High School Basketball

The Belfast, Mount View, Searsport and Islesboro basketball teams were in search of early-season wins on Friday through Monday, Dec. 13-16, with a mixed bag of high school court results served with the holiday break around the corner.

On Monday, the Viking boys were downed 82-38 on the road to Deer Isle-Stonington.

On Saturday, the Lion boys defeated John Bapst of Bangor 62-40, the Mustang boys bested Washington Academy of East Machias 58-36 and the Viking boys lost to Penobscot Valley of Howland 63-37. The Crusader girls defeated the Lions 54-37 and the Raider girls netted a 41-37 win over the Mustangs.

On Friday, the Eagle boys lost 54-48 to A.R. Gould of Portland, while the Viking girls lost 53-44 to George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill.

The following is a recap of reported results:...

Boys

Belfast 62, John Bapst 40

At Belfast Dec. 14, the Lions clawed past the Crusaders. Belfast led 17-5, 33-15 and 48-25 at the quarter breaks.

Jason Bartlett scored 16 points for the winners, while Chris Kelley added 12; LaDerrick Roberts, 10; Marco Melotti, eight; Patrick McConnell, five; Drew Abelon and Liam McConnell, four; Tanner Veilleux, two; and Isaac Bernosky, one.

Rhett McDonald scored 19 points for the Crusaders, while Jordan Kimball added five; Jaedan Sockbeson, four; and Cayman Zephir, Sam Ellis, Luke Norman and Corey Butler, three.

Belfast finished 9-of-16 (56 percent) from the foul line, while John Bapst was 5-of-9 (56 percent)...



Girls

John Bapst 54, Belfast 37

At Belfast Dec. 14, the Crusaders dug themselves out of a first-quarter hole and emerged with a win over the Lions. Belfast led 11-9 after the first quarter, while John Bapst led 21-20 at halftime and 41-28 after three quarters.

Grace Fitzjurls, Lillie Mitchell and Kayci Faulkingham scored seven points for Belfast, while Hailey Lindelof and Kiara Doolan added six and Sydni Moores four.

Jamey Sutterfield scored 12 points for John Bapst, while Savannah Libby added nine; Sydney Ellis, five; Jamie McQuarrie, three; and Kate Harriman, two.

The Lions were 7-of-13 (54 percent) from the foul line, while the Crusaders were 13-of-26 (50 percent)...



Courier Publications' sports staff can be reached by email at sports@villagesoup.com or by phone at 594-4401.

High School Wrestling

GARDINER — Schools large and small converged on Saturday, Dec. 14 for an early-season wrestling tournament, which mimicked the look of a postseason meet, as 20 teams attended.

Belfast was among those and the Lions continued their hot start to the campaign, as they finished fifth with 79 points, as Kennebunk took home the top spot with 89.

Belfast finished the tourney with four top-four wrestlers, led by Gavynn Young (1st at 113 pounds), Connor Fournier (2nd at 106), Cam Watts (2nd at 220) and Brian White (3rd at 195).

The team scores were: Kennebunk 89, Morse of Bath 82, Cheverus of Portland 82, Cony of Augusta 80, Belfast 79, Windham/Gray-New Gloucester 77, York 59, Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield 56, Nokomis of Newport 56, Portland/South Portland 55, Westbrook/Gorham 53, Mount Blue of Farmington 49, Gardiner 47, Monmouth Academy 29, Hermon 24, Bangor 16, Falmouth 13, Greely of Cumberland 4, Wiscasset 4 and Hall-Dale of Farmingdale no score.

The individual Belfast results, with Lion wrestlers listed first, were:

106 pounds — Connor Fournier pinned Jacob St. Pierre, MtB, at 0:49; beat Alissa Caltagirone, Yor, 11-7; and lost to Ostin Smith, Mon, 5-1, in the championship final. Fournier finished second.

113 pounds — Gavynn Young pinned Dyllan Lingley, Con, at 1:32; pinned Reese Hesseltine, Wis, at 1:34; and pinned Brett Bognosian, Chev, at 0:54 in the championship final. Young finished first.

145 pounds — Jonah Lovejoy pinned Charlie Salow, Por/SP, at 0:25; was pinned by Adam Loewen, MtB, at 0:52; and lost by major decision to David York, Ken, 15-4.

152 pounds — Gabe Kelley won by major decision over Mason Rowe, MtB, 13-3; was pinned by Mason Savary, Mor, at 4:57; and lost by forfeit to Abdullah Abdullah, Por/SP.

160 pounds — Jackson Lapierre was pinned by Brad Couture, MtB, at 2:29 in a pigtail match.

170 pounds — Elijah Charbonnier was pinned by Caden Schleis-Hoyman, Con, at 3:16; pinned Dana Purington, Gar, at 2:40; and was pinned by Theo Burns, Por/SP, at 2:43.

182 pounds — Nathaniel Porter beat Jack Cole, Por/SP, 12-6; lost to Isaak Sinclair, Mor, 3-2 in triple-overtime; and lost to Greyden Lindstedt, Chev, 6-0.

195 pounds — Brian White pinned Jake Butler, Wind/Gr, at 1:37; was pinned by Trevor Fecko, Ken, at 0:22; pinned Bryce Bussell, MCI, at 0:31; and pinned Sebastian Merrill, Chev, at 3:36 in the consolation final. White finished third.

220 pounds — Cam Watts won by major decision over John Howard, MtB, 12-3; pinned William Orso, Yor, at 3:42; and was pinned by Sean Sullivan, Chev, at 0:47 in the championship final. Watts finished second.

285 pounds — Rayon Kirby won by major decision over Déja Douglass, Mor, 13-1; was pinned by Jeffrey Kirk, Ban, at 1:10; and was pinned by Chris Fortin, Ken, at 2:29.

Courier Publications' sports staff can be reached by email at sports@villagesoup.com or by phone at 594-4401.

High School Indoor Track

Lions show mettle against tough foes at Colby College

 Belfast indoor track athletes called Colby College home for a few hours on Friday night, Dec. 13 as the Lions competed in another early-season high school meet.

The Lions, as always, did well individually and as a team. The squad earned six firsts, including two apiece from Junne Robertson-McIntire and Lia Frazee.

See more photos below.

The girls team scores were Brunswick 88, Mount Ararat of Topsham 86.3333, Belfast 71, Waterville 62.3333, Leavitt of Turner 49, Winslow 47.3333, Lawrence of Fairfield 42, Morse of Bath 12 and Lincoln Academy of Newcastle 10.

The boys team scores were: Brunswick 101, Mount Ararat 92, Belfast 73.5, Leavitt 65, Winslow 38, Lincoln Academy 35.5, Morse 32, Lawrence 26 and Waterville 9.

The Belfast girls results were:

55 meters — 1, Junne Robertson-McIntire, 7.69; 15, Audrey Lagerbom, 8.59; 21, Natalie Curry, 8.78; 24, Naomi Agbuya, 8.87; 32, Katie Ritchie, 9.37; and 34, Grace Hall, 9.68.

200 meters — 1, Junne Robertson-McIntire, 28.15; 18, Audrey Lagerbom, 31.83; 20, Natalie Curry, 32.11; 27, Kaylee Dodd, 33.02; 33, Naomi Agbuya, 33.69; and 39, Grace Hall, 37.12.

400 meters — 14, Grace Hall, 1:23.26; and 15, Ellie Prespolis, 1:23.49.

Mile — 4, Juniper Fowler, 6:22.00.

55-meter hurdles — 4, Lia Frazee, 9.97; and 14, Kaylee Dodd, 11.91.

4x200-meter relay — 3, Belfast (Audrey Lagerbom, Mallory Tibbetts, Katie Ritchie, Junne Robertson-McIntire), 2:04.99.

4x800-meter relay — 3, Belfast (Lily Robbins, Mallory Tibbetts, Juniper Fowler, Ellie Prespolis),12:08.12.

High jump — 1, Lia Frazee, 5-02.00; and 5, Natalie Curry, 4-2.

Pole vault — 1, Lia Frazee, 9-6.

Long jump — 13, Juniper Fowler, 12-2.5; 19, Naomi Agbuya, 10-5.5; and 20, Lily Robbins, 10-1.5.

Shot put — 3, Katie Ritchie, 29-4.5; and 6, Savana Blood, 28-0.5.

The Belfast boys results were:

55 meters — 2, Cole Martin, 6.82; 4, Donovin Armstrong, 6.95; 5, Jon Duso, 6.97; 18, Robert Hicock, 7.42; 31, Daniel Snider, 7.65; 44, Dan Jewell, 8.17; and 54, Ford Montgomery, 8.98.

200 meters — 5, Donovin Armstrong, 24.85; and 16, Robert Hicock, 26.51.

400 meters — 3, Eamon Goscinski, 57.92; 7, Elias Howard, 59.48; 15, Westley Dyer, 1:03.30; 16, Daniel Snyder, 1:03.33; and 25, Robert Hicock, 1:07.53.

800 meters — 10, Zach Armstrong, 2:24.56.

Mile — 4, Miles Cannon, 5:01.23.

Two miles — 3, Miles Cannon, 11:06.37; and 8, Westley Dyer, 12:23.62.

4x200-meter relay — 1, Belfast (Jon Duso, Donovin Armstrong, Cole Martin, Eamon Goscinski), 1:41.20.

