Not to say every game is not important, but some games just have a little more meaning than others.

Whether it is the transition from the preseason to the regular season or the regular season to the postseason, games can take on a new meaning at a certain calendar date. Recently, that happened for the Silver Lake girls basketball team (4-3) as they hit the point in their schedule with more league games.

Coming up, the Lakers will face Plymouth North (January 13), Duxbury (January 20), Scituate (January 24), Whitman-Hanson (January 27) and Plymouth South (January 31). The league games have an extra meaning because teams who win their league are guaranteed a tournament spot — although many teams who win their league will have at least the 10 wins necessary for a spot anyways.

In their league action thus far, the Lakers have played well.

In their January 3 win over North Quincy where they outscored their foe, the Red Raiders, 50-40, there was not one standout scorer, but — like it has been for the entire season — a number of players played a major role in win. Three players — Alyssa Nelson, Syd Kehoe, and Holly Reeder-Morning shouldered most of the scoring effort against the Red Raiders, combining for 39 of the team’s 50 points. Nelson led the team with 14 points while Kehoe added 13 points and Reeder-Morning put up an additional 12 points.

It is worth noting Reeder-Morning is a freshman this year and already, she has established herself as someone who receives significant playing time and is a major contributor to the team.

Speaking of youth, the Lakers are one of the younger varsity basketball programs around. Certainly, that helps their chances of future success. There are just four seniors on their varsity roster this season — captain Maddie Gillan, Olivia Macomber, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, Emily Critch and Nina Whidden. Even though the Lakers will be losing quality basketball players, they are fortunate to not be losing more players than they are — as they did last season.

The Lakers next home game is Wednesday, Jan. 24, against Scituate.

Boys’ Basketball

The Lakers split last week, taking a 49-43 win over Pembroke on Tuesday, Dec. 13, and suffering a 54-50 loss to Silver Lake three days later.

Girls’ Basketball

The girls fell 63-37 to Pembroke on Tuesday, Dec. 13, but they would come back strong three days later as they topped Whitman-Hanson, 67-53. In their win over Whitman-Hanson, the girls trailed by 14 points at halftime, but tough defense in the second half change the game.

Boys’ Ice Hockey

The boys opened their season with a 1-0 win over Whitman-Hanson. Colby Gilbert had the lone goal of the game and Alden Maguire had a shutout in net. On Saturday that week, they also beat Franklin, 4-0.

Girls’ Ice Hockey

The co-op with Whitman-Hanson beat Quincy/North Quincy, 8-1, on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Like the boys, they also beat Franklin last Saturday, except theirs was a 6-0 win.

Boys’ Indoor Track

The boys improved to 2-0 with a 58-42 win over Whitman-Hanson on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Girls’ Indoor Track

The girl fell, 63-37, to Whitman-Hanson, on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Boys’ Swimming

The boys swim team fell to Duxbury in their first meet, 76-38, in Duxbury on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Girls’ Swimming

The girls swim team also fell to Duxbury the same day as the boys’ team, 98-78.

Boys’ Wrestling

On opening night (Wednesday, Dec. 14), the wrestling team fell, 42-12, to Duxbury. But on Saturday, Dec. 17, they finished the day 1-1 at a tri-meet with Somerset Berkeley, who they beat, 42-40, and Cohasset, who they fell to, 41-33.

By James Bentley

Express Correspondent

On November 30, the Plympton Public Safety Building Committee met to discuss plans for new police and fire stations. The committee expressed concern that actual cost will exceed the estimated cost the committee was initially given.

Historic Commission chairman Jon Wilhelmsen said, “When you look at the study that was done before, they did not suggest that we were going to build a police station for a million dollars. It did not say anything close to that.”

The committee directed much of the meeting toward addressing these challenges and trying to find a way to overcome them. Wilhelmsen says, “The question is whether the $1  million or $1.5 million that’s being thrown around was ever a realistic number.”

One of the concerns addressed was the cost of the sprinkler system. Because there would be cells in the basement of the new police station, a sprinkler system is necessary there. To save on the overall cost of the station’s system, the committee suggested potentially using one tank for both the police and fire station.

Another option the committee explored was decreasing the overall size of the station. Board of Health Chairman Art Morin mentioned the square footage may need to drop to around 6000 square feet.

Morin said, “We might like to have something, but they might not be practical within cost … It’s not that you’re trying to make everyone work out of a tiny space, cramped space, but there are some things that we are going to have to give up.”

The board discussed some of the items Police Chief Pat Dillon was willing to cut. He thinks the square footage can be brought down to between 7,200-7,500 square feet.

Morin believes the size can be cut more if no fitness center is included in the new police station. He did admit this would probably not be a popular decision.

The committee still has work to do to address these challenges, but they did discuss another plan that has the station at around 5,800 square feet. Options will continue to be explored at the next meeting scheduled on December 20, 2016.

The 23rd Annual Holidays in Halifax weekend will take place on Saturday, Dec. 10, with entertaining events from 3:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. through many town buildings.

