Schools

T.U.R.F meets to discuss ORR restoration

MATTAPOISETT — After a $2 million restoration project at the Old Rochester Regional High school to improve safety conditions on athletic facilities, and auditorium equipment was voted against in a special election in Rochester, supporters of the...

Paul Kitchen to leave school business administrator position

School Business Administrator of the Old Rochester Regional School District Paul Kitchen has stated that he will resign from his position after working with the school district for less than a year. Kitchen started working at his current position on...
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Rochester votes “no” on ORR restoration project

ROCHESTER — A $2 million restoration project at Old Rochester Regional (ORR) High School failed to pass a special election in Rochester on Wednesday, July 10 with a final count of 689 “no” votes and 575 “yes” votes. Of the 4,280 active registered...

Community leader announces support of Restore ORR

ROCHESTER — Planning Board chair and Marion businessowner Arnie Johnson, has announced his support of Restore ORR, according to the group. “I am all about spending money smartly. We can all agree the facilities are unsafe. The health and safety of...

Tri-town natives recognized at UConn

The University of Connecticut has released its graduation list for students who graduated in December 2018, and May 2019, as well as the Spring 2019 Dean’s List. Katherine Howie of Mattapoisett graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in...

Rochester to vote July 10 on ORR renovation project

ROCHESTER — A special election will be held on Wednesday, July 10 asking voters whether or not to approve a renovation project for the track, football field, and auditorium at Old Rochester Regional High school. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8...

ORR gives the numbers on its graduating class

Old Rochester Regional High School graduated 185 seniors on June 1. Students in the class of 2019 earned 662 college acceptances to 153 universities and colleges across the country. In this graduating class, 82 percent of the students will attend a...

Tabor to explore disaster leadership, hear from author with book club

MARION — Tabor Academy has selected “Into the Raging Sea” by Rachel Slade as its community-wide summer read. Kerry Saltonstall, director of communications, said “It has been some time since we have done a community read and we are excited to get...

‘Beyond Us,’ the story of the struggle to fit in

ROCHESTER — Aaron Polansky’s daughter asked him to borrow money to go shopping with her friends, not because she wanted to buy anything, but because she didn't want to be the one girl in her friend group without any money. The request made Polansky...

School looks to start committee on racism

Following a presentation on racism at a May 22 school committee meeting, the school will start a new subcommittee to address the issue. The committee will kick off June 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room next to Superintendent Doug White’s...

School committee studies proposed solar project

ORR School Committee members learned about a solar array over the high school parking lot that could save the school $1.7 million in energy costs, but postponed contract approval to get more information. Chris McCarthy with Sunpower, a California...

Retiring principal recognized by Marion School Committee

MARION — In keeping with Old Rochester Regional School District tradition, the Marion School committee honored retiring principal of Sippican School, Evelyn Rivet on Wednesday, June 12. Retiring educators are recognized by their school committee...

Old Hammondtown students recognized for kindness

MATTAPOISETT — This year, Old Hammondtown’s Special Education secretary Jennifer Rusinoski developed a program to encourage students to “Be the nice kid,” promoting kindness in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Rusinoski set up a kindess bulletin...

Fifth graders learn about town history

MATTAPOISETT — Paul “Ozzie” Osenkowsi of the Mattapoisett Land Trust walked sixty-one fifth graders from Old Hammondtown School to Dexter “Tub” Mill Park, a four acre property with waterfalls, lawns and trees. The board member and steward of many of...

Sippican Zoo awash in animal facts

MARION — On the morning of June 6, Sippican School Cafeteria was a zoo, not only because it was busy, noisy and hot, but also because many students had dressed up as animals for animal presentations that they were giving that day. Over the last...

Seventh graders return from wilderness survival trip

MATTAPOISETT — Crowds gathered at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School on Saturday, June 8 to welcome back seventh graders from their week long “Wilderness Survival” trip in Northfield. Roughly 130 students traveled to western Massachusetts for...

Old Colony to get new lobby look

ROCHESTER — Superintendent-Director, Aaron Polansky plans to bring Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School into the 21st century with a student-designed and remodeled front lobby. Polansky compared the previous brick wall lobby to an...

Rochester School Committee approves memorial

ROCHESTER — The Rochester School Committee unanimously approved the construction of new playground equipment in memory of Rochester’s Chloe Harding and acknowledged retiring faculty members at its final meeting of the school year. Harding, 8, died...

