Letter To
The Editor
Edelblut’s Attempt to Weaken Science Standards is Stymied
Kudos to New Hampshire’s Board of Education for standing up to Frank
Edelblut, Sununu’s controversial pick for Education Commissioner. The
Board recently voted unanimously to refuse Edelblut’s request to review
the state’s school science standards.
The Board adopted the Next
Generation Science Standards last year after a 2-year-long review.
Edelblut requested another review because NGSS had been given a grade of
“C” by the Fordham Institute. However, Jack Hassard, a former high
school science teacher and Professor Emeritus of Science Education at
Georgia State University, describes Fordham as an “ultra-conservative”
organization, whose criteria used to evaluate the NGSS are “low-level,
mediocre at best.” According to Hassard, Fordham “appears to have had
their eyes closed” during the past thirty years, when “many of the
creative ideas… emerged in science teaching.” The Board of Education
agreed. As Board member Bill Duncan stated, “Fordham’s view of the
standards is from 1950 science teaching.”
Sununu’s choice of
Edelblut was met with much criticism. He and his wife home-schooled
their children and he has had no professional public education
experience. According to state law, Education Commissioners “shall be
qualified to hold their positions by reason of education and
experience.” Because of Edelblut’s lack of experience and his
conservative views on education, critics were fearful that his
appointment was strictly political. It appears that their fears
were well founded.
If you are concerned about the current attack on
science and gutting of the EPA by the Trump administration and
Republican leaders, please join the worldwide March for Science on Earth
Day, April 22, which includes satellite marches in Concord and
Portsmouth.
For more information, search March for Science Concord
NH or March for Science Portsmouth NH on Facebook.
Jane Westlake,
Center Barnstead
New
Hampshire Community Rights Network To Co-Host Event in Barnstead
Community Rights activists of Barnstead recently viewed We The People
2.0 - The Second American Revolution. Now they invite you to join them
for a Community Rights Awareness Workshop to learn more about the
Community Rights Movement in New Hampshire. The workshop will take place
at the Oscar Foss Memorial Library in Barnstead on Sunday, April 30th at
1:00 pm.
In this workshop, we take an in-depth look at how political
and legal structures have been set up to protect the interests of an
elite wealthy minority at the expense of the majority of people and
community self-government. We’ll look at how corporations have received
more rights and protections than real people living in communities, and
we’ll look at how communities have pushed back against these oppressive
structures to reclaim democratic self-government in their communities
and at the state level with a proposed Community Rights Amendment.
The Community Rights Movement in the Granite State began in Barnstead,
with the nearly unanimous adoption of a rights-based community ordinance
in 2006, to protect the “Right to Water” by banning commercial water
mining. The Movement has spread to other communities across the state
seeking to legalize democratic local self-governance in order to protect
the health, safety and welfare of both human and natural communities.
Barnstead residents picked up the Community Rights torch again in 2016
by enacting the first-in-the-nation “Freedom From Religious ID
Requirement” Community Bill of Rights.
All are welcomed to attend
this free workshop. Please contact Diane:
[email protected] for
any questions. If you are able to let us know in advance, you may
register for the workshop at
https://communityrightsworkshopbarnstead.eventbrite.com/.
Oscar Foss
Memorial Library News
Record Player & Albums
The library now has a
great collection of vinyl albums that you can check out! We also have a
record player that we are circulating if you want to try some of the
albums out, but don’t have one at home. You must be 16+ to borrow the
record player. Go to our website (oscarfoss.org) to see our list of
albums and the policy for borrowing the record player.
Library
Trustees Meeting
The library trustees will be meeting at the library
on the second Wednesday of each month at 6pm. The next meeting will be
May 10th and meetings are always open to the public.
Please call the
library (269-3900) or visit our website (oscarfoss.org) for more
information about any of our programs or events. There is always
something happening at the Oscar Foss Memorial Library! Library hours
are; Tuesday and Wednesday: 10am-6pm, Thursday and Friday: 12pm-8pm,
Saturday: 10am-1pm, Sunday and Monday: closed.
