The Suncook Valley Sno-Riders will be holding their
10th Annual Ham & Bean Supper, Saturday, November 13, 2010. It
will take place downstairs at the Pittsfield Community Center from
5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The meal will consist of ham, beans or
potatoes, coleslaw, roll, drink and dessert. The cost is $7.00
for adults, $3.50 for children ages 6 to 12, children 5 and under
are free. Stop by and enjoy a home cooked meal. If you can not
stay, we will have take-out containers available.
Carl
and Carol Cassin of Pittsfield announce the engagement of their son,
Nathan, to Hope Kennedy, daughter of Lena Kennedy of Colebrook.
Kennedy attended Pinkerton Academy. Cassin graduated from Pittsfield
Middle High School. He works for the Dedicated Management Group in
Contoocook. A July 2011 wedding is planned.
St.
Stephen’s Holiday Fair
What better place to do your Christmas
shopping than at a church fair? Your dollars will go twice as
far: good deals for you and a benefit for the church’s outreach to
those in need. Don’t miss the Holiday Fair at St. Stephen’s
Church, 50 Main Street, Pittsfield, between 9 AM and 2 PM on
Saturday, November 20.
You will find lots of creative crafts,
gifts, and seasonal decorations when you browse the Christmas
Boutique. In the bakery, choose among the homemade goodies for
your Thanksgiving table and preserves for stocking presents or a
favorite teacher.
The Silent Auction has some great offerings
this year. There’s a Santa suit for your Christmas party, a
gorgeous cashmere-blend coat for that special occasion, some
delightful Ursula Allen pottery pieces, and a Shaker carrier to name
just a few of the items.
Be sure to buy raffle tickets for the
Thanksgiving food basket and the unique “Town Green” quilt made by
the Barnstead Country Quilters. The winners will be announced
promptly at 2 PM.
Take a break from your shopping with a cup of
coffee and a bowl of chili from the snack bar. Then make the
rounds one more time to make sure you didn’t miss anything!
Greater
Pittsfield Chamber Of Commerce Business After Hours
The Greater
Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce held their monthly Business After
Hours event on October 12th. The event was sponsored by
Century 21 Thompson Real Estate in Epsom.
Delicious refreshments
and snacks were provided and a tour of the office area was given to
all those that attended the event. Those in attendance also
had a chance to interact with one another and had the opportunity to
learn about the individual businesses and the services they offer.
We would like to thank Century 21 Thompson Real Estate for
hosting the event.
Please be sure to check the Chamber website at
www.pittsfieldchamber.org
for upcoming events.
School
Lunch Menus
November 15-19, 2010
PES
Monday
- No School
Tuesday - Fish with cheese on a bun, fries, fresh fruit, milk.
Wednesday - (early release) - Ham & cheese sandwich, apple,
carrots, milk.
Thursday - Popcorn chicken, corn, apples, milk.
Friday - Pizza, carrots & dip, apples, milk.
PMHS
Monday
-
No School
Tuesday - Chicken nuggets, baked fries, garden
salad,fruit, milk.
Wednesday - Sloppy joe/roll, green beans,
fruit, milk.
Thursday - Thanksgiving dinner turkey, gravy, apple
crisp, veggies, fruit milk.
Friday - Pizza, corn, chips,
veggies, fruit, milk.
Once
again the Pittsfield Youth Baseball Association is indebted to
several people who spent time on the Park Renovation Project last
week. Pictured is Mark Duchesne and Dana Hudgens of Steve Keeley
Painting preparing to paint the I-Beams that hold the new, red,
remote controlled scoreboard for the upper field. Upon being asked
how to prepare the beams, and what paint to use, Steve immediately
volunteered to have them painted for PYBA. Thank you Steve and crew.
