Racial tolerance, acceptance objectives of Windham Middle School's Civil Rights Team

Dyan Pallozzi, an eighth-grader at Windham Middle School, 
helps install a 'Welcome' banner in the school's main hallway
while participating in a WMS Civil Rights Team activity.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

By Ed Pierce

Windham Middle School Civil Rights Team students may be young, but it hasn’t stopped them from being engaged in the social justice movement and working to make their school and their community a more accepting and safer place for everyone.

The Civil Rights Team at WMS can trace its roots back to at least the early 2000s, under faculty advisors Bill Wescott and Eliza Adams and continues today under the guidance of JMG Specialist Fernando Hinojoso. More than 30 students participate in WMS Civil Rights Team activities, both in-person and remotely.

 

Team meetings are 30 minutes long and on Fridays via Zoom. They also meet Monday and Tuesday afternoons and Wednesdays and Thursday mornings in-person at the school.

Hinojoso said he believes that the Civil Rights Team is an essential activity at WMS for a number of reasons, including civic duty and workforce readiness.

 

“CRT students understand that the ongoing injustices in our country demand a civic duty from us: we must respond, however we can, to support those in our world who are victims of injustice by initiating conversations about the underlying issues perpetuating these inequalities,” Hinojoso said. “Employers are looking for applicants who are able to communicate effectively with diverse populations. We are failing our students by not providing opportunities to develop fluency with the various identities with whom the world will expect them to work with.”

 

The WMS Civil Rights Team engages in various activities focused on outreach, such as the creation of a 16-foot “Welcome” banner at thew school and installing a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. mural with a quote to adorn the school’s main hallway.

 

“We are also in the process of finalizing various projects, including our school-wide observance of National Day of Silence on April 12 and April 13, a student-led protest for raising awareness about the bullying, harassment and erasure of LGBTQ youth in schools,” Hinojoso said.

WMS Principal Drew Patin said that CRT participants are making great strides in creating an atmosphere of acceptance and opening a dialogue about important issues facing students in 2021. 

“For me, it is all about ‘all are welcome here.’ All students should feel as though they belong to the school community and should never feel any differently than that based on our differences,” Patin said. “The Civil Rights Team works to fulfill this goal and promise through awareness, action, and support.”

Sixth-grader Ashlynn Cuthbert said that she wanted to be a part of the Civil Rights Team because she wanted to make a difference in the world that she thought was unfair.

“I want the Civil Rights Team to help students of all ages to acknowledge the problems that still exist today and help to prevent those problems from hurting them or others,” Cuthbert said. “Students are better equipped to make a difference by participating in the Civil Rights Team because the CRT provides resources that students might not find on their own, and it gives a community that can help you to find new and better ways to change the world. It gives students the chance to meet people that believe in the same things that you believe in, and those people can help you and give you even more strength than if you were doing it alone.”

Cuthbert says social justice should be on the minds of students at WMS because they are the next generation, and if we change doesn’t happen now, the years and years of tradition and unequal social justice will continue.

Maddy Beckwith, an eighth-grader, said that WMS students who join the Civil Rights Team get a better glance of the issues happening in school.

“I think social justice issues should be on the mind of students at WMS because if students aren't aware of them, then for example they could accidentally make a racist comment that affects one of their fellow classmates,” she said.

Seventh-graders Eva Schroeder and Cynthia Flaherty say they joined the Civil Rights Team to support equality for everyone.

Schroeder said she wants to stand up for people that can't do so for themselves.

“I think it's stupid to judge people based on the color of their skin. I think people are just looking for drama or someone to make fun of sometimes, and it's not right,” she said.

Flaherty said she’s optimistic the WMS Civil Rights Team can open some eyes and change minds.

“I would like to see them change the minds of the people that believe others are lower than them, and because I believe that everyone should be in a safe place that they know they won’t get bullied for,” she said. ”If things are still flawed now, then they will become worse over time; so if they fix it now it could better things.”

Sixth-graders Preston Smith and Ali Albair say they have each encountered racism in the community and that they hope groups such as the Civil Rights Team can educate everyone about the harm that racist acts and slurs cause to others.

“I joined to help every kid be proud of who they are,” Smith said. “My dad and I have both experienced racism first-hand and it’s really sad and mean and also enraging.”

Albair said that he wanted to participate in CRT activities to make people of different skin colors, gender preferences, gender identity, body size, disability and religion feel comfortable at Windham Middle School.

“As for social justice, everyone should have the same privileges, not based on their race, their gender preferences, or anything in between. If one person has the right do to something like take a train or go shopping other people should too,” Albair said. “I think that people should never use slurs, especially if its offending to people.” 

Hunter Gibson, an eighth-grader, said he has wanted to be a part of the Civil Right Team for as long as he can remember.

“I see them expanding greatly and then getting everyone to see each other as equals,” Gibson said. “It's a shame we are going in the right direction but not fast enough.”

Sixth-grader Moriah Layton said she joined the Civil Rights Team to help ensure that everyone feels safe in school.

“Kids can make a difference in the world,” she said. “They know what’s going on and can come up with ways to fix it.”

