Published in the Current
A dead humpback whale continues to visit local beaches and is posing a challenge for marine biologists trying to find a place for it to decompose naturally.
The whale, first found on Richmond Island June 7 and nine days later on Old Orchard Beach, was to be towed out to sea a second time after it washed ashore again on Scarborough Beach June 18.
When first located on Richmond Island, the whale had been dead for about five days. It was tied down to rocks in Mussel Cove for further study on June 8.
An examination of the 32-foot juvenile whale could not determine the cause of death, according to Greg Jakush, president of the Marine Animal Lifeline.
The Cape Elizabeth Water Extrication Team took Jakush and another Lifeline biologist out to the whale and managed to tie the corpse to a large rock on the island, to prevent it from floating away.
The location of the whale, on sharp, slippery rocks in Mussel Cove, made the prospect of cutting open the corpse a hazardous one, Jakush said, so the scientists decided not to. After about 24 hours, tissue samples from a dead whale are almost useless, he said.
The whale was left there, Jakush said, to decompose. He and others expected the whale to stay put, but with storms and high winds over the weekend, the whale moved to Old Orchard Beach. It was towed out to Three Tree Ledge, beyond Stratton Island, June 16, and slit open in the hope that it would sink in about 100 feet of water.
But instead, the wind and current washed it back to the mainland, where it arrived in some rocks at the extreme northern end of Scarborough Beach.
“It’s just caught in the currents around Southern Maine,” Jakush said.
Towing it would be futile without a large trawler, he said, which could take the carcass “very far” offshore. Rather than do that, Jakush said the whale will be towed out to an uninhabited island or ledge and tied down to reduce the likelihood that it will wash ashore again.
Despite the large number of incidents involving this whale, Jakush said it was the first large whale the Lifeline has responded to this year. He said there may be others out there unreported. “There are a lot of hidden coves and islands,” he said.
Jakush said there was no cause for alarm or concern about the rate of whale deaths this year. He said the Center for Coastal Studies had untangled a similar whale from fishing gear off Camp Ellis on June 3, and Center staff believe the dead whale is the same animal.
Jakush said a cause of death is still undetermined, and stressed that the impact of the entanglement is unknown. “It could have been the cause (of death). It may not have been,” he said.
Thursday, June 20, 2002
Thursday, June 13, 2002
Police keep Cape safe on graduation weekend
Published in the Current
It’s the Friday before high school graduation in Cape Elizabeth, and Sgt. Kevin Kennedy is sitting in a cruiser at Kettle Cove with his lights off. He turns on his radar and waits.
As if on cue, about 20 cars form a line snaking down the road, past Kennedy’s car, through the parking lot and back out again. Each car has a teen-ager at the wheel, and some have a number of passengers.
The Current decided to ride along with Cape police last Friday to see how they handled graduation weekend.
With graduation looming, some teens were celebrating. Police were out patrolling to make sure the festivities remained safe.
The three officers on duty were Kennedy (from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m.), Officer Allen Westberry (from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.), and Officer James Starnes (from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.). The Current spent most of the night with Kennedy.
Kennedy starts with a look around his cruiser, making sure everything’s in place and working, from the road flares and reflective vest in the trunk to the radar detector and video-recording system on his dashboard.
Driving out of the station, Kennedy’s first stop is Kettle Cove, which he will visit several times during the night.
The Cape Elizabeth Water Extrication Team is leaving from the cove to shuttle two biologists out to Richmond Island to tie down a dead whale, so it will be there in the morning.
The scientists want to learn how it died and take tissue samples to keep tabs on the whale population in the Gulf of Maine.
He gets called back to the station to take an accident report for something that happened the day before, and then returns to the cove. On this occasion, he saw the procession of cars come by.
Kennedy expressed surprise at the number of students, but lets them go by. He keeps an eye on the radar, though, hoping someone will come flying down the road. After the cars all leave, he waits some more, and a few return to check whether the police car is still there. It is.
Then he meets up with a state park ranger about to go off duty. The ranger is surprised, too, at the number of cars that just went by. Kennedy decides to come back later in the evening.
Leaving Kettle Cove, Kennedy heads down Route 77 onto Bowery Beach Road and turns into Charles E. Jordan Road, leading to the Sprague estate, Ram Island Farm.
“Let’s go down here, and make sure everything is quiet,” Kennedy said. The road, he said is a frequent spot for joggers and cyclists, but is lightly traveled. A person who gets hurt might have to wait some time for help.
As he goes by, Kennedy eyes the parking lot at Jordan Hall, on the corner of Bowery Beach Road. Sometimes cars are broken into there, because thieves know people are walking or running on nearby roads and are unlikely to return in time to witness a crime.
