Rockland

Rockland Voters Approve New Elementary School Building Project

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Rockland Public Schools
Superintendent Dr. Alan Cron
34 MacKinlay Way,
Rockland, MA 02370

For Immediate Release

Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019

Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Rockland Voters Approve New Elementary School Building Project

ROCKLAND –Superintendent Dr. Alan Cron is pleased to announce that Rockland residents voted to pass the Elementary School Building Project through a ballot vote yesterday.

Residents in Rockland voted unanimously in favor of the project at Town Meeting on Monday, Dec. 2, and through a ballot vote in a Special Election yesterday.

The new school will combine all Rockland elementary students in the first through fourth grade from the Memorial Park, Jefferson and R. Stewart Esten Elementary schools in one, new 760 student state-of-the-art elementary school.

“We’re incredibly thankful to our residents for supporting this important step forward for Rockland Public Schools,” Superintendent Dr. Cron said. “This new building will not only replace outdated, inefficient facilities, but will far better support 21st century curriculum and allow our students to learn and grow in new, profound ways.”

The new facility will cost Rockland taxpayers approximately $50.7 million, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has awarded the district a $35.8 million grant for eligible costs as well. The total project is expected to cost approximately $86.6 million.

The new facility will be located at the site of the current Memorial Park Elementary School on Col. Brian Duffy Way, and the Jefferson Elementary School on James Street will be demolished. The will be property turned over to the Town’s Parks Department, and playing fields will be built for Rockland youth sports on the site.

The R. Stewart Esten Elementary School will become an Early Childhood Center housing all of the District’s kindergarten students.

The building project also features a lighted turf field to be located on the current site of the Memorial Park School. The new school will be located next door to the middle/high school complex.

The new, “green,” energy-efficient facility will feature large, open maker-spaces that encourage collaboration through the use of state-of-the-art technology as well as interdisciplinary and project-based learning. It will house large maker-spaces that emphasize science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEAM) education as well as outdoor classrooms to support a school-wide commitment to areas including special education, art and music.

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Three Rockland Siblings Surprised by Father’s Return from Army National Guard Deployment at Esten Elementary School Event

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Rockland Public Schools
Superintendent Dr. Alan Cron
34 MacKinlay Way,
Rockland, MA 02370

For Immediate Release

Friday, Dec. 6, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Three Rockland Siblings Surprised by Father’s Return from Army National Guard Deployment at Esten Elementary School Event

To view a video of the surprise click here

ROCKLAND — Three students at the R. Stewart Esten Elementary School in Rockland received an early Christmas present they’ll never forget today, as their father made a surprise visit to the school following his return from a deployment overseas.

On Friday, with the entire student body gathered in the gymnasium for what was believed to be a routine assembly, Sgt. Michael Leone removed the head of the Rockland Bulldog costume he was wearing and surprised all of those in attendance, including his three sons, Nathan, age 5, Tyler, age 8, and Tolan, age 6.

“The whole surprise went really well, and the kids didn’t see it coming,” said Michael Leone, a member of the 181st Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, who has been deployed near the Djibouti-Somalia border since February. “The whole event was really well planned and it was a great feeling to be able to surprise my children like that.”

Esten Principal Marilyn Smith was approached recently by the students’ mother, Brittany Leone, who said she wanted to come up with a way to surprise the boys when their father returned home on Thursday, Dec. 5. Principal Smith decided to include the surprise as part of the school’s monthly awards assembly.

“It was amazing how it all happened,” Principal Smith said. “Our assembly got cancelled Tuesday because of the snow, so we were able to move it to Friday. I called School Resource Officer Ethan Schnabel to see if we could borrow Rocky, our school’s bulldog mascot costume, and it all just came together perfectly.”

The school’s monthly assembly acknowledges students who exhibit acts of generosity and hard work. Near the end of the event, Principal Smith called up Leone’s three children, kindergartner Nathan, first grader Tolan and second grader Tyler, to take a photo with Rocky.

“December is all about kindness, and what better way to be kind to others than to have Nathan, Tolan and Tyler take a photo to send it to their dad, who is really, really far away,” Principal Smith told those in attendance. “I bet their dad would really love that.”

After the photo was taken, Michael removed the bulldog costume head and each of the children immediately recognized and hugged their father. The students in the crowd rose to their feet and cheered when Principal Smith announced to the room the identity of the man in the costume.

“People were screaming, teachers were crying, everything played out exactly how I had hoped,” Principal Smith said. “We have a tradition at this school of supporting our veterans for everything they do, so to be able to have an event like this really meant a lot.”

Michael Leone said his first deployment, which was to Afghanistan in 2011, was difficult given that his oldest son, Tyler, was born about halfway through his deployment. But this deployment was even harder, especially when his sons kept asking when he would be coming home.

“I would be able to talk to them once or twice a week, but being away from all three of them for so long made it really difficult,” he said. “You see stories on the news about surprises like this, but to be a part of one is tough to describe. It hit me yesterday that it was finally happening, and you don’t know what kinds of emotions you’re going to experience. Now that it’s all over it’s awesome to be able to look forward to spending the holidays with them.”

When asked what the experience was like, oldest son Tyler couldn’t stop smiling.

