My Backyard

Bishop Feehan High School

Granted 10 Year Accreditation Renewal by

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Accreditation team:  front row from left, Assistant to Chair of Steering Committee Jackie Briant, Steering Committee Member Steve Newman, Student Council President, Mark Legare, Steering Committee Member Linda Tyler.  Back row, Principal Bill Runey, President Chris Servant, V.P. Student Life, Kate Brandley, Chair of Steering Committee and V.P. Academic Affairs, Ann Perry.    

Bishop Feehan High School’s President Christopher Servant has been informed by William M. Bennett, Director of the Independent School Division of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges that Bishop Feehan High School has earned continued accreditation for the next 10 years.

Beginning in the fall of 2007, Bishop Feehan undertook a voluntary, intensive, two year self-study that culminated in an intensive three day visitation and review by a 12 member committee this past October.

The Commission specifically commended the school for its “frankness and seriousness” in the accreditation process, its “nurturing, positive, and friendly school community,” and its “commitment to…safeguard the school’s mission, Catholic identity, and rigorous academic standards.”

In addition the commission further commended Bishop Feehan’s “commitment to development,” the vibrancy of the Campus Ministry and Service program “that engage the students to put into action the Christian values they learn,” and the school’s “commitment to developing the whole person-spiritually, intellectually and socially.”

The school must now file a traditional 2 and 5 year interim evaluation report and  respond to the commission’s recommendations  “to evaluate  and implement the school’s Technology Plan,” to “fulfill its strategic goals of improving its facilities,” and to continue to “implement common, longitudinal assessments in all courses.”

Feehan President Christopher Servant was delighted to hear the news and said “our recent accreditation, the fourth since the school’s opening in 1961, is a testament to the quality of our faculty, the strength of our curriculum and our commitment to our mission.”

Committee to Re-Elect Sam Sutter

 Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter will formally announce his candidacy for re-election on Monday, March 15th at 1:15 p.m. at the historic Wamsutta Club, located at 427 County Street in New Bedford.

District Attorney Sutter will be delivering a major address, which will review the work his office has done to enhance public safety in Bristol County during his first three-plus years in office and will preview a number of new initiatives he plans to unveil if elected to a second term.

The public and media are invited to attend.

www.samsutter.com

Baldelli Hunt urges students to apply for Dunkin Donuts franchisee scholarships

 STATE HOUSE – Rep. Lisa Baldelli Hunt would like to remind college students and graduating high school seniors in her district to apply to the Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee Scholarship Program.

To learn more about the program and to apply, visit www.dunkindonuts.com/scholarship. Each scholarship is $1,000 and applications will be accepted until April 15. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on positive academic record, demonstrated leadership, commitment to school and community activities, and experience in a work environment. Now in its 15^th year, the program will award a total of $100,000 in scholarships to local students this year.

“With the cost of higher education, students need to explore every possible avenue for assistance. I hope the young people of Woonsocket will take advantage of this program to help make their educational goals more affordable,” said Representative Baldelli Hunt (D-Dist. 49, Woonsocket).

Three Grey Beards

  at the Court of

King Frederick

 the Great

Music by Johan Joachim Quantz, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Jakob Froberger, and Michel Blavet

Sunday, March 21st

3:00 p.m.

at

The Meeting House

3850 Main Road

Tiverton Four Corners 

Admission:

Day of sale only

$15.00

As part of the Town-wide Read of Year of Wonders, Richards Memorial Library is pleased to present Prof. Jeffrey Bratberg of URI who will talk about the public health issues of infectious disease around the world. His presentation will be on Thursday, March 25 at 7 pm at the library on 118 North Washington St. in North Attleboro. Reservations are encouraged by calling the library at 508-699-0122 or email illna@sailsinc.org.

Bratberg collaborates with physicians on infectious diseases and is involved with infection control. His research interests include expanding pharmacists’ roles in public health, particularly in emergency preparedness and immunization delivery and access, HIV rapid testing, management, and referral in underserved communities. 

Bratberg is both a bioterrorism and emergency preparedness consultant to the Rhode Island Department of Health, and an active member of the Rhode Island Disaster Medical Assistance Team (RI-1 DMAT), with whom he was deployed to respond to the North Dakota floods, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Since April 2009, he has helped hospitals, schools, pharmacies, universities, and municipalities in Rhode Island plan, implement, and evaluate responses to H1N1, from certifying pharmacists in immunization delivery to antiviral use to actively immunizing hundreds of citizens.

