Plympton has scheduled its fall Special Town Meeting for Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Dennett Elementary School, 80 Crescent St.
There is only one article on the Special Town Meeting Warrant: To see if the town will vote to adopt the amended Silver Lake District Agreement, a copy of which is on file and available for viewing in the Town Clerk’s office and on the Town’s website at: town.plympton.ma.us.
Sen. Moran brings check to Plympton
State Senator Susan Moran, in collaboration with Plympton Town Administrator Liz Dennehy, was able to earmark $50,000 in funds to be used in Plympton water infrastructure, specifically toward a water treatment system for the police station and the remainder to be put toward the well for the Town House Complex. Receiving the check Tuesday morning on behalf of the town are, from left, Patrolman Robert Orr, Plympton Selectman John Traynor, Capital Buildings Committee chair Jon Wilhelmsen, State Senator Susan Moran, Plympton Town Administrator Liz Dennehy, and Police Lieutenant Dan Hoffman.
Halifax BOS meet at Fire House
Kristy Zamagni-Twomey
Express correspondent
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at the Fire House. Chair John Bruno began the meeting saying, “This is our continuing summer adventure, the Halifax Board of Selectmen roadshow… it’s an opportunity for the Board of Selectmen to get out of the Town Hall and actually interact with people which is a good thing. It’s also another opportunity for our various departments, this is the third or fourth one we’ve done this summer, to get on TV and brag a little bit about all the good work that goes on in Halifax.”
Fire Chief Michael Witham spoke to those assembled at the Fire House saying that he has been involved with Fire and EMS services for 32 years. “I am a paramedic,” he said. He also went through an overview of the Department saying they had a Chief, four Captains, and 13 call members, two who are paramedics and 11 that are EMTs. “The overall status of our shifts, we run four shifts now currently; we try to work it with one Captain and two firefighters working daily,” he explained. Witham said that they also have an administrative assistant who “does a fantastic job keeping all of us in line and making sure the daily operations run efficiently.” The Department has two ambulances, two fire engines, a tower truck, some brush trucks, and command vehicles. He noted that the mechanic and DPW work tremendously hard to keep the vehicles in great shape. Witham said that his ideal situation would be to add two more members to the Department which would allow them to have two additional ambulances or another engine. Witham noted that they have mutual aid agreements that allow for other towns to help Halifax in an emergency and vice versa.
Fire Captain Jeffrey Cuozzo also spoke to share a “feel good story” regarding a water rescue back on May 7. Cuozzo said that they received a call that there was a distressed person in the water in a near drowning incident. “Before we even got there, we heard that some civilians managed to get the victim out of the water which was great,” Cuozzo said. Michael Hughes swam after a remote-control boat that was swept into the water farther than anticipated. Residents Lyla Dooley and Cole Hingston were on the beach playing football. Hingston jumped into the water to save the drowning victim while Dooley called 911. Dooley, Hingston, and Hughes were all present at the Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday. It was the first time that the rescuers met the man they saved that day. Just teenagers, Dooley and Hingston were presented with Citizen Hero awards. Selectman Jonathan Selig said, “I personally know Lyla and I know she’s an exceptional kid and if this guy is able to date Lyla Dooley, he must be alright too, so keep up the great work guys.”
Bruno said they had a letter from the Fire Department who was looking to run a fundraiser where a professional photographer would take photographs by an antique vehicle. They were seeking permission to use the town-owned property on the grounds by the blacksmith shop for two dates in October and November for fall and winter-themed photoshoots. The Historic Commission previously signed off on the usage. “A lot of families get their photos done anyway so why not do it in a way that can help the town,” Selig said. The Selectmen approved the use of the property.
The Beautification Commission asked for permission to use the town green on October 14 from 8:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. to kick off a week-wide clean-up project and distribute supplies. The Selectmen also approved this use.
Don Barrows, President of the Monponsett Watershed Association, appeared before the Board to share a leaflet regarding some of the testing and treatments. “The water is really great; I’m surprised myself,” he said. He said that wake surfing in shallow waters was becoming a problem. “What’s happening is those boats are actually bringing up the bottom of the ponds,” Barrows said. Jeremy Gillespie also spoke regarding the boats saying, “basically these boats are specifically designed to displace as much water as possible – they also have plates they can drop down on either side so they can create a wake up to and over 4 ft in height. These wakes have been proven to be much more disturbing than wind-driven wakes… it’s actually like a tsunami wave… you see the water starting to go out and what that does is pulls nutrients out of the water.” Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that they regularly work with Solitude throughout the year and that he was sure if it was a problem, they would address it. Bruno said that in addition to the problems it posed environmentally, he didn’t feel it was an appropriate activity for a small beach. He noted that potential bylaw changes may be needed.
