Real World Knowledge Via ‘Mock’ Experience

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Second quarter is a busy period in the Old Rochester Regional High School Social Studies Department.

Several weeks ago, students in teacher Seth Bushnell’s sections of U.S. History II took a field trip to the Edward Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Boston.

Opened to the public at the end of March 2015, the institute aims to introduce students to the roles the Senate plays in the government, as well as explore and encourage participation in democracy.

“As a social studies teacher, one of our responsibilities is to teach civics and ensure that students become active and knowledgeable citizens in a democracy,” said Bushnell. “The Kennedy Institute provides a tremendous opportunity for students to learn about their government hands on.”

This year, the students who went to the Kennedy Institute visited several exhibits, including visiting Senator Edward Kennedy’s office, and participated in a mock legislative session.

“We took a tour and did a mock debate based on an actual issue currently in Congress,” said junior Genevieve Grignetti. “We also tried passing a bill. It was fun. Once one person spoke, everyone else jumped in.”

“We saw what the Senator’s Office looked like and we did interactive games,” junior Mikayla Chandler added. “I learned about the many different viewpoints of the Senate, but most of it was a review of what I already knew.”

Students in the U.S. History II classes are now beginning the several-week-long journey that is their annual research paper. For some juniors, this will be their last one in their high school career.

“The research paper is the biggest skill building tool we have, and it is an important preparation for college,” Bushnell commented.

Librarian Allison Barker took the time in the classes to introduce the plethora of resources she assembled on the school’s library site to aid them in their choosing of topics and search for reliable sources. This included having every student sign up for a Boston Public Library e-card, which allows students to access more information that was previously unavailable.

Bushnell and Barker went around answering questions and further explaining specific research options, including the difference between primary and secondary sources and that changing a thesis multiple times was natural during the drafting process.

The trip was made possible through a grant from the Lighthouse Fund, which is run by the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts. The Lighthouse Fund has provided annual grants to “enrich the educational experience of students in Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester public schools” for the past ten years, according to their website.

ORR Update

By Jo Caynon

 

Mattapoisett-Themed Articles for Sale

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A sales table of the Friends of the Council on Aging will be at the Mattapoisett Historical Society’s Arts and Crafts Holiday Fair. Featured are Mattapoisett-themed notecards, umbrellas, aprons, sweatshirts, and T-shirts. Come join us at the Mattapoisett Historical Society, 5 Church Street, on Saturday, December 9 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

It’s a Wonderful Life

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The Marion Art Center’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life, a radio drama adapted for the stage by Tony Palermo, will run next weekend with two evening performances and one matinee as follows: Friday, December 8 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, December 9 at 7:30 pm; and Sunday, December 10 at 1:00 pm. Director Kate Fishman, partnered with Steve McManus as Technical Director, will lead this two-act play that tells the beloved story of Clarence, an angel, sent from Heaven to help George Bailey, a desperate man, realize what life would have been like had he never existed. Several local actors – some of whom have been seen on the Marion Art Center’s stage before – will be featured in this production, assuming multiple characters and also assisting with sound and special effects.

The cast of players includes Camerin Bennett, Jack Boesen, Eden Dupre, Molly Dupre, Jeff Hallahan, John Heavey, Suzie Kokkins, Jack LeBrun, Dottie McCarthy, Zoe Pateakos, Henry Richins, Susan Salveson, Mindy Wallis, and Davis Webb.

“This play is sure to get everyone into the holiday spirit,” said Shelly Richins, Marion Art Center’s President of the Board. She added, “We’re especially excited about this because it’s the first play we are presenting in our newly updated theater. The new seating, lighting and sound system will make it a whole new experience for attendees.”

Tickets may be purchased ($15 for MAC members/$18 for non-members) at the Marion Art Center located at 80 Pleasant Street in Marion, MA or by calling 508-748-1266. A limited number of cabaret tables are available for reserved parties of four, and attendees may bring their own refreshments. Reservations are highly recommended.