Finding nothing but an elderly couple out for a drive, Kennedy heads back toward the center of town on Fowler Road. He’s trying to cover ground but in a way that doesn’t fit any pattern from night to night.
“I try to make sure I go through every neighborhood on each shift,” Kennedy said.
But by varying his schedule and patrol route, he makes sure criminals can’t be certain they’ll be safe.
At the corner of Fenway Road, Kennedy turns off Fowler Road and heads to the end of the cul-de-sac to see if anyone is parked there. It is a common parking area for kids heading out to party on the shore of Great Pond.
At the corner of Fenway, he notices that the street sign is missing. Not just the sign with the name of the street, but the entire pole has been removed. He calls it in and heads to nearby Susan Road to make sure the sign is on that corner. It is.
Still making his way down Fowler Road toward the center of town, Kennedy notices a truck going the other way. It is pulling a trailer that has no lights. He turns around and tries to catch up, but reaches the corner of Bowery Beach Road before deciding to give up the chase. He figures the truck has turned off or pulled into a driveway.
Kennedy makes a third effort to head to the center of town, but it is not to be. Dispatcher John Swinehart calls on the radio, reporting that someone has just called the police station to complain about unknown vehicles and people heading down to the beach near Richmond Terrace, a private road near Crescent Beach.
Swinehart also alerts Westberry, patrolling the north side of town that night. Westberry heads down to help out if anything happens, and to provide another set of eyes.
Pulling into Richmond, Kennedy notices a sedan with three girls in it, but they are leaving the area, so he isn’t concerned. Moving down the road a bit, he stops and gets out to check a car parked beside the road.
There’s nothing suspicious inside, so he moves on and leaves the area, having found nothing.
Kennedy heads over to Kettle Cove again and parks with his lights off farther into the lot. He gets out to check on a couple from Rhode Island who are parked there. They’re fine and have just finished a walk on the beach with their dog.
Some more cars come down into the cove and loop through the parking lot when they see Kennedy’s car there. After the traffic subsides, he drives back over to Richmond Terrace, where Westberry has made a traffic stop.
Coming down Richmond Terrace, Kennedy finds himself following a car with a broken taillight. The car pulls into a driveway just in front of where Westberry has stopped a car, in the middle of the one-lane road.
Getting out, Kennedy looks over at the car he has been behind and eyes the license plate’s registration sticker.
“He expired back in March. This is a good one,” Kennedy said.
The driver is a 17-year-old male, and Kennedy asks him to get out of the car. Kennedy searches the car, coming up with several cigarettes and a six-pack of beer.
While Kennedy and Westberry are talking to the driver, a few teens walk by, heading toward the beach. The officers ask what they’re up to, and they say they’re just leaving a friend’s house. When pressed, though, they are unable to name the friend or say what they were doing.
“We were coming to see what was going on over here,” one kid admitted.
“Nothing’s going on. Goodbye,” Kennedy replied.
The driver Westberry stopped was originally just stopped for trespassing, as Richmond Terrace is a private road. It turns out, though, that she has had her license for only 86 days, four days shy of the day she is allowed to have passengers. But there are two other teens in her car.
A search of that car turns up a partially-full bottle of rum and two water bottles also containing rum.
The driver steps out of the car, and one of her passengers, who has had his license long enough to drive passengers, takes the wheel.
The officers and teens are tied up at the scene for about 45 minutes with car searches, license checks and paperwork. The blue strobes on Westberry’s car, and spotlights from both patrol cars illuminate the neighborhood.
But even after three-quarters of an hour, the stop is not done.
Police Chief Neil Williams wants his officers to contact parents when kids are caught with alcohol.
Kennedy follows the car he stopped, with the broken taillight, to the teen’s home.
The boy goes in to wake up his parents, but nobody is home. Kennedy knocks a couple of times, radios dispatch for the phone number, and calls on a cellphone he carries in his car.
There is no answer, so Kennedy gives the kid his business card and asks him to tell his parents to call the police station the next day.
The officers meet back at the police station to do the rest of the paperwork for each complaint, and to photograph the items they have confiscated.
Starnes comes on duty and reports what he has seen on his way to the station.
“They’re massing at Cumby,” he said. Teens are gathering in their cars. Kennedy and Starnes take just a few seconds to decide what spots they’ll pay special attention to for the rest of the night.
The two will continue to follow the teens around town, fitting in the required checks on all businesses in town through the rest of the night.
It’s the Friday before high school graduation in Cape Elizabeth, and Sgt. Kevin Kennedy is sitting in a cruiser at Kettle Cove with his lights off. He turns on his radar and waits.
As if on cue, about 20 cars form a line snaking down the road, past Kennedy’s car, through the parking lot and back out again. Each car has a teen-ager at the wheel, and some have a number of passengers.
The Current decided to ride along with Cape police last Friday to see how they handled graduation weekend.
With graduation looming, some teens were celebrating. Police were out patrolling to make sure the festivities remained safe.
The three officers on duty were Kennedy (from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m.), Officer Allen Westberry (from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.), and Officer James Starnes (from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.). The Current spent most of the night with Kennedy.
Kennedy starts with a look around his cruiser, making sure everything’s in place and working, from the road flares and reflective vest in the trunk to the radar detector and video-recording system on his dashboard.
Driving out of the station, Kennedy’s first stop is Kettle Cove, which he will visit several times during the night.
The Cape Elizabeth Water Extrication Team is leaving from the cove to shuttle two biologists out to Richmond Island to tie down a dead whale, so it will be there in the morning.
The scientists want to learn how it died and take tissue samples to keep tabs on the whale population in the Gulf of Maine.
He gets called back to the station to take an accident report for something that happened the day before, and then returns to the cove. On this occasion, he saw the procession of cars come by.
Kennedy expressed surprise at the number of students, but lets them go by. He keeps an eye on the radar, though, hoping someone will come flying down the road. After the cars all leave, he waits some more, and a few return to check whether the police car is still there. It is.
Then he meets up with a state park ranger about to go off duty. The ranger is surprised, too, at the number of cars that just went by. Kennedy decides to come back later in the evening.
Leaving Kettle Cove, Kennedy heads down Route 77 onto Bowery Beach Road and turns into Charles E. Jordan Road, leading to the Sprague estate, Ram Island Farm.
“Let’s go down here, and make sure everything is quiet,” Kennedy said. The road, he said is a frequent spot for joggers and cyclists, but is lightly traveled. A person who gets hurt might have to wait some time for help.
As he goes by, Kennedy eyes the parking lot at Jordan Hall, on the corner of Bowery Beach Road. Sometimes cars are broken into there, because thieves know people are walking or running on nearby roads and are unlikely to return in time to witness a crime.
Finding nothing but an elderly couple out for a drive, Kennedy heads back toward the center of town on Fowler Road. He’s trying to cover ground but in a way that doesn’t fit any pattern from night to night.
“I try to make sure I go through every neighborhood on each shift,” Kennedy said.
But by varying his schedule and patrol route, he makes sure criminals can’t be certain they’ll be safe.
At the corner of Fenway Road, Kennedy turns off Fowler Road and heads to the end of the cul-de-sac to see if anyone is parked there. It is a common parking area for kids heading out to party on the shore of Great Pond.
At the corner of Fenway, he notices that the street sign is missing. Not just the sign with the name of the street, but the entire pole has been removed. He calls it in and heads to nearby Susan Road to make sure the sign is on that corner. It is.
Still making his way down Fowler Road toward the center of town, Kennedy notices a truck going the other way. It is pulling a trailer that has no lights. He turns around and tries to catch up, but reaches the corner of Bowery Beach Road before deciding to give up the chase. He figures the truck has turned off or pulled into a driveway.
Kennedy makes a third effort to head to the center of town, but it is not to be. Dispatcher John Swinehart calls on the radio, reporting that someone has just called the police station to complain about unknown vehicles and people heading down to the beach near Richmond Terrace, a private road near Crescent Beach.
Swinehart also alerts Westberry, patrolling the north side of town that night. Westberry heads down to help out if anything happens, and to provide another set of eyes.
Pulling into Richmond, Kennedy notices a sedan with three girls in it, but they are leaving the area, so he isn’t concerned. Moving down the road a bit, he stops and gets out to check a car parked beside the road.
There’s nothing suspicious inside, so he moves on and leaves the area, having found nothing.
Kennedy heads over to Kettle Cove again and parks with his lights off farther into the lot. He gets out to check on a couple from Rhode Island who are parked there. They’re fine and have just finished a walk on the beach with their dog.
Some more cars come down into the cove and loop through the parking lot when they see Kennedy’s car there. After the traffic subsides, he drives back over to Richmond Terrace, where Westberry has made a traffic stop.
Coming down Richmond Terrace, Kennedy finds himself following a car with a broken taillight. The car pulls into a driveway just in front of where Westberry has stopped a car, in the middle of the one-lane road.
Getting out, Kennedy looks over at the car he has been behind and eyes the license plate’s registration sticker.
“He expired back in March. This is a good one,” Kennedy said.
The driver is a 17-year-old male, and Kennedy asks him to get out of the car. Kennedy searches the car, coming up with several cigarettes and a six-pack of beer.
While Kennedy and Westberry are talking to the driver, a few teens walk by, heading toward the beach. The officers ask what they’re up to, and they say they’re just leaving a friend’s house. When pressed, though, they are unable to name the friend or say what they were doing.
“We were coming to see what was going on over here,” one kid admitted.
“Nothing’s going on. Goodbye,” Kennedy replied.
The driver Westberry stopped was originally just stopped for trespassing, as Richmond Terrace is a private road. It turns out, though, that she has had her license for only 86 days, four days shy of the day she is allowed to have passengers. But there are two other teens in her car.
A search of that car turns up a partially-full bottle of rum and two water bottles also containing rum.
The driver steps out of the car, and one of her passengers, who has had his license long enough to drive passengers, takes the wheel.
The officers and teens are tied up at the scene for about 45 minutes with car searches, license checks and paperwork. The blue strobes on Westberry’s car, and spotlights from both patrol cars illuminate the neighborhood.
But even after three-quarters of an hour, the stop is not done.
Police Chief Neil Williams wants his officers to contact parents when kids are caught with alcohol.
Kennedy follows the car he stopped, with the broken taillight, to the teen’s home.
The boy goes in to wake up his parents, but nobody is home. Kennedy knocks a couple of times, radios dispatch for the phone number, and calls on a cellphone he carries in his car.
There is no answer, so Kennedy gives the kid his business card and asks him to tell his parents to call the police station the next day.
The officers meet back at the police station to do the rest of the paperwork for each complaint, and to photograph the items they have confiscated.
Starnes comes on duty and reports what he has seen on his way to the station.
“They’re massing at Cumby,” he said. Teens are gathering in their cars. Kennedy and Starnes take just a few seconds to decide what spots they’ll pay special attention to for the rest of the night.
The two will continue to follow the teens around town, fitting in the required checks on all businesses in town through the rest of the night.
Firefighters to get pay increase
Published in the Current
The Scarborough Town Council intends to review the pay scale for the town’s firefighters over the summer, and may make further increases in firefighters’ pay in August.
Currently volunteer firefighters are paid $9.27 per hour to respond to fire calls. There are also firefighters and emergency medical technicians who work day shifts in the town’s fire stations, who get paid the same hourly rate.
While planning for the 2002-2003 budget this past spring, Thurlow requested a change in pay rates, with a top hourly wage at $11.50 per hour for all firefighters. After conversations with Town Manager Ron Owens and members of the Town Council, the pay increase was scaled back to $10 per hour, Thurlow said, but with the understanding that there would be a review of pay scales before the next budget cycle.
As part of his budget planning this y e a r, Fire Chief Michael Thurlow discovered that the town’s on-call and per-diem firefighters were being paid somewhat less than those in other towns. Further, private-sector jobs in construction and other skilled work, common side jobs for firefighters, pay substantially more than firefighting, Thurlow said.
“We’re all kind of vying for the same pool” of prospective employees, Thurlow said. Some firefighters have left the department, seeking more money in other departments or other lines of work,” he said.
“The council didn’t feel we had all the information to give the full request,” said Councilor Patrick O’Reilly. In his role as chair of the finance committee, O’Reilly would conduct any meetings reviewing firefighter pay.
“In preparation for that, I’m looking at more than just the base rate,” Thurlow said. As part of his initial budget proposal, he called neighboring fire departments to find out about their rates of pay.
He is now also looking at whether—and how much—those departments, with whom Scarborough competes for per-diem staff, pay for length of time served with the department, level of certification or rank in the department.
Thurlow said he has a draft proposal in the works, and is trying now to figure out what budgetary effect there would be to implement it. That means, Thurlow said, he has to look at each member of the fire, rescue and fire police squads to see where they would fall on a sliding scale of pay.
Thurlow plans to present his proposal to the Town Council’s finance committee in August. Potential outcomes could include a raise in the next budget process, or modification of pay rates in the current fiscal year, Owens said.
The Scarborough Town Council intends to review the pay scale for the town’s firefighters over the summer, and may make further increases in firefighters’ pay in August.
Currently volunteer firefighters are paid $9.27 per hour to respond to fire calls. There are also firefighters and emergency medical technicians who work day shifts in the town’s fire stations, who get paid the same hourly rate.
While planning for the 2002-2003 budget this past spring, Thurlow requested a change in pay rates, with a top hourly wage at $11.50 per hour for all firefighters. After conversations with Town Manager Ron Owens and members of the Town Council, the pay increase was scaled back to $10 per hour, Thurlow said, but with the understanding that there would be a review of pay scales before the next budget cycle.
