Submitted by Wendy Berce, Administrative Assistant at Regional School Unit No. 68

On March 15, 2019, SeDoMoCha school in Dover-Foxcroft Maine hosted the 7th annual regional professional development day. This year’s event, formally known as MooseTech, was rebranded as the 1st annual Central Maine Educators Regional Conference. Over 400 teachers, support staff, and administrators from five local school districts attended the days events. Attendees from RSU 68 (Dover-Foxcroft), Foxcroft Academy, AOS 94 (Dexter), SAD 31 (Howland), and SAD 41 (Milo) were given the opportunity to attend four one-hour sessions ranging in topics that included technology, poverty, social and emotional learning, student safety, instructional strategies, and student engagement.

In addition to these individualized breakout sessions, attendees were also able to attend a keynote presentation by Heather Blier Ph. D., owner and psychologist at Dirigo Consulting. Dr. Blier has a doctorate in clinical psychology and she specializes in clinical assessment and intervention, placing a special emphasis on research-based practices and applied research in clinical and academic settings.

The main focus of this conference is bringing together some of the area’s smartest and most influential educational minds in the state. In addition to sessions being lead by local educators, many external organizations such as universities, private and public businesses as well as local law enforcement all contributed to the day’s learning. Coupled with the generous donation of time and knowledge by the session presenters, this year’s event could not have be completed without the generous donations of all of our sponsors, including our host sponsor, Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union.

Planning for next year’s event is already underway!

Submitted by Kathy Harris-Smedberg, Assistant Superintendent of Schools at Bangor School Department.

World Languages On February 8, all Chinese 1–4 students gathered in the BHS library for an in-school field trip to celebrate the Year of the Pig. Students began the celebration with Chinese New Year songs and greetings. Then they watched a video about the new-year celebration in China. Students wrote calligraphy, did paper cutting and folding, played Chinese games, made Chinese dumplings and mooncakes, and ate authentic Chinese New Year dishes. Students also participated in the lion dance, which represents chasing away evil spirits and welcoming good luck into the New Year.

Visual and Performing Arts The University of Maine Museum of Art exhibit opening was another huge success! Every exhibit opening brings more people to appreciate the art our students have created! Each student shared a few words about the meaning behind their artwork and answered questions from those in attendance. The exhibit will remain at the museum until early June.

English As part of Bangor Humanities Day, BHS Humanities Academy students will present posters about their capstone research at the Bangor Public Library on Saturday, March 3. These posters will show the initial research pre-capstone students have engaged in this year, including research about the past, present, and future of political parties, the spread of the English language around the world, and diversity in Maine high schools.

To honor notable African Americans, students created posters and made announcements about achievements by African Americans in science, sports, and education. One local connection is Beryl Williams, who graduated from BHS in 1931 and became the first African-American to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Maine. She went on to have an illustrious career in education, teaching at a number of colleges, and eventually became the first female academic dean at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Skills USA – 11 BHS students received medals in the SkillsUSA competition at the United Technology Center in Bangor.

• Haley Gould, Gold Medal in Automotive Refinishing
• Kylie Braley, Gold Medal in Community Service
• Cameron Dysart, Gold Medal in First Aid / CPR
• Allison Foster, Gold Medal in Interactive Apps & Gaming
• Emerson Landon, Gold Medal in Interactive Apps & Gaming
• Damon Tucker, Gold Medal in Power Equipment Technology (2nd Year)
• Brittney Pecue, Gold Medal in Robotics Urban Search & Rescue
• Alejandra Hernandez, Gold Medal in Television Video Production
• Zachary DeRoche, Silver Medal in Audio Radio Production
• Noah Braley, Bronze Medal in Medical Terminology
• Emma Duplain, Bronze Medal in Photography

Art – Students in Eric Hutchins art class designed posters to promote school attendance. They worked with Attendance Specialist, Carolyn Sproul, to spread the message of how important it is to attend school.

Chess – Members of the BHS Chess Team too home top honors for the High School Reserve section of the 2019 Maine Scholastic Chess tournament on March 2.

