News&Notes from the Superintendent

Welcome to an abbreviated version of this week’s News & Notes as we had yesterday off in observance of Memorial Day. We are grateful to have had the day to honor and remember the heroes who courageously gave their lives in service for all of us.

“Celebrate endings – for they precede new beginnings.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We will celebrate the Class of 2024 as they graduate from Mt. Everett, Saturday morning at 10:00 am at Tanglewood! We are so excited for their new beginnings and can’t wait for them to come back home after they venture out on their new journeys beyond SBRSD and tell us all about it!

Please find below this week’s updates & events happening in our District ~

The District is in the process of starting to close down the FY24 Budget which ends June 30th, planning for all the summer work and projects being done these next few months, and setting up next year’s budget which begins on July 1, 2024! Of course, this also means that the end of year reporting commences too!

The state budget process is still going on and most likely won’t be completed until closer to July 1 -which has been the pattern for the last several years. Last Thursday, the Senate Amendments were released with some positives and some not so positives. All the amendments involving increasing the Regional School Transportation Reimbursement percentage were rejected, as was the proposed Study Commission on Minimum Aid School Districts. The Amendment on making a Chapter 70 Inflation Adjustment was withdrawn; however, the Establishment of a Task Force to review the Chapter 70 Required Contribution Formula was adopted. Also, the amendment to increase Rural School Aid from $15 million to $17.5 million was adopted! There is still more work to be done before the state budget is finalized, and I will keep the updates and opportunities for advocacy coming!

The Community Outreach & Advocacy Subcommittee and the District Administrative Team is working on the End of Year Newsletter. The goal is to have it on its way to all mailboxes by the last day of school. This has been a wonderful year with much to highlight as well as the exciting happenings over the summer we hope to share with our school community!

To review the documentation presented at the SBRSD hearing, please see the District website at https://www.sbrsd.org/documents/district/budgets/fy25-budget/567699 .

We had two fabulous student presentations at the School Committee Meeting last week!

Members of the Mt. Everett Rotary Interact Club did a report of all the service work they did this year as a group and shared what this time together meant to them personally and to the community.

The Innovation Pathway Students in the Engineering and Technology class presented their work and shared with the School Committee about building an electric go-cart and placing third in the 28th Annual Connecticut Technology and Engineering Educators Association Alternate Energy Race. They also talked about their experience in their first rocket launch competition - The American Rocketry Challenge.

Both events elicited many questions, comments, and tremendous interest by all!

The Superintendent Student Advisory Councils (SSAC) will have their last meeting of the school year in June. This will be a wonderful chance to get feedback on this pilot year and use it to improve the SSAC groups for next year! One thing that is certain is that these councils will continue on as the elevation of student voice and choice is so important!

Our next step is the Community Team Meeting set for June 11th at 5:30 pm. The plan is to engage our newly formed subcommittees and keep the initiatives moving ahead as the summer months approach!

We are close to having a final proposal for what our continued partnership with Transcend will look like as we move into next year! I am meeting with the Rural Team this week to make some adjustments and hope to finalize our plans for this next phase! More information is coming soon!

More information about this incredible community focused initiative is here at https://www.sbrsd.org/page/transcend-partnership.

On Tuesday, May 21st Mount Everett Innovation Pathway students Tatum Oates, Declan Piel, and Chet Schur competed for the first time and took home a third place win, in the 28th Annual Connecticut Technology and Engineering Educators Association (CTEEA) Alternative Energy Race. The team of students competed in the race as part of their unit of study on the Lunar Rover in their Aerospace Engineering class. Building an Electric Go-Kart was part of a class project where students studied the engineering of the original Lunar Rover.

“This has been a tremendous hands-on learning experience for these kids,” said Mount Everett Technology Director Chris Thompson. “To start with only parts, and build something that they can actually drive is pretty empowering for them. It gives them a better understanding of how Electric Vehicles work, which is an important skill to have as we look toward the future of the auto industry”

To build the EV Go-Kart students followed the requirements of the race which included building a 24-volt, rechargeable, 1 horsepower, chain driven Go-Kart. During the race the students completed 82 laps finishing 12 behind the championship team from Guilford, CT.

Thompson explained, “Tatum had 25 laps in heat four, the most of any driver of the day. The team unfortunately suffered a short circuit in the kill switch of their vehicle during heat 3 and had to pit and repair the vehicle before reentering the race, costing them valuable track time. At the end of the day, the entire team was grateful for the experience and felt that they learned valuable lessons.”

The CTEEA puts on several tech challenges throughout the school year where out-of-state teams can compete. The Alternative Energy Race challenges high schools to run their EV for one hour in 4 different heats of 15 minutes. In between heats, students can repair their kart if necessary, but they cannot charge their batteries.

“I think an electric Go-Kart project is a great addition to any high school engineering program,” said Schur. “It involves a lot of hands-on work that builds great skills for careers in various industries.”

Oates added, “This experience helped us learn that things don’t always go the way you want them to, but you can minimize those issues if you pay close attention to details.”

The team would like to thank the following for making this project possible – Dave’s Tire in Canaan, Pete’s Sales and Service in Sheffield, and Rick MacDowell and his crew of Ashley Falls for emergency welding services, and Paul O’Brien, former teacher and advisor to the Tour De Sol program at Mount Everett.

As the Mount Everett Class of 2024 finishes their high school career, faculty and staff share their words of wisdom. Video by Julia Devoti.

This time of year there are even more incredible things happening in our schools and we would like nothing more than to have you here to join us and celebrate alongside us!

This week’s events include lots of field trips: Grade 3 to Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Senior Class Trip, Food Science Field Trip, Grade 7 Trip to Groton, CT, Innovation Pathways trip to Berkshire Innovation Center, Grade 8 to BCC, Grade 2 to Sharon Audubon, and NMC to April Hill Greenagers!

Also, there is the Grade 3-5 Writing Workshop, Senior Class Awards Night on May 29th at 5:00 pm, Girl Scouts, Grades 3-4 Chorus Concert on May 30th at 6:30 pm, Graduation Rehearsal, and SES Spring Jamboree at The Barn in Egremont on Sunday, June 2nd - just to name a few!

The main event this week is the Graduation of the Class of 2024 at 10:00 am at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Congratulations to all – we are so very proud of you!

Take a look at our Early College course offerings below! Do you see a class that interests you? Talk with our Early College Coordinator, Lindy Marcel, and enroll now!

Interested in learning more about our Early College program? Visit our website!

Innovation Pathways offers opportunities for students to explore cutting-edge technology and in-demand fields! The program emphasizes real-world skills through career-focused experiential learning. Participants connect with industry mentors, go on field trips, get set up with internships in their areas of interest, and more!

Mount Everett currently offers two technical pathways in Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology.

EVENTS

• Wednesday, May 29th: Berkshire Innovation Center Field Trip - Students will take a tour of the facility -- technology, equipment, and research labs. The experience is meant to draw connections between courses at Mount Everett and potential career interests. Students will see advanced fabrication machines, training and operation applications using augmented reality and virtual reality, and automated systems used for designing and prototyping.

To learn more about our Innovation Career Pathways please use the links below! To express interest in learning more about Innovation Pathways please use our form - Expression of Interest Form

Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns as I welcome the opportunity to hear from you.

Best,

~ Dr. Beth Regulbuto, Superintendent of Schools