CARIBOU, Maine — The valedictorian of Caribou High School’s Class of 1995 is among eight Americans selected by NASA to begin training for future space missions that may one day take them to Mars. Dr. Jessica U. Meir, 35, joins three other women and four men as the newest members of the space agency’s astronaut corps at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA announced Monday. A graduate of Brown University with advanced degrees from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and the International Space University in Illkirch, France, Meir is an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Meir now has two months to wrap up her work at Harvard before reporting for her new job as a full-time United States astronaut, a goal which on Monday she said has been a lifelong pursuit. “I have been very interested in science from a young age,” Meir said by phone Monday evening. “I was mostly interested in biology and physiology and always interested in space flight, so I involved myself in as many space-related activities as I could.” (read more at Bangor Daily News)
Regional School Unit 18 suffered a huge loss in the form of Donna Doucette’s resignation from the school board. Donna, a tireless advocate for teachers and children, was one of the only members of that school board who dared question the path that RSU 18′s administration is taking toward a new educational vision and mass customized learning. It should concerns us all — both residents of Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney and communities across the state — that Donna has seen no other course than to resign after more than 20 years on the board. (read more at Kennebec Journal)
STANDISH — On just the second pitch of the game Wednesday, the momentum was seized. The Gray-New Gloucester softball team got a jump in its Western B championship game when Alex Thompson drilled a lead-off triple to start the game. But things quickly swung the other way. Greely senior pitcher Danielle Cimino struck out the next two batters and got a pop out to escape the threat. “I had to manage the inning,” said Cimino. “I had to be mentally tough. I couldn’t let it get to me. I had to stay calm and within myself.” Though the Patriots would later get the lead first, Gray-NG quickly watched the upper hand slip away again. Greely took the lead in the bottom of the third and more missed opportunities for the Patriots proved costly as the Rangers claimed the 2-1 victory. “I told them to keep their heads up,” said Gray-NG coach Amanda Harmon. “They should be proud. It’s an accomplishment to get to this game. It definitely wasn’t the way we wanted it to end. We played hard to get here and fought for every game.” (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)
BELFAST — Teaka sat in the middle of a circle of adoring children last Friday and listened as they talked about how much they love reading dog books to her and snuggling with her. Then the little white therapy dog padded to a different, quieter part of the Capt. Albert Stevens Elementary School classroom and laid down for a nap. The almost 15-year-old mixed breed has spent 14 years working in classrooms helping children. She is deaf, partially blind and sleeps a lot. It’s time to retire, said her owner, teacher Page Dilts. “This year she only came in a couple days a week,” Dilts said. “She loves to come to school, but she’s tired.” “She’ll miss us most of all,” said 9-year-old Maddie, one of her fourth-grade students and a big fan of Teaka’s. “She’ll miss you terribly,” Dilts agreed. Maddie and her classmates at the kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school will miss Teaka’s visits and her calming, furry presence. They told her so during an all-school assembly Friday afternoon during which 300 children sang to her, presented her with cards and letters and donated pounds of pet food in her honor to the P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Shelter in Rockport. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)
Newry selectmen and two residents last week discussed whether anything could be done to lower the town’s share of the SAD 44 budget. Newry, which has about 30 students, is slated to pay nearly $2.8 million toward the school budget, slightly more than Bethel pays. The current Newry mil rate is 9.1. Doug Webster asked selectmen if there was a way of “looking into getting more bang for our buck for our students, with that rating [the recent state grading of Maine schools] and what we’re paying to educate our kids, it seems to be way out of line.” Webster wondered if Newry could negotiate with the state to “get out of the current system that us and one other town [Frye Island] have. “It’s grossly unfair,” said Webster. “I’m surprised nobody has come to the town wanting to get out of the district.” (Webster was referring to a 2005 change in the school funding law that for most of Maine added a student population component to the calculation of a town’s share of a district budget. But the state Legislature exempted SAD 44 and SAD 6, allowing them to keep their budget shares based entirely on property valuations. Had that provision not been included, Newry’s share could have fallen drastically while that of the other four SAD 44 towns could have jumped by double digit percentages. (read more at Bethel Citizen)