Kudos also go to Mark Wallace who spent Saturday morning doing
landscaping work at the Park, Dennis Volpe who let us use his riding
lawn mower to cut grass on the upper field, Chris Ward who located a
loose wire in the scoreboard and rendered it fully operational, and
Mike Brewster and Bill Provencal who helped haul rocks and place
them around the park at strategic locations. Thank you everyone.
Santa’s
Helper Ready To Help In Pittsfield
Although the holidays are
still weeks away, Santa’s helpers are already at work preparing to
meet the needs of Pittsfield residents. Starting November 1st,
we will be taking applications from those in need of assistance this
holiday season. Applications will only be accepted up until
December 1st to allow Santa and the elves time to prepare gifts for
everyone. This program is open to children up to the age of
16, and the child’s parent or legal guardian must be the one to
apply. Families applying for assistance must be residents of
Pittsfield. Please contact the Pittsfield Fire Department at
435-6807 during regular business hours for more information or to
apply.
The Secret Santa Fund relies on the generosity of
residents and local businesses eager to help those less fortunate.
Those interested in making donations may call 435-6807 to discuss
specifics with Santa’s helpers. Financial donations may be
sent directly to: Pittsfield Secret Santa, 33 Catamount
Road, Pittsfield, NH 03263.
Letter
to the Editor
To the good citizens of Pittsfield:
Thanks to
the voters who took the time to vote yesterday. I love seeing,
time after time, the people of Pittsfield. The diversity, the
friendliness, the feeling of democrats, republicans, and
independents; like we are all in this together, the increase of grey
in some folks’ hair.
Anyway, the reason I need to take up more
newspaper space is to try to better inform our voters about the idea
to repeal the 1988 zoning ordinance. Watch this, in the next 5
minutes I will come up with 5 good reasons. Alright it’s 7:27
pm.
• Larger businesses that are already established can easily
come up with the permit fees, engineering, and lawyers. We
need to get rid of zoning in Pittsfield to let the little in the
door; to help plant the seeds of future business.
• Zoning hurts
competition that’s why some established businesses approve of
zoning.
• Most folks operating out of their backyards are
intimidated by the planning board and zoning board, and their
reputation of being a large hurdle.
• Barton Lumber might start
doing more business. Also the hardware store along with many
other businesses in and around Pittsfield would benefit. If
there was no zoning, people would be much more likely to open with a
sign and be proud of it.
•I’m thinking I don’t cut my hair until
Pittsfield is liberated from the shackles of zoning.
Time - 7:36
pm, okay 9 minutes.
Dan Schroth Peirmarocchi
Pittsfield
Historical Society Program On NH Covered Bridges
Are you aware that New Hampshire has an upside down covered bridge?
This unusual bridge, called the Upside Down Covered Bridge because
the railroad track crosses over the top of the structure rather than
running through its center, was built by the Bridge and Building
Department of the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1896, and appears to
be the only deck-covered railroad bridge left in the United States.
Plan on coming to the November 11th program featuring Karl Olson
to be held at the Pittsfield Historical Society on Elm Street at 7
pm, to hear all about this bridge and its is location. Mr.
Olson will present a Power Point on NH Covered Bridges in this
region of the state.
Coffee
And Conversation
Submitted By Sarah Sadowski,
Coordinator Pittsfield Drug And Alcohol Coalition &
Pittsfield Community Coalition
Right now we have a lot to be
proud of regarding our young people’s decisions regarding drug and
alcohol use. Local youth today are less likely to ride with a drunk
driver, use tobacco or start smoking marijuana at a young age. Of
course, there are still some areas of concern, especially regarding
prescription drug abuse, binge drinking and marijuana use, which the
community is working on.
In order to ensure future prevention
programs and activities are effective, we need to understand the
root causes behind drug and alcohol use in our area. Why does drug
and alcohol abuse happen? Why does it happen here? How can we best
protect our communities against the social and economic costs
associated with these issues?
Please join the Pittsfield Drug and
Alcohol Coalition and prevention expert Shannon Swett at Jitters
Café from 6-8 pm Wednesday November 17th for coffee, pastries and a
conversation about root causes.
