Board Forms Annex Study Committee

on December 22, 2014

Shortly after the adjournment of the joint meeting of the Tri-Town selectmen on December 15, the Rochester Board of Selectmen held their own meeting and established the ad hoc Town Hall Annex Study Committee it promised to create, after the board’s Special Town Meeting article to fund a feasibility study to build a new annex failed.

In a follow-up interview the next day with Town Administrator Michael McCue, he gave a general description of what took place during the brief selectmen’s meeting and described the composition of the new study committee.

“It will be the three selectmen, two at-large members, myself the town administrator, Andrew Daniel the facilities manager, and Highway Surveyor Jeffrey Eldridge,” said McCue.

Selectmen will advertise for the two resident at-large spots on the board and address the matter at the next meeting.

Also during the meeting, selectmen approved a list of goals and objectives for McCue for the coming year. McCue provided these goals and objectives in an email on December 16:

– Town bylaws/amendments written into a single document

– Direct Town Hall Annex/Building an annex

– Examine options to improve town cash flow

– Work with water commission on water issues-New Bedford issues

– Rochester/Marion water contract

– Redesign evaluation forms in consideration of department heads goals and objectives

– Complete review of current policies and procedures

– Establish quarterly inspection of all town-owned facilities

The next scheduled meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is January 5 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

Mattapoisett Library Upcoming Programs

on December 21, 2014

Christmas with Dr. Who: Everyone is invited to hang out with Dr. Who episodes on the big screen on Friday, December 19 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Snacks, fun and comfy furniture. Sign up by calling 508-758-4171.

Storytime with Sadie: Come and listen to a story with our library “Good Listener” dog, Sadie, on Saturday, December 20 at 11:00 am. Then join the staff for a craft afterward. Registration required by visiting the library or calling 508-758-4171.

Make a Candy House: Come and read Gingerbread Stories on Tuesday, December 23 from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm, and then build and decorate your own candy house to take home. This is a great way to celebrate the holiday season at the library. Registration required. Call 508-758-4171.

Movie Extravaganza: The Junior Friends invite children to watch Frozen at the library on Tuesday, December 23 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. Popcorn will be served.

Holiday Hours: The Mattapoisett Library will be open until noon on December 24 and December 31. The library will be closed on December 25 and January 1.

Sean Murphy Makes WPI All-Star

on December 21, 2014

Sean Murphy was one of eight members of the WPI Football team to earn a spot on the 24th annual Steve “Merc” Morris All-Star Team as selected by the eight sports information directors of Worcester County.

The team is named in memory of Steve “Merc” Morris, the longtime Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations and Assumption Hall of Famer. Morris was a 1972 graduate of Assumption and was a member of the athletics staff for 39 years before he passed away in January of 2011.

The quartet of senior Nate Martel, junior Sean Murphy and sophomores Brian Murtagh and Brandon Eccher distinguished themselves by earning first team honors.

Also receiving recognition with second team accolades were seniors Zach Arnold, Jack Downey and juniors Vinny Tavernelli and Eric Lacroix.

Murphy picked up first team All-Worcester Area honors for a second straight season. The junior recorded team-highs with four interceptions and six pass breakups despite seeing a limited amount of balls thrown to his side of the field. Murphy returned interceptions for touchdowns against Curry and Union and also returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Worcester State. The pick-six at Curry was named a GEICO Best of College Football Play of the Year finalist and aired twice on CBS late last month.

WPI, who concluded the 2014 season with its first-ever victory over Springfield, will kick off the 2015 campaign at home Labor Day weekend against New England Football Conference champion, and NCAA Division III Football Championship second round participant, MIT.

Mid-Year Assessments

on December 21, 2014

The four core values of Tabor’s mission statement give context to the most recent change in the school exam schedule, especially the first value: To inspire a life-long love of learning.

This school year marks the first in which Tabor will take on a new mid-year assessment format. Rather than have three-hour exams for each major course, teachers will design projects for the students to complete, which will count for a large percentage of their semester grade, but will not be worth as much as the previous mid-term exams.

