Middle School Yearbooks available to order!!

Middle school yearbooks are available to order. The deadline has been extended till April 3rd. All orders must be received by this date.

The cost is $25 and there are 3 ways to order:

· Pay online and use yearbook ID code 11094013.

· Your student should have brought home an order form. You can send this form, and a check made out to CEMS for $25, into the MS office.

· Print this form and return to MS office

Middle School assistant principal chosen as interim principal

Middle School Assistant Principal Douglas Perley will serve as interim principal for the school beginning Nov. 26, 2012.

The School Board approved Perley's appointment at their meeting Nov. 13. Perley, who has been on the job at Cape Elizabeth Middle School since July 1, will take over for Steve Connolly, who in October announced his departure for a new job as superintendent of MSAD/RSU No. 60.

School Board members and Superintendent Meredith Nadeau were pleased with Perley's qualifications and willingness to apply for the interim spot. "There will be no break in continuity," Nadeau said at the meeting.

The school received 20 applications for the interim position, including Perley's, Nadeau said. School Board member Mary K. Williams-Hewitt lauded Perley for realizing his application would be helpful to students and staff. Nadeau said, "To his credit, he emerged as the strongest applicant."

Connolly's last day at the Middle School will be Nov. 20, the last before Thanksgiving break. Perley will begin as interim principal the following Monday.

Before coming to Cape Elizabeth this summer, Perley served as assistant principal for three years at the Paul School, a K-8 school of 430 students and 90 staff members in Wakefield, N.H. He was also principal at the Easter Seals/Harbor Schools, Inc. high school for special education in Amesbury, Mass., and from 2001-2008 was assistant principal and athletic director at the Middle School of the Kennebunks.

Perley has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Bates College, and for 10 years was a social worker at Wells Middle School. He has a master's degree in education from the University of Southern Maine.

He was hired by Cape Elizabeth Middle School this summer to succeed John Casey, who returned to teaching this year after serving 10 years as assistant principal.

Nadeau said she will meet with faculty on Nov. 26 to discern how best to fill the assistant principal's position being vacated by Perley in the short-term.

When the board accepted Connolly's resignation last month, Nadeau reported plans to fill his spot with an interim principal until the end of the school year, using that time to search for a permanent replacement. Advertisements for a permanent principal will likely go out in January.

Cape Middle School Students Featured in
Public Television Broadcast

Please join us for an evening of celebration of Cape Middle School students, their teachers and school administrators and their connection to nature and learning.

What: Cape Middle School/Chewonki Public Television Premiere

When: December 11, 2012, 7-8 PM

Where: Cape Elizabeth High School Auditorium

Who’s invited: Cape Elizabeth students, their families, school administrators, members of the local community.

The Cape Elizabeth Middle School visit to Chewonki last May is the subject of a short documentary that will air in 2013 on National Public Television. The Cape community has the opportunity to join Chewonki for an evening of fun as we watch the premier screening of this captivating film. The premiere will take place on December 11 in the Cape Elizabeth High School Auditorium. This is a free, community-wide event and that is open to students, families, and supporters of Cape Middle School students and Chewonki.

Click here to watch a short trailer of the movie.

The film was produced this fall by Visionaries, Inc. a National Public Television series hosted by actor Sam Waterston (“Law and Order”). Visionaries is an acclaimed public television series that has produced more than 165 documentaries all over the world. They chose to profile Chewonki in a documentary that will be part of their nationally broadcast television series. The filming of the documentary took place over 3 days last May when the Cape Elizabeth Middle School was on the Chewonki Campus.

The film features the entire 6th grade class from Cape Elizabeth Middle School, as well as Chewonki semester students, with wonderful interviews with Cape Elizabeth Principal Steve Connolly, Chewonki President Willard Morgan, and others. Highlights of the film include Cape students crossing the gulch, camping at their shoreside campsites, and working at the Chewonki farm. Actor Sam Waterston provides a compelling introduction to this film. The film will be followed by student and teacher testimonials, and a brief question and answer session.

Notice to Cape Elizabeth Parents

August 6, 2012

Effective July 1, 2012, the Transportation Division of Community Services has moved to the Department of Facilities and Transportation.

The Department of Facilities and Transportation is located at the lower level of the high school at service entrance adjacent to the Richards Pool. Signage for the Facilities Department is located above door “12”, upon entering the high school the departmental office is the first door on the left.

Facilities and Transportation support staff:

Pat Fowler Janet Hoskin Greg Marles

Transportation Scheduler Administrative Assistant Director

The offices are open Monday through Friday 7:00am to 4:30pm during the school year.

Department of Facilities and Transportation contact information:

Department of Facilities and Transportation

345 Ocean House Rd

PO Box 6267

Cape Elizabeth, Maine 04107

207-799-9574

Please feel free to give us a call with any questions.

Many of our seventh grade students have again participated in the annual Scholastic Writing Awards. This program, begun in 1923, has many notable former award winners, such as: Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, and Robert Redford.

Teens in grades 7 through 12 can apply in 28 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published. Submissions are evaluated by past award recipients. Panelists look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.

The following seventh graders earned recognition:

Sam Price, Silver Key Award for Humor, Confessions of a Champion Staller;

Lucy Citrine, Honorable Mention for Personal Essay/Memoir, The Plunge;

Cameron Grimes, Honorable Mention for Personal Essay/Memoir, Ovaltine;

Amelia Melanson, Honorable Mention for Personal Essay/Memoir, Be-You-ti-ful;

Erin Thibeault, Honorable Mention for Persuasive Writing, Disney Needs to Make Its Characters More Reflective to the Real World.

Congratulations to all five students.

Congratulations are in order again for Cape Robotics. The team competed in the State VEX Championship in Bangor on Saturday 2/11. All three of the teams did fantastic with high school team 56A - Luke Dvorozniak and Anthony Castro winning the Build Award (Craftsmanship and Construction) and Excellence Award (highest award presented). High Schoolteam 56B - Matthew Reale-Hatem, Leah Parrish, Jasper Hansel won the Design Award (Engineering Process and Documentation). AND... middle school team 56D, made up of 7th graders: Mac Brucker, Will Corsello, Mac Huffard, Kyle Long, and Sam Price, made it to the semifinals and won the Energy Award for Team Spirit and Enthusiasm. Once again, they were the only middle-schoolers competing in this High School event. Congrats to all participants.

On Monday, January 9, the middle school held an outdoor experience informational meeting for grade four and five parents. The primary reason for the meeting was to rally parents around the urgent need for fundraising to continue these programs. There are three outdoor experiences mainly funded by parents and the MSPA that occur during the middle school years: the fifth grade Freedom Trail in Boston, the sixth grade Chewonki week-long encampment, and the seventh and eighth grade Camp Ketcha Healthy Choices day that occurs every two years for students and parents (topic: substance abuse and decision-making).

You will see in the attached information that the overwhelming majority of discussion Monday night was about Chewonki, due to the significant fund-raising needs. (Grade five needs to raise $12,000 by September 2012.) The entire presentation (one hour) is available to you at the following link.

Thank you to those parents who were able to join us. Also, many thanks to the following presenters: Garth Altenburg and Katie Tremblay from Chewonki; Charlie Carroll and Sarah Kinsella from CEMS, Francesca Governali and Andrew Hollyday from CEHS, and Lisa Stevens and Anne Ingalls from the MSPA.

Here is a link to a letter from Jessica Jordan, a former middle school student who attended Chewonki eighteen years ago.

This link is a letter to parents about how to make a tax deductible personal or business donation directly to Chewonki and earmarked for your child's class.

This link will take you to a document that tells fourth and fifth grade parents how much money needs to be raised and how to get involved in parent leadership to make this trip happen.

Thank you for taking the time to view the presentation and links. I look forward to working with you in the future to ensure the continuation of the outdoor experiences.

Attention students!

Are you yearning for an opportunity for success? Are you filled with giddiness about new and exciting vocabulary words?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, then sashay on down to the CEMS library at 2:30 on January 4th for our school Spelling Bee!!

Did you answer no? There is no penalty for your honesty. In fact, novice spelling citizens are encouraged! Don’t be a curmudgeon - there will be a multitude of everyday words for you to try. Perhaps this fun challenge will ignite a desire to improve your spelling and vocabulary. Everyone is welcome and no froufrou costumes are required. So quit your bellyaching, and join us at the Spelling Bee. It is a mere two fortnights away!

Note: this message contains 14 Spelling Bee words. Can you guess which ones?

