Beekeepers host candle workshop in Hanson with John ‘the Bee Man’ Phillips of the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association 

HANSON — A beeswax candle-making seminar hosted at the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association and Hanson Food Pantry building on High Street Nov. 21 was both motivating and educational for more than a dozen people.

Candles are a popular gift item and, with the holidays in full swing, and what better than gifting something homemade? Many of those in attendance were mainly part of the Beekeepers Association, according to John “the Bee Man” Phillips of Hanson, whose goal is to educate others about apiculture.

A handmade sign welcomed visitors at a beeswax candle-making seminar hosted at the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association and Hanson Food Pantry. Click here to see more photos from the event. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos.

“Candle making is interesting and can be fun. Overall it was well attended,” Phillips said.   

In past years, turnout for the workshop was good — but with several local activities occurring simultaneously Phillips thought there were slightly fewer people this year. He is considering doing another candle making seminar in the months to come if there is an interest in the community.

Phillips also offers a woodworking seminar in which Beekeepers Association members can receive assistance in setting up their wooden hives. Beekeepers Association membership does cost a small yearly fee to join.

Phillips has been a bee keeper since 1971 and a club member since 1978. The club itself had been established in the late 1960s. He offers teaching on bee topics and assists in maintaining the building.

He has two hives at his home and said his honey production last year was averaged at about 40 pounds.

Most people in the club got a similar amount of honey the median around 40 pounds, which is good considering  the South Shore is close to the ocean, and spring  weather is wet and raw. There are many factors which affect the production of honey, he said.

Further inland Massachusetts bee keepers easily double the production of honey with the increased warmer, drier atmosphere.

During the candle workshop, Phillips and other club members melted approximately ten pounds of wax, which was demonstrated as one of the four to five steps in candle making.

At home his wax is melted via a sun-solar wax melter and then it is purified before making candles. The wax is boiled down and poured into rubber molds mainly to keep the shape and they easily split apart to release the candles.

To quicken the process several molds were placed in the freezer to cool the wax but he said he doesn’t often do that. Everyone left with a candle following the seminar.

The website for the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association contains information and invitations about upcoming Beekeeping School, which will be held this winter for approximately eight weeks at the Pembroke Community center. For more information, visit plymouthcountybeekeepers.org.

Whitman razes blighted house

WHITMAN — A blighted house at 36 East Ave. was torn down Thursday, Nov. 12, to ease the process of auctioning off a vacant house across the street and resolve complaints from neighboring residents of vermin they said were traced to the condemned house.

GOING: A worker operates the heavy equipment to tear down a dilapitated house at 36 East Ave., in Whitman last week. Courtesy photo, Frank Lynam.

Selectmen voted on Tuesday, Nov. 10 to authorize Town Administrator Frank Lynam to hire an auctioneer for 35 East Ave.

“This has been something that’s been pending for several months,” Lynam said of the auction. “We have had permission to sell the property for a while, but given the fact that the property across the street is even worse than that and we had voted to take that property down, I wanted to wait until we actually did that before seeking to auction this.”

The presence of 36 East Ave. would have greatly reduced what could be brought in by an auction of 35 East Ave., according to Lynam.

The town received a judicial order to demolish the property.

“Once it’s down and graded I’d like to move forward with the sale of the other property,” Lynam told selectmen.

East Avenue neighbors attended a Board of Health meeting on Sept. 2, 2014 regarding a continuing problem with rats in the East Avenue neighborhood — and the possibility that the two vacant houses on the street were housing the vermin. While there was doubt in some quarters if rats were, indeed, living inside 35 and 36 East Ave., evidence that raccoons nested in one of the houses had been found.

Town officials, meanwhile, saw legal and financial limits to what could be done about the problem posed by the decaying houses.

The town had, by that time, already foreclosed on 35 East Ave., and had to wait until November 2014 [the end of a one-ear waiting period] before anything could be done with it, including trying to sell the property to a developer who would raze the house and build there, according to Lynam.

“We will not move forward without a judicial order, because it puts the town in a liability position,” Lynam said at the 2014 Board of Health meeting. “The biggest question then becomes funding because we have to have funds have to pay someone to take the house down.”

A Town Meeting vote in May of this year provided the funds.

— Tracy F. Seelye

Baker charter cap raise costly for WHRSD, Whitman-Hanson School Committee says

The School Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 14 approved a change to National Honor Society eligibility as well as hearing concerns by school officials concerning Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to raise the cap on the number of charter schools in the state.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker looks to increase Charter School cap in the state.

The committee also heard an update on the high school’s advanced placement (AP) program.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner testified at a Statehouse public hearing on Gov. Baker’s charter school legislation Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Begun in 1993, charter schools were originally capped at 25 innovative schools.

