STANDISH/STEEP FALLS
Bonny Eagle senior earns Principals’ Award
Gabrielle C. Sawyer of Steep Falls, a senior at Bonny Eagle High School, was selected to receive the 2022 MPA Principal’s Award, sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association and given in recognition of a high school senior’s academic achievement and citizenship.
Throughout her years at Bonny Eagle High School, Sawyer has distinguished herself in the classroom, on the playing fields and courts, and has been a student leader in the school and in the community. “Gabby very much deserves this recognition for all of her hard work inside and outside the classroom,” said principal Greg Applestein.
Sawyer and Applestein participated in a live virtual scholarship drawing event April 1. Ten scholarships were drawn in the names of former Maine principals and MPA executive directors Horace O. McGowan, Richard W. Tyler, and Richard A. Durost. The award is presented in more than 100 Maine public and private high schools by member principals of the MPA, the professional association which represents Maine’s school administrators.

WESTBROOK
Vocational school students bring home awards
The Westbrook Regional Vocational Center participated in the annual SkillsUSA Championships. This year’s conference was held March 18, with hands-on events held at the United Technologies Center and the Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, while knowledge-based contests were completed online. Students had a chance to compete in a wide range of skills tests as well as leadership activities.
Winners include Kelly Bruns, gold medalist in nail care knowledge; Tom Perkins, bronze medalist in heavy equipment; and Anna White, bronze medalist in medical terminology. The WRVC would also like to congratulate students who were chosen to represent at the state level. They include Grace Franklin in early childhood; Alec Hodgkins and Steven Kennedy in electrical construction; Owen Zang in heavy equipment; and Jade Westberry, who volunteered to help with contests.

WASHINGTON, D.C./SCARBOROUGH
Maine students make blankets for homeless families
Children in Maine schools are now participating in the national Homeless Memorial Blanket Project by creating blankets made in classrooms to be given to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Maire Trombley, a fifth grade teacher at Wentworth School at Scarborough, said children are naturally creative and like to help others. “When they heard about this project, they were all in,” said Trembly. “It’s been an amazing combination of life skills: kindness first, but also resourcefulness, creativity and machinery. The kids learned about the math, art and history of quilting and are designing, cutting and sewing themselves.”The Homeless Memorial Blanket Project is preparing a display of blankets to cover 9,000 square feet of the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn on Dec. 21, including students submissions from all 50 states and including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Each state is being asked to make at least 100 blankets, providing 10 for the Capitol Lawn display and donating another 90 or more to outreach programs in their area.

DURHAM
Odyssey of the Mind teams qualify for world finals
Durham Community School’s Odyssey of the Mind program sent three teams to compete at the state tournament in North Berwick on March 22, with two of those teams placing first and one placing third.
The top two teams will now move on to the world tournament in Ames, Iowa, in May.
Odyssey of the Mind is a worldwide, creative, problem-solving program that challenges students to work together to come up with unique and entertaining solutions, to a predetermined “long term” problem. Each school year the program poses a new series of problems with a list of required elements. Each team, with a maximum of seven students, chooses a problem to work on and how to weave the required elements into their solution in an 8-minute presentation.
Each team’s performance of the solution typically involves a team-created script, backdrops/sets, and costumes, sometimes there are requirements to include team-created music, songs or sounds, special effects, props, and more. Students must solve the problem on their own without the help of their coaches, parents or peers.
This year the fourth grade Odyssey of the Mind Team from Durham solved a vehicle problem entitled “Escape vroOM” while the sixth grade team solved the performing arts challenge called “Life is a Circus.”
 In an effort to fund their trip, students are now fundraising by having several bake sales in the area, a 50/50 raffle and raffling additional gift baskets. Please visit the Durham Community School’s Odyssey of the Mind Facebook page for updates on these and other fundraising events.  They have also set up a GoFundMe page at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-the-dcs-odyssey-of-the-mind-teams-to-worlds

FALMOUTH
Student wares for sale to support Ukraine
A student-run Music & Makers Market for Ukraine will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Falmouth High School. The event is open to the public.
Students, staff, musicians, community artisans and foodies will provide music, food, and handmade donations for the marketplace and silent auction. There will also be a raffle.
All proceeds will be donated to World Central Kitchen, which provides meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. They have been on the ground in Ukraine, serving food since the day after the attacks began.
To donate art, crafts, or a food item for the market, contact Jen Bush and Jennifer.Bush@falmouthschools.org.

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