http://www.workingwaterfront.com Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:12:53 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/images/ww_banner_bg.png http://www.workingwaterfront.com http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Students-remember-school-food-director/13718/ On a normal weekday afternoon, the Chebeague Island School couldn't be busier. With classes over, the students twirl and skip down the single hallway, creating a ruckus. Over the din, backpacks and lunchboxes are gathered; coats and hats donned. Teachers Kristin Westra and Ruth White act like sheepdogs, herding the youngsters towards the bus that will take them home. Things were quite different on the afternoon of February 24. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Anna Maine) Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Students-remember-school-food-director/13718/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Another-strong-tournament-run-by-Viking-basketball-teams/13719/ The Vinalhaven Vikings basketball teams are experiencing resurgence. In the last few years, both the boys and girls teams have performed well in the Maine Principals' Association Basketball Tournament. This year, the boys appeared in the Western Class D finals and the girls played in the semifinals. In 2008, the boys' team finished in last place. Before 2008, the girls' team had not appeared in the semifinals in 22 years. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Kris Osgood) Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Another-strong-tournament-run-by-Viking-basketball-teams/13719/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/columns/For-Matinicus-students-leaving-home-comes-early/13655/ From the time they are big enough to ride a wobbly bicycle a quarter of a mile until they are, in some cases, capable of running a boat to the mainland, Matinicus kids assemble daily in their one schoolroom. Preschoolers look forward to it. Students learning the alphabet work beside teens working on algebra and chemistry. Children study with their siblings, their cousins, their neighbors, their babysitters. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Eva Murray) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/columns/For-Matinicus-students-leaving-home-comes-early/13655/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Vinalhaven-students-explore-ethics/13649/ Most high school students will tell you they are not thrilled to go back to school after Christmas vacation. This year the Vinalhaven High School staff found a way to ease back into the swing of things by holding a week-long exploration of ethics. Ethics Week ran January 4-8 and included a viewing of the movie "Hotel Rwanda," a two-day residency by artist Robert Shetterly and art projects, among other things. Regular classes did not meet during Ethics Week. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Kris Osgood) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Vinalhaven-students-explore-ethics/13649/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/North-Havens-entire-high-school-class-takes-part-in-drama-festival/13639/ Although the islands appear quiet this time of year—summer houses drained and closed up, fields frozen, seasonal businesses closed—for North Haven Community School students, winter is the busy season. Between basketball, major research projects, yearbook preparation and homework, the school’s 17 high school students sometimes feel stretched pretty thin. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Lisa Shields) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/North-Havens-entire-high-school-class-takes-part-in-drama-festival/13639/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Pioneering-girls-only-leadership-and-science-school-opens-doors/13596/ A crisp coat of snow blankets a broad pasture along the Wolfe's Neck peninsula in Freeport, Maine. This is the view from the second floor window of a 1840s farmhouse converted to house a new, residential semester school, Coastal Studies for Girls. Just over the rise, not visible but only a short walk away, is Casco Bay. You can smell the salt air. In the long, light-filled room, dorm beds await their occupants. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Nancy Heiser) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Pioneering-girls-only-leadership-and-science-school-opens-doors/13596/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Delsandro-enjoys-new-job-as-school-leader/13517/ Vinalhaven School welcomed a new school leader in September, and though she is new to the office, Gloria Delsandro has been a teacher at the school for seven years. "I have gotten lots of support from so many different people moving into this job," she said. "People have been so welcoming and supportive." Delsandro received her Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Maine at Orono last June. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Kris Osgood) Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Delsandro-enjoys-new-job-as-school-leader/13517/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/mail/Reading-tour-thanks-hosts-participants/13559/ The Circus Ship Island Author and History Tour has returned to port after a unique and wonderful journey. We visited 10 Maine island schools and communities: North Haven, Vinalhaven, Isle au Haut, Deer Isle Stonington, Frenchboro, Mount Desert Island, Swans's Island, Islesford, Islesboro and Matinicus Island. Our thanks to all for the warm welcome and generous hospitality we enjoyed on each island. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (Jan Coates, Executive Director, Island Readers & Writers) Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/mail/Reading-tour-thanks-hosts-participants/13559/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/columns/The-Long-View/13542/ In looking back over the troubles and accomplishments of island communities this year, we can truly say it's been the best of times; the worst of times. The year started out disastrously for most Maine lobstermen after last fall's October nightmare when the bottom fell out of the lobster market almost overnight, and only modestly improved as the year wore relentlessly on for fishermen. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Philip Conkling) Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/columns/The-Long-View/13542/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Growth-spurt-for-day-care-on-Chebeague-Island/13469/ When it comes to kids, a lot of growth can happen in one year, sometimes unpredictably. When The Kids' Place Day Care on Chebeague Island opened on August 4, 2008, the founders had no idea how quickly their brainchild would outgrow its own footprint. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Jennifer Goff) Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Growth-spurt-for-day-care-on-Chebeague-Island/13469/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/A-busy-start-for-children-at-Matinicus-Island-School/13472/ Five weeks into the school year, Matinicus Island School teacher Heather Wells was almost wishing things would get a little more...humdrum. "Well, not really," she smiles, "but we haven't had a single full week of regular school yet." To date, her six-student group has attended the Inter-Island Event on Islesford in September. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Eva Murray) Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/A-busy-start-for-children-at-Matinicus-Island-School/13472/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/New-island-principal-left-Manhattan-for-Maine/13489/ One might wonder what would prompt a teacher from New York City to accept a job on a Maine island. For Timothy Devaney, the new principal of the Peaks Island and Cliff Island schools, the answer lies in the well-known tourist slogan, "Maine: The way life should be." "My wife and I wanted to relocate to Maine," said Devaney. "We wanted a change of scenery. The Maine way of life was attractive to us. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Kris Osgood) Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/New-island-principal-left-Manhattan-for-Maine/13489/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Over-120-attend-Island-Institutes-teachers-conference/13502/ The very first Island Teachers Conference took place on North Haven in 1985. Ten attendees from that very first conference were back for this year's event. This year's Island Teacher Conference was extremely well attended with over 120 island teachers, administrators, educational technicians and school board members. It was held on October 8 and 9 at the Belfast Hutchinson Center. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Ruth Kermish - Allen) Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Over-120-attend-Island-Institutes-teachers-conference/13502/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Teachers-settle-on-Cliff-Island-after-Pacific-journey/13466/ At the close of each school year on the islands, people come to expect want ads seeking new teachers. High staff turnover is a fact of life in K-12 public education, but more so on the islands. And that turnover has a higher impact than on the mainland, because in some island schools, one teacher can be the entire staff. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Craig Idlebrook) Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Teachers-settle-on-Cliff-Island-after-Pacific-journey/13466/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Childhood-lessons-in-self-sufficiency-helps-Jackson-teach-Vinalhaven-youth/13396/ It would be safe to say that Tristan Jackson, 26, developed an early understanding of self-sufficiency.At age seven, he was living with his family year-round on Green's Island, a 400-acre island off Vinalhaven, in a building originally designed as an unheated boathouse with no running water or electricity. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Micah Conkling) Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Childhood-lessons-in-self-sufficiency-helps-Jackson-teach-Vinalhaven-youth/13396/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/columns/Cranberry-Report-Never-stop-learning/13398/ On Little Cranberry Island, service at the Islesford Dock Restaurant ends just before Labor Day, due to the fact that most of the employees need to head back to high school and college.For some of us who are left behind, September instills a yearning to start something new or go back to school ourselves, regardless of our age.Longing for learning is intensified by the free time we gain when the island population drops from over 350 to less than 100 in the last week of August. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Barbara Fernald) Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/columns/Cranberry-Report-Never-stop-learning/13398/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Schooner-captain-sets-sights-on-old-shipyard/13414/ Captain Jim Sharp isn't averse to risk. Instead he seems to thrive on it. He has bought old schooners and then brought them back to life as paying windjammers. He helped rescue the Arctic exploration schooner Bowdoin; he gave the schooner Adventure to her homeport of Gloucester. Over the years, this feisty waterfront entrepreneur has bought tugboats and a Camden wharf. He once turned a steam tug into a restaurant. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Steve Cartwright) Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Schooner-captain-sets-sights-on-old-shipyard/13414/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Vinalhaven-childcare-program-marks-first-anniversary/13408/ Island life doesn't always afford the same amenities and services that mainlanders often take for granted. Affordable and reliable childcare is one of those. So when several new and expecting Vinalhaven mothers saw a need, they did something about it. Island Village Childcare (IVC) opened its doors in September 2008 and marked its first anniversary last month. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Kris Osgood) Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Vinalhaven-childcare-program-marks-first-anniversary/13408/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Island-readers-program-takes-The-Circus-Ship-to-10-islands/13412/ Mention the 1836 wreck of the Royal Tar to some islanders and you'll hear some very amazing tales. Some will tell you about rumors of an elephant arriving on the beach, or serpents seen slithering on various islands way back when. You might even be told that there are some places where people still won't fish, ever since the Royal Tar's boiler blew and the ship went up in flames, off Vinalhaven. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Rosemary Herbert) Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Island-readers-program-takes-The-Circus-Ship-to-10-islands/13412/ http://www.workingwaterfront.com/online-exclusives/Cranberry-Report-Never-stop-learning/13391/ On Little Cranberry Island, service at the Islesford Dock Restaurant ends just before Labor Day, due to the fact that most of the employees need to head back to high school and college. For some of us who are left behind, September instills a yearning to start something new or go back to school ourselves, regardless of our age. Longing for learning is intensified by the free time we gain when the island population drops from over 350 to less than 100 in the last week of August. ... info@workingwaterfront.org (by Barbara Fernald) Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.workingwaterfront.com/online-exclusives/Cranberry-Report-Never-stop-learning/13391/