AUGUSTA (AP) — Tuition is going up at Maine’s community colleges. The Maine Community College System board of trustees on Friday authorized a tuition increase of $2 per credit hour at the state’s seven community colleges beginning in the fall. Full-time, in-state students will see their tuition go up $60, from $2,580 to $2,640. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)
PORTLAND — Four years ago, Gloria L. Noyes found herself at the pinnacle of her teaching career. Noyes, who was teaching fifth grade at Westbrook’s Congin Elementary School, was chosen by her peers and the Maine Department of Education as the 2009 Maine Teacher of the Year. The list of nominees for teacher of the year typically spans the state in an effort to recognize an outstanding educator who has served as a powerful advocate for students and educators. “You beautiful children are the reason I get up in the morning,” Noyes was quoted by the Portland Press Herald as saying during a surprise school assembly where she received the award. But at Tuesday night’s Portland School Board meeting, Noyes will find herself on a list of a much different nature. Noyes, who left Westbrook in October to take a job as assistant principal of the Fred P. Hall elementary school in Portland, is on the list of teachers and school administrators who will be laid off at the end of the school year. (read more at Portland Press Herald)
BATH, Maine — Last week South Bristol School canceled its traditional blessing of the fleet after a Washington, D.C.-based organization declared the prayer unconstitutional. But on Friday, controversy was kept at bay as the school’s eighth-graders scrambled to finish building the wooden skiffs with an eye toward the June 14 launch into South Bristol Harbor. They’re a bit behind schedule, volunteer Kate Beaudette said, with only three Fridays left before the event, which has drawn much media attention. Thalia Eddyblouin, 13, her long braid swinging, braced the cedar planks of a 12-foot boat at the Maine Maritime Museum boat shop, while her classmate 14-year-old Jillian Page, sporting bright blue fingernails, drilled pilot holes to prepare the sides for wooden frames. “Make sure it’s in exactly the right place because once you do that, it’s irretrievable,” Beaudette, of South Bristol, told them. The class of five students has worked every Friday since September to build two flat-bottomed skiffs made of cedar and red and white oak. When the boats are finished, one will be sold by the museum and the other will be raffled off by the school to benefit its boat-building program and help finance an eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C. (read more at Bangor Daily News)
Paul Lessard remembers his late grandmother telling stories about her grandfather serving in the Legislature and becoming the first selectman of Madawaska. His grandmother knew about her grandfather only through oral tradition, and Lessard said it was kind of a family fable. “She was upset he didn’t get enough credit for what he did, and I said, ‘What did he do?’ ” Lessard recalled. “I didn’t want to argue with her, but I couldn’t find anything. Lessard, 63, has since discovered more details about his great-great-grandfather, Olivier Sirois, and some of his accomplishments, including sponsoring a bill that provided funding for an English-speaking school in Madawaska. Lessard will present the findings of his research in one of the display booths to be set up Tuesday morning at the State House for the 12th annual Franco-American Day. The event originally was scheduled for March 20 but was postponed because of a snowstorm. (read more at Kennebec Journal)
RUMFORD — After devoting 50 years to education, including more than 40 in RSU 10, high school guidance counselor Jim Ippolito has decided to retire. “I really enjoy my job. It makes me wonder if I’m making the right decision,” he said Tuesday afternoon from his office at Mountain Valley High School. Through the years, he has counseled or helped guide thousands of students, most toward a college or career path and a few through personal problems. “It’s not a classroom. There’s always something different going on. I could be involved in eight different things during the day,” he said. Ippolito, 72, began his career as a physical education teacher in his home state of New Jersey. After eight years, he and his wife, Jolan, moved to Maine where she had summered and attended college and where they often skied. He began as a guidance counselor at the former Mexico High School in 1972. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)
CARIBOU, Maine — The valedictorian of Caribou High School’s Class of 1995 is among eight Americans selected by NASA to begin training for future space missions that may one day take them to Mars. Dr. Jessica U. Meir, 35, joins three other women and four men as the newest members of the space agency’s astronaut corps at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA announced Monday. A graduate of Brown University with advanced degrees from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and the International Space University in Illkirch, France, Meir is an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Meir now has two months to wrap up her work at Harvard before reporting for her new job as a full-time United States astronaut, a goal which on Monday she said has been a lifelong pursuit. “I have been very interested in science from a young age,” Meir said by phone Monday evening. “I was mostly interested in biology and physiology and always interested in space flight, so I involved myself in as many space-related activities as I could.” (read more at Bangor Daily News)