Eileen Marceau, Tabor’s new dean of studies, has helped implement this new system, which has been in the works over the past few months. The faculty often evaluates the way in which they educate and the systems that are used. The conversation about eliminating exams began when the simple question was raised: How and why do we assess?

Many department chairs saw the elimination of mid-term exams as an opportunity for more class time. In the past, two weeks were dedicated to exam review and exams. With an already short independent school calendar, this extra class time would be very valuable.

Marceau says that the new projects are intended to be “more real-world focused.” She points out that other independent schools do not have mid-term exams and that Tabor is in many ways “modernizing” their system by making learning more “authentic.”

The goal of these projects is to allow students to apply what they learn rather than cram and memorize facts that they would be able to access in the real world given modern technology.

Marceau hopes that this process will help make students excited about what they are learning. She points out Tabor’s core value: To inspire a life-long love of learning.

“Who loves to sit down and take a three-hour test?” said Marceau. “[Students should] be excited to use their knowledge in a context that feels real.”

She referred to Tabor’s new computer science class as an example.

A student has designed his own video game and is creating something from the knowledge that is acquired in the classroom. Most importantly, the computer science students are enjoying doing so. This format of projects will allow the passions of students and teachers alike to “shine through more in the classroom,” as Marceau put it.

At the end of the year, students will still take final exams. As a preparatory school, Tabor Academy aims to prepare students for college. A combination of final exams and mid-year projects is perhaps the best way to prepare students for higher education in which both formats of assessment will be required of them.

The system is still “a work in progress,” according to Marceau. Projects are more difficult for math and science teachers in comparison to humanities courses and Advanced Placement (AP) teachers gave “mock AP” tests as mid-year exams in the past. The change will force the teachers to think creatively about how to approach the new system.

As far as the community’s reaction, Marceau recognizes that “any kind of change is hard.” She sees it as a “mixed bag of opinions,” but it may be too soon to tell.

Marceau is confident that as the system develops and evolves, “public opinion will evolve as well.”

By Julia O’Rourke

White Gifts Pageant Pleases

on December 21, 2014

On the starlit evening of December 14, the Mattapoisett Congregational Church opened its doors and presented its annual White Gifts Pageant.

The cast consisted of church children dressed as shepherds, sheep, King Herod (Maggie Carroll), Mary (Maggie Berry), and Joseph (Ella Meninno). There was even a tiny baby (one-month old Isaac Lang) who had been carefully placed in the manger (by his real mother who bravely watched from stage left) announcing that Christ was born by uttering tiny mewing sounds.

“It’s the first time in a while that we’ve actually had a live baby, so that’s exciting” said Patricia Berry, director of Christian Education. “You never know when somebody’s going to have a baby!”

The production was everything one would want from a community church extravaganza. Julian Crain, Elliott Talley, Delilah Burlinson and Teddy Carroll were all beaming as they performed a variety of Christmas songs during the prelude, in front of family and friends gathered to watch and encourage them. You got the sense that you were witnessing, nay, experiencing something wonderful.

For hundreds of years, long before Christmas became the commercial event it is today, people gathered to honor what they believed to be one of the holiest days of the year – the day Christ was born. And though the actual date, place, and circumstances continue to be debated, the ceremony of wanting to share hope and love, along with the giving of earthly possessions to others, remains for Christians an integral part of remembering the man they call Jesus.

For over 80 years, the Congregational Church has extended its outreach to those struggling to keep body and soul together through the “White Gifts” pageant.

Combining the story of the nativity with the collection of winter clothing wrapped in white paper, the church supports the spiritual and physical needs of others. The white gifts were symbolically laid at the feet of the Baby Jesus and later distributed to various charitable organizations for distribution.

White Gifts Pageants have been performed throughout the world in Christian churches as far back as the early 20th century. The adoration of the King is oftentimes a significant part of the choreography. On this night in Mattapoisett, it was the angels, the sheep, and the shepherds no more than three-feet tall that surrounded a kicking baby Jesus. To that, all one can say is, Amen!