The Selectmen also held the tax classification hearing for fiscal year 2024. Bruno said, “it is an annual event where we determine what the tax rates will be based on the type of property; we’re not setting the tax rate, that’s done… it’s more of a procedural thing than anything else.” The Principal Assessor for the town of Halifax Debbie Dean spoke next. “The town of Halifax has under 10 percent commercial, industrial, and personal property and therefore a split rate is not recommended… the real estate and personal property total value is $1,385,119,480. That’s up 13.4 percent from last year,” Dean explained. She also said that the Board of Assessors is not adopting the Open Space discount. She explained that towns with a lot of second home populations or resort communities often benefit from this discount. “There are only 61 second homes in Halifax,” Dean said. She said the Board of Assessors recommend that the Board of Selectmen vote against the exemptions and in favor of the factor of one. The Board voted in favor of the recommendations.
Bruno told the Selectmen that Haddad had drafted a code of conduct for elected officials. “This is becoming very common throughout the State… as chief policy makers for the town of Halifax it is good to set expectations for Board and Committee members throughout the town,” Haddad explained. He said that he borrowed pieces from other towns.
Melanie Martin-Plant appeared before the Board regarding an appointment to the Conservation Commission. The Commission voted to have her become the fifth member during their previous meeting. Martin-Plant is a new resident of Halifax and previously was involved in environmental advocacy in Plymouth. She said she was a founding member of a group called Sustainable Plymouth. The Selectmen voted to approve her appointment.
Haddad provided the Board with a number of Town Administrator’s updates including the MBTA Action Plan. He said that they hope to have someone come to the Zoning Bylaw Review, the Planning Board, and Zoning Board meetings to provide trainings on ways in which the town can be in compliance with the Action Plan. He said that they received word that Morse Brothers would be conducting work and noted that they were informed that they will need to submit a permit. Bruno outlined the process for taking public comment as he said he anticipates the Morse Brothers’ hearing to draw a large crowd. Those wishing to speak will need to sign up when they arrive at the hearing.
‘The Gravestone Girls’ will visit Kingston Library
“Welcome to the Graveyard!” is a 90-minute illustrated ‘virtual tour’ chronicling cemetery art, history and symbolism. From colonial New England burial grounds of the 17th century and 18th century, through the nation-wide rural cemetery movement of the 19th century and into 21st century locations, the program examines why we have cemeteries and gravestones, why they look like they do and how styles and art have evolved over almost 400 years. The presentation is robust with photographs of original gravestones and burial grounds from cemeteries visited by Gravestone Girls over many years. Some information on notable historic Kingston gravestone cutters, such as Bartlett Adams will be included in the presentation as well.
This event is funded by a Kingston Cultural Council grant awarded to the Library for programming related to historic Kingston cemeteries and gravestones.
There will also be a few exhibit cases at the Adams Center filled with materials related to Kingston cemeteries and gravestones as a teaser for the larger KPL Local History Collections exhibit, Historic Cemeteries and Gravestones of Kingston which will be up Wednesday, Oct. 18 through Tuesday, Oct. 31.
Kingston COA to open cafe’
The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Aug. 29. During Open Forum, Director of Elder Affairs Marybeth Lawton asked to speak to update the Board about the Council on Aging. “We have had an extremely busy year here at the senior center since I started back July 18, 2022,” Lawton explained. She said they are “looking forward to partnering with the Compact Grant to be able to make application for the age and dementia friendly initiative so that we can fund the survey that is needed to kick off the initiative.” Lawton also told the Selectmen that they are going green in the senior center by finding ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
Lawton said that she wanted to talk to the Board regarding a change in the way they handle food service at the Senior Center. “As you know we have a large crowd that comes in every Thursday… and we serve anywhere from 60-65 people… looking at dollar and cents as well as what the future holds for this type of program… I decided to reach out to some of my fellow COA Directors in the area and go and visit their facilities to see the different way that they deliver food service to their seniors,” Lawton said. She said that the Thursday lunch will be finished up by the end of September. She said that they would be moving forward with a café experience in Kingston. “The idea behind this is to get more food out to more people for a reasonable amount of money and to be able to do it in a way that is spread out rather than doing it all within this one-hour period on Thursday,” she continued. She said the menu will include hot meals like stews as well as desserts. Hours will run from 9:30 until 1 in the afternoon and will be on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. “I can’t tell you how excited everyone is about shifting everything around so differently to be able to get what it is that they want at a price point that is going to be really, very, very modest,” Lawton explained.
