The Norfolk Times

KP DARE to Hold Family Fun Day

The KP DARE Support Group is holding a Family Fun Day at the Wrentham Sportsmen’s Club on July 14, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Seven Madison St., Plainville (East of Route 1). There will be free fishing, bouncing houses, games, hay rides and entertainment, as well food.�

For the 2012-13 school year, the KP DARE Support Group is again funding the eighth grade DARE program at the KP Middle School.

Tickets may be purchased at the church offices of the Original Congregational Church in Wrentham, St. Jude Church in Norfolk and the Federated Church in Norfolk. Tickets may also be obtained by email or phone: Ken Graves at kengraves@gravesfa.org or 508-384-9338; Irene Levesque at 508-384-9145; or Russ Tupper at jrtupper@verizon.net.�

via www.wrenthamtimes.com

Norfolk Challenge Golf Tournament

The Norfolk Lions Club will be holding the 4^th Annual Norfolk Challenge Golf Tournament at the beautiful Shining Rock Golf Course in Northbridge, MA on September 19.  The proceeds from this year’s tournament will be donated to diabetes research, a focus of Lions Clubs International to support the fight against diabetes, especially juvenile diabetes.

The tournament is best ball style with prizes for top finishers.  Golfers of all skill levels with an aptitude for fun are invited to compete.  The registration fee is $125 per player.  Hole sponsorships of $100 each are also available.  Registration and hole sponsorships can be obtained by contacting Lou Crump at 508-530-3300 or wkproducts@comcast.net, or Tom Grant at 508-272-8604 or tgrant@ecostructures.com.

Norfolk Community Day

On Saturday, June 9th the 20th Annual Norfolk Community Day was held at Holmes Complex on 22 Myrtle St. The event was deamed a success with an impressive turn out. “Strongest crowd in years,” said Paul Terrio of the Lions Club.

Bob Holmes, as he has for 20 years, served as the engineer driving his mini-train throughout the property on a ½ mile track, past antique farm equipment, a covered bridge and through the Fern Forest. This year’s Community Day included a children’s art contest, Touch a DPW Truck, golf ball drop, 50/50 raffle and many new and old favorite amusements including the Circus Obstacle Course, Knights & Dragons, Bounce and Slide, Soccer Shoot, The Joust, and the Bungee Bull Ride.

The entertainment included a number of local groups who have participated for the last 19 years.

Seven year old Abby Wayne battles her 10-year old friend Jackson.

 

Dancers from the Kathy Ryan Dance Studio performed.

 

Bob Holmes serves as engineer giving rides on the ½ mile track running throughout the Holmes Complex.

 

Norfolk Safety Personnel man the grills.

 

State Representative Dan Winslow and Cristina Coleman enjoy some good natured competition.

 

Henry the Juggler wows young and old.

 

To see more, visit our Norfolk Community 2012 Day Photo Album.

NPW Mom's Club to Hold Open House

Norfolk, Plainville and Wrentham Moms Club announces its Summer Open House Thursday July 12, 4:15-6:15pm at Plainville Park. Karen Kmetz Hair Design will be there styling the kids' hair and Imagine That Face Painting will be there decorating faces.

via The Plainville Times

King Philip U15 Select Boys Lacrosse Team Wins Championship

(From right to left) Head Coach Jack Piatelli, Offensive Coordinator Pete Agricola, Team Statistician Steve Thomas, Defensive Coordinator Mike Narewski and Team Manager John Fallon.

Wrentham, MA, June 18, 2012 – The King Philip (KP) U15 Select Boys Lacrosse Team, made up of 7^th and 8^th grade boys from the towns of Wrentham, Norfolk and Plainville, won the Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse League (MBYLL) Select State Championship Thursday night, June 14^th,  in a game against Weston, MA at the Rice Sports Complex in Wrentham, MA.  The game was the final playoff of the MBYLL Select Tournament, which included some 50 teams and was held over the final two weeks of the lacrosse season in June.  The King Philip Team had an undefeated regular season record of 12 – 0 and ranked number one going into the Tournament.  KP beat Weston by a score of 9 ­– 4.

Part of the King Philip Youth Lacrosse Program, the MBYLL Select Team is made up of experienced and committed U15 (7th & 8th grade) players who compete in regularly scheduled games throughout the regular season, in addition to their town team league games, in and around eastern and central Massachusetts.