As part of his budget planning this y e a r, Fire Chief Michael Thurlow discovered that the town’s on-call and per-diem firefighters were being paid somewhat less than those in other towns. Further, private-sector jobs in construction and other skilled work, common side jobs for firefighters, pay substantially more than firefighting, Thurlow said.
“We’re all kind of vying for the same pool” of prospective employees, Thurlow said. Some firefighters have left the department, seeking more money in other departments or other lines of work,” he said.
“The council didn’t feel we had all the information to give the full request,” said Councilor Patrick O’Reilly. In his role as chair of the finance committee, O’Reilly would conduct any meetings reviewing firefighter pay.
“In preparation for that, I’m looking at more than just the base rate,” Thurlow said. As part of his initial budget proposal, he called neighboring fire departments to find out about their rates of pay.
He is now also looking at whether—and how much—those departments, with whom Scarborough competes for per-diem staff, pay for length of time served with the department, level of certification or rank in the department.
Thurlow said he has a draft proposal in the works, and is trying now to figure out what budgetary effect there would be to implement it. That means, Thurlow said, he has to look at each member of the fire, rescue and fire police squads to see where they would fall on a sliding scale of pay.
Thurlow plans to present his proposal to the Town Council’s finance committee in August. Potential outcomes could include a raise in the next budget process, or modification of pay rates in the current fiscal year, Owens said.
Cape sends off 107 graduates
Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth celebrated the graduation of 107 high school students at Fort Williams Park Sunday with a message of hope from a former principal and a call to face the challenges of the coming century from the senior class president.
The principal for three of the graduates four years, Pete Dawson, gave the keynote address. Senior Class President Dan Shevenell spoke to graduates after they received their diplomas.
Principal Jeff Shedd presented awards to members of the senior class who exhibited excellence in various aspects of schoolwork, athletics and community service, saying the awardees were examples to their peers and to the town.
The ceremony also included an a capella performance by six graduates of contemporary pop songs. The processional and national anthem were among the last pieces of music conducted by long-time CEHS music director Norm Richardson, who is retiring.
Of the 107 graduates, 78 had grade point averages of 85 or above, 27 were members of the National Honor Society, and 13 were members of the Maroon Medal Society, which recognizes students involved in a wide range of activities.
Dawson, who spent the last year as principal of an American International School near Tel Aviv, spoke of his experience there. He spoke of the role hope plays in the lives of people all over the world, and noted that just when hope seems furthest from reach is when making the effort to hope is most important.
Known at CEHS for his attendance at school events and remembering the names of all of the students, Dawson changed his trademark saying, “Today is a great day to achieve.” Instead, he proposed, “Today is a great day to make a difference.”
Graduates David Greenwood and Mariah Nelson gave the senior address, extolling the virtues of an open campus for seniors on free periods, saying “there is, in fact, nothing to do in Cape Elizabeth, let alone in 50 minutes.”
The two spoke also about the broad usage of instant messaging. Greenwood said he expected most seniors had enabled “away” messages indicating they were not at their computers. Those messages, he said, would read, “I’m graduating right now. Be back at three.”
Class valedictorian Amanda Gann spoke of the achievements of members of the class, individually and as a group, citing sports, theater, mock trial and academic accomplishments, and noting, “We have the best barbecue team that the state of Maine has ever known.”
Gann closed with a note of hope, saying “We are the artists of the future. … I can’t wait to see what we’ll do,” before quoting a passage of Dr. Seuss’s book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”
Shevenell quoted extensively from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic.” He exhorted his classmates to set goals and take hold of challenges, rather than criticize from afar those brave enough to face them. “Let us bravely shoulder the challenges that this century will surely put before us,” he said.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the graduates were preceded in their entry by 35 members of the high school faculty wearing academic regalia. The garb was paid for, in some cases, by the high school parents’ association, and represented, Shedd said, “the legitimizing of the diplomas that our graduates are about to receive.”
Cape Elizabeth celebrated the graduation of 107 high school students at Fort Williams Park Sunday with a message of hope from a former principal and a call to face the challenges of the coming century from the senior class president.
The principal for three of the graduates four years, Pete Dawson, gave the keynote address. Senior Class President Dan Shevenell spoke to graduates after they received their diplomas.
Principal Jeff Shedd presented awards to members of the senior class who exhibited excellence in various aspects of schoolwork, athletics and community service, saying the awardees were examples to their peers and to the town.
The ceremony also included an a capella performance by six graduates of contemporary pop songs. The processional and national anthem were among the last pieces of music conducted by long-time CEHS music director Norm Richardson, who is retiring.
