Tuesday News - March 22, 2011

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All submissions for the Tuesday News should be sent to publicrelations@merriconeag.org by Friday at 3:00 pm.

Click here to view our Google Calendar of Events.

Upcoming Events                                                                                                                            

Reminder: This Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25, school is closed for Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Queen of the Sun: If you missed the film, you can see it, March 25 - 27, at The Movies at the Portland Museum of Art. Click here for show times.

Tuition Support Fundraiser and Silent Auction:

Saturday April 2, 6:00 PM, Community Hall
  What is the Beach Party? The Beach Party is the theme this year for our annual fundraising event that benefits tuition support (formerly known as tuition assistance). Nearly 40% of our families could not be here without tuition support. On Saturday evening, April 2, we hope that the entire community will come together to raise the money needed to ensure that all of our families who seek this Merriconeag education can get the tuition support they need. There could not possibly be a more important cause at Merriconeag, and we hope you will show your support for our diverse and wonderful community by coming to the Beach Party, buying cash raffle tickets, and bidding on auction items.    

Line up your sitter and dig out your beach attire. It isn’t required, but many people will dress for the Beach Party, so here are some suggestions. First of all, think local beach party, not the Bahamas, and think Maine summer, not the tropics. Attire suitable for surfing, swimming (or not), snorkeling in muddy Maine waters, beach volleyball, clam digging, gathering seaweed, hunting for beach glass, or just celebrating the end of the winter by going to the beach on a windy, spring day for a picnic.
Donation forms for the Silent Auction are due today! If you want to donate an item or service for the Silent Auction and missed the deadline, turn in the donation form anyway. Link to auction donation & sponsorship form. It may not be in the catalogue, but you can preview it on Facebook and it will be in the Silent Auction on April 2nd.

Check out the Item of the Week:

Have you seen our Auction Facebook page? You don’t need to be on Facebook to check it out – from this link you can see photos and wonderful descriptions of all the donated items submitted so far. Link to the Auction Facebook page.
Send in your rsvp card and payment! You should have received an invitation by mail last week, along with an rsvp card. We have kept the entry fee low ($25 each or $40 per couple) so that every parent will come. If this fee is preventing you (or a friend) from coming, please give Lynne Espy a call. We want everyone to come, and we can provide discounted tickets if that’s what is needed to get you there!
Buy cash raffle tickets! Five cash raffle tickets were included in your invitation, which we sincerely hope you will fill out with your name and phone number and send back with the payment. It is a 25/75 cash raffle, meaning that if you win, you keep 25% of the total proceeds. Last year, the winner (a grandparent!) took home over $2,000, having just bought only 5 tickets for $100! The more tickets sold, the bigger the prize money! Buy one, buy 10, or buy more! You need not be present to win, so feel free to sell them to your friends and neighbors.
Calling All Auction Volunteers! We will need volunteers to help decorate the Community Hall on Friday, April 1st (10:30 am – 3pm) and others to work a shift on the night of the auction. Volunteer sign up this year is via a Google Doc. Click here to sign up. If you have trouble signing up, or any questions at all about helping at the Auction, call Stacie Hamilton-Waldron (846-5269) or email shamwald@maine.rr.com.
Other questions about the Tuition Support Auction? developmentcoordinator@merriconeag.org
Submitted by Lynne Espy, for the amazing Auction Team!

2011 Summer Camps at Merriconeag

To learn more about our six summer camps and to register, click here.

From the Administrator

Supporting Japan:

     Trace Salter has been doing some research to help members of the Merriconeag community reach out to those in Japan who need great support. Her father lived in Japan as a boy in the post-war era and then her parents lived in Tokyo for several years in the 90's. Below you will find the name of an NGO that has been recommended by their friends in Japan.

     In addition, Merriconeag students, past and present are working on a project to support Japanese people as they face the catastrophic devastation wrought by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11th. Twelve students have contributed artwork what will be featured on note cards to be sold at Royal River Natural Foods, Island Treasure Toys and in the office at MWS after April 1st.

     100% of the money raised from the sale of these note cards will benefit the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund administered by the Japan Center for International Exchange. JCIE distributes funding to relief organizations in Japan, who are moving quickly to reach those who have been affected by this disaster,

     For more information on JCIE and to donate to this reliable non-profit, please visit  http://www.jcie.org/earthquake.

