Jacobs outlined how the school district is structured and operates, and Varone explained the budgeting and financial situation of the district.  Varone also announced that, just hours before, a new agreement had been made with the administrative staff of the district that will need to be voted on by both the school board and the members of the bargaining unit.

The next session of the Leadership Academy will be led on November 4 by the three selectmen.

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Wanted: A PC-savvy teenager that can help me solve various computer problems, answer questions and give understandable guidance.  If, together, we can find such a person in Walpole, I bet a NUMBER of us would hire him or her on an hourly basis and make it a win-win opportunity.  Any suggestions?  Call Chuck Bingaman at 756-9268 or email me at chuck@chuckbingaman.com.

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If you missed the Hooper Institute Open House yesterday, you missed a nice event and an introduction to a terrific local resource that offers educational programs in agriculture, forestry, botany, soils and environmental conservation. 

I learned that…

• Hooper personnel, primarily Director Eloise Clark, visit EACH classroom at the Walpole and North Walpole schools on a weekly basis.
• Walpole fourth graders participate in Hooper’s Farm & Forest Project that is offered in cooperation with local farmers and woodsmen and visit dairy, sheep, and horse farms, sawmill and sugaring operations, and a woodturning shop.  In the fall they study apples and other fall crops and visit a poultry farm and a Christmas tree farm.  This program is in its 25th year!
• At the high school level, fourteen teens were placed last summer at local farms and related businesses as part of the two-month summer work program sponsored by the Hooper Institute.  In eight years of the program, Hooper has funded 128 jobs for youth.  And, in 2005, students in Hooper programs worked 1500 hours in the community.  Along the way they gained insights into the responsibilities of caring for animals and plants as well as the skills needed to manage a business.
• The Hooper Institute has trust fund money to support high school students pursuing independent studies in agriculture, forestry, botany, soils and environmental concerns.  And, the George L. Hooper Scholarship—up to $6,000—is available to any Walpole resident for college or graduate studies in the same fields based on academic ability, financial integrity, responsibility and character, and initiative and effort.
• The Hooper Institute Field and Forest Museum—open by appointment only during the school year—is an attractive resource on local natural history and agriculture.

For further information on the Hooper Institute, contact Director Eloise Clark at 756-4382.                                                           

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