Of the 107 graduates, 78 had grade point averages of 85 or above, 27 were members of the National Honor Society, and 13 were members of the Maroon Medal Society, which recognizes students involved in a wide range of activities.
Dawson, who spent the last year as principal of an American International School near Tel Aviv, spoke of his experience there. He spoke of the role hope plays in the lives of people all over the world, and noted that just when hope seems furthest from reach is when making the effort to hope is most important.
Known at CEHS for his attendance at school events and remembering the names of all of the students, Dawson changed his trademark saying, “Today is a great day to achieve.” Instead, he proposed, “Today is a great day to make a difference.”
Graduates David Greenwood and Mariah Nelson gave the senior address, extolling the virtues of an open campus for seniors on free periods, saying “there is, in fact, nothing to do in Cape Elizabeth, let alone in 50 minutes.”
The two spoke also about the broad usage of instant messaging. Greenwood said he expected most seniors had enabled “away” messages indicating they were not at their computers. Those messages, he said, would read, “I’m graduating right now. Be back at three.”
Class valedictorian Amanda Gann spoke of the achievements of members of the class, individually and as a group, citing sports, theater, mock trial and academic accomplishments, and noting, “We have the best barbecue team that the state of Maine has ever known.”
Gann closed with a note of hope, saying “We are the artists of the future. … I can’t wait to see what we’ll do,” before quoting a passage of Dr. Seuss’s book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”
Shevenell quoted extensively from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic.” He exhorted his classmates to set goals and take hold of challenges, rather than criticize from afar those brave enough to face them. “Let us bravely shoulder the challenges that this century will surely put before us,” he said.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the graduates were preceded in their entry by 35 members of the high school faculty wearing academic regalia. The garb was paid for, in some cases, by the high school parents’ association, and represented, Shedd said, “the legitimizing of the diplomas that our graduates are about to receive.”
Teachers prepare for laptops in the classroom
Published in the Current
One day early next week, Cape Elizabeth Middle School teachers who instruct seventh-grade students will receive their laptops.
Though the students will have to wait until the fall, teachers will get a jump on learning about these new educational tools.
Teachers already have been getting familiar with the laptops, taking trips to Lyman Moore Middle School in Portland to visit with students and teachers
using the laptops this school year.
Lyman Moore is a demonstration site for a state program which will put laptops into the hands of each seventh-grader in the state in the fall of 2002. In the fall of 2003, all eighth-graders will get one. To date, $25 million has
been set aside for the program, although the laptop fund has been tapped down by legislators to make up for shortfalls in other programs.
Eric Begonia, a science teacher at Lyman Moore, has been the Cape teachers’guide, along with several of his students, who have been enlisted to demonstrate their computers’ capabilities and their own school projects when visitors come to the school.
Begonia said the program is successful, and has opened up learning, so that students are teaching teachers about technology. He also said students are so enthusiastic that they show their parents what they’re learning when they take the laptops home.
Parents are required to sign a form each day students take laptops home. That policy is among those Cape teachers expect to adopt from Lyman Moore and adapt for use at CEMS.
Delaying retirement for program
Beverly Bisbee, the lead teacher for the laptop initiative among the CEMS seventh-grade teachers, is enthusiastic about the computers. So much so, in fact, that she put off her retirement to stay and incorporate laptops into her classroom and the classrooms of her colleagues.
Bisbee has been at this for some time. In 1986, when she was a teacher at Wilton Academy in Wilton, she got a grant to use computers in her writing classes. She was able to demonstrate that technology could narrow the gender gap in MEA scores.
The seventh-grade teachers already are using the middle school’s mobile computer lab, but want more time with the machines.
“The labs are overbooked. The labs are not sufficient for what we want to do,” Bisbee said. With computers, she said, “the teachable moments are just incredible.”
And with computers all the time? “This could revolutionize the way we teach and the way we learn,” Bisbee said.
All of the teachers involved in the program will have training sessions of at least two and in some cases five days during the summer, to help them become more familiar with the computers.
Policies and procedures are less of a worry after the visit to Lyman Moore, teachers said.
“I think Lyman Moore has a lot of the kinks worked out,” said teacher Matt Whaley. He is looking forward to having them in his classroom. “It’s going to be an incredible learning tool,” he said.
Teacher Joanne Paquette said laptops would help prevent students from losing notes or forgetting to bring notebooks to class, and can help her ensure all the students get vocabulary, for example. She expects she will send the list by email to the students, who will keep the message for reference and even use it, she said, during open-note tests.
Even so, the laptops may not be useful across the entire curriculum.
“In math I’m not quite sure,” Paquette said.