Legislative Breakfast to Help Families with Disabilities

The Arc of Northern Bristol County, Attleboro Enterprises, Inc., Beta Community Partnerships, and HMEA invite you to attend A Legislative Breakfast on Friday, March 12, 2010, 8 – 10am at the Holiday Inn Mansfield, 31 Hampshire Street, Mansfield, MA. The Moderator: Gary Blumenthal, President of ADDP. 

Concerned that the state’s fiscal 2011 budget could further erode much-needed services for local residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, 4 area service providers are participating in a major campaign to avert what could be devastating reductions in those services.

The centerpiece of this campaign are statewide forums, dubbed “Stating Our Case – Preserving the Disability Safety Net,” which will deliver to the governor and local legislators a firm message that basic services promised to the disability community cannot be curtailed.

This is an opportunity for families and supporters to sit face to face with legislators and educate them on the importance of the services area citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive.

Coffee and light refreshments will be served, admission is free but reservations are required, please phone (508) 226-1445 ext. 3122.

MSBDC Congratulates Tricia White – 2010 Athena Award Recipient

Tricia White has been named the 2010 ATHENA Award recipient through the United Regional Chamber of Commerce. The International ATHENA Award is presented annually to individuals who have achieved a high degree of professional excellence, have assisted women to develop their full potential by opening up leadership opportunities, and whose body of work has made a national or international impact.

Currently a senior business advisor for the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network, Tricia has been a very active community volunteer for many years. Among many other activities, Tricia is a board member of the Mansfield Downtown Business Association and a member for more than 10 years of the Financial Operating Committee of Sturdy Memorial Hospital, as well as a volunteer for Together We Can and Relay for Life. She is the former (and first female) executive director of the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce and earned the Tri-Town Chamber Business Person of the Year award in 1999. She is an expert on social media, having developed a series of workshops that teach entrepreneurs how to realize their business marketing potential through non-traditional marketing tools. She recently started her Friends Food Family blog in an effort to learn the ins and outs of marketing through blogging. In the last 12 months, Tricia has helped more than 200 women in workshops and 50 women individually maximize their marketing potential.

White will be honored at The United Regional Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Award Luncheon on Thursday, March 25 at Highland Country Club, 104 Mechanic St., Attleboro.

For more information on the MSBDC and the services they provide, please call 508-673-9783 or on the web at www.msbdc.org/semass.

The MSBDC provides free, high-quality, in-depth business advising, training and capital access which contributes to the entrepreneurial growth of small businesses throughout Massachusetts. Our services are delivered through a network of skilled professional staff supported by a federal, state and higher education consortium as well as several partnerships.

 “Your Success is Our Business”

The First United Methodist Church’s Youth Group in North Attleboro will be holding their popular Tour of Italy Dinner on Saturday, March 20th at 6:00 PM.   The church is located at the intersection of Rte 1 and Rte 120 in N.A. (20 Hoppin Hill Ave)   

The menu will feature all homemade pasta with marinara sauce, lasagna, sweet Italian sausage and meatballs, chicken fettuccini alfredo, salad, assorted breads, and a dessert bar.

Adults are $9.00 and children under 12 are $5.00.  Eat in or take out.

Please call for reservations before March 17^th at 508-695-1928

Join the Arbor Day Foundation in March and Receive 10 Free Trees

There’s no better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than by planting trees, and the Arbor Day Foundation is making it easy for people to participate.

Everyone who joins the Arbor Day Foundation in March will receive 10 free white flowering dogwood trees.

The free trees are part of the nonprofit Foundation’s Trees for America campaign.

“White flowering dogwoods will add year-round beauty to your home and neighborhood,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Dogwoods have showy spring flowers, scarlet autumn foliage, and red berries which attract songbirds all winter.”

The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting between March 1 and May 31 with enclosed planting instructions. The six to twelve inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge.

Members also receive a subscription to Arbor Day, the Foundation’s monthly publication, and The Tree Book with information about tree planting and care.

To become a member of the Foundation and receive the free trees, send a $10 contribution to TEN FREE DOGWOOD TREES, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410, by March 31, 2010. Or join online at www.arborday.org/March.