The Mattapoisett Lions Club, a member of Lions International consisting of 45,000 clubs and more than 1.3 million members worldwide making this the world’s largest service club organization, is pleased to announce two (2) $2,500 scholarships to be awarded this year to a graduating high school or homeschooled student residing in Mattapoisett, Marion and Rochester.

The funds for this Award are raised through fundraisers held by the Mattapoisett Lions Club throughout the year, including Harbor Days, an annual Arts and Craft Festival held in Shipyard Park every third weekend of July and attended by up to 10,000 people.

The Lions Club motto is “We Serve,” and one of the largest charitable causes of Lions International includes raising funds for eye research in an effort to end preventable blindness throughout the world and providing services for those in need in our community.

To qualify, a graduating student or homeschooled student shall be enrolled in their first year of a recognized school of higher education, must be a resident of the Tri-Town area, and have demonstrated service to the community.

To obtain an application, learn more about this award, or to learn how to become a member of the Lions Club, visit our website: www.mattapoisettlionsclub.org. Award applications are available through the guidance department at your high school. Applications must be received by March 25.

Recently, Tabor Academy has expanded its collaboration with the Community Economic Development Center (CEDC) based in New Bedford. Each week throughout the school year, a group of Tabor students travel to New Bedford to provide English tutoring to members of the community who have immigrated to the United States.

The CEDC is a nonprofit organization that, according to their website, “fosters economic justice in the local economy through people-centered development.” Among many things, the CEDC provides opportunities, resources, and networks to those needing help becoming a part of the local economy. Specifically, the organization focuses on economic development, community building, neighborhood improvement and public policy.

The CEDC works largely in part with immigrants from Central America, many of whom have limited knowledge of the English language. Because of this, everyday activities such as finding jobs or housing, using public transportation, or filling out government paperwork can become a significant challenge. This group is the focus of the English tutoring provided by Tabor students.

The program began under the leadership of Jonathan Sirois, a Spanish teacher at Tabor, who was looking for a way “to foster better and more meaningful relationships with the local community.” The program began with weekly visits to New Bedford on Thursdays after extra-curricular commitments in the afternoon, but due to recent success, they have added a trip on Tuesdays as well.

During the hour-long tutoring sessions, students will work with the community members individually. Starting with a baseline discussion from a worksheet, the conversation expands based upon specific ability levels or needs. Whether the community members are teenagers new to the language or people applying for United States citizenship after decades living in the country, everyone is there to develop a basic understanding of English.

“They are all extremely friendly and they tell you their story before and after moving to this country,” said Tabor sophomore Christopher Mills.

The ability to develop knowledge of language goes both ways in this partnership. For students like Mills, this tutoring program not only provides the opportunity to meet people from the local area that they would never have the chance to meet otherwise, but also gives them a chance to improve their Spanish. The ability to have actual conversations with native speakers, says Mills, allows him to improve substantially in a short amount of time.

Though this program provides great opportunities for Spanish-speaking students, the partnership with the CEDC is open to all students at Tabor. While the growing success of the program has allowed it to expand to a second day of the week, the core members of the tutoring group hope it will continue to grow and gain popularity among Tabor students. Since students can go and tutor as many or as few times as they wish, it provides a flexible way to expand upon the boundaries of Tabor’s campus and community.

This tutoring program with the CEDC is one of several reoccurring community service efforts pursued by Tabor students on a weekly basis. Each week, Tabor students volunteer with things such as Sunday school, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sunday Supper, and more. Additionally, there is an ever-changing list of opportunities for students to give back to the Tri-Town and South Coast communities.

The school regularly hosts events for the Special Olympics, including the Special Olympics Polar Plunge event on January 22.

Twice a year, the entire Tabor community comes together to complete dozens of volunteer service projects across the region in the “Day of Service.”

By Jack Gordon

The Elks of Wareham Lodge No. 1548 sponsors the Elks Student of the Month and Student of the Year Awards for students enrolled in local area high schools. The criteria used in nominating a student includes a student who excels in scholarship, citizenship, performing arts, fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school and community service, industry and farming.

We congratulate Senior Lauren Scott of Marion for being selected by the Old Rochester Regional High School faculty and staff as the December Student of the Month. Lauren volunteers her time to mentor and tutor students in one of the ORRHS learning centers and also in the SMEC classroom. Lauren is a huge help in both of these classrooms. Lauren is a sincere friend to many and displays patience and a great sense of humor in tough situations. Lauren goes above and beyond to befriend many classmates in and outside of school. Lauren received excellent grades first quarter and works part time.

Last Friday brought the first snowstorm of the year to the Tri-Towns and ORRHS. While the sight of the snow-covered landscape may have been lovely to some, that morning’s commute was far from it.

Classrooms and hallways were filled with stories of several near-accidents from student drivers that morning, as the layer of ice underneath the snow caused many to drift or spin out of control. To make matters worse, many streets – particularly in Rochester – hadn’t yet been plowed, leaving hazardous conditions for the inexperienced drivers.

“I was driving to school in second gear, so you know I wasn’t going more than 15 to 20 miles per hour,” said one junior who wishes to be left unnamed. “The car in front of me slammed into the back of another car, so I hit the breaks and my car starting skidding and wouldn’t stop. I had to swerve onto the sidewalk and hit a trashcan. Now I have a broken radiator…. It’s unbelievable we had school knowing that we are new drivers and the roads were terrible. I’m not saying we needed a snow day, but like an hour or two delay until the roads were drivable.”

Another senior added, “I drove really slow, but the roads were awful.”

The troubles continued once students made it into the parking lot. Many spoke of not being able to control their vehicle correctly into parking spots, made more difficult by the low vision from the falling snow and the snow layer obstructing the lines in the lot.

“The parking lot wasn’t cleared at all,” another junior commented. “Everyone was just guessing at parking [in] spots.”

Many of the students who drive to school only have experience from warmer months; even those who have encountered icy conditions before are still individuals who have only been driving for no more than two years at the most. Some suggested a delay in the start of school would have been appropriate.

Classes started about 25 minutes late regardless of the regular opening, as Route 6 became a line for cars and buses trying to drop off students and staff commuting from as far away as Rhode Island. With a good portion of the school absent at the time of the first bell, shortening the first class until their arrival lessened the amount of disruptions that could have occurred.

The cold weather caused problems at the end of the day for a few unfortunate students as well. Several students could be seen using jumper cables to start one of their cars after school. A few vehicles still had snow on their roofs as they left the lot, and several other students purposefully waited for the majority of the lot to empty before they, too, left for home.

With the first storm providing experience for all involved in the school commute, one can only hope that next time around, further precautions will be taken for the safety of everyone on the roads to school.

By Jo Caynon