The weather promises to cooperate with the ice sculptors who would like to see their creations finished before the melting begins.   Last year brought warm, comfortable temperatures for holiday revelers, but turned ice sculptures to puddles.  This year, Bob and Tim Botto and Phil Lambert will turn blocks of ice into art outside the Halifax Town Hall, Route 106.  Put on your mittens, scarf and hat, and cheer them on!

The second floor Great Room of the Halifax Town Hall has been magically transformed into a “Victorian Christmas” scene, with a train set running throughout.  Be sure to see it!  Refreshments will be served.

3:45 p.m.

• Events begin in the Halifax Elementary School gymnasium, when the Halifax Elementary Chorus will perform.

4:15 p.m.

• A Dancer’s World will perform in the HES gym.

5 p.m.

• Be entertained by Magician Dennis Blanchard, again in the HES gym.

• Bring your favorite chili recipe all cooked in your crock pot to see how it to other entries.  Votes will be cast for the favorite, and bragging rights will be awarded at 7:30 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

Worship Band at the Well Church, Rte. 106.

6 p.m.

• Silver Lake Choir performs at the Holmes Public Library, Rte. 106.

7 p.m.

• Worship Band at the Well Church, Rte. 106.

7:15 p.m.

Reading of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Dick Steele at the Holmes Public Library, Rte. 106.

7:20 p.m.

Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the Holmes Public Library.

7:30 p.m.

Firehouse Chili Cookoff winner announced at the Halifax Fire Dept.

Ongoing events and open houses include

The Well Church, in the Rockland Trust Plaza, Rte. 106, will offer refreshments and the Worship Band will perform.

Also in the HES gym, you’ll find face painting, jumpers, balloon animals and magic tricks by Dennis Blanchard – all provided by Halifax Youth and Recreation.   Refreshments provided by Dunkin’ Donuts.

At the Holmes Public Library, 470 Plymouth St., Rte. 106, bid in the Friends of the Holmes Library Silent Auction.

At the Water Department, there will be Campside Christmas and Flag Retirement, and refreshments served by the Boy Scouts.

Council on Aging at Pope’s Tavern will serve refreshments.  There you will find a coat drive sponsored by the Cub Scouts and new hat and mittens drive by the Girl Scouts.

John “Doghouse Dog” Shea will have his fried dough stand in the food area near the library.

Stop in and see The Museum of Halifax Open House.  While they aren’t serving refreshments, they do have many items from Old Halifax on display.

Also see The Brockton Store, where there will be refreshments and letters to Santa, the Old Schoolhouse where there will be refreshments and Halifax Historical Society, where you can find Halifax pottery items for sale – great for holiday gifting!

At the Blacksmith Shop there will be a demonstration by Dean Rantz.

John McDonough’s Clydesdales will be at Vaughn Field behind the elementary school.

The Bible Baptist Church will have a living Nativity and choir.

The Holidays in Halifax Committee would like to give special thanks to the Halifax Water Department, Gerry Elliot, Area 58 Community Access Media, Girl Scouts, Halifax Highway Dept., Halifax Fire Dept., Halifax Police Dept.  Bu Scouts, Ken and Betty Corti, Holmes Library, Cub Scouts, Mutual Bank, Bob and Tim Botto, Halifax Post Office, Mike Fagan, Dean Rantz, Dunkin; Donuts, Cumberland Farms, Highway Safety Systems, Halifax Town Hall, Halifax Historical Society, all of our participants, contributors, and ALL of our wonderful volunteers.

Plympton sisters Emma and Sofia Christensen will dance at the South Shore Ballet Company’s performance of the Nutcracker.  Emma, 10, will dance the lead as Clara.

South Shore residents craving a Nutcracker fix this season need go no further than Braintree where  more than 85 local dancers will bring to life the story of Clara, a young girl swept up in a battle with a mouse king and then transported to the magical Land of the Sweets.

Set to Tchaikovsky’s beloved score, the ballet includes performances by the Sugar Plum Fairy, featuring guest artist Sayaka Wakita (Royal Ballet of Flanders), to the mysterious Drosselmeyer, featuring SSBT faculty Harunaga Yamakawa, as well as a dazzling array of dancing palace fairies, chocolates and marzipan.

The Nutcracker will run December 17 and 18 with two performances on Saturday, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., and one performance on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Thayer Academy, 745 Washington St., Braintree.  Tickets are on sale at www.tututix.com, and are expected to sell out.

Emma is in the fifth grade at the Dennett Elementary School.  This is her 4th year participating in the South Shore Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker. She began dancing at 3, but more intensely at the age of 7.    Her sister Sofia is 7 years old and is in the second grade at the Dennett Elementary School.  She has been dancing since she was 3 years old.  This is her second year performing in the Nutcracker.  She will be an angel.