Hinojoso said he believes that the greatest obstacle facing America right now in the area of race and social justice is language.

“The American people do not have a shared narrative about our past and present, not to mention the language with which to discuss it,” he said. “When we lack the words in common with which to have the conversations we utterly need to have, we inevitably see division in our communities.”

He said he’s spoken to many who believe that racism ended with Martin Luther King Jr.’s voting rights marches, or others who dismiss the harassment of LGBTQ students in schools and that is why student groups such as the WMS Civil Rights Team are vital to the community.

“We believe that we can create a significant impact by simply educating our community about these issues and reinforcing the fact that they exist,” Hinojoso said. <

State greenlights Windham Middle School construction project

RSU 14 has learned that the state has moved ahead with
funding for construction of a project to either rebuild or
renovate Windham Middle School by 2026.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

By Ed Pierce

The next five years will probably have some unexpected twists and turns, but what is known for certain is that by 2026, Windham Middle School will either be renovated or rebuilt, according to RSU 14 administrators.

After several years of being ranked at Number 5 overall among state-approved and subsidized construction projects, RSU 14 has learned that the highly anticipated project is moving forward. How much state funding for the work is yet unknown and that will be the determining factor on whether the aging 44-year-old school will be rebuilt or renovated.       

“RSU 14 received some wonderful news this month about the Windham Middle School construction project. After two years of waiting, the Maine Department of Education announced that the project to replace the school will be moving forward,” said RSU 14 Schools Superintendent Christopher Howell. “The district took the first significant step of the process last week when it officially advertised for architectural services for the project.”

During the RSU 14 School Board meeting on Wednesday evening, the district formed a School Building Committee to oversee the project, which is expected to be completed by 2026.

Howell said that the original Windham Middle School was completed in 1977 and was built for a capacity of 483 students.  That number has now grown to 636 students, with sixth graders housed for some classes at the adjacent Field Allen School, which was built in the 1930s.

“Over the years, the Field Allen School has had several minor renovations and has been incorporated into the programming of the school.  Most recently, two new classrooms were added to the building to accommodate a large sixth-grade class,” Howell said. “The building has served the district well over the years but is starting to show signs that it is reaching the end of its usable life cycle as a school building.  Aside from the inability to have all students in the building under one roof, the main middle school building has small classrooms, outdated science rooms, restroom facilities that do not meet modern requirements, a worn-out heating system, outdated windows, and a less than adequate electrical system.”   

More than 200 students currently transition back and forth from Field Allen School to Windham Middle School for classes in art, music, science, STEM, gym and other activities including the school cafeteria.

RSU 14 originally applied for the Maine Department of Education’s Major Capital Construction Program in 2016 for funding for construction and has ranked as the being fifth-highest priority among 74 proposed school construction projects statewide.

“The program is highly competitive as a positive rating in the process can lead to a significant financial savings for school districts,” Howell said. “A majority of construction costs for school projects selected through this program will be covered by the state.”

Once a district applies for funding, Maine DOE reviews and rates the project based upon need. The State Board of Education then funds as many projects from the list as available debt limit funds allow. Working with the State Board of Education, Maine DOE establishes both size and financial limits on projects.

Local school districts may exceed these limits at local expense through municipal bonds, but the state bears the major financial burden of capital costs for approved school construction projects. As such, Maine DOE first looks at the possibility of renovations or renovations with additions and new school construction projects are only considered in instances in which renovation projects are not economically or educationally feasible.

According to Howell, there are 21 steps in the school construction process for state funded projects.

“The first three steps are steps related to the application for a building.  The project started step 4 last week when an advertisement was completed for architectural services for the project,” he said. “Once an architectural firm is selected, the district will work with that firm to complete an analysis of new versus renovation and to conduct an analysis of possible sites in the district to construct a new building.”

He said specific work by RSU 14 toward developing a vision for the new school building started more than a year ago. 

“The district engaged the services of an experienced school planner named Frank Locker who has worked with teams across the world to design and build new school buildings,” Howell said.  “Frank has been working with a group of stakeholders through a process of examining middle level programming, student grouping, functionality and equipment, environment in the new learning space, future learning, and how the building can be used for all members of the RSU 14 community.  A final report from the work of this group will be presented this spring.  The document will be used by the architects to develop concept designs for the new building.”

Once an architect has been chosen by the district, RSU 14 representatives will then meet with the Maine DOE in a pre-design conference to discuss methods that can simplify construction through use of efficient engineering systems, designs, and come up with realistic construction schedules for the project.

It’s been a long road for RSU 14 to reach this point in the process, but one that the Windham Middle School principal says he is happy to see becoming a reality.

“I am very excited to begin working with the state on our school construction project. Not only will we be able to create a safe and welcoming school, but we will have the opportunity to design a building that meets the educational needs of our students in this current age and for generations of students to come,” said Drew Patin, WMS principal. “We will create spaces that promote lifelong skills, such as collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, and perseverance.”

He said the intention of the project is for Windham Middle School to be a place of high engagement for students by focusing on teaching the skills needed for our students to be successful in the workplace and post-secondary educational settings.