Brian Freccero teaches math and said many universities have web material on algebra and pre-algebra.
“We can use those to supplement the book,” he said.
He would create a list of links for students to visit, but said he wouldn’t expect to use them every day.
Paquette said she sees advantages aside from strict curricular applications.
“They’re always hounding us about what their grades are,” she said. She plans to have students enter their assignment grades into a spreadsheet and keep track themselves.
She added that slide shows on computer screens can help replace costly consumables, like poster board, saving teachers and schools money without sacrificing academics.
No replacement for basics
Students will still need to know how to do things without computers, the teachers said, and they expect to continue teaching those skills as well. “It’s the same learning taking place,” Paquette said.
Students also will need their basic skills, without computer assistance, in the near academic future, when they leave the middle school.
“When they go to high school they’re not going to have these,” said teacher Deb Casey.
Spanish teacher Susan Dana is concerned about technology overtaking learning. But even she uses computers for access to authentic Spanish-language materials and expects to continue to do so.
When that happens now, the class has to head down the hall and get set up on computers in the computer room, costing valuable class time.
Librarian Hayden Atwood expects to help the students do research using the computers, which come ready for Internet access, provided by a wireless link in the school building. They also have a multimedia encyclopedia installed, including audio and video files in addition to the text and photographs commonly found in book encyclopedias.
“For research it’s going to be wonderful,” Atwood said. He said teaching students about plagiarism and ethics, as well as how to evaluate Internet resources for truth and accuracy, will be primary tasks for him.
District technology coordinator Gary Lanoie also has visited Lyman Moore. “I was impressed by what I saw,” he said.
Initially, Lanoie had thought the school would not need carts in which to store the laptops and recharge their batteries, but after visiting Lyman Moore, he said he has changed his mind. He is investigating ways to buy or build enough carts to hold the school’s machines.
Lanoie also plans to set up an “iTeam,” about a dozen kids who will be resources for teachers and students who need help with their computers.
Schools statewide have reported that classrooms with laptops have better attendance rates, better discipline and more focused students.
Begonia said that Lyman Moore students take excellent care of the computers, and treat them with respect.
$25-million fund
The program is expected to cost the state $37.2 million over the next four years, and will outfit each seventh- and eighth-grade student and teacher with iBook laptops, made by Apple Computer. The contract between the state and Apple includes a hardware warranty and software support for each computer.
The state has provided initial funding of $25 million for the project, with interest on that money expected to make up the bulk of the remainder.
Gov. Angus King, who met with Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs to promote the program on Monday, said Apple has effectively contributed as much as $15 million in discounts for the project.
Some of the laptop money already has been used to purchase network equipment, laptops for demonstration sites including Lyman Moore and to buy laptops for teachers. The bulk of the money will be spent over the course of the contract, paid in monthly installments to Apple, based on the number of students and teachers receiving services, according to Department of Education spokesman Yellow Light Breen.
“I think it’s a wonderful program, if it will continue,” said Cape Superintendent Tom Forcella. If the funds will not be available to continue the program he said, a one-time expenditure would be better used to buy
mobile computer labs usable throughout the school district.
The governor originally earmarked $53 million for the program and legislators have cut it back to $25 million. The fund is often mentioned as a way to help bail out a projected $180 million state budget shortfall discovered by the state in April.
One day early next week, Cape Elizabeth Middle School teachers who instruct seventh-grade students will receive their laptops.
Though the students will have to wait until the fall, teachers will get a jump on learning about these new educational tools.
Teachers already have been getting familiar with the laptops, taking trips to Lyman Moore Middle School in Portland to visit with students and teachers
using the laptops this school year.
Lyman Moore is a demonstration site for a state program which will put laptops into the hands of each seventh-grader in the state in the fall of 2002. In the fall of 2003, all eighth-graders will get one. To date, $25 million has
been set aside for the program, although the laptop fund has been tapped down by legislators to make up for shortfalls in other programs.
Eric Begonia, a science teacher at Lyman Moore, has been the Cape teachers’guide, along with several of his students, who have been enlisted to demonstrate their computers’ capabilities and their own school projects when visitors come to the school.
Begonia said the program is successful, and has opened up learning, so that students are teaching teachers about technology. He also said students are so enthusiastic that they show their parents what they’re learning when they take the laptops home.
Parents are required to sign a form each day students take laptops home. That policy is among those Cape teachers expect to adopt from Lyman Moore and adapt for use at CEMS.
Delaying retirement for program
Beverly Bisbee, the lead teacher for the laptop initiative among the CEMS seventh-grade teachers, is enthusiastic about the computers. So much so, in fact, that she put off her retirement to stay and incorporate laptops into her classroom and the classrooms of her colleagues.