The
Management Of Town-Owned Forestlands In Pittsfield
PCC
Forester Marino oversees selective cut.
The
Pittsfield Conservation Commission (PCC) is charged with managing
the Town of Pittsfield’s forestlands. To assist with that
task, the PCC hired consulting forester Charles Moreno to develop a
forest management plan for 30 parcels of rural, town-owned
properties totaling just under 400 acres and representing about 2.3%
of Pittsfield’s total land area.
The purpose of the plan
is to provide natural resources information and forest and wildlife
management recommendations to the PCC and citizens of Pittsfield so
as to guide the management, conservation and use of these
properties. For each parcel, the plan looks at natural
features, soils, forest types and vegetation, timber stock, wildlife
habitat, water resources, historical features, scenic values and
existing and potential recreational uses.
Based on the
plan, the PCC has hired Mr. Moreno to supervise a timber operation
in the Clough Road area involving tornado damage salvage on about 5
acres and active forest management on another 55 acres. Parcel
boundaries have been flagged to ensure that operators remain within
town property and best management practices (BMPs) are being
followed.
Management objectives for this 135 acre tract of
town-owned land, consisting of 14 contiguous parcels involving
Clough Road, Shingle Mill Brook Road, Rocky Point Road and Greer
Lane, (collectively called the “Rocky Ridge Forest”), include:
•Promoting the development of old growth forest conditions
(about 75 acres of steep, inaccessible forestland containing 150+
year old trees will NOT be actively managed, but rather, will be
designated a “full reserve” area)
• Maintaining a healthy forest
in managed areas (promoting tree species diversity, improving forest
growth and promoting quality timber)
• Enhancing wildlife
habitat (providing remote habitat with a variety of vegetative cover
to encourage a diversity of wildlife, including young, middle-aged
and old forests)
• Managing for light recreational use (hunting
and other low-impact uses such as hiking, snowshoeing, nature study,
but no access by motorized vehicles)
• Protecting water quality
and wetland/stream integrity (promoting and maintaining low impact
recreational usage and strict application of BMP’s in managed areas)
For more information, please contact the Conservation Commission,
which usually meets the third Monday of each month at 7 PM at the
Town Hall.
This
“Lego” Vampire attends the Pittsfield Kydstop After School Program!
Kydstop kids created homemade costumes for their Halloween party.
The kids had a blast and they came out great! for information
about Kydstop please contact Chris Fogg at 603-435-8432 x 133.
“Hello
Dolly!” To Play At The Scenic Theatre In Pittsfield
The
Pittsfield Players proudly announce the upcoming production of
“Hello Dolly!”
Perhaps one of America’s best-loved musicals,
“Hello Dolly!” continues to be vibrant and fun and entertaining for
audiences of all ages.
Jon Martin and John Charron, co-producing
and co-directing the play, have assembled an extremely talented cast
for this production. Written by Michael Stewart, the story is
based on Thornton Wilder’s play “The Matchmaker.” The music
and lyrics are by Jerry Herman.
This “Hello Dolly!” is full of
foot tapping songs musically directed and accompanied by Geraldine
Veroneau. Choreography is by Dee Dee Pitcher.
If you can
see only one play this season, this is the one not to miss!
Show
dates are November 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 8:00 p.m. and November 14
and 21 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and may be reserved
through TicketLeap online (www.pittsfieldplayers.com)
or by calling the box office at The Scenic Theatre at 435-8852.
From
The Superintendent’s Desk
Submitted by John J. Freeman, Ph.D.,
Superintendent of Schools SAU #51
Most of us can look back to our
high school experiences with mixed feelings about our classes.
For me, my senior year English class was one of my favorites.
My teacher was knowledgeable and skillful; he was energetic and
enthusiastic; I looked forward to class; enjoyed and found meaning
in the reading, thanks to my teacher’s guidance in understanding the
text; and grew as a writer, benefitting from my teacher’s detailed
feedback.
