Waynflete’s Mest-Up science game show team of Ali Ghorashi ’15 and Sophie Benson ’14 will be back in action this Thursday, April 17. The show airs at 7 PM on WXPT (channel 12). Here is a link to the past story of an early round in the competition.
Spirit Week Countdown
A Spirit Week Log Through the Eyes of a Ninth Grader
Two Weeks Before:
I don’t really know what spirit week is going to be all about, but I heard it’s going to be really fun! They are going to announce the days for Spirit Week at assembly next week. Although, they did announce the countries that each grade will be representing! Seniors are USA, juniors are Antarctica (no, wait a minute that’s not a country). Sophomores are Jamaica and us freshmen don’t know what we are going to be because of issues with our choices.
A Week and a Half Before:
An email just went out that the freshmen are Narnia…How is that going to work?
One Week Before:
We were just told what the days for spirit week are! The Friday before Spirit Week is Breast Cancer Awareness day (wear pink)! Monday is Waynflete Spirit day, Tuesday is Nerd day, Wednesday is Twin day, Thursday is Throwback Thursday (#TBT), and Friday is country day. For country day, we are supposed to dress up as the country our grade is representing. How am I supposed to dress up as Narnia?
Friday before Spirit Week:
Breast Cancer Awareness Day was great! It’s really awesome to see everyone in pink!
Sunday night (pre-spirit week):
I just received an email (make that several emails) about the country that we are going to be. We are officially Canada because some things got changed. I like having Canada rather than Narnia!
Monday (Waynflete day):
I wore my Waynflete Swimming Team sweatshirt as I went off to school. Everyone in school has school pride. Tons of green and white which happens to fit perfectly with it being St. Patrick’s Day today! Overwhelming green and “Waynflete” was written everywhere and on everyone! During activities block there was a rousing game of musical chairs. It was super intense between the final few people. I think Harry won. Tomorrow is Nerd Day, but I’m not sure exactly how to dress like a nerd…
Tuesday (Nerd day):
Nerd day went well! Lots of people walked around with suspenders and geeky glasses. Trivia happened during assembly and the juniors happened to win. Categories for trivia were: the Olympics, Waynflete teacher trivia, and pop culture. Each grade had 4 people and a celebrity teacher. The freshmen picked Lorry Stillman as their teacher representative. Seniors are in the lead for points in spirit week. The freshmen aren’t doing too well.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86h7VIAu1cY&w=640&h=385]
Musical Chairs/Dodgeball Video
Wednesday (Twin Day):
Twin day is looking really good! Lots of people went all out, especially the real sets of twins! It’s fun to see who decided to twin with whom! Limbo was the activity that took place during break. Boni Kabongo ’14 was the winner for the third year in a row. He wasn’t a fourth year champion because sickness got to him his freshman year. Everyone was gathered in the atrium and it was lots of fun to see the whole school bonding through limbo.
Thursday (Throwback):
Throwback Thursday was really fun! People took it different ways as to what they were supposed to “throwback” to. Some people dressed in 70’s or 80’s, but lots of people wore onesies to “throwback” to when they were a baby. Dodgeball was the activity during assembly today. Intense games were led by each class. Freshmen had no chance of winning, but some people cheered us on anyway. Freshman came in last, juniors came third, seniors came in second, and the sophomores won surprisingly. Right now the points stack up to have the seniors in the lead of course.
Friday (Country Day):
Country Day was really fun and most everyone had spirit! The seniors went all out with red, white, blue and stars. The whole school had a dance competition by grade. The freshmen went first and did the Harlem shake because we had a bit of a planning snafu. The sophomores pulled off a pretty impressive dance that some thought would win. The juniors also did a dance that competed well with the seniors. The senior class dance was intense with a medley of the Star-Spangled Banner, a couple of Grease songs including “Greased Lightning” and “The Hand Jive.” They also added a High School Musical song and “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. The seniors dance was obviously the best, but somehow the sophomores tied with the seniors. There was a lot of dispute as to who the real winners should have been, but they were both so creative and great to watch! I know that somehow they will rig the score to make the seniors win overall because the seniors have to win every year!
