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Millbrook schools hold Flag Day tribute

MILLBROOK — Students from the Millbrook Central
School District’s Alden Place Elementary School and Elm Drive Elementary School joined together to honor Flag Day on Friday, June 18. New York recognizes the second Sunday of June as Flag Day, which this year was Sunday, June 12. 

On the 18th, Elm Drive Principal Michael Setero introduced Army Reserve veteran Doris Zerafa, who served for more than 20 years and now works in the cafeteria at Elm Drive. 

Zerafa, with the help of two volunteer Scouts from Millbrook High School, explained how to properly take care of the American flag to the students. She also spoke about the history of the flag and what it means to our country.  

The veteran also explained that when a flag is taken out of service it is folded 13 times, with each fold representing an American ideal or tribute. The students were surprised to learn that the flag is then burned and the ashes are buried.

— Judith O’Hara Balfe

Doris Zerafa served in the United States Army Reserves for more than 20 years and now works in the Elm Drive Elementary School cafeteria in Millbrook. Pictured left is Zerafa with Boy Scout Billy Tompkins and Girl Scout Madeleine Marchant, both students at Millbrook High School, as they prepared to retire the American Flag in honor of Flag Day. Photo by Judith O'Hara Balfe

Students from both Elm Drive and Alden Place Elementary Schools sang the National Anthem. Photo by Judith O'Hara Balfe

Doris Zerafa served in the United States Army Reserves for more than 20 years and now works in the Elm Drive Elementary School cafeteria in Millbrook. Pictured left is Zerafa with Boy Scout Billy Tompkins and Girl Scout Madeleine Marchant, both students at Millbrook High School, as they prepared to retire the American Flag in honor of Flag Day. Photo by Judith O'Hara Balfe
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A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

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Left to right: Hannah Wheeler, Matin Malikzada and Yonah Sadeh.

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On Monday, Oct. 26, a group of students, teachers and local residents gathered at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville for a screening of the new short documentary “Matin.” The film tells the story of Matin Malikzada, a seventh-generation Afghani potter making a new life in New Milford, Connecticut. The film was made by local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, creator of the Video Wall at the David M. Hunt Library, and Berkshires-based potter Hannah Wheeler, who were both present for the screening, along with Malikzada himself.

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Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

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Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, conducts the audience at a performance.

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For Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, music from centuries past is anything but a relic. It is a living, breathing art form, full of drama, emotional complexity and, occasionally, surprises. As the regional choral and period-instrument ensemble launches its 23rd season, Gevert is once again bringing forgotten masterpieces into the present.

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For 35 years, cellist Yehuda Hanani has been inviting audiences to experience classical music in unexpected ways. As founder and artistic director of Close Encounters with Music, Hanani has built a concert series that goes beyond the music itself, exploring connections to literature, history, politics and the human experience.

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