Laylah Denton
Recently, RSU3 has been closed numerous times due to the storms. Previously in December, this affected Mount View’s communications within the school causing it to close down for the entirety of a school week. There have been two snow storms since then that have caused the school to close including January 16th where there was a half day.
by Laylah Denton
This year’s craft fair at Mount View High School took place on Saturday, December 2nd. There were many vendors completely covering the high school gym, cafeteria, lobby, and middle school gym. The Juniors sold many pies in slices and in whole, while the Seniors did a raffle for an ATV. Clubs from Mount View High School like Library Club, Band, Choras, German, and more attended to fundraise for their clubs and trips. Many people won raffle prizes and bought unique crafts. It was a fun event for many people of all ages.
I had the chance to speak with some of the vendors.
“We’re at the Mount View craft fair and with one of the vendors here out of the almost 150 what’s your name?”
“My name is Angela, my business name is The Rustic Victorian.”
“How long have you had this business?”
“About a year.”
“What do you make? What are some things you make?”
“It is all handmade, handcrafted, recycled, repurposed, or redesigned home decor.”
“That’s awesome!”
“How many craft fairs have you done? Is this your first?”
“Uh, nope I have probably done ten.”
“Oh, so you’re busy! Do you have a personal favorite of certain items to make?”
“Anything that my grandkids can help me make. We’ve sewed some bags my 5-year-old grandson gets to help and he uses the ‘gas pedal’ on my sewing machine.”
“Would you come back to Mount View for their next craft fair?”
“Oh, absolutely there’s great people. It’s a really good thing to support Mount View High School and Middle School and it’s been a really nice Fair.”
“Awesome, thank you.”
“Thank you, have a great day.”
***
“Here we have Moon Shadow Mystics and Vinyl so how long have you been crafting, making candles?”
“So I’ve been doing candles for about 6 months now but I’ve been doing t-shirts for about 4 years, crystals and reiki for about just as long.”
“And I take it this isn’t your first craft fair.”
“This is my fourth one, my first time at Mount View though.”
“Do you think you’d come back to Mount View?”
“I definitely would come back.”
“Do you have a favorite thing to make? Are candles your thing right now?”
I really do enjoy the candles, my favorite though is making the dough bowls. These are really great and you can reuse the bowl and great scents too.”
“Awesome, well thank you very much. Is there a place where we can find you?”
“I am MoonShadowMystics@gmail.com and I also have an Instagram and Facebook page as well.”
“Awesome, thank you very much.”
***
“Also at the Mount View craft fair we have Bob’s Custom Turnings. How long you’ve been doing-”
“Seven years.”
“Seven years. That’s awesome. How often do you do craft fairs?”
This year I’ve done quite a few. I’m preparing for retirement life where I select the ones I want to go to. This is my fourth year coming here.”
“I was just going to ask, so this is your fourth year coming to Mount View.”
“Keep coming back because this is a good one.
“And I was going to say, are you going to come back next year?”
“Oh absolutely.”
“Awesome! So what are some of the things you make?
“Here we have my number one seller, the deer antler pen. Uh, it’s all made from Maine deer antler. But I have a lot of sports package things, we got pens, I got basketball, I got football, soccer, and I make throwing darts. I make hobby knives, and down here I got wine bottle stoppers, and then I got the ice cream scoop, pizza cutters, stuff like that.”
“Where can people find you? Do you have a website?”
“Uh no, not at the time. When I retire I’m going to put up a website, right now I’m still a school bus driver so I’m kind of busy. It’s only October through December that I’m really busy. I normally have everything jammed full and I got extras but I’ve been so busy at craft fairs selling faster than what I can make right now.”
“Awesome, we’ll see you next year Bob!”
“Yeah, thank you.”
“Thank you much!”
To see more interviews, extended interviews, and more about the Mount View craft fair visit Mount View RSU3 News on YouTube.
Laylah Denton
The Mount View Senior class of 2024 is currently looking into many different places to go to for their Senior trip. Seniors have been asked to anonymously drop in different possible travel destinations for the trip. Senior photos were due on October 31st and Seniors are now being asked to sign a form to be able to get their diplomas. More information about this will be out soon.