The winter sports season at Bangor High School was nothing short of amazing! Bangor continued to add to its championship tradition (106 titles) by capturing two state titles­­: Class A girls’ swim & Class AA boys’ basketball. The Bangor Rams also won four regional championship titles: cheering, girls indoor track, girls’ swimming, and boys’ basketball. The swim teams set state records at the boys’ and girls’ championship meets.

Boys’ Basketball The closeness of the school community was apparent at the Class AA basketball championship in Portland. The band, cheerleaders, student body, and basketball team exhibited awesome energy and demonstrated great school spirit. The boys’ varsity basketball team won the KVAC championship and the Class AA regional championship on its way to the state championship game against Bonny Eagle! Damien Vance scored his 1,000th  career point at the last regular game of the season at Edward Little. Matthew Fleming, who will be attending West Point in the fall, was selected as 2019 Mr. Maine Basketball.

Girls’ Indoor Track The girls’ indoor track team won the PVC championship. Alyssa Elliott broke a 32 year record by posting a jump of 37 feet, 7 ¼ inches to lead the Bangor Rams to the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League Big Schools championship. Coach Alan Mosca was named the Indoor Track Coach of the Year.

 

 

More than 80 “windgineers” on 28 teams from York, Topsham, Winslow, Freeport and Portland took part in the 2019 Maine State KidWind Challenge on March 20, at Ocean Gateway in Portland.

The KidWind Challenge is an event that allows students to explore the power of wind by building and testing their own wind turbines.  Daniel Chuhta, the deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Education attended in the afternoon to watch the action and address the young windgineers.

The top two teams from the middle and high school divisions will be invited to the National KidWind Challenge in Houston, which runs May 21-23.

The Portland Public Schools and KidWind are partnering together to promote and support this STEM education challenge for students around the state.

Terese Hodgdon, Secretary at Noble Middle School in MSAD 60.

In an effort to accommodate students who might be in need of more individualized attention, Noble Middle School (NMS) is one of the only institutes that has school-wide implementation of a program called BARR – Building Assets, Reducing Risks – with our staff. The Teams meet twice a month to discuss (among other things) students who would benefit from said attention. Part of the discussion is to find ways to form a connection between the student and school and to give them favorable interactions with adults so that they want to come to school. Realizing that some students may be in need of positive role models, we try to fill that void.

Kristen Hobbs, Intervention Coordinator for MSAD 60, says, “School isn’t just about academics. It is about social and emotional learning.” Mrs. Hobbs has played an integral part in organizing solutions to this issue.

As such, NMS has partnered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters to bring in matches for students. Currently, there are four pairs at Noble Middle School and 2 more at the High School in the 8th Grade. The Big Brothers and Big Sisters come to the school during the school day to meet with their Littles to do community service and play games. There have been multi-year matches that see the students through the middle school grades.

In addition, several years ago, Noble Middle School also implemented a Mentor Program. It pairs students up with an adult in the building – they could be teachers or support staff, even some retired teachers and admin have joined in. There are currently 28 Mentor/Mentee matches in the building.

The Mentor Program focuses on positive interactions with students and adults. Getting together at Squire Time or during lunch or recess, the pairs can eat lunch together, play games, work on projects or discuss interesting topics. During the warmer months, there are picnics and walk-abouts.

It might be hard to decide who enjoys themselves more – the Mentors or the Mentees – but one thing is certain. There are plenty of smiles being shared.

Submitted by Julie Purdy, Librarian/Media Specialist at RSU 16.

It began as a discussion at one of our district library meetings. The elementary schools in RSU16 often highlight Read Across America Day on or around March 2nd; however, because it has traditionally been associated with Dr. Seuss’s birthday, the middle school and high school have never really participated. This year, we decided that it would be fun to bring together kids and books and celebrate reading district-wide in honor of Read Across America Day!

