Our second semester of the school year has arrived and with it a new staff for Voicing the View. I look forward to working with this dynamic group of writers. In just week two of the course, they are already offering fresh and exciting ideas. If you have an upcoming event announcement, a story idea, special projects, or creative lessons of interest, please reach out to me at dcallahan@rsu3.edu or to one of the students listed below. We love sharing all of the wonderful activities that happen here at Mount View High School with students, staff, community.

Orion Hudson

Hello, my name is Orion Hudson, a new member of the Voicing the View (V.T.V.) staff. I like heavy music, I play guitar, and I like watching TV shows. Now that I am part of the V.T.V. staff, I would like to get to know people and find out stories that help the student body and staff to know what’s going on and what will be going on. I originally didn’t know that this existed until last week, and now I am excited to see how it goes. I am going to try to write interesting stories that focus on music and that keep you up to date with all the latest events.

Schuyler Hunt

My name is Schuyler-Mae Hunt, but I just go by Schuyler. I enrolled in the 2024, second-semester, Journalism class to write about problems, and events in our local communities, I’m also interested in writing about different arts or recent criminal activity within the communities.

Noah Hurd

My name is Noah. I am a 17-year-old from Waldo, Maine. I am a new staff member for Voicing the View, I like hunting, fishing, and anything to do with the outdoors. I am a 3 sport athlete. I play Soccer, Basketball, and Baseball, I will actually be playing baseball at Husson University next year. I am interested in taking this class because I enjoy writing, and I will be able to write about things I like to do, and I will get to share that with my peers. 

Jillian Jewett

Hello All! I am Jill Jewett, I am a Senior here at Mount View High School and a new writer for our newspaper Voicing The View. I love to be outside, I enjoy hiking, fishing, and going on spontaneous adventures. I took this class because I enjoy writing, and I want to feel more connected to the community, I feel as though gaining information to write a weekly story will help me do that. I do not necessarily have hopes to become a journalist; however, it is not out of the realm of possibilities. I look forward to writing weekly stories for the people that make up our wonderful community. 

Mary Macary

Hello to readers of Voicing the View. My name is Mary Macary, and I am a new staff member to the school paper. I am a senior who enjoys drawing, playing Nintendo games, and hanging out with my friends. I took an interest in journalism due to my interest in writing, as well as my passion for the arts. One of my goals is to bring more awareness to the arts within the school and show off how talented and skilled our students here at Mount View are. I hope that through journalism I can achieve this goal and more!

by Selena Robbins

Q: Tell me about yourself.

A:      Well, I grew up in this district and graduated from Mount View High School in 1990.  As a student here, I enjoyed playing field hockey with Mrs. Hewitt and participating in one-act plays and fall musicals with the drama club. I studied biology and geology in college and then went on to study education as a graduate student.  Before coming to teach here, I taught in southern Maine, overseas at the Lincoln American school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mount View Junior High, and in the Belfast school district. I live in the RSU #3 district with my husband, son Ruben, and dog Woodrow. My other son, Isaac, is off at college in Montana. I am enjoying being back here at Mount View as a teacher!

Q: What makes a ‘good day’ at school?

A:  It is a good day when the lessons I planned go well, meaning students learn something or practice a skill and ideally get a chance to collaborate with each other. 

Q: What inspires you?

A:  I find it inspiring to meet new students and learn about what interests them.  It is also inspiring to meet other educators and learn from their experiences.

Q: How do you remember all of your students’ names?

A:  I try to think of some other connection to help remember their name. For example, is there someone else they look like or some connection I can make with the first letter of their name? For some students, I have a connection or memory with a relative of theirs and that helps. For some reason, it took me a while this year to learn the many names of students who have names beginning with “C”. 

Q: What differences do you see in your morning students versus the afternoon classes? 

A: I think my morning class is sometimes not quite awake yet.  My afternoon group is definitely fully awake. 

Q: If you could grow up in any decade, which would you choose?

A: I think I’d stick with the 70s and 80s. Ponchos and legwarmers…too fun to give up. I still enjoy music from those decades, too. 

Q: What is your dream vacation?

