It's June and the season of fond farewells. We said our good-byes and gave our best wishes to the Class of 2014 in the gymnasium at Belchertown High School on Sunday. One hundred, ninety-five strong, the class made its mark on the audience gathered through inspiring speeches and singing the first class song composed by members of the class in my tenure as superintendent. On the Thursday night before graduation, the Seniors also gathered to receive a total of $74,850.00 in scholarship awards from a variety of organizations. Congratulations to all of you on achieving this milestone and best wishes on the next phase of your life's journey! Thank you to Mrs. Vigneux, BHS Principal, for a lovely ceremony, as always. Her hard work has created some very special memories for our newest alumni. The BHS undergraduates will receive their awards on Thursday, June 12th.
Jabish Brook Middle School hosted their annual awards ceremony last night and many students were recognized for their academic achievements. Congratulations to one and all! The eighth graders will be recognized for their work and celebrated for their move on to high school on Friday, June 20th in the BHS auditorium. Their recognition ceremony will be followed by an Aloha! Dance in the BHS cafeteria as they say good-bye to their middle school years and look forward to their high school years.
The rest of our students are wrapping up the year with many activities, saying farewell to their teachers, and moving on to new grades as well as, in some cases, new schools. Culminating activities are celebrating academic achievements as well as having some fun!
I will also be bidding you a fond farewell at the end of this month as I head on to other career ventures. As this will be my final blog post as Superintendent, I would like to say that it has been a privilege to serve the Belchertown Public Schools over the last five years. The citizens of Belchertown have a fabulous administrative team, incredibly talented teachers, and all of the staff are deeply committed to the children. The children are a delight to work with. They have brought joy to my heart each and every day.
Dr. Robert Gazda will be serving from July 1st to December 31st as Interim Superintendent as the School Committee searches for a full-time replacement. Dr. Gazda has already visited our schools, worked with our administrative team, and met with the School Committee in preparation for taking on the position in a few weeks.
I have been blessed to work in this district and the people in it will always have a special place in my heart. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to serve the children of Belchertown.
A fond farewell, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools
PS - If you have any questions or comments regarding this blog post, feel free to call my office at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.