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrXwGXcFw88&w=640&h=385]
Dance Video
Post Spirit Week:
I’m already looking forward to Spirit Week next year! Hopefully it will be just as fun. The freshmen class had better get ready for the dance competition to make a good comeback!
The Math Team: Year in Retrospect
On Tuesday, April 8th, the ten “mathletes” of the Waynflete Math Team made an early morning trek to Bangor to check out the new Cross Insurance Center as well as to participate in the 2014 State Math Meet . Despite rolling out of the Thomas House parking lot at 6:30 am, and the fact that coach Tom Campbell had brought only “healthy” snacks for the trip, the team jumped right into their problem solving upon arrival. During the first six “Individual” rounds of twelve minutes each, students solved three problems of increasing difficulty in each round. The next two rounds were relay rounds, in which students sit in two rows of five chairs, solving an individual problem and then passing a resulting number to the person behind them, who must use it in their own calculations. A bonus is awarded if all five students pass the correct number.
The meet ended with two “team” rounds where the students solve nine problems, cooperatively and sometimes collaboratively. In true Waynflete tradition, this year’s team excelled in the team rounds, closing in third place in Class C, 10th overall in the state (out of 91 teams), and falling only one problem solution short of second in C and ninth overall. Team members Stephen Epstein (’15), Austin Fanburg (’15), Lydia Fox (’14), Jacob Hagler (’15), Michael Michaelson (’16), Dana Peirce (’16), and Jackie Xiao (’14) all contributed important points to the team score. Ben Mallon (’16) placed 24th among all 10th graders at the meet, Ali Ghorashi (’15) placed 14th among 11th graders, and Sally Li (’14) was the silver medalist among all Seniors, also earning a spot on the Maine “A” All-Star team that will participate in the national ARML (American Regions Mathematics League) meet at Penn State in late May.
The State Meet culminated a very successful season. This year the Math team participated in five monthly regional meets as part of the Pi-Cone South Math League. The league included 50 teams, representing 27 schools of all sizes. Practicing once a week during Upper School Activities period, the students earned a solid 6th place standing in Pi-Cone South, trailing only much larger schools and closing the gap on them in this, our second year as a team.
We also enjoy a pizza and solutions party the night before each meet. If you haven’t tried “Oreo Pizza” before, you should stop some Tuesday evening by and learn about it. We’ll show you some cool math solutions too. We had a great season and look forward to even more fun and success with problem solving next year!
A Private School, A Public Purpose
As stated in the School’s mission, Waynflete intends to encourage in our students “responsible and caring participation in the world.” On Tuesday evening, April 8, a key method of doing so was on display:
Institutional Modeling.
You might be wondering how an image of a white tip shark swimming up ominously behind a man is related to institutional modeling of a core value. That image, which was taken by photojournalist Brian Skerry and first appeared in the National Geographic, was one of the many spectacular images shown by Mr. Skerry to an audience that overflowed Franklin Theater into Sills Hall one evening in the spring of 2010. We learned in that presentation, contrary to what you might think as you examine the photograph, that it is not the man who is endangered by the approaching shark but rather the shark and millions like it that are endangered by the human activity that has decimated the world-wide population of sharks at an alarming rate.
Courtesy of David Gallo
Mr. Skerry’s presentation was the first in Waynflete’s State of the Ocean Series, an annual event featuring a presentation designed to engage the audience with wonder about and understanding of the world’s vast ocean. It also features an opportunity for ocean related organizations to put their missions on display. Each year the State of the Ocean Series has filled Franklin Theater and attracted more and more organizations as co-sponsors. This year the outer gallery and arc hallway were packed with displays by 14 different organizations. For a list of organizations present, click here. For a list of State of the Ocean Series speakers and presentation topics, click here.
