Superintendent's Newsletter

Dear School Community,

Much has happened since the last Superintendent’s Newsletter.

Once again, the residents of the Tri-Town chose to support their schools by approving the school budgets for the 2025-2026 school year as proposed by the school committees. For more information regarding our approved school budgets, please visit our Business and Finance webpage: https://www.oldrochester.org/departments/business-finance.

Additionally, the residents of our three towns voted to support the purchase of a new, high-quality math curriculum for all of our elementary schools. We are beyond thrilled that all of our elementary students in Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester will be utilizing the same math curriculum starting in the fall. I appreciate the work that many of our teachers have done to assess our current math curriculum and make recommendations for our next curriculum.

Moreover, the actions taken by the Tri-Town residents at the recent town meetings also secured capital funding for our schools. As a result, our schools will address one-time capital needs that include chiller replacement work, playground equipment replacement, playground resurfacing needs, window sealing, asphalt sealing, kitchen upgrades, and security needs.

Although it was a challenging budget development season - I am grateful to all of the school community stakeholders that contributed to the process and ultimately to the towns’ voters for continuing to value public education and our students’ needs.

Our students are currently enjoying the final days of the school year! It has been incredible to participate in the end of year events that all of our schools host. Our school community is rich in traditions and events that celebrate student achievements. Each year I am blown away by the number of attendees that go to our open houses, athletic events, concerts, art shows, field days, and our graduation ceremonies. Our students are lucky to attend schools where the community regularly prioritizes and supports their academic growth and social emotional well-being.

In closing, our students are also looking forward to the summer vacation. They have worked hard this school year and are ready for summer days. Many of them have shared with me that they are looking forward to sleeping in a bit, attending summer camps, playing with their neighborhood friends, working summer jobs, vacationing with their families, wearing shorts and flip flops every day, or simply relaxing. With that being said, there are still a number of school days in front of us and we are excited for a strong finish!

Respectfully,

Michael S. Nelson

Superintendent of Schools

Thank You for Supporting our Schools!

Thank you to the communities of Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester for your continued support and commitment to our schools. We are excited to be moving forward with the recommendation to adopt a high-quality K–6 math program, Envisions by Savvas Learning, that will bring a unified curriculum to all three towns, ensuring a strong, vertically aligned foundation for students by the time they reach grade 7 in the regional school district. While we are currently pending votes from each of the individual town school committees, this step, alongside our newly aligned ELA program, marks meaningful progress toward district-wide consistency in core subjects. We are also actively working toward alignment in science and social studies. Your support makes this important work possible.

Rochester Holds Annual STEAMapalooza and Project GROW Art Show

Rochester Memorial School’s STEAMapalooza night was an incredible celebration of curiosity, creativity, and community! Families and students packed the building, exploring hands-on science projects, STEM activities, student singing performances, and a book fair that brought learning to life in every corner. The energy was contagious and it was a night to remember. A huge thank you to the teachers and staff who brought the event to life with such enthusiasm, and to our principals for their leadership and support. It was a reminder of the amazing things that happen when we come together to celebrate student learning.

This year's Project GROW art show was all about animals! Throughout the school year, students explored the various habitats of a variety of animals and used all different kinds of art tools to bring their art to life. Students used materials such as clay, tissue paper, paint, bubble wrap and lots of other creative art tools. They tied their love for animals to many well-known artists like Van Gogh, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso to name a few. Together we watched as each students' overall confidence, independence and love for learning grew as they accomplished each piece. Each student sprinkled our class with the "wildest" art this year and we are so proud of them! A special thanks to Ms. Pacheco for organizing and holding the amazing event for our PreK students and families.

High School Talent:

It’s been a wonderful month at the high school, full of creativity, talent, and school pride. I had the chance to visit Uncle Jon’s Café for the opening reception of artwork displayed from our AP, AD, Honors Art, and Art III students on May 21. I was so impressed by the talented and thoughtful work on display. The show will be up through June 8th, and it’s well worth a visit to see the range and depth of student expression. I also had the chance to watch the girls varsity lacrosse team in action—they played with such heart and determination. And the High School Spring Concert was a true celebration of musical talent, featuring standout performances by the a cappella group, chorus, and jazz band. I was equally impressed by the AP Research presentations where students delivered well-developed, thoughtful projects and spoke with clarity and ownership. Their work was well-done and their confidence during the presentations reflected real ownership of their learning. It’s exciting to see our students shining in so many different ways!

Sincerely,

Shari Fedorowicz

Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning

Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)

The mission of the Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Old Rochester Regional Special Education Parent Advisory Council (ORR SEPAC) is to work for understanding of, respect for and support of all children with special needs in our community. To that end, the ORR SEPAC will work to promote a network of parents of children with and without special needs, and provide a forum to share information and:

• Advise the Districts on development of special education programs;

• Promote communication and programs within the community to encourage understanding, acceptance and inclusion;

• Provide informational forums to families, educators, students and professionals.

If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact 508-758-2772, ext. 1942 to learn more!

Integrated Monitoring Review

Thank you to all of the families that provided feedback to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Public School Monitoring (PSM) as part of the Integrated Monitoring Review of Old Rochester Regional School District & Massachusetts Superintendency Union #55. The district takes this feedback seriously and will use it to make continuous improvements.