Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Scholarships

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For over 60 years, The Mattapoisett Woman’s Club has been striving to help young people in their educational pursuits. This year The Club is happy to award two scholarships to students from Old Rochester Regional High School. The students are Julia Cabral and Rosemary Loer. Both students possess excellent academic achievements, have done multiple community service tasks, and have participated in several extracurricular activities.

            Cabral is the daughter of Deborah and Dani Cabral. She will attend the University of Connecticut and study in the Pharm D Program to become a licensed pharmacist. Loer is the daughter of Martha and Robert Loer. She will attend Tufts University and major in Mechanical Engineering, applying in her junior year to a combined degree program.

            The Mattapoisett Woman’s Club especially thanks the community for its support of our Garden Tour that occurs every two years, the Taste of the Town that takes place during Harbor Days, and our other fundraising efforts and events. Congratulations Julia and Rosemary.

SLT Hosts Sunrise Photography at Brainard Marsh

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Marian Howell, local landscape and nature photographer, will host sunrise photography at Brainard Marsh on Saturday, June 15starting early at 4:30 am. All types of cameras are welcome – cellphones, compacts, dslrs, whatever you use – or just join us to experience one of the earliest sunrises of the year! Enjoy and explore this special time of day at this very splendid sunrise location.

            Photographers love the pre-dawn time, known as the blue hour, followed by the low-angled post-dawn light, known as the golden hour. Sunrise that day is at 5:07 am so plan to arrive at 4:30 am to walk to the beach (bring a flashlight or wear a headlamp) to catch the end of the blue hour. As the sun comes up over the horizon and golden hour begins, discover the images the light brings out on the beach, the marsh, the pond, and the woods. And you will be back home in time for breakfast!

            Please contact the Sippican Lands Trust office if you plan on attending sunrise photography by sending an email to info@sippicanlandstrust.org. If poor weather requires rescheduling, then Sippican Lands Trust will post information about a new date to www.sippicanlandstrust.org by Noon on Friday, June 14.

            Parking for Brainard Marsh is located near the corner of Bass Point Road and Delano Road (look for the Sippican Lands Trust’s Brainard Marsh sign). Parking is limited and please be careful while parking vehicle, better yet, ride your bike to Brainard Marsh and leave your car at home.

Schools Reflect on First Year of 5-Year Plan

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            Superintendent Doug White gave a mid-cycle review of the Tri-Town schools’ five-year strategic plan, summarizing all that has occurred according to the plan’s timeline and what is still to come as year two starts in September.

            On June 4, White went over each of the goals of the strategic plan – 21stcentury learning, social-emotional learning, and global citizenship, as well as the areas identified for exploration and implementation under each theme across the four school districts addressed in each school’s two-year plan to help meet those goals.

            The aim is to achieve consistency in these areas across the four districts.

            In 21stcentury learning, the focus is on the four Cs – collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking – and providing at least one opportunity for student growth within each C.

            During this first year, educators and administrators were tasked with identifying the gaps in the current state of the four Cs in each school and to find ways of implementing project-based learning opportunities to increase student engagement and rigor in all subjects.

            “This has been an opportunity for us to really focus in on these three particular areas and really make sure that we’re going to be doing them well, and it’s really going to affect the learning that’s going to take place in our schools and the development of skills that will allow our students to be 21stcentury learners,” White said.

            Project-based learning is at the core of each goal of the strategic plan as schools strive to imbed at least two project-based learning opportunities each year.

            In social-emotional learning, the focus is on relationships and the student as an individual “as they build a sense of belonging and engagement,” said White. The Responsive Classroom approach, which focuses on the link between social-emotional learning and academic success, has been implemented in grades K through 8 and imbedded into the classroom. Training opportunities are available for new staff and ongoing monitoring of the success of the approach to identify areas where adjustments might be needed year after year.

            Under social-emotional, behavior has been an area of focus with administrative teams assessing data and looking for patterns and trends and ways to address them.