“Clearly, that’s not what has happened over time,” Gilbert-Whitner said in her report to the School Committee. “Yesterday the testimony I read really focused on the impact to W-H.”

The district is charged based on the per-pupil cost multiplied by the number of students attending charter schools. With 30 students from Whitman and Hanson attending South Shore Charter and Rennaissance Carter School in Boston, the loss to the district’s state aid — after about $26,000 charter school reimbursement — is about $309,000 Gilbert-Whitner said.

“Interestingly, [$309,000] is the same cost that we had to cut from our library program,” she said.

She also noted that, of the 30 local charter school students, only one has ever been enrolled in W-H schools.

“They never even come to see what we’re about,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “Clearly the choice to go to a charter school probably doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the quality of education.”

South Shore Charter is a Level 2 school. Gilbert-Whitner reminded the committee that W-H is a Level 2 district with three Level 1 schools.

Charter school faculties are not required to have union representation or to provide services for all special education students, and not all teachers working for charter schools are certified.

“Each and every student in the Commonwealth deserves a high-quality education, not a dual system of publicly funded education that charges traditional districts for circumstances beyond their control and requires them to operate school systems under a vastly different set of regulations,” Gilbert-Whitner testified in Boston.

“There should be choice,” she told the committee, “ but clearly, there should not be a different set of rules for everyone.”

W-H accepts school choice students and currently enrolls 28, ranging from freshmen to seniors as well as night school students, but sending districts are charged less under that program.

“Choice money has been extremely beneficial,” Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak said, noting it has allowed the hiring of some long-term substitutes for teachers out due to long-term illness.

Szymaniak also argued successfully for a change in National Honor Society (NHS) eligibility to bring W-H onto the same level as other schools in the state. The committee voted 9-0 to approve the change. Member Fred Small was absent.

NHS guidelines had required an unweighted 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.3 on a weighted 5.0 scale for AP courses. Students taking AP classes, but not earning an A or B despite doing well overall academically might be penalized if they fall below a 3.5 GPA, Szymaniak said. The rare occurrence affected four seniors in the Class of 2015.

“The national standard for the NHS is a 3.0,” he said. “I did some digging, called my peers on the South Shore and the average unweighted GPA for the National Honor Society at our local schools is a 3.3 or a 3.4, so we kind of picked the middle ground.”

He advocated a change to 3.35 for W-H requirements.

“This will put us on an equitable playing surface,” Szymaniak said. “It’s not dumbing-down the rigor, it’s not dumbing-down anything.”

The change goes into effect immediately and induction has been moved to November so this year’s seniors can apply.

Guidance Counselor Ruth Carrigan and AP students Erika Badger and Joshua Spicer joined Szymaniak in outlining the success of the W-H AP program.

Prior to the district’s participation in the Mass. Insight to Edcuation grant program in 2012, AP participation was often open to only top-scoring academic students, according to GilbertWhitner. The grant has since expired.

“With the grant program, we were able to expand and it’s just gotten better and better,” she said.

Szymaniak started by reading an email by an alumnus, now studying at Suffolk University, to his W-H science teachers.

“I’m sitting in my environmental science lecture and not paying attention because I don’t have to,” the student wrote to teacher Brian Dukeman. “Your AP course completely prepared me for this class. … I already know every single thing my professor is talking about because of your awesome teaching.”

The student was able to skip all the required freshman science courses because he passed the AP biology exam “with flying colors” and is the only freshman in the class he is now taking, required of environmental science majors.

“That’s just a piece of what AP brings,” Szymaniak said. “AP at Whitman-Hanson gives all students an opportunity to not only take a college class, but to potentially earn college credit.”

He credited the training and commitment of W-H teachers, as well as dedication of students for the success of the AP program in which the school is on track to administer 648 AP exams to 392 students — a quarter of all high school students.

“I congratulate our students for taking on the challenge,” Carrigan said. She reported that alumnus Nate Almeida, who spoke at the recent AP kickoff breakfast, told current students that the 19 college credits he earned in AP courses have saved him $25,000 in college costs.

This year, Badger and Spicer are both taking four AP courses for a total of eight each during high school — Spicer in literature, calculus, computer science and physics and Badger in calculus, environmental science, biology and literature.

Both lauded their teachers as well as peers for inspiring them and pushing them to succeed in the AP classes.

“Although you have to be at a certain level, there’s so much help here at W-H that — whether it’s your teachers or your peers or your guidance counselors — it’s almost as if anyone can come into it and succeed.”

Szymaniak said the goal is for every W-H graduate taking at least one AP course, “or at least attempting the class,” so they are truly college and career ready.

