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South Shore Vo-Tech School clarifies admissions

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The keys to get in: South Shore Vo-Tech School clarifies admissions procedures

HANOVER — The South Shore Vo-Tech School Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 21 approved an updated admissions policy.

Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas Hickey said the changes include clarification of time lines as well as adjustments to scoring category weights.

South Shore Vo-Tech School clarifies admissions“I want to thank the administrators who spent over a year on this revised policy,” Hickey said. “We already sent the revisions to the Department of Education and they have given their approval. This admissions policy will now allow us to clarify what our admissions process is.”

Scoring categories — grades, attendance, discipline record, recommendations from sending schools and interviews — are set by the state.

“We’ve also made it clear how we admit students with the emphasis on in-district students first,” Hickey said.  “We also clarify how we handle it when we have students accepted beyond a town’s quota. It is, essentially, putting in writing the system that we have.”

This year, SSVT accepted a freshman class of 180 students out of 245 students with application scores above a 60, the minimum score before out-of-district applications are considered.

“It was a fantastic recruiting year,” Hickey said.

Admission to the Engineering Academy and the exploratory program were also clarified in the new policy.

“It clarifies for parents exactly how we choose or do not choose their son or daughter,” said Whitman committee member Dan Salvucci. “We want to make sure they understand the process.”

New programs

In other business, the School Committee heard updates on school programs from the administrative staff.

Principal Margaret Dutch noted the addition of new programs this year, including computer-aided drafting (CAD) for students in the construction cluster and introductory Portuguese, both taught by Drafting teacher Robert Freitas. Eighteen seniors are now taking the course in Portuguese.

“We had a lot of students who were looking to take a foreign language,” Dutch said, adding that college admission requirements for vocational school students now demand either a year of foreign language, a fourth year of science or a computer course not vocational in nature.

An after-school dual enrollment course through Massasoit is offered for students who chose the computer class.

Freitas, a native speaker of Portuguese, has worked in Portugal.

“Given the opportunity [to teach it], he jumped at it,” Dutch said. The class also provides insight on the Portuguese culture.

Vocational Education Director Deborah Collins updated the School Committee on current outside projects being worked on by students as well as reminding the public of the community services application process at the website ssvotech.org. The “about” dropdown menu on the site home page takes applicants to the instructions for proceeding with a request.

“For people looking to request services from the school, that’s the first step,” Collins said.

Carpentry students have worked on Hanson’s historic Bonney House, and have begun work on the Hanover bandstand project. HVAC students have installed a gas-fired heating system into a “relatively new residence” and have similar projects scheduled as well as the installation of air-conditioning in the school’s drafting shop and a condenser on the roof.

Open house set

The annual South Shore Vo-Tech open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14. This year, administrators plan to accept applications and conduct interviews as well as offering tours of the vocational shops.

Hanson salutes newest centenarian

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Cheers and goodwill at Senior Center as Hanson salutes newest centenarian

It’s not every day the town of Hanson salutes newest centenarian. With a room filled with friends at the Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center Tuesday, Barbara Meiggs of Hanson smiled with her entire face as everyone shouted “Happy Birthday!”

Hanson salutes newest centenarian, Barbara Meiggs

Barbara Meiggs wears a purple tiara on her special day of celebration. Click on her image to view more photos from the event.

At 100 years old her silver hair and sapphire eyes sparkled like the starry, night sky. She walked with assistance but, as thrilled as she was by the birthday attention, she was equally modest and thankful for the many greetings she received.

The petite centenarian took her throne, an armchair decorated with a purple fleece throw, and she was wrapped in a shawl scattered with rhinestones.

Celebrating a 100th birthday is quite the occasion staff members told her. She was quick to reply that she was still 99, as her birthday falls on Oct. 27.

She was born in 1915 and raised in Whitman.

In the year she was born, World War I had begun.  Newspapers cost one cent, a movie ticket was seven cents, and steak was 18 cents a pound.

Meiggs recalled several historic milestones and answered aloud before Director Mary Collins could read the short list she had prepared.

Meiggs has a sharp memory and, up until her 95th birthday, she was still working at the Jordan Hospital in Plymouth.

She logged over 7,000 hours of service in administration, office work, and answering phones.  She did it all, she said.

“I think that is why I am still here. I helped many people,” she said.

Then when she “retired” she volunteered to answer the phones at the Hanson Senior Multi-Service center. She’s been independent from the start.

At age 6 she recalled being scolded for leaving her yard through a wooded path to visit her grandmother’s house. She was in trouble for scaring her mother, she said.

“My mother couldn’t find me and had to get the police,” she said.

She was very close to her grandmother and adored spending time with her. Meiggs said one of the greatest gifts she ever received was a hand-sewn dress that her grandmother had made her.

As a graduate of Whitman High School class of 1933, Meiggs went on to marry her husband Carlton — they were wed for 65 years.

They raised two sons, one of whom became the first Hanson police sergeant and the other a teacher at W-H. She has seven grandchildren and 14 great- grandchildren.

Her recipe for longevity has been going to church, loving her husband — even though she said she would sometimes not speak to him after an argument, but they would always make up — and enjoying ceramics for many years.

She didn’t play sports but she did learn to knit and crochet, which she said she was quite good at.

As she sat in her decorated arm chair Dody Whooten, 95, of Hanson approached her and dropped down to one knee. He professed his fondness for her as all the guests in the room, witnessed his gesture. Meiggs quickly told him she that reached 100 years because she was married only once and she intended to stay that way. She also said he was too young for her.

Whooten kissed her hand and then had a helping hand raising himself off the floor.

Barbara took the proposal in stride as her guests teased that even at 100 years old she was still getting marriage proposals.

View more photos on the Whitman-Hanson Express Facebook page.