Florence Eastman Post 280

on May 15, 2015

The monthly meeting of the Florence Eastman Post 280 will be held at the Post Hall at 7:00 pm on May 20. At this meeting, a maximum turnout is desired as we have not only Memorial Day, Flag Day and our Annual Clam Boil on July 12 to address, but a very important decision needs to be reached regarding the future of our Post Hall.

Bring your ideas for these endeavors as we cannot function without our members’ support and, obviously, the support of the great folks in our area who always patronize our efforts. Please mention this meeting to members you may know as everyone should be involved with the subject matter of the Hall. The Hall is always available for rental. Just contact one of our members or call Mike at 508-758-9311.

Volunteers Gather for Clean-up Day

on May 15, 2015

May 9 in Marion was also the time for the annual clean up, which had residents meeting at the Marion Music Hall for their assignments and supplies. Photos by Colin Veitch

Academic Achievements

on May 14, 2015

Nicholas Xifaras of Mattapoisett achieved Dean’s List status for the Fall 2014 academic term at Bryant University. Nicholas is the son of Stella Xifaras-Piva and Paul Piva.

Emily Bungert of Mattapoisett and a member of the Bowdoin College Class of 2015, received the Bowdoin Theater and Dance Department’s 2015 Award for Excellence in Dance Performance at the college’s Honors Day ceremony held May 6. Bungert is earning a major in Neuroscience and a minor in Dance.

Mattapoisett Road Race

on May 14, 2015

Celebrate Independence Day by running the 45th annual five-mile road race held in the scenic seaside town of Mattapoisett. The Race begins at 9:00 am on Saturday, 4th of July. All proceeds are awarded to graduating seniors from ORRHS. For more information and/or to register, log on towww.mattapoisettroadrace.com.

Rochester Historical Society

on May 14, 2015

Join the Rochester Historical Society at their May 20 meeting at the East Rochester Church Museum, 355 County Rd., for an interesting Civil War program presented by Mark Mello, Civil War historian.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a soldier in the American Civil War? Have you ever wanted to know what the soldier’s daily life was like? If so, join us on Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00 pm at the East Rochester Church Museum to learn more. Come see antique weaponry, tools, equipment, currency, and artifacts from the time period. Come learn about the daily struggles that the average soldier would have faced. Maybe even try some food from the period! Come join Mark Mello as we journey back 150 years into the past and experience first-hand what our ancestors endured during the American Civil War!

RMS to Try Breakfast Program

on May 14, 2015

Rochester Memorial School Principal Derek Medeiros told the Rochester School Committee on May 7 that he is hopeful a two-day trial run of a tentative breakfast program will appeal to students and parents and lead to a full-time breakfast program come next school year.

On May 21 and June 18, students will arrive at school as usual; however, students in kindergarten through grade two will go to the cafeteria and sit according to grade for a healthy breakfast that includes breakfast bars and yogurt. Meanwhile, grades three through five will engage in a walking and socializing exercise activity in the gym before grabbing a breakfast bag to take to homeroom to eat in class.

Medeiros said the optional breakfast – meaning kids are not required to eat what is provided – could be successful enough to establish regularly in the fall. For now, though, the school will try the program out on these two days only, assess the process, and send a survey to parents and students for feedback.

“There’s a real push to bring breakfast into schools,” said Superintendent Doug White, adding that the time spent at the breakfast program would be counted as learning time “as part of the steps to ensure that kids are in a good space.” He called it a win-win for everybody.

In other matters, the committee voted to allow Business Manager Patrick Spencer to engage in negotiations to again rent out classroom space at the school, this time to Countryside Child Care who will provide before and after school care.

After sending out an RFP for offers on the space, Countryside Child Care expressed interest in the space, offering a two-year lease at $1,600 per month for the first year and $2,000 per month the second year.

“It’s money that we can use,” said Spencer, adding that the previous tenant who briefly rented the space to pilot a preschool provided funding for the school to purchase HVAC filters through the $1,000 per month lease.

“I think there’s definitely a need in the community, and I think it will be something that’s very beneficial to our community,” said Medeiros.

Also during the meeting, ORR Junior High School Principal Kevin Brogioli presented the committee with his transition plan for sixth graders entering the junior high next year, a time that can be riddled with anxiety for students and parents alike.

Focus of the discussion started with the general shift in paradigm from elementary school to junior high, and waned toward lining students up academically with the junior high school’s math program, keeping in mind the significant dip in students’ MCAS scores in math last year.

All math teachers have attended PARCC workshops run by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and a math consultant, as well as one of the authors of the Mathematics curriculum, has spent time inside ORRJHS classrooms performing assessments and observing instruction.

Sixth grade classrooms are also observed as part of the schools “vertical teaming work,” and seventh grade teachers will be meeting and observing sixth graders before the school year is over.

Sixth grade students will also visit the junior high and have lunch in the cafeteria for the first time.

Starting next school year, said Medeiros, RMS will be changing its structure of fifth grade classrooms as a way to introduce a slow transition before switching over to junior high. Fifth grade classes will be compartmentalized, with a homeroom, one teacher for math, one for English language arts, science, and so on, with students switching throughout the day.

The sixth grade class structure will transition toward a “STEM approach.”

At the junior high, pedagogy is no longer viewed as an effective way to teach math to students, with admin now favoring more group work, student engagement, with less teacher talk and more student talk.

Brogioli also had other ideas for future trials for transition and teaching at the junior high.

“I would still like to see longer classes, longer periods,” said Brogioli. “I do think a 50- to 56-minute … somewhere inside there is the sweet spot.”

Periods at the junior high are currently 47 minutes long.