By Marilou Newell

Control, Not Exclusion

on December 21, 2014

Tasked with protecting the town from businesses that could change the character of Marion with their trademarked color schemes, drive-thru windows, and sheer size, the Marion Planning Board Master Plan Subcommittee is weighing its options on how best to regulate such businesses without appearing to blatantly exclude them.

Subcommittee Co-Chairman Rico Ferrari made a few things clear on December 10 before bylaw discussions began: Marion cannot have a bylaw that excludes a particular business, protects local businesses, restricts competition, or regulates the interior of a business structure.

What the town could do, though, is restrict the size of a building’s footprint, ban drive-thru windows, and regulate the exterior aesthetics of a would-be corporate-stylized building.

“We want control,” stated Planning Board and subcommittee member Robert Lane, “but not exclusion.”

The subcommittee, doing the research for formula business bylaw options and the legwork of forming a new Master Plan, has options to explore before making a recommendation to the Planning Board as a whole.

Some members present for discussion agreed that a viable option would be to add drive-thru windows to the current principal use table of the bylaw, prohibiting them from all zoning districts. Other suggestions were limiting drive-thrus to banks, or allowing them by special permit only, if possible.

Subcommittee member Marilyn Walley brought up a point about the elderly in the area and their reliance on drive-thrus for convenience and safety.

“We should take into account the senior population,” said Walley. “Aging populations really like drive-thrus,” especially when it is cold, icy, or their mobility is limited, she specified.

Former Planning Board member and subcommittee member Ted North wondered if CVS would still build their store at the proposed location on the corner of Route 6 and Front Street without a drive-thru and commented, “It puts the monkey back on the Planning Board’s back.”

Ferrari said allowing drive-thrus through special permit could leave it up to the discernment of both parties: The Planning Board could grant the special permit for a drive-thru, or not – and CVS could choose to build without it, or to not build at all.

Lane said limiting the size of structures would be a good way to regulate business branding, but wondered what exactly the purpose of amending or creating a new bylaw is.

“We have to decide what the goal is,” said Lane. “I think we should list what we want to accomplish and then construct the bylaw around it,” said Lane. Size and architecture, but what else?

Subcommittee members briefly discussed the concept of the more attractive “Cape Cod” design that towns on the Cape have adopted when formula businesses come to town.

Look at what CVS has proposed, commented Ferrari. “It is pretty … Cape Coddy,” he said.

North said the main factor when you see a business structure is, “Are you going to think of it as a building, or as a particular business?”

After discussing the different bylaw options for regulating formula businesses, Walley pointed out what she called a few potential “unintended consequences.”

“It could make a good, quality business look at this (bylaw) and say, ‘I don’t want to go through with this. I can’t work with this, this is onerous,’” said Walley. Much of the bylaw discussion, she said, would appear as though they do not want branded businesses in town – what she called “the elephant.”

“This is saying we don’t want a branded business it town,” said Walley. “I’m not sure I want that.”

Businesses like Domino’s Pizza or Not Your Average Joes, among others, would be welcome in town by Marion residents, some members thought.

“Now you’re picking winners and losers,” said North, “and you can’t pick winners and losers.”

By Jean Perry

Marion Town House Committee to Seek Architect

on December 20, 2014

Next month, the Marion Town House Building Committee with the Marion Board of Selectmen will issue a Request for Qualifications to hire an architectural team to prepare a feasibility study to renovate and modernize the historic Marion Town House. The landmark building was constructed in 1876–1890 for Tabor Academy as a gift from the town’s most important benefactor, Elizabeth Taber. In 1937, it was given to the Town of Marion as part of a land swap with the growing school. The 138-year old building is now in need of extensive repairs and updating to meet current building codes and modern functionality.