“Our mission is for school to not look like the typical school setting and for students to go home excited to tell their parents, guardians, and friends about their experiences that day,” he said. < 

Windham Middle School restocks food pantry shelves

Windham Middle School students collected a total of 651
items to assist in restocking the Windham Food Pantry after
a busy holiday season. The seventh grade at WMS amassed
the largest number of items collected during the initiative.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

By Elizabeth Richards   

Windham Middle School has a history of promoting community service and giving back to the community. Recently, the school provided 651 items to help restock the Windham Food Panty after their busy holiday season.

Debbie Hall, attendance secretary, receptionist and “jack of all trades” at WMS, said that the food drive is an annual event. Hall, who has worked at the school for 22 years, said the student council used to head up the food drive, but handed it over to Lee Leroy, a beloved health teacher at the school, about four years ago. Mrs. Leroy passed away two years ago, and Hall said the school has conducted the annual food drive in her memory since then.

The year Mrs. Leroy passed away was the largest collection, with more than 1,000 items, she said, but this year was one of the biggest collections they’ve done, despite the pandemic.

There was a friendly competition between the grades, with the seventh grade emerging victorious.

“It was close. Every day it changed,” Hall said, “But a couple of big donations came in for the seventh grade as the competition drew to a close. We’ve never had one this neck and neck, so it was good, but at the last minute the seventh grade really pulled ahead.”

   

Although collecting food was more challenging this year, because of the pandemic and students only being physically in school a couple of days per week, Hall said there was more participation.

Parents of remote students brought items in, community members without kids in the school participated, and the PTA donated $50 to the food pantry as part of the drive.

Hall said she stressed that they were working to replenish the food pantry because it was one of their busiest seasons ever. A specific list of things that the pantry needed most was available for families and community members.

“I always call and ask what they need, because otherwise you get 500 boxes of pasta,” she said.

This year those needs included condiments, pasta sauce, jelly, paper towels, wipes, and certain vegetables, and that’s what the students came through with, Hall said.

“We hit the specific targets that they were low on.,” she said.

Windham Food Pantry officials are grateful for the assistance.
“It’s wonderful what the middle school students did to help replenish food items that are in high demand at the Windham Food Pantry, even pet food,” said Colette Gagnon, Social Services Administrative Assistant for the Town of Windham, who runs the Windham Food Pantry. “It’s great to see the younger citizens of Windham take great concern for those in need of food security.”

Drew Patin, WMS principal, said that connection and contributions to the community are part of the vision being developed for RSU 14, including events like the food drive.

“For students that participate it’s really around feeling like they are contributing to the community,” he said.

Hall said that the school does other service events throughout the year as well.

During the holiday season, for instance, they helped 33 families at the school, providing a warm blanket, hat and mittens for each child, along with items from their wish lists.

In the spring, she said, they hope to do something with a local animal shelter or possibly even the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals on River Road. <

Virtual science experiments connect college students with Windham eighth-graders

By Ed Pierce

Even in the middle of the pandemic, some RSU 14 educators are still striving to be innovative while teaching remotely and creating memorable and innovative lessons for their students. A great example of that is Pamela Mallard, Windham Middle School math and science teacher.

With her eighth-grade students in the classroom twice a week and having to learn remotely on Fridays, Mallard teamed up with Chemistry Professor Dr. Emily Lesher at Saint Joseph’s College to conduct a series of engaging experiments online this fall for eighth-graders led by college chemistry students. In past years, Saint Joseph’s have sat in on some of Mallard’s classes in person, but the pandemic resulted in a change of plans with all-virtual experiments that students can perform on their own at home.

Skyler Conant, an eighth grtader at
Windham Middle School, shows an
experiment he worked on virtually
this fall with chemistry students
attending Saint Joseph's College. 
In the experiment, Conant
demonstrated a chemical reaction by
mixing baking soda and vinegar
causing a gas that blew up the balloon.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

“It has made it possible to overcome a barrier that has been difficult,” Mallard said. “Last year Emily brought her science students into my classroom and did engaging experiments. Our goal was for my Middle School students to see how Science could be fun and lead to a career. This year with the restrictions due to the pandemic, visitors were not going to be allowed to come and present.”

Mallard said that Professor Lesher reached out to her to devise a plan about how to implement the same program but in a different way. 

“She devised with her students to come into my class by Google Meets. College students then led the middle school students in experiments and learning adventures,” Mallard said. 

Supplies needed for the special labs and experiments would be delivered by Dr. Lesher so that the eighth-grade students would have what they needed to perform the experiments at home each Friday. 

Skyler Conant, an eighth grader in Pamela Mallard’s science class at Windham Middle School shows an experiment he worked on virtually this fall with chemistry students attending Saint Joseph’s College. In the experiment, Conant demonstrated a chemical reaction by mixing baking soda and vinegar causing a gas that blew up the balloon. SUBMITTED PHOTO

 

“My students couldn’t wait to see what the package held,” Mallard said. “The surprise brought such excitement to my students. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Lesher and her students.  This year has been very difficult for students and this outreach allowed them to have something to look forward to.”