Matthew Fishbein at the Junior High National Chess Open

Again this year several CEMS language arts teachers assigned their students to enter the "Letters About Literature" writing contest, and
we later received word that seven CEMS students had achieved state semifinalist status in the contest's first round of judging.

Semifinalists from CEMS included fifth graders Adeline Hayes (Elizabeth Johnston, teacher); and Ford Malter (Sally Connolly, teacher).
We also had five eighth grade semifinalists: Sierra Bates, Eva Brydson, Lily Jordan (Terese Roberts, teacher); and Rachel Lockwood
and Libby O'Brien (Jamie MIchaud, teacher).

Their letters were chosen from more than 1,300 entries from Maine in grades four through twelve.

"Letters About Literature" is a national writing contest which asks students to write a letter to an author describing how that author's
work has affected the student. Each state determines state-level winners, who then go on to the national judging. The contest is
sponsored in Maine by the Maine Humanities Council and at the national level by the Library of Congress and Target Corp.

The semifinalists moved on to the last phase of the contest, the final round of judging to determine state level winners. Winners
at the state level will move on to another round of judging to determine the national winners. If you need any more information about the contest, you can consult the website: www.lettersaboutliterature.org

I am pleased to announce the first place winner of the Letters About Literature contest is Libby O'Brien, who wrote to Lois Lowry regarding Number the Stars. Libby wins a $50 gift card to Target, the national contest sponsor and a check for $100. Her letter will be submitted as Maine's representative in the national competition. And in second place is Lily Jordan for her letter to Noah Webster regarding Webster's Third New International Dictionary. Lily will receive a gift card to a local bookstore for $25. Congratulations, Ladies!

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The Scholastic Writing Awards program is in its 87th year of providing authentic audiences for middle and high school writers. Here are the eligibility and submission process requirements:

Eligibility

Students must be enrolled in:

• Grades 7 – 12.
• A public, private, parochial, home-school or after school program.
• The U.S., Canada, or in an American school abroad.

The Submission Process

Students submit their works to regional programs of The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and its Regional Affiliates. Students can earn opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication and scholarships.

Across the country, more than 165,000 works will be reviewed by our panels of arts professionals. More than 50,000 students will earn Honorable Mention, Silver Keys and Gold Keys in regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2011. Works designated as Gold Keys will be forwarded for national-level review in February 2011.

Once again, many of our students submitted entries to this prestigious program. I am pleased to announce the following results:

Silver Key Awardees: Haley Fawcett for "Spies," Eva Miele for "See the Signs," and Will Steidl for "The Forest."

Honorable Mention Awardees: Maddie Bowe for "The Subway Cabbie," Jana Freedman for "Red," Justin Guerette for "No Such Thing as No," Mo Lavallee for "Now There Are Four," Brittney Newman for "White Eyed Wolf," Lily Norris, for "Accidental Accidents," Caitlin O'Sullivan for "Trying to Save My Mom," and McKenna Wood for "If I'm Such a Loser, Why Did I Lose?" Congratulations to each student and to their current teachers: Alison Hawkes, Carrie Newton, and Aaron Filieo.

CEMS Wellness Theme of the Month: Mental & Physical Health, and Stress Reduction

This month CEMS is looking at ways we can become healthier. Students will be thinking about ways they can stay physically fit, mentally healthy and how to de-stress. Stress is one of the biggest concerns for students in our schools and we hope to instill in the students some healthy ways to prevent stress, and deal with stress they may be feeling in their lives. We are pleased to be able to introduce staff and students to the practice of yoga. Staff were led through a yoga session by Jessie Chalmers, from Whole Heart Yoga and Jade Integrated Health.

Those yoga moves will be shared with all CEMS students on Mondays in March during Advisory. Students are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and to bring a yoga mat or towel to school for those Monday yoga sessions. Students will learn some breathing techniques and be led through a few yoga poses. We are thankful to have Jessie Chalmer's expertise to help guide those sessions.

For students who are interested in doing more yoga, please inquire with CE Community Services as they have a Tween and Teen Yoga session starting this week.

The News Crew is a middle school club open to all students who are interested in creating video information about topics of interest to themselves. Here is a News Crew link to their first foray into the public eye.

Dr. Murphy's letter regarding late start notification may be accessed here.

Andy Strout asked me to share the following.

HELP YOUR CHILD SAVE LIVES AND BE A HEART HERO!

HOW: Support your child in the American Heart Association’s Hoops For

Heart program

WHAT: A lifesaving and educational community service program

WHY: Your child will help kids with special hearts, learn about how to be

heart healthy and feel good!

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We are thrilled to share our school is supporting the American Heart Association’s Hoops for Heart program! When your child participates in Hoops for Heart he/she:

· Learns about the importance of the heart—how it works, and how to take care of it: Through classroom exercises and educational information provided by the American Heart Association.

· Helps kids with special hearts: Our safe online tool makes it easy for your child to set-up a web page and send e-mails to invite friends and family to support their fundraising efforts and to share life-saving information. Please see instructions on the back of this letter.

· Feels good for making a difference in people’s lives! Funds raised support American heart Association research and education initiatives that save lives in our community. Congenital heart defects are the most common cause of infant death from birth defects. Many children are alive today because of treatments not available even 10 years ago. Funded research and advancements have changed and saves their lives!

We hope you are as excited as we are to support our students in this important experience! If you have any questions, please let me know. We jump. We shoot. We save!

Visit www.heart.org/hoopsto get started today or call Andy Strout at 799-8176

From Madame Janelle: the 5th grade French classes recently finished a unit on the World Cup (Coupe du Monde)

On February 5 and 6, Cape Robotics fielded three teams at the Maine VEX Robotics Championship at the Bangor Auditorium.

The middle school team of Jasper Hansel and Andrew Volent were the only middle school team at the competition. They had a very reliable forklift design. As a result of their engineering accomplishments at a young age, Jasper and Andrew received a judges’ award for their robot. This team was also part of the 3-team alliance that were the tournament champions.

Our high school team of Anthony Castro, Luke Dvorozniak and Ethan DiNinno came in second place in the morning’s qualifying rounds with a record of 7-1. They also won the programming skills challenge.

8th grader Walker Grimes and his partner 9th grader Matthew Reale-Hatem also had a strong showing, and accomplished successful and significant design changes in very limited time between qualifying rounds.

Congratulations to all participants!

Mornings in the CEMS kitchen are busy these days. On Wednesday through Fridays, four students join our food service staff at 7:00 AM to bake muffins and help with food preparation. They have been learning food safety and basic cooking techniques. The efforts of these young volunteers are greatly appreciated by the kitchen staff. They are a pleasure to have in the kitchen.


Volunteers Nikki, Megan, Sarah, and Tim with Ayn Allmendinger

Mr. Duffy, one of our MLTI tech staff, is a pretty creative guy. One of his interests is art combined with comedy. Jack has offered an after school class for kids interested in this medium of communication. Here are some of the student products.

Rebecca Millett, an MSPA rep, has asked me to share this with you. There was a taste testing for staff recently, and I hear the chocolate silk was heavenly.

A Chewonki Holiday Fundraiser Easy as Pie! A delicious variety of locally made pies, wonderful for the holidays, are being sold to support the middle school Chewonki program. Dad’s Dynamite Pies (aka Valley View Orchard) will be delivered frozen and unbaked, easy stash in your freezer. Don’t need a pie? You can donate a pie delivered directly to Preble Street Food Pantry/Soup Kitchen.

Forms are available on the MSPA website www.capemspa.org and are due back Dec 7 (MSPA, attn. Pie, CEMS). Choices: Apple, Apple Crisp, Blueberry, Pumpkin, strawberry Rhubarb all $15; Bumbleberry (mix of berries) $16; Chocolate French Silk, Key Lime, Pecan all $18. 6” Variety 4-Pack $30 (Apple, Blueberry, Bumbleberry, French Silk). Pies will be delivered Dec 17th, 4:45–6:00 pm for pick-up at Community Services building. Checks payable to MSPA, please. FMI: www.capemspa.org or Rebecca at <rmillett@maine.rr.com>.

Thanks,

Rebecca

CEMS will embark on its twenty-fifth year in collaboration with the Chewonki Foundation. The dates for this year are May 2 through 6. Charlie Carroll, grade six team leader and outdoor experience coordinator, is working on an informational website that will be ready for you shortly.

