SOLON & BEYOND, Week of December 21, 2017

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

The Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club met on Saturday, December 9, for their annual Christmas Party with all 12 members, three leaders and five visitors in attendance.

Items were collected for the Somerset Human Society as one of the clubs community projects.

The members made two Christmas items as a craft project. These can be used to exhibit at the fairs next fall.

An exchange of gifts was held and snacks and drinks was enjoyed.

The next meeting will be held on Saturday, January 13, at 9:30 a.m., at the Solon Fire Station.

The Solon PTO sponsored a special Children’s Shopping Day on December 14. Students were able to shop for inexpensive gifts for their families at a “store” set up by the PTO. Thanks to parents who have donated items for this activity.

New Awards Programs: At the end of each quarter, they present honor roll awards to students in grades 3-5 who made the honor roll or the high honor roll for the previous quarter. This year they have added two new awards programs.

One new awards program is Attendance Awards. Students who had no more than one absence or one tardy during the previous quarter will receive an Excellent Attendance certificate and pencil at the assembly.

The second new awards program is the Core Values Awards. RSU #74 developed Core Values for the district a number of years ago. They decided to emphasize those core values, choosing one to be the focus for a month. At the end of the month each teacher will choose one or two students who have embodied that core value in the last month. Those students will receive certificates at the assembly. These are the Core Values: Responsibility, Respect, Honesty, Compassion and Tolerance.

The new superintendent of schools, Mike Tracy, joined the kindergarten class for Thanksgiving dinner on November 16 and read the students a Thanksgiving story. He also read a Christmas story to the students on December 20.

Now for an up-date on nomination papers that have been taken out since last weeks paper: For Selectman/Assessor/Overseer of the Poor (3 year term) James Farley and Keith Gallagher. Gary Bishop for Road Commission. Leslie A. Giroux has taken out papers for Town Clerk/Tax Collector (1 year term) and Robert Lindblom Sr. has taken out papers for RSU #74 School Board Member (3 year term).

And now for Percy’s memoir: This week it is taken from a little book called, “Good Advice for a Happy Life!” If I was asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, “I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.” Then repeat to yourself the most comforting words, “This too shall pass.” Maintaining self-respect in the face of a devastating experience is of prime importance.