“This team was made up of a great group of boys who worked hard as a team to achieve the success they had this year,” said Jack Piatelli, Head Coach, KP U15 Select Boys Lacrosse Team. “It was a pleasure to coach this talented team and to help them elevate their game to such a high level.”

Norfolk Lions Honor Veterans with Field of Flags on Town Hill

The Norfolk Lions would like to thank the citizens of Norfolk and surrounding communities for their contributions to the Field of Flags memorial.  Norfolk Lions sponsored the Field of Flags in honor of all veterans, living and deceased, from May 22 to May 31 on Norfolk Town Hill.  With the assistance of the King Philip Leos Club, 1,000 flags, sponsored by individuals and businesses, were placed on the hill.  A dedication ceremony was held on May 22 to honor the memorial with a military salute, speeches and Echo Taps.

The Norfolk Lions raised over $12,000 for the Fisher House Boston.  The Fisher House Boston is a non-profit charity that provides a home away from home for families of veterans who are receiving treatment at the VA Boston Healthcare System in West Roxbury.  Family members of any veteran or active military personnel, wartime or peacetime, are eligible to stay at the Fisher House at no charge.  More information can be found at http://www.fisherhouseboston.org.

 

Public Invited to Say "So Long" to Freeman-Centennial

Tomorrow night, July 14th, principal Lisa Altham-Hickey has invited the public to take one last tour of the Freeman-Centennial School. Doors will open from 5 to 7 p.m. To enter the building, go to Door 28. The school is set for demolition and a new elementary school will open in the fall. 

Norfolk's Figueroa Wins IHSA Nationals Championship

Katherine Figueroa, daughter of Bruce and Elizabeth Figueroa of Norfolk and a sophomore at St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY) recently won the novice team championship at the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) 2012 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships in Raleigh, NC. Figueroa, selected to represent St. Lawrence University’s Varsity Team in the novice hunt seat equitation on the flat, competed against the top 16 collegiate riders in the nation. Figueroa’s first place win helped St. Lawrence clinch their first national Collegiate Cup championship since 1985. When not competing for the team, Figueroa shows her own horse, Goldbach, in dressage.

Coyotes Feel at Home

By Mike Gleason

Once confined to the Great Plains of the country, coyotes have found their way eastward in the past half-century, causing concern as suburban areas report more and more activity by the animals.

Norfolk recently hosted a talk by Laura Conlee, furbearer project leader for the state Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, to address citizen fears about the animals.

Conlee said the coyotes moved to Massachusetts as conditions here became more amenable to their existence.

“As settlers came in, they took down the forests and removed the large predators,” she said.

Though coyotes may appear intimidating, Conlee said, they typically avoid contact with humans.

“They’re generally shy and elusive,” she said. “They can be active during the day or night, but their peak activity is at sunrise and sunset.”

According to Conlee, coyotes may sound threatening at night, but their howls typically aren’t malicious.

“We get a lot of calls about coyotes howling,” she said. “More often than not, they’re communicating with other groups.”

At the talk, one Norfolk resident said his dog had been attacked by two coyotes at night. He said the dog left the floodlit section of his yard at night and came back, battling the animals.

Conlee said such fights are often spurred by the pets themselves, seeking to protect their masters and defend their territory.

The best way to keep coyotes from coming in to neighborhoods, Conlee said, is to teach these adaptable animals not to do so.

“They’re territorial animals,” she said. “If you’re not in charge of your territory, they learn that people will let them be and [they’ll] do whatever they want.”

Conlee said people who see coyotes should stand their ground.

“Don’t let coyotes intimidate you – make noise,” she said. “Honking your horn doesn’t work very well, though… the reason they don’t run is that coyotes cross roads on a regular basis, so they hear horns all the time.”

She recommended throwing small objects at the animals, squirting them with a hose or water gun or just banging pots and pans together to create a startling noise.

To prevent coyotes from coming to one’s yard, Conlee suggested removing shrubby areas and brush piles from one’s backyard, using fences and eliminating potential food sources by not leaving garbage bags out overnight and not using open composting for food scraps.

“If you feed birds, keep the seed clean,” she said. “Use feeders that don’t let the seeds spill onto the ground. It’s not the seeds that attract coyotes, but the small animals that eat the seeds.”

Norfolk animal control officer Hilary Cohen said it was hard to tell if there had been an increase in coyote activity recently.

“We’ve seen more people witness their dog being bitten or attacked [by coyotes],” she said. “In the past, we’d see a dog walking around with a wound of unknown origin – whether that’s an increase, I can’t say.”