4x800-meter relay — 5, Belfast (Dan Snyer, Westley Dyer, Eamon Goscinski, Zach Armstrong), 10:36.58.

High jump — 3, Nick Ritchie, 5-5; and 7, Elias Howard, 4-9.

Pole vault — 1, Nick Ritchie, 10-0.

Long jump — 2, Cole Martin, 19-10.5; 7, Jon Duso, 18-9.25; and 12, Nick Ritchie, 17-1.

Shot put — 32, Ford Montgomery, 21-6; and 35, Shane Stanhope, 20-2.75.

Courier Publications' sports staff can be reached by email at sports@villagesoup.com or by phone at 594-4401.

Lions Wrestling in the News!

BELFAST — The numbers are there for the Belfast wrestling team to have a successful season, and the talent also is there for individuals to potentially find strong mat experiences, as the Lions showed their muscle in the first meet of the year on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Belfast hosted a six-team meet, the Belfast Duals, and wrangled to five victories in as many matches to sweep its opponents to start the year on the right foot, as the Lions took down Ellsworth 60-12, Foxcroft Academy of Dover-Foxcroft 49-23, Medomak Valley of Waldoboro 39-36, Mount Desert Island of Bar Harbor 66-12 and Oceanside of Rockland 52-30.

Watch video and see more photos below.

The individual Belfast results, with Lion wrestlers listed first, were:

106 pounds — Connor Fournier won by forfeit over Ellsworth, Foxcroft Academy, Medomak Valley and MDI; and pinned Kayden Scudder, Ocean.

113 pounds — Gavynn Young won by forfeit over Ellsworth, Medomak Valley and Oceanside; pinned Cameron Parlee, FA; and pinned Logan Blanchette, MDI.

120 pounds — Caleb Hayes won by forfeit over Ellsworth and MDI; was pinned by Joseph Keenan, FA; and was pinned by Carter Fogarty, Ocean.

126 pounds — Hayes pinned Ian Doughty, Med.

Timothy Smith won by forfeit over MDI and Oceanside.

138 pounds — Kaden Bonin pinned Matt Reid, Ells; beat Krystofor Downing, FA; was pinned by Josh MacDougall, Med, at 2:13; pinned Travis Boumil, MDI; and won by forfeit over Oceanside.

145 pounds — Jonah Lovejoy won by forfeit over Ellsworth; won by major decision over Austin Gil, FA; beat Riley Micklich, Med, 11-5; pinned Hunter Gray, MDI; and won by major decision over Seth Spear, Ocean.

152 pounds — Gabe Kelley pinned Itsuki Langley, Ells; pinned Brady Carter, Med, 3:04; pinned Samuel Ingram, MDI; and pinned Josh Jackomino, Ocean.

Michael Ham lost by technical fall to Alex Atkinson, FA.

160 pounds — Jackson Lapierre won by forfeit over Ellsworth, MDI and Oceanside; and was pinned by Jethro Pease, Med, at 0:56.

Kelley pinned Samuel Robinson, FA.

170 pounds — Elijah Charbonnier was pinned by Noah Hughes, Ells; won by forfeit over Foxcroft Academy and Oceanside; was pinned by Ben Benefield, Med, at 2:30; and was pinned by Baylor Landsman, MDI.

182 pounds — Nathaniel Porter pinned Tate Schaffner-Whary, Ells; won by forfeit over Foxcroft Academy; pinned Jame Rose, Med, at 0:52; and pinned Nat Small, Ocean.

Josh Fairbrother won by forfeit over MDI.

195 pounds — Fairbrother won by forfeit over Ellsworth, Foxcroft Academy, Medomak Valley;

Porter won by disqualification over Ethan Harkins, MDI.

285 pounds — Rayon Kirby won by forfeit over Ellsworth and MDI; pinned Levi Strout, FA; was pinned by Erik Benner, Med, at 0:28; and was pinned by Kaleb Blackwell, Ocean.

Courier Publications' sports staff can be reached by email at sports@villagesoup.com or by phone at 594-4401.

Lions Basketball in the News!

The opening weekend — and start of the new week — of the Waldo County high school basketball season churned out a mixed bag of results with Belfast, Mount View, Searsport and Islesboro in action on the hardwood Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7.

The Lions split with Lincoln Academy of Newcastle as the boys earned a win, while the Eagle boys prevailed over Greater Portland Christian.

Additionally, Mustang and Viking squads were dealt losses against Winslow and Bucksport, while the Islesboro boys bested Greater Portland Christian.

The Viking girls were also in action Monday, Dec. 9, which saw the Vikings fall to visiting Deer Isle-Stonington.

Watch video and see more photos below from the Mount View boys and Belfast girls games.

The following is a recap of reported results:

Boys

Belfast 60, Lincoln Academy 33

At Newcastle Dec. 6, the Lions distanced themselves from the Eagles down the stretch and netted their first win. Belfast led 19-12, 27-18 and 42-29 at the quarter breaks.

Chris Kelley poured in 22 points to lead the Lions, while Jason Bartlett added 18; Marco Melotti, 11; Drew Abelon, four; Tanner Veilleux, three; and LaDerrick Roberts, two.

Jake Masters led the Eagles with nine points, while Jayden Doloff and Gavin Doloff added five; Joseph Giberson, four; Chase Crockett and Zach Farrin, three; and William Banks and Zak McKenna, two.

Belfast was 14-of-28 (50 percent) from the foul line, while Lincoln Academy was 10-of-22 (45 percent)....



In the jayvee game, Searsport earned a 42-28 win over Bucksport........

Girls

Lincoln Academy 59, Belfast 35

At Belfast Dec. 6, the Eagles jumped to an early lead and soared past the Lions. Lincoln Academy led 21-7, 38-14 and 46-28 at the quarter breaks.

Lillie Mitchell scored 12 points for the hosts, while Kayci Faulkingham added 10; Grace Fitzjurls, six; Kiara Doolan, four; Adria Barrows, two; and Sydni Moores, one.

Payson Kaler led the visitors with 17 points, while Madison York added 11; Grace Houghton, eight; Margaret O’Brien and Eleanor Matthews, seven; Olivia Stiles, for; Paris Pierpont, three; and Madison Tilas, two.

Belfast was 14-of-27 (52 percent) from the foul line, while Lincoln Academy was 7-of-12 (58 percent).

Courier Publications' sports staff can be reached by email at sports@villagesoup.com or by phone at 594-4401.

BAHS Swimming in the News!

High School Swimming

BELFAST — One of the best parts of the high school swim season is when Midcoast county neighbors Belfast and Camden Hills dive into the campaign together and create, from day one, memorable performances along the way.

The Windjammers and Lions did that again on Friday night, Dec. 6 as the Knox and Waldo county teams split in a season-opening high school pool meet.

The Camden Hills girls won 51-43 and the Belfast boys 63-35.

Watch video and see more photos below.

The meet also saw strong efforts from area independent student-athletes from Oceanside of Rockland, Medomak Valley of Waldoboro, Searsport and Mount View of Thorndike.

"As usual it was a fun, loud meet and a great way to start the season," said Camden Hills coach Hodding Carter.

The individual and team results were:

Girls 200 medley relay — 1, Camden Hills (Phoebe Root, Sadie Woodruff, Josie Lincoln, Katherine O’Brien), 2:01.84; 2, Belfast (Reagan Seekins, Jasmine Cunningham, Kayla Payson, Sadie Wheeler), 2:08.26; 3, Camden Hills (Sofia Mott, Sarah Van Lonkhuyzen, Gail Curtis, Kassandra Wood), 2:12.50; and 4, Belfast (Mia Winslow, Ryleigh McFadden, Abigaile Kormann, Madeline Cotes), 2:18.54. Exhibitions: Belfast (Emily Hills, Maiara Rebordao, Liana Gobin, Sydney Marriner), 2:43.47; and Belfast (Olivia Matthews, Amelia Jacobson, Emily Woods, Paige Rollerson), 2:47.21.

Boys 200 MR — 1, Belfast (Lincoln Graf, Joey McFadden, Sawyer Carson, Gary Moline), 1:55.12; 2, Camden Hills (Angus Carter, Cabot Adams, Trevor Taylor, Lane Cortese), 1:55.92; and 3, Belfast (Holden Nichols, Isik Marriner, Will Robbins, Jaim French), 2:33.68.

Girls 200 freestyle — 1, Sarah Van Lonkhuyzen, CH, 2:14.11; 2, Kerrigan Smith, Bel, 2:18.75; 3, Taylor Lemon, Bel, 2:25.82; and 4, Kaitlyn Walker-Spencer, CH, 2:44.94. Exhs: Jordan Kulbe, Bel, 2:34.80; Samantha Perkins, Sears, 2:35.93; Jasmine Cunningham, Bel, 2:36.08; and Emily Hills, Bel, 2:55.78.

Boys 200 free — 1, Lincoln Graf, Bel, 2:02.82; 2, Tor Denny, CH, 2:08.36; 3, Ryan O'Farrell, CH, 2:23.83; and 4, Jimmy Crabiel, Bel, 2:33.40. Exhs: Simon Fox, Ocean, 2:13.61; and Dom LaFlamme, Med, 2:38.21.

