Portland Public School Department

Lincoln Middle School in Portland has received a $10,000 grant from Toyota to help fund the construction of a geodesic dome on school grounds. The grant will be combined with a $15,000 donation from an anonymous donor for the project. Other fundraising efforts are ongoing.

Local residents are invited to participate by volunteering to work on the construction and landscaping. Construction is expected to begin in April.

The dome will serve as the Living Classroom - Sustainability Lab project. The project aims to educate students, staff and community members about sustainabilty practices.

The geodesic dome is a self-sustaining environment demonstrating “green” habits such as alternative energies for heating, composting, plant growing and recycling. The dome will not use any electricity or heat from the school; rather, all electrical items in the dome will be powered by solar energy. Compost from school lunch waste will be used to grow plants and vegetables.

This year, eighth graders in the school’s Blue House will study forces, energy and structural integrity through the planning and construction of the geodesic dome in their engineering technology and science classes. Other subject areas will also be incorporated into the project.

If all goes according to plan, construction will begin immediately after April vacation. The school seeks volunteers, with or without experience, to work with Blue 8 students in the site preparation and construction of the geodesic dome.

Surrounding the geodesic dome will be an “education park” created by sixth, seventh and eighth graders. This will most likely start in the fall of 2007.

The school also seeks volunteers to help with landscaping. If you are interested in volunteering in either capacity, please call the school at 874-8145 or contact Thom Fournier (fournt@portlandschools.org), Christel Driscoll (driscc@portlandschools.org) or Phyllis Hey (heyp@portlandschools.org).

The goal of the education park is to share with students and community members an inviting greenspace that educates individuals about indiginous plant species and plants that represent ethnic communities.

Plans call for a garden of vegetables and herbs that are used in various cultures’ dishes. Some plant species provided for the education park will be grown in the geodesic dome.

Incorporated in the education park will be student art representing the Lincoln community. Nancy Sanchez, Lincoln’s art teacher, has provided some exciting ideas such as mosaic designs on sculptures.

The education park and geodesic dome offer a unique way to learn about environmental practices along with life forms not always present in urban areas.

The Elementary School Facilities Committee that is planning for the future of Portland’s elementary buildings invites the public to provide input by writing comments below.

Portland Public School parents are invited to attend upcoming workshops on substance abuse and depression and suicide.  Both workshops will take place in the Deering High School library.

“Dangerous Decisions, Part I: Drug and Alcohol Use” will be held on April 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  The evening will focus on warning signs of drug and alcohol use, how to talk to children about the issue and where to go for help.

“Dangerous Decisions, Part II: Depression and Suicide” will be held on May 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  The evening will include a presentation by Sandy Fisher, whose son Scott died of suicide in September 2005, just a few months after graduating from Deering.  There will be a discussion about depression, signs of suicidal thoughts and what a parent can do.

For more information, please contact Karen Mooney at moonek@portlandschools.org

The Portland Public Schools launched a public access defibrillation program last month with the donation of three automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). The goal of the program is to have an appropriate number of AEDs in each building by the end of the current school year.

The importance of deploying AEDs in all public places, especially schools, is undeniable.  Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the nation’s top killer, claiming more than 450,000 lives each year. 

Only the shock from a defibrillator can result in the restoration of a normal heartbeat.  For every minute that goes by before a defibrillation shock is delivered, the patient’s chances of survival decrease by 10%.

While estimates vary, it is widely agreed that SCA is critically under-reported in young people.  Figures do show that more than 14,000 children and adolescents die from SCA each year.  Many of these deaths occur in school and at sporting events.

The district’s program has the support of Superintendent Mary Jo O’Connor and the Portland School Committee. Portland’s school nurses are leading the effort in individual schools.

The Portland Public Schools need 30 AED units to have adequate coverage.  To date, the district has received pledges or contributions for 20 units.

Units were donated by Cardiac Science, the Joseph Foundation and Phil Napolitano, a Portland resident who survived when an AED was used after he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

Other community contributors have included Prime Motor Group, Martin’s Point, Mary Polito, and family and friends in memory of Andrew Orr III.

Individual schools are fundraising as well.  Moore Middle School students and staff have raised $2,000 by selling hearts in the school and the community.  

The AED units are simple to use. Each building will have a first responder team trained in CPR, AED and First Aid. The training will be updated yearly.

The cost for each unit package is $1,495. This discounted price includes a complete Powerheart AED G3 and all accessories (carry case, extra adult pads, pediatric pads, and ready response kit), an alarmed wall mount cabinet and a wall sign.

If you would like to be part of this effort, contributions to fund the remaining 10 AED units may be sent to Portland Education Partnership-AED Fund, 196 Allen Ave., Portland, ME 04103. All donations are tax deductible.

For additional information, contact Amanda Rowe, the Hall School nurse,at 874-8205 or email her at : rowea@portlandschools.org

Eight students in the Portland Public Schools have been recognized by National Merit Scholarship.

Four students at Deering High School were named National Merit Scholarship finalists.  They are Jessica P. Hedrich, Anthony J. Loring, Kevin J. Pedro and Alexander O. Roy.

At Portland High School, Fiona Wilson was named a National Merit Scholarship finalist.  Samuel Cory, Zev Eisenberg and Cezar Postolache were named National Merit commended students.

The 1983-84 girls’ basketball team at Portland High has been inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in Rhode Island.

The team was the first from Portland High to win the girls’ state basketball Class A championship.  Ed Feeney coached the team.

Several team members were honored at a recent Portland High girls’ basketball game. 

Four students at Lyman Moore Middle School have been awarded a $1,100 grant to print brochures that they wrote about Shaken Baby Syndrome.  YOUTHINK, a youth-driven philanthropy organization based in Portland, will present the check in a ceremony on Friday, February 9 at 2:45 p.m. in the Lyman Moore library.

The Shaken Baby Syndrome project was one of several undertaken by seventh graders in Glenn Nerbak’s social studies class at Moore last year as part of Project Citizen, a civic education unit.  Students investigated community issues that were important to them and developed strategies for addressing those issues.

Siena Butterfield, Amanda Masse, Stephanie Rogers and Caitlin Very determined one problem was that not enough people know about Shaken Baby Syndrome - what it is and what terrible effects it can have on babies.  Through polls taken at school, they confirmed that few babysitting-age students knew about the syndrome.

They researched the problem, talked with doctors and other experts in the community and decided to make a pamphlet about Shaken Baby Syndrome for distribution to doctors’ offices, hospitals and other places where parents and babysitters could find them.

The YOUTHINK grant will help cover the cost of printing and mailing the pamphlets. The Moore students also are working on having all Red Cross babysitting classes include information about Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Jake Wartell, a YOUTHINK board member who attends Deering High School, said, “I think it’s tremendous that these women are doing this project, not only for its effect on the community, but because it is empowering them to be activists for the rest of their lives.”

The Shaken Baby Syndrome project will be featured on WGME’s “Learning Matters” program on Tuesday, February 20 between 5 and 6 p.m. and Wednesday, February 21 between 5 and 7 a.m.