Scholarship applications due April 15

WENDELL — Students who live in Wendell and plan to pursue any type of accredited post-secondary education in the next academic year are invited to apply for a Dollars for Wendell Scholars scholarship.

Applications are available at local high schools and the Wendell Free Library or by emailing Carolyn Manley at dollarsforwendellscholars@gmail.com or Christine Heard at cheard59c@aol.com. They must be returned to those email addresses or mailed to P.O. Box 232, Wendell, MA 01379, by April 15.

A ninth annual fundraiser to collect money for the scholarships was initiated with a mailing to Wendell residents in February. Donations are now tax deductible and can be sent to that same P.O. box, with checks payable to Dollars for Wendell Scholars.

Orange Community Band finalizes 2023 schedule

ORANGE — The Orange Community Band’s officers met recently to finalize their 2023 season schedule.

Orange Town Hall is reserved for the Pops Concert slated for 2 p.m. on April 29. Admission will be by donation, not by advance ticket sales.

Pops rehearsals will be held in the Central Congregational Church on the evenings of April 5, 12, 19 and 26. Summer rehearsals will be June 14, 21 and 28, and July 5, 12, 19 and 26 in preparation for the Friday evening concerts on the Butterfield Park bandstand. Concerts will be held at 7 p.m. on June 23 and 30, and July 7, 14, 21 and 28.

The band is also set to perform on Sept. 1 for a back-to-school concert and on Dec. 2 for “Breakfast with Santa.”

The Orange Community Band has been providing free musical entertainment in Orange since 1850. The band is open to musicians from high school to nonagenarians.

DESE to conduct tiered focused monitoring review

ORANGE — During the week of April 10, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Language Acquisition plans to conduct a tiered focused monitoring review of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts.

The Office of Language Acquisition reviews each district’s and charter school’s English learner education program every six years to monitor compliance with federal and state English learner education laws and regulations, according to a notice from Marie Cole, the districts’ director of curriculum.

Areas of review will reportedly include English learners’ student assessments, identification of English learners, the programs English learners are placed in, parent and community involvement, student support services, licensure requirements for faculty, and evaluation and recordkeeping.

The districts will send a survey to the parents of students whose records are examined by the review team. The survey focuses on key areas of a child’s English learner education program. Survey results will contribute to the monitoring report.

Within approximately 60 business days of the onsite visit, the review chairperson will provide the school districts with a report containing information on areas in which the districts meet or exceed regulatory requirements and areas in which they require assistance to correct or improve practices. The report will be available at bit.ly/3LD2HpO.

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