Dance recital to be held Aug. 30 at Ashland school
ASHLAND NEWS
by Susan Feeney-Hopkins
There will be a dance recital held in the Ashland District School auditorium Thursday, Aug. 30 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12.
TWENTY-FIVE DANCE STUDENTS from Ashland will perform in a dance recital at the Ashland District School Aug. 30. Pictured during a recent rehearsal were, from left, front row: Brooklyn Stokes, Caitlin Brown, Hailey Poulin, Michaela Carney, Samantha Nelson and Grace Routhier. Middle row: Darby Clark, Yasmeen Hutchinson, Rochelle Chasse, MacKenzie Moro, Abby Doughty, Lacey Jandreau and Kylee Bolstridge. Back row: Cassie O’Clair, Shelby Stolze, Graham Berry, Jamie Poulin, Taylor Morton, Alli Kenney, Danielle Dorr, Catherine Harmon, Creed Chasse, McKenna Condon, Abbey Maclean and Mia Carney.
Twenty-five students, under the instruction of teacher Jessica Nason, have been learning dance techniques and routines beginning in May. The students have all worked very hard and are extremely excited about this upcoming recital. There will be six routines performed all in the jazz, Broadway, hip-hop and Bollywood (and a little Kung-Fu) styles. Sounds like a great show.
All of the proceeds raised will go directly back to the expenses associated with the dance classes. Nason and her students have worked hard to raise money to allow there to be no out-of-pocket expenses to the parents. So come on out to support our local students and enjoy the show!
Scouting news
GARRETT GRAHAM, Ashland Boy Scout from Troop 179, is shown here with a milk snake wrapped around his neck at the Nature Lodge at Camp Roosevelt while earning his Reptile and Amphibian Merit Badge.
Eleven members of Ashland Boy Scout Troop 179 recently attended Camp Roosevelt in East Eddington for seven days. Only one rainy day clouded the week, otherwise the weather was beautiful, supplying lots of sunshine and fun!
The first evening of camp, the boys participated in an “Opening Campfire” in which the staff at the camp perform skits, songs and jokes designed to get the Scouts excited for the week to come. The boys then spend some time preparing for the week ahead by making sure they have their merit badge cards and know where they are going on their first day.
Camp Roosevelt provides a great opportunity for the boys to earn up to four merit badges and — depending on what they participate in — this can be accomplished in one week! The merit badges the boys earned included pioneering, fishing, fly fishing, leatherwork, woodworking, wood carving, personal fitness, lifesaving, golf, shotgun, rifle shooting, archery, cooking, reptile and amphibian study, Indian lore, COPE and camping.
ASHLAND BOY SCOUT TROOP 179 recently attended Camp Roosevelt, a scouting camp. Here, the scouts are at the “Rangers” campsite. Pictured are, from left, front row: Linda Milligan, Scoutmaster; Airin Harmon, Wyatt Carr, Otis Nelson Jr., Tristan Perreault and Polly Libby, assistant Scoutmaster. Back row: Daniel Rafford, Alex Gillis, Garrett Graham, Ben Philbrook, Zach Carr, Malcolm Milligan and Peng Cheng.
During their “free time,” which occurs twice each day, the boys could choose from a variety of activities such as playing assorted games, work on their camp conservation project and merit badges and swimming. A game called “Nuke-Em,” similar to volleyball but with different rules, was very popular among the Scouts. Each evening was filled with entertainment with competitions among the different troops, as well as challenges and visits with the other campsites.
The troop members are expected to help at camp by volunteering for various camp duties such as flag raising (in the morning) and retiring (in the evening), conservation projects, as well as cleaning areas of the camp such as camp showers and bathrooms. The Scouts are also expected to maintain overall camp cleanliness. A “duty roster” is posted at their campsite in which the boys take turns picking up their cabins, sweeping, cleaning the KYBO’s, picking up and disposing of trash around their campsites and making sure the water buckets are filled by each cabin and around the fire pit. The Ashland Troop passed the site visits each day!
For added fun during the week, the boys “seek out” which troop they would like to challenge for a game of either Nuke-Em, football, Frisbee or soccer and set a time for this challenge to take place. Midweek the troops compete in the “canoe swamp.” The canoe swamp consists of two canoes, each with 4-5 boys from opposing troops. Each canoe is given buckets and once the starting signal is given, the boys toss buckets of water into their opponents’ canoes and try to “swamp” them. As expected, our Ashland Troop 179 won! Awesome.
On Friday of the week, the Scouts eagerly anticipate the “pamola relay.” Each team has 1-4 runners, 2-4 canoeists, 1 swimmer, 1 beginner swimmer and 1 learner swimmer. It’s a super fun relay event with all of the troops cheering on their participants. Later that evening everyone gathered for an outdoor barbecue consisting of chicken, hotdogs, potato and pasta salads, corn on the cob, drinks and ice cream. At the closing campfire, each troop performed a skit, songs and jokes. The Ashland Troop performed a song. All of the boys enjoyed Scout camp and are looking forward to next year already!
Susan Feeney-Hopkins is the correspondent for Ashland, Portage Lake, Oxbow, Masardis, Garfield, Nashville Plantation and the surrounding areas. She can be reached at 435-8232 or Feenhop@aol.com.