 A:   My dream vacation would be to go hut-to-hut Nordic ski touring in the Alps. Ideally, the hut would have food provided. Skiing, a view, and not hauling my own food would be great! 

by Selena Robbins

Mrs. Sue Von Oesen has joined Mount View High School as a Special Education teacher. She recently sat for the following interview to help us get to know her better.

Q: Tell me about yourself.

A:   I live in Unity with my husband and my three kids.  My oldest son is a Senior at Thomas College, my daughter is a Senior here at MVHS, and my youngest son is at MVMS.  I love reading and hanging out with my family.            

Q: What makes a ‘good day’ at school?

A:  Any day that I feel like I made a difference to a student, either helping them to understand something or listening to them talk about a problem. 

Q: What inspires you?

A:  I’m lucky to be inspired by other teachers in the building and across the district. 

Q: What’s the best/worst thing about being a teacher?

A: The worst thing is worrying about my students all the time. It’s also the best because that means that I have made a good connection with them. 

Q: How do you remember all of your students’ names?

A: I’m lucky that I don’t have that many names to remember, but it did take me two weeks to remember all the kids in my Advisory class. 

Q: What differences do you see in your morning students versus the afternoon classes? 

A: Not much. There isn’t as big of a difference as there is with the younger students.

Q: If you could grow up in any decade, which would you choose?

A:  I would choose the 80s.  I did grow up then, but I would still choose it, as it was the best!

Q: What is your dream vacation?

A: Staying at a cottage on the coast of Maine and just enjoying the beach. 

by Selena Robbins

By Selena Robbins

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mount View High’s new assistant principal, and I asked some questions to help get to know him and his theories on education-related issues.

Mr. David Currier comes to us from Erskine Academy where he taught for nine years in the Social Studies Department. When asked what he does in his spare time, he expressed that with a one-year-old, a three-year-old, and a dog, a Vizsla (Veez-Luh) at home, he doesn’t have much spare time, but when he does, he enjoys woodworking and selling small wood pieces.

I asked Mr. Currier what the word success means to him. He sees success as setting and achieving personal goals. With that in mind, I followed up by asking what some of his own personal goals are. He replied, “Personally, I’m trying to get all my logins registered and all of the computer information straight.” He also pointed out that another goal is to clean up and reorganize his office because, in the last 4 years, there have been four different people in it.  

When asked what he thought the most exciting thing happening in education today is, Mr. Currier responded with the following, “The most exciting thing, I don’t know if exciting is the right word, but the thing creating the biggest stir Is the issue of the teacher shortage.” He feels that leaders in the field of Education are looking for ways to compensate for that. He continues by saying, “We’re going to have to have to offer all our traditional courses and also offer all those Twenty-First Century kinds of courses. For example, we want computer science in our classrooms. My father-in-law is in computer science. We can’t afford to have him come to teach you guys coding. We can’t do that. He used to work at Unity as a side hustle for 120 dollars an hour. How could we get someone in here if you’re interested in that route without bankrupting our school?” 

I asked Mr. Currier to tell me about his personal experience as an administrator in a school. He expressed that he has only been an administrator for a few weeks, and each day, he learns more about what he doesn’t know. It has been a whirlwind trying to learn the computer program and processes. 

Finally, I wanted to know what he sees as an immediate challenge to overcome in this position. He felt that overcoming the COVID gap is a challenge for every school in America right now. He continued, “There were a lot of bad behaviors that developed during those years or a lot of bad habits that teachers let slide and administrators let slide,”  and it has been challenging to try to get back to normal.

It’s a brand new school year, and the new Journalism class/ Voicing the View staff has been preparing to bring you the latest Mount View High and community news, feature stories, sports recaps, and club and class updates. You can look to Voicing the View for upcoming events and volunteer opportunities as well. You may see student achievement spotlights and have the opportunity to learn more about new faculty and staff. We are always on the lookout for story ideas and event listings, so please reach out to one of this semester’s staff members or facilitator Ms. Callahan in room H-208 or at dcallahan@rsu3.org with suggestions, requests, or to submit a story as a guest contributor. Now, let’s meet your Voicing the View staff..

Returning as a guest contributor, we have Wyatt Bennett.

My name is Wyatt and I enjoy writing about sports and outdoor activities. I like to write about school sports like football and basketball as well as college football and basketball. Outdoor activities I enjoy writing about include hunting and fishing. I personally like hunting for deer and bear. 

New to the staff…

Rylee Corson

Hi my name is Rylee Corson. I’m a senior at Mt.View High School. I’m going to be writing about sports and giving reviews of the games and the final scores. I also want to write about the NBA and about reviews on the games and the standings. I also want to do stories about hunting and featuring the big kills this year. 

Laylah Denton

My name is Laylah Denton, and in Journalism, I am interested in writing just about any type of article for Voicing the View. I will be doing interviews, writing about school news, and writing about events outside of school such as field trips to Husson University and attending and writing about Thorndike day. There, I will be making a video for the school that will be on YouTube, which will include interviews with attendees and sellers. I’m also in video production so I can get many ideas for community and school news to bring to Voicing the View. I really like Communications, including video and film. 

Lydia Hubbard 

My name is Lydia Hubbard and I am a Junior at Mount View High School. I enjoy the outdoors, agriculture, hunting, and baking. I am also planning to attend local events in the community which I will be writing about and giving reviews on for Voicing the View. 

Selena Robbins 

Hi I am Selena Robbins. I have a strong interest in writing because I want to become an author. I have a strong interest in writing about things that happened in the past, and I also have a strong interest in writing about astronomy. Some events in astronomy that I like to write about are the asteroid that was supposed to hit us but Jupiter got in the way back in 1994. I am taking Intro to Journalism because I have a strong interest in writing, and after high school, I am going to go for a career for writing. I am actually writing a book of my own based on the solar system and the stars.

by Brooklynn Brown

Our school has had many great teachers and staff members throughout the years. Among these is Mrs. Faulkner, a very important member of the Mount View staff.

Day in and day out, Mrs. Faulkner provides a variety of services to our students and the general community. Finding community service opportunities can be difficult at times, but Mrs. Faulkner is always scouting out ways for students to earn the required hours for graduation. In addition, she helps students apply to colleges by setting up appointments with college representatives.

Most admirably, she is always donating clothing and hygiene products to kids who need them, and they are available for use in the counseling office.

It is clear from her acts of kindness that the students of Mount View are her biggest priority at school, and even when school is not in session, she is still always working hard to put smiles on the faces of the many kids in our community. Mrs.Faulkner states, “I love my job as a secretary because I love helping kids, creating a safe space for them, and seeing new and old faces!”

It is an honor to have someone as kind as her on the Mount View staff!

by Brooklynn Brown

Ms.Perkins went to college for her undergraduate degree at Thomas College where she met her husband. She also got a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and graduated a semester early because she did a semester-long internship at a mental health agency called Sweetser. She first started working in mental health at a residential group home for teenagers. She worked full-time while going to school full-time at the University of New Hampshire where she got her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy and did in-home treatment and home therapy. Once she graduated with her master’s, she then became a therapist at Mount Arat Middle and High School. Once she and her husband bought a house in Palermo with her kids, she became a therapist at China Primary School and China Middle School. She later heard about the opening at Mount View from a fellow friend and felt that this position would be a good fit for her and couldn’t wait to work with teenagers again. 

1. What made you decide to become a therapist?

I’ve always really wanted to help people. I really enjoy listening to people’s stories and being an agent of change. I am very humbled and honored by each student’s vulnerability. 

2. What made you choose Mount View?

Ms.Gray mentioned the job, and once I came to Mount View I felt valued in my position. It’s a great opportunity to create some positive lasting change for the Mount View community. 

3. What makes you excited about this new position?

I am excited to work with the whole student body. In previous jobs, I would have a small strict case load, so I’m excited to work with these students.

4. What do you hope to bring to Mount View? 

I hope to bring more hope to the community and to instill a culture of vulnerability, where we can ask for help and where we can be ourselves without judgment and be accepted in this community.

5. How do you feel about our environment/community?

I’m new to this environment and community, but I’ve gotten good vibes. It’s a small community so words travel fast, but that also means good things can travel fast. Because it’s so small, the teachers and the support staff are actively involved in trying to make a difference. 

6. What has been your favorite part of this job so far?

My favorite part has been getting to know the students. It’s nice to come in and see bright faces, and even sad faces. I’m excited to be able to help people feel better and get through their day even if it’s hard, and I applaud them and like to see that growth.