Girls 200 individual medley — 1, Kayla Payson, Bel, 2:23.10; 2, Sadie Woodruff, CH, 2:23.29; 3, Gail Curtis, CH, 2:55.65; and 4, Abigaile Kormann, Bel, 2:57.40. Exhs: Mia Winslow, Bel, 2:51.59; and Madeline Coates, Bel, 3:01.64.

Boys 200 IM — 1, Fletcher Marriner, Bel, 2:18.63; 2, Sawyer Carson, Bel, 2:25.79; 3, Cabot Adams, CH, 2:26.89; and 4, Lane Cortese, CH, 2:48.90.

Girls 50 free — 1, Phoebe Root, CH, 26.27; 2, Katherine O'Brien, CH, 27.64; 3, Laney Sheafe, Bel, 29.81; and 4, Madeline Cotes, Bel, 30.43. Exhs: Josie Lincoln, CH, 28.63; Sofia Mott, CH, 30.04; Kassandra Wood, CH, 30.99; Suzannah Richardi, CH, 32.37; Gail Curtis, CH, 32.58; Emma Gaecklein, Sears, 34.85; Kera Griffin, CH, 36.58; Caitlin Maddocks, Bel, 38.23; Paige Rollerson, Bel, 38.60; Maeve Noble-Lowe, MtV, 49.73; and Lina White, Bel, 51.98.

Boys 50 free — 1, Angus Carter, CH, 23.71; 2, Brigham Graf, Bel, 24.29; 3, Isaias Therio, Sears, 26.00; 4, Jason Leblond, CH, 26.82; and 5, Matthew Shelton, Bel, 41.56. Exhs: Thomas Bradley, Sears, 25.69; Ryan Lynch, Ocean, 27.45; Ellis Braga, Sears, 29.77; Hunter Penney, MtV, 40.70; Cole Ripley, MtV, 45.58; and Deven Short, CH, 45.61.

Boys 1-meter diving — 1, Brigham Graf, Bel, 124.05; and 2, Gary Moline, Bel, 116.25.

Girls 100 butterfly — 1, Kayla Payson, Bel, 1:03.46; 2, Josie Lincoln, CH, 1:08.14; 3, Olivia Smith, Bel, 1:14.92; and 4, Suzannah Richardi, CH, 1:21.59.

Boys 100 fly — 1, Sawyer Carson, Bel, 1:03.13; and 2, Trevor Taylor, CH, 1:03.15. Exhibition: Ryan Lynch, Ocean, 1:08.29.

Girls 100 free — 1, Sarah Van Lonkhuyzen, CH, 59.91; 2, Katherine O’Brien, CH, 1:00.68; 3, Sadie Wheeler, Bel, 1:03.57; and 4, Abigaile Kormann, Bel, 1:05.93. Exhs: Jordan Kulbe, Bel, 1:07.04; Taylor Lemon, Bel, 1:07.61; Kassandra Wood, CH, 1:10.36; Kaitlyn Walker-Spencer, CH, 1:11.67; Savannah Springer, Bel, 1:16.33; and Maeve Noble-Lowe, MtV, 1:30.41.

Boys 100 free — 1, Joey McFadden, Bel, 56.21; 2, Trevor Taylor, CH, 57.83; 3, Ryan O’Farrell, CH, 1:04.22; and 4, Jaim French, Bel, 1:12.20. Exhs: Simon Fox, Ocean, 1:01.76; Dom LaFlamme, Med, 1:10.32; Ellis Braga, Sears, 1:11.27; Ryan Ordelt, Sears, 1:18.66; Hunter Penney, MtV, 1:35.07; and Deven Short, CH, 1:43.07.

Girls 500 free — 1, Phoebe Root, CH, 5:48.27; 2, Reagan Seekins, Bel, 6:27.04; 3, Olivia Smith, Bel, 6:42.93; and 4, Farin Weidman, CH, 6:52.98.

Boys 500 free — 1, Fletcher Marriner, Bel, 5:40.93; 2, Angus Carter, CH, 5:52.27; and 3, Jimmy Crabiel, Bel, 7:22.17.

Girls 200 free relay — 1, Camden Hills (Sarah Van Lonkhuyzen, Katherine O’Brien, Sadie Woodruff, Phoebe Root), 1:49.88; 2, Belfast (Kerrigan Smith, Madeline Cotes, Laney Sheafe, Sadie Wheeler), 1:56.46; 3, Belfast (Jasmine Cunningham, Chelsea Gaiero, Jordan Kulbe, Taylor Lemon), 2:01.03; and 4, Camden Hills (Josie Lincoln, Farin Weidman, Suzannah Richardi, Kassandra Wood), 2:02.83. Exhs: Belfast (Savannah Springer, Paige Rollerson, Sydney Marriner, Olivia Matthews), 2:30.41; and Belfast (Maiara Rebordao, Amelia Jacobson, Caitlin Maddocks, Lina White), 2:40.43.

Boys 200 FR — 1, Belfast (Brigham Graf, Gary Moline, Joey McFadden, Fletcher Marriner), 1:39.61; 2, Camden Hills (Trevor Taylor, Cabot Adams, Tor Denny, Angus Carter), 1:44.43; 3, Searsport, 1:56.87; and 4, Belfast (Jaim French, Matthew Shelton, Will Robbins, Holden Nichols), 2:23.48.

Girls 100 backstroke — 1, Sofia Mott, CH, 1:15.62; 2, Reagan Seekins, Bel, 1:17.14; 3, Mia Winslow, Bel, 1:18.69; and 4, Kera Griffin, CH, 1:26.72. Exhs: Abigail Donnelly, Sears, 1:15.07; Samantha Perkins, Sears, 1:26.11; Liana Gobin, Bel, 1:26.43; and Caitlin Maddocks, Bel, 1:52.38.

Boys 100 back — 1, Lincoln Graf, Bel, 1:02.30; 2, Tor Denny, CH, 1:04.50; 3, Gary Moline, Bel, 1:06.60; and 4, Isaias Therio, Sears, 1:11.76; Sam Valleau, MtV, 1:11.44; Holden Nichols, Bel, 1:32.87; and Ryan Ordelt, Sears, 1:46.45.

Girls 100 breaststroke— 1, Sadie Woodruff, CH, 1:20.19; 2, Kerrigan Smith, Bel, 1:26.37; 3, Jasmine Cunningham, Bel, 1:28.27; and 4, Farin Weidman, CH, 1:32.81. Exhs: Abigail Donnelly, Sears, 1:25.89; Chelsea Gaiero, Bel, 1:34.57; Ryleigh McFadden, Bel, 1:37.52; and Emma Gaeklein, Sears, 1:37.66.

Boys 100 breast — 1, Joey McFadden, Bel, 1:15.88; 2, Cabot Adams, CH, 1:16.11; 3, Lane Cortese, CH, 1:19.39; and 4, Will Robbins, Bel, 1:32.58. Exhs: Thomas Bradley, Sears, 1:17.29; and Isik Marriner, Bel, 1:44.43.

Girls 400 FR — 1, Belfast (Kayla Payson, Olivia Smith, Sadie Wheeler, Kerrigan Smith), 4:17.21; 2, Belfast (Laney Sheafe, Mia Winslow, Abigaile Kormann, Reagan Seekins), 4:30.83; and 3, Camden Hills (Sofia Mott, Kaitlyn Walker-Spencer, Gail Curtis, Farin Weidman), 4:39.39. Exhs: Belfast (Emily Hills, Liana Gobin, Ryleigh McFadden, Amelia Jacobson), 5:14.95; and Belfast (Chelsea Gaiero, Savannah Springer, Sydney Marriner, Maiara Rebordao), 5:24.58.

Boys 400 FR — 1, Belfast (Sawyer Carson, Brigham Graf, Fletcher Marriner, Lincoln Graf), 3:49.30; 2, Camden Hills (Lane Cortese, Jason Leblond, Ryan O’Farrell, Tor Denny), 4:10.55; and 3, Belfast (Jaim French, Isik Marriner, Matthew Shelton, Will Robbins), 5:41.34.

Courier Publications' sports staff can be reached by email at sports@villagesoup.com or by phone at 594-

Wreaths Across America stops in city

BELFAST — The annual Wreaths Across America convoy of tractor-trailer trucks bringing thousands of Maine wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia stopped at Belfast Area High School Sunday for an hour-long ceremony.

Eleven trucks hauling 2.1 million wreaths, along with numerous law enforcement personnel from across the state and wrapped escort vehicles transporting Gold Star Families and veterans, exited Route 1 and turned onto Waldo Avenue before stopping at the school.

The high school gym was filled with supporters who turned out to see the ceremony, which included performances by the high school cast of "Newsies" singing a song from their production and the Troy Howard Middle School Chorus.

Principal Jeff Lovejoy said it was an honor and a privilege to be part of the event.

"We are honored to host the lunch stop," Lovejoy said. "I am very proud of the students who participated." He said there was no hesitation from anyone about taking part in the ceremony.

"The kids were so excited to pay tribute," Lovejoy said.

Local organizations present included members of Randall-Collins VFW Post 3108 in Belfast, the Patriot Riders, the local Coast Guard unit, state troopers, Belfast police, Waldo County Sheriff's Office, as well as, local Girl and Boy Scout troops.

Teachers Sarah Nelson and Briana Brennick of Ames Elementary School, along with three of their students, spoke about what they learned in placing flags at veterans’ graves in Grove Cemetery on Memorial Day in partnership with the VFW Post, reciting each service branch and each name, and then placing the flag.

