Goodbye Minuteman Again As Town Meeting Re-Rejects Membership In Regional Voke

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Photo: Bob McLaughlin, Pct. 2. speaking against the town rescinding leaving Minuteman.

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “There are no second acts in American lives.” Wednesday night, Belmont Town Meeting affirmed that saying when it rejected the opportunity to again become a member of the Minuteman High School district.

The article to rescind the 2016 Town Meeting decision to decamp from the vocational school failed, 140-95, as a majority of members are hoping there will be plenty of space in the foreseeable future for students from non-member towns to attend the Lexington school.

“It’s a lot to do with how strongly you believe your own projection of the enrollment numbers,” said Jim Gammill, whose argument for rescinding the earlier decision was voted down by the town’s legislative body.

Members who sought to have the school readmitted to the nine-town district – a position supported by the school committee and Belmont Superintendent John Phelan – are worried that a recent enrollment boom at the school could forecast in an increasing number of Belmont students without a desk waiting for them.

Gammill (Pct. 2) who headed the task force to find an alternative to Minuteman, told members that facts have changed over the past three years from the time when Belmont decided to leave to save a significant amount by not taking on the debt of a new building’s while being able to still send students to Minuteman.

“What changed … is the new building,” said Gammill referring to the 257,000 sq.-ft. structure that opened in September, a year early and under budget. With 20 different vocational and technical shop concentrations, Gammill said interest by middle-schoolers has skyrocketed, a trend he believes is sustainable.

“At this rate, three years from now there will be a full school,” said Gammill, with the real prospect of Belmont students looking from the outside in as member school students are expected to take the available slots. If that occurs, “we won’t have the $100s of thousands of savings” as was predicted in 2016.

In addition, “There is no Plan B,” Gammill protested, saying other vocational schools or programs in eastern Massachusetts are unable to accept Belmont’s students as they are filled or the cost in tuition and transportation would make them “cost prohibitive.”

Like Henry V at Harfleur, Bob McLaughlin (Pct. 2) led the Minuteman skeptics “once more into the breach” having been one of the most vocal proponents three years ago for a BelExit.

“This is a bad deal,” said McLaughlin.

While calling the school “the best vocational training for our kids,” McLaughlin reminded the members that the town left the district in 2016 (by a 72 percent to 28 percent margin) after the other members approved building a new school that was “too large and forced us to take on all that debt.”

‘Belmont was trapped in an agreement that it couldn’t get out of and every year they would hand us a bill that was non-negotiable” for a school that spends nearly $36,000 per student.

McLaughlin said Minuteman has seen student population free fall from 1,254 when it opened in 1977 to 383 in 2016 “and it’s going to continue to drop along with the need for vocational education.” Even if the pro-return enrollment numbers are correct, Belmont would see, at most, two to three students being denied a seat at the table.

”We’re going to spend $472,000 (as a re-entry fee), $200,000 a year (in tuition costs) and assume [a portion of the] $144 million in debt” to assure three students will have an education at Minuteman, said McLaughlin.

And with Belmont ready to undertake a $6 million Prop 2 1/2 override on the ballot in one year’s time, “we’re giving sound bites to the opposition [to the override],” said McLaughlin.

Proponents for taking a second walk down the aisle with Minuteman attempted to show the growing need for a quality school by a growing number of students in Belmont.

Caitlin Corrieri

Chenery eighth grade teacher Caitlin Corrieri said that while many students succeed in the current learning environment, “I also have students for whom sitting in a 50 minute traditional class is torture, who learned better using their hands to make and create, whose brains think outside the box.”

“There is no ‘one size fits all‘ school for everyone,” said Corrieri, an 11 year veteran in Belmont. The alternative provided by Minuteman would be a better fit for some students. And that message is being heard at the Chenery; currently 54 eighth graders signed up to tour the school and 10 have submitted applications.

“I’m here tonight on behalf of our eighth grade teachers to implore you to allow our student to have those options in the future,” said Corrieri, noting that higher education and the workforce are evolving “and Minuteman is responsive to these changes.”

“I hate to see students turned away for Minuteman on a long waitlist because we didn’t speak out on this,” she said.

