Junior Olympics school guide being distributed in Aroostook
PRESQUE ISLE — The upcoming Junior Olympics at the Nordic Heritage Center in March has Nordic skiing athletes from around the country preparing their bodies for the competition. The event is also giving local school children an opportunity to enhance their knowledge of many areas through the sport of skiing. This learning is made possible through a specially-prepared school guide.
“Originally, the school guide was written by members of the 2004 World Cup Organizing Committee,” explained Eileen Carey, vice president of the Maine Winter Sports Center. “It has been modified over time to cater to other major skiing events in Aroostook County. The current JO Organizing Committee and MWSC staff have worked on this latest edition.”
Carey said the guide teaches children about math, science, culture and a number of other topics using Nordic skiing as the focus.
This year’s guide is made possible through a sponsorship by “I-Care Pharmacy” of Fort Fairfield. Owner Terry Greenier donated $10,000 to help pay for the publication and distribution of the guide, and the purchase of 2,000 cow bells. The bells will be distributed to children who come to the Nordic Heritage Center during the competitions.
“I am happy to sponsor this portion of the Junior Olympics,” said Greenier. “Using this event to bring learning alive in the classroom is a fantastic idea. I-Care Pharmacy is committed to supporting our community, and this focus on children is a great start.”
MWSC staff printed the booklets and Carolyn Dorsey, business professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and school program coordinator, began the distribution of the booklets earlier this month.
“The seventh grade students and teachers at Fort Fairfield Middle High School are very excited about the upcoming 2010 Junior Olympics,” said teacher Paul Lamoreau. “We’ve done some work on the history of skiing in Maine and will be participating soon in a winter activities field day at the Nordic Heritage Center, so having an event of this magnitude right in our own backyard is a thrill. The Junior Olympics teacher’s guide will be a great resource to use to engage our students in activities across the curriculum – math, science, social studies, language arts – that relate to cross country skiing.”
“We are very grateful that I-Care stepped up with this sponsorship,” said Steven St. Pierre, a member of the Junior Olympics organizing committee. “We could not host these events without the critical monetary support from our local businesses.”