End of a career, start of a new way to learn

MATTAPOSETT — The final Mattapoisett School Committee meeting of the year recognized the contributions of a retiring educator, and featured a presentation on the definition and application of project based learning. Assistant Superintendent of...

Students collect books for Kenya

MARION — Students at Sippican Elementary School participated, and are still seeking funding for the African Library Project to send 1,000 books to the Ebenezer Primary School in Kisumu Kenya. School librarian, Jessica Barrett said they chose to send...

Tri-town students graduate from UMass Dartmouth

DARTMOUTH — The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth held its undergraduate commencement ceremonies on May 10. The graduate and School of Law commencement ceremonies were held on May 13. The following is a list of tri-town natives who graduated...

Happy birthday, Rochester!

ROCHESTER — How do students wish a town happy birthday? With cake, birthday cards and a history tour, of course. Third grade students from Rochester Memorial School celebrated the town of Rochester turning 340 on June 4 with a special field trip...

Old Hammondtown gets outside for Field Day

MATTAPOISETT — Old Hammondtown School students spent some of Friday, May 31 out of the classroom and outside for a variety of games and activities on Field Day. The annual activity featured a tense tug-of-war, where classrooms competed by grade...

ORR graduates told to make own path

Students in Old Rochester Regional’s class of 2019 were told to make their own path in their graduation addresses. Class President Katherine Gillis was the first to address her classmates on June 1. In emotional remarks, she spoke about how much the...

ORR graduates take nostalgic walk, reconnect with teachers

ROCHESTER — Old Rochester Regional seniors, returning to their elementary school for the morning on May 31, might have expected graduation pomp, circumstance and old memories. But they probably weren’t expecting the wax figures. Students of Nikita...

Tabor graduates urged to follow passions

MARION — Tabor Academy held its commencement ceremony on May 31, with multiple speakers urging members of the Class of 2019 to follow their passions. Head of School John Quirk noted that, in addition to it being Tabor’s commencement day, Friday was...

ORRJHS shows no doubt about releasing trout

MATTAPOISETT — A hundred students gathered along the Mattapoisett River to bid 33 baby rainbow trout, about the size of a finger, farewell on May 29. Pairs of students transported the trout to the river in paper cups and gently put them in the water...

Seniors assemble and take off for prom in style

Old Rochester Regional High School’s seniors gathered just after Memorial Day Weekend, on May 28 for a night of dancing and fun at prom. But first, they gathered at the high school to show off dresses, tuxes and dates (or friends) to family members...

ORRJHS bands, chorus end the year with a spring concert

The Old Rochester Regional Junior High School band and chorus performed on May 21. The two groups performed 13 numbers between them, with the seventh grade band, eighth grade band, jazz band and chorus all taking three or four songs. Songs ranged...

Rochester Memorial shows off arts, science skills

ROCHESTER — Hours after school ended, Rochester Memorial school was buzzing again with students and their parents looking at art and science projects, visiting with a therapy dog, buying books and adding to a tape mural. The May 23 Art Show and...

Sippican School shows it’s got talent

MARION — Parents sat in chairs, and the performers sat on the floor in front of the stage until called up for their acts. It may sound strange, until you realize that the performers were Sippican Elementary school students. When not on stage on May...

Community members ask school committee to address racism

Racism has been going on in the Old Rochester Regional school system for years and continues to this day, two black community members said at a May 22 Old Rochester Regional School Committee meeting. Danielle Lopes, who teaches in Fairhaven, told a...

Photos: Old Rochester juniors enjoy semi-formal

MATTAPOISETT — For one night the ORR Cafeteria was transformed from a loud lunch place to a semi-formal dance space for the benefit of the junior class. On May 18 juniors gathered to eat, dance, talk and laugh with friends and dates.

Tabor students bake, paint boats for Day of Service

MARION — On Saturday, May 18 Tabor Academy students stepped into the community for a day of service. Students baked rolls and cookies, and in the process learned that the Church of the Good Shepherd provides a weekly meal to residents who need good...

No red herring on this trip, just learning

On May 16 and 17 the Mattapoisett Land Trust sponsored a junior high school science field trip to the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center and the Herring Run Recreational Center. The trip lasted two days, and over 210 seventh and eighth grade students...