Map of Atlantic Plastic Debris Concentrations
This year’s State of the Ocean Series event featured Dr. Kara Lavender Law, who spoke about plastics in the ocean. Her talk could not have been more timely as it followed stories about the challenges posed to those searching for the missing Malaysian plane by the abundance of plastic ocean debris in the Indian Ocean that appeared on major news outlets and in a National Geographic article. To read that article, click here. To read the USNOW article introducing this year’s talk by Marine Biology teacher David Vaughan entitled Does the Ocean Matter?, click here. To see a picture gallery of the event, click here. To read an article by Waynflete student Laura Vary ’15 reflecting on the talk that first appeared in The Flyer, the Upper School newspaper, click here.
The State of the Ocean Speaker Series is part of a larger initiative by the School to promote the health of the ocean, which makes a great deal of sense given our proximity to the ocean and our mission to educate. In 2010, together with the Speaker Series, Waynflete launched Sustainable Ocean Studies, a four week summer program for high school students from across Maine and the nation that is now co-sponsored by Waynflete and the Chewonki Foundation. For information about SOS, click here.
Photograph by Brian Skerry
In addition to the tireless work, knowledge, and skill as an educator of SOS Director David Vaughan, this institutional effort to promote the health of the ocean has been made possible by the vision and generosity of an array of individuals and organizations. An anonymous donor from the Waynflete community provided start up funds for SOS, without which the program would not exist. Various individuals, foundations, businesses, and banks have contributed funds each year to ensure that every eligible student has been able to attend, regardless of the ability of the student’s family to pay.
In short, we know that a powerful way “to encourage (the) responsible and caring participation in the world” in our students is to be a responsible and caring participant in the world as an institution. If the packed houses at each State of the Ocean event, Laura’s thoughtful reflections on the most recent event, the increasing number of organizations co-sponsoring the event, and the eager participants each summer in SOS are an indication, Waynflete is indeed doing important work in the world.
In fact, this particular effort is just one of countless ways across divisions that Waynflete routinely reaches well beyond its immediate self-interest and fulfills its commitment to the larger community, acting as a private school with a public purpose. Such efforts not only benefit the communities in which we live but also deepen and enrich the educational experiences that we provide. All of us in the Waynflete community should be proud of the good work that we do as an institution and grateful for the opportunities that our responsible and caring participation in the world creates for our students.
Three Students’ Artwork on Display
Three upper school students artists – Quinn Shivel, Sarah Avery and Maeve Donnelly – are currently represented in a gallery exhibit of Maine High School Ceramics Art students at the Gannet Gallery, 331 Water Street, in downtown Augusta, from April 9-26. The opening reception will be April 9 from 5-7 and is open to the public. Gallery hours are Wednesday – Saturday 12-5pm.
Mock Admissions Committee Event for Junior Parents
The College Counseling Office invites Junior Parents to participate in Waynflete’s third annual Mock Admissions Committee program on Tuesday, April 29, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Franklin Theater.
Parents will simulate the committee process by reviewing and discussing several case study applications before making “real” admission decisions. We have invited admissions officers from several colleges to chair each of the mock admissions committees. Case study applications are available here.
For more information about the event, please contact Wylie Mitchell ().
On to the Science Olympiad Nationals!
“I’m more nervous right now than I am before a basketball game!” said varsity starter Julianna Harwood as she waited to test the boomilever she had built for the recent State Science Olympiad Tournament at the University of Maine in Orono. Hours beforehand, and well before sunrise, Julianna and twenty-nine other students loaded our bus wearing their green Waynflete Science t-shirts, clutching sleeping bags, and carefully holding boxes containing airplanes, magnetically levitated vehicles, forensics equipment, and more in preparation to compete with students from across the state in science and engineering events.
