The little moments sometimes speak volumes, and Sippican Elementary School Principal Marla Sirois was eager to share a story from a recent recess in which students were putting their imaginations to work.
“One day I was out there working with some kiddos and found a group of kids building a fort with a fire, and they used berries for the flame. It was really adorable so I know it’s hard that things are different, but they’re really finding ways to collaborate and work together and really have some fun out there,” Sirois told the January 12 meeting of the Marion School Committee.
Phase 3 of Old Rochester Regional School District’s Acceleration Road Map may evoke technical images, but Sirois talked about interaction with the children and a team approach toward connecting with them.
“As we ring in the New Year, we will bring our focus back to responsive teaching. The staff is looking at the links that are provided by DESE, and we will be unpacking all of that as a team,” said Sirois.
Holiday season activities were back in full swing, and Sirois thanked VASE for refilling children’s recess bags last month.
Sippican’s Kindness Crew organized a toy drive in December that drew 68 donations to Toys for Tots. The school’s concert choir also joined the Tri-County Symphonic Band in their annual children’s concert that kicked off the Marion holiday stroll. Sirois publicly thanked Hannah Moore, Patricia Richard and Jessica Barrett for making sure the holiday traditions came back in 2021, including the in-school concert.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Sippican library’s STEM and STEAM program received a Lighthouse Fund grant, and the school’s K-1 students built a sail that flashes lights and completed a tower challenge.
ORR’s six schools have been going through the tiered focus monitoring that Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson said used to be known as the CPR audit in which the district’s schools are examined by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for their special education programs and civil-rights regulations.
Nelson credited Director of Student Services Craig Davidson for his work on a cumbersome project. In summarizing the process including DESE’s visits, data inspection and interviews with special-needs parents, Davidson said that ORR was found to be in full compliance. He said that there is no corrective action required at this time.
Davidson also reported on a 10-part, online Community Talk series that began on January 5 and deals with anxiety in children. It was attended by 62 families.
Marion School Committee Chairperson April Nye announced multiple donations. “Looking at the donations, it just reminded me of the amazing community that we do reside in,” said Nye, thanking Tri-Town Against Racism and the many local businesses that assist Sippican Elementary.
“This is a list of 25 books, but next month I know there’s going to be more books on the list because they continue to support us in that way with the books as well as our bulletin boards, which we really appreciate,” said Sirois.
Nelson echoed the sentiment. “We appreciate their continued support in many ways, especially when it comes to reading materials,” he said, recognizing TTAR co-founder Tangi Thomas who attended the virtual meeting.
The Ludes Family Foundation has donated $500 to support Sippican’s Project GROW classroom. Project GROW was established to serve tri-town preschoolers in families that have been unable to enroll in another program and who desire a preschool experience, providing those children with special needs services in an inclusive preschool learning environment.
TownWear donated $65.78 to support spirit wear at Sippican, and Coca-Cola donated $26.71 through its Coca-Cola Gives program.
Citing the number of donations, Nelson called it a “nice agenda item to have,” saying the district appreciates the support its schools get from the community.
In making a brief budget presentation, Nelson thanked Marion Finance Committee Chairman Shea Assad, who attended the Budget Subcommittee meetings.
Sippican’s FY23 budget represents a 2.46 percent increase in operations over FY22. The difference, said Nelson, is in making a part-time social worker a full-time employee and the addition of paraprofessionals.
“I’m really proud of the budget that we’re going to be bringing forward. I think it’s fiscally responsible, and I think it meets the needs of the building,” said Budget Subcommittee member Christine Marcolini.
The next step in the process is to bring the budget before the School Committee for a public hearing.
In his Central Administration’s report, Nelson thanked all staff members. “We are going through a (Covid) surge like everyone else,” he said, calling the Sippican staff “flexible problem solvers.”
The state has extended the facemask requirement to February 28.
Nelson said substantial progress has been made on the egress road out to Route 6.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. Jannell Pearson-Campbell talked about the iExcel program.
The committee viewed the proposed 2022-23 school calendar for the first time. ORR receives feedback from individual member school committees to be shared with the Joint School Committee, which votes on the calendar.
The opening day of the 2022-23 school calendar is Tuesday, August 30, with faculty reporting the day prior. Labor Day weekend will see off days on Friday, September 2 and 5. Monday, October 10, there will be no school for Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day.
The Thanksgiving break is planned for November 23-27, and Christmas vacation begins with an early-release day on Thursday, December 22, and would run through Monday, January 2. Monday, January 16, is Martin Luther King Day, and the next day ORR will hold a full professional-development day. Monday, May 29, is Memorial Day. With no cancellations, Friday, June 16, 2023, would be the last day of school.
Committee member Michelle Smith applauded the juxtaposition of professional-development days against the return days from extended breaks in the calendar, but she said she is concerned about the lateness of an August 30 start and its potential implications should snow days push the end date deeper into June.
In his report to the committee, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber said that Sippican still has approximately $540,000 of available funds.
On behalf of the Marion Teachers Association, Grade 6 Sippican teacher Nicole Boussy publicly thanked Pearson-Campbell, who is leaving her post.
“She has been known in our school community as somebody who is knowledgeable, somebody who is helpful, somebody who is pleasant. All of us at the school have been fortunate to work with her a few times, and we’re just going to miss her warm smile and all of her support,” said Boussy.
Rios agreed and Nelson thanked Boussy for the comment.
Early in the meeting, Nye moved executive session for Reasons No. 3 and No. 7 to the front of the agenda.
The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9, at 6:30 pm.
Marion School Committee
By Mick Colageo