MARS HILL NEWS
by Tomi Henderson
The students of Fort Street Elementary School will perform their annual concert at the high school on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m.
Make plans now to come enjoy this special concert by the chorus and band. It’s a great way to enjoy the Christmas season.
The Winterfest Committee will hold their Cookie Sale during the concert to raise funds for their March activities.
Library news
Officials with the Walter T.A. Hansen Memorial Library are happy to announce that the Mars Hill newspapers are now available online! They can be found at http://marshill.advantage-preservation.com. The entire collection, as well as some diaries and letters, can be searched by name or date. As other papers and historical items are discovered, they will also be added to the site.
Aroostook Health Center
Upcoming events for the week of Dec. 10-16 include: Wednesday will feature the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Morning Stretch at 9:30 a.m. and Crossword Puzzle Challenge at 1:30 p.m. Thursday will feature Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m. and Horse Racing at 1:30 p.m. Friday will feature Christmas Jingo at 9:30 a.m. and Karaoke with Larry and Larry at 1:30 p.m. Saturday will feature Santa and Shriners visit at 10:15 a.m. Sunday will feature Sunday Service with Jonathan at 1:30 p.m. Monday will feature Coffee Chat at 9:30 a.m., Nail Beautiful at 10 a.m., Communion at 1:30 p.m. and Gospel Group at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday will feature the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m. and Card Games at 1:30 p.m. All of these activities are subject to change. If you would like to volunteer to help with any of these activities, call Connie or Vicki at 768-4915.
Rotary Club
The Mars Hill Rotary Club met on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 a.m. at the Aroostook Health Center. The special speaker was Elaine Boulier, curriculum coordinator at SAD 42. She spoke about the standards — a fundamental set of academic and skill expectations for students. They are articulated descriptions of what students should know and be able to do at a given point along their educational journey.
With the advent of the social web, learning is anytime, anywhere, networked and collaborative. Students today have grown up with remote control everything: smart phones, constant communication and instant access to information in entertaining formats. Almost everywhere they go, they are connected, engaged and plugged in.
SAD 42 is one of 12 members of the Northern Maine Education Collaborative. The NMEC mission is to lead the development, implementation and promotion of learner-centered, proficiency-based learning. They will be working together to develop proficiency-based learning environments for their students.
Proficiency-based learning will be anytime, anywhere learning, daily use of technology, relevant, rigorous curriculum, and real-world application. Students will need to show articulated levels of proficiency for each content area and meet proficiency targets to move on to the next level. This will be a huge change in the way “business” is done in the educational world.
There is a great staff in place at the area schools that will support the students on their journey through mentoring, tutoring and after-school help.
Elaine will become the new superintendent beginning on Jan. 1, 2015.
BINGO
The William Cousins Post 118 of Mars Hill is hosting BINGO every Saturday evening from 7 p.m. until done. There are cash prizes. Refreshments are available. Come on out and enjoy a fun evening with friends!
Benefit Supper and Auction
There will be a benefit spaghetti supper and auction for Matt Shaw on Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Easton Elementary School from 4-7 p.m. Matt fell three stories, shattering his L3 vertebra, fracturing his pelvis, breaking both wrists and lacerating his spleen. To donate items for the live auction, call Hillary Hallett at 551-7737. Donations can also be made at www.gofundme.com/glkwqc.
Opening Day Santa 5K
Saturday, Dec. 13 will be the opening day at Bigrock in Mars Hill. Bigrock, After The Bell and Araya Wellness are sponsoring a 5K road race that will begin and end at Bigrock. Cost will be $12 per person. You can pre-register at racewire.com or by mailing your information and payment to: After The Bell, P. O. Box 1156, Mars Hill, ME 04758.
Santa attire is encouraged, and Santa hats will be handed out to each runner.
Registration begins at noon, with the race starting at 1 p.m. Awards will be handed out at 2 p.m. in the lodge. Bigrock lift tickets will be awarded to the fastest female runner, the fastest male runner, the fastest child and the best overall costume.
‘Ripped’ program
Araya Wellness with Stephanie McKeen is alive and well in the Mars Hill area, helping people make life changes. This 10-week program sees the participants meet each morning at 5 a.m. to exercise for an hour. The classes include: wellness coaching, nutrition education, weekly weigh-ins and Facebook support.
The current class has almost 60 members meeting each day. They have had to move to the gymnasium at Fort Street Elementary due to the growing class size. There are another 12 participating online from as far away as Colorado.
For more information, contact Stephanie@arayawellness.com or call her at 227-4453. There will be another class starting on Jan. 5, 2015.
There were 38 from the class that took part in the Turkey Trot 5K in Caribou on Saturday, Nov. 29, with quite a few participating in their first road race.
Tomi Henderson is the correspondent for Mars Hill, Blaine, Bridgewater and Westfield. She can be reached by emailing tomihen@yahoo.com.
