Warriors charge into volunteer work

Members of the Southern Maine Warriors basketball team visited the Maine Veteran’s Home in Scarborough Nov. 7 to volunteer in several different ways. Some of the boys swept the courtyard, washed windows and rake and bagged leaves. Others visited and played bingo with residents.

When the tasks were completed and the team enjoyed refreshments, the players who visited residents shared their experiences. The players who worked outside asked if they could come back so they, too, could visit the residents.

After hearing that the Home collects bottles and cans to provide food and clothing to the needy, the team voted to donate a portion of the bottles it had collected to the Home.

Participating Warriors included Nolan Thomas, John Nappi, Simon Dion, TJ Thibodeau, Chris Cimino, Kyle Durgin, Matt Francoeur, Spike Curtis and Evan Morgan. The boys are all eighth-graders at Scarborough Middle School.

The Southern Maine Warriors are an eighth-grade boys travel basketball team/community service organization which plays AAU level basketball in the Boy’s and Girl’s Club league in Portland. The Warriors held an event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in late August and assisted Project G.R.A.C.E. last week with its Trivia Bee fundraiser. The team has two more events over the holidays with Project G.R.A.C.E. and will be shoveling hydrants in neighborhoods around Scarborough when snow flies.

Learn more about the team by liking The Southern Maine Warriors on Facebook or by emailing warriorbasketball@maine.rr.com Returnable bottle donations for the Southern Maine Warriors can be dropped off at Beach Beverage across from Cascade Flea Market at 937 US Route 1.

Sea scholars honored

A Cape Elizabeth student twice was recognized when the Maine Maritime Academy held its annual Academic Achievement Awards banquet Nov. 5 to honor  scholarly accomplishments by students and the service of faculty members.

Elin Sonesson was named a Scheel Scholar, a fund established in honor of the late Henry A. Scheel of Rockport, who was one of America’s most respected naval architects and yacht designers. Scheel left funds in 1994 to permanently endow scholarships for students in the three upper classes who best exemplify intellectual curiosity and achievement. Peter Barton, also of Cape Elizabeth  and a vessel operations and technology major, was also named a Scheel Scholar. He is a member of the Class of 2016.

Sonesson is with the Class of 2016. As a marine systems engineering major he also was named a American Bureau of Shipping Scholar. Engineering student Catherine Bailey of Scarborough also received that honor.

ABS, a leading international classification society, establishes and verifies technical and engineering standards for the design, construction and maintenance of ships and marine-related facilities. Recipients of the award receive a scholarship in each of the final two years of their studies at MMA. They are also have an opportunity to intern at ABS.

Civil rights team trains students

The Maine Civil Rights Team Project trained 130 middle school students hailing from 10 southern Maine schools this fall on how to lead Civil Rights Teams at their schools. Included were students from Mahoney Middle School and Memorial Middle School in South Portland.

Using the American Experience film, “The Abolitionists,” as a starting point, students and school advisers drew out some parallels between the work of the abolitionists in fighting slavery and the work of student leaders on civil rights teams.

The students performed a number of exercises and developed plans to take back to their schools to address bias based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical and mental disability, gender and sexual orientation.

The Maine Civil Rights Team Project is a statewide program that supports teams in over 160 schools a year, ranging from elementary schools through high schools.  The Maine Civil Rights Team Project is part of the Maine Office of the Attorney General. The mission of the Civil Rights Team Project is to increase the safety of elementary, middle level and high school students by reducing bias-motivated behaviors and harassment in schools.

South Portland student earns scholarship

Alexandra Tolan of South Portland was among 48 first-year students who received a President’s Scholarship this year at Keene State College in New Hampshire.

The renewable merit scholarship is awarded annually to incoming freshmen who exhibit academic excellence with a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and SAT scores of more than 1,800. Full time out-of-state students receive an annual award of $8,000.

Ten members of the Maine Warriors traveling basketball team visit the Maine Veteran’s Home in Scarborough Nov. 7 to volunteer their time. Back row, from left, are Tim Thibodeau, Coach Chuck Curtis, Spike Curtis, Evan Morgan and Simon Dion. In the front are Chris Cimino, Kyle Durgin, Nolan Thomas, Matt Francoeur, Nick Curtis and John Nappi.

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