A co-ed swim team, as a winter varsity sport, was proposed by parents at the ORR School Committee meeting of the Old Rochester Regional District, which was held on Wednesday, June 13 at the Tri-Town Conference Room at the ORR facility.
Citing statistics around swimming as a varsity sport, parent representatives Peter Johnson and Chrissi Gelson spoke to the committee and said that swimming is becoming more popular and that parents have been debating about sending their children to Bishop Stang versus ORR. Bishop Stang has a successful varsity swim team.
Athletic Director Bill Tilden spoke and said that he was hesitant at first on the proposal, but after hearing the statistics and enthusiasm, he endorsed it.
“Swimming is the tenth most popular sport in high schools across the United States,” said Johnson. “Between the Cape Cod Swim Club and the YMCA’s in New Bedford and Wareham, we have over 80 swimmers in grades 3 through 8.”
Superintendent White commented that the district budget is tight and that any new addition would have to be self-supported for an extended time before the district could budget monies.
The parent group estimated that a full winter season would cost around $15,000. The group hopes to start fundraising and have a one half year, the latter half of 2012 with a cost of approximately $7,500. The group plans to have a per child use fee of around $225 per child, guaranteeing a total of $6750 to get the ball rolling on creating a swim team at ORR. The cost would include meet, practice time, equipment, hiring a coach and bus transportation. The committee approved the parent group’s effort to fundraise and begin the effort. The team would practice at the Wareham YMCA.
School Committee Chair Peter Bangs presented certificates and library donations to three retiring teachers including Judith Johnson who is retiring after 25 years teaching English, Teresa Dall, retiring after 28 years teaching English and Ann Silva, retiring after 34 years. Silva was not at the meeting because she was chaperoning the Survival trip for the ORR students.
Superintendent White discussed School Choice, where out of district students can enroll at ORR. White gave statistics stating that in grade 7, there were 12 slots available and 27 applicants, with 15 remaining on the waiting list. In grade 8, 5 slots were available while 14 applied and 9 remain on the wait list. In grade 9 through 12, there were 13 slots available and 53 applicants applied and 40 remain on the wait list.
“This is a popular offering for those who live nearby the Tri-Town,” said White. “This is one of the revenue sources we have to help us balance our budget.”
In other committee news:
- August 28, 2012 will be the first day of school for the 2012-2013 school year.
- The 2012 fall school play at the senior high will be Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare.
- A new Junior High School daily schedule will be implemented in the fall. Core classes will last 53 minutes, resulting in an extra 47 hours of classroom instruction time per school year. All 7th and 8th graders will enjoy lunch together during the same period.
- Homerooms will be reduced to 15 students, as opposed to 30 students to create more personal atmosphere.
- Kaitlyn Cummings is the new student representative on the ORR School Committee.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry