Scout reaching out to help children in Guatemala

Parker Hall, a Boy Scout with Troop 45 in Freeport/Pownal, has embarked on his Eagle Scout Project, which will focus on bringing aid to the children of Guatemala.

Parker and his family attend church at Tuttle Road United Methodist in Cumberland, where Pastor Linda Brewster leads a volunteer team to the mountains of Guatemala to offer free medical care to the local populace. The nonprofit mission goes by the name of Works of Grace, which is a part of a larger United Methodist Mission known as Salud y Paz. With more than 45 percent of the population under the age of 15, a big part of the Works of Grace Mission is to provide medical care to local children.

This year Hall will be accompanying Brewster as part of the 2018 Works of Grace Mission. Before they leave Guatemala, Parker wants to collect as many vitamins, small toys, toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste that he can. Once in Guatemala, Hall’s job will be the director of Children’s Services. He will work to keep the children engaged at play until it is their turn to see a member of the medical staff. Hall will also be helping the medical team by repackaging and distributing vitamins. In between games, he will demonstrate proper tooth brushing techniques to the Guatemalan children. 

For more information on how to help, email Hall at parker.hall@students.rsu5.org, or call 747-8483.

“I’m excited to be taking part in this year’s Works of Grace Mission,” Hall said. “But I have a lot of work to do before we leave for Guatemala on April 7.”

Grant allows Waldorf School to expand bee program

Maine Coast Waldorf School, in collaboration with The Resilience Hub of Portland, received a $1,500 grant from Whole Kids Foundation to take the beehive educational programming at the school to a new level. The grant will be used to purchase beekeeping equipment and supplies – including beekeeper’s suits – making it possible for older students to work directly with the beehives under the direction of certified beekeeper and caretaker Brian Kessler. Combined with the design and teaching support from Heather Foran and The Resilience Hub, the grant will enable the school to offer workshops and other learning opportunities, not only for Maine Coast Waldorf students, but also for the greater community.

The school has three beehives on campus but hopes to increase that number to six. In the spring the hives are opened approximately three times a month, when Kessler will teach students how to evaluate the hives for problems or overpopulation. They will also collect honey and beeswax for classroom use and to sell. Over the past year, Maine Coast Waldorf School students have created two pollinator gardens on campus and each class has observed and learned about bees and their hives.

Beekeeping is an essential part of the worldwide celebration of Waldorf 100, the 100th anniversary of Waldorf education. Waldorf schools are being asked to create bee oases that include beehives and pollinator gardens, and to provide related educational opportunities for both.

Parker Hall is embarking on his Eagle Scout Project by embarking on a mission trip to Guatemala.

Members of Yarmouth High School’s Team 2, from left, Michael Guertler, Zach Mogul Campbell, and Oliver Sullivan, were the overall winners of the Junior Achievement Titan Challenge, a statewide online business simulation competition for high school students held Feb. 28.

Freeport’s sixth grade math team placed second out of 28 teams at the Southern Maine Elementary Math League Meet on March 6 in Portland. The competition consisted of three tests. Abby Caouette, right front, placed second as an individual out of 168 students. Back row, from left, are Lin Wang, Teo Steverlyk-Horne, Ian Smith, Connor Mills-Dudding and MacKenzie Mills-Dudding. At left in front is Riley Sterling.

Greely High School Drama presents “Robin Hood,” written by Liz Rollins and Greely drama students, at the Greely High School auditorium in Cumberland March 22, 23, 24 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors at the door for this “contemporary farce about the famous archer and his merry men – and women.” 

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