My junior Social Studies class was another story.
Although I liked my teacher personally and was interested in the
subject, his presentation was, quite honestly, boring. I
remember copying his notes from the chalkboard and trying to
memorize them for tests. The class seemed like little more
than an endless string of unrelated facts – dates, names, events –
that were unconnected with each other and were unconnected from my
life.
In recent years, educators have come to use the term
“student engagement” to talk about the ways that students are
involved in their own learning process in school. In the
1980s, we thought of student engagement as merely a willingness to
do what needed to be done – showing up for school, following
teachers’ directions, and handing in homework. Using this
definition, I was apparently engaged in my learning in both my
English and Social Studies classes.
In the 1990s, however,
educators began to deepen our definition of student engagement to
include a positive emotional tone associated with learning that
includes characteristics such as interest, enthusiasm, optimism, and
curiosity about learning. The expanded concept of student
engagement includes a willingness to exert intense effort and
concentration in the pursuit of learning and in the completion of
learning tasks. With this refined definition, I was engaged in
my learning in my English class but certainly not in my Social
Studies class.
Experts point to our increasingly high dropout
rate and our relatively low daily attendance rates as indicators
that student engagement is a problem in search of a solution.
Perhaps just as significant as those who drop out of school are
students who merely do show up for school, passively moving from
class to class, putting forth minimal effort, and giving up quickly
in the face of challenges. I think that most of us have known
students like this.
In Pittsfield, our new three-year
School Improvement Grant (SIG) includes a number of strategies that
are intended to increase student engagement: to strengthen
interpersonal relationships within our school, to support the
important role that family plays in student engagement, and to offer
our students a broader array of choices in fulfilling their
graduation requirements. One of these strategies – known as
Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) – is funded partially by our
SIG and partially by school district resources.
As explained on
our New Hampshire Department of Education website, “Extended
Learning Opportunities allow for the primary acquisition of
knowledge and skills through instruction or study outside of the
traditional classroom including, but not limited to, independent
study, private instruction, performing groups, internships,
community service, apprenticeships, and online courses. ELOs
validate the learning that takes place outside of school that is
youth centered and focuses both on the acquisition of skills and
knowledge and on youth development.”
In Pittsfield, ELOs offer
our students the opportunity to engage in non-traditional learning
experiences in subject areas that we are not able to offer within
our small high school. Our students now enjoy the option of
exploring or pursuing areas of interest or talent through hands-on
learning experiences in the community for which they can earn credit
toward graduation requirements.
Examples of our early ELOs
at PMHS reach into the following areas:
• Agriculture:
exploration of agronomy and methods to increase nutritional value
and yield of crops as well as an understanding of the business
aspects of farming in our current economy;
• English:
independent research around the issue of sexual harassment – causes,
manifestations, effects, and precautions;
• Religion and History:
study of the influences that Abraham has had on our world, extending
through modern times.
Other students are pursuing interests
through job shadowing in another broad range of subject areas,
including auto mechanics, criminal justice, drug and alcohol
dependency treatment, early childhood education, nursing,
orthodontics, social work, and sports medicine.
To earn credit,
rigorous competencies are established that specify content and
skills to be mastered in each individual learning experience.
Assessment is based on the content or essential understandings that
students are expected to achieve by the end of the planned
experience. Community partners – citizens, experts, and
businesses in our town and region – work with our students to
support their learning in ways that we could not accomplish within
the walls of our school.
We are very pleased to be able to offer
our students these exciting opportunities that certainly didn’t
exist for me during those long periods that I spent copying notes
from the chalkboard. In combining ELOs with exciting in-school
learning experiences – like my English class – we look forward to
increased student engagement, students who are more and more
enthused and invested in their own learning.
For more information
about ELOs at PMHS, please contact PMHS ELO Coordinator Sheila Ward
at 435-6701 X1117.