Published in the Current
The Cape Elizabeth School Board set a speed record at its regular Tuesday meeting: 40 minutes, gavel to gavel. The previous record, 46 minutes, was set at December’s meeting. But longer meetings are in store soon, as budget discussions begin.
During the short meeting, the school board learned that part of the Portland Arts and Technology High School’s budget was “killed by one of our neighboring school districts,” according to board member, Kevin Sweeney, who also serves on the board of PATHS.
The budget was revised, and the planned biotechnology program was saved, Sweeney said. The board voted to approve the revised budget, and to pay the amount PATHS requested from Cape, which will not exceed the amount the board previously approved.
The board also learned that longtime Pond Cove guidance counselor, Sara Berman, will be resigning at the end of this school year.
In other business, the board:
– Heard from the high school student representatives that the senior class is in danger of losing its privileges due to misbehavior and parking violations. “Some students accumulate a lot of points, while others aren’t accumulating any,” said representative David Greenwood. Midterms, Greenwood reported, begin soon, ending the first semester. Also, a good number of Cape students volunteered over the holidays, including participating in a gift drive for area teenagers. And, the day after Christmas, some students painted the names of active duty military personnel from Cape on the rock on Route 77.
– Heard from the middle school student representatives that there will be a regional student leadership conference Jan. 10 and a career fair at the school Jan. 24. The student council and advisory groups also are very involved in community service. The council adopted a family over the holidays, purchasing food and gifts which were greatly appreciated by the family. And teacher, Andy Strout’s, advisory group is having a book drive for a school serving underprivileged students in Boston. Also, 150 students auditioned to play a part in the school play, “Peter Pan,” which will be performed the first weekend in April.
– Heard a report from Superintendent Tom Forcella that the Future Direction Planning process is well underway, and that several goals for this academic year already have been met, while others are in progress or on the schedule to be completed on time.
– Heard from high school Principal Jeff Shedd that the mock trial team did very well in the state finals, narrowly missing beating Hampden Academy, the school that beat Cape last year for the state title. Shedd, a former attorney, was very impressed with the quality of the students' work and performance. Also, Spanish teacher, Angela Schipani, is having excellent success with a new teaching method, involving roleplaying and story-telling. Mark Pendarvis has begun experimenting with that method as well.
– Heard from middle school Principal Nancy Hutton that the fifth grade teaching team has planned an integrated unit on recycling, which will involve a visit to the school by the town Recycling Committee. Hutton also explained the nature of the educational teams with an anecdote about the eagerness of the seventh grade team to get its hands on the new laptops from the state. All of the teachers, with the help of district technology coordinator, Gary Lanoie, volunteered to be a part of a demonstration program in which the school would get its laptops shortly and then host a series of visits by teachers from around the state to see how laptops can be used effectively in classrooms. Hutton said the school has not yet been approved to be a demonstration site.
– Approved several winter sports coaches for the middle school.
– Announced the municipal election, which will be held Tuesday, May 7, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Two seats on the School Board will be open, those held by George Entwistle and Jim Rowe. Nomination papers are due to the Town Clerk’s office by 5 p.m., March 25.
The school board’s next regular meeting will be at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 12, in the Town Council Chambers.
Thursday, January 10, 2002
Cape mock trial team loses close competition
Published in the Current
The Cape Elizabeth mock trial team barely missed beating Hampden Academy at the statewide high school mock trial competition in Portland Saturday. After a pair of closely argued trials, the judges couldn’t decide who had won.
They discussed the possibility of a tie, but decided that couldn’t happen. There was no precedent for a tie in the mock trial finals, or anywhere else in the competition.
So the three judges—Leigh Saufley, Maine’s new Chief Justice, Colleen Khoury, the dean of the University of Maine Law School, and Elizabeth Scheffee, president
of the Maine Bar Association— voted again. Cape was not the winner.
It was Cape’s second appearance at the finals in three years, and the competition is set up to be as real to life as possible.
“We present in a real courtroom in front of practicing judges,” said Dan Gayer, a senior on the team.
They use real rules of evidence and actual trial procedure, too, though some of the most complex legal guidelines are left out, to make things a little simpler and keep the trials moving.