            “We want to move away from the days of suspension and detention and look more about ‘restorative justice’ and look for ways the students are going to benefit and learn from the behaviors they have done,” said White.

            Restorative justice is a behavioral approach that embraces mediation and agreement between students rather than punishment.

            Safety in school buildings is also worked on under social-emotional as administrative staff, educators, and local law enforcement work to make students feel more secure in their learning environments.

            Under global citizenship, the school districts hope to develop students’ awareness of diversity in culture and religion and open the dialog about these subjects to encourage respect and appreciation on multiculturalism both locally and abroad.

            Staff is receiving racial bias training and sensitivity training, White said, “as a result of some things that have happened at the high school.”

            The “big one” for the districts, White said, is the eventual alignment of a social studies curriculum across the board, and a civics course for high school freshmen is under development that will eventually be woven into the younger grades. Cultural proficiency, global themes, and civics will be introduced through project-based learning experiences moving forward, White said.

            “It can’t be understated how this carries through in every school … and it has been very well implemented,” said Old Rochester Regional School Committee member James Muse.

            The school committees will hold another joint meeting on September 26 at 6:30 pm in the junior high media room.

Joint meeting of the school committees

By Jean Perry

Parents Survive Survival Week

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            It’s a right of passage for parents as much as it is for Old Rochester Regional Junior High students – Survival week.

            Roughly half the seventh graders at ORR choose to hike to the hills of western Massachusetts and participate in Survival week, a one-week outdoors hiking and camping experience that has been one of the staple life experiences of many a Tri-Town 13-year-old. It’s a week without phones, Internet, TV, fast food, iced coffee, a shower, and, most importantly of all, Mom and Dad.

            Parents, siblings, and family pets waited anxiously for the telltale sirens that signal the three busses full of ‘survivors’ are on their way down Route 6 accompanied by Tri-Town police cruisers. There were balloons, homemade signs, streamers, trays of sweet ice-cold coffee from Dunkin, and hundreds of iPhones pointed in the general direction of the main entrance of the Old Rochester Regional campus. It was Sunday, June 9, the final day of Survival Week and parents and caregivers were eager to hug their overtired, hungry, sweaty children after an anguishing week of concern, worry, and relative peace and quiet.

            As the teens poured out of the busses and into the adoring crowd, there were mad dashes, smiles, some tears, and snacks. Plenty of snacks.

            The weather in the Northfield area was fine, reported Survival leader Robert Nordahl, a Rochester police officer.

            “There were a couple trips to the emergency room, nothing serious,” said Nordahl. “There were no serious injuries – it’s normal to have a few trips to the ER for minor [injuries].”

            Survival was started in 1973, and its legacy is an experience for all Old Rochester seventh-graders to rise to the task, surpass their expectations of their own abilities, form strong and lasting friendships, create memories to last a lifetime, and make it home again as an ORR ‘survivor.’

By Jean Perry

Marion Art Center

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Don’t miss your chance to catch Art in Bloom at the Marion Art Center (MAC), with a reception on Friday, June 14, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. For 2 days,June 14-15, come see inventive floral arrangements on display in our galleries from the Marion Garden Group and other local arrangers. Participants will create floral interpretations of various artworks by Janet Gendreau and Peter Hussey, on display in our galleries. During the reception, enter a raffle for the chance to win one of two professional floral arrangements. Thanks to Sylvia Strand for her contribution of one of the designs.

            Our workshop, Floral Painting with Watercolors with instructor Patricia White will be held on Friday, June 14, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm in the MAC Studio. Price: $35 MAC members, $45 non-members, plus $10 materials fee. Sign up for a floral arranging workshop, Your Flowers in Your Vase, with instructor Heather Hobler on Saturday, June 15, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm in the MAC Studio. Price: $35 MAC members, $45 non-members, plus $15 materials fee. All workshop participants will be entered in the raffle. To register for workshops, visit www.marionartcenter.org/classes/art-classes

            The MAC will also hold its sidewalk sale from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. (Note: this will be the rummage sale only – other “sale-abration” activities may take place at a later date.) Shop the treasures unearthed while cleaning out the MAC from attic to basement – you’ll find bargains galore on everything from theater props to holiday décor to art supplies! 