Submitted by Christine Sloan

From the Facilities Planning Committee

Update on Campus Planning:
Progress continues weekly on the school’s plans to replace the handwork portable with a beautiful, energy efficient space. Community members will offer several opportunities this spring to talk with the Facilities Planning Committee about the potential green features of the building, preview diagrams of the site plan and ask questions. An important part of the process is identifying the person responsible for leading the construction project. Any interested applicants within our community are encouraged to view the website for details about the position of Project Coordinator. We look forward to sharing more details about the handwork space as the plan unfolds.

News From the High School

Essayists impress in Slow Food Portland's inaugural Young Food Writers Competition: As we mentioned back on March 1, Merriconeag Senior,

Ali Perkins won the Grand Prize in the grades 9 - 12 Slow Food Portland Young Writers Contest. We are also pleased to report that Merriconeag Fourth Grader, Wilson Haims received Honorable Mention in the contest. Ali read her essay at a gathering at Space Gallery in Portland on March 10 and she was featured in the March 16 edition of the Portland Press Herald. To read the article which includes Ali's essay, please click here.

Model UN Conference in Wilton, NH:

On 19 March, 14 MWHS students participated in the High Mowing School Model UN Conference in Wilton, NH. The students made up delegations from 7 different countries, three in the Security Council Session that debated “ the situation in the Middle East: the Palestinian-Israeli Peace process”, and “UN Security Council reform”; and four in the General Assembly that tackled “making International Aid more effective” and “improving the International Criminal Court”.
      The students did an excellent job addressing the issues and representing their country positions. They were active in drafting, sponsoring and supporting resolutions to respond to the issues, and in debating the drafts that were presented. The students worked very well in pairs, and were at the heart of the conference the entire day.
      Special thanks to the High Mowing School for hosting the Conference,

and for making us welcome for the night as well. After dinner and the conference closure, we joined some of the High Mowing students around a fire pit for “s’mores” under a huge full moon. We closed the long day watching the movie “Inception” – all in all, a fine day!

Submitted by David Whittlesey

Athletic News - Sports Updates

Spring Athletics at the Middle School:  We will be offering two different after-school activities for 6th, 7th
and 8th grade students.

Running Club led by Oliver Kinzer - from April 25th to May 18th on Mondays and Wednesdays from

3:00 to 4:30PM. Cost is $30.

Ultimate Frisbee Club - from April 25th to May 18th, every Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 to 4:30PM.

Cost is $30.

     If your child was not a member of the running team, ski team or basketball club, you will need to fill out a medical release form. A student cannot participate without this form. Please sign up in the office. Any questions, email John Saccone at jsaccone@maine.rr.com.

School Community Updates

Ski Rental Returns: On Tuesday, April 5th before and after school and Wednesday, April 6th before and after school, rental skis can be returned to the Desert Rd.campus. Skis MUST be free and clean of kickwax. Skis should be wiped free of dirt and elastic banded together on top and bottom. Poles should be wiped off and elastic banded to skis, top and bottom (total of 4 elastic bands). Boots should be wiped off and attached to bindings. You must check in/out with John Saccone. Please do not just drop off the equipment. Thank you. Mr. Saccone

Seventeen Seeds:
Available NOW! at all three MWS offices, as well as this Thursday evening at the 7th Grade Play and next week in the parking lot. The 7th Grade has carefully chosen a variety of vegetable and flower seeds (seventeen varieties in all, organic where possible), which they are selling in a bundled pack for $25. Fedco has given us an incredible deal, allowing us to raise money and while also passing along on some savings to you. The varieties in the bundled pack are: Bush Bean, Sugar Snap Pea, Slicing Cucumber, Zucchini, Delicata Squash, Pumpkin, Carrot, Radish, Spinach, Lettuce Mix, Greens Mix, Chard, Kale, Cosmos, Nasturtium, Sunflower, and Zinnia. CHECKS ONLY PLEASE, and should be made out to MWS (7th grade seeds in the memo line). Thank you for your patronage! Submitted by Lucy Ahearne

Please check the Lost & Found in the upper and lower buildings on the Grade School Campus. After conferences (March 24 and 25) all unclaimed items will be donated to the Clothes Tree Thrift Shop in Freeport.

Read (Listen to or Watch) This

Parents — and schools — behaving badly
By Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post, 03/17/2011
"For all the Chuas, Imprescias and Bardwils out there, most of us don’t want to see our children racing to nowhere. It’s just that the treadmill is so hard to resist, and even harder to step off."

(This article was also in the 03/21/11 Portland Press Herald. It was entitled, "Ivy League or Bust Mentality Starts Early.)

Resources for Understanding Technology and Children

This is a comprehensive list of resourses from our recent speaker, Lowell Monke.

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