Our Physics and Chemistry labs have been buzzing with activity (and the sounds of power equipment) for the past couple of months (demonstrating the Second Law of Thermodynamics: that entropy always increases). Our dedicated young scientists have been coming in to meet with us to learn about simple machines, circuits, and “type la supernovae” (which occur when two stars orbit one another, and one of the stars is a white dwarf while the other can vary from a giant star to an even smaller white dwarf). They have been working through redox reactions, studying rocks and bugs, and burning pistachios for calorimetry measurements. They’ve taken over our lab tables and counter space as they designed, built, and rebuilt their magnetically levitated vehicles, bungee cords, Rube Goldberg devices, “scrambler” vehicles, and elastic-launched gliders. For students in Science Olympiad, the competition begins with an event description – a written page, perhaps two, that describes in intimidating specificity the event in which they will compete. How will the vehicle be propelled? What are its maximum dimensions? How much weight will the balsa boom need to support and how will it be attached to the testing wall? Will the circuitry event include topics such as transformers and inductance? From there, students work with one partner to design, build, test, and redesign an engineering event, or to study and collect materials for a lab or written event.
The topics of most of these events are not generally covered in a typical high school curriculum, which means that students need to go above and beyond, learning and researching independently. There are 23 events in all, and students generally compete in three events each, collaborating with their partners throughout the process of preparation. Across the country, over 6700 other schools are preparing for the same 23 events, as tournaments are held in all 50 states. The top finishing team from each state is invited to go on to represent its state in the National Tournament, which is just what Waynflete did last year – traveling to Ohio in May. And they did it again this year, dominating the competition and finishing well ahead of the runner up (Waterville Senior High School). This year’s National Tournament is in Florida on May 17, and the students are excited to deepen their knowledge and improve on their engineering devices in preparation for that tournament (there may also be a bit of swimming).
Waynflete School has been participating in the Science Olympiad competition since its inception in 1985, finishing in the top three overall in all but a few years. It is a lot of work, for both coaches and students, but also tremendously fun, and the payoffs are incredible. For students who are really interested in science, the competition provides a chance to delve deeply into a subject they might not otherwise have the chance to study. For some, with a special interest, it provides a platform to showcase their talent in much the same way that a star athlete can shine at a critical moment in a game.
Case in point: as the results for the Entomology Event were announced during the closing ceremony of the State Tournament, the team glanced anxiously at our resident insect expert, junior Brandon Woo, and waited expectantly. When the announcement came, “In first place…, Waynflete!” the entire team cheered and hooted as Brandon jubilantly bounced down the stairs of the auditorium to collect his medal, returning to more cheers and high fives from his teammates. And then there is the benefit that the tournament can provide for team members who may not excel in a more traditional classroom (lecture/assessment) setting. Engineering events give these students a chance to explore a topic hands-on, literally. Students learn to design, test, and trouble-shoot problems, learning first hand that nothing ever works the first time you try it, that much can be learned from the mistakes that are made, and developing skills of perseverance and tenacity in the process. Click here for a photo gallery of the state meet.
State Champs
For all students, Science Olympiad offers a chance to collaborate with peers that share a common interest and to discover interests that they never realized before. Often, younger, inexperienced students are paired with older kids who take on a mentoring role and guide them through the processes of preparing for an event. Students learn communication and team-work, skills as important in science as they are in any field. As coaches of Science Olympiad, the ultimate reward is watching as the students who have worked the hardest and put in the most time and energy are rewarded with the gold medal at the end of a very long day. And then, of course, it is also just plain fun. Go Flete! On to Orlando!
The Maputo Project
Fifteen years ago, Band Director Ray Morrow invited former jazz students to join the current band to play Maputo for an Upper School Assembly while projecting the video live on the old theater wall. This year he repeated the Maputo Project, this time inviting faculty as well. A few weeks ago, current and former jazz students played Maputo at an Upper School assembly and were joined by Chris Beaven (trumpet), Danise Chalkins (piano), Marc Chillemi (trumpet), Duncan Hardy (alto sax), Lorry Stillman (piano), and Ray himself (tenor sax). The purpose of the Project, according to Ray, “was to give former jazz students a chance to perform a fun tune with the current ensemble.” It also treated the rest of the Upper School student and faculty to delightful performance. In addition, Ray noted about the show, “The “Jumbotron” looked much better this time around!” Enjoy the the performance yourself by clicking here.