According to Mallard, each of Mallard’s 40 students were given a virtual lesson and experiment, split up into 10 at a time.

“At this age, my kids don’t always see the importance of science,” she said. “But these college students were able to connect science to careers they were preparing to enter such as a medical biologist or a game warden. This allowed excitement to happen again for my students and they could see the crossover to the future plans for these college students and opened meaningful dialogue about it.”

Adding to the relevance for the eighth-grader students were that three or four of the Saint Joseph’s College chemistry students helping lead the experiments were graduates of Windham High School, Mallard said.

“This allowed my students to see local kids who are attending a local college and gave them an opportunity to think about what they might want to study at that level too,” she said.

Participation among the Windham Middle School eighth graders was 90 to 95 percent for the Friday experiments, which spanned a range of topics from chemistry to physical sciences.

“They gave them everything they needed to do the experiments at home and that was met with real enthusiasm by my students,” Mallard said. “They were able to relate to the college kids and the entire program was extremely worthwhile because it helped promote math and science and they could come in to class the next week and share what they learned.”

The final day for the fall experiments for Saint Joseph’s College students interacting virtually with Windham Middle School math and science students was Nov. 16.

Mallard said because of the success of the program this fall, she hopes to continue it in January with Lesher’s new class at Saint Joseph’s  College. < 

RSU 14 middle school music programs shift focus during pandemic

Seventh-grade students rehearse for an upcoming
video concert with Applied Arts Coordinator
and Music Teacher Morgan Riley during band
class at Windham Middle School on
Wednesday morning. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

By Elizabeth Richards           

Middle school music programs in RSU 14 have been altered this year because of the pandemic and CDC guidelines, but that’s not stopping students from learning and creating music in innovative ways.

Chorus has been put on hold at both Windham Middle School and Jordan-Small Middle School.

"According to the guidelines, if we were to sing together, we would have to have the kids spaced 14 feet apart, all wearing masks, and all facing the same direction. And if possible, be outside," said JSMS Chorus and Orchestra Director Rose Underkofler. "Singing in a mask is also very difficult as it's hard to take a very deep breath with masks on, and it's hard to hear yourself sing because there's really no place for the sound to go."  

General music and band classes have a different focus this year, since wind instruments can’t be played inside and sharing instruments isn’t possible. Morgan Riley, Applied Arts Coordinator and music teacher at WMS, said students are learning how to play percussion instruments one day each week.

In these classes, students work on rhythm, playing as part of an ensemble, and performing, essential aspects for all musicians, Riley said.  

In addition, Riley creates lessons/play along videos for students to use on days they are at home, to
allow students to play their wind instruments and keep their skills sharp.

JSMS music teacher Alex Adams also said band students are working on their instruments at home. On Fridays, they have a private lesson via video chat to help meet individualized goals.

“Some of that has been really great for individual attention and differentiation for students but for some kids it takes away the experience of being in a band with others and the joy of making music in school on wind instruments,” Adams said.

Instead of choosing instruments this year, JSMS fifth-grade students are learning pre-band skills through a curriculum based around learning popular music and rock band instruments, Adams said.

These unique times have led to a broader focus in music education.

“Music isn’t just Band or Chorus, though we hope those will be back soon,” Adams said. “It’s all
around us all the time and there are hundreds of ways to be a part of music.”  

Students are learning the technique and art of recording and editing sounds by working to create oral history podcasts as a class, Adams said.

“Students are going to be interviewing each other about the current moment in history and editing together a podcast with a script, student generated score and interviews that tell their own perspectives in their own words about this remarkable time we’re all living through,” he said. “Our work not only allows us to master some skills that are essential to recording and making music in a modern context, it also allows for some curricular integration with History and English.”

Underkofler said that sanitizing challenges that make teaching instruments difficult have led to more creating and composing in general music classes.

“Asking students to think outside of the normal general music box has been really interesting, not only
for the students, but for me too,” she said.

Orchestra classes are being held as usual, with students safely distanced. The biggest difference, Underkofler said, is the goal the orchestra is working towards, since they know there’s no safe way to have an in-person, live concert.

“We're working on these pieces and learning all of these new skills with the questions looming over our heads of ‘how do we showcase this to the community?’”

Underkofler said her goal is to have a virtual concert around the holidays to showcase student work and show the community that they are still making music during the pandemic. They may even create a combined piece with the orchestras from both middle schools, something a typical year may not have allowed for, she said.

In addition to a  fifth to eighth-grade video concert that will include filmed in-class performances of rock band songs and virtual bands made up of at-home recordings, they plan to release the oral history podcasts on streaming sites so the community can hear both the perspective about the world today and the audio craftsmanship of the young folks at JSMS, Adams said.

Riley said he plans to use the district videographer several times throughout the year to record
performance videos to share with parents.

While the pandemic has presented many challenges, educators also look for the positives.

“We've gotten the opportunity, even during this awful, uncertain time, to look at our program through a different lens,” Underkofler said. “We're getting to do these creative and new activities with our students that's giving them new knowledge of what music can be and how we can experience and create! We aren't trying to put a square peg in a round hole. We've just changed the board.”