Confessions of a Comma Queen and Other Truths

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Before I begin to share with you, dear readers, a taste of what it was like to laugh out loud as author Mary Norris spoke cheerfully and with candor on December 1 at the Mattapoisett Public Library about her highly celebrated book Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, I offer my confession – I was terrified to write this story.

Norris, a grammarian of the first order, was charming in her delivery of all things written and spoken in the English language. But there I sat thinking, “I am out of my depth here.”

By this morning with a moderately rested brain and a desire to get this assignment done while Norris’ comments were still fresh in my mind, I realized something profound – well, profound for me at any rate: copy editing is not my job.

My job is to write the story to the best of my ability, writing something that is worthy (I hope) of a reader’s time. The job of ensuring that my writing is grammatically correct, free of spelling errors yet possessing my ‘style’ is, after all, someone else’s problem.

Thus, I give you my guilt-free take on spending an hour laughing and learning in the presence of one very funny and intelligent woman.

Norris spent decades (1978-2017) reading other authors’ writings for The New Yorker as a copy editor. Her dream, however, was to be the writer, not the copy editor.

So when she was asked to write a rebuttal piece to an article that had appeared in The New York Times online blog authored by Ben Yagoda, a piece that was discussing the then recently published best selling book by Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Norris laid down her No. 1 extra soft Ticonderoga pencil and got to work.

Before sharing snippets of her years wielding her pencils or studying the punctuation heavy works of Melville and Dickens, she asked the audience to write down a sentence:

“Outside a cemetery in Mattapoisett sat a harassed cobbler and embarrassed peddler gnawing on a desiccated potato and gazing on the symmetry of a lady’s ankle in unparalleled ecstasy.”

Although the group was not tasked with writing the sentence using correct punctuation but instead to test spelling skills, Norris’ engaging manner and wit eased their confusion. Even those gifted with excellent vocabulary skills can get hung up on a word like ‘desiccated’.

Norris’ book, first published in 2015 and now out in paperback, shares with the reader her love of the English language. Clearly she enjoys speaking and writing with a discipline honed from many years of correcting other people’s stuff. Yet she comes across as kind, and appreciates that writers have ‘styles’ and that, at times, rules must be broken in order to convey a thought or emotion that mere punctuation might otherwise ruin.

Norris is clever, quick with a turn of phrase, and possesses a funny bone that was delightfully on display.

For instance, most are aware that the Greeks and the Romans had debated for centuries which came first – the Greeks’ impact on everything from language, architecture, and food, or, the Italians, I mean Romans. As it turns out, Norris said, the word “comma” comes from the Greeks, but it was made so much better by Italian Aldus Manutius in the late 1400s. Manutius, by the by, is also credited with inventing italics and semicolons, but that’s a story for another day.

Norris also shared from her book the following: “Commas are like nuns. They travel in pairs.” Or this dash of comedic insight, “I feel my hackles rise, however, when I hear people refer to the serial comma as the Oxford comma, why does Oxford get all the credit? … Why not the Harvard comma, or the Rutgers comma, or the Cornhusker comma? … The public relations department at Oxford doesn’t use it.”

Norris’ book is 200 pages of information beneficial to nearly anyone such as U.S. presidents, parents, teachers, students and, oh yes, writers from every genre. The material is presented in a manner that is not off-putting, even for those for whom the word ‘whom’ has never been used.

Norris’ appearance is part of the Purrington Lecture Series presented by the Mattapoisett Library Trust, a nonprofit organization that supports the Mattapoisett Free Public Library throughout the year by providing programs and other funds for needed equipment and furnishings.

By Marilou Newell

 

With Tax Bill Delay, Town Must Borrow

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It was a short meeting, but an important one nonetheless, for the Rochester Board of Selectmen on December 4.

The selectmen held an early meeting before the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony to sign a Revenue Anticipation Note (RAN) in anticipation of some short-term borrowing to tide the Town over until tax bills go out and taxes ultimately collected.