High school students presented wreaths to area Gold Star Families and students performed a symbolic flag-folding ceremony with 13 folds.

Jim Roberts from the VFW was also presented with a wreath, which Lovejoy said would be displayed on the Belfast Armstice Footbridge at a community ceremony Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.

Sen. Erin Herbig, D-Waldo, presented Lovejoy with a flag flown over the Maine state capital, "in recognition of Belfast Area High School for honoring the 2019 Wreaths Across America convoy."

The ceremony closed with a rousing version of "America the Beautiful" with the harmonies of high school students Emily Wakeman and Hayle Withee, followed by Steve Brown of the Belfast VFW playing "Taps."

According to Susan Patten, WAA spokesperson, the wreaths will also be placed at 2,000 participating cemeteries along the way. She said the tradition started in 1992, when Worcester Wreath founder Morrill Worcester received permission to place 5,000 surplus wreaths at Arlington.

The veterans' wreaths are sponsored by American citizens, Patten said, and sponsorship cost is $15 per wreath.

The escort will travel down the East Coast stopping at schools, memorials and other locations along the way to spread the mission to remember, honor and teach. Stops with public events will be held in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C., before arriving at Arlington National Cemetery the morning of Saturday, Dec. 14.

BAHS Students Dancing with the Atlantic Ballet!!

This weekend, 3 BAHS students danced in the Atlantic Ballet's performance of the Nutcraker - Kaitlyn Dufflemyer, Klairha Larabee, and Willoe Kirkpatrick. Please congratulate all these students for outstanding performances.
Below is a link showing an outstanding performance by Willoe dancing with a professional dancer from NYC (Cristen Kenog originally from Colombia).

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=1frfbNgL2CwFySa83YOaXpTHQQuVXvjdT

Nine area field hockey players recognized by Maine Field Hockey Association

The Maine Field Hockey Association has announced this year’s all-state and all-academic accolade recipients.

The all-state selections will be recognized at the annual awards banquet on Sunday, Dec. 8 at the Augusta Civic Center at 1 p.m. Players recognized for academic all-state will be recognized with a certificate, not at the banquet.

Three area Waldo County players earned all-state accolades: Hannah Banks (Belfast; Class B), Brooke Richards (Belfast; Class B) and Sophia King (Mount View; Class C).

Each varsity coach is able to nominate up to three players from their own team for all-state selection. The nominees are then voted on by all varsity coaches in the state. Each coach may vote for up to 11 players, not including their own.

To qualify for all-state selections, players must perform consistent at a high skill level, possess leadership on and off the field, exhibit excellent sportsmanship and be dedicated to field hockey.

Seven area players spanning four schools earned all-academic accolades: Banks, Greta Bishop (Camden Hills), Sophia Campbell (Camden Hills), Meredith Luce (Camden Hills), Annika Reinwand (Camden Hills), Thurston Illingworth (Mount View) and Audrey Young (Oceanside).

Special Olympics Bowling in Rockport!

ROCKPORT — The sounds of bowling balls hitting the candlepins and sending them bouncing wildly around the end of the lane was the impetus that allowed Special Olympians of all ages a few hours of fun and camaraderie — while it also created a boatload of smiles and plenty of pride — on Monday, Nov. 18 at Oakland Park Lanes.

The annual regional Special Olympics bowling event, which draws participants from Knox, Waldo and Lincoln counties, saw the younger group participate in the morning and older group in the afternoon.

The event is a highlight for most Special Olympians, many of whom also get involved in other regional events such as swimming, track and field and tennis, among other activities.

On Monday, Captain Jammer (Jon Moro, the Windjammers first-year boys varsity basketball coach), the Camden Hills Regional High School mascot, arrived to help school Principal Shawn Carlson award the school-aged athletes their award ribbons.

Captain Jammer and Carlson also had a one-ball bowl off — in which Carlson won.

There was a lot of laughter and high-fives during the younger participants' session. The adult session included a lot of comparison of bowling scores by the older athletes.

The schools and organization represented at the event were: Thomaston Grammar School, Oceanside Middle School, Oceanside High School, Camden-Rockport Elementary School, Camden-Rockport Middle School, Camden Hills Regional High School, Miller School, Medomak Middle School, Medomak Valley High School, Captain Albert Stevens School, Troy Howard Middle School, Belfast Area High School, Coastal Opportunities, and MVRA.

The individual results for the bowlers, with name, school/organization and number of pins knocked down listed, were:

Younger group
Ages 11 and younger (assisted) — Malachi Fairfield, TGS, 46; Henry Fairfield, TGS, 51; Jimmie Clark, TGS, 31; Landon Benjamin, Cass, 29; Lila Jackson, CRES, 53; and Zayden Myrick, TGS, 61.

Ages 11 and younger (unassisted) — Sapphire Eli, Cass, 15; Carter Merry, Cass, 53; Zachery Ellis, Cass, 40; Matthew Martin, Cass, 62; Inara Frank, Cass, 19; Izic Curtis, Cass, 51; Seth Woodrow, Cass, 26; Aidyn Davis, CRES, 52; Gavin Davis, CRES, 52; Patrick Sauvage, CRES, 51; Salvatore DeVita, CRES, 42; Trey Johnson, CRES, 18; Annie Hunt, CRES, 40; Chris Randall, CRES, 49; Cooper Perez, CRES, 53; Asher Dennison, Miller, 63; Kamaryn Brackett, Miller, 30; Elijah Wallace, Miller, 39; Noah Massicotte, Miller, 53; Alden McBrien, Miller, 61; Khloe Flynn, Miller, 37; Gary Simmons, Miller, 36; Alexus Wadsworth, Miller, 40; Wyatt Chavanne, Miller, 40; Tegan Carlson, CRMS, 41; Max Mahoney, CRMS, 58; Jonathan Black, THMS/TLC, 29; and Alexander Higgins, THMS/TLC, 56.

Ages 12-15 (assisted) — Finley Vannoy, Miller, 57; James Kennedy-Bemis, MVHS, 42; and Joshua Wallace, MVMS, 50.

Ages 12-15 (unassisted) — Landen Stewart, MVMS, 37; Isaac Richardson, MVMS, 48; Paige Harvey, MVMS, 24; Karl Hoffses, MVMS, 46; John Burchett, OHS, 79; Ben Coulter, OHS, 68; Brian Farnham, OHS, 55; Tyler McKay, MVHS, 54; Hailey Campbell, MVHS, 47; Autumn Pierce, OMS, 62; Dallas Heal, OMS, 50; Hunter Lane, OMS, 62; Levi Thomas, CRMS, 42; Fisher Thomas, CRMS, 33; Emma Deetjen, CRMS, 51; Charles Gray, THMS/TLC, 22; William Bragdon, THMS/TLC, 44; Sheriden Ingerson, THMS/TLC, 43; Jacob Prince, THMS/TLC, 46; Shawn Williams, THMS/TLC, 67, Thomas Young, THMS/TLC, 55; Autumn Foster, CHRHS, 53; Madison Marshall, CHRHS, 39; and Hannah Flaherty, CHRHS, 44.

Ages 16-21 (assisted) — Justin Hunt, OHS, 74; and Kyle Bagley, BAHS, 68.

Ages 16-21 (unassisted) — Kaitlyn Elliott, BAHS, 51; Kaleb Wing, BAHS, 69; Toby Jones, BAHS, 50; Gage Smith, OHS, 65, Haley Callahan, OHS, 63; Angel Seiders, OHS, 69; Kaytlyn Pierce, OHS, 51; Keegin Colby, OHS, 56; Ryan Morse, OHS, 76; Ryan Warren, OHS, 76; Angel McKay, MVHS, 80; Von McLaughlin, MVHS, 66; Blaine Cook, CHRHS, 41; Jerrid Farwell, CHRHS, 61; Joshua Henning, CHRHS, 54; Tom Roberts, CHRHS, 52; and Deven Short, CHRHS, 51.


Courier Publications' sports staff can be reached by email at sports@villagesoup.com or by phone at 594-4401.

CASS Luncheon for Tall Pines and The Birches

On Wednesday Miss Storer and Mrs. Brita's classes hosted a meal for Tall Pines and The Birches. The students have been learning in the garden since the fall, saving herbs and seeds and learning how to cook. For the meal, the students sent invitations, chopped vegetables for a vegetable herb soup, shaped bread rolls, and made tables arrangements to make the space nice. They even made thank you cards for the folks who came.

Special thanks to all the passionate students, the dedicated teachers, staff, administrators, and our FoodCorps service member who made this meal possible!

  

The Power of Audience in RSU # 71: You’re Invited, Part II

The Power of Audience: You’re Invited, Part II

In the first quarter of this school year, which has just ended, Regional School Unit # 71 (Belfast, Swanville, Searsmont, Belmont and Morrill) launched “PD Fridays.” PD stands for professional development, which teachers, support staff and administrators engage in together every Friday afternoon when students are released from school.

One of the instructional practices we’ve been learning about and working on in the first quarter involves teachers designing instruction such that students may share their learning with various audiences beyond the classroom. The inclusion of an audience in the design of instruction has been shown to spur student motivation and elicit deeper engagement and purpose in the undertaking of meaningful and rigorous work.