Laylah Denton
The Empty Bowl Supper took place last night, November 13th from 5:30 to 7pm at Mount View High School. All admission was by donation, sponsored by the Mount View High School National Honors Society. Participants enjoyed homemade soup dishes and the first 50 people to arrive received a homemade bowl. All proceeds from this event will go towards supporting homeless youth in RSU3.
by Laylah Denton
There are many events happening at Mount View in November. There was a winter choir concert on Wednesday, November 1st. Parent-teacher conferences were held on November 9th. There will be a blood drive that will take place in Mount View High School on November 14th in the gym. Lastly, the craft fair is coming up in December with lots of homemade items all throughout the high school.
by Laylah Denton
Every year the people of Thorndike gather together in Thorndike Village to celebrate the pride for their town. There were many vendors that sold handmade products of many varieties like stuffed animals, jewelry, decor, and baked goods. There was a chicken barbeque and many other types of food to choose from. The Maine Masons donated 2,000 dollars to the town of Thorndike to help rebuild the Veterans Memorial cemetery, and I had the opportunity to interview them,
“My name is Mayo Cookson, we’re an organization dedicated to charities to help mankind. We do some grants and deal with bikes for books, we do a senior citizen grant, community service projects for the youth, we assist Waldo County, and we give money to the vocational school for tools. Basically, what we are, we take good men and try to make them better.”
“How long have you been a part of the Maine Masons?”
“Close to 40 years. Yeah, it’s difficult to believe that I’ve been there that long.”
“Do you have any message you want to say, being a Mason?”
“The biggest thing we have is membership we’re always looking for new members. If you want to become a member you can always travel worldwide or countrywide. We are a worldwide organization.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome, I’d like to tell you more but I’m not a very good public speaker. When I first started if you had asked me to stand here and talk there is no way I could have done it. When I was 30 years old I was what you call shy but I got through. The Masons forced me into going out and talking to people. There’s always lessons. They basically call Masonry a secret society but we’re not secret, as a matter of fact I’ll invite anybody that would like to come over and learn. We meet here in Thorndike on Wednesday at 6:30. We have supper and our meetings are at 7:30. If anyone would like to come over to a good meal and learn more about Masonry they’re definitely welcome. We’re always looking for younger men. I mean we’re getting to the point where most of the members are- I’m 66 and a lot of our members are in their 70’s and 80’s and a few are making it into their 90’s. We need to recruit some new members is basically what it boils down to because we do a lot of good worldwide.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.” We also got the opportunity to interview other vendors, including Boxcar Books.
“Roughly when was Boxcar Books opened?”
“I opened in 2019, and then we were a little bit on and off for a couple years during the pandemic. Yeah, I’m mostly here on the weekends through the end of the year and then close for the doldrums of winter. It’s mostly used books. I’m an anarchist so I especially focus on leftist politics and sci-fi, you know, a little bit of everything.”
“I noticed a lot of things here like not just books but trinkets and other stuff. And you do like a pay-what-you-want kind of policy for certain areas if you want to go into that a little bit?”
“As for the non-book stuff I used to work in museums and I’m a bit of a magpie so I like to collect things and make it fun to discover. For the pay-what-you-want policy it’s just that Thorndike is such an out-of-the-way place I want to make it accessible to people. If you go to New York City you’re talking, first editions and stuff like that. I wanted to make it accessible for people to start their own collections and connect people with books and not make price an obstacle for that.”
“So it’s a base layer of accessibility?”
“Yeah, if people come in and they want to trade stuff or say someone is traveling with a backpack and a guitar and doesn’t have a lot of money I try to not make money, or lack of money a barrier to connecting.” And finally, an interview with Conscience Possibilities,
“Conscience Possibilities has been registered with the state for 27 years.”
“Where are you guys from?”
“Dixmont Maine.”
“What is your business about?”
“I mostly started with making organic medicines, so they’re natural solutions to everyday problems.”
“Is this a one-woman business?”
“It is.”
“Awesome! Is this your first year here at Thorndike Day?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Do you think you will come back?”
“Oh absolutely!” Mostly it’s in my genes to know how to go after the herbals. I like to see people well and happy. It’s a simple request.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You’re very welcome, thank you.” Thanks to all those who participated, Thorndike day was fun for everyone involved and if you want to see more about Thorndike Day including extended interviews, visit Mount View RSU3 News on YouTube for the full video.
by Laylah Denton
Q: Question
A: Answer
G: German student
Recently, Mount View had several German exchange students come to shadow our students and see what life is like in the United States. They did many activities and experienced many new things here in the United States. I had the opportunity to sit down with Stilla Andres, Merle Wolf, and Henriette Pellny to ask them questions.
Q: “Would you say your school is more urban or rural? Do a lot of students go there?”
A: “Yeah, a lot of students from around can come to our school because it is easy to get to the train station.”
Q: “How is school different here than it is in Germany?”