Jack Weis (Pct. 1), who was Belmont’s representative to the Minuteman School Board in 2016, voiced the opinion of many stating “that there is no right or wrong decision on this question as there are risks associated with either vote. Town Meeting members are going to have to decide … which version of the future they think is more likely.”

“And if they are wrong, which set of downside risky they are more comfortable leaving the town exposed to,” he said.

Mike Crowley (Pct. 8) who is a member of the school committee said “continued membership assures access for our kids for years to come … a no vote tonight put the future in jeopardy.” Once students are “squeezed out” of attending Minutemen, “the quality and breadth of programming isn’t there in the other schools that we may be able to offer us a spot or two.”

Warrant Committee member Elizabeth Dionne (Pct. 2) wasn’t convinced there will be an “enrollment crisis” to require Belmont to spend a significant amount of money annually when the town is preparing for a $6 million override in a year’s time.

With the needs of the general student population and special needs pupils to be considered, Belmont should find a way to “provide vocational education in a more cost-effective fashion,” she said.

“We don’t need to buy 40 years of insurance to make sure this happens,” said Dionne.

Jessie Bennett (Pct. 1) agreed with Weis that the financial difference in staying in or leaving Minuteman is relatively small (a cost-benefit of $100,000 being a non-member using the average number of Belmont students and the current student population) considering the $130 million-plus town budget. “If these numbers are so close, than we should vote our values and our values are to support students and provide them with the best possible education they can get.”

“If we don’t have this available for all kids, we are introducing instability into the decision making process for eighth grade families, we are introducing instability into the decision making process for every family … and in our future as a town that provides the best education for all students.”

The final vote – after which the Town Meeting showed its appreciation of Gammill’s work with a standing ovation – revealed the majority of members voted on the belief that interest in Belmont and surrounding towns in attending Minuteman will abate.

“That’s a lot to hope for because we really don’t have a Plan B,” said Crowley.

Special Town Meeting Starts Wednesday At The Chenery With Minuteman Redux

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Photo: The new Minuteman High School in Lexington.

It’s the return of the Minuteman to Town Meeting as Belmont’s legislative body will convene in a special session on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School as the high school auditorium will be filled with student/athletes on Awards Night.

Minuteman Returns As Members Ponder A … Return

The majority of the first night will be a debate and vote on Article 4 will be whether the town should reconsider its 2016 BelExit decision to bolt from its four-decade-long membership (by a 141-81 Town Meeting margin) in the Minuteman Career and Technical High School in Lexington and ask nicely to re-join the school district again.

The Minuteman redux is that since rejecting paying $144 million of its share of funding the new school, two major facts have come to the fore: first, after three years, the town has discovered there is no practical alternative for the two to three dozen Belmont students seeking a vocational education. Second, the new school which opened this year has been extremely popular and it’s forecasted there will not be the necessary classroom seats for all the students who want to attend from non-member towns.

Complicating matters is that the town will be required to hand over a one-time buy-back fee of $472,000 on top of paying the annual tuition assessment of approximately $255,000 in the 2020 school year.

It will be a debate with Minuteman supporters pointing to the corner the town has been painted into and their critics basing its “stay the course” plan on the Groucho Marx quote: I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.

Other Articles Set For Wednesday

Article 1 will allow for reports, proclamations and recognitions. Expect the late Lydia Ogilby to be acknowledged.

Article 2 is a capital appropriation for $347,700 to pay for the second half of the funding (the first at $347,100 was approved at May’s Meeting) to purchase a new fire department pumper truck. Expect easy passage as to why would members only want half a pumper truck?

Article 3 – which will follow the Minuteman article – will seek the approval of transferring an undetermined amount of money from Free Cash, which is at $8.1 million, into the General Stabilization Fund. The amount will be around $2.5 million to forego until November 2020 the all but inevitable Prop 2 1/2 override vote. Some questions on this and the odd “no” vote.