Lawton also said that they are looking into building a bocce court for seniors as well as setting up Zumba classes on Monday nights. She said that they are setting up a small office for seniors at the library that will include a paper shredder and a laptop for accessing the internet.
Chair Kimberley Emberg introduced Town Planner Valerie Massard to go over the policies for street acceptances as well as temporary repairs. Massard said that the money they get from the State for all of the maintenance and repair of public roadways has leveled off over the last decade or so while the cost of labor and materials has increased exponentially. “We are doing our level best to find other resources… we are doing a town-wide study on all of the improvements that are needed,” Massard explained. She said that they were recommending the temporary repair by-law which would need to be approved at Town Meeting. She said that if residents on private ways petition 15 or more people to come to Town Meeting to ask for assistance in necessary repairs, they can do that with her proposal. “It’s kind of a way to engage with each other that’s cooperative, forward-thinking, and aims for a solution and that’s something that we would like to recommend,” she said. Vice Chair Donald Alcombright asked if the town could be incurring liability by taking on repairs that residents could then say were not done up to par. He was assured that it would be unlikely. Massard added that it had to be for public safety as opposed to another use. The Selectmen agreed to the proposed changes.
“Our street acceptance policy right now asks for $100 to be provided, a petition provided, and then it’s kind of missing some information that we would strongly recommend the Board consider adding,” Massard said. She noted that the town is facing a hard situation and they need to take action in order to serve the residents particularly regarding the safety of the roads. She said the residents can choose to opt out based on costs but noted that they would have access to the expertise of the town. The proposal was for 60 percent of the roadway’s owners to come forward and then a public hearing would be held before the Board of Selectmen to determine the validity of the issue. Massard said that a private way such as a cul-de-sac might not qualify as having enough of a public benefit in the eyes of the Road Commissioners. She said that the town may come before the petitioners and tell them that the cost is $300,000, for example, and they may opt out of the road improvements.
Massard pointed out that oftentimes, exploratory work is required to determine what work needs to be done. “We do an estimate, we give that estimate to the residents of what the engineering costs would be, at this point they can opt out or they can say look we want to wait and save up, we’ll do this another year,” Massard said. “Then, if they want to continue, now we’re looking at the engineering design, that cost is going to be bettered out to that neighborhood… we’re going to say here is the engineering design, we think it’s going to cost $300,000, for example, to repair this road to bring it up to safety standards for public travel… you don’t have to continue… to move forward from here, you’re looking at 90 percent of the residents agreeing at this point and 100 percent of anyone that is affected by something like an easement,” she told the Selectmen. Massard also said that since there were only two people working on these issues, they couldn’t handle more than three betterments and/or street acceptances in a year. “Like we said, it’s an overwhelming task for everyone involved and there’s a lot of other moving parts going on in Town Hall that Paul [Kingston Superintendent and Tree Warden Paul Basler] and I are responsible for and we wouldn’t want to mess this up,” she told the Selectmen. The Selectmen agreed to deliberate and vote on the issue during their next meeting.
Massard and Basler also discussed the town’s policy for plowing. Basler said that the previous long-standing policy was that they would plow any road that had three or more homes on it. Basler said they finally have in writing the steps that need to be taken to ensure a road is plowed. “This is bare bones, we’re not asking for nice smooth pavement, lightest trees… we need something more substantial in writing so when residents call me, I can say, here you go and we can move on,” Basler said. “The road’s got to be wide enough so we can get in there; it’s got to have branches cleared high enough so that we can get in there so we’re talking about 14 ft. high, 16 ft. wide that we want to have clear so we can get a plow safely through,” Massard added.
Emberg said that the Special Town Meeting will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at the Intermediate School at 7 p.m.
