[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E23]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN CELEBRATION OF THE MICHAEL E. SMITH MIDDLE SCHOOL'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 17, 2012

  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the 50th 
anniversary of the building of the Michael E. Smith Middle School in 
South Hadley, Massachusetts. The school was built in 1961 and was 
dedicated on January 14, 1962.
  The school is celebrating this milestone with an assembly on the 
morning of January 18, 2012. The assembly will feature several 
important faculty members who will be speaking, including Principal 
Erica Faginski-Stark and Walter Morse, a teacher who has worked at the 
school for 40 years. In addition, Superintendent Sayer, Former 
Principal Noel, and State Representative John Scibak will all be 
speaking at this historic event.
  The Michael E. Smith Middle School is a public school in the South 
Hadley school district of Massachusetts. The school has gone by several 
names, beginning with the South Hadley Intermediate School upon the 
building's completion in 1962. In 1978, the school's name was changed 
to the South Hadley Middle School. With this name change came two new 
grade levels. The fifth and sixth grades were added to the seventh and 
eighth grades to double the school's classes. In 2002, the school 
changed its name for the final time, commemorating the late Michael E. 
Smith, a past superintendent.
  For the last decade, the school has undergone several renovations, 
including the completion of a new building and an extensive remodeling 
of the interior. Currently, 700 students in the South Hadley School 
District are educated at the Michael E. Smith Middle School, with a 
faculty and staff of 104. Ms. Erica Faginski-Stark is the current 
Principal of the school, and the Assistant Principals are Mr. Vincent 
Napoli and Ms. Brett Costello.
  I wish to congratulate the Michael E. Smith Middle School on 
providing 50 years of quality education. I wish them good luck in 
educating the children of South Hadley for years to come.

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