The cost of the program is $305 per student this year, and the Foundation subsidizes $51 per student of that cost. The Middle School Parents Association (MSPA) finances $90 of the cost through GAO fundraising and Clynk bag profits. A big thank you to the parent group and to community members who supported the fundraiser.

The cost per student this year is $164, which must be paid in full by April 1, 2011. Parents may pay that amount at any time between now and then (submit a check made out to CEMS to the main office). Parents may instead opt to pay monthly installments of $40 per payment. Since we expect all of our students to attend this marvelous program, we also offer hardship for families, whereby partial to full scholarships may be requested. Should you wish to arrange a payment plan or request a partial or full scholarship, please contact your child's guidance counselor, Kim Sturgeon.

Thank you,

Steve Connolly

Four of our students have works of art on display at the State House for Maine Youth Excellence in Art, sponsored by the Maine Arts Commission. Those students will be guests at the Blaine House on November 17th for a tea with First Lady Karen Baldacci. Congratulations to those students. Their work is displayed below for your enjoyment.

Emma Schoonover

by Zoeth Chalat

by Marc Ledroux

by Ford Malter

Congratulations to each of these students, and thank you for representing our school.

Congratulations to the following 7th and 8thgrade band members who were selected by audition for the Southern Maine Middle School Honors Band:

Hazel Pine, flute (1st chair)

Emma Landes, flute

Rebecca Tarling, flute

Caitie O’Sullivan, flute

Jana Freeman, flute

Remy Delva, clarinet (1st chair)

Hannah Preble, clarinet

Julia Ginder, clarinet

Leo Wing, alto saxophone

Zach Vaughan, alto saxophone

Walker Grimes, alto saxophone

Aaron Dobieski, trumpet

Noah Robinson, percussion

Lily Jordan, percussion

Approximately one hundred middle school students from area schools auditioned. These students will be participating in a two-day festival at Scarborough High School in March. We would like to congratulate all of the students that auditioned on their hard work, dedication, and willingness to take a risk!

---

Dear Families,

Beginning November 15, CEMS is joining Pond Cove in participating in a national education program to promote eating more fruits and vegetables. Research shows that fewer than 15% of U.S. students eat the recommended 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and half of all students eat NO fruit on any given day.

The PACK (Packing Assorted Colors for Kids) Program is an opportunity to introduce new varieties of produce to children in a structured way. By focusing on the different colors of foods, activities are designed to introduce kids to the concept of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables each day. One important part of the program is acknowledging that fruits and vegetables in all forms (fresh, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned) are healthy choices.

Each day of PACK Week is assigned a different color to help children focus on broadening their selection of fruits and vegetables. Since all forms count – fresh, dried, canned, frozen and 100% juice – it is easy to include more fruits and vegetables in daily meals and snacks. Please try to follow our color of the day when you pack your child’s snack and/or lunch that week. Food service offerings will reinforce the importance of variety.

The colors for each day of PACK week are:

Monday, Nov. 15 – Pack Purple Day (includes blue)

Tuesday, Nov. 16 – Pack White Day (includes brown)

Wednesday, Nov. 17 – Pack Red Day

Thursday, Nov. 18 – Pack Yellow-Orange Day

Friday, Nov 19 – Pack Green Day

One family activity you may want to try is to take your children on a special focused trip to the grocery store. You could explore the fresh produce and frozen food departments, as well as the aisles that have canned and dried fruits, vegetables and juices. Point out the variety of colors and styles; and look at where the foods come from. Take the opportunity to explore different forms of the same food. What is the difference between a fresh apple, applesauce and 100% apple juice? You might want to explain that the prices of different forms can vary considerably, which might be why fresh corn is good to purchase in the Summer months, but canned or frozen corn is a better buy the rest of the year.

Let the children choose a fruit or vegetable that they have never eaten. You don’t need to choose exotic items to introduce something new. Perhaps if you always buy green peppers, you could try a red one, or taste test different grapes or apples. You don't need to purchase a lot, but enough to compare tastes and textures so that children can see the difference.

Enjoy!

Paula Harris, RN PC School Nurse & Gretchen McCloy CEMS School Counselor

Welcome back to all our families to the start of the 2011 school year. Hopefully, the summer and return to school finds your family well.

There are three district focus areas under which our school has selected goals for this school year. The district focus areas (numbered below) and related middle school goals are as follows:

1. Academics

Middle school students will demonstrate academic progress as assessed from May 2010 through, May 2011 in the following areas:

* percentage of students who meet proficiency on the standards in NECAP reading,

writing, and math, as well as MEA science.

* percentage of students who meet standards in NWEA math and reading.

* percentage of students who make steady progress on middle school common assessments (i.e., writing,

math, World Language, science).

2. Climate

Middle school students will provide baseline data through the Center for Aspirations survey - in conjunction with CEHS - with regard to school climate. The school will then provide direct programming (i.e., health and wellness, aspirations, resiliency factors, character education) that will positively impact 2012 post survey results. Cohesive fifth through eighth advisory programming will focus on health and wellness this year and will be guided primarily by the school wellness team.

3. Evaluation of Supporting Resources

All support resources will be analyzed for potential positive impact on student learning and development of adolescent self. Middle school staff will review all support services and present findings to the School Board in January 2011.

How will these goals receive the focus they deserve?

Teams of teachers will create Professional Learning Communities, establish SMART goals, and monitor student progress to evaluate the effectiveness of their professional work this year. CEMS staff will be provided with the tools, training, and support to customize their teaching, thereby meeting the needs of individual students. For example: new texts in nearly all subject areas with online tools, technological resources (PLATO, Lexia, Discovery Education Streaming, LANschool, iclickers, Smart Response System, BrainPop, and explorelearning.com), common planning time for professional discourse, Executive Functioning Services support for grades seven and eight students, extended library time to 3 PM for student work and collaboration, and professional development funds to support Professional Learning Community teams of teachers.

Beyond the district focus areas and related school goals, writing will continue to receive major focus throughout the disciplines offered at CEMS. For the first time in five years a common state-level writing assessment, the NECAPs) will be offered. Though the results of this assessment will not be available until late January, this information, coupled with common fall and spring writing assessments and teacher feedback will be used to analyze our progress over time. Please be sure to ask about and view your child's writing portfolio during the school year. You should see increases in the number of substantial writing pieces (i.e., writing that moves through a process), the quality and rigor of those pieces should improve over time, and the depth and breadth of the kinds of writing students are asked to experience should be equally evident. There should also be evidence of writing across the content area, as, for instance, science and social studies pieces will also be archived in student writing portfolios.

More information will be shared about these goals at the general assemblies during Open Houses (grades five and six Weds, Sept 15 beginning at 6 PM in the Pond Cove gym, and grades seven and eight on Tues, Sept 7 beginning at 6 PM in the Pond Cove gym). See you soon.

Steve Connolly

There are several new people whose names you may hear from your middle school children. I would like to introduce the following names to you:

Mrs. Amanda Kozaka is our school librarian. Amanda has a wealth of experience, and she was most recently a librarian for three schools in South Portland. Amanda has also had the opportunity to build a school collection from scratch in a previous position. She was a regular fixture here this summer, as she worked to familiarize herself with our collection and prepare the library for today.

Mrs. Caitlin Ramsey is our new instrumental music teacher. Caitlin has been a music teacher for approximately eight years - most recently in Massabesic - and has already made a great name for herself as a guest conductor at middle school music festivals. Terry White was thrilled to see this young lady hired as his successor and feels Caitlin's talents will take the program to even greater levels.

Mrs. Jill Andrews is our new school nurse. Jill joins us after nine years on Mackworth Island where she was most recently the school nurse for three different programs there. Jill comes with high praises from numerous former colleagues. She has been meeting with CEMS families with high medical need children and is quickly making a forming a great reputation here as a quality person.

Ms Hannah Rohner is a new sixth grade teacher. Hannah worked here last spring as a long-term aid and did a marvelous job. She was extremely impressive in the interviews and comes from good stock (her mother is Marguerite Lawler Rohner, our art teacher, and her uncle is CEHS science teacher Doug Worthley). Hannah has already shown she is a clear thinker and well spoken young lady.

Mrs. Susan Kramer is our new Speech and Language teacher. Susan previously worked at Biddeford Middle School as sixth, seventh, and eighth speech pathologist for the past nine years. Susan was on a student exchange committee and Civil Rights team while at BMS. She comes with a wealth of experience to offer our students.

