Charette entertains full house at Saint Joseph's College annual benefit concert - By Elizabeth Richards

Rick Charette entertained a standing room only crowd at the 23^rd annual benefit concert at Saint. Joseph’s College on Sunday, November 24. Charette, accompanied by the Bubblegum Band, had children popping like popcorn, learning simple signs, and enthusiastically singing along to many of his familiar favorites, like Bubblegum, I Love Mud and Alligator in the Elevator. 

 

Charette has been donating his time to perform a benefit concert at Saint Joseph’s for 23 years, and his performance this year was as dynamic and energetic as always. With movement, catchy choruses, and a visit from Al the Alligator, Charette kept children engaged and entertained for a solid hour. The program also included an interactive reading of “Oh No, Santa” by Kees Moerbeek, and a sing along of several familiar Christmas carols.

Admission to the concert was an unwrapped toy, and donations were also accepted, to help local towns bring a happier holiday to struggling members of their communities. Charette performed for free, and also donated a portion of his merchandise sales to the cause. Audience members were treated to candy canes and hot cocoa as part of the experience.

Historically, attendance for the concert has been high, and this year was no exception. Kathryn Cody, coordinator of social justice and leadership at St. Joseph’s Mercy Center, said it was the largest turnout she had seen at the event, and she counted more than 500 people enjoying the show. 

The Mercy Center, which is the department of campus ministry at Saint Joseph’s, is a center for learning, leadership, service and social justice, said Cody. The center works to connect all of those to the whole person, she added, taking into account the spiritual, environmental and academic well being of the students. Her role, she said, includes fostering leadership in students and getting them to think about the larger social issues that are involved in charity and service work.

 

Cody serves as an advisor for the event, with two students taking the lead in making it all come together. Rose LeBlanc and Mary Becker are the co-organizers of the event and do the bulk of the work, said Cody. “They’re doing the work, and making sure that all this runs smoothly,” she said. “We touch base to make sure it’s getting done, but they really take a strong leadership role in all of this.”

Last year, said LeBlanc, they had the help of a senior who had organized the concert in prior years. This year, it was all up to her and Becker. She said it was both a lot of work and a lot of fun to organize. The coordination of details included contacting many people to get the help they needed, including the business club who helps at the door, the baseball team for set up and tear down, the facilities department, copy center for fliers, and the cafeteria, which donates the hot chocolate. LeBlanc said they begin work on the event about two months prior, and will continue to work afterwards to sort and organize toy donations. 

 “I like seeing all the kids get all excited about it,” said LeBlanc of the event. She added that the concert gives kids a chance to just relax and enjoy Christmas music before the business of the holiday hits. LeBlanc said she also enjoys the feeling when the town representatives come to pick up the donations, and are excited to see how many have been collected.

The Windham Chamber Singers release Holiday Snapshot album - By Michelle Libby

For the first time in a few years, the Windham Chamber Singers in conjunction with Ray Clark and Pine Point Creative are releasing a new album. The album titled “Holiday Snapshot” went on sale Tuesday at local retailers, the school and through chamber singers themselves. This is the group’s fifth overall album.

This album features a lot of the songs that the chamber singers perform at their annual American Family holiday concert, said director Rick Nickerson. The theme is “home”. 

“Most pieces are about the connection one has to home,” said Nickerson. There are 10 songs on the CD. “They are all favorites in some way,” he added. “I’m partial to Caledonia because I learned it on my honeymoon. It’s about the love one feels to ones homeland. It’s a Celtic ‘I’ll be home for Christmas’.” 

The performers are all of last year’s and all of this year’s chamber singers and a 1997 graduate, Dr. Elisabeth Marshall, who sings a solo in “O Holy Night.” Symantha Morales, a 2013 graduate sings a solo in Caledonia.

Another special song on the CD is “The Gift of Life.” The song was created by Nickerson from a text message he received from a retiring teacher Steve Gannaway. “He wrote his own Christmas cards to the staff. The music is set to his poetry,” Nickerson said. 

Windham graduate and professional performer Dan Strange was also helpful in the arrangements and calling in favors to music contacts to contribute to the album, said Nickerson.

The first album was released in 1995 and seemed “primitive” to Nickerson compared to what they were able to do this time around. He also laughed that most of the time when they were recording the songs it was 90 degrees outside and sunny.

