive role model for younger students, and displays a kind and pleasant demeanor at all times. He always puts forth maximum effort, in every endeavor.  

Of distance learning, Austin said, “I’ve liked spending more time outside playing sports and learning things about nature that I couldn’t from a textbook. With everyone home, spending time with my family has also been fun.”

 

Dana Saccardi

Cornwall Consolidated School

Dana Sacccardi has attended Cornwall Consolidated School since kindergarten. She is known and respected by all the staff at the school. 

Dana likes the small school community; and even though her class has changed over the years, she has made many close and lasting friends. 

Dana juggles a very busy extra-curricular schedule while making sure that all class assignments are completed well and on time. 

Dana loves sports. She has played soccer, basketball and softball for both the school and Park and Recreation teams. A very well-rounded young lady, Dana also is a member of the band and chorus as well as having a role in every middle school play. 

Dana is a role model and leader at Cornwall Consolidated School.

On the pros and cons of distance learning, Dana said she misses her friends and her graduation year but she says she has made the best of it by creating her own school schedule, taking long hikes, playing games and going riding on her horses. She is also learning how to  code using Arduino from her brother, Brian. She appreciates all the hard work her teachers have done to make distance learning fun.

 

Jorie Welshans

Sharon Center School

Jorie Welshans is an eighth-grade student at Sharon Center School. She can be found onstage whenever opportunities arise, at school or elsewhere. 

Her stage credits include performances with Sharon Center School, the Forman School in Litchfield and the Grumbling Gryphons in Cornwall. 

She is a three-season athlete. 

Jorie is a dedicated member of her church, the UCC; and the Student Council. 

One of her many service projects provided support for the education of girls in the Middle East. 

Jorie also supports children locally at Sharon Day Care, Camp Cochipianee in Goshen and as a mentor at school.

She said that “distance learning has been difficult for me because I miss my teachers and my friends and fellow Sharon-ites. However, quarantine has allowed me to be more creative and express my creativity, and it has allowed me to have more family time

“I will miss Sharon and Region One, but these past 10 years have been some of the most fun and educational of my life. Thank you Region One for supplying me with what I needed for high school.”

 

Kayla Jacquier

North Canaan Elementary School

Kayla Jacquier is an eighth-grade student at North Canaan Elementary School. When she is not at school collaborating with her peers on Student Council, Kayla is dedicated to her hobbies. 

Generous with her time, she enjoys photography and is starting her own baking business, called Kay’s Creations. 

This exemplary student is thorough with her academics and caring for the horses on her family’s dairy farm. 

Kayla is persistent, listens with empathy, thinks flexibly, strives for accuracy, and remains open to continuous learning.

To our question about distance learning, Kayla responded that if she had to choose a positive part about this quarantine, it is “getting to spend more time with family.” 

In terms of distance learning, she says, “All of the teachers have been very flexible and helpful.”

 

Yaritza Vega

Salisbury Central School

Yaritza Vega, an eighth-grader at Salisbury Central School, leads by example. She treats everyone with kindness and respect. She excels in academics through hard work. Yaritza plays the trumpet in the school concert band and the regional band. She has played soccer for the school team for two seasons. She currently serves as the secretary of the Student Leadership Committee. 

In her spare time she likes to paint, read and listen to music.  

Of her time in quarantine, she said, “I miss being in a classroom with my peers and teachers, but there are also activities I enjoy doing. I get to spend more time with my dog, Honey, and take her on walks. I baked a small cake with my mom, which is something I haven’t done before. 

“I would like to use this time to try new things at home and I would like to look on the bright side and stay optimistic all throughout quarantine.”

 

Lindsey Clark

Housatonic Valley Regional High School

Lindsey has worked as an intern for the Millerton-based publication  Main Street magazine, and has written columns on the history of Millbrook, the Millerton firehouse, and a more personal article about navigating the college process. She enjoys Spanish, history and English, and her tendency is to dive into the particulars of a subject. 

Lindsey is fascinated by how words can portray ideas and bring together disparate groups of people. When she is not writing, Lindsey is involved with Student Government association, Class Council, volleyball and tennis.  

 

Valerie Lenis

Housatonic Valley Regional High School

Valerie sees journalism as a way to unify not only “all the news that’s fit to print,” but her community as well. She has worked to consolidate the bilingual community through her writing for ABC Latino magazine in Poughkeepsie. The daughter of a Columbian mother, she is fluent in both Spanish and English, which she uses in her volunteerism with Women’s Support Services in Sharon. Valerie is considering urban college settings in the Northeast, where she also seeks to integrate her interest in science and psychology.

Latest News

Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less