This year was the year the Town re-evaluated property assessments, so holding a tax classification hearing has been somewhat delayed. And according to Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar, the new tax rate must be certified before tax bills can be issued.

Szyndlar stated that tax bills should be mailed out to residences and businesses closer to the end of December.

Chairman Brad Morse and Selectman Greenwood Hartley both approved the RAN, but in the absence of Selectman Naida Parker, who is also the town clerk, the RAN could not be signed. Szyndlar said the RAN must be signed by the selectmen in the presence of the town clerk.

In other business, Szyndlar said budget season has officially begun, and she has sent out letters to department heads regarding fiscal year 2019.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for December 11 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry

 

Free Gift Wrapping at the Elizabeth Taber Library

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Bring your gifts to the Elizabeth Taber Library on Fridays in December (December 8, 15, and 22) between 1:00 – 4:00 pm and we’ll wrap them for you. All materials will be provided. Small donations are appreciated so that we may keep up this wonderful service to the community.

Scouts Wreath Sale

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Mattapoisett Troop 53 Boy Scouts will be selling wreaths on Saturday, December 9 at the Mattapoisett Town Hall. Plain or decorated wreaths are available. Please support your local troop.

Joan Caroline (Henry) Walsh

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Joan Caroline (Henry) Walsh, at the age of 94, December 5, 2017 at her home in Mattapoisett, MA, surrounded by all her children: Devoted wife of the late Edward J. Walsh for 65 years, They met at Columbia University’s US Navy Midshipman School and waited to marry until Lieutenant Walsh returned from combat duty as Executive Officer of USS Cockrell in the North Atlantic and South Pacific. Married at St. Barnabas Church in 1946, the couple moved to the Boston area where they raised their family:of four sons and a daughter. Mother of Edward, Jr. and his wife Christine of Cocoa Beach, FL; M. Jane and her husband John McEvoy of Belmont; Philip and his wife Maureen Roberts of Sutton; John and his wife Maura of Southborough; and Thomas of Mattapoisett. Grandmother of 12: Edward III of Duxbury, Dr. Erin Leonard of New Jersey, Megan Walsh-Shaoul and Courtney Jagannath of New York, Matthew McEvoy of Sudbury, Michael McEvoy of Boston, Elizabeth McEvoy of Natick, Katherine Giles of Westford, Patrick of Sutton, Joseph, James and Matthew of Southborough.Great Grandmother of 16: Bridget, James, Jack, Declan, Molly, Ryan, Annie, Stella, Piper, Henry, Mayer, Luna, Goldie, Mila, Ellie and Eva. Sister of Ann Mahony and Judith Keegan of Connecticut and of the late Mary Elizabeth Kramer of New York. Born in New York City, the daughter of the late Harold J. and Katherine A. (Rooney) Henry, she was a graduate of The Academy of Mt. St. Ursula and The Berkeley Llewelyn School of Manhattan and worked for Time Magazine, editing for publication letters to the editor and worked at Young and Rubicam, the Madison Avenue advertising firm. After her marriage at the end of World War II, she dedicated herself to family, friends and community. A long time resident of Natick and Wellesley, where she was on the board of directors of the Wellesley Hills Garden Club, and was active in St. James The Great parish for the half century before it was closed by the Archdiocese, the Cub Scouts, PTA and was a volunteer at Newton Wellesley Hospital. She and her husband retired to a life of sailing from their Mattapoisett home, visiting ports across the South and Bahamas every winter and New England in the summer. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to Sr. Barbara Walsh, SUSC, O.P.E.N. ESOL Program, 60 Liberty St., New Bedford, MA, 02740.  Joan Caroline (Henry) Walsh, at the age of 94, December 5, 2017 at her home in Mattapoisett, MA, surrounded by all her children: Devoted wife of the late Edward J. Walsh for 65 years, They met at Columbia University’s US Navy Midshipman School and waited to marry until Lieutenant Walsh returned from combat duty as Executive Officer of USS Cockrell in the North Atlantic and South Pacific. Married at St. Barnabas Church in 1946, the couple moved to the Boston area where they raised their family:of four sons and a daughter. Mother of Edward, Jr. and his wife Christine of Cocoa Beach, FL; M. Jane and her husband John McEvoy of Belmont; Philip and his wife Maureen Roberts of Sutton; John and his wife Maura of Southborough; and Thomas of Mattapoisett. Grandmother of 12: Edward III of Duxbury, Dr. Erin Leonard of New Jersey, Megan Walsh-Shaoul and Courtney Jagannath of New York, Matthew McEvoy of Sudbury, Michael McEvoy of Boston, Elizabeth McEvoy of Natick, Katherine Giles of Westford, Patrick of Sutton, Joseph, James and Matthew of Southborough.Great Grandmother of 16: Bridget, James, Jack, Declan, Molly, Ryan, Annie, Stella, Piper, Henry, Mayer, Luna, Goldie, Mila, Ellie and Eva. Sister of Ann Mahony and Judith Keegan of Connecticut and of the late Mary Elizabeth Kramer of New York. Born in New York City, the daughter of the late Harold J. and Katherine A. (Rooney) Henry, she was a graduate of The Academy of Mt. St. Ursula and The Berkeley Llewelyn School of Manhattan and worked for Time Magazine, editing for publication letters to the editor and worked at Young and Rubicam, the Madison Avenue advertising firm. After her marriage at the end of World War II, she dedicated herself to family, friends and community. A long time resident of Natick and Wellesley, where she was on the board of directors of the Wellesley Hills Garden Club, and was active in St. James The Great parish for the half century before it was closed by the Archdiocese, the Cub Scouts, PTA and was a volunteer at Newton Wellesley Hospital. She and her husband retired to a life of sailing from their Mattapoisett home, visiting ports across the South and Bahamas every winter and New England in the summer. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to Sr. Barbara Walsh, SUSC, O.P.E.N. ESOL Program, 60 Liberty St., New Bedford, MA, 02740.