A: “I think we have more discussion in our class. We have oral marks for speaking with the teacher and we have more students in a class, we have about 22”
G: “Also, it’s kind of differently organized. The teachers don’t have their own classrooms, the students have their own homeroom and the teachers that teach the different subjects come to us.”
G: “Also the relationship between students and teachers is not so relaxed like it is here.”
Q: “Do you like the more relaxed part or do you like a more rigid style?”
A: “I think it’s a bit odd at first but it is nice because you don’t feel that much pressure talking to a teacher because we get graded for how we perform in talking to a teacher in class in a discussion. Here the teachers don’t expect that much from you and they also see you as human.”
“We also have a very small school, our school is very small compared to other schools in America.”
G: “I think we have about 1,000 students”
Q: “What are some differences between Germany and Maine?”
A: “Everything is so far apart. For example when you say you live in a small village it’s probably three houses with long distances in between the houses. When I say I live in a small village it’s probably around 400 people and the houses are actually next to each other.”
G: “I think a big difference is that you have mountains here because we live in the north of Germany and it is absolutely flat. I thought it was crazy when you’re on top of the mountain and you see all, but in the north of Germany that’s not possible. It’s just flat.”
Q: “Are there any cultural differences that surprised you or anything that was unexpected?”
A: “The pledge of allegiance. I was absolutely- not terrified but my face was like shocked. We were warned that you do that so we could get a heads up but it was still kind of a shock.”
Q: “Do you have anything that’s equivalent to that that you do?”
A: “No.”
“Nothing?”
G: “Nope.”
Q: “Do you celebrate your country at all?”
A: “No.”
G: “We just hang our flags up for maybe soccer games but with our history it’s not so easy to do.”
G: “We’re always scared to be considered a Nazi because of that. Patriotism is… not a good topic.”
Q: “It seems like Germany has one of the best Holocaust education systems and I wondered if that was helping you rebuild as a nation and be more patriotic. Have you seen any of that?”
A: “No, showing patriotism is not a big thing.”
Q: “Is there anything else that is surprising?”
A: “I don’t want to sound rude but we just talked about how we are at different points in our education. For example, I went to chemistry class the other day and they told me they just boiled water last week and that was something we did in 5th grade.”
“That’s not rude at all, it even differs from state to state here.”
G: “Yes, but when it comes to math the math team does stuff that I’m like ‘that’s what I’m gonna do next year when I graduate’. Also that you have so many things that we would consider extracurriculars. For example journalism that would be more like a school club.”
by Laylah Denton
MVHS homecoming just recently went by, and it was full of fun activities for students. The week started off with a late bonfire, there was music, a dunk tank, a foam machine, a blow-up obstacle course race from the military, and more. Several students volunteered to go inside the dunk tank while other students crowded around and attempted to sink their peers. The foam machine launched foam in a large pile across the ground, and students were able to run through it. Military recruiters brought a large blow-up obstacle course and students were lined up to race each other through it. The bonfire was a very exciting way to start off a week full of homecoming activities.
by Laylah Denton
Not many people can say they have met an NFL player, although students in Mount View Middle School can. NFL player Matthew Mulligan visited MVMS to talk to students, not all about football, but about how helping and supporting others can go a long way. Mulligan chose students to step down and complete an obstacle course, starting with putting on his Patriots jersey, passing a football back and forth with him, jumping hurdles, and ending with tossing the ball into the goal. He taught the students that by encouraging others it makes it much easier to achieve their goals. He mentioned how Tom Brady welcomed him to the team, and how that made him feel that although he was new to the team, he was welcomed.
Mulligan told the students that he didn’t start playing football until his Sophomore year in college at Husson, and that he worked his way up to the NFL being the only NFL player from Maine. He read a book to the students that was written by him and his wife Stephanie Mulligan titled Just a Kid from Maine. The book is about how no matter where you’re from or where you start you can achieve anything you want to, even if you’re just a kid from Maine. Some of the students were interviewed by channel 7 news,
“I didn’t know he didn’t play football until his Sophomore year in college, it shows you can do just about anything if you put your mind to it.”
by Laylah Denton
Students in Mount View High School now have the opportunity to learn any language they choose. New to this year, a class opened up for students called World Language and Culture Exploration, where students can learn any language they choose. Languages students have chosen to study include French, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and more. Students practice their language skills every day and work alongside other students learning the same language. Occasionally, they are also given projects with many varying topics to learn about their language. This class will be very beneficial to students who are interested in learning languages outside of Spanish and German.
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