The RFQ asks for three Town House renovation options to be studied as well as a fourth option, which would incorporate master planning for the Town House, the Elizabeth Taber Library and a senior center. The resulting feasibility study will result in conceptual plans of all four options and will inform townspeople as to what renovation plan is most feasible and what the cost will be. The four options specifically exclude demolition of the 1876 building

The Town House Building committee members are Paul Dawson (Town Manager), Lynn Crocker, Priscilla Ditchfield, Jon Henry (selectman), Wayne Matteson, Bob Raymond (chairman), Bill Saltonstall, Meg Steinberg and Shaun Cormier (Facilities Manager and Owners Project Manager).

The ultimate goal of the study is to provide modern functional town facilities in beautifully renovated buildings compatible with the special character of the town. The Committee will hold a public hearing next summer at the completion of the study to present the results.

ORR to Offer ‘Gateway to College’

on December 20, 2014

Students who dropped out of high school or are struggling in the high school setting and considering dropping out have a new avenue to success in earning their high school diploma – while simultaneously earning credits toward college.

The Old Rochester Regional School Committee on December 10 gave approval for ORR to offer the “Gateway to College” program upon the request of ORRHS Principal Michael Devoll, who said he already has students showing interest in the program.

Devoll said one student of the 2014 graduating class dropped out of ORR before graduating and contacted Devoll that very day, looking for a way to return to ORR to graduate. When he told her about the tentative approval by the School Committee that evening, she was excited.

The Gateway to College program would allow her and other students to attend classes at Bristol Community College to earn high school credits toward their diploma as a dual enrollment program, and earn college credits at the same time. The students would be enrolled at ORR, but take their courses at BCC.

“This is a student that is ready to go,” said Devoll, saying that returning to ORR after a year removed, mid-year, would prove more difficult for her.

“And without the peer group, it would make it even more difficult for this student,” said Devoll.

There is no cost for the student to attend the program, which would be funded by the school district at $3,500 per semester, the same rate as a School Choice placement.

There is a rigorous admissions process, though, and prospective students who apply would attend one-on-one interviews, as well as submit essays and undergo placement testing.

Also during the meeting, Devoll introduced some changes to the ORR course selection of the high school program of studies.

In light of the committee’s approval last year of the four-year Physical Education graduation requirement, the school will now offer racquet sports, “Fitness for Life,” and give credit for out-of-school recreational activities such as dance, horseback riding, or YMCA membership.

Some music courses like Music Technology II and Intermediate Guitar will be eliminated due to lack of interest. Instead, students would re-enroll in the beginning level course and the instructor would adjust the curriculum individually according to level.

Also offered will be grade nine and ten ELA and Mathematics skills classes aimed at improving performance on standardized tests and building a stronger foundation for higher levels of math, such as Algebra II. The skills classes would be full-year classes, but only meet twice instead of four times during the school’s eight-day academic cycle.

New Science teacher Virginia Mattos will start offering a new Intro to Epidemiology class after students polled showed a significant interest.

ORR will also offer American Sign Language as a foreign language option for students who would otherwise not take a language. Devoll’s concern was students who graduate without the two-year foreign language requirement for college admissions.

Devoll said he researched other schools that offer sign language and found schools’ responses to be “all positive.”

If you build it, said Devoll, they will come.

“If you build it and they don’t come, we won’t run it,” said Devoll.

Also during the meeting, some teachers who offered to pilot the integration of the district’s new Chromebooks directly into their classroom curriculum told the committee how successful the move has been, saying they use the devices daily and the students love them. One of the teachers said his class has reduced its paper consumption to zero, while another said the students are more engaged and excited to learn.

The next meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is scheduled for January 14 at 6:00 pm in the ORR media room.

By Jean Perry

Fulbright Teacher Prepares for Journey

on December 20, 2014

Kate Raffile is about to embark on a journey that will combine two of her passions in life – traveling the world and teaching children how to read.

Raffile, a special education teacher who has been with Sippican School for six years, was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching in April of this year. Along with that comes the opportunity to live and study abroad for six months in the country of her choosing: Raffile was drawn to New Zealand, which is known for its highly regarded early literacy intervention practices.

