Acknowledging the serious need to focus on academics, the students explained how participating in these extracurricular encourages students to become more confident and understanding.
These CHS students presented the following remarks during the RSU meeting.
Caribou High School FFA
By Colby Johnson
Senior, CHS
The Caribou High School FFA Chapter, consisting of 63 members, recently celebrated its 82nd anniversary. We celebrated at our annual banquet on March 15, where chapter members were presented with chapter awards for outstanding achievements they had achieved while attending FFA and also taking part in the agricultural classes at the high school.
Our biggest undertaking is to keep our food stand up and running with fresh veggies during the summer. Community events that we participate in are things such as the Merry Mulch where after Christmas we collect Christmas trees to be composted, planting trees and flowers around the school grounds, maintaining the sports team fields, reading to third-grade students and volunteering for Feed the County.
We also participate at the Northern Maine Fair by submitting vegetables for competition, competing in the tractor driving skills, as well as submitting a chapter display. In May, we attend the state FFA convention in Orono where members compete in different categories and the winners then attend the national convention in the fall.
FFA is a great organization to be a member of. It teaches you a wide variety, but most of all it teaches you to have respect for what we have as well as each other and to be responsible.
It is with honor to say I am a member of the Caribou FFA.
By Josh Kovach
Senior, CHS
Caribou High School’s music department is one of the most successful departments that our school system has. I personally have spent numerous hours of my four years in high school in the two music rooms. During the week I spend approximately 20-25 hours practicing music, whether it is on my trumpet, or singing in the chorus. I am part of the jazz band as well as the jazz chorus along with my everyday experience in the band and chorus rooms.
The music program at Caribou high School turns students into more successful and democratic people. Music is one of the few activities that require an individual to activate all regions of the brain and work collaboratively with 40 other people for hours on end.
This program, with its two very decorated teachers, has helped shaped me into a musician — and the person I am today. We not only learn lessons about music, but lessons about life. The band members are very thankful for the uniforms we have, as we look better than any other band program in the state of Maine.
Caribou High School music has one policy and that is to “Strive for Excellence.”
Athletics and DECA
By Katie Keaton
Senior, CHS
It was a great privilege to be asked to speak to the school board on behalf of Caribou High School athletics and DECA. As a senior at CHS, I was able to share my experiences as a varsity soccer, basketball and tennis player and the successes we’ve had over the past four years, including wins in Eastern Maine Finals and shots at state titles. I felt honored to have given CHS athletics a positive reflection as well as DECA, a marketing organization that provides students with real-world business scenarios.
Athletics
By Paige Small
Senior, CHS
“I have played sports at Caribou High School since my freshman year, participating in soccer, basketball, alpine skiing, volleyball and track. Throughout the years, I have been a part of teams that have been Eastern Maine runner up, Eastern Maine champions and as an individual have been PVC champion and state finisher as a race walker. As a member of a team, I have learned how to work with others, how to be a leader, how to accept winning and losing and how to balance a busy schedule both athletically and academically. The countless hours put into practicing has often been rewarded with medals and trophies, but the life lessons received from the intangible aspects of participating in sports at Caribou High School have become an integral part of who I am today.”
School Newspaper
By Quriosity Garcia
Junior, CHS
The Caribou High School newspaper, led by student Kayla Cormier and her mother Colette as our advisor, allows school reporters more of an understanding about their school and the activities that it offers and is an opportunity to be creative and informative in our writing.
As a class trip we went to UMPI and as reporters we gained an understanding of ‘real-world’ journalism and what it takes to be a good journalist. Being part of a school newspaper opens the students thought to potential jobs such as journalism or new reporting.
The Caribou High School reporters feel part of the school by informing their classmates on upcoming events, school victories and talent acknowledgements.
CHS Drama Club
By Taylor Hartley
Sophomore, CHS
When I started drama for the first time last year, I was a nervous wreck. I was always the shy one and I never thought I would ever be able to face my fear of stage fright. Then, before I knew it I was a lead in my school production and the time came for me to face my fear. I never would have been able to pull my part off if I didn’t have the help of the CHS Drama Club. It has benefited me greatly. I have come more and more out of my shell and I am now stronger and more confident in myself.
Just recently we went to our regional drama competition to compete for states. To me there is nothing more exciting than to be with people who understand your passion. Standing on stage and performing in front of others like yourself benefits you in many ways. People can learn from you and you can learn from others and still have fun in what you are doing.
