The Adams School  
P.O. Box 29
27 School Street
Castine, Maine 04421
326-8608
www.adamsschool.com


SCHOOL STARTS ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2010!


ADAMS SCHOOL  NEWSLETTER

JUNE 4, 2010

 


The Class of 2010
June 7, 2010

Saying It

            Why write? For a long time, I didn’t understand why it felt so important to write down words, I just did it. Having journalists as parents might be considered a powerful influence. My high school English teacher, Mr. Walker, advocated writing about one’s experience, like his hero Thoreau who would wander the woods or sit beside Walden Pond and observe. Noticing the way things are, the way things happen, the way things feel deserves expression. It’s good to say why things matter. “How much we are the woods we wander,” says Richard Wilbur.

The typewriter itself is an influence. When I was a kid, the sound of writing broke the silence of the house at bedtime. Stopping and starting, the typewriter carriage sliding back and forth like a trolley, the song of text being hammered on paper proceeded out of silence from the industrial-sized Royal type. Writing, dad was explaining via his percussive typing, was something you worked at, tried and retried, and then polished. It was important to say things clearly, simply, directly. He was a print journalist. And he probably wasn’t aware of what he was modeling, just trying to meet deadline.

Later mentors made it obvious that by trying to say things you clarify your thoughts. Writing is thinking in plain sight. For instance, it charged my fourth grade storytelling with the effort to be correct, clear, and stylish. Mr. Pratt wouldn’t let me get away with clichés in 11th and 12th grade; he challenged every word to earn its place in a sentence. And I also wanted to type—as fast as dad. Furthermore, stories written on a typewriter had more authority because they looked like real writing. If you justify the margins, you justify the rhetoric. Not. I still got points off for misspellings and punctuation. Writing is never done. “A poem is never finished,” says W.H. Auden, “only abandoned.” My favorite poem, “Fern Hill,” went through some 89 drafts before Dylan Thomas “abandoned” it. I wonder if he typed?

            As dad wrote newspaper stories or worked on his books after work, the gooseneck lamp arching over the keyboard, soft light seemed to pool around his concentration. I recall the poise of his hands above the home keys, as he awaited the next phrase or sentence and the next flurry of prose. The cadence of his certain thoughts punctuated summer twilight. It melded with the sprinklers and cicadas outside in suburban Chicago, every ten or fifteen words the typewriter's little bell sending the carriage zippering back to drag a new line across the page from the margin. I had to wonder: What was he noticing? What was he trying to say? Saying it goes beyond journalism, various poets taught me.

There are many Phillip Booth poems that are among my favorites: “Eaton’s Boatyard,” “First Lesson.” They are rooted in a place that I love, an experience that I connect with, or a definition that seems right, precise, and essential to being a father, a husband, a writer, a resident of a certain locale. In “Strip,” Booth draws an existential lesson from Mobius, and the simple path of a piece of paper that has only one side. It talks about a man turning into himself, and I read it for the first time after my father passed away.

Another Booth poem, “Saying it,” has always defined something about the core of writing and feels like essential reading for us all. It’s the best poem I know for expressing how hard and important it is to notice and then choose and then use words. On discovery, it felt as if Booth’s words explained myself, to myself—finally. In “Saying it,” he talks about that elemental motive to find a word that is worth listening to, that justifies its place in the sentence, however tentative or halting. Why write? He says why.

The poem begins:

 

                        Saying it. Trying

                        to say it. Not

                        to answer to

 

                        logic, but leaving

                        our very lives open

                        to how we have

 

                        to hear ourselves

                        say what we mean.

 

Of course! It’s not just saying it, but listening to ourselves as we say it. We are each our own audience, and the speaker. We are the meaning we mean to share. Looking for the right words is looking for definition, trying to refine one’s expression in word and deeds of a way of looking, seeing, and acting. Saying it is feeling, then doing, and then sharing. Saying it is loving something outside of oneself. Saying it is measuring and defining oneself. Saying it is the song of oneself. Saying it, finally, is trying to be certain that your life is about something.

 

The poem ends:

 

                        We wake, at night, to

 

                        imagine, and again wake

                        at dawn to begin: to let

                        the intervals speak

 

                        for themselves, to

                        listen to how they

                        feel, to give pause

 

                        to what we’re about:

                        to relate ourselves,

                        over and over; in                                 

 

                        time beyond time

                        to speak some measure

                        of how we hear the music:

 

                        today if ever to

                        say the joy of trying

                        to say the joy.

 

 

There. I can’t say it better than that, at least on this draft. Thank Goodness for poets.

—Todd

 

Yearbook—Big Thank you: “Many thanks to everyone who helped support the yearbook this year!  Community and family participation is what makes the book possible and is most appreciated!” – Lisa Burton

Graduation is Monday, June 7 at noon in the Unitarian Church. Dismissal for K-7 follows, and there is a graduation party for 8th graders and families at the Castine Yacht Club.  

Last Parent-Teacher Conferences. Would you like a final conversation with teachers? We have set aside the afternoons of June 1,2,3 and June 7, 8, 9 for half-hour conferences. Please call school to select a time slot.

The Blue Hill Public Library’s Summer Reading Program will begin June 21 and continue through August 14.  All children from ages 3  thru 12, both non-readers and readers, are invited to sign-up at the library.  The theme of the program is Make A Splash @ Your Library.  All programs and story times throughout the summer will focus on all things related to water.  Check the library’s events calendar at www.bhpl.net for the complete schedule of exciting programs or call Pat at 374-5515 for more information.  —Pat Horton.

