BLACK BEAR BULLETIN - Maranacook Community High School

Principal’s Message by Dr. Carol Fritz
Greetings family members,
The week after winter
break marks the beginning
of our celebrations of student
accomplishments. We
started with a community
event, winter carnival. The
event was a great success
with each class making
sculptures, participating in
after school events, culminating
with a school-wide
assembly in the gym.
Many parents helped with
decorating the halls and we
thank you for participating.
We will be nominating students
for community service
awards and scholarships,
successes that will be
acknowledged at our end
MCHS WEBSITE: HTPP://HS.MARANACOOK.ORG
BLACK BEAR
BULLETIN
of the year assemblies. The
seniors are making decisions
about college and applying
for scholarships.
Our goal is to celebrate the
accomplishments of each
student and we hope they
set their sights on becoming
honor roll scholars.
There are ten seniors who
demonstrated outstanding
academic achievement
throughout their high
school experience and are
the top ten in their class.
We are very pleased to announce
the scholars for the
class of 2009. We are very
proud of each of these students
and we will be honoring
them at the May
school board meeting.
PARENT TEACHER
CONFERENCES
MARCH 19 & 24,
3:00-7:00PM
On-line scheduling
is available starting
March 1st.
Instructions are
included
in this
newsletter.
Valentine Service Project: Kids Still Care
V OLUME 3, ISSUE 5
MARCH 2009
Inside this Edition:
Principal’s Message……...1
Guidance News..………....2
Student Accolades………..3
Health Center…………4&5
Adult Ed Classes………....5
Calendar Events….....…….5
Conference Scheduling…...6
Letter to parents……….….7
CLASS OF 2009
TOP TEN SENIORS
(in alphabetical order)
Panathda Victoria Bayrasy
Cameron Best
Jillian Blouin
Ashley Cox
Travis Elliot
Michael Lachance (valedictorian)
Nolan Poulin
Taylor Schwartz
Caitlin Stratton
Samuel Whittemore (salutatorian)
The Junior Class took on a project to help 25 children, ages 5-13, in an orphanage in Afghanistan.
Junior advisor Kathy Ruff has a friend who is a medic with the Maine National Guard and serves at this
orphanage. She touched us with the tales of what these 19 boys and 6 girls did not have, so we decided to
try to make a small difference for them.
In the first two weeks of February students in grades 9-12 have gathered coats, boots, shoes, warm
clothes, hats and gloves, toothbrushes and paste, stuffed animals and various balls for these orphans. Mrs.
Weisberger's students made valentines for them as well. The junior advisors are proud of what the students
of Maranacook have accomplished by working together.
In the last weeks of the month we hope to gather funds to cover the shipping costs. Contributions
can be made to Class of 2010 c/o Kathy Ruff if you would care to donate to this effort.

V OLUME 3, ISSUE 5 Page 2
GUIDANCE NEWS
On February 24 th, MCHS hosted an event for parents of our incoming 9 th graders. Some
of the information we shared that evening could be helpful for ALL students & families
to consider in planning course loads for the next school year:
• Consider balance – Take a challenging course load, but be sure to leave enough time
for homework, after school activities (sports, clubs, etc.), and a little free time.
• Reminder – High School graduation requirements are not necessarily the same as
college entrance requirements…Some colleges will have particular admissions requirements
(or preferences).
We are here to help! – We are happy to meet with students to discuss course planning.
______________________________________________________________________________
Free test preparation assistance is available to Maranacook students:
College board offers PSAT review for all students who took the PSAT in October. This
free service can help students build skills for the PSAT/SAT. It can be accessed through
the College board website at www.collegeboard.com/quickstart. Access codes are
printed on PSAT Score Reports, which were given to students in January. If you need
your/your student’s access code, please contact the guidance office.
In January, juniors received cards which allow them to register (for free) for College
board’s online SAT prep course. This comprehensive course provides skill building exercises,
practice questions, and several full-length practice tests. A limited number of access
cards are still available in the guidance office.
Students/families may also find helpful (and free) standardized test preparation materials at
www.prepme.com.
Reminder for Juniors:
Visiting the colleges you are considering is an invaluable part of finding the right school
for you! It’s best to visit (if possible) when schools are in session. April break might be a
great time to start taking in some of those trips.
Reminder for Seniors:
If you have not done so already, it is important that you file your FAFSA (Free Application
for Federal Student Aid) as soon as possible so that you will be eligible to receive
Federal Student Aid for college. The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) has an excellent
website which offers a wealth of information at www.famemaine.com. Please feel
free to contact your guidance counselor with questions.

