OHCHS Teacher “Loves” a Widely Hated Fictional Character by Chelsea Rugg

Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) teacher, Brewster Burns, teaches the book The Stranger by Albert Camus to sophomores and claims to “love” the controversial main character, Meursault. The character is an existentialist/absurdist and rejects religion and society; things that most people in society today embrace. Most students exposed to the book develop a deep hatred for Meursault, so why does Burns say he “loves” him? After teaching the book for 25 years, he has come to know the character extremely well. Burns says that Meursault “calls into question why do we care about the things we care about, and the answer to the question why do we care about the things we care about is usually we care about them because other people think we should care about them.” According to Burns this question is important because “we are victims of a vast sentimental conspiracy that tells us what we should care about and what’s awesome about him is he just totally rejects all of those things. He refuses to feel the way he’s told he should feel about things and instead he just feels the way he does and doesn’t give in.” Burns doesn’t exactly believe that Meursault has everything all figured out but he does believe that he has “some things right” even though he is a “godless atheist. He says he thinks “religion and philosophy are both fascinating” and he likes “the idea of trying to figure out the best way to live to be the happiest you can be and different philosophies and religions offer different things.” He appreciates that Meursault knows not to give in to society. Criticism of the book pointed out by Burns is that it “seems to condone violence,” which he doesn’t think is the point of the book. The violence is meant to show that he lives a life “removed from societal expectations.” Burns believes that anyone can successfully remove themselves from giving in to society can live a “slightly better life.” Burns also braves the book in his classroom because he loves Meursault and likes to see the students show emotions toward such an old character because it shows how “timeless” the book is if kids today can still feel towards a character conceived so long ago. There is a scene in the book when Meursault sits on his balcony smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee all day long, not considering the past or the future or worrying about anything, just watching people below him. Burns claims that he tries to channel Meursault in this scene in the summer because “really doing nothing, not worrying about all the things you were supposed to have done but didn’t and being able to really enjoy the moment is really beautiful sometimes especially in the summer.” That is why Burns says that he loves him.

OHCHS College Essay Collection to be Published by Chelsea Rugg

Last spring an aspirations grant of $4,000 from the Oxford Hills Scholarship Foundation Committee was given to Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) English teacher, Pamela Chodosh. Her idea was to use the money to create a book of college essays written by students from graduating classes 2009-2014. Chodosh recruited OHCHS seniors Jake Allen, Jordan Schorr, Ben Cuomo and Diamond Westleigh to help. Another OHCHS senior and Oxford Hills Technical School graphic design student, Carly Sauro, will be designing the book and cover.

Chodosh gave each student a position, as this will be their senior project. Jake Allen is the “research assistant.” He makes sure everything, including the right to publish essays, is legal as it will be a published book. Jordan Schorr is the “point person.” She makes sure everything runs smoothly and organizes the project. Ben Cuomo is the “head of the editorial board” but others will contribute to the editing process. Diamond Westleigh will be “tying up loose ends.” She is also the assistant production manager.

The book gives students “a chance to get their work out in the world when otherwise it probably wouldn’t,” said Allen. “It’s just a cool opportunity.”

According to Schorr, the book will be important for future seniors. It will help them write their essays and figure out what to write about.

Schorr knows what it feels like to have no idea what to write about. She says, “The questions for writing a college essay are simple, but really connecting it to life and finding someone or something that influenced you is difficult. I don't want upcoming seniors to be as stressed about this as I was. They should enjoy senior year. Writing a college ‘essay’ isn't really an essay. It's more of a short story about yourself and how it either impacted you or how you handled the situation.” 

Schorr also believes that “it's a quick 650 words that can make or break your college acceptance letter. It helps the admissions officers to get to know you and help understand what makes you tick.”

Chodosh agrees with Schorr, saying that she sees the college essay as a “personal story that tells someone something about that person.” She is interested herself in knowing personal stories and as a writer thinks they’re important.

College essays are still being accepted from students up until it is time to publish the book. The essays will be reviewed by an student run editorial board. Though most essays will not be disqualified, they have to follow all college board college essay guidelines. Some authors will be contacted about edits.

The book will be available in print and online. It will be sold for a reasonable price. Some will be given to OHCHS for the library and guidance, but the cost depends on the cost of the book. It will likely be available online at Amazon. 