Nickerson said they are not putting the CD on iTunes yet and that they are only selling physical copies. “They will certainly be available at the sold out American Family Holiday show,” he said.

Track list

1.      Come On, It’s Christmas

2.      A Baby Just Like You

3.      An American Family Holiday

4.      I need a Silent Night (Jennifer Bernier, ’15, solo)

5.      Christmas Bells Are Ringing

6.      Do You Hear What I Hear?

7.      Caledonia (Symantha Morales, ’13, solo)

8.      O Holy Night (Dr. Elisabeth Marshall, ’97, solo)

9.      The Gift of Life (text by Steve Gannaway)

10.  Let There Be Peace on Earth

Operation Shoebox merges pageant, second graders and the military - By Michelle Libby

Aileen Pelletier’s second grade class collected 234 pieces of candy from Halloween candy and with some parent and teacher donations sent candy to troops overseas. 

The idea for sending the candy and the organization for the project came from Ali Wintle, a high school student who is involved in the pageant world. Her pageant platform is GIVE (Get Involved in Volunteer Efforts), which promotes and encourages the importance of giving back to the community and taking time to volunteer, Wintle told Pelletier. 

Last year Wintle did projects with Gail Small’s second grade classroom and Donna Morton’s fourth grade class. 

“I talked about the importance of volunteering and giving back.  I spoke about my own personal experiences with volunteering, asked about their experiences and also discussed different ways that they can find various organizations that they might want to help out. We also worked on a volunteer project together,” Wintle told Pelletier in a letter. 

Pelletier gave her the guideline to do something that involved the military.

“I thought it tied in nicely with Halloween and Veteran’s Day,” Pelletier said.

Where in the world is Mr. Day? - by Rob McClure

Donna Morton’s fourth grade class at Windham’s Manchester School is studying geography while looking for Mr. Day. It’s similar to the game “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” only Carmen is a stuffed moose from Maine named Marco who gets to travel around the world on UPS jet flown by Windham’s Kevin Day aka Mr. Day, who is also the parent of one of Mrs. Morton’s students, Audrey Day. 

When Mr. Day’s job takes him across the globe, he brings Marco along and challenges the kids to find him. The clues, sent by Mr. Day are posted on a website run by Morton. As soon as the clues are posted, the kids set out to locate Mr. Day and Marco using whatever resources they can. Some of the kids use EarthView, some use Google Earth, and others use the atlas. Whatever they decide works best for them is ok with Morton, who reminds them “As in life, there is rarely only one way to do something.” 

 

Mr. Day came up with the idea for "Where in the World is Mr. Day?" when his son was in the fourth grade. He would correct his GROW (Geographic review of our world) homework and thought he could help make learning about geography more fun and more personal. “When I was a kid the world seemed like such a huge place, and to me countries where just names on a map. Because of the nature of my job the world has gotten a lot smaller and I've learned a lot about many different cultures. I hope that through this game I can pass on some of my experience to the kids,” Mr. Day said. 

 

“My favorite part of this game is engaging with the kids,” he said. “I've learned so much with my job and love the opportunity to share it. Knowing that I can add to what Mrs. Morton is teaching is rewarding.” 

Since every child has access to an Apple laptop, they can access technology such as Google’s Street View and virtually do things such as walk across the Golden Gate Bridge as they did when they narrowed in their search to San Francisco. They also learned about the Gold Rush and Alcatraz at that time. “It has really has evolved into a dynamic learning experience,” said Morton, who also doubles as the school’s technology coordinator. 

“Every year I try to do something new and exciting for the kids. I get excited when the kids get excited,” said Morton, who has been teaching for 37 years. She speaks in terms of adoration when referring to her students. She keeps photo albums of all her classes going back to 1976. “I’m now teaching my former students children. It’s like I am their grandmother and I love it,” said Morton. 

Morton wanted to acknowledge her fourth grade students who are participating in this project: Sam Baker, Colby Connolly, Audrey Day, Emma Debrosse, Lauren Deluca, Marshall Dillon, Mercedes Dyer, Wyatt Flibbert, Juliane Fuller, Xander Greslick, Gianna Howie, Kylee Keene, Alexa Lachance, Preston Linscott, Tayshawn Lindsay, Alexis Livingston, Dylan Mathieson, Xander Paradis, Norberto Ramos, Tyler Reynolds, Tanner Simagna and Kiara Stuart.

