from the halls of Houlton Junior & Senior High School

What a busy time in the music department! Preparations are being made for the presentation of “The Wizard of OZ” on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17 at 1 for a childrens’ matinee and for a regular performance at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. A lot of time and hard work go into the musicals and the excellence of the performances each year show this.
    Junior high basketball tryouts have already begun and soon the varsity and JV teams will be chosen. Hockey will also be starting soon, so we are getting prepared for an exciting year of cheering on our sports teams.
Class officers and junior and senior high Student Council members have been elected and a busy year of activity planning has begun. Seniors are fundraising for their senior trip and the Student Councils are going to Brewer on Thursday, Nov. 8, for an all-day training session.
There will be no school on Wednesday, Nov. 21, because of a teacher workshop day. Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 26, from noon to 4 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. in the evening. There will be no school for students that day.
We hope you have a great Thanksgiving holiday.
Junior High News. On Sept. 11 and 12, grade seven students from Houlton Junior High School participated in a project called “SAD 29 Community.” Students rotated with their advisory groups through a variety of different activities. The two day field trip will serve as a culminating event of a social studies unit that they have been working on about our community. The various sights that our students had the opportunity to visit include: Littleton Agricultural Museum, science dig at Cary Lake, Cary Library, Houlton Historical Museum, Donald Fitzpatrick Farms, arts and architecture of Houlton’s downtown, interviews with local business people, and Houlton Scavenger hunt. To conclude the project, all students viewed “The Story of Houlton” at the Temple Theater. We would like to extend a sincere thank you to all who helped to make this an exciting and informative experience for all seventh grade students.
Elections were recently held for the Junior High Student Council.  The newly elected members are full of wonderful ideas and boundless energy. Eighth graders elected by the student body include Lucas Anderson, Courtney Bragan, Zacharia Harvey, Bailey Katz, Tayler Merritt, and Cody Woods.  The seventh grade members are Ben Corey, Alex Donovan, Lucas Flewelling, Victoria Hanson, Micah McCarthy, and Maggie Russell.  In addition, officer roles were voted on by the students.  Those students leading the charge this year will be President Zacharia Harvey, Vice President Micah McCarthy, Secretary Tori Hanson, and Treasurer Alex Donovan.
The Houlton Junior High Student Council is currently working on collecting non-perishable food items for the local food pantry. “November Nourishment” will run from Nov. 1 until Nov. 20.  Students are asked to drop off their food donations in the boxes located in all of the junior high advisors’ classrooms.  The advisory group that collects the most items will win a donut and juice party during advisory time to celebrate their kindness.
English Class News. Students in Ms. Storti’s College Preparatory English 9 classes have been hard at work on several units. They have recently completed a unit on research.  Parents should be on the lookout to sign a sheet regarding the plagiarism policy, if they have not done so already.
Parents should also note that students have begun work with online textbook support materials.  Students are able to access the textbook and many assignments at www.phschool.com.  Further information on the class is available at www.schoolnotes.com.
Library News. The annual book fair will be held from Nov. 16 – 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. There will be drawing for a free book during Parent-Teachers Conferences on Nov. 26 from noon – 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.
Art Class News. The Art Department held its annual great carved pumpkin show on Halloween.  It was an enormous success.  The students’ designs were outstanding this year.  Thank you to all those who played a part.
Science Class News. The CP Chemistry classes finished learning about Early Atomic Theory and now are getting into electrons.  Many demonstrations were seen on Halloween and the jack-o-lantern pumpkin show was fantastic!  Thanks to the Chemistry Club students who donated their candles.
Foreign Language Class News. For Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), students in Miss Snells Spanish classes made and decorated sugar skulls.
Link for Hope News. Student Link for Hope Meetings are being held at the Military Street Baptist Church. Students who are coming are learning about the effects of drugs through discussions, videos and literature. The students are working on a presentation to present to junior high students around drug use prevention. Several ideas from role-playing to making a virtual video are happening.  Any student in grades 9-12 is welcome to attend. Meetings are from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m.