For each of the past eight years, the ninth grade has gathered at Chewonki’s wilderness outpost on Fourth Debsconeag Lake, just southwest of Baxter Park. In its previous incarnation, the facility was a hunting and fishing camp called Pleasant Point. Pleasant Point Camps became a special place for my family through a series of visits there over a succession of summers and winters. While I was sad when the camp was sold in 2008, thus ending a happy phase of family life, I felt consolation in the assumption that because Chewonki had purchased it, Pleasant Point would come back into my life through Outdoor Experience.
Margo Walsh ’82 creates opportunities for hundreds of Mainers looking for a fresh start
In Malcolm Gladwell-speak, Margo Walsh is a “connector.” She became a successful recruiter after graduating from Wheaton College, working with organizations like Goldman Sachs and HR consulting firm Hewitt to “help put people with the right other people,” as she puts it. But in 2011, born out of her own experience recovering from substance abuse disorder a decade earlier, Margo left the corporate world to create MaineWorks, an employment agency whose mission is to create dignified working lives for people who face barriers to workforce re-entry, including individuals recovering from addiction, people with felony convictions, and veterans facing re-entry obstacles.
Most temporary staffing agencies bring in workers one day at a time, paying them at the end of each workday. In Margo’s view, this purely transactional relationship is a poor model for individuals in need of structure and stability. “You can exploit these people easily because, frankly, they expect to be exploited,” she says. “The difference with us is that we ask, ‘Are you secure with where you’re staying? What are you eating? How are your teeth?’” MaineWorks employs its workers, which among other things makes them eligible for unemployment benefits.
The agency offers a range of services to Maine’s largest construction general contractors, including Wright-Ryan and Cianbro. Margo first connected with Wright-Ryan by way of her boots-on-the-ground marketing approach, bringing in coffee and donuts during the company’s work on the Press Hotel in Portland. “John Ryan and Tom Wright quickly came to value the MaineWorks mission of dignified employment through transitional staffing,” says Margo.
Wright-Ryan recently completed construction of Waynflete’s new Lower School. MaineWorks employees were on the job, providing services ranging from cleanup to skilled carpentry (like all MaineWorks clients, Wright-Ryan pays skilled laborers at a rate commensurate with their experience). “Wright-Ryan’s site supervisor, Millard Nadeau, really exemplified the type of stewardship that these young men need modeled,” Margo recalls. “Showing up, acting right, and being accountable.”
Employee skills development is key to the success of the MaineWorks model. “It is absolutely critical that individuals who have barriers to employment have the opportunity to develop trade skills,” she says. Frustrated by job training programs that are ill-funded and lack teeth, Margo wasn’t willing to wait. She launched an in-house constructions skills program and a property services division—both aimed at helping MaineWorks to train and retain employees.
Margo believes that these programs can be expanded through collaborative workforce development projects with organizations like Goodwill of Northern New England, local community colleges, and CEI, a longtime financial partner that provided the organization with an initial seed loan. These initiatives can begin at the high school level through work with PATHS (greater Portland’s career and technical education high school that prepares students for a range of “high-skill, high-wage, high-demand careers.”) “This is where the critical diversion can happen,” Margo says. “These ‘lost boys’ who are showing a tendency to addiction can be redirected toward meaningful work through these construction trade programs.”
As MaineWorks grew, Margo came to realize that more services were needed. “People with no money are dead in the water,” she says. “Even before they can find and hold down a job—they need housing, they need clothing, they need help with health-related issues, they need bus passes or a driver’s license. There had to be a catalyst to help bridge the gap between hopelessness and resiliency.”
Margo turned her attention to these needs as MaineWorks became more self-sustaining. In 2017, she co-founded the nonprofit Maine Recovery Fund with her sister Elaine Walsh Carney ’87, a philanthropy advisor in Wyoming who also serves as president of the Fund. Maine Recovery Fund provides a social needs evaluation and other “wraparound” services to connect people to local resources and, as Margo puts it, “help them get from absolutely stuck to moving forward in life.”
In 2013, MaineWorks became the first organization in Maine to be certified by global nonprofit B Lab as a “B Corporation.” B Lab vets its members to ensure that “they meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.” Member organizations go through a stringent recertification process every two years.
