Every year around this time RSU 14 starts to highlight the Senior class and their achievements as they take their next steps down the career paths they’ve chosen. But Austin Merkle is an example of one Senior who hasn’t waited for graduation to take solid steps towards his goals. 

Austin has actually been pursuing his career since before high school, starting his work as a Junior Firefighter six years ago. Austin chose this path in order to follow in the footsteps of his father, who has been a firefighter for more than two decades and who he credits for giving him the desire to be a firefighter as a career path.

“I was raised to work hard and do what I can to help others,” Austin says, “This is a dangerous job that is hard on your body. It takes a lot of heart and a lot of commitment and a lot of training, but I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Austin has taken every opportunity over the last 6 years to dig into his passion for firefighting, participating in dozens of trainings to help hone his skills. Even tasks that seem incredibly simple require specific training under the types of circumstances firefighters are often in.

“One of the most important things you learn early on is how to breathe correctly,” Austin says, “ When I first started I could burn through our ½ hour tanks in 10 minutes. But firefighters use a technique called ‘skip breathing’ to conserve oxygen.”

Austin’s training didn’t stay with the basics. Over the years, he has done everything from Search and Rescue training to training in car extractions and ice water rescues, dedicating hundreds of hours to becoming the best firefighter he can be.

So while many students are planning for future careers right now, Austin’s career isn’t in the future at all.

Austin Merkle is living out his career, right now, as a firefighter.

This story was submitted by Lanet Hane, Director of Community Connections, RSU 14 as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. To submit a story or an idea, email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.

Lyseth Elementary School, home of the only public Spanish immersion program in Maine, has won the Ministry of Education, Embassy of Spain’s School of the Year 2020 Award in the elementary school category.

The Portland Board of Public Education and Superintendent Xavier Botana honored Lyseth for the achievement at the Board’s April 28 meeting. Lyseth Principal Lenore Williams; Carlos Gómez, the district’s Director of Language Development; World Language Specialist Annemarie Orth, Spanish immersion program teachers and students and families were all recognized for helping to foster and grow the program.

The school learned about the award earlier this month. A ceremony was planned for early May in Washington D.C., but now is postponed to the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 30 schools from across the country applied for the award and two schools emerged as winners. Lyseth is the recipient at the elementary level. A school in Florida, the Coral Way K-8 Center, was the middle school selection.

In announcing Lyseth’s award, the Ministry of Education congratulated the school for its “outstanding immersion program.” The ministry said Lyseth was selected for a variety of reasons, among them “the administrative team’s and staff’s enthusiasm and dedication to the Spanish language and culture.”

The immersion program was begun at Lyseth in 2014 with one kindergarten cohort, spearheaded by Grace Valenzuela, now the district’s Executive Director of Communications and Community Partnerships, and former superintendent Emmanuel Caulk. A new class was added each year. There is now an immersion classroom at each grade level from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Superintendent Botana said, “The Portland Public Schools is proud that Lyseth Elementary School has been recognized for its unique immersion program. Spanish is the second most-spoken language in the United States and biliteracy in Spanish and English is an important skill that makes students attractive to college admissions offices and future employers. We’re very grateful for all the work by dedicated staff, students and families that have made this program such a success.”

The Ministry of Education said the “school is working hard so their students meet the state requirements to earn the Seal of Biliteracy on their diplomas, once again showing their commitment to bilingualism.” Also, the ministry said, there are “multiple samples of the presence of the Spanish language throughout the school. Its library stands out with plenty of resources for bilingual learning and education, classroom decorations, and the Museums of Mexican and Spanish Art, which foster an interest in the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish signs and posters are visible throughout the school’s common areas.”

The ministry added, “The jury was impressed by the quality of the audiovisual information provided about the projects and educational programs they carry out in their Spanish immersion program.”

Casco Bay High School science teacher Anne Loughlin and her engineering students are among the grand prize winners in this year’s Autodesk Make It Real Challenge 2020, an engineering competition. The win means CBHS will receive more than $10,000 in makerspace tools for its DIY lab.

an emergency shelter made from shipping containers,

an affordable housing design with a portable, solar-powered heater for the homeless population, and a caddy for collecting gray water.