Mr. Michael Burke joins as as an eighth grade language arts and social studies teacher. Mike is a local guy, as he grew in Gorham. He comes from good stock as well (Terry White is his uncle.). Mike taught for the better part of the last decade in the Virgin Islands. I wonder if he remembers snow...

Mrs. Laura Ellis will be working as half-time Executive Functioning Services and Response to Intervention teacher in grades seven and eight. Laura comes to us from South Portland and is a certified Special Education teacher. She has a wealth of knowledge and skills to assist students who need help performing the functions of being successful students on a daily basis.

Mrs. Nicole Tammaro joins our Functional Life Skills program as an educational technician. If the last name sounds familiar, her mother-in-law is our school secretary. Nicole and her husband, Nick, are CE residents and have an actual working farm in town. Nicole comes well-recommended and is known for her kindness and compassion.

Ms Kristin Waterman also joins us this year as an educational technician in the Functional Life Skills program. Kristen has worked as a substitute int eh Scarborough schools and has a teaching degree from the University of New England. Kristen was a mainstay for us this past summer, as she worked int he FLS program and did a great job with her kids. She is a calm and compassionate young lady.

Mrs. Nancy Carroll has been employed at CEMS as an educational technician in the Functional Life Skills for a number of years. Nancy is now the Functional Life Skills teacher. We are thrilled to have her step into this new role and continue her CEMS career.

When I see you at Open House, I will be sure to help match new faces to new names.

A group of parents got together to figure out a way to express appreciation to Terry White for twelve years of beautiful music. Since Terry's demonstration piano was on its last legs, that seemed like the natural choice. Rebecca Millett led the initiative to raise $1500. The kids did the rest. The jazz band approached Terry about putting together one final performance for their peers. This morning the jazz band began playing in the fifth grade knuckle at 7:20 AM. At one point, pianist MacKenzie Leighton told Terry there was something wrong with the piano. While Terry was inspecting the piano, MacKenzie asked, "Why don't I use that one?" She pointed at the new piano that had just been rolled out. Needless to say, Terry was completely surprised. Here are some photos of the event.






Thanks, Terry. And many thanks to the group of parents who donated funds to donate this piano to the school in Terry's honor.

I heard recently from sixth grade teacher Elizabeth Johnston that one of her students was recognized as a semifinalist for a letter she wrote to the author of a book she read. Carter Harvey wrote about a connection she found to the book, The Penderwicks on Garden Street. Thanks for sharing this piece, Carter.

Dear Jeanne Birdsall,

When I read your book, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, I was surprised that the Penderwicks’ sisters despised the first thought of a stepparent. Since I was only seven years old when I found out that my parents were getting divorced, I didn’t know what it meant. When the word “divorce” came up in our conversation, an image of a little African American girl crying came up in my mind. I don’t even know why but when I was seven that’s what the word divorce meant to me. At first it was tough, but my two sisters and I got through it. A few years later I found out about getting a step dad. To me it was a new adventure appearing in my life.

It felt as though the Penderwick sisters thought that a stepparent would replace a real parent and ruin their lives. For me that was the first lesson that I learned about my step dad; my step dad will not, and never will, replace my real dad. In fact, now I know that I have a stepparent and a real parent and both mean a lot to my family and me. If I could talk to the Penderwick sisters right now, right this second, there’s only one thing I’d talk about; stepparents.

The most important thing to realize is that the only reason that a stepparent would come in to your life is to make your mom or dad happy. He or she is not there to torture you with more chaos. Your book reminded me that divorce has some good parts to it and not all kids realize that. Your book helped me feel lucky, not unlucky.

Sincerely,

Carter Harvey

Andrew Hollyday asked that I post the following. He is part of a super group of motivated seventh and eight graders.

Good Day,

As you may have heard there is a new club here at CEMS.This club is the Environmental Club.We have a bunch of motivated students in this student-lead group.We are trying to fundraise for Composting.We need members!!! Especially, grades 5-7.We are also looking for a faculty advisor.

We have been meeting Monday mornings in the Madden Conference room, right inside of the library, from 7 to 7:45.Please come and help make CEMS more sustainable.

Thanks,

Andrew, Daniel, Maddie, Mackenzie, Dorothy, Matt, Will, Brian, Liam and the rest of the environmental club.

PS: There is a Donation box at the Main office for any spare change people want to donate.That money will be used for the compost fundraising.

Thanks, Andrew.

You may recall from an earlier blog that Alexa Carrington won recognition in the Scholastic Inc. Art and Writing Award contest for her original entry, The Bereft Girl and the Coon Cat, in the personal memoir and essay portion of the contest. As a state winner and national silver medalist, Alexa will receive her medal at Carnegie Hall in New York on June 9 and will be accompanied by her language arts teacher, Alison Hawkes. Alexa has also received a young artists award and will attend a three-week conference and workshop at Wellesley College where she will attend such sessions as costume design, dance, and the craft of writing.

But wait, there's more! The folks at Scholastic Inc. have put Alexa's name forward to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation for another prestigious award. If Alexa's nomination is successful (candidates will be notiifed in October), she would receive continuous summer conference and workshop opportunities throughout her high school and college career. What a great opportunity for a fine young writer. Congratulations, Alexa, and best of luck with the results of Foundation award.

Each year the World Language teachers nominate students from their classes to participate in the National French and Spanish exams.
Mr. Conrad Berthiaume has just received word that 25 of our 8th grade students finished in the top 22 (numerous ties for Maine students taking this same exam, level 1A. Congratulations to Madeline Miele who tied for first in the state and also finished eight in the nation. Also finishing in the top ten were: Dorothy Janick, Omar Khalidi, Addison Wood, MacKenzie Leighton, Emma O'Rourke, Nick Shedd, Will Britton, and Trevor Ewald. Also, congratulations to the following students for finishing in the top 22 in the state: Brian Nestor, David Allen, Stuart Rutty, Luke Dvorozniak, Zoe Gillies, Henry Gent, Isabel Johnston, Mike Naseef, Anna Sullivan, Jordan Greer, Matt Fisher, Audrey Grey, Lizzie Raftice, Sterling Weatherbie, Natalie Rand, and Lee Foden.

I will share our Spanish exam results with you when those become available.

There have been previous student writings posted on this blog in connection to the Maine Humanities Council Letters About Literature contest. I have additional information about our students and their performance on that contest. Maureen Lavallee wrote a piece to Greg Mortenson entitled Three Cups of Tea. Mo's piece was selected to receive honorable mention out of 1500 entries. Here is her letter for your reading enjoyment.

Greg Mortenson

Central Asia Institute

PO box 7209

Bozeman, MT59771

Dear Mr. Mortenson,

When I first pick up a book, most of the time I put it back down. I’m not one of those kids with their nose in a book. When I read Three Cups of Tea I would have died if someone told me to put it down.

You climbed K2 and I wanted desperately to connect with you, but I couldn’t. When you met Haji Ali, I couldn’t find any similarities between us. Then it hit me, it wasn’t the people, it was the story, and my mind will forever hold the image of building a school inside. For once in my life, I want a stranger to hug me, and I will feel alive.

I have friends but I feel like they’re just not happy with me. It kills me because I judge myself so hard. If I don’t get an A+ I feel like I failed. Trying to live up to my brother and sister is hard, because even though they’re 5 years older then me, I tell myself I need to be as smart as them and that pressure gets to me. Perfection is key, and if I don’t have that key I break down, and bring up a wall that even American Gladiators couldn’t break down.

When you were building a school nothing was holding you back, and that’s what I want. You went to place where there was nothing but love, and you made it work. How? I asked myself. I realized because you had your eyes set on what you wanted you put everything else aside. What’s going to happen to me if I don’t reach my goal? Well, now I know I can have other dreams if my old ones don’t work out, and if I really want them to work, they will.

Mr. Mortenson, it’s so important to me that I make my life as good, happy, and exciting as I can, and your book has helped me do that. Three Cups of Tea pushed me, and that’s the kind of push I want. Now my dreams are clearer to see. A push can go a long way, and this push, pushed me up my mountain of dreams. For me, this mountain was hard to climb and I think I did this climb because of you.

On the first cup you’re a stranger; second you’re a friend. Third you are part of the family. If only the world could live with this in their head who knows what life would be like today. So what’s my goal? Live like Mr. Mortenson, live like a hero. Thank youfor giving me that push, and writing such an amazing book for kids of all ages to enjoy.