We decided to embrace the Dr. Seuss theme for our inaugural “Read Across RSU16 Week”! Our goals for this event were to promote Read Across America, promote reading in general by showing our students that it is important and fun for everyone to read, and to generate school spirit! We planned a week of activities and fun to promote our culminating event: On Friday, March 8th, EVERYONE in RSU16, from our superintendent to our preschoolers, dropped everything and just read a book from 10:00-10:20!

To celebrate and promote the week and to get our students fired up for our district-wide reading time, each school had spirit dress up days.

Spirit Dress Up Days at the elementary schools:

Monday: Horton Hears A Who – Wear Blue
Tuesday: Green Eggs and Ham – Wear Green
Wednesday: Thing 1 and Thing 2 – Twin Day
Thursday: Fox in Socks – Wear Red
Friday: The Lorax – Wear Orange

Spirit Dress Up Days at the Middle School and High School:

Monday: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – Wear Red or Blue
Tuesday: Cat in the Hat Day – Wear Stripes and/or a Hat
Wednesday: Thing 1 and Thing 2 – Twin Day
Thursday: Fox in Socks – Wear Crazy or Mismatched Socks
Friday: Oh, the Places You’ll Go – Wear a College T-shirt or Sweatshirt

Throughout the week, all schools promoted Read Across RSU16 Week in fun ways. Teachers and librarians at the elementary level read Dr. Seuss books all week. At the high school, we read a page of a Dr. Seuss book over the intercom, and the first five students to post the correct answer on the library Instagram page won a prize! Younger students decorated cakes and Truffula trees! At Minot Consolidated School, everyone was given a mustache to wear on The Lorax day! The libraries at Minot Consolidated School and Bruce Whittier Middle School/Poland Regional High School also hosted a bulletin board “Seuss Shadow Silhouettes” contest where students could match up the Dr. Seuss character silhouettes with the character names, and the winners received cool prizes! We also had a Cat in the Hat photo booth cut-out so that students could take their pictures as the Cat in the Hat reading a book.

All of the fun during the week led up to the culminating event where everyone district-wide dropped everything to read! It was a lot of fun for everyone, and we hope to make this an annual event!

Check out Poland Regional High School Library’s Instagram page (@prhslibrary) for lots of pictures of Read Across RSU16 Week!

Submitted by Shane Gower, Social Studies Teacher at Maranacook Community High School in Readfield, RSU 38.

Maranacook Community High School teacher Shane Gower was among 50 educators from across the country selected to travel to Washington, D.C. this summer to participate in the Fourth Annual Friends of the National World War II Memorial Teachers Network and Conference.

The conference will feature presentations by fellow educators and other experts in the area of World War II history, discussions with World War II veterans, tours of sites of World War II significance, and a remembrance ceremony at the World War II Memorial.

“At the heart of Friends’ Teachers Network and Conference program is the concept of community service,” said Holly Rotondi, executive director of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial. “Through a thoroughly prepared and well-devised community engagement program, our educators share what they learned during their time in Washington, D.C. with their students, fellow teachers, and the community at-large. The result is countless service-learning initiatives popping up across the nation that promote critical thinking and personal reflection while encouraging a heightened sense of community, civic engagement, and personal responsibility.”

“Working with students to learn about the Fallen Heroes of the Second World War from Maine has been a great passion for me,” said Gower. “I am very excited to learn more about the War and ways to expand remembering their sacrifice in our community.”

The 2019 conference will have the theme of “Industry and Innovation During World War II.” Friends of the national World War II Memorial covers all the costs of the conference for the teachers, including a travel stipend. Mr. Gower will receive a certificate for 30 continuing education hours.

Learn more about Friends of the National World War II Memorial here: (www.wwiimemorialfriends.org).

Educators from 13 districts throughout the western Maine region gathered at the University of Maine at Farmington last week to attend a series of professional development opportunities designed specifically for them. This is the second year that the Western Maine Education Collaborative (WMEC) has planned a remarkably successful Rendezvous for teachers in the region, this year doubling the number of attendees over last year’s event. 