7. What has been the hardest part of your job so far?

The hardest part would be trying to learn and adjust to procedures and adjusting those to my needs and the needs of this position.

If you need any support at school Ms.Perkins is available in the Counseling Office. If you need help or just want to talk, stop by the Counseling Office or send her an email.

by Brooklynn Brown

Mr. Page went to the University of Presque Isle for a degree in Elementary Education, where he also played 4 years of varsity soccer. When he graduated, he got his first job in Burwick, Maine working at Noble Junior High School. He has taught in all different parts of Maine and then taught for 3 years in Japan where he also met his wife. He later came to Mount View to teach 6th and 7th-grade science for the past 12 years and coached girls’ soccer for the past 10. Mr. Page has also traveled to many different countries. Mr. Page now resides in Winslow with his wife and 2 kids, working as our assistant principal and coaching girls’ varsity soccer.

Mr. Page answered the following questions for Voicing the View.

What made you decide to become an assistant principal?

About 6 years ago a young teacher was taking administration classes, I thought I would try it out and became more and more interested, and then the job as an assistant principal opened up at Mount View. This is my first time really working at the high school level besides my first job in Japan.

What made you choose Mount View?

I was teaching at Fryeburg School, and my job was cut. I filled out a lot of job applications and came to check out Mount View. On the ride here, I got to Palermo and thought, What am I doing here? From Freedom General to Hill Top, I had to follow a pig waste truck, and that’s when I thought, I’m going to turn around and go home, but I went and had my interview and enjoyed the people, and that’s how I got a job as a science teacher fo r12 years.

What makes you excited about this new position?

Sometimes in order to grow, you have to challenge yourself.  I wanted to try something new and challenge myself. When the position opened up, I was really excited to try it and get to work with kids that I’ve known since middle school. I love the students at Mount View and the people in RSU #3.

What do you hope to bring to Mount View?

I hope to bring enthusiasm and energy to make Mount View a place where students want to be and want to be here every day and want to be part of our school, and to help them and be a part of their growth and also education after Mount View, whether that’s college or straight into the workforce

How do you feel about our environment/ community?

I think so far I’ve experienced nothing but positivity. I know there are areas we need to work on as far as environment and culture, but I think overall this is a really great place to be, and as far as the community overall I love it. I love the people, students, and families. and it’s a place I really enjoy being.

What has been you’re favorite part of the job so far?

I think just greeting the people in the morning and saying hello and interacting and reconnecting with past students that I haven’t connected with in a couple years since middle school. 

What has been the hardest part of you’re job so far?

The hardest part so far has been that I haven’t been a principal or worked at the high school, and I don’t know what I don’t know, and I didn’t know what to ask. High school is a different world after 12 years of teaching middle school.

by Brooklynn Brown

Mount View High School welcomes a new principal this year. Mr. Gray was born and raised in Delaware. He went to college at the University of Delaware where he met his wife while doing plays. He was also part of an acapella group called the Deltones. After college, he and his wife both decided they wanted to go to Bangor, Maine, and start their family. At that time, he wasn’t involved as much in music anymore. Mr.Gray started a job working at Enfield Station School working as a 1v1 aid where he realized his love for teaching, and he went back to college to earn a teaching degree. A little while later, Mr. Gray secured a year-long position at Mary E. Taylor Middle School in Camden, teaching 8th-grade social studies. When a permanent job opened at Camden Hills Regional High School where he was a history teacher, drama, cross country, and track coach. Mr.Gray went back to college to get a second Master’s degree in History, and later a third in School Administration. A position at Mount View High School later opened up in need of a principal, and he felt that it was his time to step up and help the school and community. Mr.Gray now resides in Maine with his wife, 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 8 chickens. Mr.Gray is also now a part of a band as a singer called The Right Track. He said, “It’s super fun and I love it.”

Mr. Gray answered some questions for Voicing the View.

Question #1- What made you decide to become a principal?

For a long time, I didn’t want to. I wanted to be a teacher and loved it. I have been a teacher for a long time. During my time as a teacher, I served on the school interviewing committee and during my time serving, I realized that not a lot of people wanted to step up. I felt that good people need to step up because it’s an important job.

Question #2- What made you choose Mount View?

I had a strong feeling that I could be of use. When I had my interview, I enjoyed the people, and I’ve always known about Mount View since my wife graduated from here.