Sincerely yours,

Maureen Lavallee

Also, Henry Wasserman was previously selected as a semi-finalist for the same contest. Henry is a Civil War buff, so it is no surprise to anyone who knows him that his letter involves a particular historical figure. Here is Henry's letter for you reading enjoyment as well.

Cape Elizabeth Middle School

14 Scott Dyer Road

Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107

Dear Mr. Wisler:

I’m writing to you because your book, Mr. Lincoln’s Drummer, touches me in many ways.For example, your main character, Willie Johnston, made sure his drum, the heartbeat of the army, never left his side, even when he crossed a stream and rebel bullets were raining down.He showed bravery when he didn’t back down at the battle of the Seven Days in 1862.He showed he cared when he helped wounded friends.He inspired me by being the seventh person to receive the Medal of Honor.

Some things Willie and I share are that we’re about the same age, and if I had the choice, I would become a Billy Yank like Willie.I bet if I did, my family would be dismayed, like Willie’s, when he and his dad joined up.Like Willie, I would keep my drum at my side.I would be horrified by the scenes of battle.

Your work opened a whole new door of knowledge to me about drummers of the Civil War.I learned that people were very young when they joined up, like 11 to 17 years old. It was sad and amazing to find out how young they were.Drummers were the lowest rank in the army.They were called P.F.’s (Peach Fuzz) because they had very few whiskers.I thought that was funny.It was interesting that the musicians had to help the doctors by bringing the wounded to them.

In conclusion, I really hope you continue writing books for kids about the Civil War because they are interesting and I enjoy them. Thank you for sharing your work.

Sincerely,

Henry P. Wasserman

P.S.I may be asking too much, but may I have your autograph, please?

Thanks for willingly sharing your work, Mo and Henry.

Thanks to Kim Gillies for the following contribution to our school blog.

Dear Parents,

It’s that time of year when our children move from one school to the next.Traditionally, the 4th grade and 8th grade classes present a gift to their respective schools.This year we are proposing that the classes come together in dedicating a Peace Pole to both Pond Cove and the Middle School.

A Peace Pole is simply a monument with the words "May Peace Prevail on Earth" engraved on each of its 4 sides in different languages.At our schools, respecting differences, expressing emotions in a positive manner and resolving conflict non-violently are core values that go hand in hand with academic excellence.Both Pond Cove and the Middle School strive to ensure that everyone feels safe, respected and valued.A Peace Pole is areminder that peace starts within each one of us. It is not a political or religious symbol. There are over 200,000 Peace Poles all around the world. Many of them are at schools and in community centers.

The middle school guidance department will be conducting accelerated math placement testing on May 13 and 14. Current fourth grade students have been identified for testing based on teacher recommendation, NWEA RIT score, and fall NECAP scores. Letters are being sent to families to notify them their child has been nominated for candidacy and will be invited to the sessions. If you have any questions, please contact middle school guidance.
Thank you.

FREE YOGA CLASSES
Thanks to a CEEF grant, we are excited to offer FREE Yoga Classes with Yoga Instructor Sharon Wilke Tuesday and Thursday mornings 7-7:45 am during the month of April. We have spaces for more students- please encourage your son/daughter to sign-up and participate.

Important 8th grade updates:

-Reminder that the HS Open House for current 8th graders is Tuesday, April 6th at 6:30pm in the Auditorium. Students and parents are encouraged to attend.

-Signed HS Course Selection Sheets are due to Gretchen McCloy at CEMS Guidance on April 9th.

Senora Chase asked me to add the following karaoke clips to the blog. Here is a selection of fifth graders' Spanish music videos for our sports unit (sung to tune of American Idol star Kelly Clarkson's "Falling to Pieces"). Thanks Marcia!

Please check out the PowerSchool portal for an electronic copy of your child's second trimester grades. Once on the website, click the report card icon at the top of the page. If you have any trouble accessing PowerSchool, please contact Kate Thibeault in the guidance office.

Gretchn McCloy asked me to add the following to the blog.

Greetings Parents,

For those of you who are going to be first time HS parents, we know that you may have some questions and concerns about the course selection process, as well as about CEHS in general.Below is some basic information about the course selection process, as well as some important dates.

In regards to course placements, your son/daughter's 8th grade core academic teachers will be making recommendations regarding at which level each student should be placed (Honors, College Prep, etc).Eighth grade teachers take into consideration grades, class participation, standardized test scores, and aptitude in the subject area.Based on each core teacher’s recommendation, your son/daughter will be placed into his/her core academic subjects.(Should you wish to appeal a placement recommendation, further information will be available from the high school regarding the appeal process.)

Your son/daughter will have some choices to make regarding his/her elective courses (band, music, technology, etc.).A course catalog will be available soonto consider the elective options.

DATES:

Here are some dates to keep in mind:

March 25th- High School Course Selection Guide becomes available on the HS website;families can start reviewing elective course offerings.

April 1s to April 9th- 8th grade Parent-Student-Advisor conferences held, and families are presented with their core subject recommendations at the conference.

April 6th at 6:30 pm- CEHS Auditorium- High School Open House for incoming current 8th grade families

April 9th- Completed Course Selection Forms, signed by parents, returned to Mrs. McCloy at the CEMS Guidance Office.

As mentioned, we recognize you may have many questions about this process, and the transition to the HS.Please contact CEMS Guidance Counselor Gretchen McCloy (Gretchen_mccloy@cape.k12.me.us or 799-8176) at any point during this process.

Our district keeps close track of the waste and recycling tonnage that we produce. From an environmental aspect, the benefits to any reduction of the waste stream are well documented. I want to bring a different beneficial aspect of recycling to the attention of students, staff, and families. Bob Malley, Cape Elizabeth Director of Public Works, provided me with the following statistics. The Cape community pays $160 per ton of waste, due to tip fee ($88/ton), debt service, and fixed overhead costs. The cost per ton for recycling is approximately $50 ($40 per ton to haul and $10 for recycling container service), so you can see there is a savings of $110 per recycled ton.

Our combined K-8 school has produced 8 tons of waste since the middle of January at a cost of $1280. That would be 50 to 60 tons over the course of a school year for an estimated cost of $8800. In comparison we have produced 3 tons of recyclable materials for a cost of $150. So, what is the point of this blog, you may be asking yourself. I am promoting a couple of needs. 1) Students, reduce the waste that comes into the school. Please help us in this regard by reducing the amount of material students bring in that will end up in the waste stream. Do snacks and lunch items have to be brought to school in plastic baggies? 2) Teachers, make more use of electronic presentations and media forms (i.e., noteshare and emailed assignments) versus paper copies. 3) Parents, please try to but less foods that are in non-recyclable packaging. 4) Students, please pay more attention to the labeled bins in the cafe. We have clearly labeled containers, yet we see a lot of recyclable items in the trash barrels.

These are suggestions that could help our waste and recycle streams and reduce our expenditures. Please let us know if you have other ideas. Thanks.

There has been a recent flurry of accolades for several of our burgeoning middle school artists, the results of which I am pleased to share with you in this blog.

A national competition conducted by Very Special Artists commission (VSA) is held annually. Over 5000 entries were submitted this year, and a jury from each state selects two pieces to put forward into the national collection. The next step is that one piece from each state is selected as that state's winning piece. The winning artist gets an all expense paid trip to Washington D.C. for the unveiling of the national collection. That piece will be exhibited for two years as part of an international traveling exhibit. For the first time in the history of this competition both pieces to represent a state came from the same school. Beck Hamlin's World of Chaos and Colby Shea-Perkins' Lazy Dog are this year's state representative pieces. Congratulations to both boys. We also have just heard back from the national jury that Colby is the state winner and the recipient of the trip to DC. Again, congratulations to you, Colby.


World of Chaos by Beck Hamlin

Lazy Dog by Colby Shea-Perkins

Catherine Pellegrini submitted a piece for a different contest. There were tons of entries across the state for the MLTI screensaver competition. Her work, Sugarloaf, was one of the winning selections. The image will appear next year on over 30,000 laptops as a screensaver. Congratulations to you, Catherine.


Sugarloaf by Catherine Pellegrini

March is Youth Art Month, and again, one of our students has created an art piece that is currently on display at the Portland Museum of Art. Katherine Briggs' piece, Toad Island, was a school selection for this prestigious event, and her framed art is on display there through the end of this month. Thank you, Katherine, for representing CEMS.


Toad Island by Katherine Briggs

Gretchen McCloy asked me to forward this information to families.