Bisbee has been at this for some time. In 1986, when she was a teacher at Wilton Academy in Wilton, she got a grant to use computers in her writing classes. She was able to demonstrate that technology could narrow the gender gap in MEA scores.
The seventh-grade teachers already are using the middle school’s mobile computer lab, but want more time with the machines.
“The labs are overbooked. The labs are not sufficient for what we want to do,” Bisbee said. With computers, she said, “the teachable moments are just incredible.”
And with computers all the time? “This could revolutionize the way we teach and the way we learn,” Bisbee said.
All of the teachers involved in the program will have training sessions of at least two and in some cases five days during the summer, to help them become more familiar with the computers.
Policies and procedures are less of a worry after the visit to Lyman Moore, teachers said.
“I think Lyman Moore has a lot of the kinks worked out,” said teacher Matt Whaley. He is looking forward to having them in his classroom. “It’s going to be an incredible learning tool,” he said.
Teacher Joanne Paquette said laptops would help prevent students from losing notes or forgetting to bring notebooks to class, and can help her ensure all the students get vocabulary, for example. She expects she will send the list by email to the students, who will keep the message for reference and even use it, she said, during open-note tests.
Even so, the laptops may not be useful across the entire curriculum.
“In math I’m not quite sure,” Paquette said.
Brian Freccero teaches math and said many universities have web material on algebra and pre-algebra.
“We can use those to supplement the book,” he said.
He would create a list of links for students to visit, but said he wouldn’t expect to use them every day.
Paquette said she sees advantages aside from strict curricular applications.
“They’re always hounding us about what their grades are,” she said. She plans to have students enter their assignment grades into a spreadsheet and keep track themselves.
She added that slide shows on computer screens can help replace costly consumables, like poster board, saving teachers and schools money without sacrificing academics.
No replacement for basics
Students will still need to know how to do things without computers, the teachers said, and they expect to continue teaching those skills as well. “It’s the same learning taking place,” Paquette said.
Students also will need their basic skills, without computer assistance, in the near academic future, when they leave the middle school.
“When they go to high school they’re not going to have these,” said teacher Deb Casey.
Spanish teacher Susan Dana is concerned about technology overtaking learning. But even she uses computers for access to authentic Spanish-language materials and expects to continue to do so.
When that happens now, the class has to head down the hall and get set up on computers in the computer room, costing valuable class time.
Librarian Hayden Atwood expects to help the students do research using the computers, which come ready for Internet access, provided by a wireless link in the school building. They also have a multimedia encyclopedia installed, including audio and video files in addition to the text and photographs commonly found in book encyclopedias.
“For research it’s going to be wonderful,” Atwood said. He said teaching students about plagiarism and ethics, as well as how to evaluate Internet resources for truth and accuracy, will be primary tasks for him.
District technology coordinator Gary Lanoie also has visited Lyman Moore. “I was impressed by what I saw,” he said.
Initially, Lanoie had thought the school would not need carts in which to store the laptops and recharge their batteries, but after visiting Lyman Moore, he said he has changed his mind. He is investigating ways to buy or build enough carts to hold the school’s machines.
Lanoie also plans to set up an “iTeam,” about a dozen kids who will be resources for teachers and students who need help with their computers.
Schools statewide have reported that classrooms with laptops have better attendance rates, better discipline and more focused students.
Begonia said that Lyman Moore students take excellent care of the computers, and treat them with respect.
$25-million fund
The program is expected to cost the state $37.2 million over the next four years, and will outfit each seventh- and eighth-grade student and teacher with iBook laptops, made by Apple Computer. The contract between the state and Apple includes a hardware warranty and software support for each computer.
The state has provided initial funding of $25 million for the project, with interest on that money expected to make up the bulk of the remainder.
Gov. Angus King, who met with Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs to promote the program on Monday, said Apple has effectively contributed as much as $15 million in discounts for the project.
Some of the laptop money already has been used to purchase network equipment, laptops for demonstration sites including Lyman Moore and to buy laptops for teachers. The bulk of the money will be spent over the course of the contract, paid in monthly installments to Apple, based on the number of students and teachers receiving services, according to Department of Education spokesman Yellow Light Breen.
“I think it’s a wonderful program, if it will continue,” said Cape Superintendent Tom Forcella. If the funds will not be available to continue the program he said, a one-time expenditure would be better used to buy
mobile computer labs usable throughout the school district.
The governor originally earmarked $53 million for the program and legislators have cut it back to $25 million. The fund is often mentioned as a way to help bail out a projected $180 million state budget shortfall discovered by the state in April.
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