The Old Rochester Regional School Committee on June 14 accepted a donation of a new press box for the ORR sports field.

Athletics Director Bill Tilden said the proposed press box is designed to dovetail into the athletic complex overhaul the nonprofit group T.U.R.F. is proposing over the long-term.

The donation would cover the $30,000 press box, with no cost to the school.

“This is something that needs to be done,” said ORR School Committee member Carey Humphrey.

Chairman Tina Rood agreed, saying she herself has witnessed the scorekeeper sitting in the rain amongst electronic equipment, making the job dangerous at times.

The committee accepted the donation, which includes additional funds for the press box construction costs.

In other matters, the junior high school is doing away with the honor roll, paving the way for students to gain recognition in a number of ways instead of just focusing on grades alone.

Junior high Assistant Principal Silas Coellner said a recent visit to the middle school in Marblehead demonstrated that shifting the focus of achievement away from grades only and ditching the honor roll had a positive impact on students and their eagerness to progress academically without comparing grades with other students.

It’s all about the growth mindset, said Coellner, saying the Marblehead school saw an uptick in students progressing in a number of ways and getting more out of their education by measuring growth by what they have learned as opposed to the letter grade they received.

“We saw that as a negative influence,” said Coellner about letter grade emphasis.

Coellner pointed out that it has been years now since the junior high printed an honor roll in the newspaper, although the ranking of honors and high honors was always noted on the report card.

The school will now further its transition away from the emphasis on grades by striking the honor roll, as well as the Junior Honor Society, from the student handbook and from school policy.

Principal Kevin Brogioli said that according to one nationally known education expert, there is something to the philosophy of giving heavy weight to letter grades.

The kids in junior high, Brogioli said, are at different levels of maturation as well as academics, and the school has looked at this in relation to achievement for some time.

The school will now look at other ways to recognize effort and progress and highlight students individually for their growth.

The junior high will also move towards the standards-based report card measuring mastery instead of featuring letter grades.

“It’s tied with that,” said Brogioli. “It’s all part of the bigger philosophy that’s coming.

Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos commented, “I’m thrilled with the direction of the junior high entertaining this notion.” Frangos continued, “I’m thrilled with this wave of looking forward.”

The next meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is scheduled for September 13 at 6:30 pm in the junior high school media room.

By Jean Perry

On June 19, the members of the Mattapoisett Planning Board met with David Davignon of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates, representing Dennis Arsenault to discuss plans for a two-lot subdivision adjacent to Great Cedar Swamp at the end of Snowfield Road.

As Davignon explained the conceptual design, he was clearly aware of the many environmental issues the project must explore and appease before building would be allowed.

Davignon said a gravel roadway would be carved out of the woodlands traversing intermittent streams and swamp areas. This roadway would penetrate approximately 1,000 feet into Arsenault’s property at the end of Snowfield Road. There, deep into the wooded landscape, is an uplands area sufficient to create two buildable lots, a total of 10.3 acres he demonstrated.

“This project will require extensive permitting,” Davignon confirmed. He said that some years ago the soils of the uplands in question were tested and found to be “good” for two septic systems. He also explained that due to costs, the plans are for two private fresh water wells. Also planned for economy’s sake are overhead utilities. However, Davignon said everything was very preliminary.

“We’ll be seeking a waiver for stormwater management, sidewalks, and length of road,” Davignon told the board.

Board member Karen Field wondered about gravel runoff and dust causing an impact on the wetlands of the massive swamp system.

Abutter Peter Laferniere, whose property is located at the dead end where the roadway will be extended, said, “The Great Cedar Swamp has an extreme amount of water…. There are years it never dries.” Laferniere said that if a roadway is cut through the swamp to reach the island of uplands, “…it’s not going to drain naturally any longer.” He worried that his property would suffer from water runoff.

Chairman Tom Tucker said, “I have a lot of questions, but let’s wait till we hear back from the other boards.” And by that, Tucker meant nearly every board in town.

Davignon said he had reached out to the Highway Department, Water and Sewer Department, and Police and Fire Departments. He also said there would be hearings and/or meetings with the Conservation Commission, Board of Health, and the Department of Environmental Protection.

Tucker asked Davignon return to the board with responses from other departments for the next meeting.

Also coming before the Planning Board was Michael Sudofsky, owner of The Ropewalk and the Stowaway located at 30 and 35 County Road. Sudofsky was seeking to have his request for a Form A Not Required accepted. The application proposes to re-define lot lines due to possible errors made by previous owners. He explained that currently a lot line dissects one of the shops in the retail spaces located in The Ropewalk.

Sudofsky said the insurance providers for the two business entities were “not pleased” with the position of the lines as they currently are recorded. But board member Janice Robbins questioned the new lot plans.

“I would be more comfortable with a variance,” Robbins said, versus an acceptance of the reconfiguration by the Planning Board. “This is a pretty major overlap of lot lines,” she said. She also said that, while the board could accept lot line changes, they could not create setbacks that were “worse” than those grandfathered.

Tucker told Sudofsky that the board was not required to do anything with his application and suggested he pursue matters through the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for July 10 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room, a day out of sequence due to the 4th of July holiday.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

On June 15 during a special meeting to address the Special Permit application for Augusta Rosenthal of 8 Quelle Road, the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals approved a deck addition after receiving bylaw clarification from the building inspector.

During the June 6 meeting, the board hesitated on voting on the application since it was unable to determine whether a garage/shed on the property should be factored into the equation when it came to non-conformities on the property.

In a memo addressed to the chairman, Building Inspector Scott Shippey said the board should not be concerned about a 5-foot setback and how that would affect fire and emergency access to the house once a deck is built because access to the rear of the house was not relevant.

As for the distance between the proposed deck and the abutting house, Shippey said, “I see no issues at this time.”

“I feel it fits within the character of the neighborhood,” said Chairman Marc LeBlanc. “If it were a full blown addition, then I would have no issue with it.”

The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for July 13 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House if there are any applications.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Jean Perry