V OLUME 3, ISSUE 5 Page 3
CELLIST
SELECTED
Jon Moody is one of three
students in Maine chosen to
be part of a Master Class
with world renown cellist
YoYo Ma. Jon will perform
with YoYo Ma at the Merrill
Auditorium in Portland on
February 26, 2009. Congratulations
Jon!
STATE FINALIST
Congratulations to Maggie
Ditre for being a State Finalist
in the Poetry Out Loud National
Recitation Contest. Of
13 contestants in the Northern
Regional Semi-Final yesterday
in Orono, Maggie was one of 6
who will go on to the State Final
Competition in Camden on
February 27. The competition
was very intense in Orono, and
Maggie did a wonderful job to
earn a spot in the finals.
BEARS ARE AWESOME
SPEECH & DEBATE
Congratulations to the Speech &
Debate Team. Irene Frey is the
State Champion in Humorous Interpretation
and Eric Manley and
Chris Wick are State Champions in
Novice Public Forum.
Coach Amy Trunnell was named
Coach of the Year by the Maine
Forensic Association.
BASKETBALL TEAM
Congratulations to the Boys’ Varsity
Basketball Team for reaching
the playoffs.
∗ Ben Johnson received the
KVAC All Conference 1st
Team Award
∗ Pat Norwood received the
KVAC All Defensive Team
Award
∗ Mike LaChance was selected
to be a part of the Maine
McDonald’s All-State Academic
Team Award. Mike
will be honored at the state
banquet at Husson College
on March 13th.
MARANACOOK NORDIC TEAMS ARE STATE CHAMPIONS!
The Maranacook Nordic ski teams, both boys and girls, returned from Presque Isle over February vacation
with State Championship plaques in tow. The boys team turned in a dominant performance, placing
5 skiers in the top ten in both the classical and skate races. Sam Whittemore, Justin Greeley, Tyler
DeAngelis, Nolan Poulin, and Cam Best all posted 2 top ten finishes. Reid Blouin skied to a strong 13 th
place in the skate race and Walker Thompson finished 17 th in the classical race. The girls team staged an
inspiring rally on the second day, coming from behind to beat Yarmouth in the classical race and take
the overall nordic state championship. The girls were paced in the classic race by the 2 nd and 3 rd place
finishes of Emily Harriman and Abby Mace. Jillian Blouin, Kara Witherill, and Ashley Cox all skied in
ahead of Yarmouth’s 3 rd and 4 th skiers to secure the win. Jillian also had a great skate race, placing 7 th, in
between Emily Harriman’s 4 th and Abby Mace’s 9 th. Strong finishes were posted by Adrian Huntington
in classical and Emily Perkins in skate race as well. It was a great effort by the entire team and they
were supported throughout by a huge group of parents who made the long trip with the team.

