Wednesday, October 20, 2010

2011 John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Winners at Mahar

Sent to All Local Papers: October 20, 2010
At 10:00 AM on October 20, 2010 thirty-six students in grade twelve at Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School were called to a meeting in the Charlotte Ryan Theater. There, they were met by Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District Superintendent, Michael Baldassarre; Principal, Scott Hemlin; and Guidance Counselor Caitlin McKenna. These students were informed that they had been named recipients of the John and Abigail Adams Scholarships for their performance on their Grade 10 MCAS Examinations during the 2008 – 2009 School Year.

There are a number of criteria that a student must meet to be eligible for this honor. First, a student must score in the Advanced category in either the Mathematics or the English language arts section of the grade 10 MCAS test and score in the Proficient or Advanced category on the second subject (Mathematics or English language arts); and must have a combined MCAS score on these assessments that ranks in the top 25% in their school district. Superintendent Baldassarre informed the students named below telling them, “I hope that you see how cooperation, hard work, and preparation bring about circumstances such as these. When you are willing to put in the effort as you have, your success is as predictable as sun in the summer and snow in the winter. ”

Students who are named recipients of the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship are entitled to four years of free tuition upon their acceptance to participating Massachusetts public institutions of higher education, such as a University of Massachusetts campus or a community college beginning with the fall 2011 semester. Sadly, this scholarship does not cover the cost of college fees, which can be up to four times more costly than tuition, room and board, textbooks, and other expenses.

Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School 2011 John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Winners:

Tamieka Adams
Richard Anderson
Christine Annable
Dylan Barnes
Adam Bergantino
Michael Bergman
Jaimee Briggs
Abigail Coffin
Kristina Daly
Krista Frank
Laura Garrity
Heather Hunt
Isaiah Jones
Karissa Kilhart
Kendra Kilian
Andrea Kolodziej
Nathan LeBlanc
Amanda Marion
Tyler McGrath
Ryan Mongeau
Stephanie Murcell
Colin O’Brien
Andrew O’Loughlin
Breanna Poirier
Hanah Pultorak
Christine Richardson
Matthew Robinson
Steven Rooney
Parker Russell
Victoria Simmington
Kayleigh Soucie
Melissa St. Laurent
Dana Stowell
Kasey Rorchia
David Valiquette-LaLonde
John Waters Jr.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

K-9 Search at Mahar Today

Sent to All Local News Agencies, October 6, 2010

At 9:40 AM on October 6, 2010 the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School’s Administration in conjunction with the Orange Police Department conducted a K-9 search of the Regional School. K-9 Handlers from the Towns of Belchertown and Montague assisted Orange Police Officer, Clay Rushford in the search of the Mahar facility. Mahar Superintendent, Michael Baldassarre indicated that K-9 searches are done routinely in at Mahar Regional to ensure that students are discouraged from bringing substances to school. “We do all that we can to discourage substance abuse. Substance use is counterproductive to all that we do in school, and we take measures to communicate this to our students” said Baldassarre.

The students and staff are accustomed to K-9 searches of lockers and other public areas of the building. Searches such as these can take place several times during a school year. Today’s search was slightly different from those in the past, however. On April 6, 2010 the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School Committee approved a policy that allows canines to enter and search classrooms once they are cleared of students and staff. Since the K-9 is trained to sniff the air in common areas, searches such as these have been ruled by the United States Supreme Court to be a non-intrusive way to search public facilities for drugs and illegal contraband.

“Today’s search included four randomly selected classrooms. I am happy to report that no drugs or contraband were discovered and there was no need to question a single student” said Mahar Principal Scott Hemlin. Should the K-9 have been alerted by the smell around any locker or personal belonging, the Mahar administration would then follow a protocol that was also approved by the school committee in April, 2010. Today though, there was no need to continue with any further investigation. School Resource Officer, Chad Softic would not comment on when the next search of the facility will take place.