“It goes in cycles,” she said.

The decision to invite Conlee for the talk, she said, was spurred by two recent instances involving dogs and coyotes interacting.

Cohen said, in 16 years on the job, she had never seen or heard of a coyote attacking a human.

Conlee agreed that such an incident was unlikely.

“Coyote attacks on people are very, very rare,” she said. “We’ve had five confirmed attacks in Massachusetts – two of those coyotes were rabid, and we suspect the third was as well.”

Wrentham animal control officer Christopher Wider said his town had seen two or three incidents this year in which coyotes had attacked dogs.

“The latest was two weeks ago, when a couple of coyotes attacked a spaniel,” he said.

He added, though, that such calls are rare.

Mike Gleason is a freelance writer.

 

Oliveira to Take Over KP High School

The search for a new King Philip Regional High School principal has ended, and the new person is very familiar with the school system. Lisa Oliveira, the associate principal at King Philip Middle School, will take over the top job at the high school this summer. According to Superintendent Elizabeth Zielinski, the 48 candidates in the pool for the position were very strong, and the four finalists were all highly qualified candidates. "The decision came down to looking at two prime factors," said Zielinski. "Stability for the school and school system and the ability for an individual to come and hit the ground running."

After four years at the King Philip Middle School, Zielinski believes Oliveria fits those requirements. 

Zielinski added Oliveira's work with students, parents and the support of the teaching staff were all areas of strength. "One of the pieces that really stood out during the site visits was her work with parents and students as it relates to a child's whole education," Zielinski said. "When there is an issue with a child, she really brings that team together to work with and around a child's needs to get what needs to be done. The students know she has their back and she's supportive of the teachers."

Oliveria will replace Robert Wargo who has been named principal of Scituate High School. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Northeastern University and holds master's degrees from Endicott College and American International College. She earned her bachelor's degree from Wells College. Prior to arriving at King Philip Middle School, she was a guidance counselor at Blackstone-Millville Regional School District and was a faculty member at the Connecting Link.

The appointment to the top administrative position is extremely for Oliveria. "I am absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead KPHS," she said. "Having been on the administrative team for the past four years, I knew I wanted to pursue this opportunity because we have great students, very supportive parents who care about providing excellent education for their children and an outstanding staff. I am very fortunate."

Oliveira says during her time at KPMS she was impressed early on with the concern the staff showed for the students and their overall commitment to education. She says when she first arrived the KPMS staff worked on celebrating the success of students in a more public manner and this has really had an impact on the culture of the school. "The teachers strive for performance above excellence now and take pride in sharing their accomplishments with the community," Oliveira says. "We have experienced so much success this year."

She cited accomplishments of both teachers and students. Oliveira points to the recognition math teacher Whitney Hartwell received from the New England Patriots as one of the "Super People for the Super Bowl" and the success two teams of students achieved by taking gold medals in an academic competition at MIT.

Looking forward to her new position, Oliviera hopes to continue the work Wargo did in building a positive climate at the high school for students. She is also aware that her responsibility for student discipline at the middle school may make some concerned there will be major changes coming to the high school. "I recognize that due to my role as disciplinarian, students may be concerned about sweeping changes," she says. "One student asked me at the focus group, 'Are you going to change the dress code?' I had to chuckle a bit at the perception, but my answer is this, it is important to maintain the student culture that has been established."

Oliviera added, "I don't plan on changing policy. There is a venue for that. Policy is developed with the school council which is comprised of students, parents and teachers. My job is to listen to their collective voices."

Pending negotiation of a contract, Zielinski expects Oliveira to have a transition time with Mr. Wargo prior to him leaving on June 30. Her position at the middle school will be posted.

Once Oliviera takes over her initial goals will be to build a sense of stability and trust and she believes her strength in analyzing teaching practices will be key. "We have a lot of work to do this year with going through the [New England Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation] process and working collaboratively with the [King Philip Teacher Association] to develop the best evaluation tool we can," she says. "This is very exciting for me as this is the focus of my dissertation. Specifically, I am interested in how students can provide feedback to teachers so that they may reflect and improve their instruction."

Ultimately she is looking for improvement and that, she says, requires change and adoption of new innovations. It requires vision, collaboration, a plan and resources. "Currently, resources are very tight for all educational institutions so hopefully we can get creative to provide our teachers with what they need to examine student data, take risks, reflect and collaborate," Olivera says. "The sky is the limit because our students are the greatest."