Saturday, June 6, please line the streets of all three towns to celebrate King Philips graduating seniors in the first KP Senior Parade. Parade routes are mapped out below.
Wrentham portion of the parade starts at 11:30 in Delaney and follows the following route to King Philip High School.
Plainville parade starts at 10 a.m. at the Wood School and follows the following route.
Saturday, June 6, please line the streets of all three towns to celebrate King Philips graduating seniors in the first KP Senior Parade. Parade routes are mapped out below.
Wrentham portion of the parade starts at 11:30 in Delaney and follows the following route to King Philip High School.
Plainville parade starts at 10 a.m. at the Wood School and follows the following route.
SOCIALIZATION THROUGH VIDEO VISITS
As May is National Older American month, Generus, a company that works with organizations to engage their employees in social impact opportunities – has been working with student volunteers to take steps to help combat the urgent issues of social isolation and loneliness among older adults through its Video Visits initiative. "King Philip High School (KPHS) students were among the first in the state to volunteer to create and donate videos as well as start spreading the word to nursing homes and senior care facilities, even if it meant they had a make old fashioned phone calls,” said Jamie Larsen, CEO of Generus.
Video Visits bring together community members who care (plus a few stars!) from towns and cities across the country to create short videos introducing themselves and sharing a message of hope, a story, show and tell and more with older adults. A full library of Video Visits is accessible on Generus’ YouTube channel, which you can explore here.
Caroline Aaron, a student volunteer and junior at KPHS said, "I heard about this group through our principal, Dr. Mobley and it seemed like a great opportunity for kids who are home and have more time on their hands to share talents and stories with people who might be isolated or alone and missing connections during this time. I have been working to call and email senior centers, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities to get the word out about this program and it has been very successful so far!"
Principal Mobley said, "When I was asked if I would send a message to our KP students seeking participation in this worthwhile project I was very excited! I had been planning on assigning a senior choice project to our seniors to end their senior year as it had become clear to me that providing our students with the opportunity to engage in a project that would give back to a larger community would be more meaningful than the typical remote learning opportunities. We have amazing students who take pride in giving back! I believe this is why they readily engaged in this project!"
Thanks in part to the generous efforts of KPHS students, Video Visits programming has now been received in hundreds of care facilities for older adults and now Meals on Wheels America and The National Council on Aging are distributing information about these Video Visits to older adults across the country through their networks of volunteers and by email, newsletters, and flyers taped to the meal delivery.
"These are difficult times for older adults in Boston and beyond," said Valerie Frias, CEO of Ethos, a 47 year-old, Boston-based, elder services organization that provides Meals on Wheels to more than 8,000 seniors every day, as well as other home and community-based services. “Social isolation and loneliness have been linked to many physical and mental health problems including heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, and depression."
With the health and social distancing measures in place possibly longer for older adults than other Americans, older adults may be in greater need of socialization than before, Generus along with students like those at KPHS, are encouraging people to create and donate Video Visits to provide older adults with an opportunity for valuable human connection. Video Visits now has videos from the Celtics General Manager, New York Times best-selling author and former Boston Channel 5 Sportscaster.
Whether it is a song, some poetry, your art or maybe you can solve a Rubik’s cube in record-breaking speed, together we can provide older adults with something special in the form of a video visit.
For each 1-3-minute video, Submitters are asked to:
About Generus
The Generus team has more than 40 years of experience combining corporate volunteerism, communications, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with a positive psychology approach. Generus programs focus on creating and supporting human happiness. Learn more about how companies engage Generus to identify the causes employees care most about and execute custom volunteer projects that form a work culture built on human connection and meaning. Visit Generus.net.
To Our Communities and Followers,
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic we recognize that the health, safety and welfare of our communities is our number one priority. Although disappointed and out of an abundance of caution, we will not be conducting our 2020 summer program. We hope everyone stays healthy and we look forward to seeing everyone in the summer of 2021 with an exciting program you can participate in.
Looking forward to the summer 2021!
Respectfully,
DARE to Dream staff
Superintendent Paul Zinni and Principal Lisa Mobley are pleased to announce that several King Philip Regional High School students will be graduating with distinction as members of the Class of 2020.
In order to achieve distinction status, students must propose a project and work with an advisor to complete the action steps that were approved by a KPRHS faculty panel.
