Junior John Punnachalil competed on Wednesday, November 15, in the Northern Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition at the Farnsworth Museum. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the Maine Arts Commission. John had to recite two poems from memory in front of both an audience and a panel of four judges. John chose William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Ocean.” Recitations are judged on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance, and accuracy. After two rounds, John was chosen as one of the finalists and will next compete on March 2nd in the State Poetry Out Loud Competition at Bates College in Lewiston. John will need to memorize an additional poem in the next few weeks for states. WAY TO MAKE OCEANSIDE PROUD, JOHN!

Recently, the STEM Academy students, with the help of The Apprenticeship retrieved scallop spat bags that had been deployed in October at three locations off the coast, and with help from Liberal Arts Academy students, sorted those bags for juvenile scallops. A spat bag is a mesh bag that captures scallop larvae out of the water column.  These larvae attach to material inside the mesh bag and then develop into juvenile scallops.  With the help of staff from the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership, students counted and measured the juvenile scallops, recording the data which will be shared with Hurricane Island’s research team.  We also identified other sea organisms that were found along with the scallops in the mesh bag, including measuring the amount of juvenile Arctic borer clams present.

This ongoing project is an opportunity for students to experience how scientists do field research.  They got to see the positives of science research, finding scallops, and the disappointments, losing over the winter six of the nine bags we deployed.  They will take some of what they learned with them to our STEM and Liberal Arts Academy Learning Retreat this June on Hurricane Island. We plan to deploy lines again this Fall.

Oceanside High School and the OHS Liberal Arts Academy are proud to announce that Alexa Barstow has received regional and national recognition for her writing from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Now in its 98th year, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for young artists and writers in grades 7–12.   

Alexa won three awards in the short story category for the regional round: a silver key for her story “Behind Your Eyes,” a gold key for her story “Stage Red,” and an American Voices nomination (for the national awards) for “Stage Red.” In the national awards, “Stage Red” received a national gold medal, defined by Scholastic as awarded to “the most outstanding works in the nation.” She was also awarded the American Voices medal, which is given to only one student from each region, chosen from the pool of five applicants nominated in the regional round. 

More than 80,000 students submitted nearly 230,000 works of art and writing to the 2021 Scholastic Awards. Alexa’s work was selected by some of the foremost leaders in the visual and literary arts for excellence in originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Only 2,000 works received a National Medal, which means her work is within the top 1% of all submissions!

Both of Alexa’s short stories can be found in her book, Truth Be Cold, published in August of 2020 by The Telling Room.

RSU 13's Adult & Community Education Youth Arts Program, Arts in Action,  collaborated in August with  The Apprenticeshop and One Community Many Voices staff to offer a three-week mural arts engagement with local youth to paint the length of the Main Street elevation at Rockland's own school for traditional wooden boatbuilding and seamanship.  Eight Oceanside High School students participated as interns in the program, contributing 20 hours of their time to learn about the processes by which a mural is created.  Four of those students are members of the Liberal Arts Academy at Oceanside and will use their internship experience as part of their career exploration requirements.  The mural work is supported by an ongoing grant from the Anonimo Foundation that RSU13 Adult & Community Ed has been managing for over 25 years to fund fine arts education and opportunities outside of the school day.  Make sure to drive by and check out their beautiful piece of artwork that brightens our community.

OHS Students who participated in the program are (*LA Academy):

Claire Caveney Snyder *

Winter Adams*

Anna Siletti*

Michael Matthews*

Dri Nascimento Barcellos

Vandeslaine Nascimento Barcellos

Isaiah Chase 

Marshall Camber

On April 16th, students from the OHS academic Academy programs had the opportunity to participate in a live webinar with Professor Rachel Morris from Michigan State University.  Professor Morris, originally from Waldoboro, Maine,  teaches pathology, molecular diagnostics, and writing, and serves as the graduate program director at MSU.  She earned her B.A. in Biology from the University of Maine at Augusta. She earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (specialization: Microbiology) from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI in 2011. Her postdoctoral research was completed both in the department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University and in the University of Michigan Medical School (Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases).

During her live webinar, Professor Morris talked about her unique educational journey to become a professor.  Most striking was the fact that she embraced every opportunity given to her, even when it didn’t seem like it was necessarily her area of interest or passion.  She discovered early on that embracing curiosity and opportunity led to opened doors that she didn’t necessarily expect.