Question #3- What makes you excited about this new position?

I feel like I have a good opportunity to help our school and community. Mount View is so understaffed, and Covid hit the community hard. There are a lot of families in the community with needs, and I have a strong desire to be helpful. I also feel as though I already fit in here.

Question #4- What do you hope to bring to Mount View?

I hope to bring a sense of community and to bring pride to Mount View. I also like to sing in our school assemblies.

Question #5- How do you feel about our environment/ community? 

It’s a good community with strong families and good values. Sure it has its problems, but the people around here are proud of the school and put their hearts and souls into it, real, authentic, and not pretentious. 

Question #6- What has been you’re favorite part of your job so far?

Getting to know the students, developing relationships with the students, and helping kids with their needs.

Question #7- What has been the hardest part of you’re job so far?

I don’t know what I don’t know. I’ve never been a principal, and there are so many new protocols and ways Mount View does things that I’m not 100% with yet.

It’s an exciting new year at Mount View High School, and we here at Voicing the View, your school newspaper, are preparing to begin sharing the stories that matter to you. We have new staff members who are enthusiastic about getting to know you and sharing your news and events.

Isabelle Holt is a senior at MVHS. She is a varsity soccer captain and has been a part of the Student Council since 8th grade. She is running for Student Council president this fall. She was inducted into the National Honors Society in the Spring of 2022. She is part of the Craft club, Art club, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She enjoys pottery, reading, painting, swimming, and spending time outside. She is excited about becoming more experienced in writing while being a part of the Journalism course and as a writer/reporter for Voicing the View. 

Hiro Foye is a sophomore at MVHS and a new member of the Journalism class. He values different forms of art, which include writing, sculpting, drawing, music, etc. His ultimate goal is to become an entrepreneur and create his own brand of high-end pet products ranging from pet toys to collars and leashes. He decided to join the Journalism class for both the credit and to help out. Some of his Journalism-related strong suits are his vocabulary, spelling, and wording. These skills will add a sense of professionalism to the articles and reports written in this year’s Journalism class. Hiro is hoping to be a helpful and useful member of the team and provide detail and accuracy in the news.

Kelsea Doughty is a senior at MVHS. She enjoys reading and writing. Kelsea is also a captain of the varsity girls’ soccer team. She is going to cover the sports aspects of Voicing the View. Kelsea plans to go to college after high school. She also would like to pursue a career as a paralegal/legal assistant. Kelsea is excited to become a better writer in Journalism and work to improve MVHS school spirit through inspiring stories and interviews. 

Lexi Cluney is a senior at Mount View High School who is a new member of Voicing the View. She really enjoys writing and making journal entries about things that she’s read. Her goal this year is to help the school with having more school spirit and informing people about upcoming events like homecoming and games and just getting the school more involved in general. As for school subjects, she enjoys Mrs. Hewett’s art classes and English classes. She has always had a passion for writing essays and stories. She is excited to write and work as a part of Voicing the View. 

Brooklynn Brown is a senior participant of Voicing the View. She plays on the girls’ soccer team. She wanted to try something new by signing up for Journalism and Voicing the View to learn interviewing skills to help her future work career. She enjoys writing about things that interest her and likes to learn new things about people. She hopes to open up the students’ eyes and keep them updated on the things happening not only at Mount View but also in our community. She is hopeful that students will be able to stay caught up with the school news and help bring our community together. 

Breana Marr is a senior at MVHS who just recently joined the Journalism class. She enjoys writing and socializing, so her plan this year is to stay caught up on important upcoming events and make people aware of them ahead of time so that more people will become involved!

Ms. Callahan continues as the advisor for Voicing the View. She hopes that this year’s staff will continue to provide stories of interest to all students and highlight some of the great accomplishments of Mount View students and staff. Her vision for the future of Voicing the View is to eventually include a print version and continue to build a community connection. Please seek out or email any of our staff members with your story ideas, and email Ms. Callahan (dcallahan@rsu3.org) with any announcements that your team, club, or other organization would like included in Voicing the View. We also welcome outside story contributors. Reach out to Ms. Callahan or one of our staff members if you are interested in adding your voice to Voicing the View.

Look for new stories beginning the week of September 12th.