Students who will be graduating with distinction include the following:
Olivia Berry: Distinction in STEM – Pictogram Exit Sign at King Philip High School
Olivia noticed that many cities are moving towards the pictogram style of signage that is used in other parts of the world. She developed pictogram exit signage for the KP high school that will, hopefully, be implemented next year once the building is able to reopen.
Cristina researched what opportunities are available in the Tri-Town area for young children to participate in exercise and movement for increased health benefits. She created a website that makes it easy for families to locate and learn about these opportunities. The website can be found here.
Meaghan Colvin: Distinction in Liberal Arts – The Correlation Between Age and Memory
Meaghan interviewed seniors and wrote a short story based upon their stories. Her story, “What was Old is New Again,” has been published and is available on Amazon.
Lily MacDonald: Distinction in Liberal Arts – The Art of Graphic Design in Publicizing
Lily researched the use of color and imaging as it is applied to logos and website design. She used this knowledge to create a website for KP Peer Mentoring. It is now actively in use and can be found here.
Matt Meehan: Distinction in Liberal Arts – Open Spaces and Conservation Land Guide
Matt worked with the Wrentham Conservation Commission to develop an updated digital brochure. It is now available on the town’s website here.
Morgan Sachleben: Distinction in STEM – Additional Resources for the Tri-Town Community
Morgan researched the availability of addiction recovery resources in the Tri-Town area and found that they were not easily found. She worked with the Wrentham town nurse to make these services more easily found on the town’s website.
Megan Swezey: Distinction in STEM – Dance Movement Therapy for Special Needs Individuals
Megan researched the benefits of dance movement therapy, in particular for individuals with special needs. She created a website that makes it easy for families to locate and learn about these opportunities.
Each of the students’ diplomas will indicate their graduation with distinction status, and they will be recognized during any senior awards ceremony or graduation exercise that the district holds later in the year. As of now plans for specific graduation exercises have not been finalized.
“We are extremely proud of each of these students, not only for the quality projects they were able to complete but also for identifying areas where they could make a difference in their communities,”Zinni said. “Although graduation this year will look and feel much different than it has in the past, it is important to recognize them for their hard work by naming them ‘Graduation with Distinction’ students.”
Governor Charlie Baker issued an order requiring the use of masks or face coverings in public places where they cannot socially distance from others. The Administration also announced expanded community health center COVID-19 testing capacity at centers throughout the Commonwealth.
Mask and Face Covering Order: The Baker-Polito Administration has ordered all residents over the age of two to use a face covering or mask in public places where maintaining proper social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are not possible. This statewide order goes into effect on May 6th and supersedes previously issued guidancerelative to mask use.
This order applies to all workers and customers of businesses and other organizations that are currently open to the public and permitted to operate as COVID-19 Essential Businesses, such as grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail stores. Residents are also required to wear a mask or face covering at all times when using any means of transportation service or public mass transit.
A face covering may include anything that covers your nose and mouth, including a mask, scarf or bandana. Health care masks should not be used and should be preserved for health care workers and first responders. Cloth masks should not be worn by young children under the age of two, persons with difficulty breathing, or those who are unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. Instructions on how to make a cloth mask are available from the CDC here.
The Plainville Fire Department will hold a rolling rally of sorts with a firetruck parade designed to come through the town's neighborhoods. Planned of for 11 a.m. this Saturday, fire chief Justin Alexander hopes the town wide parade will raise the spirits of Plainville's residents. "We are going to go down as many roads as possible to bring the parade to everyone's home," he says. "We want everyone to stay home if possible, and observe all social distancing guidelines that are out there."
Alexander stresses that people are not allowed to gather, but if the social distancing rules are followed, more events like the firetruck parade could occur in the future. "There are many groups out there that want to do more things like this for the residents," he says. "If we can work together and follow the guidelines, great events like this can happen."
The idea for the parade first came to Alexander a month ago, but the planning was paused as he and his wife welcomed a baby 10 days ago. "We are ready now [for the parade]," he says.
The Chief likens this event to other community activities the department does under normal circumstances including volunteering in the schools and the bonfire at Winter Festival. He adds, the department is doing well during these unprecedented times, but they're ready to serve the community. "The members of the Plainville Fire Department are here and ready to meet the needs and challenges to protect the residents of Plainville," he says.
The parade will take between 1 1/2 - 2 hours to complete the entire route.
