Anxiety support group

At 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, a support group meets at Anxiety Solutions of Northern New England at 104 Webbs Mills Road. This group is for adults struggling with anxiety problems and is a free service of Anxiety Solutions.

Intended as an adjunct to treatment, this peer-to-peer support group provides adults struggling to overcome anxiety problems with a forum to meet and learn from others who are doing the same. It is open to any adult who is actively involved in some form of anxiety treatment, whether medication, therapy or self-help. Although it is a support not therapy group, Dr. Lee Fitzgibbons or Dr. Gordon Street typically attend each session to be available as information resources.

Attendees will receive peer support in setting and achieving goals in their recovery from their anxiety problems. All interested in joining the support group are asked to please contact Street or Fitzgibbons at 655-2737 prior to attending for an anxiety disorders screening and an explanation of group rules and expectations.

Heading for orbit

At its most recent meeting, the Raymond Parent-Teacher Organization approved partial funding for an upcoming mission in space for the seventh-graders at Jordan Small Middle School.

Held at the Challenger Learning Center of Maine in Bangor, this will be an unmatched learning opportunity for our students. The center offers a “hands-on, minds-on” learning experience that is literally out of this world. Merging the power of imagination with the excitement of discovery, students will work as teams in mission control and aboard a space station, using many of the same techniques employed by NASA.

Each mission involves 30 students; half will be in charge of jobs at mission control while the other half will be on the simulated space station. At the Challenger Learning Center of Maine, students develop and test their decision-making skills, solve problems, communicate alternative options, and work as a group to achieve common goals all while using the power of applied math and science.

The center offers realistic mock-ups of Mission Control and an orbiting space station. Students join teams at computer consoles or onboard the orbiting space lab, rev up their imaginations, and work together toward the mission’s goal, whether it is the launching of a probe or the interception of a comet.

A visit to a Challenger Learning Center is not just a field trip – it is a deeply grounded learning experience that engages students, transforming them into scientists, engineers, or researchers, and placing them in a simulated space mission where they solve real-life challenges.

Seventh-grade science teacher Kellie Ouellette, who participated in a mission at the center, said, “This promises to be a really fun learning experience for the kids, and I expect to see them work and collaborate together to solve problems.”

The Joyce of reading

In addition to the group of readers who have been meeting for years to discuss fiction books, a non-fiction and classics book group was recently formed at the Raymond Village Library. The group next meets Wednesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at the library. to discuss James Joyce’s “The Dubliners.” This is a series of short stories and is available by request at the library. This group is open to all interested readers.

Come meet

The next meeting of the Parent Advisory Committee will take place on Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. A dedicated group of parents have been meeting monthly with middle school principal Randy Crockett since the beginning of the school year. These meetings are open to all parents of middle school students.

This month’s agenda will include a presentation of the field trip plan with an opportunity for parental suggestions. There will also be a review of the survey taken by both the parents at the last meeting as well as the staff at a recent staff meeting regarding the middle school mission and vision. In addition, time has been allotted for a discussion regarding the school budget and how it affects next year. All parents are encouraged to attend this meeting.

Fight autism with dance

Dancers from several dance studios in Maine will be are gathering for a performance Saturday, March 8, at 7 p.m. at Windham High School to benefit the Autism Society of Maine. The Pulse Dance Company and the Studio for the Living Arts Dance Center of Gray are event sponsors. Several dancers from Raymond who dance at Raymond’s Center Stage Performing Arts will be performing. Please support this worthy cause and treat yourself to an entertaining evening of dance. Tickets are available at the door.

Copy the Story Link