A Word From Mike For The Members: Limits Will Be Enforced

Town Moderator Mike Widmer has asked that Town Meeting Members be reminded of the following:

  • All meetings will start promptly at 7 p.m.; please plan to arrive in time to secure parking, sign in and obtain your electronic voting device.
  • The Moderator will strictly enforce the five-minute rule as well as the Moderator’s rules for speaking on any motion, rules that have already been distributed to Town Meeting Members.
  • Presenters will be held to the 10-minute limit and reminded at the nine minutes mark that there is one minute remaining.
  • Town Meeting Members will be required to sit in the designated sections of the auditorium – for the Chenery, the center section and the left section as seen from the rear of the auditorium and for the High School, the front section of the auditorium. We anticipate that there may be a number of non-Town Meeting Members who will attend these sessions of Town Meeting and by law, we must keep them separate from the Town Meeting Members.

Lydia Ogilby, Belmont’s Grande Dame, Dead at 98

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Photo: An image of Ogilby at Richardson Farm

The old John Bright house (c. 1790), on Washington Street at the confluence of Grove, Blanchard, and Bright is quiet as the grande dame of Belmont, Lydia Richardson (Phippen) Ogilby, died on Friday, Nov. 1 in the home she called home for more most of her life.

Ogilby was 98.

“I really liked and admired Lydia,” said Pricilla Hughes of the Belmont Historical Society which Ogilby was long associated with.

“She was everything I hope to be if I live that long. She was smart, involved, and had strong opinions that she was not afraid the express. She truly was a grande dame,” said Hughes.

Ogilby with her grandson, Henry, on Memorial Day, 2019

The daughter of Clement Lowell Phippen (1885-1944) and Grace Richardson (1882-1969), Lydia was born on Aug. 7, 1921. She had two older brothers, Hardy who died in 2004 and Clement who died in 1939.

Her grandfather, Jay Richardson, was a market gardener with a pair of large greenhouses – that included a boiler house to heat them – who sold his produce at Quincy Market, using a large horse-drawn cart to make the trip from Belmont to Boston.

“My grandfather grew the best beets around,” said Ogilby in a 2012 interview by Belmont resident Jane Sherwin in Edible Boston.

After Richardson was badly injured after a cart accident in 1921, Grace Phippen moved her family including her newborn back to Belmont from Brooklyn in order to help run the farm, which she would inherit two years later. The land would continue to be farmed, after World War II with the help of a pair of tenant farmers, first the Sergi and later the Chase families.

Ogilby’s greatest legacy is the Richardson Farm the 10 acres of land between Bright and Blanchard owned by the family since 1634 when Charles I gave Abraham Hill a charter for a swath of land stretching from Charlestown to Belmont Hill.

By the 1990s, Ogilby was receiving a steady stream of offers for the land from various developers.

“It was suggested we turn the area into a train station and rent out parking spaces,” Ogilby told Sherrington. After consulting with her family, the Ogilbys decided to place the land under an Agricultural Preservation Restriction held by the Belmont Land Trust.

Ogilby told Sherrington it was a very hard decision for her family to give up the development rights of so valuable a property, but she believed that love of the land made it possible.

“It’s part of my children’s life. They’ve all lived in cities, every one of them has, but I think loving the land is in their DNA,” said Ogilby in Edible Boston.

Ogilby was also a constant serving in town governance, involved in a number of committees and Town Meeting:

  • . Town Meeting Member for 53 years spanning from 1963 to 2019 (with a couple of interruptions)
  • Capital Budget Committee 1970-1996
  • Solid Waste Disposal Study Committee and Solid Waste Disposal Advisory Committee 1974 – 1985
  • Historic District Commission 1978 – 2012 when she became an Emeritus Member to 2019
  • Library Site Planning Committee 2005
  • 125th Jubilee Committee  1983-1984
  • Republican Town Committee 1988

Her involvement in town matters did not diminish with age (nor did it stop her from driving to Star Market on Trapelo Road into her 90s). At 94, Ogilby led the opposition by longtime residents on plans to remove parking and a cut-through street in front of the former Belmont Savings Bank resulting in a Special Town Meeting after the Board of Selectmen eventually agreed with Ogilby’s position.