Adams said students say the smaller class sizes are helping them understand the material better and have better class experiences.

“One student told me last week that they wished that school could be back to full time but with the same sized classes because they got more teacher time and felt like they understood the material better,” he said.

“The bottom line is that the student musicians of WMS are being given an outlet in music, whether they are playing the instrument they started with or not, and are eager to share their progress with staff members who pop in to class,” Riley said. “They are ecstatic to be able to make music with their peers
again. COVID-19 won't stop music at WMS.”

“Students are creating great work even while coping with an entirely new school experience. Parents, students, and teachers are all in a new and difficult situation and from my perspective we’ve come together as best we can and are doing some amazing things both in spite of and because of the situation before us,” Adams said. “I would say a big thank you to the community for rising to these challenges and supporting our programs.” < 

Delivery made of 2019-2020 Windham Middle School yearbooks after production delay

By Ed Pierce

The cover of Windham Middle
School's 2019-2020 yearbook was
designed by Sasha Funk, who is
now a freshman at Windham High
School. The cover of the middle
school yearbook is always designed
by an eighth-grader at the 
school each year.
 SUBMITTED PHOTO

Student yearbooks are supposed to be a treasured remembrance of time that students spend in school and are filled with pages and photographs of club activities, sports teams and happy occasions in and out of the classroom. But the 2019-2020 yearbook for Windham Middle School may be remembered for being a memento that almost wasn't.

Across America, yearbook production was slowed in the spring because of the pandemic and that not only affected collection of materials for the Windham Middle School yearbook, but also its eventual delivery. Students finally received their 2019-2020 school yearbooks late last week following a delay of almost three months.

Windham Middle School Yearbook Advisor Jason Lanoie said students paid $25 for the yearbook, which was published by Lifetouch, a printing company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. But with students and teachers having to use remote learning starting in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, gathering materials and creating the yearbook was a struggle.  

“Last year the deadline was mid-April, as with most schools many advisors were scrambling to fill pages and was told by Lifetouch, the company we use for our students portraits and the yearbook that we could have until the end of April,” Lanoie said. 

 

According to Lanoie, Windham Middle School’s yearbook typically has 68 pages and they have no problems filling the pages.

“But with many events being canceled, I knew I would not be able to fill all of those pages,” he said. “Lifetouch eliminated eight pages for us which took off some of the stress.”

Lanoie, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics teacher, has served as the advisor for Windham Middle School’s yearbook for 10 years and said the pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the entire process for producing and delivering the yearbook and is also hampering efforts for this school year too.

“I think the one downfall of the COVID shutdown is that the yearbook club wasn’t able to work on the book,” Lanoie said. “We build the yearbook online and I usually have a team of students who would stay after school and put the candid photos in the book. They didn’t get to do that this year, with after school activities not happening at the moment, we might not have a team this year which puts a lot of pressure on me.”

 

For the 2019-2020 yearbook, the school was contracted to sell 376 copies, so no matter how many yearbooks they pre-sold, they had to order 376. Windham Middle School actually sold 298.

 

“I received many emails asking to be put on the waitlist for those who wanted to buy one but missed

out on the presales,” he said. “I also sell a bunch once they come in. I think that this year the extras won’t sell as well because we don’t have the end of the year thrill of the yearbooks arriving. Plus all of the former eighth-graders, now freshman at Windham High School are not in the building.”

 

As the 2019-2020 school year wrapped up in June and students were still out of the building, those who ordered yearbooks were told they would receive them as soon as they arrived. In August, Lifetouch sent out an email to schools that they were working to clear the backlog and delays.

 

“As you may know, our yearbook production facilities are located in some of the states that are being hardest hit by the pandemic. We have prioritized the safety of our employees and we are following all state and local health guidelines to create a safe working environment. Social distancing requirements mean that there are fewer people available to work at any given time,” the Lifetouch email read. “These changes have impacted our production schedule and significantly slowed our production. We realize you, our yearbook adviser, and your families, are eager to receive this year’s yearbook and it has been frustrating to not have an estimated shipping date. Please know that teams are doing everything possible to get you your finished yearbook. Shipping is monitored, and as soon as your yearbook ships, you will receive tracking information so you can arrange to distribute the yearbooks to the students and families in the manner that is best suited for everyone's safety.”

 

Windham Middle School received the 18th and final box of its 2019-2020 yearbook shipment on Sept. 10 and distribution began immediately.

 

“Last Wednesday and Thursday I hand-delivered all of the yearbooks to the students. It actually went very smoothly and with only half the students in the building at a time I only had half to do,” Lanoie said. “The freshman yearbooks were delivered to the high school and handed out in their advisory. Any students who are remote can come to the middle school and pick their yearbook up in the office.”

 

With not every yearbook sold, Lanoie said there are plenty of extra copies available.

 

“If there is any middle school or freshman families that would still like one they can reach out to me directly jlanoie@rsu14.org and we can set one aside for you,” he said. < 

Writing projects demonstrate student resilience during COVID-19

By Ed Pierce

Even the most experienced teachers found it challenging to continue to keep students focused on learning and improving while using remote learning during the COVID-19 crisis.