“We had no idea who the bulldog was,” Tyler said. “When he took his costume off we were all confused at first, but then we realized it was our dad. He was finally home.”

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Rockland High School Students Recognized as John and Abigail Adams MCAS Scholars

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Rockland Public Schools
Superintendent Dr. Alan Cron
34 MacKinlay Way,
Rockland, MA 02370

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Rockland High School Students Recognized as John and Abigail Adams MCAS Scholars

ROCKLAND — Principal John Harrison is pleased to announce that 40 Rockland High School seniors were recognized as John and Abigail Adams MCAS Scholars at a reception held earlier this month at the school.

The reception was held Thursday, Nov. 14 at the RHS library. Principal Harrison commended the students for their accomplishment, which required that they score at the Advanced level on one of the three MCAS tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, or one of the Science exams (Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering).

In addition to scoring on the Advanced level on one test, students had to score at the Proficient level or higher on the remaining two MCAS tests, along with having combined scores from all three tests that placed them in the top 25 percent of students in their graduating class.

Students take the MCAS tests in the spring of their sophomore year.

Along with the recognition, each student will receive a scholarship that provides a tuition credit for up to eight semesters of undergraduate education at a Massachusetts state college or university. The scholarship covers tuition only; fees and room and board are not included. The scholarship must be used within six years of a student’s high school graduation.

To receive and to continue receiving the Adams Scholarship, a student must be enrolled full-time at a Massachusetts public higher education institution. They must also maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 on all college work, and they have to submit financial aid (FAFSA) forms each year.

Principal Harrison and the RHS guidance department staff provided a cake for students to enjoy at the reception.

The list of students recognized at the reception include the following:

Melyssa Almeida, Eric Barber, Sean Belmonte, Jad Bendarkawi, Makayla Berardi, Mathew Bruzzese, Kathryn Buckley, Nicolas Cedrone, Haley Cotton, Kerin Dalton, Pietra Dasilva, Jessica DeMarco, Jillian Dorney, Caroline Elie, Cynthia Elliott, Andrew Evans, Ashley Gallagher, Tyler Gambon, Madeline Gear, Lara Glennon, Nicole Guidel-Winter, Jacob Harris, Melanie Harris, Kylie Houde, Ashley Kelly, Emma Lauria, Kyle Lenihan, Elizabeth McGaffigan, Sarah McLellan, Sabrina Morgan, Hannah Murphy, Dakota Pike, Oliver Reera, Owen Shea, Lucas Sprague, Zachary Webb, Jacob Willis, Hannah Wyllie, Julia Yeadon and Danting Zhu.

Rockland High School Students Attend ‘Credit for Life’ Fair

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Rockland Public Schools
Superintendent Dr. Alan Cron
34 MacKinlay Way,
Rockland, MA 02370

For Immediate Release

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Rockland High School Students Attend ‘Credit for Life’ Fair

ROCKLAND — Principal John Harrison is pleased to announce that Rockland High School’s sophomore Class of 2022 attended a Credit For Life Fair on Tuesday, Nov. 5 in the high school gymnasium. 

This is the third year that Rockland High School’s guidance department has organized the fair, with the help of people from various businesses, banks and organizations who volunteered their time. This year there were 30 volunteers in all.

Credit For Life is designed to teach students about finances and important skills regarding money management that they can use when they are adults. 

Before the fair began, students were given a salary, a budget and a clipboard to keep track of their spending plans. Then students walked around the gym to different tables where they kept track of their money, and made financial decisions.

Working within a budget based on their mock monthly income, students visited tables based on different topics including, insurance, transportation, savings and retirement, career counseling, luxuries, cell phone plans and education.

The students went through real life expenses such as renting an apartment or buying a house, buying their first car, buying furniture and clothing and paying insurance and monthly food bills. They also had to deal with unexpected expenses such as car repairs.

Sophomore Maddie Murphy said that one thing she learned is that she needs “to start saving now.”  She said that it was eye-opening to see how much a monthly food bill is and how much something like insurance costs.

Sheila Farragher from Harbor One Bank helped out at a table called “That’s Life” where students had to spin a wheel to see if they have an unexpected expense or a welcome financial gift like winning money on a scratch ticket. Farragher said that students she talked to were learning just how much it costs to maintain a certain lifestyle.  

Tiance Tillman from the Bank of Canton spoke to students about cell phone plans. He said that he had a little bit of experience from his days selling cell phone plans at Best Buy. What he told students is they have to make wise decisions about whether they want “a good phone or a good plan with enough data.” He said, “I’ve seen people get stuck in plans for two years that turned out to be very expensive and not what they wanted.”

During and at the conclusion of the fair, students also were required to visit the “Reality Check” table where they found out whether or not they were living within their budget.

RHS guidance counselor Jill Delaney said the best thing about the fair is that students “get a taste of what real life is like.”

She said, “It’s a good age (grade 10) for them to be given the opportunity to set up a budget and make decisions based on a certain occupation and the salary that goes with it.” It’s also designed, she said, to be a form of career counseling for students.

By the end of the Credit For Life event, students said they knew a lot more about money than they previously did. They also understood what kind of salary and job they would need, and some of the decisions that they would have to make to in order to stay on a budget.

 

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