District staff have been working out of a book entitled Leaders of Their Own Learning: How to Transform Schools Through Student-Engaged Assessment by Ron Berger et al, along with its just published Leaders of Their Own Learning Companion Guide.

We all know about the enthusiasm generated by athletic teams, choral and instrumental concerts, drama club productions, art exhibits, technical education projects, science olympiads, math meets, science fairs and the like. Part of what elicits such passionate engagement and hard work on the part of students is the knowledge that there are real stakes in the form of a real audience that will be giving them feedback of one kind or another. A public audience will bear witness to the quality of their work (or lack thereof) — will see for themselves the results of students’ practice and hard work. The crowds in the stands, on the sidelines and in the audience add kinetic energy and excitement for the students in the spotlight of attention — not only during live performances but also during practices and rehearsals that are preparations for the real thing.

We believe that students’ intensity of engagement and urgency of purpose could become more of the norm in day-to-day academic activities. A diagram in chapter six of the book posits a “hierarchy of audience” theory that the more high stakes the audience the more engaging and motivating the school work:

This year we aim to have 100% of our students do at least one “student-led” parent-teacher conference. We also aim to have 100% of our K- 12 students participate in a Celebration of Learning this spring. Mark your calendars for the Belfast Area High School Celebration of Learning on Friday, April 17 (presentations in the humanities in the morning and presentations in math, science and technology in the afternoon). Dates in our seven other school sites will be announced in late winter.

Here I’d like to publicly thank those community partners who have worked hard to help our children and young adults succeed. Last year at this time in an article entitled “You’re Invited,” I announced a supper-hour book study on Helping Children Succeed by Paul Tough that was open to the public. Many members of the community and I enjoyed wide-ranging conversation over pizza and salad. I thank these individuals for their commitment to helping our students succeed.

I’d also like to publicly thank the many community partners who have stepped up to offer special enrichment programs for students on PD Fridays afternoons. The Game Loft runs after school programming every day and opens its door early on PD Fridays. The Waldo County Y started a new after-school program at Ames Elementary School, serving students in the tri-town The Waldo Y has a long history of offering after-school programming to middle school students daily and has also opened its doors early on PD Fridays. Waterfall Arts is offering a fabulous Art Club at CASS on PD Fridays. The Belfast Free Library is offering special programming on Friday afternoons and has a long history of providing special courses and events. The Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition has been offering fascinating programs to students during vacation weeks. The Cornerstone Montessori School offers a Friday afternoon Nature Series. And Kids Unplugged offers a program on PD Fridays. Bank of America volunteers are teaching chess to students and have long offered students free Junior Achievement Classes. On behalf of RSU # 71 staff, students and families I extend heartfelt gratitude to all these organizations!

Finally, I’d like to lift up and recognize the educators who are already exposing students to a variety of audiences. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated and talented workforce across the school district. My next article, during the second quarter of this school year, will give examples of rigorous learning that has culminated in sharing with audiences beyond the classroom. In late January we will also be premiering a TV show entitled RSU 71 Students Shine featuring the teaching and learning of students and staff across our district. Stay Tuned!

Newsies in the PenBay Pilot!

NEWSIES in the newspaper!

BELFAST — Belfast Area High School presents Newsies - The Musical as its fall musical production. Performances will take place at the Crosby Center, 96 Church Street in Belfast.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 15, 16, 22, and 23, at 7 p.m.; and Sundays, Nov. 17 and 24, at 2 p.m.

The Broadway hit Newsies is based on the real-life Newsboy Strike of 1899, and tells the story of Jack Kelly, a rebellious newsboy who dreams of a life as an artist away from the big city. After publishing giant Joseph Pulitzer raises newspaper prices at the newsboys’ expense, Kelly and his fellow newsies take action. With help from the beautiful female reporter Katherine Plumber, all of New York City soon recognizes the power of “the little man.”

The cast includes Bryan Spaulding as Jack Kelly; Willa Bywater as Crutchie; Phoebe Norman as Katherine Plumber; Emily Wakeman as Race; Gemma Bradney as Finch and a Bowery Beauty; Alice Dyer as Elmer; Haley Black as Mush; Hayle Withee as Albert; Sarah Cournoyer as Romeo; Maiara Rebordao as Buttons; Savannah Springer as Specs; Marina Bannister as Henry and a Bowery Beauty; Ada Curry as Jo Jo and Spot Conlon; Annabelle Lisa as Tommy Boy and Scab 1; Mercedez Whitmore as Davey; Maddie Mailloux as Les; Shaylynn Williams as Morris Delancey; Paige Rollerson as Oscar Delancey; Paige Ford as Medda Larkin, Nun, and Scab 2; Hannah Marsden as Weisel, Bunsen, Nun 1, and Bill; and Lily Christian as Hannah, Nun, Woman, Darcy, and Scab 3.

Adults roles will be played by Mike Lawson as Nunzio, Guard, Mr. Jacobi, and the Mayor; Bob Withee as a Policeman and Teddy Roosevelt; Scott Cournoyer as Snyder; and Eric Sanders as Joseph Pulitzer.

The production team includes Director Jason Bannister, who also led the Set and Light Design, Music Director Dominic Williams, and choreographers Julia Clapp and Michelle Lemieux,

Gymnastics instructor Amber Resmini, Stage Manager Melora Norman, Costume/Hair/Makeup Designer Sarah Joy, Stunt Coordinator Nathan Roach, and light board and follow spot operators Paige Sweetland and Sofia Barnard.

"It's been an incredible experience directing Newsies," Director Jason Bannister said, in a news release. "These high schoolers have worked tirelessly over the last 8 weeks, nearly 100 hours, with the adult guidance of two choreographers, a music director, a stunt coordinator and a gymnastics instructor. I am honored to be surrounded by such talent and determination. The focus on creating the strongest theatrical performances possible is at the heart of this production."

Tickets are $5/adults, $2/students, and will be available at the door.

For more information visit the BAHS website at www.bahs.rsu71.org.

Farm to Table at RSU #71

The RSU71 School Nutrition Program continues to support local farmers. Yesterday staff at THMS shredded local carrots from THMS garden and Cross Patch Farms in Morrill. Cabbage was delivered yesterday from Village Farms in Freedom.Wicked fresh and healthy coleslaw,( 80 lbs) will be delivered to all schools for Mondays menu that has coleslaw as a side dish. Cabbage and carrots will also be on the menu as a hot side dish next week. RSU71 has partnered with the Harvest of the Month Theme for this current school year. Brassicas is the vegetable of the month for November, which is part of the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage family. Please visit the Food Service link on school websites to review school breakfast and lunch menus.

Red Ribbon Week at Ames School

Red Ribbon Week Write-Up
The students at Ames celebrated Red Ribbon Week during October 21st-October 25th. Red Ribbon Week is a national campaign to help students learn about the dangers of using drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Students in grades two through five had classroom guidance lessons, completed activities, signed a banner pledging to be healthy and planted red tulip bulbs in the garden out front. These tulips will blossom in the spring and help to remind the students about staying alcohol, drug and tobacco free.

We would like to thank Jake Gurney, our transportation director, for coming out to Ames on Monday night and rototilling our garden so that the ground was ready for planting. We would also like to thank Aubuchon Hardware for donating some of our tulip bulbs. And we want to recognize fifth grader, Zoey Fitts, for taking our beautiful pictures.

    

   

The Vape Talk

Over 5,700 kids start vaping every day. Misconceptions, peer pressure, and marketing tactics all contribute to the staggering rise. Talk to your kids about e-cigarettes while they're still willing to listen. Visit the American Lung Association's website to read about The Vape Talk here.

Lions top Purple Panthers

High school golfers from Belfast and Mount View could not have asked for better weather and course conditions on Thursday, Sept. 5, as the Waldo County teams were graced by sunny skies and warm temperatures.  Read on Village Soup....

NewsCenter Maine article: Belfast Area High School renovations complete just in time for first day of school

On September 4, this article and video was posted on the NewsCenter Maine web site highlight the renovations done at RSU71:

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/as-seen-on-tv/belfast-area-high-school-renovations-complete-just-in-time-for-first-day-of-school/97-3e4b8352-f92d-455b-a8e1-8faf66f63c14

BAHS High School Renovation - Bangor Daily News

Read the BDN article here - https://bangordailynews.com/2019/08/28/news/midcoast/this-high-school-used-to-be-covered-in-rats-and-rust-check-out-the-transformation/

BAHS Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Recognizing the Completion of the Belfast Area High School

Construction and Renovation Project

Monday, August 26, 2019, at 1:00 pm

Greetings, I’m Mary Alice McLean and honoured to be RSU 71’s Superintendent of Schools. I am elated to welcome you to the ribbon-cutting ceremony recognizing the substantial completion of the 7.6 million dollar construction and renovation of Belfast Area High School, a project that will uplift and elevate the experiences of our beloved students and families and their dedicated staff.

The course of the project, which was still being finalized when I arrived as BAHS principal during the summer of 2016 has entailed:

Substantial Renovation:

• Kitchen
• Cafeteria
• Lobby
• Restrooms
• Canopy and Entrance
• Pool
• Locker-Rooms
• Home Ec Room
• Special Education Wing into which the Central Office and Adult Ed have just recently moved

New Construction:

• New Math Wing
• New Special Education Classrooms housing our Day Treatment and Lifeskills Classrooms

After this brief speech, you are all invited to:

• Celebrate with ice-cream and frozen treats under the canopy at the entrance
• Walkthrough and take a look at the new and renovated spaces within the high school.

