School Committee considering changes to graduation

The School Committee plans to form an advisory panel to study whether high school graduation activities should be moved to another date and location. The advisory panel will be made up of school and town officials, teachers, former students and CHS alumni.

The move comes after rain caused both this year’s and last year’s graduation ceremonies to be moved inside to the CHS auditorium. With increased enrollment expected in future years, fitting the senior class in the auditorium in the event of rain could be a concern. Other options the advisory panel will consider include moving the ceremony to the football field, holding graduation on the weekend, and changing the date and time of the all-night graduation party and the senior prom. The consensus of the School Committee is that “senior week” – which includes the prom, senior banquet, graduation and the all-night party – is quite exhaustive for the seniors and it is also a busy week for parents and relatives of the graduates.

In other news, CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson announced that Canton Co-operative Bank will pay for a new scoreboard and public address system for Memorial Field, while other companies will pay for renovations to the press box so that it is entirely enclosed. By enclosing the press box, the PA and scoreboard systems can be properly secured throughout the year and not subject to weather conditions. Erickson is hopeful the renovations will be completed in time for the first home football game. The new wireless PA system can be used inside or outside the press box and at any point on the field. Erickson said plans are in the works to recognize Canton Co-operative Bank and Reebok for their large contributions to the entire athletic program.

Also on Thursday night, the committee endorsed the district’s new bullying policy, which had been under review for 13 months. Canton is one of the first communities to formally adopt a strong anti-bullying policy, and already it has garnered support at the state level and approval of legal counsel. The new policy will be part of the student handbooks in all of the schools next fall. K-12 wellness coordinator Peter Boucher spearheaded the effort, which included staff members, parents and students. Under the newly approved policy, the school principal will conduct a full investigation of all alleged incidents of bullying, and even if the incident is resolved, there will still be assistance for the victim and counseling for the alleged perpetrators.

* Boucher was formally announced as the new interim principal of the Hansen School, taking over for John Maxwell, who is moving on to the Lexington school system as an assistant principal and teacher. School Superintendent Jeff Granatino said it is unclear at this time whether the schools will replace Boucher’s position as wellness coordinator.

Maxwell, in his final report to the committee as principal, noted the increasing diversity of the student body, with minority groups now making up an estimated 25 percent of the school population. He also noted several recent “green” initiatives, including a drive to collect 4,000 plastic bottles, which will be recycled and made into a bench for the school.

* At the middle school, Dr. Bill Conard, a native of Canton, is replacing Tom LaLiberte, who is retiring at the end of the month. The committee said LaLiberte has done a terrific job as principal of the Galvin for the past decade. They said he gave individual attention to every student he encountered and showed great attention to the improvement of the entire school system.

* The committee gave CHS foreign language coordinator Karen Augenstern approval to enter into an exchange program with a Jesuit School in Malaga, Spain. So far, 16 CHS students have expressed interest in the trip. The students will travel to Spain next April, and the students from Malaga will come to Canton in September. Fundraising efforts to defray expenses were also approved by the committee.

* The School Committee will next meet on Thursday, July 28.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jun 22 2011. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.