SPECIAL PARENT EVENT ON THE IMPACT OF MEDIA

Raising Healthy Sons and Daughters
March 16 from 6:00-8:30
Cape Middle School Multi-Purpose Room

Wonder what the impact of unhealthy media messages about gender, relationships, respect and sexuality are having on our children? Join Megan Williams, Executive Director of Hardy Girls, Healthy Women and Jeff Morrill, Program Coordinator at Boys to Men as we explore the media that middle school aged kids are exposed to and how to use it to talk with your own sons and daughters.
Contact gretchen.mccloy@cape.k12.me.us for more information.

Thanks, Gretchen.

As previously noted in this blog, four of Alison Hawkes' seventh grade writers were recognized for their pieces entered into the Southern Maine Writing Project competition, in association with the Alliance for Young Artiists and Writers and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the Scholastic Writing Awards for the Maine Region. I promised to get hold of copies of the four students' works for publication, so here they are. Enjoy!

The Sisters

Hannah Preble

“So…” a language arts teacher mumbled haltingly in his soft voice.

“We are going to read the results,” he said louder, clapping his small white hands in vain attempt to direct the class’s attention towards him. Finally, when everyone was relatively quiet, he started talking in his annoying grating voice that reminded most people in the small classroom of nails grinding on a chalkboard.

“I hope all of you children remember our contest four weeks ago,” Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise without taking her eyes off the book laid in her lap.

What contest? She thought skeptically, and reluctantly took her eyes of her book to see what her language arts teacher was going on about.

“The contest?” he was probing angrily, because other students besides Rose were expressing surprise and doubt.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about the contest? The one you entered in hopes of winning a scholarship…” Mr. Bar’s grainy voice slowly stopped with pleasure when he saw his students nodding their heads with understanding. One student even went so far as to ask for the results.

“So I have the results here, “ Mr. Bar went on is his horribly breathy voice, waving a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He stared with the small watery eyes of a rat at Rose, and a small scary smile pulled up at the corners of his mouth. Rose turned away, disgusted.

“The winners from the United States of America are… Michelle More from Alabama, Gregory Malice from Delaware, Brianna Banner from Colorado, and for the last and final winner… Rolaz, no, I mean Rosen…” as Mr. Barstruggled to pronounce a evidently hard name on the paper, Rose and a few other of her classmates directed their attention back on books on their laps, or on planes flying by out the window. But when Mr. Bar managed to pronounce the name correctly all of their eyes fixated upon him in amazement.

“Rosénz…that’s it… Caldwell from our own state of Vermont!” he finally said. Rose’s book dropped out of her hands onto the floor. Mr. Bar was walking toward her with that creepy half smile, his hands out stretched as if to hug her. Even in her bewilderment, Rose managed to scoot away from his white thick fingers.

“You never told me your real name, Rosénz,” Mr. Bar said, sounding confidential and scarily secretive.

“Well…” Rose muttered awkwardly, twisting in her chair to get away from him.

What? I never expected to win the writing contest! What are you talking about? This must be a joke! Rose thought as she muttered her “well…”.

“WOW! Our own little Rose won a nationwide writing contest and won a scholarship!” Mr. Bar exclaimed. Yes… I know …thought Rose, sarcasm coming through despite her enormous disbelief.

“Yes… I know…” she muttered out loud, a small grin appearing on her face.

As Rose walked home from school, she thought everything out. Earlier that month, Mr. Bar had made them free write for class. At the end of class, he told them that the piece of writing would be entered into a nationwide contest. The winner would receive a scholarship to a very good writing school.And now, I’ve just won…Rose thought happily to herself.

Rose was a sophomore in high school, and even with a year left until college time, she was starting to get antsy. The guarantee of acceptance into one of the best schools in the country lifted a substantial load off of Rose’s shoulders. She was just breaking into a run to tell her mother the amazing news, when something rammed into her backpack.

Rose spun around in surprise and uttered a small shriek. Clinging onto her backpack was a girl, looking as if she was feeling the exact opposite of Rose’s feelings.

“Mara, oh my…” Rose’s voice trailed to sad, small, confused close. She took the girl in her arms and could feel the distressed shaking of her twin sister, Mara. Mara looked horrible. Tears streaked down her face and she was as pale as a piece of paper, and trembling like a leaf. The twins stood together for a moment, one supporting the other, and muffled sobs emerged. Finally, Rose gently held Mara out in front of her and asked the question in her mind.

“What happened to you Mara?” she asked as a few late teas straggled down her sister’s face. Attempting to compose herself, Mara pushed a strand of hair out of her face and took a large, calming breath.

“O.K.”, she muttered softly, “Let’s walk.”The two sisters slowly started walking down the street, arm in arm.

“I failed a math test,” Mara said in a rush, and more tears fell from her blue eyes.

Rose looked confused but posed her next question.

“I hate to say it Mar, but you never cared about failing tests. What made this one matter?”

“I got a ZERO!” Mara wailed, and buried her head in Rose’s shoulder. Rose tried to hold back a little gasp of surprise, but failed.

“I know!” Mara screamed, “How could I get a zero?” she continued quietly, wiping tears off of her face and looking as if she was done with her rant for the time being.

“I’m so sorry Mar,” Rose started, but Mara interrupted her.

“Do not be sorry for me. I will do it over and not fail this time!” Mara whispered with passion.

That night was not a good night for Mara. After getting yelled at by her parents, she was sent up to her room to contemplate on her many mistakes. Mara’s naturally rebellious attitude caused her to defend herself and “talk back” to her parents and get her in even more trouble. Up in her room, she was brushing her long red hair angrily with a battered brush. Occasionally she muttered inaudible angry statements at her parents, but knew all the blame rested on her shoulders, and it felt terrible. Sure, she had gotten bad grades before, but never a zero. She flopped back on her bed and groaned inwardly at her own failure. How in the world could I get all the questions wrong? She asked herself furiously, before heaving a sob and crying heavily. Through the thin wall, Rose could hear her twin moaning about grades and teachers, but most importantly, collage.

Rose was having an equally bad night. An idea had fluttered into her head right before she got into bed, and now she was tossing and turning in bed, arguing with herself.

What am I thinking? I won fair and square! But she is so bad… I’ll have no trouble getting into any collage I want to, but Mara… NO! I won it’s mine? Rose’s angry statements were sounding more and more like questions in her head, and she tried again, in vain, to shut her eyes and fall off into sleep. But as hard as she tried, she could not fall asleep. Fine, I’ll tell her in the morning. Rose thought after hours more of inner debating.

She’ll be so happy… good thing I haven’t told mom and dad… Rose’s thinking was getting foggy as sleep crept in, and her conscience was guilt free. So happy… She thought, and fell asleep.

Mara woke up in a cold sweat. Her dreams were all about collage. Rose was graduating, wearing the traditional black hat with gold tassel. Mara was standing in the audience, looking beautiful as always, but she was alone, brainless and feeling stupid. She had flunked out of community collage, and was standing among such smart people.

Her green eyes were wide and crazily small pupiled. When a soft knock echoed on her door, she jumped with surprise.

Rose got up as soon as the sun rose, and grabbed the small creamy envelope that her teacher had given her after Language arts class. After running to her sister’s room, she knocked hesitantly on the door.

“Come in!” Mara said shakily, composing herself and calming herself before her family member came in. Rose stepped through the door and sat down on the bed next to her sister’s feet.

“Mar… I…” Rose blushed prettily, and inexplicably, Mara felt a burst of pure anger.

“If you came in here to mock my lack of a brain, just go.” Mara said hotly, turning over in her bed. Rose looked somewhat taken back, but continued stubbornly.

“Mara, listen to me, I have a scholarship that I am going to give to you.”

Mara stayed in her bed, back to Rose for half of a second, then jumped up on to her knees and looked incredulously at Rose.

“I won a writing contest… and… well, I want to give the award to you, because I will not have any trouble getting into any collage I want but you…will have a bit of trouble.”

Tears were streaming down Mara’s face, and her heart was beating fast. She flung herself into her sister’s arms and choked out sob after sob.

“Thank you Rose, thank you so, so much… I love you,” she added tearily as an afterthought, hugging her beloved sister.

Why Homework Doesn’t Help

by Lily Jordan

I used to believe in homework, too. I joined the other kids in complaining about it and begging the teachers for “no homework tonight”, but deep down I knew that homework was helping me learn. After all, my parents and teachers all said so. And with all those worksheets and reading logs, I had to be learning something. I was a good student; I wasn’t one of those rebellious, “bad” kids who thought homework really was pointless. Besides, I thought, it must be a good thing if so many schools all over the country agree that it works. Right?