Ogilby would be an important voice at Town Meeting whether it was supporting an article or finding a way to relieve the tension at late night debates. Town Clerk Ellen Cushman recalled a particular night when voices were being raised over a particular measure, Ogilby got up to speak.

“Good news! My goat gave birth to four kids,” Ogilby proudly announced, reducing Town Meeting to giddy laughter, cooling the gathering’s temperature considerably.

Ogilby was a 1938 graduate of the Buckingham, Brown and Nichols School in Cambridge and received her Masters from Boston University’s School of Social Work. Ogilby worked as a clinical social worker and owned a nursery school in East Boston.

In 1949, Ogilby married John David Ogilby, a Harvard graduate who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart as a naval officer at the Battle of Anzio in 1944. A sales manager for Philip Hano, Ogilby died in 1966 in Randolph, NH, where the Ogilby family has a summer home.

Ogilby is survived by her children; Henry, John David Jr., Clement and Lydia; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be announced in the future.

Semis Bound Again: Belmont Boys’ Soccer Takes Down Arlington, Marblehead To Meet Winchester Wednesday

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Photo: Senior Jon Brabo after scoring his second goal against Marblehead.

The 7th ranked Belmont High School Boys’ Soccer squad (12-4-2) will meet Middlesex League rivals and 6th ranked Winchester (12-3-5) one more time this season as the Marauders reach the MIAA Division 2 North semifinals for the third time in six years.

The game will be played on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. at Manning Field in Lynn. Forecasts call for temperatures in the upper 20s with winds around 10 mph so bundle up.

Poetic Justice: Belmont Opens Playoffs Beating SpyPonders In PK Thriller

With the game on the line, Belmont High’s senior goalkeeper Finbar Rhodes was in the zone.

With the opening game of the Division 2 North sectionals against neighboring Arlington High to be decided by penalty kicks, Rhodes got his gloves on four of the five shots, stopping two including Arlington’s fifth attempt giving the Marauders a 3-3 (4-3) victory on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Those watching the action likely wondered if Rhodes had some intuitive understanding of where the SpyPonders would be placing the ball.

Well, he sorta did.

Going back a year ago, it was Belmont on the short end of a penalty kick decision, 0-0 (4-2), against Arlington which went on to the Division 2 state finals. It turns out that Belmont’s coaches reviewed the video of the game and discovered that many of the same players who took those penalty kicks were on the current team.

They took that information and wrote on a stripe of athletic tape the Arlington player’s number and where they took the penalty kick a year ago. For example, “7 L” told Rhodes number 7 would likely kick the ball to his left.

On Wednesday, each SpyPonder on the tape went where the tape said he would.

“It’s a big advantage to know where [your opponent] is going,” said Rhodes with a smile after the game.

“Poetic justice,” said a Marauder on hearing the story.

In a thriller of a game that contrasted Belmont’s patient passing with Arlington’s physicality, the Marauders played some of its most comprehensive soccer for the season as they held the majority of the ball throughout the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second.

Belmont Head Coach Brian Bisceglia-Kane gave all the credit to the players who were able to adapt to changes in positions and tactics to create the current winning lineup.

“It’s the guys and who they are, all the work that they put into the season and the composure and trust they have with each other. They kind of just have meshed together at the end of the season,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Brian Bisceglia-Kane.

“It’s just a good group of people that work well together,” he said.

It was the perfect start to the game for Belmont when senior co-captain Jon Brabo bundled in a bungled save attempt at the two and half minute mark. But the Marauders were brought back to earth when Arlington’s slotted in a rebound off Rhodes 40 seconds after the Marauders’ goal.

While the SpyPonders looked to grind down the Marauders, Belmont countered by forcing Arlington to chase the ball with a collection of short passes and constant movement from the midfield and forwards.

Belmont’s second tally came 10 minutes from the half when senior Theo DiTommaso hit a bullet from 25 meters that eluded Arlington’s goalie and settled in the left end of the goal.

It appeared Belmont had all but iced the game eight minutes into the second half when Belmont’s midfielders put together a three-pass combination ending with junior Theo Kargere sending a brilliant feathered pass onto a rushing Brabo who one-timed the ball into the net.

