Superintendent shares acronym meanings

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Vassalboro Community School. (source: jmg.org)

At the Sept. 17 Vassalboro School Board meeting, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer shared a list of more than 200 educational bureaucracy acronyms he obtained at a recent conference.

Some have become familiar, like ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

Some seem confusing. HR might mean either House Resolution or Human Resources, and SFA stands for either student financial assistance or School Food Authority. FY is fiscal year; FFY is federal fiscal year; PFY is preceding fiscal year; SY is school year; there is no SFY for state fiscal year.

There are long acronyms, like AEFFA (Association of Educational Federal Finance Administrators), CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program) and FPLPE (Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension). There are a minority of two-letter ones, including MC for Montana Compact and PS, which does not mean an addition to a letter or an email ­– it means postsecondary.

Easy to pronounce acronyms include GAPS, the Grant Administration and Payment System; HELP, the U. S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; LEARN, Literacy for All, Results for the Nation; and PLOP, present level of performance.

Vassalboro Community School students in line for joint project with NASA

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Vassalboro Community School. (source: jmg.org)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School Board members applauded when they heard at their Sept. 17 meeting that students at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) are in line for a joint project with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, commonly called NASA.

“Wicked awesome,” was Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer’s reaction.

Michelle Lake, instructional specialist for the now-dissolved Alternative Educational Structure (AOS) #92, and VCS science teacher Breanne Desmond reported that their application has been approved to try out for a Cubesat launch. A Cubesat is “a little tiny satellite” that carries experiments into earth orbit, Lake explained.

The next step is for NASA to help assemble a team of engineers and other experts who will work with students to build the solar-powered satellite. It will be tested by going up with a weather balloon and if it works, will hitch a ride into space.

Related: Superintendent shares acronym meanings

The timetable is indefinite, starting this fall. The project is supposed to take two years. Desmond expects to start with sixth-graders; the curriculum team hasn’t decided whether the second year will continue with the same students in seventh grade or hand over to the new sixth-graders.

The question the students will try to answer is whether the frequency or location of lightning strikes is changed by global warming. Sub-questions include whether the northeastern United States can expect more frequent or severe lightning strikes; if that answer is yes, what negative (like more forest fires) and positive (like more nitrogen fixing to improve soils) consequences might occur; whether energy could be captured from the lightning; and whether, if lightning is more frequent, housing codes should be adapted.

The other good-news report Sept. 17 was that changes to the school meals program are leading more students to eat school-provided breakfast or lunch or both. In addition to potential improvements in nutrition, more use of the meals program means an increased federal subsidy.

A third issue discussed was whether to allow a Vassalboro school bus to transport eight VCS students attending Happy Days Childcare and Learning Center on Augusta Road (Route 201), in Winslow, an estimated 70 yards from the Vassalboro town line. The usual policy is that Vassalboro buses operate only inside the town.

However, Pfeiffer said he gave Happy Days conditional approval, if the childcare manager will let its yard be used as a school bus turn-around. Driver Clayton Rice called the plan “doable,” Pfeiffer said. School Board Chairman Kevin Levasseur said Happy Days employees’ vehicles are not in the way.

Board members approved the proposal without opposition, as long as the turnaround is plowed adequately and not blocked in any other way. Pfeiffer emphasized this action does not set a precedent for automatically allowing buses to cross the town boundary; anyone else wanting the same service needs to follow procedure, starting with a written application.

The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Oct. 15.

Practice makes perfect

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Lukas Blais, 6, of Vassalboro, trained with Nunchucks at the Huard’s Martial Arts boot camp in August. (photo by Carolyn Blais)

Vassalboro selectmen hear Growth Council representatives

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen hosted representatives of the Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC) at their Sept. 5 meeting to hear about potential advantages of CMGC help with town projects.

Senior Economic Development Specialist Garvan Donegan, accompanied by Development Coordinator Elaine Theriault-Currier, explained that CMGC is a Waterville-based public-private regional economic development organization funded by area municipalities – it serves as the economic development department for Waterville, Winslow, Fairfield and Oakland – and more than 90 colleges, hospitals and businesses.

The organization helps members attract and site new businesses, expand existing businesses, develop a workforce, implement solar power, do land use planning (including recreational trails), and apply for grants – all items of interest to Vassalboro selectmen.

Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus commented that the town is so much a bedroom community that, “You can’t buy a drop of gasoline in Vassalboro,” to fill your lawnmower.

Membership in CMGC would cost Vassalboro about $14,000, Donegan estimated. Membership fees are based on a formula that combines population and state property valuation. Vassalboro officials could also use CMGC services on an hourly-fee basis.

Donegan gave selectmen figures on grants received by CMGC members that substantially exceeded membership fees. New businesses would increase tax revenue, Titus added.