Then I started middle school. All of a sudden, it wasn’t so easy anymore. There were quizzes, tests, and grades, and there was lots more homework. I was constantly forgetting or losing things. It was hard to get good grades because it was so much more difficult to keep up with the homework. I dreaded going home after a long day at school and sitting down to start even more worksheets and reading. But of course, I wouldn’t learn as well without homework. Or at least that’s what I thought until I was about eleven. That was when I started doing some reading on the subject, and found that the arguments used to justify homework, for the most part, didn’t make sense. I had assumed that to be a “good” student, I had to like homework, but now I realized that homework really wasn’t helping me. And it wasn’t helping the millions of other kids across the country who had to do it, too.

Teachers and parents who support homework claim that homework reinforces skills and provides time for learning that would not be available otherwise. But what exactly do they mean by “reinforcing skills”? If students know, for example, how to do long division, then what will they learn from doing a whole page of problems? And if they don’t how to divide, either they won’t be able to complete the homework or they’ll do every problem the wrong way. And if students only partly understand the concept, repeating the process over and over does nothing to help them learn the rest. On the other hand, doing the same work in school would give the students an opportunity to ask the teacher for help when they’re having trouble. It’s unfair to put that burden on parents – after all, they’re paying taxes so the school can teach their children.

The argument that “there’s not enough time in class to teach everything without assigning homework” also seems unfair, when you think about it. After all, students are in school 6 to 7 hours a day. That should be long enough for kids to learn what they need to learn, without having to take school home with them. Kids who get home at 3:00 and go to bed at 9 only have about 3 hours to themselves if you include time spent eating dinner, doing chores, and getting ready for bed. Yet many schools are taking 1 or 2 hours, or even all, of that time away. Even if you go by the 10-minutes-per-grade-level rule, that would still only leave 1 hour and 50 minutes of free time for a 7th grader like me. And that time is quickly filled with other activities: sports practices and games, practicing an instrument, playing with pets, working on projects, and much more. Clearly homework is taking up too much time, to the point where kids don’t have free time anymore. By assigning homework, schools don’t respect their students’ right to their own lives outside of school. What right do they have to tell kids what to do with their free time?

Many people think that homework, no matter what problems it causes, is still necessary because of the learning benefits it provides. This common belief is actually not supported by the evidence. There is no conclusive proof that homework definitely helps students to learn. Studies that show students who do their homework get better grades and score better on tests prove nothing about the value of the homework, since homework assignments make up a large part of the grade, and tests evaluate how well students know material that was on the homework. One study by researchers at Penn State University found that students who did the best on international standardized tests came from countries where kids are assigned less homework than in the United States. And even if homework did help kids learn, it wouldn’t necessarily be the most effective or the least stressful way. So why do teachers still assign it?

Some believe homework teaches students nonacademic skills such as time management and good work habits. But the question is, how? Forcing kids to manage their time doesn’t teach them how; it only ends up in frustration and feeling like a failure if they can’t get it all done. And if they do finish, what is their reward? Nothing. Besides, if kids have bad study habits in the first place ­– waiting until the last minute, not concentrating, failing to plan ahead – these are exactly what homework will reinforce.

Some people say completing homework gives kids a sense of accomplishment, but who are they to say what we get a sense of? By the time I’m done with my homework, I’m too exhausted to have a sense of accomplishment. And if learning time management is the goal of homework, then why are parents encouraged to “set up a time for your child to do homework every day” and “make sure your child’s homework gets done”? The inevitable nagging and battles over homework create conflict in families and certainly don’t teach kids important values.

Not only is homework ineffective, it also has negative effects on kids. When teachers talk about all the academic benefits of homework, they forget about the stress it causes students. The idea that “if you’ve done all the homework you were supposed to, there’s nothing to worry about” doesn’t make sense. For one thing, after I’ve completed my homework– and there must be lots of other kids who feel this way – I always have a nagging feeling that I forgot something, even when I’ve checked to make sure I’ve gotten everything done. There’s no way of being completely sure if you’ve done everything you were supposed to. And if I suddenly realize (too late) that I completely forgot about the homework in some class, I get stressed out and worry about it all day before that class. When kids come to class without their homework, instead of trying to solve the problem or at least find out why they don’t have it, the teacher punishes or admonishes them. I’ve even seen kids humiliated in front of the whole class. Fear of being punished is one of the biggest causes of stress associated with homework.

Even if students aren’t in danger of being punished, they can still be stressed out and not do as well. The reason is that they are encouraged to focus on getting a good grade rather than learning. Homework forces students to concentrate on doing well instead of on what they are actually doing. Studies have proven that people don’t learn well when their main focus is how well they are performing. When they are immersed in what they are learning, however, they retain the knowledge and skills better.

Homework causes unnecessary stress and takes kids’ free time away from them, but the worst part is that it jeopardizes their natural love of learning. No matter what schools say, there is no need to “build a love of learning” because it is already there. Instead, teachers and parents should make their best effort to make sure kids don’t associate learning with boredom, frustration, and stress. Because that’s just what homework is helping kids do.

The Bereft Girl & The Coon Cat

by Alexandra Carrington

Stupid vivid, wide green eyes and adorable, pink nose. Idiotic cat, I thought to myself, regarding the dreadful house pet as though it were an oath. I glared at the curious creature standing uncertainly by my opened door.Adopting a cat on Halloween must be a bad sign, I mused as I dabbled my older sister’s scarlet rouge around my mouth to make it appear as though it were blood for my vampire costume. The cat meowed, as though begging permission to enter. I tossed in the plastic fangs and hissed at her, but she sauntered in anyway. I sighed as I looked down, feeling my angry façade dissipate and my sad self emerge, reminding myself of why I so hated this cat.

It all started on one day in early September, a little after school had started and I’d begun sixth grade. My dog Layla, a mahogany King Cavalier Charles spaniel, was acting strangely, and everyone at our house was trying to figure out what was wrong. When my mother was leaning down to pet her… it happened. Layla bit her hand. Hard. I’d been walking past her to reach the staircase when I heard her scream. I stood frozen paralyzed with fear. The next hour passed and came slowly, each moment stinging, every tick of the clock a scarring scald. The words of my mother crying and my older brother Anthony trying to calm her, telling her that it really wasn’t that bad, and my mother’s final, sure statement of, “That damn dog goes. Soon.”

The next thing I know, some strange woman wearing a sweater with multiple cartoon cavaliers is gingerly prying Layla out of my arms and I’m crying and shaking my head fervently, begging someone to please have some sense and let her stay with me. Then I’m standing by the front door and watching the woman place Layla in a cage in the back of her car, and Layla’s holding her paws up against the cage and whimpering, facing me. The woman pulls her car out of the driveway, and Layla’s frightened, worried face, it pulls me toward her and I’m running after that car, my heart beating fast. The car goes faster down the road and soon I’m falling behind and the car begins to grow farther away and all I can see is Layla, Layla, Layla. I fell to my knees, broken.

Months passed. The first few were… difficult. I stayed in my room all of the time, only coming out to eat and go to school. I hardly talked to anyone, and became incredibly introverted and withdrawn, whereas I used to be more of the bubbly sort. My mother wanted to make amends, but I was still feeling stubbornly bitter. It took a long time for me to get better, but bit-by-bit, I did. Just when I’d felt I was back, almost all the way back to my old self, what should my mother do but adopt a cat? Is she trying to crush me?

My mother said that while she was babysitting for an old friend of hers, she saw the lady shoving all of her pets into boxes to be dropped off at the Animal Refuge League. This lady already had a rep for recklessly, impulsively buying pets. She bought five birds only to set them into the wild when she got bored with them, three dogs that she had for years only to give them away, a put bull mix named Dakota that she kept for three months, and a bunny that she gave away when she learned it had a teeth disease. And she didn’t really treat them that nice, either. The most blatant and horrifying case of how bad she is with pets was the Puppy Incident, as I dubbed it. She had two dogs, one an unfriendly adult and one a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed puppy. She put them both in the dog cage and went shopping for hours. When she came back, there was only one dog living.

