Friday, June 8, 2007

 

MWCC JOINS OPERATION HOMETOWN LINK

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Area families of soldiers stationed at four camps in Iraq can communicate with their loved one via video conferences at MWCC. The college became the latest facility to join Operation Hometown Link organized by the Freedom Calls Foundation.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Larson speaks with family members—mother Lisa Larson, father Kenneth Larson, nieces Kacie Dunham, Olivia Dunham, Makayla Dunham and sister Dayna Dunham—via a recent Freedom Calls Network video conference.

“Throughout history, tours of duty in wartime have served to separate families,” said John Harlow, executive director of the Freedom Calls Foundation. “They can now participate in milestone family events, such as births, school graduations and anniversaries from the front lines via video conference over the Freedom Calls Network.”

“Mount Wachusett Community College is so honored to be a part of Operation Hometown Link,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “Lending our Broadcasting and Telecommunications program's video conferencing capabilities to our military families is another way we can serve our community.”

Operation Hometown Link is available to soldiers and military contractors stationed at the Taji, Al Asad Airbase, Victory and Falujah camps in Iraq. With their commander’s approval, each soldier can request one hour-long video conference a month. Families can also request a call through Freedom Calls.

“This is about reuniting families,” said Freedom Calls volunteer Suzanne Fletcher. “The video just makes all the difference in the world.”

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Larson and his family were the first to use Freedom Calls at MWCC. “We would like to thank everyone who helped us have this special call,” said his sister, Dayna Dunham, of Gardner. “We hope that others will be informed and be able to use your site to make contact with their loved ones oversees.”

In addition, students (college or K-12) can arrange to speak with soldiers stationed at these four camps through Operation Hometown Link.

Freedom Calls is seeking funding to install Freedom Calls facilities at eight additional Army camps on the front lines in Iraq, two Army camps in Afghanistan and eight more Marine camps this year. “If just 1 million Americans donate the cost of a family dinner on the Foundation's website www.freedomcalls.org, the Foundation can provide state of the art communication services to virtually every soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan free of charge,” Harlow said.

To request a video conference, contact Freedom Calls Foundation, based in Morristown, N.J., at (973) 290-7886 or jharlow@freedomcalls.org.

OVER 5,500 ATTEND FOURTH ANNUAL MOLLY BISH KID EXPO

By Lea Ann Erickson

Over 5,500 people attended the fourth annual Kid Expo, sponsored by the Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety at MWCC Saturday, June 2.

Corrine Breen of Baldwinville is helped by volunteer Bill McAuliffe of Fitchburg as her mother looks on during a sack race at the 2007 Kid Expo.

“This was outstanding,” said John Bish. “I expect next year’s event will be even better. Thousands of children are now safer.”

The free event featured Molly Bish Foundation child safety I.D. kits, r.a.d.KIDS self-defense demonstrations, health screenings, food, music, entertainment and games.

“When children were getting their I.D. kits, they were telling me how delighted they are,” said Magi Bish. “You can see how much work went into this event, and parents told me that they look forward to this event every year. They were very grateful for all the giveaways and the bike helmets.”
Over 550 bike helmets were donated by Heywood Hospital and fitted by the Gardner Police Department. State Rep. Robert Rice (D-Gardner) also helped with helmet distribution. “I sensed an overwhelming sense of gratitude that this Molly Bish Kid Expo is meeting the needs of the children,” said Rice.

The Molly Bish Institute was established in memory of Molly Bish who was abducted while serving as a lifeguard seven years ago. This event helps spread awareness of child health and safety for parents, caregivers, and children by providing hands-on learning opportunities.

Through the Molly Bish Foundation and the generosity of John and Magi Bish, more than 350 children received an I.D. kit with their fingerprints and photograph. The Molly Bish Foundation has provided nearly half a million I.D kits for children in New England.

“Protecting children is what this event is all about,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “These children are our future.”

The event featured r.a.d.KIDS self-defense demonstrations with Campus Police, car-seat safety inspections, a health and safety resource fair, free bike helmets courtesy of Heywood Hospital, free raffles featuring 20 bikes, a baseball signed by Red Sox David Ortiz, 12 baseballs signed by Toronto Blue Jays, car seats, and many safety and sport-themed raffle baskets. Brian Knuutila of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, who donated the baseball memorabilia, said, “I can’t believe the crowds. People are staying because there is so much to stay for. It’s all about kids and safety.”