But first I’d like to thank a good many people:

First I’d like to thank the RSU 71 community for supporting the work of this very important transformation of our flagship school, the school to which all our children from the towns Swanville, Morrill, Belmont, Searmont and the city of Belfast come to learn and to grow. I thank our residents and their families, our many community partners, the voters, the selectmen and women of the towns, our city councillors and mayor, and all municipal employees. We heartily thank each and every one of you.

Second: We have a truly fabulous school board now and in the past, while plans were being drawn up and developed. In American Public Education, the school board is the governing body of each school district. Being a school board member is a lot of work, is very time-consuming and is sometimes thankless. We are very lucky indeed to have had such stellar leadership during the first few years of the still relatively young RSU # 71. Many and heartfelt thanks go to school board members past and present:

Caitlin Hills - Chair
Jess Woods - Assistant Chair
David Crabiel - Former Chair
Charlie Gray
Scott Cournoyer
Steve Hopkins
Josh Solebello
Catherine Robbins-Halsted
Jean Dube
Allison Goscinski - former Assistant Chair
Evie deFrees
Fred Black
Kate Bowles
Bernadette Dutra and
Laura Newsom

Third, I’d like to heartily thank the first Superintendent to see the new RSU # 71 underway and to work very hard to get the project planned and approved by the voters. Dr Paul Knowles is owed a debt of gratitude from all of us today.

Next, I’d like to thank our talented architectural firm under the leadership of Michael Johanning. Many thanks to the designers and engineers, the interior design Jenifer Richards and the Clerk of the Works Ben Stoodley. I love how the renovation and new look and how elevated and well-supported it makes the students and staff and community feel about themselves and their future prospects. The RSU 71 community is one that truly cares about its youth and our collective future.

You can’t have new demolition, construction and renovation without somebody overseeing the bazillion moving parts and sub-contractors that go into making it happen. Our general contractor has been The Penobscot Company overseen by Dave Nazaroff and his wife and keenly assisted by Rob Mattes and a large crew. They have been with us through thick and thin and through the inevitable challenges of a project of this scope. Many thanks to Dave and Rob and the whole team.

Finally, I must acknowledge the patience and understanding of students and staff throughout the project. Getting to the point of achieving such grand plans can be a gargantuan distraction to the business of teaching and learning -- it can be noisy and dusty, and on the way to being beautiful everything can look pretty dreary and dismal and feel like it is never going to be actually done. Thanks to the entire faculty and staff at the high school. Thanks especially to the math department who spent two years displaced and rolling their classroom materials around on carts and also special thanks go to the staff and students in the day treatment and life-skills classes, and our science and home economics teacher, who bore the brunt of the noise. Special thanks must also be directed to:

• Chandra Hodgdon our fabulous Director of Finance who was in command of every single penny that has gone into this project, to
• Jake Gurney our Director of Maintenance and Transportation, and to our interim Director Scott Packard -- who filled in while we were getting Jake on board -- for the care and excellent communication around this project,
• to our Director of Technology Dr Dave Fournier and his brilliant assistant in all things involving lines and phones and technology systems Kerry Lord.

Ribbon-Cutting: Caitlin Hills, Jess Woods, David Crabiel and Charlie Grey

Continue the celebration with ice-cream (under the canopy) and an Open House of the new and renovated portions of the building.

August Greetings, To RSU # 71 Staff & School Board!!

This is just a friendly reminder that we are due back at work on Monday, August 26th in the cafeteria at Belfast Area High School.  Here is the schedule for that day and the next:

Monday, August 26th - BAHS Gym & Buildings & Grounds 

8:00 am - 2:00 pm

8:00 - Association Meeting

• Who: Attendance is optional
• Where: Belfast Area High School Gym 
• Coffee will be available!

9:15 - 11:30 am - Welcome, Welcome Back and Team Leader Training Part I 

• Who: All staff are required to be in attendance, including central office staff, administrators, administrative assistants, principals, directors, all support staff including custodians, secretaries, bus garage personnel and educational technicians, all professional staff, including teachers, specialists, counselors, nurses -- in short all staff --  are required to stay from 9:15 - 11:30, with the sole exception of the foodservice staff who will leave after the Opening Day Welcome/Welcome Back, in order to prepare our full staff cookout and ice-cream social. 🍉  🌭 🍔

12 noon - 1:00 pm - RSU # 71 Staff Cookout for All Staff and School Board

• What: Hamburgers, hotdogs, watermelon, chips, pickles and drinks, music on the loudspeaker, hugs and catching up conversations -- everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend to enjoy this huge gathering and especially to warmly welcome all the new staff into the RSU # 71 family.
• Where: BAHS Canopy - Food will be under the new canopy at the entrance to the high school.  Lunch may be eaten at picnic tables under trees or in the sunshine (we hope) on the football field and lawns or inside the cafeteria or gym, where there will be chairs and benches in the gym and tables and benches in the cafeteria.

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Belfast Area High School Renovation and Construction: Ribbon Cutting, Ice-Cream Social and Open House Celebration 🎶🍦📢

• Who: All community members, school board members, news media, city council, town selectpersons, staff, students, parents -- come one and all.
• Where: The ribbon-cutting will be in front of the new math wing, with a short speech followed by an Ice-Cream Social outside. Frozen treats (cones, ice-cream sandwiches, and popsicles) will be under the canopy and Open House will be in the new and renovated portions of the high school (only).  

Tuesday, August 27th - BAHS Gym  8:00 - 11:00 am 

8:00 -  11:00 - Team Leader Training Part II, with a Focus on Instruction and Learning: All Instructional Staff (teachers, counselors, educational technicians, specialists, nurses, library-media specialists, technology integrators and administrators (all principals and directors involved with instruction) are required to attend.

• Where: Belfast Area High School Gym 
• Please bring your own coffee, water, and snacks on Tuesday -- teams may wish to plan who will bring what -- many thanks!

The remainder of the day will be spent in individual schools on building level work.

Please feel free to be in touch with your supervisor if you are not sure where to be on these days!

I look forward to seeing you all on August 26th and to getting the exciting voyage of 2019-2020 underway!

Best Regards,    

-Mary Alice

RSU 71 Central Office Has A New Location

Please be advised that the RSU 71 Central Office has moved to a new location.  It is now on the same premises as Belfast Area High School.

RSU 71 New Physical Address:

41 Lions Way

Belfast, ME  04915

Also be advised that although BAHS hasn't moved, that school has a new mailing address as well.

BAHS New Address:

25 Lions Way

Belfast, ME 04915

Letter for Parents concerning Early Release Day Fridays

To:  RSU #71 Parents and Guardians and Belfast Area High School Students
Re:  Early Release Day Fridays

Dear RSU #71 Families and High School Students,

With the approval of a weekly Early Release for all students by the Board of Directors, we want to share with you the plans that will support our district goal of improving and expanding professional development, training and common planning time on teams for all district educators and staff.  We already have  many wonderful learning activities in all of our schools, though there are many indicators that we can and must do even better by our students. School and district  improvement will be realized in ways both measurable and immeasurable if we provide teachers and other staff members with much-needed support and time to work together.

Specific details regarding the Early Release Plan are as follows:

• K-5 students will be released at 12:00pm on every Friday afternoon. 
• 6-12 students will be dismissed at 1:15 - 1:30pm every Friday afternoon.
  Sports practices for THMS and BAHS will follow the regular schedule. WCTC students in the afternoon session, will be dismissed at the usual time (1:50 pm), with bus transportation provided to students needing to be transported home.

We are very fortunate to have community partners able and willing to provide families with enrichment opportunities for their children on Friday afternoons.  While these plans will need to be arranged and paid for by parents, we do intend to provide assistance to families that need help planning and/or paying for these services. Transportation to after-school activities will be provided by the school system within each  catchment area, though parents will be responsible for transporting students home from there. (For example, the Waldo County Y will be offering after-school care at Ames Elementary School for up to 24 children in the Tritown until up to 5:30 or 6:00 pm; but parents will need to pick their children up at the end of the day.) Parents who need assistance in the logistics of planning or paying for after-school care are asked to please indicate this need on the enclosed form and return to my office in the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope by July 19.  We are also looking for high school students -- especially those involved in PE Leadership, Peer Leadership, National Honor Society, Student Senate, National Arts Honor Society, Theatre, Chorus and the Civil Rights Team, as well as students who may be thinking of a possible career in early childhood education or social services -- who would be willing to volunteer their time on Friday afternoons.  There is also a form that interested high school students are asked to fill out and return. The list of community partners offering student enrichment activities thus far is as follows:

1. Waldo County Y - Morrill, Belmont and Searsmont - after-school programming in the tri-town, located at the Ames School, with two trained YMCA staff members for up to 24 students who are registered with the Y’s Early Release Fridays Only program
2. Waldo County Y - THMS and BAHS - Y will be opening early on Fridays for middle and high school students in the teen access program
3. Waldo County Y - Bus from CASS to the Y at dismissal on Fridays for those students registered at the Y in the afterschool program with the understanding that the Y is limited by licensing standards as to the number of youth it can serve
4. Waldo County Y - Parents may register at the Y for K-5 after-school activities as space allows
5. Waterfall Arts - CASS - Bridge Jr. Art Afterschool - a creativity club with a different project every week, plus time for free-draw and independent work. Led by art educator Bridget Matros
6. GameLoft - opening early on Friday afternoons
7. Kids Unplugged - Nickerson - bus from Swanville to Kids Unplugged
8. Bank of America Volunteers - teaching chess to elementary students at East and Nickerson
9. BAHS Students - We are hoping that students in PE Leadership, Peer Leadership and those interested in a career in Early Childhood Education may be willing to volunteer some time in our K-5 schools to augment supervision of students who need it. (My sister and I did this in high school and it spurred our interest in a career in education.)