“We have been really connecting on those situations. It really comes down to our coaches who said [goals] will happen playing this type of game,” said Brabo.

But Arlington would not be deterred, scoring just 90 seconds later to keep the game close. The final 20 minutes saw the SpyPonders’ pressure and speed take the game from the Marauders scoring on a shot that eluded Rhodes with 18 minutes remaining in the second half.

Belmont would thwart a number of challenges by Arlington late in regular time to take the game into a pair of 10 minute overtimes. Despite returning to its game and dominating the extra time, the Marauders could not find the final touch on two near goals to end it in sudden death.

It was up to Rhodes and Belmont’s snipers to win it for the Marauders with Rhodes and his piece of tape giving the home team an immediate advantage turning back the first penalty. It was four to three Belmont in the fifth stanza when Rhodes dove to his left even before Arlington’s players sent the ball that way to parry it away.

“It’s great to redeem myself for those three [goals] that got by me,” said Rhodes.

“They’re just focused and there’s a lot of intrinsic motivation,” said Bisceglia-Kane. “It starts with the captains. Brabo and Spencer Price have unique traits and all do certain things really well like obviously Jon and Arista is more vocal. Spencer’s tends to be more quiet but when he speaks up man everybody, he has the room.”

“They just make my life a lot easier,” he said.

Brabo’s Brace the Marauders by the Magicians

With Marblehead’s upset of Lynn Classical, Marauders hosted the Magicians on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Harris Field, with Brabo ready to show his magic hadn’t worn off from the playoff encounter.

Brabo started his scoring with a hammer of a shot from 15 meters out that beat Marblehead’s goalie short side 10 minutes into the game. The senior co-captain registered his second goal 15 minutes into the second half off a corner, stretching his head over the defender’s shoulder and slotting the ball back across the goalmouth and into the net.

“Obviously I owe it all to my teammates. They put me in the position where I just have to do the last part which is finishing,” said Brabo.

Belmont’s combination passing allowed the Marauders to both keep possession and move the ball into the Magicians’ end of the pitch. This game Belmont’s back line stood up to the few Marblehead forays at Rhodes’ net.

Wednesday will be the season’s rubber match with Winchester, first losing 3-0 at home on Soccer Night at Belmont while winning away, 2-0, three weeks ago.

“We always respect Winchester. It’s a really good team in our league and they’re well coached. We’re excited with what we have and obviously we known them really well,” said Bisceglia-Kane.

“It feels great playing them again,” said Brabo.

“After that devastating loss on Soccer Night, we had a chip on our shoulder and that showed when we beat them at their house. This is the deciding game, there’s a lot riding on it. As a senior, I’m going to put my heart out there but I’m sure everyone’s gonna do the same because it’s such a huge game,” said Brabo.

Belmont Middle And High School Is … On Budget!

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Photo: In the black

After two misses in which the budget for the new Belmont Middle and High School recorded deficits of $30 million in April and $19 million in late August, it was with a bit of trepidation for the school’s Building Committee to hear the final budget estimate from the design team during the committee’s meeting on Tuesday night, Nov. 5.

With the development at the benchmark 90 percent of all bids, the project design budget was announced as being … in the black by $300,000.

Whew!

“This is excellent,” said Bill Lovallo, chair of the committee which this Friday will send a dense binder holding all of the project’s 1,300 drawings and financials to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which is partnering with the town on constructing the $295.2 million, 451,575 square foot school.

“Our final estimated check says that we are on budget,” he told the committee, noting that the final figure was the average of three estimations from each of the design team; architect Perkins+Will, general contractor Skanska and owner’s project manager Daedalus.

Lovallo said he is confident that the remaining contingency funds – about $10 million – will protect the project against escalating costs or construction overruns. He also said that the design team is receiving an interest in the number of firms interested in bidding on the project.

With the budget appearing stabilized, the committee will return in two weeks to discuss possibly bringing back approximately a dozen or so items trimmed during the earlier value engineering dubbed the bid alternative process.

