Education

Twelve outstanding students who have demonstrated community involvement and an understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and its effects have been awarded Timothy (Doc) Cook Scholarships. The scholarships are given in memory of Tim Cook, a Navy Corpsman who brought medical care to wounded soldiers on the battlefield. He was 28 years old in March 2013 when he lost his battle with PTSD from his combat experiences. The scholarship recipients were honored Sunday at a ceremony at the Thomas J. Fitzgerald VFW Post 561 attended by veterans, City Council President Ed Flynn, Rep. David Biele, outgoing Boston Police VFW 1018 Commander Craig DeOld, and friends and family. “The Timothy (Doc) Cook Foundation is dedicated to educating our youth and increasing awareness of PTS/PTSD within our community,” [...]

By Carol Masshardt Education is connected to service for Catholic Memorial graduate, 18-year-old Henry Gailunas. Many peers are headed to college, but this graduate is choosing a different route and one that is driven by knowledge of how he learns and how he wants to contribute. After six years at CM, he is taking a “gap year” to continue working full time at Fat Baby and Petula’s restaurants in South Boston, where he worked since interning as part of the Neighborhood House program. Then, he plans to enter either the Coast Guard or Marines or work in a union position. His ultimate goal is to follow the examples of his grandfather and father and become a firefighter. “My parents (Peter Gailunas and Maureen Dahill) support [...]

By Ginger DeShaney  Black Pearl Productions’ passion project, “Blame it on Gutenberg,” is getting high praise from the dyslexia community.  Fort Point resident Rocco Giuliano is a writer and producer on the documentary and filmed some of the interviews at his A Street studio. “This is a must-see documentary on the evolution of reading, reading science, and dyslexia,” Susan L. Condrin, M.A., CCC-SLP, said in a testimonial. The documentary, which is directed at parents, focuses on the evolving science of dyslexia, dueling theories over how to teach reading, and one family’s struggle with an unresponsive school system. The film defines dyslexia as a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read letters and symbols. In 2016, a nonprofit reached out to Black [...]

By Ginger DeShaney With a $75,000 grant from the city of Boston’s Community Preservation Act, Friends of the Boston Harborwalk has installed eight interpretive signs around Castle Island and Pleasure Bay. The signs include information about the history of the site, the lagoon, harbor vessels, and even birds, said Liz Nelson Weaver, a volunteer with the Friends group.  “We had a sense going into the project of what the really important stories were to tell at Castle Island and Pleasure Bay,” said Liz, who wrote the grant application. “And we always wanted it to be a mix. We didn’t want it to be just maritime industry stories.”  There are so many other things that have happened along the waterfront or that are connected to the [...]