Chess Team
By Cody Charette
Senior, CHS
“Chess is a thinking and strategy game with literally hundreds of thousands of possibilities. We play teams from all over the county including fort Kent, Van Buren and Presque Isle. There are about 13 members on the CHS team and most of them are freshmen which is really good because we lost almost everyone last year from graduation.
There is a chess tournament in Orono every year where all the teams in the state participate. We went there and did well for only having freshmen on our team. Bangor High School, Erskine Academy, Orono High School, Cape Elizabeth and a few other teams were there as well as us.
I believe that everyone should enjoy playing chess because it is a very good way to exercise your mind.”
National Honor Society and athletics
By Caleb Chapman
Senior, CHS
Caleb Chapman addressed the Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 Board of Education members informing them on the National Honor Society and CHS athletics.
Chapman explained all of the volunteer activities that the NHS is involved with in the community as well as the school including Operation Christmas Child; the Muscular Dystrophy Drive; the Linus Foundation, and donating food to the local soup kitchen among other community events. He also explained how his experiences in athletics have prepared him for his future outside the halls of CHS, highly crediting his coaches.
World Languages
By Tiffany Bishop
Junior, CHS
The World Language club not only teaches students about different cultures but it also teaches students how to video-communicate among each other. Different cultures communicate and celebrate different holidays and something found acceptable in our culture can be insulting or confusing to other cultures. For example, people in France don’t often use sarcasm where as it is used in everyday conversation in America.
In the World Language Club so far we have learned mainly about the French and Spanish cultures because that is what we study in school but we are also trying to incorporate other cultures by celebrating Chinese or Arabian holidays as well. We have watched a video tour of Paris provided by Mr. Fishman and learned about chocolate and other foods through either making them or watching a video but we have plans to do much more than make food and watch videos in the process of learning new things.
Tomorrow’s dreams start with today’s learning
By Meghan Everitt
Grade 8, LCS
To me, the statement “Building Tomorrow’s Future on Today’s Dreams” means that we work on accomplishing our dreams now to build our life in the future. Everyone has dreams that they want to achieve. They could range from becoming a millionaire to just going to a certain school or college or pursuing a certain career. In order to get a good career, you usually have to finish high school and go to college. But in order to get through high school, you have to do good in elementary and middle school.
One way to do good in school is to pay attention to the teachers, because if you do, you just might learn something that you will need later on in life. Even if it doesn’t seem like you would use it in your life later on, you probably will. For example, in math class, they teach you how to measure the lateral surface area of a building. (Lateral surface area means the sum of all the sides of a 3-dimensional object, like a cube.) You may not think that you would use it in your life later on, but when you grow up and get your own place to live, and you need to find out how much paint you need to paint the walls, you need to know the formula for lateral surface area so you can figure out how much paint to buy. If you don’t pay attention in school, you just might miss something important that you’ll need later on in life.
Another way to be successful in school is to keep your grades up. You can do this by finishing homework, paying attention in class, and studying for tests. You may think you know everything you need to know for a test, but it’s always good to review just to make sure you don’t miss anything. For example, if I have a social studies test coming up and I’ve read the lesson and the vocabulary once or twice, I may think I’m ready for the test. But when the test comes up, I might not remember some of the stuff I read. If you just take the extra 20 minutes or so to study sometime before the test, you have a better chance of remembering the material and getting a better grade on the test and in the class.
You can also be successful in school by having good behavior. Along with missing or poor work, bad behavior can also bring your grades down. If you are too busy talking with friends in class instead of doing your work or paying attention to the teacher, your grade can be decreased. Also, if you fight with classmates, back talk to the teacher, or use bad language in class, your grade can be affected. Little acts of good behavior like just looking at the teacher when they teach and not talking to others in class when you’re instructed not to will also keep your grades up.
It is important to do good in school because if you get good grades then you could be recommended for good colleges, which could lead to good job opportunities and a good life. If you aren’t successful in school, then you are less likely to go to a really good college and get a really good job. Therefore, if you are already doing good in school, keep it up. If you aren’t doing so well in school, you should probably work on that.
Transitions Center Tutors
By Victoria Degenhart
Senior, CHS
Peer tutoring allows me to help other students in subjects they struggle with. When students come in for help I am able to provide a simpler approach that makes it easier for them to comprehend. Tutoring is very rewarding for the tutor and the tutee. It is rewarding for the tutor knowing that you helped someone gain new insight on a subject and it is rewarding for the tutee because they now understand something they previously were frustrated with.