On My Home Stage
I am Vanessa Van Deusen, a senior here at Waynflete, and I am a ballerina. I started ballet when I was a kid, as most little girls do, but for me it was an obsession rather than a passing phase. Ballet continues to be an obsession of mine and because of this I haven’t had the most orthodox schedule in my time here at Waynflete. Every year I have taken four classes instead of the typical five or six, not participated in sports, performing arts or studio art, and left at 1:00 every single day.
Ever since I was allowed this unusual schedule I have been the source of envy for those who can’t sit through the last block or dread their art requirements, but what I lose in academic school I make up for in extra hours of ballet training. In the beginning of sophomore year I joined Portland Ballet’s CORPS program, a pre professional ballet program for high school students who want to take their training to the next level. In the beginning balancing Waynflete and CORPS was really hard and scary. I had to learn how to deal with missing a math and history class a week but with help from my teachers and amazing advisor Debba Curtis, leaving early to go dance became second nature. The two now seem to coexist perfectly as Waynflete has become comfortable with my need to dance and CORPS requires that I maintain good academic standing.
Strangely enough, though, the two have never intermingled until now. Ballet is a huge part of my identity and is something that I am so happy I finally got to share with Waynflete. Dancing for all of my friends and teachers last Monday was absolutely terrifying. Being on stage knowing that all of the people I love and respect were watching me was a lot of pressure but at the same time it felt very full circle. When I ended the partnering piece from Stars and Stripes I was taken aback at the applause and support in the theater.
That support didn’t end when I walked off stage. For the past week I have experienced teachers and friends telling me how proud they were of me but I was also approached by countless people I had never met expressing the same sentiments. I am not only proud and excited that I was able to show what I have been working at for so many years off to my school but also astounded by the amount of support I have received from both the school as a whole as well as the individuals in it.
Grade Advising Day: An Annual Event at Waynflete
Grade Advising Day has been going on for more than 20 years and is important for students of all grades. Ninth Grade Seminar teacher Cathie Connors, who has always been involved with the freshman group, says Grade Advising Day is important because “it is a time for them (students) to connect off campus.”
Each grade focuses on the different theme. Freshmen group-building activities revolved around the theme of “how to help a friend.” The sophomores spend the day fully focused on community service. The juniors spend their morning reviewing a test of their personality types and exploring that with other students that have the same personality type. They then spend the rest of their day learning about the college process. The seniors have always done activities around the themes of “health and wellness” and “how to take care of yourself” as they get ready for going off to college. They have done activities from yoga to healthy eating.
I participated in Grade Advising Day for the first time as a freshman. Activities change over the years, but Upper School Dean of Students Lydia Maier came up with the Scrabble game and the human ladder which the freshmen do every year. The human ladder is a trust-building exercise. Another activity that the freshmen always do during Grade Advising Day is role play around the theme of “how to help a friend.” All of these activities are meant as learning and bonding activities for students.
Waynflete plans to continue to hold Grade Advising Day in future years. “Even if it doesn’t always seem like it in the moment for kids, I think it’s something they look back and say ‘Yeah we did that together’,” says Cathie Connors about freshmen students especially. When I look back, I think what I will remember most about the day is bonding with my classmates and doing activities with them like the human ladder. I would’ve never been able to experience this opportunity otherwise.
An Inspiring Lunch with Dr. Sima Samar
Under the rule of the Taliban, Afghanistan went through a tremendous change. The Taliban had immense impact on the society as they gained more power. With the regulations that were established, numerous people felt the aftermath in their daily lives. Afghan women were stripped of their rights. Regions that were under Taliban control forbade women from seeking an education and working in certain fields of work.
