Lyseth a close-knit school thanks to local woman

One Portland woman has taken up her knitting needles to help meet the need for warm mittens to help low-income children at Lyseth Elementary School. Through a collaboration with the Rotary Club of Portland, Joan Steinberg knit more than 100 pairs of mittens for the school this year with yarn donated by Rotarians.

In honor of her work, the Rotary Club of Portland presented Steinberg with the Paul Harris Fellow Award on Dec. 17 to commemorate her generosity and annual effort to furnish mittens to children in need, help set up donations, and relay Rotary’s mission and message to the public.

The Paul Harris Fellow Award acknowledges individuals who have made contributions of $1,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. It was established in 1957 to show appreciation and encourage giving.

Steinberg has knit about 900 pairs of mittens for the past eight years to donate to local children. She averages more than 100 pairs per year, and takes four hours to knit each pair. If her total hours spent knitting are calculated using a 40-hour work week, Steinburg has dedicated nearly two years to knitting mittens.

St. Brigid’s students share the joy 

A METRO bus looked more like a toy store than a means of transportation, thanks to students, faculty and staff at St. Brigid School in Portland.

On Dec.15, as part of CBS channel 13’s Joy of Sharing Campaign, the school donated hundreds of toys, which will be given to the Salvation Army for distribution to children in Maine this Christmas.

“I brought an Etch-a-Sketch and a jewelry set because these kids deserve to have a nice Christmas, no matter what their financial situation is,” said eighth-grader Danielle Whyte.

“I participated because some kids who are not as fortunate as us need toys,” said Jack Kingsley, a fifth-grader who donated a puzzle.

“I brought a motorized truck, so kids can have fun that are less fortunate than us,” said Noah Veroneau, who is also in fifth grade.

All grade levels, from preschool to grade eight, helped stuff the METRO toy bus. While at first it seemed like it would be a challenge to fill the entire bus, by the time the children were done, seat after seat was piled high with board games and books, baby dolls and Barbies, Play-Doh and puzzles, stuffed animals, Star Wars items and more.

“I brought a LEGO set because it’s educational and fills their imagination,”said Antonina Glisic, another fifth-grader.

Stuffing the METRO toy bus has become a tradition at Saint Brigid School that students have participated in for at least five years.

“The students are very enthusiastic about it,” said Principal William Burke.

“We’re fortunate. We’re able to have a nice Christmas, but other people aren’t able to give their children nice things for Christmas, so it’s a good cause,” said eighth-grader Olivine Harvey. 

Casco Bay High School Honor Rolls

The following students at Casco Bay High School demonstrated academic excellence during the first trimester and earned a place on the honor rolls.

Grade 9

High Honors

Elsa DiGiovanni, Abigail Dunnigan, Ella Ferguson, Gabriel Gomez, Siri Pierce

Honor Roll

Satchel Butterfield, Lily Carrigan, Oliver Compton, William Cunningham, Uther Dadaleares, Lucia Daranyi, Arun Devon, Lorien Fish, Luca Germon, Zack Hager, Simon Hale, Brianna Holston, Elijah Kahn, Khang Le, Khiana Le, Isabella Levine, Heros Lunjwire, Chelsea Mauridi, Halim Moldaver, Kyle Nelson, Alexander Pariseau, Samira Sharif, Johan Sifa-Ramazani, Coburn Sniper, Isaac Tabb, James Taylor, Fiona Twombly-Hussey, Sophie Urey, Savanah Wales, Adam Wendell-Pearson, Elias Zelonish.

Habits of Work 

Lokiron Anda, Carlin Bliss, Satchel Butterfield, Lily Carrigan, Alexandro Collings-Rico, Oliver Compton, Rebecca Coughlin, William Cunningham, Lucia Daranyi, Arun Devon, Elsa DiGiovanni, Abigail Dunnigan, Julie Eglinton, Ava Fard, Ella Ferguson, Lorien Fish, Luca Germon, Gabriel Gomez, Zack Hager, Simon Hale, Matthew Hand, Fatuma Hassan, Brianna Holston, Elijah Kahn, Khang Le, Khiana Le, Isabella Levine, Heros Lunjwire, Natasha Malia, Chelsea Mauridi, Fatuma Mohamed, Halim Moldaver, Zanayah Moore-Simms, Atak Natali, Kyle Nelson, Kelly Nibayubahe, Alexander Pariseau, Margaret Paterniti, Siri Pierce, Joshua Shunk, Johan Sifa-Ramazani, Coburn Sniper, Alexis Sprague, Isaac Tabb, James Taylor, Fiona Twombly-Hussey, Sophie Urey, Savanah Wales, Adam Wendell-Pearson, Elias Zelonish

Grade 10

High Honors

Grace Cowie, Mason Davis, Anne Dodson, Gabrielle Dumas, Eve Fischer, Evelyn Ford, Noah Gill, Francesca Houran, Phoebe Kolbert, Yifu Liu, Raizel McNally, Sophia Nolan, Lucy Oster, Grace Rynkowski, Ava Spach, Liam Swift, Anna Tierney-Fife, Elinor Tierney-Fife, Douglas Wagner

