Happy winter everyone! Houlton Middle/High School is a very busy place right now. The mid-year has arrived and students who had semester classes are finishing up and getting geared up to move onto their new classes.
Many of our students in full year courses are taking mid year summative assessments to check their knowledge from the first half of the year. Our winter athletic teams are nearing the end of their seasons and gearing up for the playoffs. The music department is very busy playing at our athletic contests and conducting rehearsals for our spring music co curricular events. Below you will find several other things happening at Houlton Middle/High School.
Houlton Middle School and Big Rock have teamed up to offer our middle school students a Ski for Life program. This wonderful opportunity is taking place on four dates, Jan. 8, Jan. 22, Feb. 5, and March 4. On these dates we are able to take up to 35 students to Mars Hill Mountain where they get an opportunity to ski for only $15. It does not matter if they are an experienced skier or a beginner. The staff at Big Rock and Houlton Middle School chaperones work to teach those students who need assistance. We are happy to have two remaining dates, so if your middle school student has not had a chance to sign up, please encourage him or her to do so.
Students in grade 8 are currently working on designing, building, testing, and re-designing model cars. This hands on learning opportunity ties in with the NextGen engineering standards, as well as force and motion standards. The grade 8 students thoroughly enjoy learning concepts of science through these interactive learning opportunities.
We are pleased to announce a new joint initiative by our middle and high school student councils. Our student councils came together and determined they wanted to start a project to help those students who may be in need of school supplies, clothes, and other necessary items. Together, the councils have pledged $250.00 to stock a pantry for students in need of these items. This extremely generous gesture has received a lot of praise, and it goes along with our values of giving back to those in need. We want every student to know the pantry is located in the guidance office and available for any student in grades 6-12. A big thank you to our student councils for creating this for the student body.
As a culminating activity in CP English 10’s poetry unit, students in Mrs. Mills’ class were asked to enter at least one unique poem for possible publication. Out of 68 plus entries, 28 were chosen from Houlton High School to be published! As a result, our school stands out and will be recognized in Creative Communication’s fall anthology, A Celebration of Poets, as receiving a Writing Achievement Award. This honor is given to the top 10 percent of the schools in New England who enter the contest. The schools are chosen based on the number and quality of the entries accepted. The published poems from Houlton High School’s student body create a legacy and record of what is important to today’s students and reflect the unique insight and perspective of the youth today that may be lost forever if not put into print. Congratulations to our outstanding poets!
In recognition and support of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Mrs. Lorom’s grade 6 English/Language Arts class has been writing peace poems. Writing these poems provides our students with a great opportunity to practice their writing, while learning about the historical impact of Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Thursday, Feb. 11, we are pleased that our grade 7 students have been invited to attend the World Cup Biathlon in Presque Isle, Maine. The organizers of the biathlon do a fantastic job of reaching out to schools and inviting them to take part in an educational program leading up to the event. Our students have been learning about the event and all the areas around the world from which the competitors hail. Our students have been making flags during advisory to take to the competition. We are excited for this upcoming event.
We hope you have had a great start to the new year and your winter is going as well as can be expected. If you get a chance, try to catch one of our upcoming basketball or ice hockey games before the end of the season. Home contests are as follows to end the regular season: Jan. 27 ice hockey versus Old Town/Orono, Jan. 30 girls and boys basketball versus Hermon, Feb. 13 ice hockey versus John Bapst, or Feb. 16 ice hockey versus Messalonskee.
