Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, October 4, 2019 The Sounds of Saugus he Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Here are a few tidbits that you might want to know about this week in Saugus. A “Shout-Out” for Nicholas Thompson Precinct 3 Town Meeting Member Richard Thompson recommended his 12-year-old son, Nicholas, for some special recognition this week. Nicholas certainly deserves it, especially after receiving the fi rst-ever “Sportsmanship Award” from the Saugus Little League. Executive President Tom Whittredge gave Nicholas the award and State Representative Donald Wong (R-9th Essex) presented him with a citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives recognizing him for receiving the award and “For being a great teammate and friend.” Nicholas has moved onto announcing games and is about to receive his junior umpire’s training from league offi cial Anthony DiGirolamo, according to his dad. Well done, Nicholas. A “Shout-Out” for Saugus Karate Kung Fu Here’s a special “shout-out” to Saugus Karate Kung Fu for launching its fi fth annual campaign to raise awareness and prevent bullying. Once again, the business – located at 304 Central St. – is off ering a free week of classes to all students in Saugus Public Schools during October and is also hosting a social media campaign to raise awareness. Want to “Shout-Out” a fellow Saugonian? This is an opportunity for our paper’s readers to single out – in a brief mention – remarkable acts or achievements by Saugus residents. Just send an email (mvoge@comcast.net) with the mention in the subject line of “An Extra Shout-Out.” No more than a paragraph. Anything longer might lend itself to a story and/or photo. So, what’s the big deal about MCAS? As soon as I learned that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) had posted this year’s MCAS results on its website last week, I decided it was the most important news for our readers, especially the parents of children attending Saugus Public Schools. It took about six hours to navigate the DESE website, retrieve the information and make printouts of each of the six schools for this year and last year and their Offi cial Accountability Reports for the last two years, as well as the corresponding information for the district as a whole. I know that newspapers are spending less time tracking down MCAS data and writing about it. But with the information in hand, I decided to spend another four hours analyzing the information and writing the front page story for last week’s Saugus Advocate. So, there were a few stories that didn’t get done to make time and have adequate space to let readers know 505 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Tel: 617-387-1120 www.gkdental.com • Family Dentistry • Crowns • Bridges • Veneers/Lumineers • Dental Implants • All on 4 Dental Implants • Emergency Dentist • Kid Friendly Dentist • Root Canals • Dentures • Invisalign Braces • Snap On Smile • Teeth Whitening We are the smile care experts for your entire family ing Meeting Expectations or above in several of the younger grades and subjects, but it had a smaller percentage than the state scoring in those categories in grades 7, 8 and 10. “Belmonte made better strides toward meeting its improvement targets during the 2018-19 school year than it did the prior year, but most of the district’s schools made only moderate progress toward their improvement targets.” Stay tuned for more refl ection by folks who truly care about public education in Saugus. A SPECIAL “SHOUT-OUT”: Nicholas Thompson receives the fi rst-ever “Sportsmanship Award” from the Saugus Little League and a legislative commendation “For being a great teammate and friend.” (Courtesy Photo to The Saugus Advocate) what’s going on with MCAS. And certainly, there was some very satisfying as well as very disappointing news for people who care about Saugus Public Schools. Educators, administrators, staff and students at Lynnhurst Elementary should all take a bow as it was recognized as one of the 67 on the “School of Recognition” list. At the same time, educators, administrators and parents of students attending the Belmonte Middle School and Saugus High School can’t be pleased with the overall MCAS scores at those two schools as they were among the lowest 10 percent of schools in the state determined to be “in need of focused/targeted support” and also classified as “requiring assistance or intervention.” That’s not a good look for a school system that within the next 12 months will be opening a new “Saugus MiddleHigh School” for students in grades 6 through 12. I asked DESE Media Relations Coordinator Jacqueline Reis for her take on the MCAS results as they relate to Saugus, and this is how she summed it up: “Lynnhurst was recognized for high In House Dental Plan for $399 (Cleanings, X-Rays, Exams twice a year and 20% OFF Dental work) Schedule your FREE Consultations today growth, so it was recognized for improvement. “If we compare Saugus as a district to the state as a whole, Saugus had a higher percentage of students scorNot a stellar moment for the Saugus School Committee Sometimes it’s wise for elected public offi cials to work on being civil at public meetings, especially when the meetings are being fi lmed. A classic case in point is School Committee Member Linda Gaieski going on the warpath, disparaging parents and accusing them of dragging their children down to a School Committee meeting to support the janitors who were about to get laid off . I’m not a big follower of social media, but the segment that was videotaped by SaugusTV and edited by The Point Media (TPM) is well worth watching if you plan on voting for School Committee candidates in the Nov. 5 Town Elections. Somebody emailed me a link and I viewed it, and I agree that it’s not a good look for School Committee Member Gaieski or the entire School Committee. Apparently, it went viral. Something like more than 18,000 hits from viewers. The Point Media notes on its website for June 23: “School committee member Linda Gaieski was met with a fi ery response when parents confronted her about a statement she made, saying they dragged their children to support the custodians. (Video courtesy of Saugus TV & edit made by TPM)” Two parents seen at the lectern in the School Committee Meeting Room took great umbrage to Gaieski’s comments and gave her a tongue-lashing while a raucous audience booed at the School Committeewoman and applauded the mothers for speaking their mind. 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