While the team hopes to have a book launch event, Chodosh says this is “not a money making venture.”

The essays in the book won't look like college essays according to Chodosh. “They will look like any other piece of published writing.” The student’s name will be published with the essay but anonymity is possible. No one should be hesitant about submitting their college essay as they can leave comments and concerns during the submission process.

Though the grant was awarded to Chodosh and the book was her idea the students are glad to be involved. 

Says Schorr, “I heard her saying she needed someone to work on it with her and thought it was a good idea.” She joined right away.

Jake Allen and Jordan Schorr, two students working on the book, with the flyer to promote the book to students.

Photo by Chelsea Rugg

Hat Day Makes a Change by Jasmine Roy

Jennah Iggulden, Sophomore English teacher at OHCHS, is having her students participate in a “Sophomore Project”. Their project is to make a change; make an impact. 

After speaking to Mr. Moccia, principle at OHCHS, he gave some details about what the project is about. “One girl came to me and said she has an idea. She wants to support these families that don’t have enough money to pay for heat.” 

So, OHCHS will be having a hat day this friday, (the 7th) to raise money for heat. Once the money is raised, it will be given to Community Concepts so they can give heating assistance to local families. 

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides money to help low-income homeowners and renters pay for heating costs. Recently, however, LIHEAP drastically cut the funds for heating costs due to lack of enough federal funding.

Now, everyone at OHCHS who participates in hat day will be part of making a change. “We give kids a sticker and they can wear a hat for a buck.. or more if they’re willing to donate. I think it’s a great cause. It’s sad when you think about families who are without heating oil when the temp is 15 below,” said Mr. Moccia. 
After having had ‘hat day’, OHCHS students and staff were able to raise around $300 dollars.

 Elizabeth Edwards student at OHCHS helps local families 

Oxford Hills breaks the Broadway Musical norm after 40 years by Maria Shively

“What’s Seussical?" asked Sean Merz, a staff member at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS). 

Kyle Jordan, one of the producers helping to put together Seussical answers this question.  

A “Seussical is a musical based on Dr. Seuss’ characters and settings to tell a story of community among other values,” Jordan explains. He and many others have been bringing the community of students and staff at OHCHS and Oxford Hills locals together to put on a biennial musical. 

“We have never repeated a show, in the 40 years we have been doing this,” says Jennifer St. Pierre, co-producer of the show and an alumni of OHCHS. Pierre has performed in many shows herself in the past.

“Traditionally putting on Broadway shows, this year’s Seussical is a departure from that Broadway community and an introduction to something new. This day and age community theater is going down and struggling to find an audience due to electronic media, and all the other entertainment available. So finding Seussical was perfect in the aspect of it's not just for one audience. It’s for all ages. Children, young adults, and adults, the whole family will love it,”  explains Director Andy Turner, who is local to the community of Oxford Hills.

“This year’s play will bring all this together with the story told by the Cat and the Hat of Horton, who finds ‘who’ on a speck of dusk. After the event of meeting each other Horton must  face a few challenges.  Along with the story is music from modern day, including a beautiful ballad, and even an Aretha Franklin-esque song. This is going to be a funky and colorful play. I don’t expect it to be anything less than amazing,” says Jordan. 

Because this isn’t a normal school production, the whole community of Oxford Hills is allowed to audition for any role in which they would like to partake.

“With Seussical, it’s no ordinary play. It’s a community event,” St. Pierre adds.

“These musicals we put on show the talent of locals around the community of Oxford. Our community is unique. We have eight towns and the arts of acting, singing, dancing and writing come from a long history of artistic talent. The only way that happens is through the support of the community,” says Turner.

“Let’s continue the tradition. Come to the show and support the people around you. We hope you see you all there,” adds Turner. 

Seussical will make its opening day debut on March 28. Show times are 7:30 P.M. on Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th, then again for a final matinee at 1:30 P.M. on Sunday the 30th. All shows are performed at OHCHS. Tickets are $12 for children and adults, $10 for seniors and students of OHCHS.  All tickets are available at Books N’ Things in Norway. 