“We want a mechanism by which when we bid and the price has come in a little higher than we expected we have the ability to accept the bids and if they come in a little lower than expected, we could make adjustments to add things that we took out at 60 percent,” said Lovallo, who noted that already Skanska is currently finding additional cost savings in the construction of the school’s facade.

At the Nov. 21 meeting (at 7:30 a.m. in the Belmont Art Gallery in the Homer Building), the committee will take a pared down list of items and rank each item in the committee’s preference of being returned to the building project, ie. the item selected number one will be the first added back with any additional funds.

It’s likely most items on the list will seem mundane – such as tiles and ceiling panels – but they have been identified by several committee members as important components to the educational goals and to the appearance of the school.

A popular item to bring back is the orchestra pit whose campaigners came out to support before the committee last month. Solar power advocates continued their public participation to hold the committee to earlier commitments to keep solar arrays in the building program, although Lovallo said the arrays will not be on the Nov. 21 list since it will likely one of the very last items bid in three years time.

Belmont High Girls’ Soccer Upsets Masco, 1-0; Heads To Beverly For Quarters Clash

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Photo: Belmont High’s Kiki Christofori (#22, center) after scoring the only goal of the game vs. Masco.

On a cold Nov. 5, 2016, Marina Karalis, a freshman who was called up from the JV just weeks before, scored the winning penalty kick to give Belmont High Girls’ soccer an upset playoff victory over hosts Winchester.

Fast forward four years almost to the day, Karalis – now one of only a handful of seniors on a youthful team – came through once again as she assisted in a Kiki Christofori goal with just over 12 minutes to play to upset Masconomet Regional (the 7th seed with an 11-4-4 record), 1-0, to move on to the Division 2 North Sectional quarterfinals against second-seed Beverly High.

Belmont (the 10th seed at 9-7-2) will meet the Panthers (2nd ranked at 15-2-1) at Beverly High on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m.

“It’s so weird to think that I’m the senior on the team and not being yelled at [by seniors],” said a smiling Karalis after the game. “I remember having [seniors] as role models and now having to be that person. So I’m so proud of everyone working their butts off the whole game and glad that such hard work paid off.”

For Belmont Head Coach Paul Graham, Karalis’ leadership and play in the center of the field provided to be the difference in the game’s outcome.

“Marina was a general out there. It was tough because the field (Masco plays on an uneven grass pitch with a distinct slope) because the ball wasn’t coming to her true but she still dominated the entire midfield,” he said.

Belmont’s goal came from a quick turn of play as Karalis sent a deft pass to Christofori to the right of Masco’s netminder.

“I think somebody was kind of on the right side of me. It was in the heat of the moment that I took the shot and it went through the goalies’ legs,” said Christofori.

The match was a back and forth affair for nearly the entire game in which shots on goal were few as both teams appeared to struggle in the high grass pitch.

“It was like playing in the mud,” said Graham.

While Masco’s quickness was its main threat, it was countered by the outstanding play from Belmont’s backline of junior Ashley Green, senior Olivia Zarzycki and junior Katelyn Sawyer – that limited Masco to a mere three shots on goal for the game.

“[Green] was the boss back there, yelling and screaming and having everyone covered. And the rotation between her and [Sawyer] was unbelievable. Katelyn played her best game of the year today and it’s her birthday.”

Looking forward to the tourney, Graham believes the up and down season has made the current lineup resilient to whatever is thrown at them.

“We’re a tough out. We’ve played everyone tough this year be it Winchester (a 1-1 tie at home), Arlington, anyone. I honestly don’t think anyone really wants to play us because no one knows who we really are,” said Graham.

Asked what was the best part of winning the game, Karalis answered with the bravado of someone who doesn’t want the season to end.

“We’re practicing tomorrow.”

Teachers Holding Public Forum Wednesday On What Belmont Wants From Schools

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Photo: The Belmont Education Association

Educators to Belmont: What do you want?

The Belmont Education Association – which represents the educators and staff in the Belmont School District – is seeking input from residents on what is important about education in the public schools at a public forum on Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at the Belmont High School library.

What will be discussed is:

  • What does the community value about Belmont public schools, and
  • What would it like to see changed.