Chrissy Lajoie of Winchendon, who attended with her 6-year-old son, said she liked the outdoor event. “I especially liked the new healthy food ideas for kids. As a mom, I was very impressed,” she said.

Jennifer Wedge of Baldwinville, who brought her 8- and 6-year-old children, said, “This was better than any of the other fairs I attended.”

The event also included visits from Smokey Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Lil’ Iguana, a Lifeflight helicopter landing, complementary health workshops for kids including Chi Kung, Guided Imagery, and Yoga; the Fitchburg Fire Department’s Smoke House, lots of safety vehicles to explore, the Worcester County Sheriff’s office search and rescue dogs, the State Police’s Convincer (seat belt safety), B.A.T. Mobile (Breath Alcohol Test Mobile Unit), drive-up car-seat safety inspections, food, music, entertainment, fun games and activities such as a climbing wall, football tosses, potato sack racing, and lots more fun.

The Kid Expo planning committee was comprised of health and safety professionals from across the region meeting throughout the year to plan the event. Event sponsors include HealthAlliance Hospital, Heywood Hospital, Fallon Community Health Plan, the Telegram and Gazette, Hannaford Supermarkets and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. The event was coordinated by the Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety of the college’s Center for Democracy and Humanity. The event was organized by Andrea Dudley Hart and center staff.

AREA LIBRARIANS, TEACHERS SHARE WAYS TO MAKE STUDENTS BETTER SCHOLARS

By Kimberly B. Caisse

How to make students at any age better scholars was discussed at length during the second annual “My College Freshman is Your High School Senior" 2007: A Unique Opportunity for Teachers and Librarians” summit sponsored by the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library Thursday, June 7 at the Gardner campus.

Computer Information Systems Associate Professor Sue Taylor (center) speaks during the morning panel discussion.

The goal of bringing 140 librarians and teachers from across New England together was to talk about expectations for students that pertain to research and writing; how students can be better prepared for the papers and projects they encounter; research and writing skills students need to be successful; and how librarians can work with teachers to prepare students to do research.

Janet Allison, deputy director of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, said during a panel discussion that both librarians and faculty need to offer more instruction on research methods. She advised faculty introduce their students to this process by breaking assignments into small chunks. Regardless of where the learners are, they need some guidance, she said.

“It’s all of our job”—parents, teachers, librarians—to teach all students the process of proper scholarly research, said Richard Rogers, professor of resource economics and faculty advisor to the provost for undergraduate education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. “This is the world we live in.”

All students need to learn how to evaluate and trust or distrust sources in this Internet age, he said. It’s not only necessary for scholarship, but also for citizenship.

The summit, funded by the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System (CMRLS), also featured discussions on distance services, instructional technologies, library instruction, marketing library services, the public library’s role as bridge between school and college, Web 2.0/Social Web, assessment, future collaboration, plagiarism (how to avoid it, how to detect it, how to educate students about it), reading lists, writing assignments and innovative teaching.

“Participants really appreciated hearing from the diverse group of morning panelists,” said MWCC Instructional Services Coordinator Heidi McCann. “They also liked the networking opportunities with colleagues—in the breakout discussions and at the subject-focused roundtables in the afternoon.”

MWCC’s Ellen Madigan Pratt, distance and outreach coordinator; Heidi McCann, instructional services coordinator; Lorie Donahue, English professor; Sue Taylor, Computer Information Systems associate professor, Sue Goldstein, English assistant professor; Tina Wilson, Computer Information Systems associate professor; Sue Blake, English associate professor participated in the event.

More MWCC News:

• Carol Cullins (’00) of Templeton has joined MWCC as director of alumni affairs and annual giving. To engage MWCC alumni, Cullins collaborates with faculty to reconnect with graduates, the MWCC Foundation Inc. on fundraising, the MWCC Alumni Association directors on planning events and much more. Cullins previously was the director of sales and member services at the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.