Board members postponed decisions to a future meeting. Residents’ comments and suggestions are welcome before and at the next discussion.

The other major topic Sept. 5 was whether, and if so, how to redesign the Vassalboro transfer station to make it safer. Board members decided they want to continue to use the present compacter-plus-roll-off-containers disposal system, instead of changing to, for example, large open-top tractor-trailers; and they probably want to move the entrance off Lombard Dam Road farther east, to gain more sight distance.

Town Manager Mary Sabins is in touch with the companies that made and sold the town’s compacter in 1988 and plans to schedule an inspection, with an eye to replacing the aged machinery. Selectmen asked her to ask Road Commissioner Eugene Field to develop a plan and a cost estimate for a new entrance.

Rather than redesign the interior traffic pattern, they proposed using cones and other barriers to create temporary patterns for station Manager George Hamar to experiment with.

In other business, selectmen unanimously approved Recreation Director Danielle Sullivan’s request to add a cheerleading program for third- through sixth-graders to the Vassalboro recreation program. Sullivan said she has a coach lined up and permission to practice in the school gym; registration fees will cover the cost of uniforms.

By another unanimous vote, selectmen added school board member Jessica Clark to the Solar Energy Project Committee.

Sabins reported two former town officials have returned. Paul Mitnik is the codes officer after Richard Dolby resigned and Peter A. Nerber is animal control officer after Christina LeBlanc resigned. Mitnik’s town office hours are scheduled to end at 3:30 p.m., half an hour earlier than closing time, Sabins said.

Titus commented, a propos of residents’ complaints about lack of law enforcement, that he saw state police blue-lighting speeders in two different parts of town on two consecutive days.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Sept. 19. Board members voted unanimously to cancel an Oct. 3 meeting, due to conflicts for Sabins and Selectman Robert Browne. Should early-October decisions be needed, they can schedule a special meeting.

New playground opens at Vassalboro Community School

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by Mary Grow

The pre-kindergarten (preK) students at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) now have their own playground sized for four-year-olds, thanks to the Southern Kennebec Regional Development Corporation’s Head Start program.

The new playground, funded entirely by Head Start and designed with input from Vassalboro’s preK staff, is close enough to the older students’ area so siblings can wave to each other, but each group has its own facilities. For the preK group, there are a climbing castle and a swing set on a circle of wood-chip-covered ground.

The youngsters have a 40-minute daily recess to use the new playground. “They love it,” VCS Principal Megan Allen said.

The Head Start grant that provided the playground has been extended to December, Allen said. Additional funds will buy four tricycles, plus safety helmets, for preK students.

Vassalboro’s preK program is in its fifth year, runs five full days a week and has 18 students, its highest enrollment so far. There are three full-time staff: veteran VCS preK teachers Jessica Field and Sarah Page and educational technician Danielle Plossay. Page is a Head Start employee and spends part of her time providing the in-home services that are part of Head Start programs; Field and Plossay are VCS employees.

Allen said the playground project involved working with two “fantastic” women from the Regional Development Corporation, Agency Director Cristina Salois and Program Manager Melissa Savage.

The larger playground is limited during school hours to students five years old and older, probably, Allen surmised, to meet insurance regulations. Both areas are used by families after school and on weekends, she said.

The PreK program began almost entirely separate from the rest of the VCS community, Allen said, but preK students are getting involved in more and more school experiences. The plan is to have the youngest students “integrated into the school environment as much as possible.”

They’re sharing the cafeteria; a few minutes after the preK children sit down to eat the kindergartners join them and after a few more minutes the first-graders. Classes are small enough so the space is neither too noisy nor too crowded, Allen commented.

Beginning in October, the preK students will have a turn at music, gym time, library visits, computer work and other additions to classroom teaching, just as the older students do.

Sew for a Cause group gears back up for winter sessions

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Pillows created by Sew for a Cause for foster children to decorate and give to their siblings at Camp to Belong. (photo by Jeanne Marquis)

by Jeanne Marquis

In talented hands, fabric and thread can help improve lives of many individuals, both locally and in a distant continent. This is the motivation of a group called Sew for a Cause, established by Rachel Kilbride. Sew for a Cause reconvened after their short summer break to work on projects on September 5, at the St. Bridget Center, in Vassalboro. Future sewing sessions will be September 19 and October 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sew for a Cause began in November 2018 and now has over 20 passionate, highly productive members. Their love for sewing is surpassed only by their love of giving what they have made to comfort others: newborn infants, elderly, foster children, veterans, families in shelters and the infirmed. Among the items these skilled ladies sew are comfort caps for cancer patients, baby quilts, pillowcases, lap and full-size quilts.