Professor Morris went on to address the most pressing issue of our time: the coronavirus.  Part of her job is to train students to do the kind of testing that presently is needed to identify infectious diseases.  Many of the students she has trained are in the frontline of this pandemic.  Professor Morris walked students through the scientific process of testing and discussed the issues around testing for antibodies.  She even revealed that she has volunteered in her own state to be a covid tracer, people who will work with those identified with Covid-19 to help them recall everyone with whom they have had close contact during the timeframe while they may have been infectious.

This webinar gave students the opportunity to learn about the journey of someone who has chosen a career in science, and it also gave students some insight into events that are presently significant to their everyday lives.

The STEM and Liberal Arts students were very grateful for the time that Professor Morris contributed to their learning.  We all appreciate her sharing of knowledge and experience, but also her great sense of humor and ease that made our Zoom time with her so valuable.

Congratulations to Jacob Carroll for his acceptance to the 2020 Youth Leadership Program (YLP) at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.  Jacob is a Sophomore at Oceanside and is in the school’s STEM Academy program. The selection process for the YLP is very difficult, including both a written application process and an in-person interview with a panel of experts.  There are two ways that a student can be chosen to attend this program. They can apply through their regional FBI National Academy Associate, which chooses only one student in New England. Or, through the national organization FBI LEEDA (Law Enforcement Executive Development Administration), which also only chooses one student in the whole nation to represent them.  Jacob had the honor of being chosen by FBI LEEDA out of hundreds of applicants. Each year, the Youth Leadership Program accepts only 60 students, ages 14-16, from across the world. In addition, Jacob will receive a $1000 award towards his further education.  Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, he will have to wait and attend the program in 2021. Please join us in celebrating this great young man, his many accomplishments and hard work, and this great honor he has earned. As FBI-LEEDA stated in their letter of acceptance, “The abilities and leadership you have exhibited reflect greatly on you, your family, and community.”  Sending out lots of Mariner Pride to Jacob!!

On January 13, OHS students from the Liberal Arts and STEM Academy attended the monthly meeting of the MidCoast Forum on Foreign Relations.  This months speaker was Dr. Deborah Bronk, the President and CEO of the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay, Maine.   Dr. Bronk has done pioneering research into how organisms take up and produce nitrogen.  She has led or participated in over 50 research expeditions from the Arctic and Antarctica.  She has served as the President of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography and Director of the Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation. 

The topic of her presentation was the health of the oceans.  She shared with us the research that she and other scientist have done in the Arctic and Antarctic that pertains to the problems with polar cap icemelt caused by global warming.  She noted that some of the major problems of melting ice and warming waters were the impact of subsistence fishing on natives, erosion as a result of the loss of permafrost, the loss of Albedo (the reflection of radiation on the surface of ice), increased sea level, changes of distribution of sea organism, increased ocean stratification, and increased ocean acidification.  One interesting thing we learned is that kelp is considered a carbon sponge and reduces acidity.  Baby lobsters and shellfish struggle to develop in acidified water because their shells do not develop as well.  Kelp aquaculture actually helps improve water quality for all aquatic animals.  

Students attending the Forum were: Erin Corcoran, Heather Stephenson, Morgan Mitchell, Katherine Freeman, and Ella Andrews.

(November 6, 2019) The State of Maine's Department of Marine Resources recently held their annual Careers in Marine Science Day for high school students.  Three students from the STEM Academy program - Ahlivia Morris, Brady Marchessault, and Will Eaton - travelled to Boothbay to participate in this day meant to familiarize students with career opportunities in this field.  Students had sessions with staff scientists, educators, and marine patrol officer where they learned not only about the work and research of the Department of Marine Resources, but also the kinds of training necessary to attain those positions.  Session topics included: research and management around whales, lobsters, scallops, and urchins, the role and responsibilities of an aquarist, the  duties of a Marine Patrol officer, and the work of the Biotoxins and Water Quality Lab.  It was a very informative day.

(September 21, 2019)  Students from the STEM and Liberal Arts Academy at Oceanside High School attended the monthly MidCoast Forum on Foreign Relations.  This monthly opportunity is generously provided to students in the STEM and Liberal Arts Academy program by the members of the MidCoast Forum.  It gives participating students the chance to hear nationally and internationally known experts speak on topics that are relevant to our times.  