For the past three years, MaineWorks has been recognized on B Lab’s “Best for Customers” honoree list, putting it in the top 10 percent of B Corporations around the world based on a third-party assessment of impact on economic empowerment for the underserved and service to in-need populations.
In 2014, MaineWorks was recognized as the most successful innovative business in Maine by SCORE. Margo was also honored as one of five Women to Watch by Mainebiz Magazine. She is in demand for speaking engagements ranging from local service clubs to the Hussey Leadership Conference.
Margo believes that Waynflete had a strong influence on her decision to help marginalized people. “Waynflete’s principles correlate precisely with what I’m doing today,” she says. “All the social enterprise seeds were there. It was also an outside-of-the-box learning experience that gave me the confidence to go off and do big things. I believe that MaineWorks helps save lives—and it’s very Waynflete of me to make that kind of bold statement!”
Opening Remarks from Upper School Director Lowell W. Libby
Welcome back after so many miles hiked, biked, and paddled, services rendered, new connections made, old relationships deepened, and our collective appreciation for the natural environment heightened. It is a lot to ask of faculty to spend four days and three nights away from their lives be with you on these trips, but every leader I have spoken with so far has reported great things about being in your company such that the experience has fired them up about the school year. I certainly feel that way about my time with the 9th graders. That says a lot about you as a student body. So, when you see your trip leaders around campus – especially Blake who as OE coordinator has been breathing in for weeks now and is just now getting to exhale – thank them for all they do and then pat yourselves on your backs for a job well done. (more…)
Lower School construction update #11 with Millard Nadeau
About a month to go!
Upper School Gratitudes 2018
On the last day of school advisors asked their advisees to write down something they were grateful for over the past year. Answers varied from donuts to Breda White, and each advisor shared one or two at our closing assembly. The word cloud above highlights the most popular words in all their responses, and you can read all the wonderful things Waynflete students were thankful for by clicking here.
Happy Summer!
Abby Pipkin ’18 and Chris Moore ’80: A Senior Project Collaboration
Music has always been an important part of Abby Pipkin’s life. She loves to sing (she performed a Cat Stevens tune at this year’s Baccalaureate) and was a member of Waynflete’s chorus and acoustic group. When the time came to choose a senior project topic, Abby opted to immerse herself in the songwriting process—and also learn how to play an instrument to accompany herself. Director of Alumni Relations Jenny Alfrey ’91 put out the word to alums: could anyone help with songwriting or guitar lessons?
What kind of school thinks all children deserve a “gifted” education?
5 Hallmarks of Gifted Education for Young Learners
By Anne Hopkins (Lower School Director) and Heather Tanguay (Grade 2-3 Learning Specialist)
Like all children, gifted students deserve a curriculum that meets their special needs.
Gifted students thrive in an educational environment that supports them at their intellectual level, regardless of their age. They benefit from faculty who are comfortable teaching in their most advanced subjects and who are not surprised if there are other areas where they may need support. They thrive in schools with a flexible curriculum that expands to follow the gifted child’s interests into deeper study of increasingly complex material. They also benefit from a school environment that provides emotional support and strategies for asynchronous academic and social/emotional development in all grades, from preschool to high school. Most of all, gifted students benefit from being celebrated for their whole selves, for their giftedness and ordinariness alike.
At Waynflete, we think all children can benefit from and deserve a “gifted” education.
Next stage in the construction project: farewall to the modulars!
Click below to watch a time-lapse video of the first modular removal!
Our Graduates Are Going Places!
Waynflete’s Class of 2018 is a group of accomplished young adults with an impressive list of colleges and universities that they will be attending!
Below is the list of where our 56 graduates will matriculate this fall.
Spring Sports Varsity Wrap-Up 2018
It was a sensational spring for Flyers teams!
Five Waynflete athletes participated in spring track as cooperative individuals with Cheverus. Our athletes practiced with Cheverus and represented Waynflete at meets. All five competed in the Western Maine Conference championship at Lake Region. Abby Pipkin was the WMC Champion for Division II in the 800-meter run and second overall in the conference. She was recognized as First Team All-Conference. Abby was also honored as a senior scholar athlete. Patrick Shaw ’21 placed fifth in the 400-meter run and won his heat in the 100-meter dash. Helen Hornor set a PR in the 800 by nine seconds. Ellie Simmons set a PR in the 1600 by eight seconds. Pipkin qualified for the Class A state meet and competed in the 800 meter. (more…)
Baccalaureate and Commencement 2018
It was a whirlwind week at Waynflete, but the final events have come to a close and all of a sudden, hallways feel oddly quiet. We had two wonderful ceremonies for our graduating seniors—Baccalaureate and Commencement. Click below to see photos from the events, and stay tuned—we will post speech excerpts, readings, and more!
