Waldorf student, teachers excel in writing contest

Maine Coast Waldorf School freshman Wes Teegarden’s story won first place in the high school category in the Freeport Historical Society Writing Contest.

Teegarden was one of the many ninth-graders at the Freeport school that submitted short stories for the second annual contest hosted by the historical society. 

In addition, German and humanities teacher Ann Coltman took home second place in the adult division for the second year in a row. High school humanities teacher John Reinhart won an honorable mention.

This year’s theme focused on the society’s current exhibit about blacksmiths and shopkeepers.

The winners presented their stories at a recent celebration at the Freeport Community Library, where attendees heard Teegarden’s tale of a boy whose parents sent him north to avoid the violence of the Civil War. 

Local schools host Japanese guests

Ten guests from Japan and 10 hosts from Greely and Harrison middle schools attended a welcome ceremony and cultural program at GMS on Jan. 7 that included traditional Japanese dancing.

The Japanese students were guests on a cultural exchange that ran from Jan. 5-11. 

The honorees included Principal Minoru Saito of Namioka, Japan, who addressed students at Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth. 

According to Rebecca Pruente, president of the Casco Bay Japan Exchange Program, the international friendship began in 1889, when the Chesebrough, a ship out of Bath, was wrecked off of the coast of Aomori, Japan, but the crew and passengers were saved with the help of local villagers. The state of Maine has had a growing friendship with Aomori Prefecture ever since.

The exchange program between Namioka Junior High and Greely Middle School has been going on now for 27 years. “Hosts extended their friendship as they encountered our Japanese guests throughout the week,” said Pruente in a press release. “They found opportunities to meet someone new and to learn something about a way of life and a way of being that is different from ours.”

The circle of friendship has extended to Harrison Middle School and a few other schools in Maine as the exchange grew into a nonprofit program called the Casco Bay Japan Exchange Program.

“Opening one’s heart is truly the work of building world peace, we are thankful to all who embarked on this work with us,” Pruente said.

Ann Coltman, Wes Teegarden and John Reinhart of Maine Coast Waldorf School in Freeport took home top honors in this year’s Freeport Historical Society Writing Contest.

Principal Minoru Saito of Namioka, Japan with fourth-grade student Faye Frongillo at a Japanese Cultural Presentation on Jan. 7 at Greely Middle School.