This input will help inform the BEA’s upcoming negotiations for a new three year contract.

To sign up for the meeting, or to respond to the questions online if you cannot attend, go to: https://masstea.ch/belmontforum

‘All Animals Are Equal …’ BHS PAC’s ‘Animal Farm’ In Performance Nov. 7-9

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Photo: Poster for the play

You may have read it, you certainly have heard about it and we may be living it. Now is your chance to see it on stage as the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents an adaptation of George Orwell’s story “Animal Farm” in three performances Nov. 7-9 at 7 p.m. at the Belmont High School auditorium.

Tickets are:

  • Adults: $12 advance sale/$15 at the door.
  • Children/students: $5 Thursday/$10 Friday and Saturday
  • Belmont High Students: $5.

Tickets are available at Champions Sports in Belmont Center or online at bhs-pac.org

From an allegorical novella by George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-Four) Animal Farm demonstrates that best intentions could lead to bad consequences: after staging a successful revolution against their human masters, a group of farm animals establishes a communal society, only to see it devolve into the corrupt regime of a power-hungry dictator.

Remember: “All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.”

The play resonates with many of the issues the world faces today: the rise of totalitarianism and demagoguery, massive wealth inequality, gaslighting propaganda and fake news, cults of popularity disguised as populism, and the use of violence to solve problems. But the play grounds these topics in a vivid immediate reality. And while the book was clearly an allegory about the rise of Stalinism when it was originally written, the story feels eerily contemporary.

The production does not attempt to shoehorn the play into one particular interpretation or historical setting, according to PAC’s director Ezra Flam.

“The surprise of the show is not what happens, but how you get there,” noted Flam. How do good people let bad things happen – and even participate in making decisions that go against their own interests, challenge their self-concepts, or actually violate their memories and their grip on reality?

The play takes place on the Manor farm, where the alcoholic human farmer Mr. Jones has been mistreating the animals and mismanaging the farm. At the urging of Old Major, a boar held in high esteem by the animals, the residents of the farm take matters into their own hands, oust Mr. Jones, and rename the farm “Animal Farm.” Led by two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, the new community establishes a society built on egalitarian principles, universal education, and long-missing economic efficiency.

But soon the elation of their utopia gives way to doctrinal squabbles, propaganda fights, and vicious power plays, and everyone scrambles to choose the right side or be swept away by the tide of corruption growing in the center of their idyllic community.

By the end of the play, one of the early leaders has been banished, kangaroo courts have sent many innocent people to their deaths, and the farm has turned out worse than it ever was under the misguided administration of the humans.

In his notes of the show. Flam said this production showcases what the Performing Arts Company does best: give actors and stage crew the chance to learn about theater by creating a fully realized production.

Making the show happen has engaged the efforts of more than just the cast of 26 actors. More than 75 students are part of the backstage crew: building and painting scenery, making costumes, creating lighting and sound effects, constructing props and working as production assistants.

But Animal Farm has called on even more than the usual set of skills.

The actors and crew must tell a story that exists on multiple levels, said Flam. The cast must tell a deeply allegorical story that decries totalitarianism both in its Stalinist expression but which echoes into the current day. For example, they were both schooled in Soviet history and watched videos of Brexit arguments in Parliament to prepare for their roles.)

They must enact vicious moment-by-moment power plays, oppression, and experiences of terror, all while thoroughly respecting their fellow actors. And they must tell this harrowing story in the guise of farm animals – and not as they might portray a cow in the stable of a Christmas play, but in a way that captures the nuances of animal characteristics without devolving into caricature.

“They can’t just play a horse like you might in fourth grade,” Flam explains. “The actors need to do a play that tells a story on the surface but underneath tells deeper stories.” Whether pig, sheep, or horse, the actors must tell a profoundly human story.

Likewise, the production crew has worked diligently to help create the world of the story. The students on the costumes crew, under the guidance of Costume Designer Lila West and in conjunction with the actors themselves, have created a wealth of costumes that evoke rather than explicitly depict animals. Through costume pieces and improvised movement, the cast and crew create a world of animals without yielding to literal representation.