 

Music Theory Workshop…I will offer three 1-hour lessons on music theory using the piano and the students primary instrument in the BHCS band room.  Lesson times will be available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 3:00 to 6:00 every other week starting the week of June 14 (followed by the week of June 28th, July 12th with a make-up lesson the week of July 26th.   More info will be sent home with students.    Please email me at bschubeck@bhcs.org with questions.            —Mr. Schubeck

 

PTC needs a new President: The PTC needs a new leader as Sue Goodson is stepping down after five years. Perhaps you would be interested in taking on this role?

Sue has been amazing and will be missed. There are all kinds of things that she does that no one knows about and she has served teachers, kids and parents well. Thank you Sue. 

Farmers’ Market Returns: It’s that time of year again! The Castine Farmers’ Market is Thursdays from 9:00am to 11:30am on Castine Common.  Many of your favorite vendors will be returning.  New vendors include fresh fish, melt in your mouth cheesecake, prepared food from Tandoor East, and guest artists with yarn, textiles, puppets, paper goods and more.
For safety reasons School Street will be closed from 8:00 to 11:30 on market day.  See you there!


School Calendar for Next year: The tentative first day of school is once again before Labor Day, on Thursday, September 2. This could change pending final school board and joint union board meetings.

 

Free Admission to Children's Discovery Museum! Thanks to a generous gift from the Friends of Blue Hill Public Library, patrons can now check out a free pass for up to 4 people to the Children's Discovery Museum in Bangor.  Patrons who wish to take advantage of this opportunity can reserve a date in advance by calling the library.  Library patrons can then pick up the pass for the day of their visit.  Only one pass per day is available for BHPL patrons.

            Maine Discovery Museum is the largest children’s museum in northern New England, with 7 interactive exhibit galleries on 3 floors. It is located on Main Street, in the heart of historic downtown Bangor. More information about the museum, including open hours is available at: http://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/. For more information about BHPL’s admission passes, please call Pat at 374-5515.

 

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ADAMS SCHOOL MENU                  JUNE 7TH – JUNE 10th


Monday- Turkey & Gravy, Rice, Yeast Rolls, Carrots, Fruit, Milk

Tuesday- (K-4 bag lunch) Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich, Juice, Sun Chips, Apples, Cookie, Milk (5-7 lunch) Fish Sandwich, Tater Tots, Orange Slices, Cookie, Milk

Wednesday- Ham Italians, Sun Chips, Cucumber Slices, Ice Cream, Milk

Thursday- Turkey & Cheese Roll Ups, Sun Chips, Juice, Orange Slices, Cookie, Milk

 

Still to come:


June

7       8th Grade Graduation.  Where:
Unitarian Church. When: Noon.

Dismissal follows end of graduation.
8       End of Trimester Three for grades K-7. 
8          K-4 field trip to Holbrook, 9-1:30.
9          Field Day (8th graders are invited).
10       Last student day: Beach Day at Backshore, after clean-up.
11       Teacher inservice
12      Barb Thomas Celebration: Emerson Hall.

 

July

 

August

 

September

 

2          First Student day….tentative.

 

 

Welcome to the 2010 Go! Soccer Academy Summer Soccer Camps.  Our staff is comprised of outstanding college, high school, and youth soccer coaches and players, committed to teaching the fundamental principles and skills of soccer.  Player development is our primary focus for each camp, with an emphasis on improving individual skill proficiency while having fun in a positive learning environment. Some local college players will be on hand to complete what promises to be an outstanding soccer experience.  Whether you are just starting out, or looking to elevate your game; we have the camp for you.  Please join the Go! Soccer staff for another exciting camp   season.

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COST: There will be a $10.00 discount provided to siblings.  Each player will receive a tee shirt.  All campers require a $50.00 deposit with registration, a completed application and medical history form, along with a copy of current insurance.  If you wish to purchase an Adidas ball for $25.00 please indicate on registration.  The remaining balance is due prior to the start of camp. Checks can be made payable to Go! Soccer Academy.

 

CAMP DIRECTORS

 

Travers Evans: Coach Evans is currently the Head Men’s and Women’s Soccer Coach at Maine Maritime Academy.  Prior to his stint at Maine Maritime Coach Evans was the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at the University of Maine for seven seasons. While at Maine, Coach Evans was named the 2003 America East Conference Coach of the Year.  Coach Evans has also been very active in the youth soccer scene serving as a head coach for the Black Bear United Football Club, and the Maine ODP program.  Coach Evans played collegiately at the Division 1 level for Northeastern University.

 

Erin Caprara: Erin Caprara enters her third season as the Assistant Soccer Coach at MMA. Before her arrival to MMA, Coach Caprara previously taught elementary physical education and coached high school soccer and lacrosse in western Massachusetts. In Erin's four years as the head varsity soccer coach at Longmeadow High School, she led her team to two Division 1 Western Mass Final appearances, winning the first Western Mass Girls Soccer Championship, and first league championship in school history. She was the recipient of the 2004 Pioneer Valley Soccer Officials Association Division 1 Coach Sportsmanship Award. Erin was also a member of the Soccer City Training Center Coaching Staff in Wilbraham Massachusetts.
Prior to the beginning of her coaching career Caprara played collegiately at Springfield College.

 

 

 Left to Right: Brooks Henderson, Jay Burnett, Todd Nelson
American School in London
Spring, 1972