  Theatre at the Mount presents “Pirates of Penzance” Friday, June 15, Saturday, June 16, Friday June 22 and Saturday, June 23 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 24 at 2 p.m. The undisputed masters of comic opera, Gilbert and Sullivan, are docking at Theatre at the Mount! Join swashbuckling buccaneers, bumbling British Bobbies, frolicsome Victorian maidens and the delightfully dotty “model of a Major-General” for a rollicking romp over the rocky coast of Cornwall. For tickets and information, call the Theatre at the Mount Box Office at (978) 632-2403 (Box Office hours are Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.) Or purchase tickets online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.
• On Tuesday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the College Access and Preparation Programs at MWCC will hold the annual Write-On! Celebration, a writing and art competition sponsored by GEAR Up, ETS & Project Excel. The annual Write-On! competition invites middle school students to submit original short stories, poetry and artwork for judging. The Write-On! Celebration honors all students who have submitted entries, and allows students to read and display their work to their peers GEAR Up, Talent Search and Project Excel counselors. At the event, students will be entertained with a performance by La Nueva Liga, a local band playing traditional Latin favorites. For more information, contact Concurrent Enrollment Coordinator Nampeera Kayondo at (978) 630-9243 or nkayondo@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The Leo & Theresa LaChance Library is sponsoring a free training on the NoveList database by Pamela Erickson, implementation specialist from EBSCO Publishing, on Thursday, June 28 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Room 250 at the Gardner campus. NoveList is an electronic readers' advisory resource which assists fiction readers in finding new authors and titles. NoveList allows readers to use a favorite author or title as a template to locate other authors and titles of interest. Readers can also enter words that describe the contents of a book they would like to read, and NoveList retrieves titles that contain these words in the book's subject headings field. NoveList is provided to MWCC faculty, staff and students, and is available at the Library’s webpage (http://library.mwcc.edu) under the link for “Find an Article” on the “Alphabetical List.” To register for the seminar, contact Heidi McCann at (978) 630-9255 or hmccann@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC, in association with the Broadcasting and Telecommunications program and Phi Theta Kappa, is pleased to once again offer 2007 Commencement DVDs. This professional quality, edited DVD of MWCC’s 2007 graduation day ceremony will be available for a limited time at a cost of $15 each. This low cost includes the cost of shipping and handling. Fifty percent of the profits from the DVD sales will go to MWCC’s Phi Delta Chapter of the PTK Honor Society. PTK students will donate the other 50 percent of the profits directly to the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center. To place an order in advance, contact Sheila Murphy, PTK advisor, at smurphy@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The Clinical Laboratory Science program offers an associate’s degree curriculum and integrates general education courses with science and hospital rotations. Students enrolled in this program will learn how to use sophisticated biomedical instrumentation and computers to analyze blood and other body specimens. The generation of accurate results of laboratory tests allows physicians to detect, diagnose and treat disease. An information session will take place Wednesdays June 13, August 22, Sept. 19, Oct. 17, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. in the Volney Howe Conference Room or the OBS Conference Room at Heywood Hospital. The sessions will include a tour of the clinical laboratory. Prospective students interested in attending the information session are asked to call the admissions office at (978) 630-9110 (TTY (978) 632-4916), or send an email to admissions@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Registrations are now being accepted for MWCC Foundation, Inc.’s 12th Annual Golf Tournament to benefit student scholarships. The tournament will take place Monday, July 16 at Sterling National Country Club, 33 Albright Road, Sterling. The cost is $175 per person to play and $40 for dinner guests. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are still available. Two raffle drawings and an auction will be held. Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast buffet starting at 9. The shotgun start will be at 10 a.m. The tournament will conclude with a social hour from 3 to 4 p.m. and dinner and awards at 4. Players must wear soft spiked golf shoes. Proper attire is required: All golfers must wear a collared shirt. For more information about registering or becoming a sponsor, contact Darlene Cloutier at (978) 630-9387 or dcloutier@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The Leo & Theresa LaChance Library will be open regular hours over the summer, but there will be no public access to the Mezzanine and lower levels from approximately Monday, May 21 to Friday, Aug. 31 due to the library renovation. Access to the book collection will be extremely limited, so patrons should call ahead if they need something in particular. Staff may be able to access parts of the collection at various times, but they cannot guarantee that they will be able to retrieve specific titles at specific times. The main level will provide public access computers and printing. The rooms on the lower level will not be available during this time. If you have any questions, please call Assistant Dean of Library and Information Services Linda Oldach at (978) 630-9126.