            The MAC has a *NEW* date for its summer fundraiser. Save the date for Cocktails by the Sea, the Marion Art Center’s annual summer fundraiser, Friday, July 26, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm at 183 Front Street, Marion. The event will include a silent auction, open bar, and light hors d’oeuvres, featuring music by 3rd Shift Jazz and entertainment from Overhead Arts, Inc. Tickets – just $75 – can be purchased at the MAC, by phone or online at marionartcenter.org/events/cocktails-by-the-sea. Special thanks to our 2019 hosts, Anne & Trevor Hatton, and our sponsors, American Research & Management, Cape Cod 5, and Burr Bros. Boats, Inc. All fundraiser proceeds benefit the MAC’s ongoing operations, programming, and community outreach. Donations to the summer fundraiser (of any size!) are appreciated for those who cannot attend the event.

            ArtStart Is Almost Here. We still have room in Sessions 1 and 2 of ArtStart, the MAC’s summer program for young children ages 4 ½ through 9. Register online at www.marionartcenter.org/artstart/

            The sessions will run as follows: Session 1 – June 24-28(5 days); Session 2 – July 1-5(4 days only, no class on 7/4); $195 for MAC members, $215 for non-members. Pro-rated Tuition for Session 2: $155 for MAC members, $175 for non-members. Camp runs 9:00 am – 12:30 pm daily, except for “show day” each Friday, which releases at 1:00 pm. Please note: Current MAC membership is required for discounted ArtStart tuition. If you are uncertain if your membership is current, please call the MAC at 508-748-1266.

Rochester History

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Dear Friends,

            We want to extend a sincere thank you to several people for their role in helping to make the town tour of Rochester possible for the third graders of Rochester Memorial School. Carol Hardy, Ann and Mike Cambra, Sharon and Woody Hartley, Lorraine Thompson, an anonymous donor, and the Friends of the Rochester Senior Center were all instrumental in this day from organizing and narrating the tour, serving up the birthday treats, and arranging the special commemorative t-shirts for the teachers and students. The third graders wanted to share some of the fun facts that they learned.

            Did you know:

-Mary’s Pond may have been named after a Native American woman named Mary who drowned in that pond.

-Rochester had a town pound. Stray animals were put there until their owners claimed them.

-The oldest house in Rochester is on Dexter Lane.

-The yellow house on the corner of Snipatuit Rd. was once a post office and a stagecoach stop.

-The old white sign in the center of town is from the 1800s.

-There was a townhouse that was rotting on the bottom and they cut of the top, threw away the bottom, and put the top on the bottom.

-Witch rock used to be known as the rock that had spirits in it and on a full moon they would come out.

-Rochester was almost named the capital of MA.

-The Snipatuit Pond causeway was created after a town meeting was held at the pond and it was decided that the pond was shallow enough to build a causeway to connect the two parts of town.

-Hiller farm was once owned by the Leonard family. On the property there used to be a horse track.

-There was a one room schoolhouse on Burgess Ave.

            Thanks again for this awesome day!

            Rochester Memorial Third Grade

Palmyra “Pal” (Silveira) O’Leary

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Palmyra “Pal” (Silveira) O’Leary, 89, of Mattapoisett passed away peacefully at home on Saturday June 8, 2019. She was the wife of the late John M. O’Leary. 

Born in Providence. R.I., the daughter of the late Frank and Palmeida (Rose) Silveira, she lived in Mattapoisett for most of her life. 

She was an active parishioner of St. Anthony’s Church. 