But for Amy Engelberger, a Windham Middle School English and Language Arts teacher, a special project this spring demonstrated for her that students are highly adaptable and despite facing obstacles, can produce superior results.

“There were many curriculum choices to make as a teacher during our remote learning and I chose to teach writing units for all three of my classes during our last several weeks together,” Engelberger said. “I wanted students to choose their topics and stressed they should choose something they felt very passionate about because this would keep them engaged and curious throughout the writing unit.”

Engelberger said she was confident she could support her students through the research and notetaking process, and then provide lessons to guide them through the writing process one step at a time using Google Classroom and Zoom meetings. 

“The seventh-grade unit was an argument unit where they had to develop a thesis statement and support their thesis with evidence gathered through research,” she said. “The sixth-grade unit was an informational unit where they initially researched their topic to see where the research led them. Students eventually planned three ‘chapters’ to teach readers about their topics.”

As the end of the school year drew closer, Engelberger said she was pleased with the results of the project.

“I have been a teacher for 14 years at Windham Middle School and I felt so emotional as we neared the end of this school year,” she said. “I was so proud of my students and was amazed at the level of engagement in these writing units. I told them as long as we continued to communicate as much as possible while we were apart I knew we would find success and they did it and stayed with me until the end of the year.”

Engelberger said she was so impressed with their finished writing pieces, she thought immediately that many of the pieces could be enjoyed by a wider audience.

She submitted four student articles she chose from the project to The Windham Eagle for publication because they seemed very relevant to her in a number of ways. 

The articles included “Supporting Local Farmers” by seventh-grader Mia White; “Online Learning: Is it more Helpful, or Stressful?” by seventh-grader Riley Yates; “The Library of Congress” by sixth-grader Elizabeth Duncan; and “Stop Motion is a Great Way To Tell a Story” by sixth-grader Nathan R. Paulding.

“Obviously the online learning piece is something we have all been thinking about,” Engelberger said. “Riley is a very gregarious young lady, and even though she was incredibly successful through the entirety of the distance learning it was hard for her to learn remotely.  I loved how she was exploring the topic and thinking deeply about it. 

“Mia is very passionate about farming and talks about a possible future in farming,” Engelberger said. “She can debate the need for farms like a champion. I thought the piece was so relevant as more families and communities consider starting home gardens and trying to support local farms.  It was informative and interesting to read.”

For the other two submissions, Engleberger said she chose them because she thought it might be fun for younger readers of the newspaper to possibly explore these two topics on their own this summer. 

“Nate loves stop motion and spends a lot of his free time making videos and posting them to his YouTube channel.  He even made his teachers a thank you video for Teacher Appreciation Week,” she said. “I thought more people might want to try this and Nate's piece can teach them and point them in the right direction. 

“Finally, it was important for Elizabeth to tap into her own curiosity with this unit and she settled on the Library of Congress. She worked hard to narrow down the innumerable sub topic ideas and her plans were well done,” Engleberger said. “The finished piece on the Library of Congress was fascinating, I learned so much. Perhaps people might take a rainy summer afternoon to explore the sites Elizabeth highlighted in her chapters. I know I plan to do this.”

A total of 35 of Engelberger’s students participated in the writing project and she said she’s thrilled by what they accomplished during the most trying of circumstances.

“The tasks my students completed during remote learning were not easy and I couldn't be prouder of their persistence and strong communication skills to partner with me in their learning,” Engelberger said. “They reached out to me often to seek feedback and used my notes to improve their writing.

To read the student writing projects online, click on:

Online Learning: Is it more Helpful, or Stressful? By Riley Yates, Windham Middle School Grade 7 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oXf71Sn57CQzk9CQ5vDB6jV5E1nU8LnqKOb6oZhDIOo/edit?usp=sharing 

Stop Motion is a Great Way To Tell a Story By Nathan R. Paulding, Windham Middle School Grade 6

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z-Lzh8zH5G1gxuvapvldHRBWP6sEUhs7iFce13jgGes/edit?usp=sharing 

Supporting Local Farmers By Mia White, Windham Middle School Grade 7

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BJhzZxGcxKwoG10keX6aK1HpHQUDw86td7RM5giKKKg/edit?usp=sharing  

The Library of Congress By Elizabeth Duncan, Windham Middle School Grade 6

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12kKdD-PY2nj7Rjjr_HyrnyFrSK4kJ4fHhHAZ5OZV3uY/edit?usp=sharing  < 

Windham Middle School student reminds community about the importance of social distancing

Lyssi Faith Yekeh

By Elizabeth Richards

Social distancing can be difficult, especially for young people. One Windham Middle School seventh-grade student understands the importance of the safety measures and wants to share her point of view with the community.

Lyssi Faith Yekeh designed a poster to show kindness as well as to point out that taking these steps now can help everyone have a fun summer. If everyone follows social distancing guidelines, she said, things like summer camps, pools, restaurants and other things people enjoy in their everyday lives can begin to open.  People would also be allowed to visit family members, like those in nursing homes, she added.

