Yarmouth girls to represent Maine in national history contest

Annie Bergeron, Nori Schneider, Kate Sahagian and Alex Ericson from Frank H. Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth have been selected to represent Maine in the 2019 National History Day national contest.

The event will take place from June 9-13 at the University of Maryland, College Park, near Washington, D.C.  

History Day is a nationally recognized academic enrichment program promoting the study of history in schools. The program encourages students to take a creative approach to the study of history. The 2019 theme, “Triumph and Tragedy” was reflected by the Yarmouth students through the topic of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The students specifically questioned whether the triumph that came from ending the war was worth the lives lost.

Greely High students take part in French exchange

For two weeks in April, 16 Greely High School students lived with their host families and experienced French in an authentic setting.

The Lycée Schuré in Barr, France, played host to the Greely students with whom they stayed last October.

The following students took part in the exchange program: Samantha Bright, Stephanie Bruder, Abby Civiello, Ben Cloutier, Grant Dresnok, Olivia Giandrea, Ben Hall, Audrey Hankinson, Isabella Hendry, Marissa Hutchins, Meaghan McBreairty, William Nicholson, Timothy Ostergaard, Maria Paquin,  Katherine Simmons and Matthew Smith. They were chaperoned by parent Karen Bruder, and French teachers Kimberly MacDonald and Evan Mainois.

After a brief visit to Paris and experiencing the fire at La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, the group headed east to region of Alsace to meet up with their French exchange partners. Among the highlights in Alsace, was a visit to the Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, the cities of Selestat, Colmar and Riquewihr, the living history museum of Alsace, the historic city of Strasbourg, and a visit across the German border to Freiberg. In addition, host parents provided many opportunities to visit points of interest in the Rhine River Valley during the culturally important Easter weekend. This was the third successful exchange between Lycée Schuré and Greely High School.

Falmouth students go all-out for the Earth

Students at Falmouth Elementary School spent the week between Earth Day and Arbor Day, April 22-26, learning about everyday steps they could take to help protect the environment.

The project was headed by the Falmouth Land Trust, which commissioned a special Earth Ball sculpture by local artist Bevin Holmberg to help interest and inspire the students to take part.

As part of the Earth Ball project, students were encouraged to write down actions that ranged from picking up litter to composting.

Kate Nicoll, the education and outreach coordinator for the land trust, said the students who put in the most slips of paper would be featured in the trust’s upcoming newsletter. The winners were first graders Lilah Roux and Samuel Frances, second grader Caroline Cotsifas and fourth graders Elsa Sullivan and Quinn Hurley.

“I wanted to create a project that inspired and empowered students to practice ways they could individually care for the Earth and the environment within Falmouth every day,” Nicoll said about the impetus behind the Earth Ball venture.

“We believe Earth day is a great time for (the land trust) to talk about sustainability and conservation,” she added.

Through the Earth Ball project, Nicoll said the goal was to encourage students to engage in “behavior-changing tasks.”

A quartet of girls from Frank H. Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth will be representing the state of Maine at a national history contest in Washington, D.C, in June. From left are Annie Bergeron, Nori Schneider, Kate Sahagian and Alex Ericson.

Students at Greely High School in Cumberland visited France this spring as part of a student exchange program. The French students traveled to Maine in October.