The December 14 meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee meeting kicked off with a celebration, recognizing the ORR golf team that finished its 2022 fall season as MIAA Division 2 state champions.

            The players were recognized in alphabetical order: Chase Almeida, Gabe DeBlois, Sawyer Fox, Logan Franco, Connor Galligan, John Higgins, Jake Iappini, Peter le Gassick, Philip le Gassick, Riley Karo, Finn Kavanaugh, Alec Marsden, Brady Mills, Zach Mourao, Markus Pierre, Jack Soutter and Braden Yeomans. Also recognized were Head Coach Chris Cabe and Assistant Coach Dr. Erich Carroll.

            With other commitments, including conflicting winter sports, not all team members were able to attend the meeting, but those who did received congratulatory certificates signed by the school committee. Cabe, who was not present, was also acknowledged for his recognition as 2022-23 MIAA Golf Coach of the Year by The Boston Globe, a school-first, according to ORR Principal Mike Devoll.

            After a resounding celebration of the team’s skill, the committee settled into other business, including a review of the MCAS scores for the various grades and subjects. Overall, while there continues to be difficulty making up for the “learning loss” due to the ongoing pandemic, it was reported that ORR is in “a really good place” with regards to learning percentiles and milestones as compared to statewide averages.

            Director of Guidance (Grades 7-12) Lauren Millette delivered an in-depth presentation on Project 351’s “Playbook Initiative.”

            “Project 351 is all about having the belief that young people are remarkable and that they have within them the tools and the vision and the desire to build an inclusive and united global community,” Millette explained. “The Playbook Initiative itself seeks to leverage the power of sport and more specifically, the appeal of the Boston Celtics to engage middle schoolers in equity work and (promote) a sense of belonging for all.”

            Project 351 is, according to its website, “an independent, nonprofit organization that builds a movement of youth-led service by engaging an unsung hero from each of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns.” The Playbook Initiative continues to use sports-centered language during workshops; the students were introduced to the concept as preparing for “game situations.”

            “It is the collective hope of the Playbook Initiative and of the authors that by studying the playbook, either individually or in small groups, that students will be equipped with safe and effective ways to intervene when they notice inequities or behaviors that go against a sense of belonging for all students.”

            Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Shari Fedorowicz recognized Millette’s work and that of two students, Jamison Gunschel and Sara Kroll, who spent a Saturday learning about the program.

            The ORR School Committee took several votes during the meeting.

            The committee voted to approve the California Exchange program, which will allow students from the Tri-Towns to swap places with students from another state to broaden their worldview and learn how other places and schools are run. The latest round would take place February 16-20 and March 8-13 with Rio Vista High School, just outside of San Francisco.

            The committee voted to approve the upcoming 2024 international field trip. The plan is for approximately 30 ORR students in Grades 7 and 8 to make an 11-day tour of notable European historical sites, including those in London, Amsterdam and Krakow. Stops will include the Anne Frank Museum, Auschwitz and Bletchley Park, as well as participation in local cultural traditions like pierogi making.

            Three Ski Club day trips were also approved for three Saturdays, January 28, February 11 and March 4. The club, including 50 students, would be traveling with a minimum of five chaperones, will visit Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire at a cost of $130 per skier.

            ORR’s Science Olympiad team was approved to make three trips for competitions. The team, comprised of five students interested in STEM, will visit Yale University on February 4 and UMass Amherst on February 18. ORR will compete in timed tests, group lab activities and engineering and building events around anatomy, forestry, cell biology, astrophysics, coding and forensics. The Massachusetts Science Olympiad state tournament will be held on March 4 at Wentworth Institute of Technology.

            The committee voted to accept a donation of office supplies from Lockheed Martin, along with a donation from the Mattapoisett Land Trust that will benefit ORR’s Bulldog Brew transition students and the donation by the Class of 1970 of a Japanese maple tree.

            Given recent public debate over particular books on the shelves of ORR District school libraries, the committee was asked to consider drafting a letter on the topic of library resources and materials, as well as current school and district policies on what materials to include.

            “Although these documents are already available publicly, it may be helpful for this committee to state its position as one voice on this topic by drafting a statement spreading current policies and procedures,” read committee Chairperson Michelle Smith from the motion.