Tabor Commencement set for May 31

MARION — On May 31 at 10 a.m., Tabor Academy will graduate 140 students from around the country and around the world. Some of the graduates, who hail from 17 states and 11 countries, will receive scholarship awards and book prizes. The service will...

School Committee announces assistant principals for ORRHS, ORRJHS

Old Rochester Regional High School and Junior High School will hire a Marion and a Dartmouth woman to start assistant principal positions in July. The two principals stopped in to a May 22 Old Rochester Regional School Committee meeting to introduce...

See cars at Old Colony

ROCHESTER — The junior class at Old Colony will present a car show on May 31 from 4 p.m. to dusk. The show will feature motorcycles, vintage pre-1950s cars, classic cars from 1951-1990, exotic cars, muscle cars, modern sports cars, 4 by 4 off road...

Tabor Academy to host spring blood drive

MARION — Tabor Academy will host its spring blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 28. The drive will be held in the parking lot at 242 Front Street. Participants can donate blood to Dana Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital on a drop-in basis...

Almost 30 Tabor students earn cum laude distinction

MARION — Tabor Academy will welcome twenty-eight new student members into its Cum Laude Society at the school’s Commencement on Friday, May 31. Founded in 1906, the Cum Laude Society grants a limited number of memberships to select schools. Tabor...

Making designs that stick

MATTAPOISETT — Students in Kate Butler’s visual design class at Old Rochester Regional High School worked to make their designs stick with the Mattapoisett Land Trust so that the environmental group would print them on a sticker. Surprisingly the...

Rochester Memorial School students get active for fun

ROCHESTER — At Rochester Memorial School on May 15, smiling children were busy running around, participating in games designed to keep their blood pumping. Outside, younger children played jump rope, hula hoops and limbo, while other children...

Children and seniors come together for Memory Cafe

MARION — The Benjamin D. Cushing Community was filled with singing, clapping, and laughter as children mingled with senior citizens at the Marion Waterfront Memory Cafe on May 15. Fourth-grade Sippican School students gave back to the Marion Council...

ORR celebrates music distinction, musicians at concert

MATTAPOISETT — On May 8, Old Rochester Regional High School hosted its final instrumental and band concert of the year, showcasing the work a highly praised music program, and highlighting the contributions of individual seniors. Old Rochester...

Sippican School Drama Club brings Disney musical to life

MARION — With singing, dancing and plenty of laughter, Sippican Drama Club brought a classic Disney romance to life with the performance of “Beauty and the Beast Jr ” on May 10. Several dozen family members, teachers, peers, and staff...

ORR artists spread talent through internships, shows

Earlier this spring, two Old Rochester Regional art students represented the school in the Emerging Young Artist 2019 Juried Exhibition, hosted by the College of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Danya Bischel...

School committee members honored with library books in their names

MATTAPOISETT — After years on the Mattapoisett School Committee, two departing members were honored with books donated to Center School library in their name. Patrick LeClair has served the committee for six years and Rachel Westgate was a member of...

Rochester student wins science prize

Rochester’s Emma Keeler was one of three Falmouth Academy students awarded prizes at the Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair at MIT on May 3 and 4. Keeler, who is a senior, won the Moderna Therapeutics Award and the Cabot Corporation first...

Tabor Academy to offer free tech help May 18

MARION — Tabor Academy will host a free technology help session at its Hayden Library on Saturday, May 18, from 9:30 to 11: 30 a.m.. Students and faculty will be available to assist anyone with questions. In the past, volunteers have helped with...

Tabor Academy to present a week of song and dance

MARION — From May 13 to 20 Tabor Academy will host there are three music concerts and a dance recital for the Tabor community and the public. The Chamber Music Recital features the mixed chorus and female chamber choir performing in Lyndon South...

Sherlock Holmes appears on Rochester Memorial School’s stage

ROCHESTER — Rochester Memorial School teacher Karen DellaCioppa, who also runs the school’s drama club, adapted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Hound of the Baskervilles,” into a two act play for her students to perform May 3. DellaCioppa titled her two...

Rochester School Committee plans for learning disabilities

ROCHESTER — Before fall 2018 Rochester Memorial School staff could only use the term “specific learning disability in reading” rather than dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia when talking about students exhibiting those characteristics. Dyslexia...

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