Ayan Nur ’15, Maddy Pellow ’15, and Desiree Lester ’03
On our visit to CIEE to attend the Justice for Women Lecture, Waynflete students from the Girls Leadership Training Group, faculty advisors Lindsay Kaplan and Lydia Maier, alum Desiree Lester ’03, and I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Sima Samar, an Afghani women and human rights activist. Dr. Samar assembled the first human rights commission in Afghanistan and is the chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Dr. Samar spoke about the establishments that she has created, programs that she partakes in, and her hopes for Afghanistan. She works towards creating a better future for the Afghan people, especially by spreading human rights laws. She spoke about her belief that each human has fundamental rights, and she hopes her works assist the Afghan people in achieving them. Dr. Samar has already established successful schools and clinics through the Shuhada Organization, and she is hoping to create even more. She realizes Afghanistan has a long ways to go to, but believes that it is now taking the steps to rebuild itself.
During the lunch, the discussion was open to everyone. We discussed the importance of having role models who illustrate fine qualities. The students from both Waynflete and Deering High School were given the opportunity to speak briefly about our own struggles and about the role models we look up to. People from around the world face hardships and are helped by the people to whom they look up. However, for some it is difficult to find a role model who embodies respectable qualities.
What I took from this incredible experience was to appreciate the opportunities that I have received in my life and to stretch out my hand to the community at large. To change the world, we must help the youth. For there to be any change, youth must be presented with positive role models. Large scale projects are not the only ones that can bring change to the world; the little activities that we partake in contribute to change as well. With simple works, we can bring change to this world, so we should strive to think of small projects that we can take on.
Does the Ocean Matter?
In Franklin Theater on the evening of April 8, Waynflete will host the fifth annual State of the Ocean Series Talk. Having taught Marine Biology for more than twenty years, I have developed a deep passion for the ocean and the organisms that live within it. I have grown keenly interested in how people respond to the question, Why does the ocean matter? So I asked a variety of students this question, and here are some samples of what they said:
• “The organisms in the ocean can give us new insights on medical and behavioral research.”
• “If there were no ocean, the human race would not exist”.
• “It helps control the earth’s temperature.”
• “The ocean provides protein for 1 in 5 people on the earth, and personally, I love outdoor activities on the water”.
• “It provides food, jobs, and helps to maintain a stable environment.”
• “There are so many discoveries that still need to be made in the ocean. To me it is our most valuable resource and the true final frontier.”
• “The ocean matters because it sustains life and has been a crucial part of evolution”.
• “In a practical sense, it provides food and a home for most life on earth. In a more abstract sense, it symbolizes the vastness and wonder of life and the endless possibility of evolution.”
• “Without the ocean there would be no evaporation which would mean no precipitation”.
• “It is home to a huge portion of earth’s life that is essential to earth’s ecosystem”.
• “It is the basis of all life, and it affects all of us.”
• “We have to take good care of the ocean for our health and safety as well as the earth’s”.
Photo by Brian Skerry
These statements express much insight and understanding. Given that 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with ocean, that every second breath you take comes from oxygen produced by phytoplankton in the ocean, that the ice caps are melting, coral reefs are dying, the ocean is acidifying, and that most of the big fish are gone from the ocean, asking why the ocean matters again and again is increasingly important. As a school, we are committed to responsible environmental citizenship, and one of the ways we do this is to host the State of the Ocean Speaker Series. In each of the past four years, together with a wide variety of ocean-focused organizations, we have brought in a speaker who has dedicated his life to the ocean by capturing remarkable images in still photos, exploring its deepest places by remote-operated submarine, capturing the last 5% of truly pristine areas on video, or raising public awareness about the ocean-related challenges that each country in the world currently faces. Brian Skerry, David Gallo, Feo Pitcairn, and Steve Katona each brought compelling messages to their audiences about why the ocean matters. Their collective message boils down to this: No matter where you live, your life depends on the ocean. Furthermore, we are on a path that could result in irreversible consequences to the health of this vital aspect of our earth.