Visiting hours will be held on Saturday, December 9th morning from 9:30 – 10:30 AM in Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett followed by her Funeral Mass at 11 AM at St. Anthony’s Church, Mattapoisett. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Holiday in the Park and Town Holiday Stroll

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The Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen wishes to extend an invitation to all town residents to attend their Twelfth Annual “Holiday in the Park and Town Holiday Stroll.” The actual Tree Lighting takes place on Saturday, December 9 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at Shipyard Park.

Please come and bring your families to join in on all the festivities. This event is free of cost thanks to our most generous Town food establishments. Santa and Mrs. Claus and all their friends will be arriving by Fire Engine at dusk along with the lighting of the tree. There will be lots of ornament making and face painting for the children along with a petting zoo.

Stop by the Mattapoisett Library for holiday stories and ornament making from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Boy Scout Troop 53 will be selling wreaths with free hot chocolate and hot coffee at Town Hall from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Please be sure to stop by the Historical Society for their Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and visit the Mattapoisett Congregational Church Holiday Fair from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

There will be music performances at Shipyard Park by the Old Rochester Regional Junior High School Band. Music and Technical Support by Rick LeBlanc with MC Ken Pacheco.

Please bring an unwrapped new children’s gift and/or a nonperishable food item/canned good to the table under the tent – sponsored by the Mattapoisett Lion’s Club.

Restrooms open to the public at the Library and Mattapoisett Town Hall.

“Happy holidays to all” and we hope to see you on December 9.

Join the Friends of the Mattapoisett COA

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Everyone is invited to join the Friends of the Mattapoisett Council on Aging, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The FMCoA serves as the fundraising arm of the Council on Aging. You can become a “Friend” and help out through your annual membership.

Pick up the FMCoA membership application at the Senior Center or go online to download a form: www.mattapoisett.net/sites/mattapoisettma/files/uploads/2018_friends_application_0.pdf.

Your membership will be valid through the end of 2018 and allows you to vote at the January Annual Meeting. For more information, contact Bob Kelley at 508-758-6311 or email r.kelley@ieee.org.