KENNEBUNKPORT

Masons help students reap literacy rewards – and bikes

Additional Photos

Larry Vennell of the Free Mason Arundel Lodge Post No. 76 and kindergartener Lillian Lavery of the Kennebunkport Consolidated School with one of the 22 bicycles raffled off as prizes for students who participated in a literacy initiative at the school.

More than 200 students at Kennebunkport Consolidated School recently discovered that literacy reaps many rewards, when members of the Free Mason Arundel Lodge Post. No. 76 attended one of the school’s weekly Friday morning meetings to present bicycles to the winners of the Bikes for Books reading campaign.

Participating students read multiple books over the several weeks-long literacy project, filling out slips of completion that were entered into a raffle for a chance to win a bicycle.

The Mason’s lodge members recently visited the school with 22 brand new bikes, complete with helmets and a bright neon green T-shirt for each of the winners. Larry Vennell of the lodge explained to the kids the importance of reading, saying, “Reading takes you places in your mind that you have never been before.”

Bicycle winners were:

Kindergarten: Lillian Lavery, Audrey Lanigan, Sam Murray and Zachary Namiotka.

First grade: Annabelle Wainman. Kara Chapman, Copper Samson and Collin Namiotka.

Second grade: Cassie Midgley, Mara Muse, George Cutone and Jack Mulligan.

Third grade: Isabel Read and Ethan Prichard; Multiage Grade 3 & 4 – Adia Thomas and Noah Champagne.

Fourth grade: Lydia Highbarger and Alec Midgely.

Fifth grade: Makayla Wright, Sophia Gauthier, Quinn Battagliese and Ben Johnson.

PORTLAND

Waynflete students win State Science Olympiad

Waynflete School recently won the Maine State Science Olympiad tournament for the second year in a row.

Thirty Waynflete students competed in 23 different science and engineering events at the University of Maine in Orono on March 29.

The students built elastic-launched gliders, compound machines, Rube-Goldberg devices, magnetically-levitated vehicles and also competed in events testing their knowledge and experimental skills in a variety of sciences.

Team members were seniors Sophie Benson, Louis Frumer, Nate Hansen, Lydia Fox, Sally Li, Avalena Linsky, Wasita Mahaphanit, Meredith Nelligan, Quinn Shivel, Austin Smith and Liv Stockly; juniors Stephen Epstein, Ali Ghorashi, Jacob Hagler, Julianna Harwood, Haley Johnson, Dana Peirce, Jake Soley, Chloe Williams and Brandon Woo; sophomores Esme Benson, Chris Bergeron, Arianna Giguere, Henry Johannen, Gail Johnson, Ben Mallon, Peter Michalakes, Christian Rowe, Elly Shivel and Meddy Smith.

Those teams were coached by Carol Titterton and Wendy Curtis. The Waynflete Science Olympiad Team will travel to Florida on May 17 to compete in the national Science Olympiad Tournament.

BIDDEFORD

AVX Kyocera Foundation gives $10,000 for equipment

For the fourth consecutive year, the AVX Kyocera Foundation has donated $10,000 to Southern Maine Health Care for equipment purchase.

This year’s grant will support the telemetry monitoring system for cardiac patients.

Each year, SMHC provides in-hospital care to over 600 cardiac patients, all of whom must have a bed equipped with devices that constantly record heart rhythms and other key data needed by care providers.

PORTLAND/AUBURN

Seventh-graders run food drive for Good Shepherd

Three seventh-graders from St. Brigid School in Portland recently ran a food drive in their neighborhoods to benefit the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn.

The students did the food drive for a service project at their school, collecting 1,142 pounds of food that was delivered to the food bank, along with $190 in monetary donations.

SANFORD

Library offering members free passes to museums

Louis B. Goodall Memorial Library is now offering members free passes to the Portland Museum of Art, Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, N.H., Willowbrook Museum Village in Newfield and the Ogunquit Museum of American Art.

For more details, inquire at the front desk, or visit the website at www.lbgoodall.org. The library is located at 952 Main St.

WESTBROOK

Church sponsors city-wide ‘Food Train’ for food pantry

Trinity Lutheran Church is sponsoring its third annual “Climb Aboard the Food Train,” a city-wide food drive benefitting the Westbrook Food Pantry.

Church members have placed money jars and food boxes in business establishments and churches all over the city. Money and food will be collected until mid-May and then delivered to the Food Pantry at the Westbrook Community Center.

For more details, call 854-5653 and email office@trinitywestbrook.com.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH

Community Gardens helps students with school garden

The Community Gardens of Old Orchard Beach is partnering with the students of Loranger Middle School to plant and maintain an organic vegetable garden at the school.

The students will participate for the growing season, from preparing soil, starting plants, setting plants and seeds in the soil to fertilizing, watering, weeding and harvesting.

To support the students’ efforts, the Old Orchard Beach Community Gardens members are seeking help from the citizens in the form of tools, a wheelbarrow, hoses and nozzles, seeds, seedlings, organic fertilizers and pest control items.

Financial donations also are appreciated. For more details, call Jackie Tselikis at 939-2260.