The competition season begins in September, when packets of case information go out to participating schools around the state. They all work on the same case, which is fictitious, but includes evidence from witnesses, police reports, and expert testimony. Students prepare for a couple of months, and trials begin in November.
Each team has to present both sides of the case, taking turns with the roles of defense and prosecution, including playing all the witnesses who will testify.
The competition is based not only on whether a team proves its side, but how well they present it. Is it well-argued, with minimal straying from the point? Are witnesses convincing and are cross-examinations revealing? Do experts really know what they are talking about? How do witnesses and attorneys alike handle tough questions or answers?
The students get help from Cape mock trial adviser and theater teacher Dick Mullen, as well as local lawyers, often parents of students on the team. They are taught the academics of trial law, as well as how to exploit the emotional nature of a case.
“It’s very academic,” Mullen said. The practices are rigorous, with tips from the real lawyers on appropriate handling of objections.
Mullen encourages the students to use body language and sound like they mean what they say.
Team member Stephanie Reed was not especially interested in the law until Mullen approached her to be on the team. Now she says she considers law one career possibility, though she hasn’t decided what she’ll do just yet.
The students miss school to attend competitions, and sacrifice long hours to prepare for the cases.
But, Gayer said, it helps them understand why the U.S. legal system is set up the way it is, with its flaws and all.
“You learn a lot about how the legal process works,” Reed said.
The Cape Elizabeth mock trial team barely missed beating Hampden Academy at the statewide high school mock trial competition in Portland Saturday. After a pair of closely argued trials, the judges couldn’t decide who had won.
They discussed the possibility of a tie, but decided that couldn’t happen. There was no precedent for a tie in the mock trial finals, or anywhere else in the competition.
So the three judges—Leigh Saufley, Maine’s new Chief Justice, Colleen Khoury, the dean of the University of Maine Law School, and Elizabeth Scheffee, president
of the Maine Bar Association— voted again. Cape was not the winner.
It was Cape’s second appearance at the finals in three years, and the competition is set up to be as real to life as possible.
“We present in a real courtroom in front of practicing judges,” said Dan Gayer, a senior on the team.
They use real rules of evidence and actual trial procedure, too, though some of the most complex legal guidelines are left out, to make things a little simpler and keep the trials moving.
The competition season begins in September, when packets of case information go out to participating schools around the state. They all work on the same case, which is fictitious, but includes evidence from witnesses, police reports, and expert testimony. Students prepare for a couple of months, and trials begin in November.
Each team has to present both sides of the case, taking turns with the roles of defense and prosecution, including playing all the witnesses who will testify.
The competition is based not only on whether a team proves its side, but how well they present it. Is it well-argued, with minimal straying from the point? Are witnesses convincing and are cross-examinations revealing? Do experts really know what they are talking about? How do witnesses and attorneys alike handle tough questions or answers?
The students get help from Cape mock trial adviser and theater teacher Dick Mullen, as well as local lawyers, often parents of students on the team. They are taught the academics of trial law, as well as how to exploit the emotional nature of a case.
“It’s very academic,” Mullen said. The practices are rigorous, with tips from the real lawyers on appropriate handling of objections.
Mullen encourages the students to use body language and sound like they mean what they say.
Team member Stephanie Reed was not especially interested in the law until Mullen approached her to be on the team. Now she says she considers law one career possibility, though she hasn’t decided what she’ll do just yet.
The students miss school to attend competitions, and sacrifice long hours to prepare for the cases.
But, Gayer said, it helps them understand why the U.S. legal system is set up the way it is, with its flaws and all.
“You learn a lot about how the legal process works,” Reed said.
Cape adults ponder school ethics
Published in the Current
The Cape community strove to identify itself in words Monday night as 30 parents, teachers and administrators gathered to discuss standards for ethical and responsible behavior in the schools and in the community.
Superintendent Tom Forcella began the meeting, held at the cafetorium shared by the middle and Pond Cove Elementary schools, by explaining that the process is mandated by the state’s learning results act, requiring local districts to develop codes of conduct, including behavior standards and procedures for handling those who break the rules.
But it’s wider than just a required document, Forcella said. “There should be something (in the code) that we all believe in as communities,” he said. It fits in well, too, with the district’s future direction planning process.