Yekeh said the hardest part of social distancing for her is not going to school or seeing family and friends. “I like to have fun with everyone I care about,” she said.

That doesn’t mean she isn’t staying connected, however.  “What's working is that I can do zoom calls with my family, teachers, and my friends so we don't forget each other,” she said.

Yekeh has displayed her poster on Facebook and reached out to the Windham Eagle to help her get her message out to the community. “I would like people to know that we can do this if we all work together.” Staying the recommended 6 feet away will help protect everyone, from babies to grandparents, she said.

“This wasn’t a school project. I thought that I could put my voice out there to help others know we are all in this together,” she said. “I hope people will read my poster and understand the importance of the coronavirus and how social distancing is important to keep us alive or safe.”

WMS student to participate in a Nike sponsored Maine basketball team to play nationally

Creighty Dickson (front row, far left) with the Blue Wave Elite team

By Matt Pascarella

Like many kids his age, Windham Middle School seventh grader, Creighty Dickson loves basketball. His dad played in college and Dickson said that interest in the sport was passed down to him.

Recently, the Maine Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) travel team became Maines’ first ever, and only
Nike sponsored basketball team at any level. They will play in a national tournament taking place in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland.

The team is part of an elite league, sponsored by Nike called Made Hoops. They were nominated for the 32-team league based of Dickson’s team record and tournament results from the previous year, as well as directors seeing them play.

Coach Andy Bedard, a Maine Basketball Hall of Famer, has been coaching a majority of the group since they were in the fourth grade. Dickson joined the team last year. The team is made up of athletes from multiple towns including Newport, New Gloucester, Portland and Westbrook.

Dickson has been playing some form of basketball since he was six years old. He would play in the backyard and stated basketball started getting real for him in the last four years. He started playing on
the travel AAU team two years ago and joined the Made Hoops league last year.

The tournament is structured into four different tournaments played in different locations, with the top eight teams making it to the championship. Each tournament has a multiple number of games; Dickson and his team have already played in two of the tournaments and have a record of six wins, one loss. They’ll play in Washington D.C. on February 8th and 9th to compete in the third tournament.

“It feels good being on the best team in Maine, but also you have to be mindful of how hard you have to work to get on this team. Our team is like family; we’re together all the time, on the court and we’re always there for each other,” explained Dickson.

“This group is special,” added Bedard. “They have all the pieces to the puzzle that coaches dream
about. They all are driven, unselfish, and just know how to play together and win. Most importantly, their character and the way they all represent themselves off the court and in their communities is most impressive.”

Dickson is raising money to help cover the cost of the tournament expenses. If you would like to donate: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/youth%20basketball%20/freighter-dickson

“Mary Poppins Jr.”: Performance practically perfect in every way

Ava Lamkin as Mary Poppins

By Emma Bennett

           

Windham Middle School’s production of “Mary Poppins Jr.” not only showed us the hard medicine of deeper underlying themes, it treated us to a large spoonful of talent. The troupe brought an adaptation of the Disney classic straight to the stage. The audience was blown away, not from the winds in the East, but from the extraordinary talent illuminating the stage on their opening night. The winter storm that canceled school, bringing inches and inches of snow, couldn’t stop the show from going on.

The director, Suzy Cropper, took the time to interview amid all the hustle and bustle happening backstage before the show. Cropper, who’d been a musical director for Windham Middle School for many years, was ecstatic to be able to direct the first production of Mary Poppins Jr. that Windham Middle School had ever seen.

“I have loved it. It’s been fun working with the kids,” Cropper said with a smile. “And it’s been fun to see their creativity come out as we work through scenes and come up with ways that are able to tell our story.”

According to Cropper, several weeks ago, they took time during rehearsal to learn more about the Edwardian Era in 1910 - the period in which the musical is set. They learned about class distinctions, the contrast between rich and poor that is sometimes overlooked and overshadowed by gleam and glamor. It’s plain to see that the character development from it has paid off.

“I’m so proud of this cast and this wonderful show that they’ve put together,” said Lucy Hatch, assistant director. “I love seeing stuff come to life. It’s very different from being onstage.” Hatch’s history with the director stretches way back to third grade when she’d attended Mainstage Academy, a musical theater school run by Cropper. Hatch still has music lessons with her.

The energy backstage was invigorating as cast members shared their thoughts moments before opening. A strong unspoken unity projected into the audience as if from one big family.

Ava Lamkin, graced with the leading role of Mary Poppins, expressed the same sentiment. “My castmates are really sweet. When somebody’s sad, they’re really uplifting. We all just got along really well. It didn’t matter who we were because, once again, Mary Poppins taught us how to be kind.”

Sixth grader Anna Lane, who played a park stroller and a honeybee, shared, “Everyone’s really nice and supportive with each other, trying to help people out with their lines, their makeup, and their hair.” Her first show with Windham Middle School, she’d also done shows with Windham Center Stage, Gorham Arts Alliance, and Schoolhouse. She’d been inspired into acting very young with Mainstage.

