meeting summary 9.13.2010

Hi Everyone:

I am posting the meeting summary from September 13th. Is anyone planning on attending the Duck Race next weekend. Should we have tlc cards to hand out to people? Thoughts?
Rosemary


Cumberland Townwide Learning
Meeting Summary
September 13, 2010

Elizabeth Conley, Andrew Anderson, Elise Geddes, Donna Morelle, John Marsland, Mike Scalzy, Rosemary Reilly-Chammat

Donna reported on the Back To School Event at BF Norton held on August 23rd. Many families attended the event. Families who visited the table could view the website and received a business card with the website and Facebook page information.

Lisa Beaulieu developed a Facebook page for Townwide Learning. There are 90 people who “like” the page thus far. Lisa, Karen Freedman and Rosemary Reilly-Chammat administer the page. We’d like to include all upcoming events related to learning. The Back to School Event, Franklin Farm Antique Tractor Show and Vidbel’s Circus are past events that were posted. Upcoming events include a walkabout and clean up at Ballou Historical Cemetery on October 30th and the Boys and Girls Club Duck Race on October 17th.

Rosemary shared the business cards developed for the Back To School Event. The group suggested that all Public School Teachers and PTO representatives receive a card to promote Townwide Learning. Rosemary gave Donna a box of cards for distribution.

A Townwide Learning event involving canoe lessons and river classrooms scheduled for October 16th has to be postponed until the Spring. John Marsland of the Friends of the Blackstone planned to provide canoe lessons to groups of up to 24 people at a time. The event would run from 10:00am-4:00 pm with hourly canoe lessons. The groups discussed possible sign up strategies. Rosemary contacted the Blackstone River Tourism Council’s Pat McAlpine who agreed to host two “river classrooms” for free. Although the lessons would be offered at no cost to participants, we discussed asking for a donation to help support various efforts related to the Blackstone. For example, Pat McAlpine is interested in offering river classrooms at Cumberland Hill and BF Norton School, however the cost is $250.00 each. We discussed linking efforts like the cemetery cleanup with community service opportunities for high school students. Townwide Learning initiatives could help create a stronger foundation for community service efforts at the high school and middle school.

John Marsland and Mike Scalzy shared information about the walkabout and cleanup at Ballou Historical Cemetery. This effort will help clean up a town asset, provide historical information about former residents buried there and raise funds to support middle school sports in Cumberland. An article was recently published in the Valley Breeze concerning this event at
http://www.valleybreeze.com/Freecol/Spts-9-16-CL-middle-school-sports-cleanup-with-pic. The walkabouts will occur at 8:30am and 1:00 pm and last for one hour. Local businesses are asked to sponsor youth involved in the clean-up effort.

Mike and John also shared information about an interactive learning program from the National Park Service about the heritage and history of the Blackstone River. This program has been used by the Boys and Girls Scout Programs. Andrew was going to pilot the program as part of the advisories at McCourt Middle School related to “who we are.” The program can be accessed at www.nps.org. All who complete the program receive a pin and other items from the National Park Service.

The next meeting will take place on Monday November 8th from 6:30-8:00 pm at the Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland – Lincoln in the upstairs conference room. We are looking for other Townwide Learning partners to host future meetings. Please let us know if you are interested by responding to this email.
Respectfully submitted:
Rosemary Reilly-Chammat