Honor Roll

Mouna Abdelkader, Aliocha Bobe, Gwenllian Carhart, Ava Clifford, Grace Deng, Frances Eder, Ethan Haapala, Eli Haskell, Imtithal Hassan, Francis Healy, Emma Hersey-Powers, Joana Izabayo, Phoebe King, Mandy Mastropasqua, Olivia Mitchell, Vincent Mohan, Adamo Nitunga, Samuel Nkurunziza, Oumalkaire Omar, Anna Power-Rokowski, Justin Reid, Charles Rooks, Anthony Troiano, Thomas Victor, Oriana Waldren, Doki Yanga, Pita Yanga

Habits of Work

Mouna Abdelkader, Kazi Ali, Justin Anderson, Gwenllian Carhart, Ava Clifford, Grace Cowie, Mason Davis, Grace Deng, Chloe Dennis, Anne Dodson, Sascha Drice, Gabrielle Dumas, Frances Eder, Eve Fischer, Evelyn Ford, Noah Gill, Ethan Haapala, Imtithal Hassan, Emma Hersey-Powers, Francesca Houran, Joana Izabayo, Phoebe King, Phoebe Kolbert, Yifu Liu, Owen Mason, Raizel McNally, Wesley Miller, Adamo Nitunga, Samuel Nkurunziza, Sophia Nolan, Lucy Oster, Grace Rynkowski, Quentin Smith, Ava Spach, Anna Tierney-Fife, Elinor Tierney-Fife, Anthony Troiano, Tiana Urey, Thomas Victor, Douglas Wagner, Oriana Waldren, Doki Yanga, Pita Yanga

Grade 11

High Honors

Maria Gagnon, Althea Kastelic, Alice Kenny, Zach Le, Jacob Libby, Jonah Peterson, Selena Sillari, Elizabeth Thompson, Martha Thompson, Nasteho Youssouf

Honor Roll

Morgan Aponte-Clarke, Daniel Baker, Samuel Clifford, Charlie Compton, Jacob Dunnigan, Tamara Duvnjak, Madison Ellingsworth, Jair Granados, Julia Hansen, Elinor Hilton, Leticia Iteka, Maeve Leclair, Melissa Liang, Zexuan Liang, Carlee Michaud, Zoleka Mngqibisa, Rocio Perez, Olivia Reale-Hatem, Bethany Rozzi, Evan Thaxter, Rosalie Turner, Jenna Whitten,

Habits of Work

Morgan Aponte-Clarke, Daniel Baker, John Carpenter, Caroline Corbeau, Georgia Denison, Jacob Dunnigan, Tamara Duvnjak, Madison Ellingsworth, Maria Gagnon, Julia Hansen, Elinor Hilton, Ray Intwari, Leticia Iteka, Althea Kastelic, Alice Kenny, Zach Le, Maeve Leclair, Melissa Liang, Zexuan Liang, Jacob Libby, Mazie Linsmith, Carlee Michaud, Zoleka Mngqibisa, Steff Niwemutoni, Rocio Perez, Jonah Peterson, Egypt Pooler, Olivia Reale-Hatem, Bethany Rozzi, Selena Sillari, Evan Thaxter, Elizabeth Thompson, Martha Thompson, Rosalie Turner, Jenna Whitten, Nasteho Youssouf

Grade 12

High Honors

Frances Bliss, Fan-Tai Bridges, Grace Callahan, Skyler Cummings, Connor Doane, Kobi Eng, Shalynn Fielder, Esme Howland, Sophia Leavitt, Liva Pierce, Jane Rooks, Rosemary Santoro, Emma Schwartz, Jasper Sommer, Matthew Suslovic, Lucy Tabb, Grace Victor

Honor Roll

Hafsa Abdi, Samira Ahmed, Zakariya Ahmed, Kiera Badger, Saule Bukauskas, Aidan Carter, Meghana Clere, Zoe Coffin, Helen Cunningham, Marcos Edgar, Anna Hall, Vene Hashimoto, Arthur Johnson, Matice Maino, John McGeoghegan, Rebecca Mukeshimana, Luciana Santerre, Phoebe Scott, Luca Serio, Thomas Shadis, Thomas Sheils, Wyeth Spike, Jonah Woodbury

Habits of Work

Hafsa Abdi, Hayia Al-Rifaie, Kiera Badger, Frances Bliss, Fan-Tai Bridges, Grace Callahan, Meghana Clere,

Zoe Coffin, Skyler Cummings, Conor Doane, Marcos Edgar, Kevin Goodoak, Sigrid Harmon, Vene Hashimoto, Esme Howland, Arthur Johnson, Sophia Leavitt, Nathania McClellan, Rebecca Mukeshimana, Bride Ntwari, Liva Pierce, Jane Rooks, Rosemary Santoro, Emma Schwartz, Luca Serio, Matthew Suslovic, Lucy Tabb, Grace Victor

Lenore Williams, principal of Lyseth School, with Joan Steinberg, who was presented with the Paul Harris Fellow Award by the Rotary Club of Portland for her generosity and annual effort to furnish mittens to children in need.