She also said that the Complete Streets Grant improvements were underway at the intersection of Main St., Evergreen St., Wapping Rd., and Pembroke St. “It will be ongoing for another four to six weeks,” Emberg said. She noted that they don’t currently have any scheduled delays.
Emberg announced that there is an opening on the Capital Planning Committee, as well as several other Boards and Committees.
Emberg said that they received a request from the water department to approve an amendment to an existing contract for relocation of existing cell antennas and the addition of new cellular equipment at the Elm St. water tank. The Selectmen voted in favor of the amendment.
A proclamation was also made during the meeting to declare Sept. 10 as part of National Suicide Prevention Month in Kingston.
Transportation Night at Holmes
The weather couldn’t have been better for the recent Transportation Night at the Holmes Public Library in Halifax.
Officer Patrick Donnelly from the Halifax Police Dept., Steve Hayward, Highway Superintendent; Kim Kressler from First Student Inc. school busses, and Shamus Ricciarelli and Derek Coveney from the Halifax Fire Dept shared their time, expertise, and big shiny vehicles with more than 60 people.
Transportation Night is an annual event held every August at the Holmes Public Library and this year’s theme tied in well with the Holmes Summer Reading Program titled “Every Hero has a Story”.Children visited with local heroes from the police, fire, and highway departments, as well as the school bus company, asked them questions, and tried out the horns and sirens on all of the vehicles.
Two Kingston students earn SNHU President’s List distinction
It is with great pleasure that Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) congratulates the following students on being named to the Summer 2023 President›s List. The summer terms run from May to August.
Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the President’s List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer.
Brendan Crotty and Nora Rooney, both of Kingston were named to the SNHU President’s List.
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private, nonprofit institution with a 90-year history of educating traditional-aged students and working adults.
Now serving more than 170,000 learners worldwide, SNHU offers approximately 200 accredited undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, available online and on its 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH.
Recognized as one of the «Most Innovative» regional universities by U.S. News & World Report and one of the fastest-growing universities in the country, SNHU is committed to expanding access to high quality, affordable pathways that meet the needs of each learner. Learn more at www.snhu.edu.
Accomplished author to visit Adams Center
Critically acclaimed author Adrienne Brodeur will discuss her June release “Little Monsters,” on Wednesday, Oct..4, at 6 p.m. at the Adams Center (33 Summer Street). She will participate in a moderated conversation with Kingston Public Library Head of Adult Services, Steven Miller.
Brodeur’s novel is a riveting book about Cape Cod, complicated families, long-buried secrets, set in the summer of 2016. The book has been highlighted in the New York Times Book Review, NPR, and the Washington Post. During this past August, “Little Monsters,” was the Boston Globe Book Club pick of the month.
In 2019, Brodeur’s memoir “Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me,” was a national bestseller as it was named a Best Book of the Year by over 20 different websites or publications including Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, People, Town and Country, and BookPage.
Brodeur has spent the last two decades in the literary world with her career beginning with the founding of the fiction magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story, with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola as she was its editor-in-chief from 1996-2002. In 2005, she became a literary fiction and memoir editor at Harcourt (later, HMH Books).
She left publishing in 2013 to become Creative Director – and later Executive Director – of Aspen Words, a literary arts nonprofit and program of the Aspen Institute. You can learn more about Brodeur at https://adriennebrodeur.com.
Copies of her book will be on sale for purchase following the author talk.
To register for this event, please visit – https://kingstonpubliclibrary.org. For more information, you can contact Steven Miller, Reference Librarian at (781) 585-0517 x6272 or at [email protected].
Saving a life on Mayflower Road
The Plympton Board of Selectmen met Monday, Aug. 28, at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd.
Chairman Christine Joy called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. to recognize “some lifesaving acknowledgements”. She then turned the meeting over to the Public Safety Dept., and Fire Chief Cheryl Davis spoke of the teamwork between the members of the fire and police departments that allowed the positive outcome of saving a life.
She then turned the podium over to Police Chief Matt Ahl, who in addition spoke to the support the departments receive from the town.