Together, Morton and Mr. Day have created a very special way for the students to learn not only geography, but also a broader awareness of the world including other cultures and religions. The kids were especially excited when they discovered the iconic McDonalds golden arches in China, only the letters were in Chinese, not English. “It’s really about solving a mystery, and who doesn’t love a mystery?” asked Morton as she pointed out exotic places where Mr. Day and Marco had been previously, places such as Dubai and South Korea.

“It has also been a fun for the parents, who can access the site with their kids at home. I try to encourage those parent/child conversations,” said Mr. Day. The website is accessible for anyone who would like to see the clues on the webpage and are welcome to guess along. 

The website address is: https://sites.google.com/a/grsu14.org/dmorton/home/mr_day

Windham eighth-grader to travel abroad with People to People Ambassador Program - By Elizabeth Richards

Isabella Rosborough was first invited to apply for the People to People Ambassador Program when she was in fifth grade. This July, after a lot of hard work, planning and fundraising, the eighth-grader will take the opportunity to travel with the program. Her trip will span 19 days and take her to France, Italy and England.
The People to People Ambassador Program has taken students of varying ages abroad since 1957. The program travels to a different place each summer. When Rosborough received a letter last summer with the information for this year, she knew it was the trip she wanted to take. “I’ve always wanted to go to Europe,” she said.    

Rosborough is poised and well-spoken, and displayed great motivation and enthusiasm as she discussed the trip. She is looking forward to living with a family for a few days. “I think it’s really cool that we get to stay with a French or Italian family for three days and get to know what they do in their daily life. I’ve always been interested in how other countries differ from America,” she said.

The other thing she is most looking forward to is visiting Normandy. She has a great interest in history, she said, and thinks it will be interesting to visit a place of such historical significance.

The People to People Ambassador Program appealed to her for a variety of reasons. “I think it’s a great opportunity to learn things that you wouldn’t have normally. I’ve always been interested in history and social studies,” she said. “I really like talking to people and meeting new people and I thought this was a really fun way to do it,” she added.

One of the program expectations is to know about the governments and current events in both the United States and the countries they will visit, said Rosborough. The group will meet with a current or former member of the British Parliament while in England. She said she knows some of the basics, but there is a lot to learn before then as well. The meetings she attends with the group will help her prepare.

Rosborough said she is a little nervous, but also excited about the trip. She said that there are no other students from Windham in the Greater Portland group she’ll be travelling with, but she has already connected with a couple of girls that she met at the first meeting. The group will meet every other month to do a variety of things, including asking questions, getting to know you activities, learning local customs and going over program expectations and procedures.

Rosborough said she’s been saving money for the trip since she first heard of the program in fifth grade. Last year, she started selling homemade peppermint bark, knowing that a trip like this was something she wanted to do before her senior year in high school. She is once again making and selling the homemade bark for $10 per pound, $6 for a half-pound, and $3 a quarter-pound. Another fundraising effort is a raffle that her family is putting together. The top prize is a choice between four Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, which can be delivered and set up anywhere in the continental United States. The second through fifth prizes are a choice between four wall and mantel clocks. Tickets, which are being printed now, will be $10 each. In addition to her personal fundraising, the larger group will be doing some fundraising as well.

Rosborough isn’t a stranger to trying new things. Last year, she joined a school group to enter a competition to build a section of a wind turbine. It was the first time the school had taken part in the competition. 

Rosborough’s group came in 27th out of 40 entries, and most of their competition was high school students, since there were only three middle school groups. She is planning to participate in that competition again this year. Rosborough has also been involved in Odyssey of the Mind, recreational soccer, swimming and tennis.

Her father, Bob Rosborough, said the trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Isabella, and said she’s worked hard to raise money, including babysitting, selling the peppermint bark and the upcoming raffle. “We kind of tested the water to see how serious she was,” he said. “She’s very serious about it.”

Isabella said she’s very excited about the trip. She wants to be a power engineer when she gets older, and said that is a very competitive field. “People who go on this trip have a 70 percent higher chance of getting into the college of their choice because colleges really look to see that you’re worldly,” she said.

Anyone interested in buying peppermint bark or raffle tickets can contact Bob Rosborough at 310-8016 or rrosbo2003@yahoo.com.