For many of us, when we look out at the ocean from the shoreline, we see how large it is and know it is remarkably deep. Most of us understand that on some level we generate a lot of waste that ends up in the ocean. Yet, our ability to see beneath the ocean surface and to truly understand the impact that humans have on it is significantly limited. In the right frame of mind, however, we can learn valuable lessons about our throw-away tendencies. For example, on the macroscopic level, of the top 10 types of trash found in beach cleanups monitored by the Center for Conservation since 1986, 7 were plastics of some type. (http://www.takepart.com/oceans/plastic-pollution).
By itself this statistic is alarming, but add to it the following pieces of information: The average American will throw away approximately 185 pounds of plastic and use more than 1,200 plastic bags in a year. Plastic in the ocean breaks down into such small segments that pieces of plastic from a one liter bottle could end up on every mile of beach throughout the world. And plastic is durable, it takes about 1000 years to degrade completely (http://www.takepart.com/oceans/plastic-pollution). Sea Education Association (SEA) scientists studied plastics in the Atlantic and calculated there are 580,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer. Many of the plastics are slowly breaking down in the ocean and releasing their own toxins, such as BHA, which is used as an antioxidant in many plastics. If you are interested, you can read more about this by clicking here.
Photo Credit: true2death, CCN, Local Philosophy; Published November 15, 2012
There has been a lot of press in the last few years about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located at the confluence of several major currents in the Pacific. One scientist who has helped to publicize it with the scientific community and the general public is oceanographer and chemist Charles Moore, now with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. “Plastic hits marine creatures with a double whammy,” Moore said in an interview with National Geographic. “Along with the toxic chemicals released from the breakdown of plastic, animals also take in other chemicals that the plastic has accumulated from outside sources in the water. We knew ten years ago that plastic could be a million times more toxic than the seawater itself, because plastic items tend to accumulate a surface layer of chemicals from seawater. They’re sponges.” Most of us also probably know that many marine organisms inadvertently ingest plastics while feeding or mistake plastics for their food source. In either case, marine organisms that ingest plastics are not only taking in the plastics but also all of the chemicals that have latched on to the surface of the plastics.
So, for all of the reasons that the ocean matters, it is crucial that we understand the impact of plastics pollution in the ocean. To this end, the Gulf of Maine Marine Education Association (GOMMEA) has organized an event to be held at Waynflete entitled “Plastics at SEA” featuring oceanographer and Sea Education Association research scientist Dr. Kara Lavender Law. SEA students and scientists began collecting data on floating plastic debris in the 1980s. Dr. Lavender Law will review the state of scientific research on marine debris in the world’s oceans and share her in-depth look at research carried out for more than 25 years by undergraduate students and faculty scientists on sailing oceanographic research vessels at SEA.
http://blog.oceanconservancy.org/tag/why-the-ocean-matters/
It is my sincere hope that you will take a moment to answer the question for yourself: “Why does the ocean matter”? Then, I hope that you demonstrate your understanding of why the ocean matters by joining us at “Plastics at SEA” on Tuesday, April 8th. For details on the event, click here.
Waynflete Repeats as State Science Olympiad Champs
Waynflete won the State Science Olympiad tournament for the second year in a row! Yesterday, 30 Waynflete students completed in 23 different science and engineering events at the University of Maine in Orono. Our kids built elastic launched gliders, compound machines, Rube-Goldberg devices, magnetically levitated vehicles and more, and also competed in events testing their knowledge and experimental skills in a variety of sciences. We earned medals for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in 16 of the 23 events and finished first overall for our performance in all events combined. The story is coming soon. Click here for a photo gallery.
Team members were Sophie Benson (’14), Louis Frumer (’14), Nate Hansen (’14), Lydia Fox (’14), Sally Li (’14), Avalena Linsky (’14), Wasita Mahaphanit (’14), Meredith Nelligan (’14), Quinn Shivel (’14), Austin Smith (’14), Liv Stockly (’14), Stephen Epstein (’15), Ali Ghorashi (’15), Jacob Hagler (’15), Julianna Harwood (’15), Haley Johnson (’15), Dana Peirce (‘
State of the Ocean Speaker Series
Plastics At SEA with Dr. Kara Lavender Law
7:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 8th, 2014
Franklin Theater
Waynflete School
Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for interactive exhibits and informational tables from ocean focused organizations. Light refreshments will be available. Admission to the evening is FREE.