The specific incident began Thursday, Jan. 12, at 11:34 a.m. Sgt. John Simonds, Officer Cam Broderick, and Officer Robert Orr were dispatched to 118 Mayflower Rd. for a report of cardiac arrest with CPR in progress. The officers arrived on scene within 52 seconds of being dispatched. As Officer Orr rushed inside the residence to assess the situation, Officer Broderick removed the automated external defibrillator known as an AED from the medical kit in the police cruiser. Upon entering the residence the officer noted an unconscious male lying on the floor and not breathing. Officer Broderick was not able to obtain a pulse. Officer Orr opened the AED and placed the defibrillator pads on the patient. The AED then performed an automated check and determined that a shock was needed to regain rhythm in the heart. The shock was administered, followed by continued CPR. Officer Broderick then placed a bag bottle mask on the patient and began rescue breaths as the patient’s son continued chest compressions. Plympton fire personnel arrived on the scene and began using an automated CPR device called the Lucas Machine. A second shock with the AED was advised and administered and a pulse was restored, and the patient began breathing again. All police and fire personnel assisted to get the patient prepared for transport to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth. As a result of a quick response, the teamwork and life-saving actions of the police officers and fire personnel involved, the life of the individual was saved and he made a full recovery. Chief Ahl congratulated the departments saying, “Officers, your actions in this incident reflect your continued dedication to this agency, the town it serves, and the people who live here. Please keep up the great work. Thank you.”
Chief Ahl then asked Lt. Dan Hoffman present the life-saving awards to his officers, Sgt. John Simon, Officer Cameron Broderick, and Officer Robert Orr. Chief Ahl then turned the podium over to Fire Capt. John Sjostedt who reflected on the day. “As the shift commander that was on duty that day, we’re gifted with skills that help us perform these duties – thankfully we don’t have to do it every day – it’s a blessing that we can do what we have to do when we’re called upon to do it but while their response time was 52 seconds, mine was 52 and a half because I recall pulling into the driveway and seeing Officer Broderick and Officer Orr flying right across in front of me with the defibrillator in hand so I already knew they were one step ahead of the game going into the house. We got there and the patient’s son was performing CPR already for us. It’s the first time in 25 years that I let a bystander continue doing CPR. He was doing an amazing job and it allowed me to work with the police officers to do what we had to do. Nothing short of perfect is the best way I can describe how this went. We had dispatchers take a call – I listened to the call afterwards – nice and calm, professional, they gave the instructions. … that’s what leads us to what I wanted to share with you today which is called “The Chain of Survival”. It’s something that we often teach. The first link, if you haven’t seen it, is calling 9-1-1. Dispatch then provides instructions to start CPR as fast as possible. We apply an AED and used an AED. Then you have response from the EMS personnel to provide the Advanced Care: medication, electricity, whatever it is that’s needed for that particular patient. We transport them to the hospital and then we’ll leave them in the hands of the hospital, and thankfully we have some of the best medical care on the South Shore… These professionals are taking what we bring to them and doing the best that they can working together. We’re in a town works so well together – I remember pulling into the driveway and seeing Cam and Rob and I’m so thankful that they were there. I was immediately relieved I had two capable people that I was working with, and then coming right behind them were firefighter Sharenka, Chief Davis, Firefighter Galombos, and all the other responders that came along with us. There was Joe Wright, another great paramedic Gary Samaro, Zach Russini and Clayton Marshall, all professionals in this community, for a small community, we’re so lucky to have who we have responding to make such a difference to this situation. So again, I bring attention to this Chain of Survival: Call 9-1-1. Our ROCC dispatcher will give the pre- arrival instructions: staying calm, walking the family through what they were dealing with, they began CPR – it was in progress when we got there. That’s truly what saves the life – early CPR is what allowed us to bring the tools that we bring to make this work. The use of the AED delivering the shocks – I think we delivered two shocks before the paramedics started their assessment and their work and then our EMS professionals, some of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure working with in 25 years – and then I transport to the hospital and in this case, thankfully a recovery. So congratulations to everybody involved. Thank you for everything you guys did and it’s a pleasure to work side-by-side with you. At this time I’d like to have Chief Davis present our crew with a citation for the uniforms.
Firefighter Paul Sarinka, Firefighter Steve Almos, then Sjostedt asked for Mike Mahoney to come up to the podium to say a few words – Sjostedt said we’d also like to give the same firefighter award to the dispatchers who are an extension of our Police and Fire Departments .
