Windham High School Quiz Team opens season with second-place trophy

By Lorraine Glowczak

The intellectual competitions for the trivia-loving Windham High School students begin again this year as they sailed through their second tournament at Plymouth Regional High School in New Hampshire on Saturday, October 15. The High School Quiz Team sparred against about 10 other New England high school teams that traveled from as far away as Syracuse, New York.

The Windham High School Quiz Team gathers with their
second-place trophy on the Gould Academy Campus. Front
from left are, Nolan McPhail, Greta Paulding, Kaitlyn Farrin,
and Alex Pooler (team manager). Middle from left, Juliar Demar,
Will Stuart, Delia Tomkus, Victoria Lin, Al Potter, John
Ziegler, and Nicole Densmore. Back is Ralph Leavitt. 
SUBMITTED PHOTO

Although the team didn’t place in this tournament, the players faired very well at the Maine Quiz Bowl Alliance tournament at the beginning of the month at Gould Academy in Bethel. The WSQT finished second overall, placing first among Maine teams.

“Kaitlyn Farrin [Junior] finished eleventh in the tournament in scoring, Victoria Lin [Senior] finished eighth, and Greta Paulding [Senior] finished second,” co-advisor and WHS math teacher John Ziegler said.

Ziegler also stated that a newcomer to the team, sophomore Julia Demar, had a fantastic performance in her first tournament. He also shared the successful contributions of other team members.

“Julia finished15th in the tournament in scoring. Freshmen Nolan McPhail and Delia Tomkus also played well in their first tournament. Returning veterans Al Potter [Senior], Will Stuart [Junior], and Ralph Leavitt [Junior] provided both leadership and good answers as they rounded out the team. And, of course, it is great to have the support of our team manager, Alex Pooler [Junior], who is always there keeping score.”

The HSQT members prepare weekly for these highly competitive, albeit fun, tournaments. To become well-versed in various topics, they often meet and focus on specific categories until they can easily recall random facts.

“We meet for 1 1/2 hours after school on Mondays and for 30 minutes in the morning on Fridays,” co-advisor and WHS English teacher Nicole Densmore said. “We also meet during the summer for two hours or more every Friday. We focused our summer learning on US and World history, as well as opera and North American poets.”

There are many reasons why students join HSQT, and it doesn’t require an individual to know every trivial category or to be considered a genius. Instead, team members say what matters most is to enjoy learning about random facts, wanting to make new friends, and – most importantly - having fun.

“The HSQT is what I would describe as a beautiful chaos,” HSQT team member, Tomkus said. “Somehow, all of us, with our random bits of knowledge, manage to fill in each other's gaps and answer most of the questions. It's really fun, and I have learned a lot since I joined.”

Tomkus continued, sharing what she discovered from her first experience at the Gould Academy tournament.

“I learned that while you still try your hardest, you can also rely on the other team members. For my first tournament, I would say I did fairly well, and I answered a few random questions about music and mythology. Poetry and specific names and dates were probably the hardest for me, but my teammates answered quite a few of those questions.”

Even the advisors get in on the fun as they help guide and prepare the students to be the best they can be.

“What I love about being a High School Quiz Team advisor is getting the opportunity to interact with a fantastic group of students in a positive way,” Ziegler said. “As a teacher, some of your students are excited about learning, and others less so. As an HSQT advisor, all your students are excited about learning, or they wouldn't be there. For example, on our trip to Gould Academy, Greta and I quizzed the team members about US presidents. Nolan felt he didn't know his presidents well enough, so he went home and memorized the list of all the presidents from Washington to Biden. Only an HSQT student would do that.”

Densmore said she enjoys watching students learn new things about the world simply because they are curious, or the topic interests them.

“I really enjoy watching them joke, sing, and interact, whether we are on the road or in the classroom,” she said. “The students who participate are adorable and admirable because they give so much time to the trivia cause and take care of the team by building learning tools like Quizlets or Kahoots or making treats for each other’s birthdays. We are a close group.”

This close-knit group of wise and witty students not only prepare for the tournaments throughout the year but also participate in quiz bowl games with the hope of winning a spot once again on Maine Public Television’s Quiz Show. The HSQT finished in the top four among 15 other participating teams in last season’s Quiz Show, and they hope to participate again this year.

