Students at LHK take the next step

FALLS VILLAGE — The Lee H. Kellogg School eighth grade promotion exercise, held outside on the hill of the Falls Village campus, proved to be an emotional moment for Katelin Lopes. The class speaker and winner of the President’s Award for Educational Excellence was moved enough by the moment to let out a few sobs before collecting her breath and concluding her speech:

“Thank you, Kellogg. You are small, but you have a mighty place in my heart.”

Held on Wednesday, June 16, following a weather-related delay on June 15, the ceremony ushered the members of Lee H. Kellogg School’s Class of 2021 into the next chapter of their educational careers under unusual circumstances. 

The evening followed a strict distance-and-mask safety policy, making clear the lasting presence of the pandemic and the way it had affected the students in their final years at Lee H. Kellogg. 

But the five students in attendance (two members of the eighth grade class were unable to attend), the faculty and Principal Alexandra Juch instead chose speak on anything but their setbacks or current events. 

They remained positive, looked toward the future and focused on the core values one would expect in a promotion exercise in any normal year: personal growth, the pursuit of academic goals and extracurricular achievements, and, of course, in a town as small as Falls Village, ways to enrich and give back to the community.

 

Lee H. Kellogg School

Class of 2021

Austin Donald Bachman, Bernice Haley Boyden, Blaine Robert Curtis, Tessa Jane Dekker, Katelin Jeanette Lopes, Demetri Joseph Ouellette, Tristan Ernest Oyanadel

 

2021 Awards

President’s Award for Educational Excellence: Katelin Lopes; Tessa Dekker

President’s Award for Educational Achievement: Austin Bachman

Peter G Lawson Citizenship Award: Tessa Dekker

Tessa Dekker and Katelin Lopes were the dual winners of the President’s Award for Educational Excellence at the Lee H. Kellogg eighth grade promotion exercise on Wednesday, June 16. Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Members of the eighth grade who participated in Lee H. Kellogg’s promotion exercise included, left to right, Demetri Ouellette, Austin Bachman, Katelin Lopes, Tessa Dekker and Bernice “Birdie” Boyden. Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Tessa Dekker and Katelin Lopes were the dual winners of the President’s Award for Educational Excellence at the Lee H. Kellogg eighth grade promotion exercise on Wednesday, June 16. Photo by Alexander Wilburn
Related Articles Around the Web

Latest News

Troutbeck to host ‘rewilding’ talk with environmental leaders

Troutbeck to host ‘rewilding’ talk with environmental leaders

AMENIA — The concept of “rewilding” the environment will be the focus of a discussion at Troutbeck in Amenia on Saturday, Nov. 8, featuring environmentalist Ben Goldsmith and Dr. Joshua R. Ginsberg, president of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. The program begins at 3 p.m.

Admission is free, but registration is requested. Troutbeck encourages attendees to arrive early for lunch or stay afterward for dinner in its dining room.

Keep ReadingShow less
environment and conservation

Route 44 to be reduced to one lane of traffic for water leak repair in Millerton

Route 44 to be reduced to one lane of traffic for water leak repair in Millerton

Water from the damaged pipe has bubbled up to the surface of Route 44 near Park Avenue in Millerton on Monday, Nov. 3. Water department crews are expected to repair the leak between 5 p.m. and midnight.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — Drivers passing through Millerton should expect delays on Main Street/Route 44 around Park Avenue as a Water Department crew works to repair a leak under the westbound lane.

Interim Superintendent of Public Works Joe Olenik said the work will begin around 5 p.m. tonight, Nov. 3, and he expects repairs to be finished by midnight. “There’s concrete under that, so it’s going to take a little longer,” Olenik said, pointing to a picture of the puddle that has accumulated on Route 44 because of the leak. “It’s not just blacktop and dirt.”

Keep ReadingShow less
traffic

Demolition of Millerton’s fire-damaged highway and water building begins

Demolition of Millerton’s fire-damaged highway and water building begins

Demolition crews from BELFOR Property Restoration began demolishing the fire-ravaged Water and Highway Department building in the Village of Millerton on Monday, Oct. 27

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — The long-awaited demolition of Millerton’s Highway and Water Department building began Monday, Oct. 27, marking a major milestone in the village’s recovery from the February fire that destroyed the facility.

The demolition, handled by BELFOR Property Restoration, is now underway. Eddie Collins Park, located next to the site, remains open to the public, though visitors are asked to steer clear of the demolition area.

Keep ReadingShow less
water department

Keane Stud developers present environmental impact analysis

Keane Stud developers present environmental impact analysis

A preliminary draft of an impact analysis study for a Keane Stud subdivision application drew residents to a Planning Board meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Photo by leila Hawken

AMENIA — Residents had the opportunity on Wednesday, Oct. 22, to weigh in on the proposed Keane Stud subdivision, a plan that would divide roughly 605 acres into 27 mostly residential lots, during a meeting of the Amenia Planning Board.

The session was part of the State Environmental Quality Review Act process, following the board’s decision that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement should be prepared to evaluate potential environmental and scenic impacts from the project.

Keep ReadingShow less
planning board