School Notebook: Dec. 4

Katie Worthing, executive director of Yarmouth Historical Society, with Makayla McGregor and Rowan Joyce, winners of the Center’s student history competition. Contributed

Prize-winning student historians present in Yarmouth

The winners of Yarmouth Historical Society’s Wellcome Prize for Student Historians presented their findings on Capt. John Pennell at North Yarmouth Academy on Nov. 19.

Rowan Joyce won first prize for her exploration of the life and times of Pennell, a noted historical figure from Brunswick. Makayla MacGregor claimed second prize with her investigation of the social and economic history of the Cumberland Fair.

Joyce is a senior at Brunswick High School who enjoys studying history and literature, especially tales of old New England. She is a member of her school theater program and a dancer at the Ballet School. In her free time Rowan enjoys reading, listening to musical soundtracks and hanging with her two cats.

MacGregor, who is a senior at Gray-New Gloucester High School, writes fiction in her free time. She also spends time practicing the violin, playing table tennis and reading.

Ecomaine effort helps schools ramp up recycling, composting

Ecomaine celebrated America Recycles Week by announcing $25,000 in grant funding to 20 recipients of its 2019-20 School Recycling Grants, which are designed to raise recycling awareness in schools and communities and help start more efficient recycling programs or add composting.

The following local schools received grants: Appletree School, Cape Elizabeth, composting supplies; Children’s Nursery School, Portland, vermicomposting supplies; Falmouth Elementary School, recycled material park bench project; Falmouth High School, reusable water bottle filling station; Freeport Middle School, reusable cutlery; Portland Public Schools, recycling dumpsters for multi-school use; Reiche Elementary School, Portland, compostable cutlery; Riverton Elementary School, Portland, recycling bins and signage; South Portland High School, compostable cafeteria materials; Yarmouth High School,  composting supplies.

Telling Room Emerging Authors

The Telling Room’s 2019-20 Young Emerging Authors are, from left, Alexa Barstow, Emma Dawson-Webb, Devin Gifford and Nina Powers, who will write, edit, revise and publish individual books of original work at the Portland school this year. Contributed

Related Stories