V OLUME 3, ISSUE 5
HEALTH CENTER NEWS FOR PARENTS
Health Center is ‘SWEET 16’
The Maranacook Student Health Center is in its 16 th year of operation, the longest running
school-based health center in the state of Maine. To celebrate, the student advisory committee
and health center staff hosted an open house during the Maranacook –Gardiner basketball
game on Friday evening, January 30 th. It was a great success. Over fifty parents, students
and community members from both the Maranacook area and Gardiner area enjoyed a
student led tour of the health center, received a Sweet 16 lollipop, and entered a drawing for a
chance to win prizes! Larry Ralph and Chris Beckwith of the Maranacook area won gift
cards to Subway. Also, Ben Berlew and Brandon Caron, students from Gardiner High School
won gift cards to J&S oil. The Open House activities were supported by a grant from the Kellogg
Foundation. As always, the health center appreciates the on going support of the school
and community and the ability to provide needed medical and mental health services to students
in grades 6-12, when their parents choose to register for health center services.
“Getting Healthy”
A New Group for a New Year
The school nurses are collaborating with other school and community members to offer
a new group to young women here at the middle school and high school. Group members
share ideas, gain knowledge, learn together about physical fitness, nutrition, and skills
for lifelong physical health. The goal of the group is to get students excited about being
physically active, give them skills to remain active and to share some general nutritional information.
In addition, members involved have opportunities to discuss and work on their
personal fitness goals.
The group is a pilot in collaboration with Dr. Carol Mansfield, school physician; Sandy
Hunter and Vicky Gabrion, school nurses; Danielle Pouzol, Youth and Fitness Director at the
YMCA; and Mary Hiers, LCSW, health center counselor. The students have been meeting on
Tuesdays from 2:45 PM until 4:45 PM. The sessions open with a half hour of Yoga, then an
hour of exercise, and conclude with a healthy snack and a nutrition discussion. The sessions
were free of charge. Dr. Carol Mansfield reviewed the curriculum and is excited that Maranacook
students have had this opportunity. This pilot will ended in early February and the
school nurses will explore the possibility of offering the group again in the future!!! Contact
Sandy Hunter at the high school (x 318) or Vicky Gabrion at the Middle School (x 451) if you
have any questions.
Community Dental Program Serves All!
Access to quality dental care is becoming more of a challenge for many families in our
communities. Community Dental provides critical support for children and adults throughout
southern, central and western Maine including treatment, disease prevention and education.
The dedicated staff and volunteers believe that every child, adult and senior deserves
the opportunity to experience quality, affordable dental care throughout their lives. Community
Dental accepts all dental insurance plans, MaineCare, Aspire and patient payment in the
form of cash, check, or credit card. Visit www.communitydentalme.org for more information.
There are clinics across the state including one in Lewiston and Farmington.
Page 4

V OLUME 3, ISSUE 5
I Think My Child Is Drinking and Using Drugs
Discovering that a teen is using drugs or alcohol can be a scary experience for parents.
Many feel alone, ashamed, guilty, and confused about what to do next. There is a new on-line help
resource for parents and care-givers who suspect or know their child is experimenting, using or
has a problem with alcohol or drugs called Time To Act! Through video and interactive multimedia
modules, Time To Act! offers step-by-step advice and compassionate guidance from substance
abuse experts, family therapists, scientists and fellow parents, to help steer families through
the process of understanding alcohol and drug use, confronting a child, setting boundaries, and
seeking outside help. For more information paste this link into your internet browser:
http://timetoact.drugfree.org/
CALENDAR EVENTS:
March 4 Eligibility Check
March 5 Budget Work Session
@ 5:00 in Media Center
CSD#10 Board Meeting @ 7:00
March 18 Progress Reports Posted
March 19 & 24 Parent Teacher Conf., 3:00-7:00
March 22 Spring Sports Parents/Coaches
Meeting—MS @ 6:00; HS @ 7:00
March 25 One Hour Delay for students
Concert Band and Concert Chorus
Performance @ 7:00
March 26 Junior Parents Night @ 6:30
March 27 AP History Field Trip
SPRING MUSICAL
“WORKING MAN’”
Based on the best-selling book of interviews with
American workers by Studs Terkel, and under the
direction of Charles Milazzo, Working explores the
American workday from the Monday morning
blues to the second shift blahs using the original
words of some uncommon common men and
women. Twenty-six workers, including a parking
lot attendant, corporate executive, newsboy,
schoolteacher, gas man, housewife, fireman, waitress,
millworker, sailor, etc., sing and talk about
their jobs, defining not only their daily round, but
their hopes and aspirations as well. (Taken from a
review on Amazon.com)
We hope to see you all at one of the performances. Performance
Dates: May 27, 28, 29, 30 at 7:00 p.m. and a
matinee on May 31 at 2:00 p.m.
SENIOR PARENTS
SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday, March 4,
6:30 p.m. at MCHS
Page 5
There is a kick-off meeting for committee
formation for senior parents who
are willing to work on the Senior Auction,
the biggest fundraiser for a
memorable Project Graduation for our
seniors. The meeting will be in Room
139 (near the IA ramp).
ADULT ED CLASSES
Cross Country Skiing March 1 MCS
Small Engine Repair March 3 MCS
Arm Chair Travel Sweden March 3 MCS
…Funny Bone is … March 4 MCS
Red Cross Babysitting March 4 HD
Woodworking March 5 MCS
Arm Chair Travel Sedona March 10MCS
MS Word March 11MCS
Yoga Dance/Zumba March 12MCS
ATV Safety March 12MCS
Computer Clinic March 12MCS
Yoga March 30MCS
Consumer Math April 2 MCS & HD
Academic English April 2 MCS & HD