The turnout wasn’t all that Forcella had hoped. “It would have been nice if we packed this cafetorium,” he said. But the group was big enough to take the first step in the process, which will include continued discussions with staff, students, administrators and the public.
School Board Chairman George Entwistle began facilitating a group discussion, reprising a role familiar from his day job. He split the audience up into five small groups, each with about six people, sitting at separate lunch tables in the room.
They had to come up with, and share with the group, five to eight values, in single words, that would be engraved above the doors to each school.
People at the tables talked about courage, curiosity, tolerance, acceptance, kindness, trustworthiness, consistency, industry, intra-dependence, service, risk-taking, sincerity, love, hope, commitment and equity, among many other things.
As the lists were compiled, they were read aloud to the whole audience. The overall list filled two large sheets of paper in the front of the room.
Then Entwistle challenged each table to come up with its own list of five to eight words that were “values essential to being an ethical person,” and the discussion broadened and deepened, exploring words, values and meaning.
“Is perseverance really a value?” one person asked, suggesting commitment might be a better word for what she wanted to see in her community.
“A lot of these words overlap,” was a common theme. People had to choose words that fit together to form a coherent picture, and didn’t duplicate each other.
The audience then came back together to discuss the words they agreed on as a group. Respect and responsibility were unanimous, and compassion, honesty, courage and fairness were frequently mentioned.
But the real discussions were about the decision between justice and fairness, and honesty and integrity.
“We’re a nation of laws,” said School Board member Jim Rowe.
Those laws aim at ethical behavior, so justice was the word he supported.
But others disagreed. “Sometimes equal is not fair,” said one mother.
Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton wanted to choose words that had power, like integrity, she said.
But some people were concerned that it was a word many elementary school children wouldn’t know. “It’s a great word to teach them,” said one.
High School Principal Jeff Shedd suggested humility be added to the list. “It’s a good word for Cape Elizabeth,” he said, adding “it’s presently a weakness.”
The final exercise of the evening was defining the actions associated with each of the values on the final list, which had seven words: respect, humility, responsibility, honesty, compassion, courage and fairness.
The discussions have only begun in Cape Elizabeth, and the wheels of thought are turning as all members of the community consider the values they support above all others, the ones which might, someday, be engraved in stone above the school doors.
The Cape community strove to identify itself in words Monday night as 30 parents, teachers and administrators gathered to discuss standards for ethical and responsible behavior in the schools and in the community.
Superintendent Tom Forcella began the meeting, held at the cafetorium shared by the middle and Pond Cove Elementary schools, by explaining that the process is mandated by the state’s learning results act, requiring local districts to develop codes of conduct, including behavior standards and procedures for handling those who break the rules.
But it’s wider than just a required document, Forcella said. “There should be something (in the code) that we all believe in as communities,” he said. It fits in well, too, with the district’s future direction planning process.
The turnout wasn’t all that Forcella had hoped. “It would have been nice if we packed this cafetorium,” he said. But the group was big enough to take the first step in the process, which will include continued discussions with staff, students, administrators and the public.
School Board Chairman George Entwistle began facilitating a group discussion, reprising a role familiar from his day job. He split the audience up into five small groups, each with about six people, sitting at separate lunch tables in the room.
They had to come up with, and share with the group, five to eight values, in single words, that would be engraved above the doors to each school.
People at the tables talked about courage, curiosity, tolerance, acceptance, kindness, trustworthiness, consistency, industry, intra-dependence, service, risk-taking, sincerity, love, hope, commitment and equity, among many other things.
As the lists were compiled, they were read aloud to the whole audience. The overall list filled two large sheets of paper in the front of the room.
Then Entwistle challenged each table to come up with its own list of five to eight words that were “values essential to being an ethical person,” and the discussion broadened and deepened, exploring words, values and meaning.
“Is perseverance really a value?” one person asked, suggesting commitment might be a better word for what she wanted to see in her community.
“A lot of these words overlap,” was a common theme. People had to choose words that fit together to form a coherent picture, and didn’t duplicate each other.
The audience then came back together to discuss the words they agreed on as a group. Respect and responsibility were unanimous, and compassion, honesty, courage and fairness were frequently mentioned.
But the real discussions were about the decision between justice and fairness, and honesty and integrity.