Deputy Tucker received the Firefighter’s award on behalf of Samantha Gomes, Dispatcher Matthew Miller, Dispatcher – another dispatcher, and then recognized two of the ROCC supervisors, Matt Riggins and another fellow who wasn’t named. But came up and got his award.
Sjostedt then thanked the families and members of the community who came out to support the first responders.
Chairman Joy said she speaks for the board in saying what a great team, we realize it, we appreciate the hard work you do and we are here to support you and go through the chief, you know whatever we can We’re here for you guys and appreciate everything you do for us and our residents and we couldn’t be more proud. “I feel like proud parents, so thank you everyone.
At the close of the ceremony, the gentleman who was the recipient of all this lifesaving attention spoke up to say, “and here he is – the proof in the pudding – right here”. He got a standing ovation from all in attendance.
Text here
Ready for new school year
The Halifax School Committee met Monday, Aug. 28. Committee Chair Lauren Laws began with a reorganization of the liaisons to various sub-committees including Admin Review and Youth and Recreation. They discussed whether to continue a sub-committee called Curriculum Development. The sub-committee had been started by the School Committee’s previous Chair Summer Schmaling. Current Vice-chair Jessica Page said that the intent behind the sub-committee was to allow for a point person for parents concerned about curriculum. After some discussion, it was decided to absolve the Sub-Committee.
Superintendent Jill Proulx addressed the issue of Silver Lake’s substantially separate programs including preschool. The State pointed out to the District that the preschool currently operates under Silver Lake Regional, despite its being a Grades 7-12 district. The State gave the school a set amount of time to correct the issue. Proulx said that the hope was to have the three towns recognize the preschool as remaining part of Silver Lake Regional via a warrant article at each of the town meetings. There are a handful of other positions that fall under the purview of the region despite not serving Grades 7-12. A member of the Committee asked Proulx about the instrument teacher shared by the towns but was told that that individual was employed part -time by each town individually.
Principal Kayne Beaudry provided an update saying that enrollment was down a bit since the outgoing sixth grade class was quite large. He said, however, that the new kindergarten class was the largest in five years. Beaudry also provided a staffing update saying that there were five new positions. He said that they currently have two open paraprofessional positions as well as an open cafeteria manager position.
Proulx told the Committee that they held staff meetings over the summer that revolved around a LEGO theme and included fun team-building activities. She said that during their welcome back with staff they focused on the strategy for district improvement, what was accomplished last year, and upcoming goals for the new school year. Proulx said that they will continue to monitor student’s social and emotional well-being based on incoming data. She noted that teachers will provide necessary interventions based on that data. Proulx said that the Middle School will continue with their anti-bullying curriculum, Second Step. Proulx said that a new school website will be launched by December of this year that will help make things consistent throughout the District. She said that it would also provide for more ease of accessibility.
One of the District goals, according to Proulx, is to set high expectations for all students while providing the least restrictive environment for all students. “We continue to work on and build our capacity to be more inclusive,” Proulx told the Committee. She said that they implemented a new K-5 literacy program last year. She noted that the plan was to add resources, particularly in the area of science for the upcoming school year. She also noted that they were able to hire a Human Resources Director last year.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said that there were nine Halifax teachers who participated in co-teaching professional development over the summer. “All of our administrators from our four elementary schools were there and really talked about how our special education staff and general education staff worked together to support our students and adopt their co-teaching models and schedules for interventions,” Lynch explained. He also expressed thanks to the custodial staff for the work they do over the summer to get ready for the upcoming school year.
There was some discussion among Committee members regarding the social and emotional learning surveys that are distributed to students. One Committee member asked why the school went with the survey from Panorama as opposed to other ones available. Lynch said that the school liked the twice per year approach as it provided an opportunity to check in with students more than once. One Committee member expressed concern with the Panorama survey using vocabulary that might be over the heads of elementary school students including the word “grit.” Proulx said that while the surveys are important, they also rely heavily on feedback from classroom teachers, support staff, and adjustment counselors.
A Committee member asked if after the implementation of a sub-separate classroom this year, the school found the adjustment counselor and behaviorist to be too taxed? She asked if the addition of a second sub-separate classroom might exhaust resources too far? Beaudry explained that they added a part- time position to help alleviate that load.
He said that were they to identify another need, they would adjust accordingly.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- …
- 200
- Next Page »