V OLUME 3, ISSUE 5
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE
ON-LINE SCHEDULING
You will be using an internet-based scheduling program to set up parent/teacher conferences at the high
school this year. Please follow the directions below to schedule your spring conferences. Conference dates
are: March 19 and March 24, 3:00-7:00 pm.
Go to the high school website: http//:hs.maranacook.org
Click on “Schedule Spring Conferences”
To Register:
Enter your email address and push “Login/Create Account”
If you registered for fall conferences, you will only need to enter your email address and password to sign
on for spring conferences.
If this is the first time you are registering:
Enter your email address and push “Login/Create Account”
Fill in the required fields to register.
For each child, enter their student ID number, and their security value (see explanation below), and push
“ADD”
-Student ID number is the same number used to log into PowerSchool and was mailed home earlier this
year. If you don’t know the ID number, please ask your student or contact the school.
-Security Value is your child’s birthdate. Example: April 4, 1990 must be entered 4/4/1990 (Do not enter
as 04/04/1990.)
Once you have registered , you will only need to enter your email and password when you sign on the next
time. The system will know about your appointments and the children you added to your account.
Scheduling:
Pick the date you want to schedule your appointments: March 19 or March 24.
Each colored square represents an available meeting time. Each teacher will be represented by a different
color. Only teachers that your children have classes or homeroom with will be listed.
Click on a time to schedule an appointment. You will be asked to set when you want the reminder email
to be sent to you, then click “Create Appointment”.
Repeat these steps until you have a time with each teacher you’d like to meet with.
Viewing, Changing and Printing your schedule:
Click on the blue circle to the left of your name at the top of the screen to show your appointments. There
will be links to change the time or cancel the appointment.
If you want to make changes to your schedule, you can log in at anytime with your email and password.
At any time you can click on “printable schedule” and print the resulting page to get a hard copy of your
schedule.
.
What to do if a teacher is not available:
Parents always have the option to contact a teacher through email or by telephone for an update of their
child’s progress.
What to do if you do not have internet access available or have difficulty in scheduling appointments:
Contact Carol Labbe at the high school (685-4923 ext. 302) for assistance.
Page 6

V OLUME 3, ISSUE 5 Page 7
February 2009
Dear parent/guardian,
If your child is signed up for free or reduced lunch this school year, they can also get free medical services
in the school-based health center. As part of the school lunch application this year, there was a check off
box ( ) asking you if you would like your child to be able to use expanded medical services in the student
health center. However, we are not sure if the purpose of the check off box was clear. When your child is
eligible for free and/or reduced lunch, they are also eligible for health center expanded medical services at no
cost to you.
The health center provides expanded medical services to students in grades 6-12 in addition to those
by the school nurse. Services provided by the physician assistant (PA) or nurse practitioner (NP) require annual
parent consent.
School Nurses provide: Expanded Medical Services provided by PA/NP:
Space for students who do not feel well to
rest;
Help students who need to be dismissed;
First aid for minor illnesses and injuries;
Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen for minor aches
and pains;
Support for students with chronic conditions
such as asthma, diabetes, or eating disorders;
Reproductive health services including pregnancy
testing and condoms with education
(for 14 yrs and older);
General health counseling and education;
If you would like your child to be able to use the expanded medical services in the student health center
(at no cost to you), please call the student health center at 685-4923, x318 and we will mail you the health
center registration forms and include a return envelope. If you have any questions about health center services,
contact Cindy Flye, Health Center Coordinator, at 685-4923, x 325 or e-mail at
cindy_flye@maranacook.org
Sincerely,
Cindy Flye
Health Center Coordinator
Acute medical care for illness and injury;
Prescription medication as needed for treatment (e.g.
strep throat, ear infections);
Evaluation of on going symptoms such as headaches or
stomach pains;
Help with chronic conditions such as asthma, eating disorders,
or diabetes;
Reproductive health care (for 14 yrs & older) including
education and counseling; prescription contraception
and contraception management; diagnosis and treatment
of sexually transmitted infections; and pregnancy
testing;
Routine lab tests including mono and strep, pregnancy
tests, hemoglobin, and other cultures;
Medical health counseling;