            The majority votes had it, and the committee agreed to draft a letter that would then be approved by the committee before sharing publicly.

            During the Open Comment section of the meeting, two community members voiced complaints about the types of books that have been screened and approved for use in the school library, despite continued assurances from administration and educators that the selections of books available to students is managed and maintained by experts in the library field.

            David Pierre Jr., 39 Aucoot Road in Mattapoisett, spoke in opposition of the exposure of the book, “Gender Queer,” to ORR students. Pierre said he has been a teacher for 20 years, teaches middle school now in New Bedford and has a freshman son at ORR. He said he read the book from cover to cover and called its exposure to students insulting, degrading and demeaning, “no matter what their (sexual) orientation is.”

            A second citizen addressed the meeting, asking how books will be reviewed and vetted for school libraries and what opportunity residents will have to participate in discussion over sexually explicit content.

            Rochester School Committee member Anne Fernandes briefly spoke to bring attention to another book, the story that she considers “worthwhile” but containing verbally graphic content she described as “horrific” and inappropriate for students through age 15.

            The next meeting of the Joint School Committee is scheduled for Thursday, January 19, and the next meeting of the ORR School Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25. Both meetings start at 6:30 pm and are held in the ORR Junior High Media Room, also accessible live via Zoom.

ORR School Committee

By Jack MC Staier

            Coming before the Mattapoisett Select Board on December 20 was Board of Health Chairman Carmelo Nicolosi and Board of Health Agent Gail Joseph to discuss pending Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection regulations for limiting nitrogen in watershed areas.

            The DEP plans to implement new regulations for nitrogen-sensitive areas as early as January 2023 that would compel impacted cities and towns to either seek a town-wide permit that demonstrates improvement in the leaching of nitrogen into watershed areas or require property owners to upgrade their private septic systems to install denitrification technology at an estimated $50,000 per household.

            “Right now, the DEP is focusing on the Cape,” said Nicolosi. But he noted that they will look at the Aucoot area in Mattapoisett and the waters off the state reservation Nasketucket. He said that if the town does nothing, everyone in an identified (nitrogen-sensitive) area will have to upgrade their private systems. If the town seeks a watershed permit, it will have five years to demonstrate improvements. The permit remains in place for up to 20 years.

            Select Board member Jordan Collyer called the plan, “half baked.” Water and Sewer Superintendent Henri Renauld said that there are only two denitrification systems on the market currently, while also commenting that presently, groundwater samples have low nitrogen levels. Collyer said the state did not provide sufficient information or guidance in the matter, but that it was important to send a letter to the state expressing questions and concerns.

            Nicolosi thought testing of potential areas of concern should be done by the town now and that the Board of Health would be seeking grants to conduct such research. He further impressed upon the Select Board the importance of filing for a watershed permit.

            Town Administrator Mike Lorenco said that the DEP would be holding four information sessions remotely so the public could ask questions and get information directly from the agency. The sessions will be held on January 17, 18, 24 and 25 at 6:00 pm. Zoom details are available on the town’s website, mattapoisett.net, he said.

            In the category of good news, Collyer said that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has agreed to assume financial responsibility for the installation of planking on Phase 1b of the Bike Path for the next 20 years. “We’ll be responsible for general maintenance,” he stated, but the bigger concern, defective planking which has been resolved by the state, remains the state’s issue to deal with in the future, should more problems arise with the replacement materials. A Memorandum of Understanding will be issued to solidify the agreement, he said.

            Earlier in the meeting, the Select Board approved the use of ARPA funds for various infrastructural needs, including $250,000 for the purchase of new water meters, $43,600 for town-wide new, telecommunication radio equipment and $98,280 for a radio replacement and enhancements for the Fire Department.

            Lorenco noted that the manner in which ARPA funding is used is very specific and that these expenditures are not coming from the taxpayer. Lorenco also announced that the Fire Department has received a grant in the amount of $15,500 for hose replacements, and the Police Department has received $100,000 for body cameras.

            Eagle Scout candidate Murray Copps received permission to move forward with his Eagle project, the installation of swallow boxes in marsh areas. He said that swallows are a species in decline and are beneficial to humans – they eat mosquitos, which can carry the EEE virus.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board was not scheduled upon adjournment.

Mattapoisett Select Board

By Marilou Newell