HMS Career Fair

 

On Tuesday, 4/11, HMS students had the privilege of participating in the annual Career Fair keynote assembly, featuring Christopher Tyll. Mr. Tyll spoke about the role that athletics and community service have played in his life, and shared what it was like to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. He described his training as a US Navy SEAL, and touched on the various, vital, life lessons he learned during this time. Mr. Tyll stressed the importance of students identifying their passions, and the ability to persevere during challenging times. He shared his journey to becoming a business owner of Pat’s Pizza, and the obstacles he encountered as he pursued this next chapter in his life. We're grateful to Mr. Tyll for taking the time to talk with our students, and for donating his speaker honorarium to a fund that will allow an HMS student to attend camp this summer. The students were inspired and appreciative of Mr. Tyll's keynote address!

Students attended four Career Fair sessions the following day, which allowed them to access information on professions ranging from advertising to video game designer. This was a hugely successful, engaging day for our students!

Special thanks to Nini Emmons, Laura Mike, Mike Arsenault, Brad Ciechomski, Mark McDonough, Ira Warshaw, Bob Morse, and Rich Smith for everything they did to create this wonderful experience for HMS students, and to all of our community volunteers who donated their time, and participated in this important opportunity for our students to focus on their futures.

 

World Language and Culture Week

HMS celebrated our 16th annual World Language & Culture Week Celebration March 19-23. The teachers and administration of  Frank H. Harrison Middle School selected Schools for Refugees as the charity for a week long fund raising. $1100.00 was raised through the generous support of the students, staff, parents and members of the community. The St. Bakhita Nursery and Primary School is located in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Bweyale, Uganda. More than 500 children of the Sudanese refugees attend the school. Charlie and Susan Roscoe of Yarmouth founded Schools for Refugees (http://schoolsforrefugees.org/) whose goal is to pick up where the United Nations and others left off in supporting the education of  children of refugees.

On March 19, 2012,  Bosco Oringa, a Portland High School Alumni and former student at St. Bakhita School in Uganda, and Susan and Charlie Roscoe were invited to address the students and teachers in their classrooms. They presented the story of St. Bakhita School and the life story of Bosco Oringa. The money will go directly to St. Bakhita to provide much needed wooden desks(tables) and benches for their classrooms.

Top of the Morning Brunch

Before the brunch.

During the brunch.

So sorry, there is no after the brunch - all gone.

Our grateful thank you to Brenda Whitney, who organized the brunch, and all the parents who contributed food and drink. You made our day.

Apple Distinguished School

Frank H. Harrison Middle School

Yarmouth High School and the Frank H. Harrison Middle School have been named Apple Distinguished Schools for their work in integrating technology in every classroom chiefly through the use of Apple MacBook computers.

Harrison Middle School began its laptop program in the fall of 2002 with seventh graders and then continued with both seventh and eighth grades the following year.  Since that time, all students in seventh and eighth grade are assigned a school laptop computer to use at school and at home.
  

Yarmouth High School began its laptop program in 2004 and added one grade at a time until all four grades had computers for use at school and home. 

The Apple Distinguished School designation is reserved for schools that are recognized 

centers of educational excellence and leadership.

“The laptop program using Apple MacBook computers has had a profound impact on 

teaching and learning at Yarmouth High School,” said Ted Hall, Yarmouth High School 

Principal.  “Our teachers have embraced the use of the computers and continue to 

develop innovative student-centered learning that engages students at a high level.”  

Bruce Brann, Harrison Middle School Principal, said “Since the very beginning of the 

laptop initiative students and staff embraced it as a tool for teaching and learning.” 

  

The selection of Yarmouth High School and Harrison Middle School as Apple 

Distinguished Schools highlights their successes in enhancing and extending teaching 

and learning with thoughtful and innovative implementations of technology. 

Representatives from Apple were present at the February 9, 2012 School Committee 

to present this award to representatives from both schools.

Of note, this is the fifth consecutive year that the Frank H. Harrison Middle School has been selected as an Apple Distinguished School.

New Art Unit of Study

Elaine Fletcher, HMS art teacher, created a new unit of study - 8th Grade Metal Tooling - this year. After I viewed this unit of study I wrote the following:

Wow! This was a great first time through a new unit of study. You were so well prepared that everything went off amazingly - the students were engaged - almost as much as the teacher. The direct instruction got the students up to speed and ready to venture off on their own. You encouraged and supported their creativity. You expected students to talk and walk the vocabulary and they did not disappoint you. The assessment demonstrated what they had learned and what challenges they found in this unit. The final products - each and everyone - were outstanding! This unit was a pure success - you planned it and pulled it off. Although not planned, a piece from this unit was selected for display during Youth Art Month at the Portland Museum of Art.

The month of March is Youth Art Month. In celebration of this, the Maine Art Education Association holds an annual show of student work from throughout the state at the Portland Museum of Art. Each MAEA member art teacher may select one student piece to represent the school in the show. Hundreds of works are displayed and a certificate is awarded to each participant to commemorate this honor.

This year’s Harrison Middle School's representative piece is a copper sculpture created by eighth grader Susannah Lickus. This beautifully crafted and exceptionally detailed piece is of a flower, and is entitled “Full Bloom”. It truly rewards the viewer for coming in close.

The show runs from Tuesday, February 28 through Sunday, April 1, 2012 at the Portland Museum of Art. The certificate reception is on Saturday, March 10. Eighth through twelfth grade awards are made at 6:30PM. It will be well worth the trip to see this statewide student art show!

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

The Awards are an important opportunity for students to be recognized for their creative talents. Each year, the Alliance for Young Writers and Artists, a national organization, partners with more than 100 visual and literary-arts focused organizations across the country to bring The Awards to local communities. The Maine partner is the Southern Maine Writing Project at the University of Southern Maine. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have an impressive legacy dating back to 1923 and a noteworthy roster of past winners including Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford and Joyce Carol Oates. We are pleased to see such a strong Yarmouth showing in these writing awards.

 

Twelve HMS Students will be honored at USM on March 16th during the Annual Scholastic Writing Awards. Congratulations to Silver Key winners Lucy Alexander, Brenden Norwood, Isabelle Murray and Meredith Hawkins, and to Honorable Mention Writers Cody Cook (two categories!), Jake Cooper, Sarah Gleason, Mary Kate Gunville, Samantha Jones, Liane Rolls, Jack Diggins and Henry Becker (who was missing for this photo).

School Spelling Bee

How do you spell?
2011    cymotrichous
2010    stromuhr
2009    Laodicean
2008    guerdon
2007    serrefine

These were the winning words for the National Spelling Bee for the past five years.

On Friday, January 20, Harrison Middle School held the School Spelling Bee. The Bee began with 10 students. Congratulations to all participants; with a total of 332 students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 the finalists did very well.

Our results are:

Winners:    Paul McNeil, Grade 8 and Andrei Lougovstov, Grade 7
Alternate:    Thomas Spencer, Grade 8
Participants:    Grade 6: Madison Lindahl and Sage Waterson
                        Grade 7: Madison Miller, Ravi Patel and Clare Walsh
                        Grade 8: Conor O’Donnell and Danielle Laverdiere

The Cumberland County Spelling Bee is scheduled for February 8 at the Falmouth Middle School Library - registration at 6:30, Spelling Bee at 7:00.

Good luck (spelling) to Paul and Andrei for their upcoming efforts to move onto the State Spelling Bee.