Hanover’s South Shore Ballet Theatre (SSBT), was founded in 2008 by Marthavan McKeon, a twenty seven-year veteran ballet instructor (including ten years with the Boston Ballet School) and former soloist with the Atlanta Ballet.  McKeon heads a faculty that includes former Boston Ballet soloists and faculty Leslie Woodies and Stephanie Moy, and former American Ballet Theatre dancer Nan Keating, who was principal of Boston Ballet School’s (now-defunct) Norwell studio and before that of the Children’s Ballet Workshop, precursor to the Boston Ballet School.

SSBT’s 5700 plus square feet of studio space is equipped with professionally-sprung floors, custom mirrors and barres and pianos for live accompaniment.   SSBT offers pre-professional training as well as recreational ballet for students from ages three to adult.

SSBT graduates have pursued advanced training at American Ballet Theatre, Ellison Ballet, Alvin Ailey/Fordham University, Houston Ballet Academy, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, Ballet West, Bolshoi Ballet (CT and NYC), Next Generation, Washington Ballet, Miami Ballet, and Carolina Ballet.

With the Silver Lake Lakers football team wrapping up their season on Thanksgiving, fall sports are officially over for the school. And the same could be said for just about anywhere else in the state, except the few football teams who will be competing in State Championship games next week.

While there might not be any football, soccer, cross country, field hockey or volleyball until next year, there are still plenty of teams to go out and cheer for during the winter seasons.

Two of the four major sports in the United States — hockey and basketball — are winter sports and the Lakers have boys and girls teams in both.

It might also be worth noting the girls’ hockey team is a co-op program along with Whitman-Hanson and they were strong last year. Making the Division 2 South playoff bracket as the No. 12 seed, they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round as they fell, 5-3, to Archbishop Williams. But they were a young team and finished the year 12-7, which makes them a team to watch.

Speaking of co-ops, the gymnastic team is paired together with Pembroke and last year, they succeeded together. Scoring 134.9 points in the Patriot League championship meet, they came away with a league title. They finished the year 7-1 in their first season in the Patriot League. Previously, they had been in the Cranberry Conference. A Patriot League All-Star her freshman year, Tori Newton, should be one of the team’s top performers this season. Expected to return 12 of their 18 gymnasts, watch for another strong season from the co-op this winter.

The boys’ hockey team and both basketball teams did not make the playoffs last season.

The wrestling team could be one to watch this year as they went 13-8-1 in their dual meets last winter. While they did lose Jake MacDonald, Aidan Bertram and David Pettingell, all of whom wrestled at All-States last season, the team as a whole last year was young — which should lead to positive results again this winter.

The Lakers also have track and swim teams, that compete in the winter.

Depending on the sport, this upcoming week will serve as either a tryout week or the first week of practice.

Get into the holiday spirit this weekend and enjoy an evening or afternoon performance of the Silver Lake Middle School Drama Club’s performance of Elf, The Musical, the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole.   Playing Buddy is Josie Cline of Halifax.

Performances will be Saturday night, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m.

General admission tickets are $8, and students, children, and senior citizens are $6.  There are a limited number of reserve tickets on sale for $10.

Tickets will be sold at the door.  Doors will open 30 minutes before showtime.

The Silver Lake Middle School is at 256 Pembroke St., Rte. 27, Kingston, on the Silver Lake Regional campus.

By Jaime Castle

Express Contributor

Some people spend years training for the Boston Marathon. Lifetime Plympton resident Jocelyn Anderson only has 6 months until she hits Heartbreak Hill for charity.

A first time marathoner (Boston or otherwise) Anderson is running for the American Stroke Association. Created in 1997, the American Stroke Association is dedicated to prevention, diagnosis and treatment to save lives from stroke — America’s No. 5 killer and a leading cause of serious disability.  “It’s important to me, losing my father to stroke has been the major factor in my mission to run with Tedy’s Team” said Anderson. “I’m also proud to run on behalf of all the stroke survivors, like my friend and Tedy’s Team teammate Jaclyn Grundy.”

“I have a great amount of respect for the work they do and awareness they spread on recognizing the warning signs of stroke, as well as the work they do in the prevention of stroke.” said Anderson.

Anderson learned she was tapped to join Tedy’s Team in May, just 6 months after she took up running at the age of 33.  While she started running for her health, Anderson said “through the association with Tedy’s Team, it has become much more meaningful running to support a cause.”

There are two ways to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Runners either must meet a qualifying time or apply for one of many spots given to charitable groups. “It’s a huge honor to be able to raise money for the American Stroke Association, as part of Tedy’s Team” said Anderson.“I felt like this was a great way to bring awareness to the American Stroke Association and the great work that they do, and I am proud to run with Tedy’s Team”

Before the Boston Marathon on April 17, Anderson must raise $10,500. To make a donation online, visit www.bit.ly.com/runwithjoc or go to http://honor.americanheart.org and click on Tedy’s Team, then search for Andersons’ name.

Know the warning signs of stroke:

F – Face: ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

A – Arms: ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S – Speech: ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?

T – Time: if you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.