Baccalaureate and Commencement Photos
Waynflete Commencement, Merrill Auditorium , Portland, Maine, Brian Beard – CIP
Waynflete Commencement, Merrill Auditorium , Portland, Maine, Brian Beard – CIP
Baccalaureate, Waynflete, Portland, Maine, Brian Beard – CIP
Waynflete Commencement, Merrill Auditorium , Portland, Maine, Brian Beard – CIP
A complete collection of Baccalaureate and Commencement photos are available from CIP Photography.
Senior Slideshow!
A few days before Commencement, Waynflete seniors and their advisors gather for a special celebratory dinner. Each senior is honored with a “Senior Minute”—a short ode to that student and their time at Waynflete. To cap off the evening we play a slideshow featuring photos of the students as they grew up. Click below for lots of cute baby pictures!
Senior Project Presentations
Every spring, seniors leave campus in early May and spend four weeks pursuing a subject of personal interest. This Senior Project month is a fondly remembered time that opens students’ eyes to new interests as they prepare to enter college.
We asked seniors to share their presentations with us so we could share them with you! Click here to view the project presentation schedule. Any project that has a link is available to view. Check back soon—more will be added in the weeks ahead.
Reflections on the 2018 Seniors v. Faculty Softball Showdown
According to the Urban Dictionary, a “chamber of commerce day” is a day with gorgeous weather when a region would want tourists to visit, such that it might make companies feel that they should relocate to the area. The on-line picture next to this definition is a photograph taken at about noontime today at the Fore River Fields. With a high blue sky, puffs of white clouds, and surrounded by that green that only trees in May and early June can create, the FRF looked every inch the kind of place that any self-respecting ‘Fleter would want to find themselves twelve hours after the end of prom. This was especially true with the prospect of seeing the “‘Flete (not to be confused with “fleet”) Flyer Faculty” softball juggernaut perform its annual wizardry – otherwise known as “The Fountain of Youth Fling” – in a one-game series against the class of 2018. (more…)
Probability Carnival
Seventh-grade students hosted a Probability Carnival in the gym this week for the rest of the middle school.
After learning about probability in their math classes, seventh-graders applied their knowledge to create games-of-chance for their peers. It was a wonderful way to start the day before each grade headed out on their class picnics.
Hosting an international student: rewarding and easier than you might think!
Entering Waynflete as a new junior in 2014, Liam McNiff didn’t expect to befriend someone whose hometown was 10,000 miles away. Sam, who hailed from Australia, was spending the year at Waynflete as a visiting ASSIST scholar. (more…)
“So THIS is Model UN”
Earlier this month, I found myself standing in front of nearly 200 students from all around New England, explaining the benefits of limestone chimney scrubbers. What on Earth have I gotten myself into?! I thought to myself, as hundreds of eyes and ears watched and listened from the lecture hall seats, considering if my drafted resolution for air pollution management was worth voting for. My voice shook for the 30 second speaking time I was granted to answer each of my fellow delegates’ questions. My five-minute presentation with my partners concluded, and I sank back into my assigned seat labeled with the Japanese flag, sighing with relief that the hardest part of my day was over. So this is Model UN. (more…)
Waynflete Ultimate team has successful debut
Waynflete’s Ultimate Frisbee team debuted this spring in the Maine High School Ultimate League.
Ultimate is a fast-moving, 7-player game that is a little like soccer or football with a frisbee. Ultimate employs a “Spirit of the Game” ethos that emphasizes sportsmanship, fair play, and the ability for players to call their own fouls during the games (no refs!).
The league is made up of over 50 teams from surrounding high schools. This spring, Waynflete competed every Wednesday against teams from Scarborough, Portland, Cheverus, South Portland, and Westbrook. The first few games were eye-opening for the team, but the rest of the games were close decided by 1 or 2 points in a game to 13, included an exciting win against Cheverus.
This team did a great job in all respects this year and have been instrumental in setting the tone and building the foundation of Waynflete’s frisbee program.