For more information call: 207-774-5721 ext 1318
My Experience with LifeSmarts
I have never really thought of myself as smart at life. But last semester, Steve Kautz sat our Business and Finance class down for a discussion about LifeSmarts, a national competition for high school students that focuses on consumer education. Waynflete had entered the competition for the first time the previous year and won, so we were the defending State Champions. Steve signed us all up for accounts and told us to take these five online quizzes to qualify for the competition, covering the categories of Consumer Rights, Health and Safety, Technology, Personal Finance and the Environment. I thought to myself, “This sounds like the perfect competition for me.”
And then I forgot all about it. Instead, I immersed myself in other success stories at Waynflete, from the Soccer, Basketball, Science, and Math teams to the recent success of the Upper School Jazz Combo. Then one day, out of the blue, my friend Mason Saltz called me up and told me, “You are doing a quiz.” I thought to myself, What on earth is he talking about? I asked him to clarify, and he said that I should complete the five online LifeSmarts quizzes by the due date, which happened to be the next day. I figured that I had nothing to lose, so I went ahead and completed them. Sample quiz questions are linked here.
Little did I know that I was actually skilled in these categories. Steve Kautz, now my Personal Finance teacher, came up to me the next day and told me that I had qualified for the LifeSmarts team representing Waynflete. I was shocked and a little nervous. “This will be fun, right?” he said reassuringly. We got together our qualifying team, and based on the people in our group, I instantly knew we had a good chance at winning. Each member of our group was skilled in at least one of the five categories, if not more. After devouring study guide after study guide and practicing quiz after practice quiz, our work finally culminated in the Maine LifeSmarts competition at the Unum campus in South Portland.
At the event, we were introduced to the sponsors, question masters, judges, referees, and our competitors from high schools across the state. The woman who ran the competition told the group that we would first be competing in a Mock Round. My nerves instantly set in. I am not the kind of person who enjoys public speaking, never mind having the spotlight on me to answer questions. And just my luck. Waynflete was called up first, and I had the brains to pick the first seat by accident. They explained that we would be competing in a buzzer round, where the first person to buzz in gets to answer. She started reading. “What three digit number do you call for emergencies?” I thought to myself, “If this is what the competition is like, then I am in for the easiest day of my life.”
Unfortunately, the questions grew harder and the competition became fiercer as the day went on. We finally made it to the last round, where the members of each team could buzz in and answer. Waynflete and Woodland High School pulled away from the pack. We were neck and neck headed down the stretch. Waynflete had to answer the final question correctly to tie, which we did. The two teams entered a tie breaking round, an all expenses paid trip to Disney on the line. The questions started ticking by, one that they got right, one that we got right, until finally only one question remained.
It was now or never. The question master, Bill Green from “Bill Green’s Maine”, opened his lips. “Created in the 1970 by the federal government, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation is better known by what name?” he read. Five seconds were on the clock. Nobody answered on either side. Then at the last second, Cody buzzed in. “Amtrak?”. “Correct!”
We all looked at each other in awe. Coach Kautz looked as though he was going to faint. We were rushed by our adoring fans (Well, we were rushed by our alternate, who had practiced with the team and watched the competition patiently). We had done it, our team had made it to Nationals. Waynflete had repeated as State LifeSmart Champion. On to Disney.
Left to Right, Top Row: Mason Saltz, Chloe Williams, Sally Li, Codte Tiparos, Sam Frederick. Bottom Row: Steve Kautz and Pam Green
LifeSmarts, the Ultimate Consumer Challenge, is an online competition available to high school students across the country. After completing the online section of the event, the top schools are invited to the state competition, a live head-to-head event. LifeSmarts tests knowledge in five core categories: Personal Finance, Consumer Rights and Responsibilities, Technology, Health and Safety, and the Environment. Visit their website to learn more, http://lifesmarts.org.