Among some of the first timers who’d never been on stage before, Karly Day and Braedyn Bean expressed their experiences. “I’ve had a lot of fun with my friends and I love dancing and singing. It’s just been really cool seeing it all come together,” said Day. All these years, she’d been watching plays, thinking she’d love to be in one and decided to finally try out.

 Braedyn Bean, trying out with some encouragement from his mother, has had a great time. “I might do a lot more plays in the future, but I think it’s good to start and progress.” With the role of a policeman, he had only one line, but he was proud that he had received a speaking part.

Among the many great scenes, we were captivated by the choreography in 

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and impressed with the actors using ASL. Also, be sure to purchase a light-up wand at the concession stand at intermission and join the actors during a special moment of the play! Each purchased wand is used to support Maine Inside Out, a nonprofit organization collaborating to hold theater programs inside Maine’s juvenile correctional facility and youth developmental centers. Truly inspiring!

Another highlight of the night was seeing Mary Poppins fly! Bert, played by Molly Platti, even did front and back flips in mid-air. Flying by Foy is the company responsible for sending characters flying across the stage. Bryce Cropper, the person in charge of ropes, stated, “We double check everything to make sure everything is safe.” This definitely made the show that much more special.

The night ended with much well-earned praise from the audience. “I’m blown away, I really am,” said an audience member on the way out the door. “I would say it was above expectations,” said another. Kim McBride, assistant principal at the middle school, thought “it was fabulous from start to finish.” Proud father Chuck Lomonte shared, “I thought the show was absolutely exhilarating.”

A number of WMS and WHS individuals should be recognized for their time and effort in putting this show together: C.J. Payne (sound and lighting designer), Jason Lanoie (set designer), Tricia Murray (costume designer), April Monte (choreographer), Diane Hancock (music director), Karen Lane (producer), family volunteers working behind the scenes, and many others. Also, understudies worked hard to learn their parts and stood by in case they were needed.

The show, as a whole, was completely enjoyable - “practically perfect in every way!” There really is only one word to describe it: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Production begins on Mary Poppins, Jr. with new Drama Director at Windham Middle School

Suzy Cropper

By Elizabeth Richards

Suzy Cropper is no stranger to the drama scene in Windham. In addition to owning and operating a performance studio, Cropper was the musical director for Windham Middle School’s annual musical for the past eight years. Now, she has stepped into the position of Drama Director for Windham Middle School.

Cropper has been teaching both theater and voice for close to 25 years. Her studio, MainStage
Academy, was based in Windham for several years before she closed it. For three years, she was the chorus teacher at the Manchester School.  “I’ve done a lot of directing kids for a long time. I’m excited to be able to work with these kids in this capacity,” Cropper said.

Working alongside the director for eight years means that the structure and kids are familiar to Cropper, and she has a good understanding of what is involved for the director.  In addition to guiding students towards a great performance, Cropper said, she is helping them develop other important skills that they can carry with them throughout their lives.

“There are a lot of students that really find out more about themselves when they are given an opportunity to perform or stretch themselves a little bit,” Cropper said. She added that it’s exciting to see students discover that they can be good at many things, rather than only focusing on things they have done before, such as athletics.

Cropper enjoys middle school students, she said, because they are teachable, excited about learning new things, and willing to try things they haven’t done before. “They’re just at a time of great exploration, so it’s nice to give them lots of opportunities while they’re still trying to figure out what they love,” she said.

Every student who wants to participate will have a role of some kind, whether a small role in the ensemble, or a major role with a lot of lines to learn. Students who have never done theater before
often participate, as do students who have been performing for much of their lives, she said. “It’s a good variety of different skills, levels and experience.”

Cropper, who has five children of her own, said she enjoys helping students discover talents they didn’t realize they had, and watching them develop new skills. “It’s been a joy to me to be able to see how their theater experience has helped them in their everyday school life, their confidence in the classroom, and learning how to be responsible about their own schedules and everything they have to do to be prepared for the production,” she said.

Some of the skills students gain include responsibility and accountability, learning to pay attention, how to be respectful of their peers, and learning to project their voices so they can be heard.
“It really does make a big difference in all aspects of their life,” Cropper said, because these skills tend to roll over into other areas of their lives, such as class presentations, communication with adults, and other life skills. “There are a lot of things more than just the actual story,” Cropper said.

That doesn’t mean the story suffers, however. “Of course, we love to put on a great production,” Cropper said. “They get very excited about it and are very proud of their work. It’s exciting to work with them and see them be really proud of what they do.”

Putting on a production of this size takes a whole team of volunteers, mostly parents of students in the production. In addition to six to ten hours of rehearsal time each week, the team puts the set together, learns lighting and sound cues, creates costumes, and attends to all the details necessary to
pull the show together. Although the director position comes with a stipend, “Most of the people who participate and help with the program are volunteers, so it’s really a tremendous undertaking and very exciting for our community,” Cropper said.

“Our community has really learned to look forward to these productions,” she added.  “I’m excited to keep it moving.”

This year’s Windham Middle School musical is Mary Poppins, Jr. Auditions took place on October 16th and 17th, and the show is scheduled to open on January 16th.