Find your Inner Moose

Raymond Village Library will host Susan Poulin on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Mark your calendars and plan to attend this free program, which begins at 6 p.m. This hilarious experience will perk up your whole week and maybe month. You will have the pleasure of seeing, hearing and meeting “the funniest woman in Maine,” Susan Poulin, author of “Finding Your Inner Moose.”

Susan draws upon her personal experiences and those of the majestic moose to offer down-to-earth, commonsensical advice in her hilarious new self-help book, which is seriously wicked funny. Please pre-register at the library or call 655-4283 or email sally.holt@theraymondvillagelibrary.org.

For the younger at heart, Raymond Village Library has preschool story time every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. To promote early literacy and the love of reading, Lisa Davison incorporates an activity each week along with her stories. Storytime on Wednesday, Oct. 2, will include a visiting early childhood dance instructor from local dance studio CenterStage. Children will dance with scarves, along with movement and music themed around fall.

Charity Performance

Maine Dance Theater presented their second annual fundraising performance of “Cinderella” on Sept. 21. The dance version is a little different variation of the story we all know so well from our childhood. Cinderella not only has a fairy godmother but four other “Fairies of the Seasons” along with tap-dancing mice and horses to look out for her.

Maine Dance Theater consists of youth dancers from Windham, Raymond, Portland, Cumberland and Naples working together to present an annual ballet with all proceeds going to local charities. Under the direction of Kate Smedal, the students trained during the summer (on some especially warm days) as well as evenings and weekends in September. Special guest James Kramlich of the Portland Ballet Repertory Company performed as the Prince along with the other 24 youth dancers.

Cinderella raised more than $1,000 almost four times the amount of the first ballet performed in June 2012. Maine Dance Theater rehearses at CenterStage Performing Arts in Raymond. Auditions for the 2014 show will be held in May and is open to any ballet, jazz or tap dancer. For more information on Maine Dance Theater or auditions visit www.centerstagepa.com.

From Broadway to Barbershop

The Raymond Village Community Church is the place to be for a program of live music Saturday evening, Sept. 28. “From Broadway to Barbershop” will feature some of the area’s best vocalists and one of Maine’s finest a capella groups singing a variety of beautiful and well-loved songs.

Soloists including Raymond’s own Georgia Noonan and Mary Sargent, Steve Jones from Harrison, Pam Dawson from Cumberland, and John York from Portland will be singing such Broadway classics as “Memories” from Cats, “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” from Evita and the timeless “Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha. The Back Bay Four, all members of the renowned Downeasters Barbershop Chorus, will be offering a variety of barbershop and a capella standards.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are available only at the door at $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

Count Me In!

The Count Me In program is a part of a grant developed by The Center for Positive Youth Development at Spurwink. Regional School Unit 14 (Windham-Raymond) is working very closely with Susan Lieberman from Spurwink to develop protocols for helping to deal with student absences. Four to 8 percent of elementary children in Cumberland County were chronically absent from school, missing 18 days or more.

RSU 14 is making this initiative a focus for our students in grades K-5. Research shows that missed attendance in the early grades is a positive predictor of high school dropouts. Students with regular attendance are more likely to read well by third grade and score higher on tests. They also tend to be more engaged and feel better about themselves. The Count Me In program is hoping to gain support from parents and community groups.

Pay it Forward Day

Principal Randy Crocket announced a new project at Jordan-Small Middle School that will connect our students with the broader Raymond and RSU 14 community. The school is dedicating two hours on the morning of Thursday, Oct. 24, to “Pay It Forward.” Students and staff will be available to assist individuals and organizations in the community from approximately 9:15 a.m.-10:45 a.m. that day.

Clean Up

Help Jordan-Small Middle School connect with folks who may need assistance with fall clean up, stacking firewood, picking up a public area, you name it.

Please contact Jordan-Small Middle School’s Lynne Estey or Principal Randy Crockett at 655-4743 or email to the below contacts if you have contact information that will connect the students of JSMS to people who can use some free labor. For more information, contact rcrockett@windhamraymondschools.org or llathamestey@windhamraymondschools.org.

Free Community Meal

On Saturday, Sept. 28, a free community meal is served from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The menu includes fettuccini and meatballs, soup, casseroles, salads and desserts. Food is continually served, buffet-style at Christ Chapel, 37 Northern Pines Road (off Route 85 near Crescent Lake) in Raymond. All ages and surrounding communities welcome.

Maine Dance Theater raised more than $1,000 from its second annual fundraising performance of Cinderella. Pictured are Olivia Bartlett, left, as Cinderella and Jessie Catir as her Fairy Godmother.