“We’re a nation of laws,” said School Board member Jim Rowe.
Those laws aim at ethical behavior, so justice was the word he supported.
But others disagreed. “Sometimes equal is not fair,” said one mother.
Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton wanted to choose words that had power, like integrity, she said.
But some people were concerned that it was a word many elementary school children wouldn’t know. “It’s a great word to teach them,” said one.
High School Principal Jeff Shedd suggested humility be added to the list. “It’s a good word for Cape Elizabeth,” he said, adding “it’s presently a weakness.”
The final exercise of the evening was defining the actions associated with each of the values on the final list, which had seven words: respect, humility, responsibility, honesty, compassion, courage and fairness.
The discussions have only begun in Cape Elizabeth, and the wheels of thought are turning as all members of the community consider the values they support above all others, the ones which might, someday, be engraved in stone above the school doors.
Study looks at Haigis wildlife
Published in the Current
The Scarborough Conservation Commission has hired Woodlot Alternatives of Topsham to organize already existing data on wildlife in the Haigis Parkway area for use by town officials and property owners as they plan development there.
Stephanie Cox, chair of the Conservation Commission, said the group does not have the power to require landowners to take certain actions, and doesn’t want that authority. What the commission does have is a desire to locate and distribute solid information about wildlife.
“Not to come up with recommendations,” Cox said, “but to give us some scientific information.” Woodlot Alternatives is collecting information from the Greater Portland Council of Governments, state authorities and other sources for its report, which Cox expects to receive in February.
“As a community, we have an open space resource here that with a little bit of forethought and planning … we may come up with solutions that are win-win for people and for wildlife,” Cox said.
She emphasized that nobody is trespassing on any property along the Haigis Parkway, and said the information the study collects will be made available to landowners as well as town officials to help them make decisions about where to leave open land and where to develop.
If the Conservation Commission has any agenda at all, Cox said, it is two-fold: to provide good information about the land and wildlife, and to “encourage landowners to plan for the needs of wildlife.”
Cox invites comments from the public, either by phone or note to Town Hall, or at Conservation Commission meetings, which are held the second Monday of each month at Town Hall at 7 p.m.
The Scarborough Conservation Commission has hired Woodlot Alternatives of Topsham to organize already existing data on wildlife in the Haigis Parkway area for use by town officials and property owners as they plan development there.
Stephanie Cox, chair of the Conservation Commission, said the group does not have the power to require landowners to take certain actions, and doesn’t want that authority. What the commission does have is a desire to locate and distribute solid information about wildlife.
“Not to come up with recommendations,” Cox said, “but to give us some scientific information.” Woodlot Alternatives is collecting information from the Greater Portland Council of Governments, state authorities and other sources for its report, which Cox expects to receive in February.
“As a community, we have an open space resource here that with a little bit of forethought and planning … we may come up with solutions that are win-win for people and for wildlife,” Cox said.
She emphasized that nobody is trespassing on any property along the Haigis Parkway, and said the information the study collects will be made available to landowners as well as town officials to help them make decisions about where to leave open land and where to develop.
If the Conservation Commission has any agenda at all, Cox said, it is two-fold: to provide good information about the land and wildlife, and to “encourage landowners to plan for the needs of wildlife.”
Cox invites comments from the public, either by phone or note to Town Hall, or at Conservation Commission meetings, which are held the second Monday of each month at Town Hall at 7 p.m.
It’s (early) decision time for Cape seniors
Published in the Current
While college applications still loom for some, 40 percent of the Cape senior class already is finding out whether they got into the colleges of their choice.
Of the 110 students in the Cape Elizabeth High senior class, 22 applied for early decision and another 22 applied for early action. Early decision is binding, meaning a student applies to only one school, and promises to attend that school if accepted. Early action is non-binding, and allows the student to apply to more than one college at once or to some early-action and others under regular admissions deadlines.
Knowing ahead of time is nice, but money complicates the issue. At most colleges and universities, financial aid packages are created at the same time as admissions decisions, meaning an early-decision applicant may end up with a less appealing aid package and have no choice but to accept it. Early-action and regular applicants can review several financial aid offers before making a final decision about which school to attend.