The School Committee in Whitman-Hanson made updates to WHRSD gift policy, and to the guidelines on building use

The School Committee has approved changes to building use and donations policies in order to provide more uniformity and fairness.

Building use changes include a requirement that adults sign voluntary school release forms, as well as an annual statement from group representatives that the forms are signed and that outside groups may not use or place an “undue burden” on facilities support staff.

Regulations have also been updated, including cancellation fees and limitations to availability of facilities when events would interfere with school functions.

“With this particular packet, you are going to have the do’s and the don’ts, what’s expected from you and what you can expect from the district,” said Chairman Bob Hayes.

Donations policy involves an avenue through which funds can be earmarked for use by a specific school.

“It became very clear that some of our policies contradicted each other,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner.

Donors are advised that, as public education is the taxpayer’s responsibility, gifts must be for supplemental materials and programs, not supplanting the regular curriculum or faculty salaries. Gifts also become property of the district, even if they are directed at an individual school.

Each school has a revolving account managed by the Business Office.

“They should not come with strings attached, unless they are presented that way to [the School Committee] that they need to come and be used only for a specific program or a specific school,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Several such donations were accepted by the committee Wednesday, Oct. 14:

• Donations in memory of Patricia Duval requested to be directed to the school by the Duval family — once all donations have been received the school’s officials will update the committee of the total amount and use of the funds;
• $400 from Shaw’s Supermarket Charitable Foundation for the Indian Head School to purchase technology items;
• $400 from Shaw’s Supermarket Charitable Foundation for the Maquan School to purchase technology items;
• $4,087.20 from One Zero Financial Systems to purchase 15 ChromeBooks and their management licenses for the Indian Head School. The gift has been vetted by the Technology Department.
• $1,265 from the Monday-Tuesday Night Volleyball Group in lieu of gym fees for the girls’ volleyball team to fund registration fees for students unable to afford them.

Donations, if any are received, of $35,000 or more that could be intended for a capital expense — and that could involve bidding laws or legislation — must also be addressed and analyzed to determine how it would involve those regulation, the superintendent explained.

“I’m kind of hoping that somebody watching tonight donates $100,000 to each one of the schools,” Hayes quipped.

Grants sought for the district must also be approved by the district before applications are filed.

“We are trying to be very strict about any technology that people are trying to get for the district, whether it’s through fund-raising or grants really needs to go through the Tech Department,” she said. “We want to make sure we can support it and that it’s in compliance with other things that we have.”

In-kind donations must also fit into the curriculum. Donations of time, however, do not need School Committee approval.

Have you ever wished there was a club to join based on your favorite book series?

For students at Whitman-Hanson, this year junior Elizabeth Ingram has started just that – a Harry Potter Alliance Club — their recruiting slogan: “Nerds doing good.”

The local club is part of a global network, founded in Somerville Mass., in 2005, and based on the famous book series by J.K. Rowling with a mission to work for equality, human rights and literacy. There are more than 275 chapters in 25 countries and 43 U.S. states.

Founder Andrew Slack initially sought to draw attention to human rights violations in Sudan.

The Alliance has since sent more than $123,000 in life-saving supplies to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, helped in the victory for Net neutrality and against child slavery by working with Warner Bros. studios in January on an agreement to make all Harry Potter chocolate sold at Warner Bros. outlets and through their licensed partners 100-percent UTZ (sustainably farmed) or Fair Trade, according to the Website thehpalliance.org.

The W-H Harry Potter Alliance’s first meeting took place after school on Tuesday, Sept. 15, with about 10 students attending.

“I got the idea to start the club from watching YouTube videos online,” Ingram said. “The more I learned about the club from YouTube users already involved, the more interested I became in the organization and being part of a chapter.”

Ashley Balbian is the faculty advisor for the club. When Ingram first approached her, Balbian thought “it was a great, creative idea” and “immediately said yes” to being the advisor.

“My hope for the club this year is to contribute to the school as well as create a more positive atmosphere,” Ingram explains.

She also wants the club to participate in other national Harry Potter Alliance campaigns like Accio Books, a book drive to help support literacy and those who do not have access to books; and Esther Day, a day dedicated to people promoting kindness and doing good in honor of Esther Earl, the inspiration for John Green’s novel, “The Fault in Our Stars.”

“Accio” is a spell used in Harry Potter to bring a wanted object to whoever uses it. Esther Earl was an activist in the Harry Potter Alliance and lost her battle with cancer in 2010.

In the future, Ingram hopes that the club can make a difference in the local community.

And of course, both Ingram and Balbian are Harry Potter fans.

Their favorite character is Hermione Granger because she “stands up for what she believes in and doesn’t give up,” said Ingram.