So, there my mother was, watching her in horror as she piled pet after pet into the Refuge boxes. One of the animals kept popping her head out, and the lady had to keep taping it back down as the animal struggled to free herself. My mother tried to look away, but she couldn’t resist and turned to face the animal. She was a cat, a Maine Coon Cat, a mix of mahogany, burnt sienna and coal black with eyes as jagged and majestic as emeralds. And she looked miserable. The image of her face was burnt into my mother’s mind, it would never leave. With that image in her mind, mother watched the woman and all of her pets drive away to meet much happier and healthier fates.

Well, she hoped that was the case.But it wasn’t good enough. Would the cat’s new owner take her of like she deserved? Or would the new owner be the same as her previous one? She couldn’t stop thinking. What if the cat got an even worse owner? Would she be held responsible for the cat’s gloomy fate? After lots of thinking and planning, my mother came to a verdict; she would get that cat.The next day, she got the lady who had so carelessly given the cat and all of her pets away to drive her up to the Refuge League. When she arrived and told the workers that she would like to adopt a particular cat, she learned that she had to take a test to see if their personalities were compatible. My mother hadn’t known about this test, and she answered carefully, knowing that one wrong answer could ruin everything she’d anticipated. Thankfully, she passed and soon the new cat was home.

With the cat’s impatient meow, my reverie faded and I was soon snapped back into reality, to my room illuminated by the warm afternoon sun and the plastic hanging out of my mouth. The cat jumped on my bed, and I set the rouge down and removed the fangs. Tentatively petting her.

“We’ll make an odd pair. A bereft girl and a coon cat,” I chuckled to my self as the words came out, they sounded so unusual and so true.

“I can’t hate you,” I murmured resignedly as she purred. “But you’re name really is stupid, you know.”

Cee Cee Isabella. That was her name. Her previous owner’s four year-old daughter named her, and my mother felt it would’ve been wrong to change her name after five years of being called that.

She gathered herself up from my bed, jumped down and walked stiffly, staunchly away, her tail held high and her hair standing up. Before she left the room completely, I saw her hold half of her face by the door, one eye facing me, and she winked. That is to say, she blinked one eye at me, but I just knew that was a wink. It had to be; there was no other explanation.

And in that moment I knew we would be that odd pair. The bereft girl would stop feeling so bereft with the help of her trusty coon cat. They would be okay.

Christmas Pictures

by Ethan Murphy

“Ughhh, seriously mom!” I was yelling from my bed.

It was too early for this, way too early.

“Ethan get down here, put on this shirt and let’s go. We’re already late!”

Half stumbling, half being forcefully dragged by an iron fist of my mom’s, I made my way into the kitchen and put on the dress shirt she had picked out.

“C’mon Mom this shirt sucks, give me something I’ll wear.”

“You’ll wear that shirt you’ll like it!” My mom angrily replied.

She seemed to be in a stressful state of mind so I lay off for the moment. However, I had a never-ending list of complaints waiting to be let loose. When I saw the pants she had in store for me I couldn’t hold off.

“Mom, it is 7:30 in the morning, it’s a Saturday, I had a basketball game last night, it’s freezing cold outside and Christmas isn’t for over a month, we can take the pictures any other day but for God’s sake not today!”

‘So much for holding off’ I thought. This was the latest episode of Christmas pictures we have every year. I always dread this day because I seem to always end up upset and punished before the day is over. Believe me, I try to cooperate but the camera lady is just so demanding and it’s just so tiring to follow her every command. We drove down the rocky beach up the street from my house. It did look good this early in the morning; still I didn’t think it was worth the price I was paying.

Five minutes in and I was already sick of the lady.

“Can you smile more dear?” She asked politely although she couldn’t hide the annoyance on her face.

I over-forced a smile and received a frown from the lady. “Don’t overdue it dear.”

I tried again to smile in the terrible condition I was in. I think she appreciated it more because this time the camera actually snapped. One thing I didn’t quite understand was why I was told to hold the pose for three minutes while she took three hundred pictures. Then she said something that almost grabbed an explicit word out of my mouth and threw it directly at the camera lady.

“Dear, you can’t shiver it ruins the texture of the picture. O dear we’ll have to retake all of them.”

“Mom-m-m-m-mmmmmmm,” I said entirely fed up. “I shivered cause it’s freaking twenty-five degrees and apparently we have to start allllll over again.”

“Then don’t shiver, duh.”

I wanted to kill her.

This was the first major dispute of the day. Throughout the next three hours, that’s right three hours, I continued to pose and have my picture taken. There was one pose where I was asked to lay down on very sharp rocks. My first response was no.

“You’re going to unless you want to lose some privileges.” Was my Mom’s response.

So that ended this argument as well as most of the conflicts between my parents and I. The only smile I could fake for that pose was a painful one. It wasn’t a great smile and guess who pointed that out within the second.

“Work with me dear, try not to look like you’re in pain.” Said the camera lady.

I winced as I adjusted my leg to shift in to a more comfortable position on the pointy boulder. The smile cam easier now and I relaxed as the wind ceased blowing. The camera lady seemed pleased of the progress we were making.

“Very good, Very good,” She yelled with enthusiasm. “Keep this up and you won’t find yourself here much longer.”

I wanted to reply or act excited but kept the position frozen for the fear of shivering and screwing the lady up yet again.

Throughout this whole event one thought had been sitting in the back of mind. What was the point of taking hundreds of photos of one pose, then having 10 different poses to photograph. Do I really need that many photos? What was the point of it? Why take so many? Surely we don't have enough relatives to send photos to. Is it because they need the perfect photo? I think one of the pictures would suffice out of all that have been taken.

I pondered these thoughts as I was ordered to lean against a rock and once again force a smile. The sun was almost directly above me so I figured we were finishing up.

“Very good dear, very good dear,” Said the camera lady, “Keep this up and we’ll be finished soon.”

“Not soon enough,” I thought in my head.

I watched as my Mom looked through the album. Her expression constantly changed from a smile to a frown as she eyed the quality of the pictures. Then after about five minutes of viewing the roll of way too many photos, my Mom broke into a humongous smile.

“I want that one,” She said enthusiastically.

“You don’t want to see the others?” Asked the camera lady.

“Nope, this is perfect,” My mom responded.

That’s when I realized why I had to sit there for so long. The reason I posed in many uncomfortable positions. My Mom was extremely proud of me. She wanted all of our relatives to see her child. She needed the absolute perfect picture, and I think she just found it. So even though I had to wake vigorously early, suffer in the cold for hours and lean on rocks that jabbed into my skin in different directions. It was all because she wanted to portray me as best she could. On the drive back I actually thanked her for putting me through that.

We have a "snack shack" in the gym lobby that has recently undergone a face lift. Trish Brigham offered to lead students in an effort to clean and repaint the room. Students created different motifs for the space and then voted on suggestions. The winning design for the new "Cape Cafe" can be seen in the picture below. The following students contributed their after school and weekend time to clean and paint the room: fifth graders Hannah Bosworth, Mariah Deschino, Olivia Clifford, Julia Lennon, and eighth graders Mary Perkins, Zoe Gillies, and Emma O'Rourke. Thanks to Trish for her leadership and financing of the operation, to Bernie Shannon for his painting tips and expertise, to our custodial staff for helping with clean up, and to paint suppliers Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams who provided materials at cost.





present for picture: Emma, Olivia, Julia, and Mary

January 7, 2010 CEMS BMX Biker Presentation

On Wednesday evening, January 6, seven contestants met in the library for the annual middle school spelling bee. With Mr. Connolly as beemaster and Mrs. Benoit and Mr. Atwood as judges, the spellers displayed great composure and poise as they navigated through a list of words guaranteed to frustrate even the best of spellers. Contestants Brooke Lomma, Madi Connolly, Jimmy Salerno, Heather Chase, Nick Shedd, Lily Jordan, and Alex Mukai all viednobly with one another, with Lily pulling out her second consecutive win, and Alex and Nick finishing second and third respectively.
Both Lily and Alex will compete in the Cumberland County Bee at Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth on February 2. We wish both of them the best of luck.

The MSPA subcommittee of "outdoor experiences" has raised enough funds through the Clynk bottle drive, combined with CEEF grants, that ensures the current sixth grade will attend Chewonki this spring. Congratulations to MR. Record's class for leading the bottle collection drive. That class wins a Chinese New Year's event that is scheduled for this Friday.

The MSPA is also working to support a fifth grade trip to Boston for the Freedom Trail experience. Once more information is available for this event, I'll send them along.

Another fundraiser the MSPA is working on to support other events is Hannaford gift cards. Click the pdf icon below to see the flier explaining how that works: