MWCC's Weekly e-newsletter

Friday, February 11, 2005

MIDDLESEX DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO SPEAK ABOUT
TRUANCY PROGRAM AT MWCC’S 3RD WHAT’S NEXT EVENT

MWCC Announces Martha Coakley’s Return as College’s Commencement Speaker

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Mount Wachusett Community College and the Molly Bish Institute for Child Health & Safety are co-sponsoring Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley’s presentation on truancy prevention Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton in Leominster. Coakley will return to deliver the keynote address at MWCC’s 40th commencement, Thursday, May 19.

	Martha Coakley

As Middlesex district attorney, Coakley prosecutes the worst of violent criminals. She believes early intervention with at-risk youth can stop the cycle of violence. At the Four Points on Feb. 15, Coakley will talk about School Tardiness and Attendance Review Teams (START), one of her office’s important intervention initiatives.

START is a pilot truancy intervention program that brings together school officials, social workers, parents, students and others to address the underlying causes of a student’s truancy. North Central Massachusetts school, law enforcement, court, social agency personnel as well as parents are invited to attend the event.

“We are so proud to be welcoming District Attorney Coakley to our campus for our 40th commencement. She truly is a champion for justice,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “One of the things I most admire about her is that she is creative and innovative. In addition to being a tough prosecutor, she has actively sought out ways to prevent crime, like her model program to prevent truancy. She is a visionary leader who recognizes the value of early intervention.”

MWCC is proud to note that among the graduating class of 2005, many will be graduating from the criminal justice program. MWCC grads serve on virtually every police force in the 29 cities and towns the college serves.

Coakley is a seasoned prosecutor who has committed much of her legal career to public safety in Middlesex County. Since assuming office as district attorney in January 1999, she has dedicated her time and energy to bringing justice to crime victims and their families.

With Middlesex Partnerships for Youth, for which she serves as board chair, Coakley has hosted numerous workshops and training seminars for law enforcement, social service providers and educators to help foster an atmosphere of respect and public safety for Middlesex youth. In addition, Coakley’s office has produced several award-winning educational videos on such topics as drinking and driving, Internet safety, designer drugs and youth sports violence.

DENTAL SERVICES OF MASSACHUSETTS GIVES $50K GRANT TO MWCC’S DENTAL HYGIENE PROGRAM

By Kimberly B. Caisse

	Executive Vice President Ed Terceiro shows the floor plan of the new dental hygiene training center to Bryan Spence of DSM and Debbie Orre, dean of the School of Health Sciences.

A representative of Dental Services of Massachusetts (DSM) visited Mount Wachusett Community College Tuesday, Feb. 8 to give a $50,000 grant to the college’s new dental hygiene program.

“We’re working with the Mass. Dental Society in the profession,” said Bryan Spence, the director of Community, Benefit and Philanthropy at DSM, the corporate arm of Delta Dental Plan of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Dental Society awarded MWCC a $63,300 for the dental hygiene program in December. “There’s such a great need (for dental hygienists) out there,” Spence added.

In addition to awarding the check, Spence viewed the renovation design for the program’s facility on the HealthAlliance-Burbank Campus in Fitchburg and toured the Gardner campus.

“With the help of people such as yourself, we can make this program a reality,” said Executive Vice President Ed Terceiro while showing Spence the program’s floor plan.

MWCC Foundation Executive Director Darlene Morrilly noted that the DSM donation is part of an ongoing fund-raising effort to launch the college’s dental hygiene program in fall 2005. “We are very appreciative of DSM’s support as well as that of dentists in the Wachusett and Worcester regions. Every penny of support will help the Mount address the critical shortage of dental hygienists in our communities,” Morrilly said.

MWCC recently was granted initial accreditation status by the Council on Dental Accreditation for the dental hygiene program at the Fitchburg site. This allows MWCC to begin accepting students for the fall 2005 semester. (The application deadline was Feb. 1.)

Campus Events:

• Sign up your child for MWCC’s next r.a.d.KIDS session Monday, February 21 through Friday, February 25 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Gardner campus. R.a.d.KIDS is a comprehensive, foundational safety education program for children ages 5 to 7 and 8 to 12. It educates children with the tools, knowledge and power to recognize and avoid danger as well as to resist and protect themselves from physical abuse. The program focuses on seven core areas: home safety, school safety, out-and-about safety, vehicle safety, stranger tricks (including physical defense against abduction), personal safety (including good, bad and uncomfortable touching) and self-realization of personal power. To register, contact Melissa Garneau at (978) 630-9150.

• MWCC and the Forest & Wood Products Institute will host a 10-hour OSHA safety training session Monday, Feb. 14 and Tuesday, Feb. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wood Products Workforce Development Coordinator Ken Hanson will cover at least nine OSHA safety standards. The cost is only $198 per person and includes lunch. To register, please call Hanson at (978) 630-9179.

• As part of MWCC’s What’s Next Speaker Series, MWCC and the Molly Bish Institute for Child Health & Safety are hosting a free presentation on truancy prevention by Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley at the Four Points by Sheraton in Leominster Tuesday, February 15 at 4 p.m. Coakley will talk about one of her office’s important intervention initiatives—School Tardiness and Attendance Review Teams (START), a pilot program that brings together school officials, social workers, parents, students and others to address the underlying causes of a student’s truancy. Area school, law enforcement, court, social agency personnel as well as parents are invited to attend. Interested in attending, contact Lea Ann Erickson at (978) 630-9322 or Kim Caisse at (978) 630-9547.

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at MWCC’s Gardner campus on Wednesday, Feb. 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The blood drive will operate in the commons area and is open to the public. Call Marianne Stoy or Diane King at (978) 630-9136 to register. Walk-ins are welcome.

• MWCC’s Art Department will host an artist reception for the exhibit of the figurative sculptures by Gardner artist Cecil Julius Thursday, Feb. 17 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. In his work—pieces of which are on display in the glass cases in MWCC’s Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts Center through Thursday, March 10—Julius provides a new context and gives expression to the most inconsequential objects. These assemblages weave the playful innocence of a folk artist with the cynicism of a surrealist and convey a humble sophistication. Julius has been creating work and taking an occasional art course at MWCC for over 25 years. Several of his earlier works, large-scale plaster busts, are in the permanent collection in the East Wing Gallery. For more information, contact Joyce Miller at (978) 630-9221.

• MWCC’s Entrepreneurial Resource Center, located at the Devens campus, will host the Entrepreneur Speaker Series presentation “Taking the Mystery Out of Bulk Mailing” by management consultant Paul Lambert on Thursday, Feb. 17 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Direct mail can be an effective marketing tool. Lambert will review such issues as determining when direct mail is cost effective, purchasing mailing lists versus creating your own and direct-mail software options. The cost is only $15, and includes lunch. To register, call (978) 630-9569.

• MWCC will host the 16th annual Girls High School Basketball Tournament, Saturday, Feb. 19, Sunday, Feb. 20 and Monday, Feb. 21 (snow date Tuesday, Feb. 22) and Wednesday, Feb. 23 and Thursday, Feb. 24, at the college’s Fitness & Wellness Center. One scholarship will be awarded to a player on each team. This year, 14 teams will participate: West Boylston, Lunenburg, Notre Dame, Tantasqua, Ayer, Narragansett, Bromfield, Littleton, Shepherd Hill, Nashoba, St. Peter-Marian, Gardner, Quabbin and North Middlesex. Daily admission to the tournament is $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. For more information, call (978) 630-9134.

• The Committee for Activities and Recreation for Students (CARS) and the Student Life Office are sponsoring the performance of Rhythmic Motivation, featuring Jim Donovan, a founding member of the multi-platinum band Rusted Root, on Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the north cafeteria. This is a must-see performance for drummers and drumming enthusiasts. The first 50 people will have the opportunity to drum along with Rhythmic Motivation. The performance is free to MWCC students, faculty and staff. Space and drums are limited to the first 50 participants. For more information, call the Student Life Office at (978) 630-9252.

• Tickets are on sale now for “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which will be performed in the Theatre at the Mount on Friday, Feb. 25, Saturday, Feb. 26, Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 27 and Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. Parental discretion is advised for children under age 13. Tickets are $18 for evening performances and $15 for matinees, with special discounts available for groups. Tickets are available in person at the TAM Box Office from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. To charge tickets, call (978) 632-2403 or purchase tickets online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu. The Theater at the Mount is wheelchair accessible and is equipped with a hearing assistance system.

