School registration
SAD 42 will be having pre-school and kindergarten registration on Thursday, April 9, for the 3, 4 and 5-year-old children of the Mars Hill and Blaine communities.
Pre-school students must be either 3 or 4 years of age on or before Oct. 15. Students who will be 5 years of age on or before Oct. 15 are eligible for kindergarten. Please contact Fort Street School (429-8514, 429-8515 or 429-8466) to schedule an appointment to register your child.
The State of Maine requires: proof of immunizations, birth certificate (hospital copies are not acceptable. A copy must be obtained from the municipal office of the town or city where you were living when the child was born). SAD 42 requires these documents at the time of registration.
If you are not a legal parent, a copy of guardianship papers (probate court) must be completed before registration.
Those students currently enrolled in the pre-kindergarten program do not need to be registered for kindergarten. If you have any questions, please call the school for further details.
Spring Carnival
The Fort Street PTCO will hold their Spring Carnival on Saturday, April 11, at Fort Street Elementary School. A light breakfast will be offered at 9 a.m., with the Recreation Center’s Egg Hunt to follow at 9:30 a.m. The Carnival will run from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and will offer many games for the kids to play. Twenty-five tickets will cost $5. By playing the different games, kids will earn tickets that they can turn in for prizes. The Easter Bunny will also be on hand to greet the kids!
East Ridge Breakfast
The East Ridge Union Church in Mars Hill will be holding an Easter Breakfast at 9 a.m., with services to follow at 10 a.m. All are welcome.
Rotary Club
The Mars Hill Rotary Club met at the Aroostook Health Center on Tuesday, March 24, at 6:30 a.m. Special guests at the meeting were the contestants for the Miss Greater Mars Hill Pageant, along with the pageant directors.
The special speaker was UMPI senior Laura Long, who spoke about the trip to Guatemala that she and four other students took with their instructor, Shirley Rush. They left UMPI on Feb. 13 and returned on Feb. 22. They spent six days in Guatemala, staying in a special home used by groups from the U.S. There were 22 total people in the group from the U.S. when they were there. They spent time at a local kindergarten, painting murals and the name of the school on the building. They taught some games to the children, mostly by using signs and gestures.
They had learned some Spanish but weren’t able to communicate very well. The local students learn both Spanish and Mayan. Farming is very important to the locals, with crops planted in squared fields by families. They ate a lot of rice, black beans and plantains (a type of banana). They toured a city and visited a hot spring. There were four active volcanoes in the area, and they experienced a couple of earthquakes while they were there.
The staff at the home they stayed in taught them some local cooking styles, salsa dancing and some of the local traditions and culture. There is a mixture of modern and indigenous peoples in Guatemala. The two worlds are colliding in many ways, with some racism still in evidence against the indigenous people, who wear native dress. Each village or family wears the same weave and color of clothing.
The country depends on tourism, which is growing. Many families are aided financially by family members who work in other countries.
Library happenings
If there is a topic that someone is interested in and would like to have a program on, please contact the library at 429-9625 or Tammy DeLong, trustee, at 425-1007.
The library is interested in offering computer skills programs for community members. Please call the library for information or to sign up for a class.
If your group is looking for a meeting space, the library is also pleased to offer free meeting spaces. Please call the library to reserve a space today.
Knit or crochet on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 – 7:30 at the library. Enjoy each other’s company while you work on your chosen project.
The library is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 – 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. – noon. For information, call 429-9625 or go to their Web site: www.wtahansenlibrary.com.
Mars Hill & Blaine Community Club
The Mars Hill & Blaine Community Club meets on the first Monday of each month at the United Methodist Church in Mars Hill. For more information, contact Connie Durost at 429-8193.
Bridgewater Community Club
The Bridgewater Community Club continues to meet on the last Thursday of each month with some exceptions. All are welcome. For more information, contact Pat Lenentine at 429-9444.
Bridgewater Creative Crafting
On the first and third Thursdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Civic Community Center in Bridgewater, crafters are encouraged to join together to work on various projects.
Bring your own supplies and projects as you share your knowledge of various crafts. Work together or individually with quilting, knitting, sewing, embroidery, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc. Everyone is welcome! For more information, please contact Chris Finemore at 425-6606 or Melody Goff at 420-4002. Come relax and enjoy yourself as you socialize with other crafters.
Tomi Henderson is the correspondent for Mars Hill, Blaine, Bridgewater and Westfield. She can be reached at 429-9126 or e-mail tomihen@yahoo.com.
Photo courtesy of Tomi Henderson
STUDENT SHARES EXPERIENCE — Laura Long, a senior at UMPI in the Social Work Program, spoke to the Mars Hill Rotary Club on March 24. She spoke about the week-long trip that she and four other students made to Guatemala with their instructor, Shirley Rush. She is pictured with one of the kindergarten students at the school where she helped paint the building with a name and other colorful images. They plan on holding a Fiesta at the UMPI Campus Center on Tuesday, April 14, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in learning more about their trip is invited to attend.
ISAAC GILLEN enjoyed the Penny Carnival from his customized ride.