This month's speaker was Professor David Stoll from Middlebury College in Vermont.  Professor Stoll has worked extensively with indigenous communities in Guatemala since the 1980s.  He offered unique insight and perspective on the economic and social impact of migration to the United States on the lives of rural Guatemalans.

Next month's forum is October 14th.  

Featured speaker: Courtney C. Radsch, PhD, advocacy director at the Committee to Protect Journalists.  

Topic: Enemies of the People: the Shifting Frontlines of Journalism

​The Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Relations hosted Oceanside’s STEM and Liberal Arts Academy students at their monthly member forum and lunch.  The speaker for June was Anne Barnard, a New York Times journalist, who led the coverage of the war in Syria for six year.  She was the Beirut bureau chief, which gave her the opportunity to provide reporting from across the Middle East.  

The topic of her presentation was about the civil war in Syria and where it is taking our foreign policy.  The students learned about the origins of the conflict and how the situation has become much more complex over the years.  Relevant to our students, she discussed how the United States have supported  the rebel side in the conflict, and the Russians and Iranians are supporting the present government.  During the question and answer time, Alexa Barstow’s question was chosen.  Alexa asked Barnard how her world outlook has been changed by covering the conflict.  Barnard replied that she has truly come to understand that it is the civilians in any conflict that truly bear the brunt of any war.  The stats for the war are crushing - 5.6 million people have fled Syria since 2011.  6.6 million are internally displaced from their home because of the fighting.  Over 400,000 have died.  And thousands and thousands still live in war zones, where conflict is daily raging.   This information seemed to touch the students the most, as they thought about the innocent people who have been victimized in their own country.

The students who attended the June 10 meeting were: Alexa Barstow, Ella Andrews, Lydia Laslavic, Morgan Mitchell, and Esme Freeman.  We are very thankful for the opportunity that the members of the Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Relations gives to Oceanside to be part of this valuable learning experience.

(April 22, 2019) Five OHS teachers - John Hagin, Pete Conover, Emily Cashen, Rachel Johndrow, and Jennifer Goode -  took advantage of an invitation from Hurricane Island Center of Science and Learning to participate in their Teacher Day on April 22nd.  The teachers were able to explore and learn more about the programs offered by Hurricane Island that can benefit their students.  Although it was a misty day, it was exciting to tour the facilities and take a full island hike that gave them the opportunity to talk with the Hurricane Island staff about programming possibilities, including the STEM Academy “Coastal Maine Ecology” course that will be happening August 26-28.  The exciting prospects for programming is not limited to science topics, they also offer interdisciplinary offerings merging history, art, math, and English into their programs to meet a teacher’s needs.

It was a great day on the island that definitely inspired everyone to think about ways to integrate hands-on learning into their curriculum.

Through the support of the Alicia Fund, STEM Academy students have the chance to have an adventure on Hurricane Island from August 26-28. Two teachers (including Ms. Goode) and 10 students will spend a fun-filled, educational three days and two nights on that beautiful island.

We will spend our days on the magnificent coastline, beaches, and trails, learning about the ecology of coastal Maine. We will practice sampling methods and learn what it takes to be a field scientist, in the forest, on the shoreline, and in the water. Students will get their hands dirty as they solve real-world problems: find out what it means to run an aquaculture farm, or understand the effect of invasive species. They will experience life off-the-grid, asking questions about the sustainable systems that make the island run. This program will allow students to sample different ecological and marine field research models, and to imagine themselves as scientist, fisherman, or farmer. They will tackle challenges with their classmates, and discover the breath-taking natural beauty of Hurricane Island and its surrounding islands.

(March 12, 2019) The Seniors in the STEM and Liberal Arts Academy presented their portfolios at Career Day today as part of their endorsement requirements.  Their audiences had the chance to learn about their various job shadows and internships, and how those opportunities helped to not only enrich their high school years but also to shape their future goals.  They received a lot of positive feedback from the audiences about their sessions.  The Academy program was very well represented.  They will share their portfolios again in May when they travel to the district’s eighth grade classrooms.  Below you will find two of the presentations that were given by Abe LeMole and Zachariah Cody.