Rachel Kilbride says that 90 percent of their material and batting is donated. Oftentimes, fabric and unfinished sewing projects are presented to the group when neighbors are cleaning out a parent’s home. Sew for a Cause graciously accepts most sewing materials and volunteer hours. Sometimes fabric donations come in just when the materials are needed the most. In this first year, the group had a project that required an enormous amount of fleece. No sooner had they discovered the need, Rachel had received a phone call from a donor who had the correct yardage.

Sew for a Cause also produces unique fabric items for special needs. For example, they create fidget quilts for Alzheimer’s patients to help simulate memories. These are lap size quilts with touchable symbols of what may have been important to the individual in their younger years, such as small toy baseball bat or a small fuzzy dog sewn into the quilt. Touching these symbols helps to open a dialogue between Alzheimer’s patient and their caregivers.

Another special need was fulfilled by Bunnie Picher who sewed over 200 washable feminine hygiene pads for young girls in Uganda. These items of necessity help prevent girls from missing a week of school each month, so girls can build a brighter future for themselves and their families.

(photo by Jeanne Marquis)

Sew for a Cause sews pillows and quilts designed for foster children to write messages on and give to their siblings to commemorate their week together. Camp To Belong is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reuniting brothers and sisters who have become separated in foster care with a week of camp.

The Camp Director for Camp to Belong Maine, Adrian Phair explains, “These kids have been through so much and lost so much during their short lives – including living and growing up without their siblings, something most people with siblings take for granted. For these kids to have something to take home with them, from their siblings with each other’s writing on them – with their messages and thoughts to each other, gives them all something to hold on to, physically, and emotionally. It’s a reminder that their sibling is with them always, as a friend, as a family member, as someone who will be there for them as the years go by. The fact that these pillows were made by such an amazing group of sewers, who want to give back whatever they can is an act that has an amazing ripple effect.”

The ripple effect has touched many other organizations throughout Central Maine as well, including a women’s shelter, Togus VA Medical Center, assisted living homes and other institutions. The women of Sew for a Cause put their heart and soul in their projects.

Both their altruistic spirit and camaraderie of these talented women is evident when you attend one of their sewing sessions within the walls of the St. Bridget Center. Laughter and conversation rise above the hum of the machines and sewing shears. They encourage others to join and make it clear that there is plenty of work for non-sewers as well. For more information on how to get involved or to donate sewing materials, call Rachel Kilbride at 207-604-9339.

Local residents named to the Becker College dean’s list

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The following local residents were named to dean’s list at Becker College for the spring 2019 semester.

Rebecca Beringer, of Waterville, is pursuing a bachelor of science degree in exercise science, pre-physical therapy/health science concentration.

Brandon Coulombe, of Vassalboro, is pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in interactive media design, game development and programming concentration.

2019 Real Estate Tax Due Dates

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ALBION

Monday, September 30

CHINA

(pay all up front or semi-annually)
Friday, September 27
Friday, March 27, 2020

PALERMO

Thursday, October 17

VASSALBORO

(pay all up front or quarterly)
Monday, September 23
Monday, November 25
Monday, February 24, 2020
Monday, April 27, 2020

WATERVILLE

(pay all up front or quarterly)
October 11
December 13
March 13, 2020
June 12, 2020

WINDSOR

(pay all up front or biannually)
September 30 or
Half on Sept. 30
and half March 31, 2020

VASSALBORO: Back to school issues dominate board’s meeting

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by Mary Grow

Not surprisingly, Vassalboro School Board members spent most of their Aug. 20 meeting discussing back-to-school issues. A preliminary result of their deliberations about the school lunch program appeared in the packets sent home to parents as school opened Aug. 27.

The welcome-back packet included a survey asking parents how often their children ate school-provided food, what they liked and disliked and especially what the meals program could do to encourage participation. Survey results will be anonymous and confidential. Information is also on the new website, vcsvikings.org.

Board members and Superintendent Alan Pfieffer stressed the importance of student participation in the meals program, which includes breakfast and lunch. The state, using federal funds and guidelines, reimburses schools for free and reduced-price meals served to students whose families meet income requirements. Yet, Pfeiffer said, many families eligible for the program do not apply.

As a result, the Vassalboro Community School lunch program, like many others in Maine, runs a deficit, and Vassalboro doesn’t receive federal money for which it could be eligible.

Board members also voted to join the Kennebec Alliance Service Center, which is a totally different thing from the former AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure) #92.

The service center, Pfeiffer said, is a more organized version of the informal cooperation among school officials that has existed for decades in such forms as regular superintendents’ meetings, shared staff and cooperative purchasing among different schools and school units.