“I am so proud of Ms. Loughlin and our engineering students for their creative and provocative solutions for addressing knotty, vital tech and social justice challenges,” said CBHS Principal Derek Pierce. “Hooray for Anne and her students!”

Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries.

This year’s contest was directed at educators in New England interested in teaching their students how to make a difference through design. There were three Grand Prize winners in the 2020 contest: Linden STEAM Academy in Malden, Mass., Jackson/Mann K-8 School in Boston and Casco Bay High School.

In the contest’s Make Justice challenge, Loughlin led her students in researching issues of poverty, disaster relief, and affordable housing, according to the company’s blog post on the winners. https://blog.tinkercad.com/make-it-real-2020-grand-prize-award-winners

Loughlin explained that her students did research on the future of housing to understand the innovations that are currently on their way to the marketplace. “We continually looked at meeting the needs of the users of these products. We started with the empathy resources that were provided [in the ‘Make Justice’ challenge.],” she said. “After creating their initial sketches, we did a tuning protocol where they got feedback from peers on their designs.”

Loughlin encouraged students to design for the context of their oceanside community — resulting in innovative ideas such as a tidally influenced generator. Her students used a variety of Autodesk tools, such as Formit for affordable housing design and Fusion 360 to visualize concepts such as a portable, solar-powered heater for the homeless population, and a caddy for collecting gray water, the blog said.

“I think as much as possible, [the students] tended to think about their projects in the context of our community, Portland, and what they have seen and experienced. Our school serves a large immigrant community,” said Loughlin, whose students include refugees fleeing violence and persecution. “Issues of poverty are part of daily life for many of my students. This also provides a personal perspective on the needs of the user.”

Designs like an emergency shelter made from shipping containers had personal meaning for students whose families had emigrated as refugees.

Loughlin has been teaching science in Portland Schools since 1991. Ms. Loughlin earned recognition as one of the nation’s top teachers by winning the prestigious Milken Award in 2003. Loughlin created CBHS’ Digital Fabrication lab and teaches engineering, STEM investigations and AP environmental science.

Ethel Atkinson, 2019 York County Teacher of the Year and Bonny Eagle Middle School (BEMS) Reading Specialist/Instructional Coach and Pathfinders Director is helping her school issue a challenge to schools across the state for earth day.

“WE CHALLENGE YOU!” Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22nd. (But EVERY day is Earth Day, Right?) Got Trash? Join in a roadside cleanup!

Make a 10-second video of you and your family and pass on the challenge.  Upload pics and videos to https://flipgrid.com/quarantineroadside

See Ethel’s video:

Get Outside, Take Care of the Earth, and Pass On the Challenge. We are Maine Strong!

****Please exercise caution.  Wear protective gloves.****

Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) has two community members working toward being part of the solution in the Covid-19 pandemic. Eli Wales, a sophomore from Mount Desert Island and Dr. Greg Hamlin, Computer Science Instructor at MSSM, have been using 3D printers to create full-face shields and ear strap holders for local hospitals. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designates full-face shields as preferred Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Eli joined a team of about 5 members with skills in 3D printing and an interest in helping the situation. Prior to the Governor’s edict to stay home, Eli and his team went around to schools in the Mount Desert Island area and borrowed Flashforge Finder 3D printers that have been donated to many Maine schools by the Perloff Family Foundation. Eli said, “each member of the team has created a small production line where we make as many ear strap holders as possible.” The purpose of the ear strap holder is to keep the face shield’s elastic band off the ears, which can hurt after wearing it for a number of hours. Eli has personally produced around 700 of the strap holders and other members have made about the same. He noted they have only made about 3 face shields and taken them to local hospitals to make sure they will be acceptable.

Dr. Hamlin, using 3D printers and materials from Maine School of Science and Mathematics, has been producing protective face shields for use by local healthcare providers. He has been running two of the school’s printers 24/7 producing plastic frames, which are then fitted with a transparent front panel made from overhead transparencies or similar material. An initial set of 40+ units has been provided to Cary Medical Center in Caribou.  Dr. Hamlin said, “We were fortunate that the school had the supplies and equipment on hand for the project, so it was just a matter of setting things up in my guest room and keeping the printers supplied with filament.

This article was submitted by Ryan McDonald, Public Relations Coordinator for Maine School of Science and Mathematics as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. To submit a story or an idea, email it to Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.