Pal and her late husband owned and operated Bowlmor Lanes in Mattapoisett. She was an avid bowler and bridge player. She was a member of the American Contract Bridge League with the rank of Gold Life Master. 

She is survived by five children, Kevin O’Leary and his wife Beth of Rochester, NY, Thomas O’Leary of Fairhaven, William O’Leary and his wife Bonnie of Methuen, Kathleen Macedo and her husband Neil of Mattapoisett, and Sandra Edgell and her husband Eugene of Wareham; and seven grandchildren, Shannon, Caitlin, and Meghan O’Leary, David and Matthew Macedo, and Adam and Jonathan Edgell. 

Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, June 15th at 10 AM in St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett. Visiting hours are omitted. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to St. Anthony’s Church, P.O. Box 501, Mattapoisett, MA 02739 or SouthCoast VNA, 200 Mill Rd., Fairhaven, MA 02719. Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Mattapoisett Community Blood Drive

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Mattapoisett resident, Jillian Zucco, will host her annual blood drive with the American Red Cross during World Blood Donor Week on Wednesday, June 12, from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm at St. Anthony’s Church hall at 22 Barstow St. in Mattapoisett.

            As a 2016 graduate of UMASS Dartmouth’s Nursing program, now working full-time as a registered nurse, Zucco is committed to strengthening our community and helping to meet hospital and patient needs through blood donations. “This blood drive is a way of providing community members an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. The short amount of time it takes to donate can mean a lifetime to a patient in critical need.”

            Blood is a perishable product that can only come from volunteer blood donors. With someone in the U.S. needing blood every two seconds, blood products must be constantly replenished, according to the Red Cross. “We urge eligible donors to join us in the selfless act of giving blood. There’s no better feeling than knowing that your blood donation may give someone a second chance at life.”

            There’s a serious need of all blood types, especially O negative, A negative, and B negative. O negative is the universal blood type that can be safely transfused to anyone, and is often used to treat trauma patients and those battling cancer. While walk-ins are welcome, it is recommended to schedule an appointment by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (733-2767) or by signing up online at redcrossblood.org and use the code MA02739. The Red Cross has promised extra staff at this event to accommodate the great number of donors this drive has brought in over the years to help minimize any wait times.

MATTREC Adult Summer Offerings

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Adult Pickleball Drop-in at Hammond Street Courts is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 4:30 pm to sundown and Saturday 9:00 am to noon. 3 Courts will be set up and all levels are welcome.

            Adult Tennis Drop-in through The Mattapoisett Community Tennis Association (MCTA) is starting another season and looking for new members. Morning drop-ins are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30 am currently at the Center School in Mattapoisett and at ORR High School during late June, July, and August. The program also includes in-house Tournaments and other social events, including an annual cookout. Team competition against surrounding towns is also offered. To join MCTA, please download the 2019 Registration form on www.mattapoisetttennis.com and send it to the treasurer, Jackie Slade, along with $15. You can also contact the president, Wayne Miller, at wlm17@verizon.net or 772-631-8096 for more information. An application can also be obtained at drop-in from Mike Hickey, the court captain.

Elizabeth Taber Library Bridge Tournament

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Save the date of Friday, August 2for the return of the Elizabeth Taber Library Bridge Tournament at the Marion Music Hall. Both Duplicate and Social bridge players are invited to participate in this bi-annual fundraiser. Director Alan Hudson will manage the Duplicate Tournament.

            The Bridge Committee is working hard to organize the event. Doors will open at 1:15 pm, and tournament play will begin at 2:00 pm. Light refreshment will be served. There will be a Raffle for gift certificates from popular local restaurants and stores, as well as tournament prizes for the winners.

            The entry fee is $35.00. All proceeds from the day’s event will go towards enhancing the programs and services offered by the Elizabeth Taber Library. 

            Registration details will be announced soon. The event is likely to sell out so early registration is recommended. For more information, call the library at 508-748-1252.