“One of my true loves in teaching is teaching early primary students how to read,” said Raffile. She wants to witness firsthand how New Zealand implements its successful early literacy programs, what its practices and interventions involve, its special education referral rates, and how it supports its teachers.

“They know what they’re doing,” said Raffile. Her preferred early literacy intervention program, Reading Recovery, was devised in New Zealand and widely implemented in the country, as well as in other countries. “I’ve made connections with some of the people (in New Zealand) I consider gurus.” She continued, “I already have meetings set up for when I go.”

Raffile’s departure date is January 21, and she won’t be back at Sippican until July 18. She has been preparing for the trip for months now, making contact with educators, as well as literacy scholars and authors, in New Zealand.

Beverley Randell, an internationally recognized author of books for children, is one whom Raffile has looked up to, often referring to her books for inspiration and ideas. When the two finally spoke, Randell asked Raffile if she had secured housing yet, to which Raffile replied that she had not. Randell offered an apartment in her home until March, when another rental belonging to Randell’s daughter becomes available. This was thrilling for Raffile.

Randell just so happens to have a library in her home of 26,000 children’s books, which means Raffile will find herself literally in a full-immersion experience.

When Raffile is not researching for her Fulbright capstone project focusing on early literacy intervention, Raffile will be based in the capital city of Wellington and will spend much of her instruction time with students living beneath the poverty level. She is also looking forward to spending some of her free time exploring the country.

“Although I’ve traveled a lot, I’ve never lived in a foreign country for six months,” said Raffile, anticipating some personal growth to accompany her growth professionally. Things have recently started to set in for Raffile as her trip nears, she said, with a little bit of nervousness mounting. “I’m starting to think six months is a long time to be away,” she laughed. And that 15-hour flight from California to New Zealand is weighing a bit on her mind.

Being separated from her students at Sippican will be challenging, too, but Raffile intends to stay connected from abroad, hoping to set up some video chat sessions between her classes in New Zealand and her classes back home.

In addition to returning to Sippican with new teaching techniques and early literacy interventions, Raffile is hoping to bring back a strong message for her students that look up to her.

“I got the bug to travel and I love to travel. If I could instill that into my students…” said Raffile. “There is so much you can learn from talking to and being around all different types of people.”

Raffile will be writing a blog throughout her stay abroad, which can be found at http://kateraffilenewzealand.blogspot.com.

By Jean Perry

Frances T. (O’Byrne) Duff

on December 19, 2014

Frances T. (O’Byrne) Duff, 93, of Mattapoisett died December 19, 2014 at Sippican Health Care Center.

She was the widow of the late John R. Duff.

Born in Brockton, the daughter of the late Christopher and Sarah (O’Grady) O’Byrne, she lived in Mattapoisett most of her life.

She was a communicant of St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett.

Mrs. Duff was formerly employed as a teacher and principal at Parting Ways School in Acushnet for many years before retiring from teaching at Ford Middle School.

She enjoyed boating.

Survivors include a son, John R. “Jack” Duff, Jr. and his wife Evelyn of Mattapoisett; a daughter, Maureen C. Best and her husband Robert of Mattapoisett; a brother, Christopher J. O’Byrne, Jr. of Abington; a sister, Lucille Peters of Raynham; 9 grandchildren, Kimberly M. Riley, Keri L. Duff, Shelley R. Butler, John R. Duff III, Tara L. Ignacio, Robert W. Best Jr., Meghan E. Rocha, Maureen C. Best, and Ryan P. Best; 11 great-grandchildren, Braydon, Aja-Leigh, Harrison, Mackenzie, Jack, Drew, Marissa, Riley, Garrett, Amanda and Gavin; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was the sister of the late Eleanor Dupuy and Sarah J. McGarry.

Her Funeral will be held on Monday at 9 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett, followed by her Funeral Mass at St. Anthony’s Church at 10 AM. Burial with follow in Pine Island Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Sunday from 4-7 PM. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.