WELLS

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL students are taking steps to combat homelessness and poverty by participating in a “Houses for Change” program started by Family Promise, an interfaith hospitality network that raises funds to benefit homeless and low-income families by assisting with food and shelter needs.

Additional Photos

Wells third-grader Emanuel Diggs poses with the cardboard bank he decorated to hold spare change he collects during March as part of a schoolwide effort to fight homelessness. Emanuel's savings, as well as those of his classmates, will benefit agencies that assist homeless individuals. Photo courtesy Reg Bennett

Students gathered in the school’s cafeteria recently to assemble small cardboard houses that will serve as “piggy banks” for the spare change they intend to collect for the fund during March. Those collections will be distributed to four organizations that work with the homeless and those in danger of becoming homeless. Volk Packaging Corp. of Biddeford donated the cardboard to make the miniature house banks.

SIXTY TEAMS, representing 20 Maine high schools, recently participated in the fifth annual Junior Achievement of Maine’s Titan Challenge. The contest pairs teams of three students each with businesses to manage a virtual company.

Brewer High School teams placed first and second in the competition, with each team member winning $1,000 and $500 respectively courtesy of Maine Education Services. Also participating were teams from Cheverus High School, Erskine Academy, Gray-New Gloucester High School, Lawrence High School, Poland Regional High School, Biddeford Regional Center of Technology, Oak Hill High School and Lewiston Regional Technical Center.

CARING UNLIMITED is seeking volunteers to help with programs it provides to victims of domestic violence in York County. Training will begin March 8 for people interested in volunteering to serve as hotline advocates, Kidworkers and court monitors, as well as for two administrative positions. Volunteers are asked to cover two shifts per month, which can be done from home.

Hotline Advocates must complete a 40-hour training to learn the dynamics of domestic abuse and victim support. Kidworkers will receive nine hours of training to learn how domestic violence and the impact witnessing violence has on children, while learning interactive games and activities for children ranging in age from infancy through adolescence. And court monitors will be asked to complete a six-hour training to observe criminal court proceedings in the Biddeford District and Alfred Superior courts relating to domestic violence and how the criminal justice system responds to domestic violence. For more details, or to sign-up for training, call 490-3227, ext. 107 or go to www.caring-unlimited.org.

CAPE ELIZABETH

THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS at Cape Elizabeth High School were selected as candidates for the United States Presidential Scholars Program. They include: Willard M. Bollenbach, Peter J. Governali, Robert F. Macdonald, Matthew O. Miklavic and John K. Queeney.

RAYMOND

CAMP WAWENOCK has finalized a conservation easement on 62 acres of land on Raymond Cape to be called the Wawenock Forest Land. The easement property is adjacent to 90 plus acres owned by Camp Wawenock and will include more than 1000 feet of Sebago Lake shoreline. The holder of the easement is the Small Woodlot Owners Association of Maine.

PORTLAND

CITY SCHOOLS will begin registration for incoming kindergartners on Monday. Children must be 5 years old on or before Oct. 15 to attend kindergarten. Registration will be held by appointment at the child’s neighborhood school. A list of schools with phone numbers may be found by clicking on the “Kindergarten Registration” link on the Portland Public Schools website, www.portlandschools.org. For more information, call 874-8237.

To register children whose families speak a language other than English, call 874-8135. They will oversee the registration, along with English language proficiency testing and health screening. Parents will need their child’s birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of residency in the city of Portland to register their child for kindergarten.

ORGANIZERS of the Portland Flower Show are looking for volunteers. The show will be held from March 9 through March 13. To volunteer, call 615-6271.

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