• Register now for the MWCC Fitness & Wellness Center’s annual golf lessons, which begin the week of Monday, Feb. 28. Directed by PGA Professional Mike Egan, the lessons include individual instruction and video analysis. Participants can bring their own clubs or use the center’s. Beginner lessons will be held Mondays and Thursdays at 7:15 p.m. Intermediate classes will meet Tuesdays at 7:15 and 8:15 p.m. and Thursdays at 8:15 p.m. Advanced lessons will be held on Mondays at 8:15 p.m. The cost is $85 per session; fitness center members are eligible for a 10 percent discount. For more information, call the center at (978) 630-9212.

• The MWCC Pacers, the college’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life team, are looking for 30 members for this year’s Relay on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11. The 2004 Relay raised $758,000, the highest amount of the other 156 relays in New England. The Gardner Relay has raised over $5 million dollars since its inception 11 years ago. This year’s goal is to raise $800,000. Other benchmarks reached at the 2004 Relay include having 733 survivors walk the track, a number unheard of at any of the other relays, and being ranked No. 11 nationwide in funds raised (out of 4,200 relays). To join the MWCC Pacers, contact Sue Goldstein, JoAnn Brooks and Jan LeClair to get your relay packet.

• Registrations to take Cycle 4 classes at MWCC’s Leominster campus will be accepted through Monday, March 21 for Monday-Wednesday courses and Tuesday, March 22 for Tuesday-Thursday courses. The accelerated Cycle courses each run for three hours throughout the day and evening, twice a week for seven-and-a-half weeks. For a full list of Cycle 4 courses, check out www.mwcc.mass.edu/PDFs/cycle3.pdf on the Web or pick up a copy of the Spring 2005 Course Bulletin at any MWCC campus location. For assistance with registration, call the Leominster campus at (978) 840-3221, the Gardner campus at (978) 630-9110 or visit www.mwcc.mass.edu/prospective/register.html.

• The Mount Wachusett Community College Winchendon Skills Program, funded by a grant from Robinson Broadhurst Foundation, is offering free GED prep classes at the Community Action Center at 273 Central St., Winchendon, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Enrollment is ongoing. For more information, call Janet Brown at (978) 297-1667 or Tim Robinson at (978) 630-9259.

• Theatre at the Mount will hold auditions for the Ellie Greenwich musical “Leader of the Pack” on Tuesday, March 1 and Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. sharp in room 182 at MWCC. Director Tara McRae, music director Nate Newton and Choreographer Chris Casello are looking for a large, diverse cast of adult men and women, ages 17 and up. Actors should be prepared to perform a short vocal selection (accompanist provided) – 1960s pop music is preferred – and to learn a short dance combination. Appropriate clothing and footwear is strongly encouraged. Cold readings from the script may also be required. The tentative rehearsal schedule is Sundays from 4 to 8 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 7 to 10 p.m. beginning Tuesday, March 8. Performances of “Leader of the Pack” are Friday, May 6, Saturday, May 7, Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m. For more information, contact Professor Gail Steele at (978) 630-9162 or visit the Theatre at the Mount web site at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.

• The Lifelong Institute for Enrichment (LIFE) at MWCC is sponsoring a Robin Lane presentation of “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis” on Thursday, March 31 at 2 p.m. at Best Western Royal Trade Plaza Hotel in Fitchburg. Tickets are $20 and go on sale Monday, Feb. 14 at MWCC’s Lifelong Learning office, room 163, or by contacting Lorraine Wickman at (978) 630-9176. In this compelling one-woman show, Lane reveals the real Jacqueline Onassis, the private woman behind the public mask, while keeping alive the mystique, the magic that was Jackie. Camelot lives again in this personal portrayal of a woman who found her way into the hearts of America.

Lea Ann Erickson
Director of Community Relations
Mount Wachusett Community College
Phone: (978) 630-9322
Fax: (978) 630-9561
cell: (508) 517-5202
l_erickson@mwcc.mass.edu

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