RSU (Regional School Unit) #18 Superintendent Carl Gartley has been a major proponent of increased cooperation, Pfeiffer said. New state legislation encourages the idea with financial incentives; Pfeiffer expects when the state contribution to local school budgets is calculated in the spring of 2020, Vassalboro will get about $33,000 added as a result of service center membership.

The Kennebec Alliance already includes schools from the Skowhegan area (School Administrative District #54) through Waterville to China, the easternmost RSU #18 member.

Vassalboro is also in the second year of a three-year contract to continue to use the services of former AOS #92 staff members, several of whom regularly attend Vassalboro board meetings. Each of the three former AOS members has its own superintendent. Pfeiffer said he, Eric Haley, in Waterville, and Peter Thiboutot, in Winslow, continue to work together.

In other business Aug. 20, board members unanimously appointed five new staff members at Vassalboro Community School and accepted three resignations.

The meeting was preceded by the first of several proposed long-range planning discussions aimed at evaluating current conditions and developing recommendations for building on strengths and overcoming weaknesses.

The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Sept. 17.

Invasive Plants 101 workshop, held in China, well attended

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Some of the attendees at the Invasive Plant 101 workshop, held in China on August 24, were, from left to right, Sonny Pierce, of Rangeley Lake Heritage Trust, Peter Caldwell and Marie Michaud, China Lake Association, and Spencer Harriman, of Lake Stewards of Maine. (contributed photo)

by Elaine Philbrook

Friend or Foe?

That was the question on participants’ minds who attended the Invasive Plant 101 Workshop, at China Town Office, on August 20.  The workshop was hosted by the China Lake Association and the Kennebec Water Districts. Participants included members of the China Lake Association, the Kennebec Water District, Echo Lake Association, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, the Boothbay Region Water District, folks from the town of Palermo, and year-round and summer residents of China Lake.

The six-hour workshop was presented in four parts:

  • Overview of invasive species issues in Maine and the Nation;
  • Plant identification fundamentals;
  • Plant identification hands-on exercise with live aquatic plants;
  • Conducting a screening survey, employing tools and techniques.

Illustrations for 11 of Maine’s most unwanted invasive aquatic plants.

The overview included information on the negative impact invasive aquatic plants can have, and have had, on ecosystems, economics, recreation, property values, and human health in and around lake communities.  A few facts shared about Maine lakes and their economic development are as follows: 640,000 residents recreate on Maine lakes, visitors spend $2.3 billion annually, generating and sustaining $3.5 billion in economic activities, $1.8 billion in annual income from Maine residents and over 50,000 jobs.  These figures are from a 2005 study by T. Allen, Center for Tourism Research and Analysis, Maine Congress of Lakes Association.

The town of China benefits through the taxes generated from lake property owners, both year-round and seasonal.  China residents and others enjoy the natural beauty and recreational activities the lake provides. These same activities and pleasures are shared by people visiting for a day or vacationing for a longer period of time.  If China Lake or Three Mile Pond where to become infested by an invasive plant these recreational activities would be jeopardized.  The cost on the community can be phenomenal, from the loss of tax revenue to the expense of plant removal.  Early detection of an invasive aquatic plant will insure that the activities and financial benefits that we all enjoy from experiencing our lakes will continue uninterrupted.

One of the working groups at the Invasive Plants Workshop 101.

The second and third parts of the workshop were about the 11 aquatic invasive plants, their native look-a-likes, and what to do if you find a suspicious plant.  If you think you have found an invasive plant you should mark the sport where you found it, take a photo or obtain a sample of the plant, and contact your local identification representative on invasive plants (Elaine Philbrook) to help with identification (or follow the directions on the Lake Stewards of Maine web site: https://www.lakestewardsofmaine.org/reporting-aquatic-species-6/). A word of caution, when gathering a sample of a suspicious plant, be careful to gather all the fragments of the plant.  Invasive plants are able to propagate from very small plant fragments.

The final part of the workshop covered how to conduct a lake screening survey and use helpful tools. A screening survey consists of people who have had training to identify invasive aquatic plants.  Participants choose or are assigned an area on the lake to watch for suspicious plants.  Once a year they report their findings to the lead supervisor.  A survey can take place anytime during the year you can get out on the water. The best time to do a survey is between mid-July to early fall because plants are in bloom.

To become a “screener” you need to be trained.  Trainings can be a six-hour Invasive Plant 101 workshop, or three-hour Invasive Plant Paddle; both are offered by the Lake Stewards of Maine. A third option is an Invasive Plant Paddle offered by a trained local resident.

If you are interested in becoming part of the screening survey team contact Elaine Philbrook at esphilbrook@gmail.com.   The goal of the China Lake Association is to have enough trained people available to develop a screening survey team that will continuously monitor the China Lake.