Barnstead
Elementary School Second Trimester Honor Roll List
The following
students in Grades 4-8 at the Barnstead Elementary School have earned
HIGH HONORS or HONORS for the Second Trimester. Students who have
received A’s in all of their subjects qualify for HIGH HONORS.
Those students who have earned A’s and B’s in all of their subjects
qualify for HONORS. In addition, students qualifying for HIGH
HONORS and HONORS must have received grades in effort and conduct that
are average or above.
GRADE 4
HIGH HONORS: Hannah Chmiel,
Victoria Cowser, Rebecca Hopkins, Mary Hupper, Anne Killinger, Ashley
Lyle, Samuel McGrath, Darien Milioto, Diondre Thoroughgood, Wyatt
Varney, Juliette West, Alexis Wilson
HONORS: Gavin Barham-Elliott,
Michael Barnes, Noah Biron, Luke Biscoe, Victoria Christie, Joseph
Deane, Heath Dunn, Trey Everett, Kyle Gauvin, Avaiah Goldsmith, Anthony
Hamilton, Leon Hill, Taylor Huse, Tristen Karmeris, Ava Lytle, Daniel
Nourse, Ethan Ring, Canaan Stonner, Christopher Tedcastle, Avery
Thoroughgood, Jonathan Whitten
GRADE 5
HIGH HONORS: Grace Brooks,
Serafine Cormier, Lani Demers, Lia Doyle, Abigaile Grillo-Moore, Derek
Hopkins, Ethan Kenerson, Vera Littlefield, Kaela Marchildon, Dillon
Miller, Erin Rawnsley, Reagan Webb, Sarah White
HONORS: Connor
Bagnell, Kaidin Bergeron, Ethan Capsalis, Gwenivere Christie, Ren
Connors, Cole Cote, Ariana Gilbert, Hannah Graffam, Joseph Howlett,
Shannon Kelley, Eli Kriete, William Lagraize, Rylee Lounsbury, Aden
McPhail, Cameron Nelson, Charlotte Nourse, Phillip Roberts, Anthony
Sanborn, Trinity Shampney, Ella Smith, Jake Tash, Aijah Thoroughgood,
Kaitlynn Vigue
GRADE 6
HIGH HONORS: Samuel Caldwell, Olivia
Fanjoy, Cameron Gagnon, Jeremy Hayes, Owen Mahanes, Glidden Martin, Ella
Misiaszek, Hailey Pitman, Bruce Rawnsley, Madilyn Ray, Jillian Simpson,
Mallory Smith
HONORS: Jayden Booker, Luke Carter, Alexina Charity,
Ashley Chmiel, Tyler Cote, Lauren Croft, Thomas Duquette, Madelyn
Kelley, Madilyn Neathery, Madelyn Penfield, Makayla Richard, Kaylee
Riel, Savannah Russo, Ainsley Sabean, Willow Sanborn, Zachary Sullivan,
Ricardo Vazquez, Michaela Vernazzaro, Ian West, Abigail Wittenberg
GRADE 7
HIGH HONORS: Megan Burnette, Hannah Capsalis, Spencer
Grow, Cloe Hillsgrove, Tazanna Roberts, Don Terrio, Jaren Unzen,
Liam White
HONORS:
Rachel Adkins, Colby Beauregard, Emalee Bunker, Jaden Burt, Kailee Cody,
Sydney Cole, Rylee Duquette, Michaela Gates, Juliana Grillo-Moore, Emma
Graffam, Kathryn Hamilton, Ethan Howe, Connor Lebrun, Steven
Littlefield, Alexis Lyle, Lyndsay Lytle, Rylee Marchildon, Emily
Sanschagrin, Sophie Sarno, Dennis Simpson, Deuce Smith, Melody
Sylvester, Ryan Warr
GRADE 8
HIGH HONORS: Audrey
Jacques, Kassidy Kelley, Madeline Kriete, Fiona Wilson
HONORS: Lucas
Bilodeau, Theodore Broska, Natalie Cates, Emma Doyle, Hannah Errington,
Payton Everett, David Fossett, Taylor Kiley, David Parker, Skylar
Presby, Adam Ross, Trevor Smith