Although it is the team’s focus to display their intellectual prowess on public television, the real purpose of being an HSQT member is already in motion.

“We have become our own family of trusting and caring people who just happen also to love little-known facts and trivia,” Densmore said. “Being with these students is always fun and funny, and we enjoy each other's quirks and unique contributions.”<

New JSMS principal brings 20 years of experience to RSU 14

New Jordan-Small Middle School Principal Michelle Brann
is committed to providing each students with an excellent
education and many opportunities to learn and grow as
young adults. During her spare time, she enjoys fishing
and boating on Casco Bay with her family.
COURTESY PHOTO

By Lorraine Glowczak

Michelle Brann officially began her new post as the Jordon-Small Middle School principal on Wednesday, Aug. 3, when the RSU 14 Board of Directors formally accepted the hiring committee’s nomination of this experienced educational leader.

For the past 21 years, Brann, who replaces former JSMS Principal Randy Crockett, has been a classroom teacher in the Lake Region School and Wells-Ogunquit School Districts, with her most recent position being as assistant principal at Lake Region Middle School.

RSU 14 Superintendent Chris Howell had the opportunity to speak with her former colleagues at Lake Region Middle School, who spoke of Brann with high regard.

“Each individual described Michelle as an accomplished educational leader with a strong personal, moral/ethical compass,” Howell said. “In addition, they shared that she is a strong communicator who has consistently demonstrated an ability to build strong relationships with students, staff and the community.”

One of Brann’s visions for JSMS students is to provide the best educational opportunities available while at the same time acknowledging there is not a “one size fits all” instructive approach.

“I hope to prepare students by readying them for a successful high school experience,” Brann said. “Student success is recognizing that no two students are alike and meeting them where they are by building relationships. Once you build strong bonds with students, they feel supported in learning and growing authentically and in personally meaningful ways.”

 

Brann also said that encouraging students to explore their interests contributes to educational success.

“Middle school is that time in students’ lives to learn about themselves, knowing what feels comfortable in moving forward – not just academically but through extra-curricular opportunities as well.”

Along with embracing student success, Brann said that she also intends to spend her first year understanding the JSMS community’s tradition and culture. She will begin by being an active listener.

“Listening to all the voices in the community – staff, teachers and parents – and learning their needs and goals will be among my priorities as JSMS principal,” she said. “I have a very collaborative approach to leadership, and I believe it is important to have conversations to gather an understanding of all involved to move forward positively and cohesively.”

Brann said she envisions her role as the JSMS principal as a bridge between all community partners.

In addition to her teaching and leadership experiences, Brann has an impressive resume full of training and advanced degrees that she will bring to the position.

After graduating from the Extended Teacher Education Program at the University of Southern Maine, Brann began her teaching career in 2001 as a social studies teacher at Lake Region High School, transferring to Wells High School two years later, teaching there until 2017. 

 

“While there, I worked with students of varying needs and abilities,” she said. “I co-taught classes and was the social studies teacher for the alternative education program. I have been the Assistant Principal at Lake Region Middle School for the past five years. In May of 2021, my love of life-long learning led me to obtain my Certificate of Advanced Studies in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Maine. I continuously seek opportunities to learn and grow as a school leader and look forward to learning and leading JSMS.” 

 

When Brann, who lives in Falmouth, is not busy taking classes or working as a collaborative leader, she is engaged in fun adventuresome activities such as boating and fishing on Casco Bay with her husband, son and daughter. Her family is also busy with high school sports.

“I am very much a hockey mom,” Brann said, whose children both attend Falmouth High School. “My daughter is the athlete in the family, playing hockey and lacrosse. I am a member of both the Hockey Board and Boosters Board in Falmouth since we are so involved with sports and travel to so many games.”

Brann’s family shares their home with a Maine Coon mix cat and two dogs. “One of our dogs is 90 pounds. It’s like having a horse in the house so there is never a dull moment in our family,” she said.

Despite her busy schedule, Brann finds the time to exercise. She walks five miles daily with a supportive group of friends as often as possible and has run the Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth five times. “I am not going to run it this year but have plans to do so again in the future.”