Meanwhile, the collaborative efforts of the cast and student set crew, led by Scenic Designer Anna Moss and Technical Director Ian O’Malley, have produced a set that evokes a farm but allows the audience to grasp the timeless themes of the story.

After Strong Finish, Belmont Volleyball Meets 2nd Ranked Quincy In Tourney Opener

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Photo: Belmont senior Jenna Crowley serving against Arlington.

On Seniors Night against Arlington, Belmont High Volleyball’s Jenna Crowley was ready to shake off some late-season rustiness against the SpyPonders.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit serving lately and I asked our coach if I could serve today,” asked Crowley.

“She asked ‘are you ready?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m 100 percent ready because I was 100 percent in control‘,” said as the senior middle blocker/outside hitter led the Marauders to a three-set sweep of the visiting SpyPonders, 25-17, 25-16, 25-10, on the last game she’d be playing on her Wenner Field House home court.

Belmont High Volleyball seniors

“No one was down today, everyone had a smile on their faces, the crowd was hyped because everyone wanted this one. It was like a perfect night for a perfect game,” she said.

That strong second half of the season saw Belmont through to an 11-8 record and the 7th seed in the Division 1 Central/East sectionals. They will travel to second-ranked Quincy High School to take on the 18-2 Presidents in a quarterfinal match on Monday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m.

Against Arlington, Crowley would serve without and error and in the third set went on a nine-win run from the backline. But it was her play at the net – including five solo kills and nine in-close digs – that helped Belmont dominate the match with a series of blocks on Belmont’s serve that kept the score running in the Marauders’ favor.

Crowley and the rest of the starting core have stepped up their game in the final weeks of the season.

“We’ve had a lot of good games even the ones we’ve lost I feel we played well,” said Head Coach Jenn Couture after the Arlington match.

“I think things have been clicking a lot more and the team just needed a little bit of time to develop the chemistry with some of the new players,” said Couture, noting the team’s 3-2 loss (15-13 in the fifth set) to a 13-7 Reading team “where we played really consistent and aggressive for the entire game.”

After starting strong in its first two games of the season, the Marauders found themselves facing a league in which each team has gained experience in playing the game.

A three-game stretch turned the season around starting with an epic five-set come-from-behind victory at Burlington. The Devils, who would finish the season 16-4, dominated the first two sets only for the Marauders to take the final three (18, 23, 8) for the big win.

Against Burlington, senior libero Sophia Estok served 18 times with an error, dug the ball out 31 times and had 30 returns of serve to spark the defense. Sophomore Katherine Bai (12) and senior Emily Sabina (11) led in kills while senior setter Mindee Lai handed out 35 assists while handling the ball 169 times with only two miscues.

Belmont’s talent serving and at the net will likely where the Marauders will take advantage of the Quincy match. For Crowley and her teammates, the thoughts of not going to the state tourney were out of the question, even when the team was going through its mid season bad patch.

“It was close but we made it and we have to take the mentality we had [on Seniors night] of just playing smart but also playing hard,” she said.

Dual Dedications: Town Field, Renovated Veterans Memorial Set For Saturday, Nov. 2

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Photo: These events will take part on Saturday morning.

Belmont citizens who served and sacrificed for their country will be commemorated in a pair of dedications taking place on Saturday, Nov. 2.

At 9 a.m., the courts at Town Field, 160 Waverley St., will be named for Sgt. Edward “Teddy” Lee, a Bradley Road resident who lost his life serving with the 75th Airborne Ranger Division in Vietnam on May 13, 1968.

The naming of the courts to Lee – a Belmont High graduate who was a member of the school’s only state football championship team in 1964 – has been the singleminded effort of Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac.

At 10:15 a.m. a parade will begin from the World War I memorial, 1 Common St., across from the commuter rail station traveling up Concord Avenue to the dedication of the renovated Belmont Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond across from Belmont High School at 11 a.m.

The new memorial will restore the existing wall to its original condition when it was built in 1941, as well as new memorial stones honoring Belmont residents who took part in military conflicts since the town’s founding in 1859.

Dedication of two memorials.