Clocktower, Oct. 2019 Reduced File
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2019-20, NUMBER 1 NOVEMBER 4, 2019 Deering High School Preparing all students for the future Sports MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Arts November 4: Start of Quarter 2 November 11: Veterans’ Day, no school November 12: PTO meeting November 13: Early early release at 11:35 a.m. November 27-December 2: Thanksgiving Break Look inside to see the great things Clubs going on at Deering this year! Academics Guidance 1 From Principal Dame 2 The GSA at Deering by Mattea Lo-Sears The Deering GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance) is an open, accepting, and safe space to be yourself and connect with others. GSA meets Below: Aghna Pinkham Potter, every Tuesday in Ms. Eiferman’s classroom Hero Barker Stone, Sammy during WINN. On Friday, October 25 at 3:00, Yusuf, Mei Machado, Mattea Deering’s GSA is having a Halloween Movie Lo-Sears, Willow Steeves, Night! We will be watching Hocus Pocus, Jayda Ray-James, Aysia everyone is welcome to join. We plan to have Truong, Eliza Scott, Kaipo more movie nights throughout the school Gorman-Swann, members of year to promote the GSA and meet new the GSA dress up for Spirit people. We hope you will join us at our first Week, and get excited for our Movie Night of the year! upcoming October Movie Night. 3 FROM THE MUSIC ROOM By Dr. Peter Stickney Wow---- Our young musicians have a great deal of success to share with you. Our Bell choir meets Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7am and are working diligently on challenging literature that we will play at the National Hand Bell of America Sponsored Spring Ring. The literature is challenging and we will be going up a notch from “tins” to “brass”. I am amazed at the dedication of our members, some who need to dash from Deering to Casco Bay or Paths using public transportation, cutting their rehearsal time short and absorbing the stress of getting to their respective schools on time. I am so very proud of them!!! Our Portland Public Schools will be well represented at the annual Veteran’s Day Parade. Our band students will play the traditional marches as we follow the parade route down Congress street to Monument Square. Lets hope the Tuba valves do not freeze as they did 2 years ago. The good news is that we are “All One School” and therefore all band members will be wearing the band jackets you saw at the Memorial Day Parade that unify the musicians. I do hope that you will get up and out to see the parade, as it sends a very loud message to the band participants that this is an event that is bigger than ourselves and sponsored by the Veterans organization. Plan on dressing warmly. Our band has played at the homecoming pep rally and football game and participated in our district 2 auditions; cut offs and results have not yet been determined. On Thursday November 7, the Chamber Singers and Chorus will participate in the Maine Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association Fall Festival. Other schools participated are Thorton Academy, Yarmouth, Winslow, Gorham, Greely, Massabesic, South Portland and Bonny Eagle. This will involve an entire day to art of Choral music. As usual the attire will be concert black, this is the policy of our All-State music festival and Portland Public Schools high school ensembles as embraced it. Students who need assistance with the wardrobe simply need to see Dr. Stickney who has established a concert attire closet to ensure all students have black “from stem to stern”. Acoylades to Joey Lancia who will be representing Deering High School at the All-State Jazz festival 2020. Mr. Lancia is a Senior and has worked hard to attain his achievement. Looking ahead with our calendar. Our bell choir will represent Deering High School on Monday December 1 at the school board inauguration at City Hall. Our winter concert will be Thursday December 12 at 6:30pm in the Deering Auditorium. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. That’s a good amount of news for you. Thank you for supporting Deering Music! 4 Welcome Deering’s newest staff members! Michael Daly, Deering’s new Co-Curricular Athletic Director, comes to us from Portsmouth, N.H. although he is originally from Boston. Michael’s work experience includes serving as a Coach and Asst. Athletic Director in D1 & 2 college athletics for 20 years, winning 2 NCAA championships in lacrosse with Stonehill College and working as PR/Event Manager at TD Garden. Michael also has experience working in Investor Relations to small business start-ups and doing sports reporting/radio broadcasting for college football, basketball and for the Boston Celtics. As a side gig, he has also coached and planned team trips for USA college all-star teams in Prague, Sydney & Melbourne for 10 years. With a BA from UNH and with MS and MBS degrees from Northeastern University, Michael is happy to be in the Portland area where he can indulge his love of local farmers’ markets as well as local restaurants. He spends his free time with family and friends (especially his favorite nieces Ava and Bridget). He also enjoys all health and sports-related activities from running to cycling to yoga to surfing. He also likes to run in 5K/10K races, mostly for the free t-shirts and snacks. Michael loves the diversity as well as the sense of pride he sees amongst Deering’s students and staff. He is especially inspired by the teachers, and staff, and their dedication to making a difference in the lives of every Deering student, and going the extra step to do so. Maryellen Wilson, Deering’s newest ELL teacher, hails from Cumberland, Maine. A graduate of Wheaton College and the University of Maine, Farmington, Maryellen has worked previously as a teacher in both Maine and Massachusetts, most recently in Lewiston. She also worked as an ELL teacher this past summer at the district’s Summer Language Academy. In Maryellen’s spare time, she enjoys reading, working in her garden, taking a dance class and spending time with her kids. She is delighted to be at Deering High School and wishes to thank her new colleagues for being welcoming and supportive. Tatiana Noodleman worked as a graphic artist in Valparaíso, Chile prior to joining Deering’s staff as a Spanish teacher. Tati attended the University of Chile at Valparaíso before moving to the United States. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her children, swimming and doing outdoor activities. Tati enjoys being surrounded by Deering’s students who inspire her to give the best of herself every day! 5 Welcome Deering’s newest staff members! After spending 8 years teaching in Philadelphia, Meghan Donnelly made the trek north to the Portland area after short stints teaching in Nashua, NH and Lewiston, Maine. Deering’s newest 9th grade English teacher, Meghan holds a BA in English from Oberlin College and an M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania. In her free time, she enjoys reading, going to the beach, winning at trivia, going to the movies, shopping at thrift stores, bowling and hanging out with her husband and her cat. She is grateful to be working at Deering and to have the opportunity to learn from its staff. Meghan says “I love working at Deering because the students are amazing, the community is welcoming & supportive, and it already feels like home!”. Leah Dixon is the new Make It Happen site coordinator for Deering High School. A graduate of Boston College with a degree in Biology, Leah comes to Deering after spending time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania. While in Tanzania, Leah taught biology, was the recipient of a Huru grant to provide menstrual supplies for 300 of her female students, and learned to speak Swahili. She also lived for almost a year and a half without running water or electricity. Leah is originally from North Yarmouth, Maine. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, stand-up paddle boarding and camping in the wilderness. Leah says that working closely with Deering’s students is the best part of the job! 6 Welcome Deering’s newest staff members! Lizzie Nalli, Deering’s new school nurse, received her nursing degree (BSN) and a public health degree (MPH) from Georgetown University. Lizzie has been a nurse for 16 years, having worked in hospitals and out patient clinics. Originally from Maine, Lizzie has returned and now lives two blocks from Deering. She enjoys spending time with her family, being outside and cooking and baking. Speaking with patients and learning about their lives has always been one of Lizzie’s favorite aspects of nursing. Accordingly, Lizzie finds that the different experiences and cultures of the students at Deering makes every interaction that she has with them interesting and she is learning much from them. Nabaa Alobaidi comes from Iraq and is Deering’s new Arabic teacher. Holding a master’s degree in Interior Design, Nabaa brings an artistic flare to her classes. Her life is built on the saying “I seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave” and she seeks to bring this quest for knowledge to her students as she shares her knowledge with them. She is a designer and a builder and enjoys spending her free time drawing, painting, wood burning, knitting and spending time with her son. She especially enjoys watching her students interact in the classroom as they help each learn Arabic. Mike Lawson is the newest JMG member of Deering’s faculty.