Quentin Climer created flowers with tape that was easily moldble into shapes and stretchy in texture. (Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos)

With various art media displayed throughout the Silver Lake hallways- this week students will observe and participate in a noticeably different method of creativity -in the form of tape art.

Founder of Tape Art Crew Michael Townsend carries over three decades of art experience and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design.  Artist Leah Smith and Tape Art instructor also has over a decade in creating public art.

The pair generated inspiration with the SL students during a brief brain storming session prior to the application of the tape on Tuesday.

The students were encouraged to create and envision their story and then pairing up in groups they taped their portions of the story as it would unfold along the bare white wall.

Strictly pictorial each detail of the wall art was made of tape. Flowers, grass, lines both leading and finishing, cat ears, tiger bodies and a story unfolded about within various stages.

The green and blue artistry tape is easily removed and repositionable.

The idea of creating a scene together incorporates everyone. Coming into a space and seeing something new is exciting and when it is removed it will be missed and leaves room for new ideas to spring up, said Smith.

Several students stood on a table and stools to work on the top portions of the mural each had a shared task.

In recognition of March – Youth Arts Month this event was made possible by the generous support of the Kingston, Plympton and Halifax Local Cultural Councils and the SLRSD PTO.

Hannah Close Art teacher at the Silver Lake Regional High School was first introduced to the Tape Art Crew when she attended a professional development workshop in spring 2018. The event was hosted by the Massachusetts Art Education Association MAEA at UMass Dartmouth featuring the Tape Art Crew and led by two of the crew members.

Similar to the students the teachers at the workshop were given a prompt and coaching on how to manipulate the blue and green painter’s tape and all were paired in groups to create a temporary tape art mural.

‘The Tape Art Crew members posed thoughtful questions about imagery, communication and visual problems while we worked. The results were as exciting as they were varied,’ said Close.

Close who also spent class time Tuesday with the Tape Art Crew was excited about the opportunity to bring working artists to SLRHS because of the conceptual thinking, exposure to the media of temporary tape art murals and allowance for her students to develop visual communication skills. Her hope in what the students will gather from the experiences this week is:  development of interpersonal and problem solving skills.

‘They work together to create large scale murals that will be shared by the whole school and community,’ said Close.

The Tape Art Crew hails from Rhode Island and has hosted their workshops all over the world. Internationally they have traveled, creating tape murals throughout the US, Hong Kong, Greece, and Tokyo.

Ray Scott, a member of the Carver TRIAD gave thumbs up as he enjoyed lunch prior to the event. (Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos)

Lock your doors. The message was strong, straightforward and imperative to personal safety.

How to avoid becoming a victim was the message sent in  a number of ways through the topics discussed at last week’s Senior Safety presentation.  Plympton police officers Dana Smith, and Doug Mazzola, Carver TRIAD members, Plympton Council on Aging, and members of the Plympton fire department, all brought their expertise to help senior citizens avoid becoming victims.

The messages at the luncheon held last week at the Plympton Town House were eye-opening for many who attended.

Financial scams, not offering personal information on the telephone and being aware of exits in buildings and large crowds were several topics that were touched on at the assembly.

Mazzola repeated the ‘see something say something’ phrase that has been adopted in this day and age when there can be questionable actions in everyday life.

“If you are alerted to the sensation that something doesn’t feel right use your instincts,” he said.

Plympton Fire Captain John Sjostedt III spoke about the upcoming changes to cell services. The regional call centers are now able to receive text messages for an emergency when there is no other way to communicate. Text 911 and include your physical address.

Among other heavier topics were recent mass shootings, lockdown and shelter in place drills, and student and staff training exercises and strategies that Smith has practiced as resource officer at the Dennett Elementary School. 

“Creating distance by moving yourself away from an unsafe situation is the best option,” said Smith.   Be aware of the exits when you are in a crowd.  Know your location.

He briefly shared his feelings on the Sandy Hook School shooting and drew on his experiences and knowledge that active shooter and safety drills afford to staff and students.

Smith also offered effortless alternatives that everyone can use to avoid potential unsafe situations such as not using an ATM after dark. Locking the car door when you step away from the vehicle is a simple thing to do; thieves look for any opportunities and prevention can make all the difference.

Smith also reminded the group to use their body language.  Perception can send a strong message to a perpetrator.  Carrying yourself with confident body language keeps you from appearing to be an easy target.

Seniors came away with a new awareness of some of the safety issues that they might encounter and some valuable strategies to employ.

Caeli McCulloch, 16, of Halifax, will start an early enrollment program at Johnson and Wales University, in RI, as she finishes her senior year at SLRHS.

