From the Halls of Houlton High

With harvest break over, things are settling back into a routine at the school. Many of the students were involved in working for local farmers. The cast of “Footloose” is busy rehearsing for the musical, which will take place on Nov. 21, 22 and 23. The soccer teams are finished with the regular season and are waiting to find their standings for playoff spots. We are very proud of our golf team, who finished second in the state in Class B. On Oct. 29, we will have a late arrival day and school will start at 11:15 and get out at the regular time. There will be teacher workshops in the morning. For those students who ordered class rings, Jostens will be here with them on Nov. 3.
Junior High News
    The seventh grade is sponsoring a dance on Friday, Oct. 24, at the high school cafeteria for grades 6 – 8. This is a benefit for the Marissa Fund, a fund set up by the seventh grade staff to help a seventh grade girl who is struggling with cancer.
English Class News
Mrs. Sullivan’s tenth grade is studying mythology. They are learning the various names of gods and goddesses, as well as their powers and stories. The students are learning that the Greeks and Romans used the stories to make sense of their world. They will create a poster depicting their favorite god or goddess. Her eleventh grade class is reading Of Mice and Men and learning about the Great Depression, as well as themes of friendship and sacrifice. They will complete a Web Quest researching themes, symbolism, and background information about the novel along with biographical information about John Steinbeck.
Art Class News
It’s pumpkin carving time in the art room at HHS. All students are designing and carving pumpkins for the big show on October 31 in Mrs. Tidd’s room. We would ask that if you have extra pumpkins, please contact Mrs. Tidd at school. We would greatly appreciate any donations of pumpkins, large or small, orange, green or white, whatever. Thank you, and watch for our pumpkins in the paper following the show.
JMG Class News
All JMG students are entering the career preparation portion of the curriculum. The students are reviewing their ASVAB results, looking at careers and chosen career clusters. This will be followed by extensive career research. The juniors will be using this information to select colleges or other post-secondary training, as well as assisting with course signups for next year. The seniors will be filling out college applications and getting their financial aid information including worksheets for the parents to fill out. By Thanksgiving break the seniors should have all of their applications ready to be sent out.
Family/Consumer Science News
Mrs. Richardson’s Family and Consumer Science classes are now having their classes in the newly renovated kitchen and sewing room. The students are excited about cooking and have been cooking muffins and cinnamon biscuits since harvest break. The students will be planning an open-room celebration on October 31 so students and teachers may visit the rooms. Textile Art classes have been painting on silk and will have those displayed on Oct. 31, as well.
Senior Class News
There will be a family harvest social at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. with Ted and the Boys. This is a chemical free event and is for the whole family to enjoy. There will be raffles, 50/50, and a dessert buffet. Admission is by donation and will help sponsor SAD 29’s Project Graduation.
Mrs. Cowperthwaite’s Class
Mrs. Cowperthwaite’s class is working on study skills. Students are learning to set aside a time to work and keep materials together. For vocabulary words for biology, world geography, languages, or literature, students are taking squares of index cards or white paper and writing the selected word on one side and the definition on the other. Students are shown how to reinforce word knowledge by spreading words out on a table and reading vocabulary words to see if they can tell the definition or meaning of the word written on the back. Students then flip the paper over and check, read the definition and try again with a new word.