“We can still do a good job in the 47 that we have,” said Brogioli. “I’m not going to rest on where we’re at…. We’re going to keep going.”

The committee also approved the 25-cent hike in the school lunch price for the next school year, which will be implemented at all schools across the Old Rochester Regional school districts. At RMS, the price will increase from $2.50 to $2.75.

The next meeting of the Rochester School Committee is scheduled for June 2 at 6:30 pm at Rochester Memorial School.

By Jean Perry

Annual Marion SpringFest

on May 14, 2015

May 9 was the day of the Annual Marion SpringFest sponsored by the Sippican Lands Trust and the Tree and Parks Committee! There was a performance by the Toe Jam Puppet Band, a Birds of Prey demonstration, face painting, and a rock-climbing wall. All over Marion on Saturday you could see signs on the spring season, including the Recreation Department’s annual event, “Touch a Truck.” Photos by Colin Veitch

Richard V. Cutcliffe

on May 14, 2015

Richard V. Cutcliffe, 91, of Rochester, died Monday, May 11, 2015 at his home. He was the husband of Jeanne A. (Verdi) Cutcliffe.

Born in Boston, he was the son of the late Joseph & Alice (Clifford) Cutcliffe. A previous resident of Hanson, he moved to Rochester in 1992.

Mr. Cutcliffe worked for New England Telephone, first as a cable splicer and lineman before becoming an advertising salesman for N.E.T. Yellow Pages. He was a World War II, U.S. Army veteran serving from 1943 to 1946.

Mr. Cutcliffe was the former owner of the Dundee Mountain Ski Lodge in Conway, NH.

Survivors include his wife Jeanne and his children, Rick Cutcliffe and Susan Cutcliffe both of Rochester. He was predeceased by his daughter, the late Janet Cutcliffe.

His funeral service will be Sat., May 16, 2015 at the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Highway (Rt. 28), Wareham at 10 a.m. Interment in Oak Grove Cemetery, Falmouth. Visiting hours will be Fri., from 6 – 9 p.m. at the funeral home.

Donations in his memory may be made to Alzheimer’s Assoc. of MA., 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472.

Mr. ORR Kick-Starts Senior Send-Off

on May 13, 2015

One of the most popular events in the long lead up to graduation at Old Rochester Regional High School is undoubtedly the “Mr. ORR” pageant, which took place this year on Thursday, May 7.

The event featured nine contestants and was split into five different categories: the opening video and dance number, casual wear, talent, formal wear, and a two-part question-and-answer session.

The judges of the event were three of ORR’s most popular teachers – English teachers Michael Beson and Kathy Brunelle, and math teacher Micah Kidney. ‘Mr. ORR’ was emceed by The Wanderer’s own Michael Kassabian.

Seven of the eight participants this year were seniors, as is customary for the event. Benjamin Rounseville, Shaun Lavoie, Alex Aruri, Mitch Midwood, Mike Pellegrino, Ian MacLellan, and Patrick McGraw were the guys looking to establish their legacy and go down in ORR history. Sophomore Jonathan Kvilhaug is on track to be the rare four-year participant in Mr. ORR, a brave endeavor indeed.

Among the notable performances of Mr. ORR was MacLellan’s spirited reading of an Amazon.com comment section for a bag of gummy bears, which instantly set apart his style during the talent section.

There was also Lavoie’s performance of “Forever” by Drake and Eminem, which included help from his friend Trevor Capachione (as Eminem).

The audience particularly enjoyed Midwood’s “Condiment Pool” talent, and Aruri and Pellegrino’s joint re-enactment of a scene from “Titanic” elicited a lot of laughter.

Aruri and MacLellan distinguished themselves with clever answers during the Q&A section, which featured both a serious and humorous question for each contestant.

As the event came to a close and it became time to tally up the votes, there was no clear leader, and a feeling of suspense came over the crowd.

At this time, the jazz band combo of seniors Matthew Parisi, Hannah Cormier, Matthew Twaddle, and sophomore Max Wolski performed for the crowd. After enjoying the music, the crowd anxiously waited to hear the results.

Third place went to Midwood, who gave consistently good performances in each section. Second place went to Pellegrino, who was also quite entertaining and creative in his talent/answers. The winner was Alex Aruri, who went above and beyond in his quest to become the next Mr. ORR.

The crowd left satisfied as Mr. ORR proved once again that it is one of the premier entertainment events of the school year.

Although the seniors still have some time before they throw their caps into the air, the event provided a nice send-off for its competitors and a fitting end to Aruri’s high school career.

Additional helpers for the event included seniors Madeline Cafarella, Shannon Lynch, and Korryn Pinard (choreography), senior Peter Sands (lights), and sophomore Camryn Kidney (sound).

Drama director Paul Sardinha also helped organize the event, along with English teacher SaraBeth Morrell and Special Ed. teacher Heather Kidney. Main Street Formals of Acushnet provided the tuxedos for the event.

All said, the event was very successful and provided great entertainment for an audience full of teachers, students, parents, and members of the community.

By Patrick Briand

Friends of the Bike Path

on May 13, 2015

To the Editor:

Friends of the Bike Path thank all who attended Mattapoisett Town Meeting and voted additional funding for the path. If you’ve changed your email address or haven’t received an email update in a while, please contact the Friends at bdesousa43@comcast.net. It’s possible we will need more funding in the fall. If you want to lend a hand in a regional fundraising effort to get funding for design from outside Mattapoisett, please contact me.

Recent updates: Our proposed schedules for environmental permitting as well as a bridge design are moving through the review process. Also we learned that state construction funding was recommended and will be voted on this week. Another great milestone! We expect bidding later in Fiscal Year 2016 and construction soon after.

Bonne DeSousa, Mattapoisett

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.