Individual decisions
One Cape senior who has decided not to apply early anywhere is David Kramer. He is looking at seven schools.
Kramer, who wants to major in civil engineering, has visited all of the schools he is considering, and is impressed with their programs. He had considered applying early decision at Tufts, but had second thoughts.
“What if some other school is just as good or better?” Kramer asked. Instead of deciding now, he will wait to see which schools admit him and go back for a second visit.
None of the schools on his list offer early action, but all do offer early decision applications.
“I probably would have done that (early action) if it was an option,” Kramer said.
He said early decision has its benefits, but not for him. “It’s good for people who know exactly where they want to go,” he said. “I really couldn’t decide.”
Meghan Donovan, CEHS class of 2001 and now a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., did not apply early decision, though after one particular college visit she initially wanted to. She was glad her mother, who works in the high school’s guidance office, suggested she wait.
She wrote in an e-mail to The Current, “Fall is a very stressful time, with one of the most stressful semesters of high school in full swing, SATs and a host of other distractions. It is therefore wise, I believe, to take the extra time to do regular decision.”
“My applications were better presented and composed because of the extra time waiting provided me,” Donovan wrote.
Amanda Gann, a senior who applied early action to Harvard and to Georgetown, said she was applying early to get her ball rolling before the real time crunch hit over the holidays.
“I wanted to get my act together early,” Gann said.
She is applying to six or seven schools, she said, but she wasn’t sure what was really her top-choice school.
“I’m not very good at making up my mind. Your mind changes from day to day,” she said. And early action has its payoff: if it’s successful, there’s a holiday present. “You find out in December.”
Allon Kahn got such a present, with an admission letter from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He applied there under the school’s early decision program, and got his letter on a Saturday in December “at 1:45 p.m.” he said, adding that he greeted the mail carrier and started celebrating outside on the street as he read the letter.
“It was so clearly my first choice,” Kahn said. He researched a lot of colleges before going on a large tour of campuses in April. After the tour, he said, he was down to two schools at the top, and Vassar was ahead.
He visited Vassar again in early November, visiting classes and staying overnight. The visit clinched his decision. He recommends early decision for students who know where they want to go. He did caution that some people don’t get in early and are deferred to be considered as a regular applicant.
Kahn said some consider that a rejection, but it is not. “I would recommend early decision,” he said.
Big choices
One thing is certain. Cape students apply to, are accepted to, and attend good schools by any standards. A look at last year’s class can give a preview of where Cape graduates of 2002 could go.
The Cape class of 2001 sent 101 of 112 students to post-secondary education. Of that group, 95 went to four-year colleges, and the rest attended one- or two-year programs.
There were 81 students who went to schools outside Maine, and 72 went to private schools.
Some Cape graduates from 2001 stayed nearby, attending Bates, Bowdoin or Colby colleges, USM, SMTC, the University of Maine (in Orono and Fort Kent) and Maine College of Art.
Others left Maine but stayed in New England, at schools like Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth College, MIT, Northeastern University, Quinnipiac College and others.
Ranging further afield were students who went to Brigham Young University, Arizona State, Carleton College, Nashville (Tenn.) Auto Diesel College, Southwest Missouri University and University of Puget Sound.
Beyond the places Cape grads actually went last year are the schools where students were accepted.
Those schools include Brown and Princeton of the Ivy League, as well as “little Ivy League” members Vassar, Wesleyan and Wellesley.
Big schools like Florida State and the University of Connecticut have accepted Cape students, as have small colleges like Stonehill and Mary Washington colleges. Specialty schools like Massachusetts Maritime Academy and New England Conservatory have, too.
And many of the schools accept more than one Cape student, like Mount Holyoke, which accepted seven members of the class of 2001. Three of them attended.
Of the 19 Cape students accepted by the University of Maine, 5 attended, and two of the seven accepted at the University of New Hampshire ended up at that school.
While college applications still loom for some, 40 percent of the Cape senior class already is finding out whether they got into the colleges of their choice.
Of the 110 students in the Cape Elizabeth High senior class, 22 applied for early decision and another 22 applied for early action. Early decision is binding, meaning a student applies to only one school, and promises to attend that school if accepted. Early action is non-binding, and allows the student to apply to more than one college at once or to some early-action and others under regular admissions deadlines.