The focus was on sharing the successes and solutions of delivering high quality instruction, assessment, and curriculum to a broad spectrum of students. More than 40 sessions were offered throughout the day on everything from 3D printing, to Google forms and other tools for the classroom, as well as curriculum and assessment sessions on project based learning, NWEA math, & SAT prep, and strategies to improve vocabulary instruction, to name a few. Educators were also offered sessions on the dangers of vaping, adverse childhood experiences, mandatory reporting, and suicide prevention, in addition to sessions about self-care, evidenced based classroom management practices, and sessions where they could work on specific projects.  

The Rendezvous was planned and hosted by WMEC, a long-time partnership of districts in the western Maine region. The collaborative is led by President, and RSU 4 Superintendent, Andy Carlton and WMEC Executive Director, Kristie Littlefield. By using feedback and ideas generated from last year’s event, the two designed an event that was meaningful and responsive to the interests and needs of the participants. 

Educators in attendance came from the following districts: Fayette School Department, Lisbon School Department, MSAD 59, Mt. Blue Regional School District/RSU 9, RSU 4, RSU 56, RSU 58, RSU 74, RSU 78, Spruce Mountain School District/RSU 73, Western Foothills Regional School Unit No. 10. 

WMEC President Andy Carlton hopes this collaboration continues to offer quality professional development opportunities across the region, with events like this for years to come. He notes that a collaborative like WMEC is not always about sharing resources to save money, it’s about working together to pool resources so that improved programs and services can be provided to the students in the region. 

For more information about WMEC visit their website.  

Below are more pictures from the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submitted by Cindy Nilsen, Math Instructional Coach at Harrison Lyseth Elementary School in Portland Public Schools.

An exciting project has been launched in Margaret Reimann’s 5th grade classroom at Harrison Lyseth Elementary School, in Portland Public Schools. It was featured in the current issue of Maine Audubon’s Habitat Magazine.

Science Is in Full Bloom! “American Spring LIVE” & Maine Audubon
by Jeremy Cluchey, Maine Audubon
March, 2019

Submitted by Johanna Prince, Kingfield Elementary Principal.

Skiers and snowboarders raised $370,000 at the Downhill 24 for the Maine nonprofit that helps kids to get outside and active more often in the winter. The 7th annual event marked the largest revenue in the event’s history. The organization chose to support local education by giving the four elementary schools in Carrabassett Valley $20,000 of this year’s event proceeds – $5,000 each to Kingfield Elementary School, Phillips Elementary School, Strong Elementary School, and Stratton School.

“We are so appreciative of WinterKids’ efforts to support local education,” said Kingfield Elementary Principal, Johanna Prince. Added Kingfield teacher and longtime WinterKids champion, Selina Warren, “WinterKids has a direct impact on the number of minutes kids move during the school day. With their Guide to Outdoor Active Learning, I have been able to get my kids moving while learning, as the curriculum aligns to Maine and national learning standards. This is a win-win for teachers and students!”

The Downhill 24, presented by Darling’s Auto Group and Kittery Trading Post, is a team ski and snowboard challenge and fundraiser to benefit WinterKids. It is the only annual event that brings night skiing to Sugarloaf. WinterKids sets up lights along the course for a fun-filled, round-the-clock, family friendly event. Participants raise money to support WinterKids to help children develop healthy lifelong habits through education and fun, outdoor winter activity. This year’s event raised a record $370,000 from 2,897 donors, 49 teams and 409 participants! Participants of the WinterKids Downhill 24 get their own unique fundraising web page, and prizes are awarded for those who raise the most money for WinterKids.

“We are thrilled that the success of this event allows us to directly impact kids and families in Sugarloaf’s surrounding communities, ” said Julie Mulkern, Executive Director. “In addition to these funds, we distribute over $25,000 in cash and prizes to our participating Winter Games schools in all 16 counties statewide,” added Mulkern. “It is heartwarming and validating to visit schools and see firsthand the positive impact our organization is having on kids and their health.”