Hard work has paid off in a sweet way for one exceptional Silver Lake student who has baked her way into early admission to culinary college.

Caeli McCulloch, 16, of Halifax may have been born with a mixing spoon in hand as she has officially been accepted to Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island as an early enrollment culinary student.

Although she is only a junior at Silver Lake High School she will complete her senior course load next fall as a freshman at Johnson and Wales University in Johnston, Rhode Island, allowing her to complete college one year early.

Her original goal in making and selling holiday confections was to save money for college  as technically she doesn’t qualify for state financial aid until she graduates high school.

Caeli spoke with The Express while whipping up a recipe she referred to as ‘simple’ – a delectable chocolate bourbon Bundt cake -with a caramel glaze. She whisked the thickening caramel in a multi-task, carefree manner never losing track of her perfectly formed cake as she described her passion for pastry.

Her busy holiday schedule included: working at her job of two years- Just Desserts in Bridgewater center, filling custom orders for holiday deadlines, keeping up with school work and daily chores. She also competes in track and field at Silver Lake.

She took over the family’s oversized kitchen for baking and packaging holiday pies, hand making assorted dessert trays and for several days occupied the space until she finalized each order. She estimates she made 25 desserts for Thanksgiving and then completed another 25 orders for Christmas.

With modesty McCulloch describes her above average grade point and perfect score of 100 percent in her culinary program through the Silver Lake Career and Technical Education Program.

The early acceptance program was something she had in her sights since her freshman year.

“It will be hard to let her go a year early to college but she has worked so hard. She has impressed me every step of the way,” said mom, Lynn Czarniak and step father Scott Czarniak.

The family agreed that Caeli has always worked well under pressure and couldn’t be more proud.

They recently learned she was awarded the Presidential Academic Scholarship through Johnson and Wales University, which will pay approximately half of her tuition. 

Her earliest kitchen recollections are using an EZ Bake Oven and kids cooking books, which were beneath her vast natural ability even at the age of four, according to mom.

Eventually moving on to utensils and kitchen equipment with her mom they would cook together for her younger brother who had severe food allergies.  Czarniak would cook specialized meals and with her daughter gained abundant knowledge on food allergens and how they could affect others. Caeli credits this early awareness towards her recent successes.

Their home is nut- free so she was able to be aware of those special needs for several holiday orders.

McCulloch proudly owns the title of ‘the person in charge of dessert’ when attending parties.  She finds the structural aspect of baking to be an independent, natural, calming component in her life.

Following online recipes using a base of a recipe then testing and personalizing to her own taste satisfies her creative flair. 

French macarons are a favored small plated pastry. She has mastered the ability of decorating party cupcakes, which has gained popularity over the years.

In choosing what to make on her holiday menu she based desserts on what she has perfected through school and her bakery experience.

“We learn about popular desserts and cultural awareness so I went on what I thought would sell the most- based on my previous knowledge,” she said.

Caeil’s Creations were expounded on by word of mouth, as well as posted on the Halifax and Pembroke connect pages.

A morsel of advice she would offer other teens in their endeavors is to never give up.

“You can do whatever you think you can. I never thought I would be going to school a year early and do all this – school – managing my job and applying for college.  Work as hard as you can, try everything to the best of your ability,” she said.

Sean O’Meara, 27, of Halifax was placed under arrest by Halifax police and charged in the arson of his mother’s home.

The house fire was allegedly intentionally set on the morning of June 13 at 30 Oak Place, leaving a charred frame behind.   

O’Meara was arrested July 20 and charged with arson, said Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.

There are details of the investigation that are not being released as of yet, however further charges are expected, according to Viveiros.

O’Meara was charged with arson in Plymouth District Court and bail was set at $3,000 cash. His probable cause hearing is set for August 15. 

Viveiros thanked Assistant District Attorney Alex Zane, Halifax Fire Department, Halifax Police and Sgt. Sterling, and the Massachusetts State Police Arson Investigation unit for assisting with the investigation and arrest.

Exploding

mailboxes

Halifax fire and police also responded to numerous calls for suspicious devices in the area of McClellan Drive and Brandeis Circle on Monday.

“Commercial grade fireworks were located in some mailboxes that had not been detonated,” said Viveiros.

In four calls the fire department removed the devices and submerged the undetonated fireworks rendering them safe.

There were calls to 911 regional dispatch that explosions were heard with the destruction of mailboxes. 

The incidents were turned over to Halifax police who also responded.  The devices used to blow up the mailboxes were commercial fireworks, confirmed Sgt. Patrick Sterling, communications officer for the Halifax Police Department. 

As of now, Sterling said, there have been no arrests.