Three specific areas targeted for professional development in instruction, teaching and learning are:

1. Transforming Schools Through Student Engagement
• Putting the powerful tools of measuring progress back in the hands of students
• Igniting the capacity of students to take responsibility for their own learning and build independence, critical thinking skills, and perseverance
2. Collaborative Culture 
• Helping educators build classrooms that are respectful, active, collaborative, and growth-oriented
• Helping schools build school-wide structures, expectations and practices to elicit keen engagement, investment and performance on the part of students and staff
3. Learning That Lasts
• Challenging, Engaging and Empowering Students with Deeper Instruction

 Common Planning Time (CPT):  The primary purpose of common planning time is to

 bring teachers and other staff together to learn from one another and collaborate on projects that will lead to improvements in lesson quality, instructional effectiveness, and student achievement. These improvements result from (1) the improved coordination and communication that occurs among teachers who meet and talk regularly, (2) the learning, insights, and constructive feedback that occur during professional discussions among teachers, and (3) the lessons, units, materials, and resources that are created or improved when teachers work on them collaboratively. CPT will be planned and overseen by building principals, directors, teacher leaders and me to ensure that time is being well used as a vehicle to better meet the needs of our students. All professional staff will be trained in Team Leader Training in August, 2019 with the expectation that, over time, all professional staff will serve as leaders of their teams.  The uses of CPT will include:

• Professional Discussions  - Teachers review lesson plans and assessments that have been used in a class, and then offer critical feedback and recommendations for improvement.  Teachers collaborate on lesson and unit planning, analyze student assessment data, and plan school-wide activities (school, grade level or department meetings).
• Assessing Student Products and Performances  - Teachers assess one another’s student work products and performances,  with an eye to seeing patterns and trends in student performance that reflect instructional strengths and weaknesses.  Teachers then offer up recommendations and make commitments to try alternative strategies to elicit even better results. (For example, teachers may score student writing  using the district writing rubric for that grade level.) 
• Diving into Assessment Data - Teachers analyze student-performance data to identify trends—such as which students are consistently failing or underperforming—and work collaboratively to develop and commit to using teaching and support strategies to help students. By discussing the students they have in common, teachers can develop a stronger understanding of the specific learning needs and abilities of certain students, which can then help them coordinate and improve how those students are taught.
• Discussing Professional Literature - Teachers familiarize themselves with educational research through reading and sharing relevant texts. Focused and protocol-driven conversations help teachers discard teaching strategies that research and experience show to be ineffective, consider alternative methods, and then share with colleagues the impact of the change (e.g. “white board example” at BAHS).
• Creating Courses and Integrated Units -  Teachers collaboratively work on lesson plans, assignments, projects, new courses,  integrated units. capstone projects, celebrations of learning (e.g. science fairs), learning pathways, personal learning plans and  portfolios.  Unified Arts teachers and specialists (i.e. art, music, theatre, PE, health teachers and school nurse, school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, speech therapists, etc) consider where their content areas overlap and bring alive another’s content area though planning together.
• Response to Intervention and Individualized Student Plans -   Teacher teams work together to plan interventions for struggling students.  Teachers, parents, school counselors and administrators form SIT (Student Intervention Team) to create individualized plans for students who need these.
• School Improvement Leadership Meetings -   Leadership meetings allow time for schools to identify goals and create plans to meet those goals (ESEA and Comprehensive Needs Plan).
• Curriculum and Assessment Work - Rather than pull teachers out of classrooms to work on K-12 curriculum and assessment designs, and hire substitutes to teach students, time would already be built into the school calendar to do this important and foundational work..  
• Professional Development and Training in the Use of Instructional Best Practices - Each school and area of the district will follow up on the professional development that was provided in August.
• Training Mandated by Law - Districts are required to document and submit to the state evidence of training on a wide array of topics, including:  Blood Borne Pathogens, Affirmative Action, FERPA, Suicide Prevention and Mandatory Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect. 
• Safety Training - We need to train all staff in ALICE (Alert-LockDown - Inform- Counter and Evacuate  i.e. active shooter training) and our RSU 71 School Safety Plan and Protocols.

Support Staff Teams and Training:  Support staff also need time to build capacity, to receive training and to work as members of a team.  Topics include:

• Safety Protocols in RSU 71
• New and improved methods in the fields of cleaning and maintenance
• Review of job description and evaluation tools
• CPR/First Aid
• Behavior Management 101
• Building Positive Culture on Teams (Custodial and Bus Garage Teams)
• Attendance/Truancy Protocols and Policies
• District Policies and Protocols

Intended Outcomes: Weekly Early Release Days will promote a variety of positive professional interactions and practices among staff in our schools:

• Teachers and Educational Support Staff (ESP) will assume more leadership, responsibility, and greater personal investment in the school-and-system- improvement process.
• Teachers and ESP will feel more confident and better equipped to address the learning needs of students, and more willing to engage in the kind of self-reflection that leads to professional growth and improvement.
• School cultures will improve as work relationships grow stronger and more trusting, with staff interacting and communicating more productively.
• Instructional innovation and 21st century pedagogy will be in evidence in all of our K-12 classrooms, with teachers and educational technicians consistently and daily applying new learning about effective  instructional techniques.
• Helped Out - Teachers will use more evidence-based approaches to designing lessons and delivering instruction.  Staff who are effective will be supported to become highly effective. Staff who are ineffective or not effective enough will be supported such that they may improve and maintain higher levels of day-to-day performance. 

Please return the enclosed need & interest form if you are: 1) a parent or guardian looking for assistance in planning and/or paying for Friday afternoon enrichment activities for your children or 2) a parent or guardian or family member interested in volunteering or contributing resources to families in need or 3) a high school student interested in volunteering some of your time on Friday afternoons.

Please feel free to be in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,    

Mary Alice McLean, Superintendent of Schools, RSU # 71

*Click the PDF below to access the full letter and need & interest form.

Letter to Parents PDF

Superintendent Remarks at Graduation

Greetings, BAHS Class of 2019, Parents, Friends, Family and RSU 71 Staff Members and Board of Directors, 

The first time I was invited to give a graduation speech was in 1997 after having left Georges Valley High School, where I had taught English, to take over the principalship at the middle school that sat across the playing fields in Thomaston.  I was deeply honored to have been invited back by my former students to be their class speaker; but I took the honour rather too seriously and crafted a lecture reminiscent of the deep long lectures I’d loved at Harvard Divinity School, where I’d become certified to teach high school English through its program in Religion and Secondary Education.  The graduating class’s class motto was “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” a famous saying from Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher and reputed author of the Tao Te Ching.  I gave the speech all my might on the night before graduation and it was way too long. Today I speak to you as the superintendent of schools for RSU 71 and as your former high school principal and promise that I learned an important lesson that I’ve taken into account on this important day,  23 years later.  I’ll be a brief 5 minutes.

We will miss this supremely talented class, its singing, its acting, its playing, deep thinking, sense of humor, exceptional accomplishment in science and writing and the visual arts, its talent in the trades, its service to the school and community, its kindness and charmingly affectionate and respectful ways with one another and even with adults. We hope you will come back to see us and your alma mater often.

The central metaphors I wish to consider today are only three, the first mountain, the second mountain and the valley in between. They are borrowed from a new book by one of my favorite modern writers, David Brooks, a conservative columnist for the NYT.  He describes the first mountain as being about individualism, a long process of self-discovery and self-promotion in which you rack up grades and credits, individual accomplishments and recommendations, resumes and medals, cords, stoles and , and many colorful feathers in your cap, as witnessed by the many graduates who today will barely be able to walk on stage from the weight of their accomplishments. Accolades and special accoutrements  or not every single  one of you has successfully made it to the top of the first mountain, a long and arduous climb to graduation after 13 or more years in public education, an accomplishment that  required a lot of very hard work. It has I hope led to the happiness I hope you all feel today, and know you all deserve, a warm inner bubbling feeling that comes from having successfully jumped through the many hoops that were set before you, to the satisfaction of your teachers, administrators, parents, school board and community. We have had high expectations of you.  You indeed met them and we are all here to recognize and congratulate these accomplishments.

The second mountain, according to Brooks,  is not so much about self-fulfillment, not so much about happiness in self-achievement and acquisition and more about the joy of forgetting yourself altogether. Attaining a deep calm joy derives from giving yourself altogether away through commitment to a cause or a person or a faith or institution or philosophy. OR to a career that will take all the talent and love and energy and time you can muster. On the second mountain you do not ask “What is in it for me?” or “How will this impact my GPA?” Rather, it is about how can I match my particular interests, talents, idiosyncrasies and proclivities to strengthen something that  needs strengthening in this world.

