Bicycling plus learning
equals fun for local eighth-graders
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Rather than 11 teams of two in a race around the world for a $1 million prize, Presque Isle Middle School’s variation of the CBS reality television game show “The Amazing Race” featured 30 teams of four or five eighth-graders biking around the Star City as they recently participated in “History of Presque Isle Amazing Race.”
On the television show, teams of two people race around the world competing against other teams. Contestants attempt to arrive first at “pit stops” at the end of each leg of the race to win prizes and to avoid coming in last, which leads to the possibility of elimination or a significant disadvantage in the following leg. The clues in each leg lead the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task, either together or by a single member. Teams are eliminated until three are left. The team that arrives first in the final leg is declared the winner and receives $1 million.
Photo courtesy of Presque Isle Middle School
READING THEIR NEXT CLUE in front of the Allen House on the corner of State and Third streets are PIMS eighth-graders, from left: Kalie Ward, Abby Clark, James Gardiner, Elizabeth Butterfield and Kate Leavitt. This year, 150 eighth-graders participated in the “History of Presque Isle Amazing Race,” which is loosely modeled after the CBS reality television game show “The Amazing Race.” The Allen House was built in the early 1890s by attorney Charles Allen, the president of the city’s first bank, and restored by the current owners.
With the “History of Presque Isle Amazing Race,” one eighth-grade class went each day for six days. While the school has 30 mountain bikes, students could bring their bikes from home if they wanted.
“Each team consisted of four or five students and we had five groups per class. We had an adult chaperone with each group. Before we started, we went over the rules of the road and then I gave the kids their first challenge,” said Bill Guerrette, eighth-grade social studies/English teacher at PIMS, who with permission from the Presque Isle Historical Society placed an envelope with clues at different historical markers in town. “Each team had to go find a designated classroom and sing ‘The Maine County Song’ in front of the class that was there. When they did that, the teacher gave them their clue.
“We had 21 stops including the school,” he said, “and I had to come up with five different routes because I didn’t want the kids following each other. Each one was a little bit different.”
Photo courtesy of Presque Isle Middle School
HAVING SOME FUN at the Presque Isle City Hall sign are, from left: PIMS eighth-graders Alana Luong, Miranda Flannery, Maddie Caron, Ashley Cote and Angela Wang. The current city hall used to be a hospital. The building was constructed in 1918 and opened in 1920 and served as the hospital until 1960.
Stops included the Allen House, Phair House, Cook House, Wilder’s Jewelry Store, Eagle Hill Stamps & Coins, Governor’s, the site of the former B&A Railroad near Riverside Restaurant, the former site of the Canadian Pacific Railroad where Howard Place apartments are presently located, Bemis and Rossignol law office, which is the former site of the Perry Opera House; the former Training School, Presque Isle Congregational Church, State Street Baptist Church, Maine Public Service, the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library, the Estey House, Downing Park, Presque Isle City Hall and the site of the former Cunningham Middle School.
Guerrette got several downtown businesses involved and the students had to go inside and answer a trivia question.
Last year, at the Presque Isle Rec Center, for example, if teams answered the trivia question correctly, they went into the gym and they had a physical challenge, which was archery.
Photo courtesy of Presque Isle Middle School
MAPPING OUT THEIR NEXT MOVE while competing in the “History of Presque Isle Amazing Race” are, from left: Joey Oldenburg, Ryan Kelly, Ben Nickerson, Mary Mitchell and Zane Grant. The PIMS eighth-graders are standing at the former site of the Canadian Pacific Railroad where Howard Place apartments are presently located.
“They had to hit a certain place on the target. Once they did that, they got their clue and were ready to leave. If they got the question wrong, they had to hit it twice,” said Guerrette. “This year, if they answered the question correctly, they received their next clue and could leave. If they got their question wrong, before they got their clue they had to do a physical challenge which would slow them down a bit. They had to lean over and put their forehead on the end of a baseball bat, spin around 15 times and then shoot four baskets. That was a different spin on the event.
“I supplied the businesses with the trivia questions and it was information that we talked about in class,” he said. “The kids took notes during class and some brought their notebooks with them to find the answers.”
The way the school was organized last year, half of the eighth-graders participated in the bike tour, whereas this year, all 150 students took part. Each outing lasted a few hours and students biked about 7 miles.
Photo courtesy of Presque Isle Middle School
BIKER BABES — The Biker Babes, a PIMS team of eighth-graders consisting of, from left: Bridgette Carrier, Aubrie Gross, Rachel Hobbs and Jenna Hallett, join Paul Saija, co-owner of Eagle Hill Stamps & Coins, at a stop during the recent “History of Presque Isle Amazing Race.”
Guerrette said the name “The Amazing Race” is a bit of a misnomer.
“It’s not about who gets there first,” he said, “it’s about working together as a team.”
Each chaperone was given a digital camera and took pictures of the teams at each stop. A slide show was then created and shared with the students on the last day of school.
Student Kelsey Gilson said she enjoyed trading a textbook for a bicycle for the day.
“It was a lot of fun going around and seeing the old places or where they used to be,” she said. “It was quite tiring and hurts your butt from riding so long, but it was fun. I learned that Governor’s Restaurant is located where the old Catholic church was.”
“I liked getting to learn new things about my hometown, and after it was all done it felt like you accomplished something,” said student Austin Albert. “I learned that we had theater houses in Presque Isle and they would host a whole bunch of events like graduations and parties.”
Photo courtesy of Presque Isle Middle School
PAUL SAIJA, left, co-owner of Eagle Hill Stamps & Coins, reads a clue to students, from left: Cristian Nunez, Kevin Coughlin, Colin McKay, Grayden Hemphill and Jeremiah Therrien during their stop at the downtown business during the second annual “History of Presque Isle Amazing Race.”
Both Gilson and Albert are familiar with the TV show and say while there are vast differences between the two “Amazing Races,” there are some similarities.
“It was similar because we had to go somewhere and answer questions, and if you got them wrong, you had to compete in challenges,” said Albert. “The biggest difference was it wasn’t a race; it was more for the fun of it and so you could learn more about your town. That was nice because you could take your time and enjoy it.”
“Other differences were the challenges weren’t as hard as they are on TV,” Gilson said, “and we traveled on bikes while on the show they walk or are in taxis and planes. I’m glad we got to do it; it was a lot of fun.”
Guerrette said the event would not have been possible without the cooperation of his fellow eighth-grade teachers.
“They had to work their schedules around,” he said. “I’m gone all morning so the other teachers have to pick up my normal classes. Plus, the chaperones are invaluable. They did a great job keeping things running smoothly and they all had a lot of fun.
“I hope by learning more about Presque Isle the students take a little more pride in what we have here in Presque Isle; away isn’t always better,” said Guerrette. “Who knows … if kids could get jobs in the area, maybe it would entice them to want to stay here because they have more of a connection to it.”
Before biking back to the middle school, students met at Riverside Park where they were treated to pizza donated by Pat’s Pizza. Prior to the race, many teams designed their own T-shirts, as well.