Brann said she feels extremely fortunate to have been selected to become part of the RSU 14 community.

“In the short time that I have been here, I have been immensely impressed by the dedication, professionalism, and kindness that has been demonstrated by the administration, staff and the community,” she said. “I am excited to be here and am committed to providing each student with an excellent education and many opportunities to learn and grow as young adults.”

With this same excitement, the community and staff of Windham and Raymond look forward to the opportunities that Brann will provide for the district.

“It is without a doubt that Lake Region is sad to see Michelle leave their district, but we are delighted and fortunate to have her join RSU 14,” Howell said. <

Doctor leads an evolution in occupational therapy and community leadership

Dr. Kate Loukas

Matt Pascarella

Dr. Kathryn Loukas has been a Windham resident for 29 years and heavily involved in the community programs like Youth Soccer, Riding to the Top, and Windham/Raymond Performing Arts. She has also been helping others since she started in occupation therapy (OT) in the Windham School system in 1993.

Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dr. Loukas loved the outdoors and had worked for the Outward Bound School in Colorado. She had had the opportunity to work for the Outdoor Education Center for the Handicapped and she described it as life changing. She worked with five young men who had spinal cord injuries and were skiers. She knew from that moment, she wanted to work with people who had grit and determination and were finding joy in life on a different level. 

When she graduated with her degree in occupational therapy in 1985, Dr. Loukas and her husband moved to Maine, eventually working for the Windham School system.

“I had an epiphany. I had been working mostly with adults, and when my oldest son went to kindergarten, I saw this really fun room [in the Primary School] where the occupational therapist was helping children access education and I wanted to be a part of that community.” The occupational therapist at the time retired the next week and Dr. Loukas was hired shortly after that.

She worked in Windham Schools for seven years and during that time, also taught courses at the University of New England (UNE). She had always liked teaching and promoting her profession but enjoyed working in the schools.

 In 1998, she split her time between Raymond (working at Jordan-Small Middle School and Raymond Elementary School) and teaching at UNE. Dr. Loukas eventually transitioned to only working at the university.

Dr. Loukas got her doctorate in Occupational Therapy in 2010 from Creighton University online in Nebraska.

In 2013, Dr. Loukas had the opportunity to go to Tangier, Morocco where UNE was building a campus. She observed the cultural differences in occupations (eating, dressing, bathing, education) and the need for occupational therapy. Recently, she was able to teach an interprofessional course with occupational and physical therapy students.  As part of the course the students visited service sites, including an orphanage and a school for children with developmental disabilities. “UNE hosted the first ever OT conference in Morocco,” stated Dr. Loukas. “[This] was really exciting to participate in the evolution of a profession in a developing country. We could see the need and role and were able to facilitate the infancy of the occupational therapy profession at the service sites. The teaching was bringing occupational therapy to Morocco.”

In 2016, Dr. Loukas and physical therapy professor, Dr. Eileen Ricci and several others at UNE helped to develop the Maine Leadership Education for children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) provides high-quality interprofessional education and practice training programs that are funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau in 52 sites across the country.  Dr. Loukas serves as the Training Director as LEND develops interprofessional teams that include family members, students, social workers, speech and language pathologists. LEND also includes self-advocates as trainees working to improve the health and community participation of infants, children, and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

“The idea is that we are creating future interprofessional leaders. I work directly with students, early career practitioners, self-advocates, and family members to build leadership and create programs in the state; it has been a culminating experience for my career to be part of the LEND program,” stated Dr. Loukas. “It is really exciting, as it is experiential teaching where I can spend more time with individual trainees, helping them develop their leadership skills as we work with children and families.  The LEND program also seeks to influence policy to support the rights of people with disabilities through our legislative process on the state and national levels. It is important work and I am honored to be a part of it.”

Dr. Loukas lives with her husband, Kane, and has two sons, two daughters-in-law, a granddaughter, and a grandchild on the way. She loves the outdoors and has a camp in Millinocket where she hikes, kayaks, and skis.

On a personal note, Dr. Loukas was my OT early on and I have continued working with her through the years. I am very grateful for her patience and dedication to her profession (and with me). She is someone who cares deeply about what she does and has her client’s/student’s best interest at heart.