A couple of years ago at a graduation speech at Rockland’s MCST the keynote speaker was Peter Horch of Horch Roofing. Mr. Horch described finding his true calling when he had made time, at the very end of a very long hard day of work to pull his truck into the driveway of an elderly woman who lived alone and had a long-standing plumbing problem that badly needed fixing.  He pulled his tired self out of the truck and found that the sheer joy the old woman conveyed on her face and in her voice as she opened the door was a defining and transformational moment. Her joy energized him and awakened his own joy at having a skill set that was badly needed, not only by this woman, he realized in that moment,  but by an entire community of people. He realized at that moment that he was indeed in possession of  a set of skills which he enjoyed using and that were badly needed. Since that moment he has built a very successful and remunerative business and is living a good life that is both profitable to him and of service to his community. “How can I make my family or community or world better because of the energy and interest I bring to solving problems and answering a call to duty and to service?” This is the question that gets answered on the second mountain.

The third metaphor is the valley, Brook’s description of the times when life hits you with terrible blows. It could be the death of a beloved friend or family member.  It could be a cancer diagnosis or health issue that precludes your doing the very thing you are best at.  It could be the loss of a job or divorce or a bad break-up or addiction or indebtedness or emerging mental health crises that consumes you or one you love in a valley of darkness, sadness and depression. The valley is known by tragedy or failure of some kind.

Brooks argues that people usually have to go through some sort of a valley in order to make it to the second mountain.

I would argue instead that many of you already know all about life in the valley because many of you have been forcibly and repeatedly kicked right down the first mountain and into the valley, by circumstances beyond your control, such as the death of a friend or family member, or by poverty or the need to babysit instead of study, work instead of playing on a team or singing on a stage.
When I was climbing the first mountain during my own growing up years I often had to make what seemed like the tough choice to be purposely selfish on occasion, by hiding out at school or in the public library, where I couldn’t be hunted down, and also by working at a laundromat starting at age 14 so that I could get my homework done in relative peace, and have money to contribute to the family.  I had a wonderful and loving family with parents who strongly believed in service and in the social gospel of love, but it was through willingful selfishness that I carved out a place for personal achievement that ended up in the long run -- four degrees and several continents later --  being a source of great strength to a family I still love unequivocally .  The big old leaky drafty home of my childhood was filled with children -- some adopted, some biological, some foster,  some wondering waifs, some international students -- who regularly found their way to our table, along with financially struggling college students from the nearby Framingham State who were thankful for a cheap place to stay -- and with adults the like of Raoul, AKA “Rocky” LaRocque, a talented artist whom my parents worked hard to get out of prison on parole.  He later married a nun in Fall River Massachusett and we all went to the wedding. I share a couple of personal details as a way of illustrating that sometimes the very things that seem to trip you up, that seem to impede personal progress, end being the best of all training grounds for the growing of skills, skills such as constitutional endurance, depth of understanding and to mix metaphors, an ability to steer your ship successfully through turbulent waters. At the end of the day it hasn’t been the degrees I earned -- although I am grateful for them and found that they have helped me a great deal. You can take the skills that you may not wish to have had to develop prematurely and turn them into your strongest assets.

And so I conclude, within the five minutes promised, with three things:

1. I congratulate you and wish you true happiness at this the pinnacle of your thirteen-year hike to the high school graduation, the summit of your first mountain.  
2. I wish you -- during any valleys and second mountain hikes that lay ahead -- fortitude and the memory that you have been deeply loved by all of us present here today, who believe in you, who have given of ourselves for you, and who have loved you with whatever we have had to give, and in spite of our own limitations.  
3. And 3, down the road a little way,  I wish you the joy of reaching a second mountain summit of self-forgetting, a time when all that you are and all that you know gushes forth with great joy in a distinctive life unique to you, a life of service, fulfillment and deep commitment. 

Thank you.

Presented by Mary Alice McLean, Superintendent

Belfast Adult Education Honors Its Graduates

Belfast Adult Education Celebrates Its Graduates
You might be surprised to know that adult education graduates have goals that mirror those of traditional high school students:  Ashlee is committed to becoming a pediatric nurse. Alex plans to become an electrician. Odin has decided that he’ll go to college to study forensic science.  They are just three of the twelve students (of a total of thirteen) who participated in the Belfast Adult Education (BAE) annual graduation ceremony on the evening of Wednesday, June 5 in the Belfast Area High School gym.  All twelve students have ambitious college and/or career readiness goals and much cause to celebrate, having returned to school after significant life challenges interfered with the more traditional high school graduation pathway.

Wearing traditional caps and gowns, they marched to piano music performed by Lincoln Blake. They were welcomed onto the stage by BAE director, Darrell Gilman, BAE advisor, Marie Roberts, RSU 71 superintendent, Mary Alice McLean, and RSU 71 Board of Directors Chair, Caitlin Hills.

The ceremony included a message of congratulations from Superintendent McLean, who applauded students for achieving educational goals despite hardships they’d encountered along the way.  Two students, Ashlee Butler and Scotty Clark, stood at the podium to share the story of their educational journey. They described the tremendous obstacles they overcame before choosing an alternative educational pathway.  While their stories were unique and deeply personal, they highlighted the courage and resilience all adult learners must draw upon to accomplish goals that others often take for granted.  They also noted that caring relationships with adult ed staff gave them the confidence to see themselves as capable learners and the motivation to stick with the program.

As the ceremony drew to a close, the BAE advisor presented each student with a personal certificate describing their individual achievements, which was followed by the awarding of diplomas.  Students and their families gathered in the cafeteria to celebrate with cake, refreshments, and photo opportunities.

Graduates have reached this milestone by completing the High School Equivalency Test (commonly known as the HiSET) or by taking courses to complete the credits needed to receive their High School Diploma.  Some of the graduates have been working toward their graduation goal over a period of several years, while others have been able to graduate more quickly.

The BAE graduating class list includes:  Michael Benjamin, Trapper Berard, Ashlee Butler, Scotty Clark, Alexander Cunningham, Corey Deschamps, Randy Elwell, II, Mazey McKeen, Loretta Mosher, Melinda O’Brien, Odin Scappaticci, Shylyn Skillings, and Wendall Tracy.

BAE provides year-round services in high school completion, workforce readiness, and college preparation for adult learners as well as one-on-one tutoring in reading, writing, math, and computer skills. If you are ready to start (or restart) your educational journey and work towards your goals with the support and guidance of a dedicated staff, take the next step and contact Belfast Adult Education at 338-3197. FMI, go to www.belfast.maineadulted.org or look for the BAE brochure in your mailbox early this fall, when it is mailed to every residence in Waldo County.

Ames Students Honor Veterans Who Served

The entire Ames Elementary School in Searsmont turned out to commemorate fallen servicemen and women today by placing American Flags on graves sites at Grove Cemetery.

The event was sponsored by the Randall Collins Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3108, in preparation for the formal flag placement ceremony tomorrow.
Jim Roberts, VFW operations manager, said in a press release, "Every year the Belfast VFW places the American flags on grave sites on the Saturday before Memorial Day, but this year we are showing students, continuing our mission of 'Veterans in the classroom,' and having students witness, then practice, placing flags."
Post Commander Anthony Kimble encouraged students to say the veteran's name out loud, thank them for their service, notice their age and reflect on their dedication.
"Do this with respect and gratitude," he said.
Before placing flags, Ames fifth-graders sang "God Bless America," followed by Roberts playing "Taps."
"It is important," Kimble said, "not to take for granted the freedoms we have, which were paid for by the servicemen and women and their ultimate sacrifices.
"We will not forget," he said.
Principal Lori Smails said, "It was very meaningful for both students and staff to participate. Again, it really connects what we are teaching in the classroom to real-life events.
"Today's event was truly authentic learning. Students see the flags in our community or watch a ceremony on television, but participating in such an event brings learning to life, and also creates the sense of community we want to instill in our students."
Second grade teacher Sarah Nelson said she was thankful to Randall Collins VFW Post 3108 for reaching out to the Ames School for this educational opportunity.
"We have been most fortunate to partner with members of the VFW to foster patriotism and community volunteerism," she said.
"An event where each student places a flag on the final resting site of a service member shows our students the true meaning of Memorial Day, teaches flag etiquette and builds respect for those who have served."

By Fran Gonzalez | May 24, 2019

Photo by: Fran GonzalezVFW Post Commander Anthony Kimble looks over a headstone with Ames Elementary students May 24 to decipher name and age and reflect on their dedication before placing a commemorative flag.

Each Ames Elementary School student has a flag to place at the grave site of a serviceman or woman at Grove Cemetery May 24. (Photo by: Fran Gonzalez)

Ames students place flags with guidance from Bill Pollock, Post 3108 quartermaster, right, member May 24. (Photo by: Fran Gonzalez)

Ames Elementary School second grade teacher Sarah Nelson leads students into Grove Cemetery May 24 to place flags on the final resting places of servicemen and women and thank them for their service. (Photo by: Fran Gonzalez)

Ames Elementary fifth-graders sing "God Bless America" before placing flags at Grove Cemetery May 24. (Photo by: Fran Gonzalez)

Ames students with teacher Sarah Nelson, center, join in singing "God Bless America" at Grove Cemetery May 24. (Photo by: Fran Gonzalez)

(Photo by: Fran Gonzalez)

(Photo by: Fran Gonzalez)