Knowing ahead of time is nice, but money complicates the issue. At most colleges and universities, financial aid packages are created at the same time as admissions decisions, meaning an early-decision applicant may end up with a less appealing aid package and have no choice but to accept it. Early-action and regular applicants can review several financial aid offers before making a final decision about which school to attend.
Individual decisions
One Cape senior who has decided not to apply early anywhere is David Kramer. He is looking at seven schools.
Kramer, who wants to major in civil engineering, has visited all of the schools he is considering, and is impressed with their programs. He had considered applying early decision at Tufts, but had second thoughts.
“What if some other school is just as good or better?” Kramer asked. Instead of deciding now, he will wait to see which schools admit him and go back for a second visit.
None of the schools on his list offer early action, but all do offer early decision applications.
“I probably would have done that (early action) if it was an option,” Kramer said.
He said early decision has its benefits, but not for him. “It’s good for people who know exactly where they want to go,” he said. “I really couldn’t decide.”
Meghan Donovan, CEHS class of 2001 and now a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., did not apply early decision, though after one particular college visit she initially wanted to. She was glad her mother, who works in the high school’s guidance office, suggested she wait.
She wrote in an e-mail to The Current, “Fall is a very stressful time, with one of the most stressful semesters of high school in full swing, SATs and a host of other distractions. It is therefore wise, I believe, to take the extra time to do regular decision.”
“My applications were better presented and composed because of the extra time waiting provided me,” Donovan wrote.
Amanda Gann, a senior who applied early action to Harvard and to Georgetown, said she was applying early to get her ball rolling before the real time crunch hit over the holidays.
“I wanted to get my act together early,” Gann said.
She is applying to six or seven schools, she said, but she wasn’t sure what was really her top-choice school.
“I’m not very good at making up my mind. Your mind changes from day to day,” she said. And early action has its payoff: if it’s successful, there’s a holiday present. “You find out in December.”
Allon Kahn got such a present, with an admission letter from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He applied there under the school’s early decision program, and got his letter on a Saturday in December “at 1:45 p.m.” he said, adding that he greeted the mail carrier and started celebrating outside on the street as he read the letter.
“It was so clearly my first choice,” Kahn said. He researched a lot of colleges before going on a large tour of campuses in April. After the tour, he said, he was down to two schools at the top, and Vassar was ahead.
He visited Vassar again in early November, visiting classes and staying overnight. The visit clinched his decision. He recommends early decision for students who know where they want to go. He did caution that some people don’t get in early and are deferred to be considered as a regular applicant.
Kahn said some consider that a rejection, but it is not. “I would recommend early decision,” he said.
Big choices
One thing is certain. Cape students apply to, are accepted to, and attend good schools by any standards. A look at last year’s class can give a preview of where Cape graduates of 2002 could go.
The Cape class of 2001 sent 101 of 112 students to post-secondary education. Of that group, 95 went to four-year colleges, and the rest attended one- or two-year programs.
There were 81 students who went to schools outside Maine, and 72 went to private schools.
Some Cape graduates from 2001 stayed nearby, attending Bates, Bowdoin or Colby colleges, USM, SMTC, the University of Maine (in Orono and Fort Kent) and Maine College of Art.
Others left Maine but stayed in New England, at schools like Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth College, MIT, Northeastern University, Quinnipiac College and others.
Ranging further afield were students who went to Brigham Young University, Arizona State, Carleton College, Nashville (Tenn.) Auto Diesel College, Southwest Missouri University and University of Puget Sound.
Beyond the places Cape grads actually went last year are the schools where students were accepted.
Those schools include Brown and Princeton of the Ivy League, as well as “little Ivy League” members Vassar, Wesleyan and Wellesley.
Big schools like Florida State and the University of Connecticut have accepted Cape students, as have small colleges like Stonehill and Mary Washington colleges. Specialty schools like Massachusetts Maritime Academy and New England Conservatory have, too.
And many of the schools accept more than one Cape student, like Mount Holyoke, which accepted seven members of the class of 2001. Three of them attended.
Of the 19 Cape students accepted by the University of Maine, 5 attended, and two of the seven accepted at the University of New Hampshire ended up at that school.
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