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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 264
“Blue, green, grey, white, or black; smooth, ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent.” — H. P. LOVECRAFT
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2016
WHS drug inspection WESTFIELD – There was a lot of buzz Friday about a random drug inspection that took place at Westfield High School. According to Westfield Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski, at random times during the school year Westfield’s two high schools get police K9 searches to determine if there are drugs or drug paraphernalia on school property. “This action is indeed routine across high schools across our area,” said Czaporowski. There are a variety of ways K-9 searches can be conducted. Some districts opt to have students leave their classrooms and their belongings behind while the K-9’s go into the classrooms yet others ask students to put their belongings in the hallway as Westfield did on Friday. A statement issued by the Superintendent over the weekend said, “While police need “probable cause”, school administrators can conduct searches if there is “reasonable suspicion”. The K-9’s were used to detect the presence of drugs, but the police did not search any students. Per district policy, parents
STEFAN CZAPOROWSKI are always notified if their child was searched by a school administrator. If police intervention is necessary, then parents are directly included in the process.” Czaporowski went on to say, “Westfield Public Schools takes substance abuse very seriously. I am happy to report that nothing was found and no arrests were made.” To make drug awareness and education of their effects more readily available, Westfield is participating
in The Herren Project. The mission of The Herren Project, according to their website, www.theherrenproject.org, is “to provide assistance in taking the first steps toward recovery and a life of sobriety, educational programs and resources to increase awareness on the signs of addiction and bring hope for a better tomorrow.” Chris Herren, former professional basketball star, drug addict and founder of The Herren Project, will be speaking to students at both Westfield High School and Westfield Technical Academy on November 15th. In addition to the speech and presentation, Westfield Public Schools is hosting a community event that evening at 6:30 p.m. as well. From this, both high schools will be participating in the THP Project Purple Initiative, a national antisubstance abuse initiative of The Herren Project, launched to break the stigma of addiction, bring awareness to the dangers of substance abuse and shed light on effective treatment practices.
An image of backpacks lined up in a hallway of Westfield High School on Friday October 29, 2016. (photo from Facebook)
Lions Club has officially returned back to Westfield
Michele Douglas and Felicita Cintron of SEPAC share information with a parent at the kickoff meeting in September. (Photo by Amy Porter)
SEPAC to host meeting on Decoding Dyslexia By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The Westfield Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, Nov. 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the South Middle School cafeteria, with a presentation by Nancy Duggan, cofounder of Decoding Dyslexia – MA. Decoding Dyslexia is a grassroots movement driven by parents, educators and professionals concerned with the limited access to research based interventions for dyslexia. According to their website www.decodingdyslexiama.org, the group’s aim is to raise awareness, to empower students with dyslexia and their families, and to inform policy makers on best practices to identify, remediate, and support students with dyslexia in Massachusetts public schools and institutions of higher learning. The presentation on Thursday will focus on why knowing more about the science behind dyslexia informs how to identify it early and what to look for to provide the appropriate instruction, and on why it matters to have dyslexia named on an IEP. Duggan will also talk about why specific methods of instruction and supportive accommodation are critical for success. All families with a child on an IEP or with a 504 plan are members of SEPAC, and are encouraged to attend. SEPAC meetings are held the on first Thursday of every month, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in South Middle School. Refreshments and childcare are provided. For more information contact SEPAC at westfieldsepac@gmail.com, or join the group on Facebook at Westfield MA Special Education Parent Advisory Council.
FALL SPECIAL! 99 Springfield Rd. Westfield, MA 413-568-2200 expertfitnesshc.com facebook.com/expertfitness
By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent WESTFIELD – It hasn’t been in the city since the 1970’s, but the Lions Club is officially back in Westfield. The exact name of the club will be the Westfield Centennial Lions Club. A small gathering of people got together at the Westwood Pub on Friday afternoon to join the club, have a meal, and then have the first meeting. The cost to join the club is a onetime sign-up fee of $30 and all members also have to pay $5 a month. Veterans and active military have to pay just a one-time fee of $30. Lions Club International has 1.4 million volunteers, 210 countries represented, and it is the largest service organization in the world. Ron Martin, the Lead Consultant for Lions Club International, traveled from his home state of Texas along with his colleague, Ray Harper, to kick off the meeting and talk more about what the organization has to offer.
Linda Carr was also in attendance to greet the new members as she is the District Governor for all Lions Clubs in the Western Massachusetts area. Martin discussed the fact that the Lions Club is all about helping those in the community that are in need. Local officials in Westfield were present, like members of the police and fire Departments. Martin said fundraising can be done for something as simple as new tools, or cameras for the police and fire departments. As Martin noted that departments in every town and city always desperately need something but it may not be in their budget, he introduced the idea that Lions Club International does matching programs. Giving out grants of $100,000 every year, if the Westfield Lions Club was able to raise up to that same amount during a fundraiser, Lions Club International will be able to match that. See Lions Club, Page 3
From left to right are the head members of the Westfield Centennial Lions Club. Ida Tassinari, Kyle Pierce, Roxanne Bradley, and Michael McCabe. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
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