Sorry but… You Are What You Eat by Jordan Schorr

Many new projects are being created in Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS), one in particular would the the project that Planet Arts is putting together about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s). Planet Arts is the club that was transformed out of the OHCHS Art Club into projects that are more project-based and educationally enriching for students. 

“Last year some of the Art Club members were frustrated with the lack of purpose in the club,” said Phil Hammett, the Planet Arts director. “We decided to focus on meaningful issues having to do with our health and environment, and do installation projects that would "make a splash".”

“Genetically modified organisms are plants or animals that have had their genes altered for a specific purpose,” stated Hammett.

It also involves the mutation, insertion, or deletion of genes within an organism which can cause many different problems with the human body. The students who are part of Planet Arts are trying to get the information out to the people in our community.

“That doesn't just mean drink your milk and eat your vegetables, people need to look into how they're food is grown, if pesticides are used, where they come from, and if they contain bad GMO's,” Carly Sauro explained, who is a Senior and a member of the Planet Arts. “Our main message is to pay attention to what you eat. It is more important now than ever before to eat healthy.”

To help get the information out to students in the high school and anyone who is located in the high school. The project includes a big pair of lips located right above the Main Office entrance with an arrow pointing down to it stating “You Are What You Eat”. Coming out of the mouth are pool noodles and plastic tubing which is put together in a way to look like a strand of DNA. Within the strand of DNA there is a black pool noodle which is to represent a “bad” GMO within the strand. There is also a sign beside the door of the Main Office which explains what GMO’s are and how they can affect ones health.

“However, I should point out that not all GMO's are bad,” explained Hammett, “the first genetically modified tomato allowed the tomato to ripen on the shelf, rather than be artificially ripened using ethylene gas. This is actually more healthful and results in better flavor.”

Although they don’t believe they will ever be finished because there are so many different things to discuss, they will be installing an interactive “website” on the wall in the Main Lobby to allow people to get more information if they seek to do so.

“We are also planning on having an Art show/ community day at the end of the year,” says Sauro, “so keep an eye out for it!”

Murder at the Bistro by Jordan Schorr

On March 14, 2014, friends, family, and neighbors got together at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) to watch the Drama Class perform Murder at the Bistro. This play is a short murder mystery, which involves a lot of interaction with the audience.

“We looked for a short play with the right amount of characters to match the size of our class.  This play had loads of humor in it and it was age appropriate,” explained Cynthia Kugell, the Drama teacher.

“I am part of the Project Grad committee and I have a daughter that is graduating this year.  Last year the Drama class worked with the OHCHS Library on a fundraiser for their department,” said Kugell. “Our drama class needs to do some type of production as part of the curriculum and a Murder Mystery benefit was a great fit.”

The audience turnout was greater than the class had expected. They had over 100 tickets to sell and had an audience of 75. The money raised from the Mystery Theater production was donated to Project Graduation.

“The audience was great!  They were very involved and I appreciated that they were kind to the students and generous with their "dollar bills" when it came time to answer questions,” explained Kugell. “ I felt that everyone had a good time and enjoyed the show.”

To increase the profit for Project Graduation, the actors went around to every dinner table with a list of questions that they would answer if the table paid a dollar.

Although this was a short play with a decent size audience, Kugell hopes that there will be a time when her class can put on another play.

“We had three returning students from last year’s class, so I am hoping for more seasoned actors to make next year’s performance even better,” said Kugell, her enthusiasm bubbling over. “Keep an eye out for another great Murder Mystery Dinner performed by a new group of drama Students in March of 2015!”

Melanoma Awareness in Oxford Hills by Jordan Schorr

Trends are a huge part at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) just like every other high school. At OHCHS, tanning has become one of these trends. Many girls and guys who do go tanning, go right into town at either Ocean Breeze Tanning Salon, Coconut Beach Tanning Salon, Hair Plus or in other salons close in distance. Chuck Martin, a science teacher at OHCHS, got a grant to sponsor a Tan Free Prom and many different events to spread the awareness about skin cancer.

“Six years ago I was diagnosed with melanoma. My wife had found a spot on my stomach and encouraged me to get it checked out,” said Martin. “I had the spot removed and haven’t had a problem since, but it definitely was an eye opener.”

The grant that Martin received was called “Skin Cancer Prevention and Awareness in Oxford Hills”. He plans to use this grant to provide ten sun canopies for athletic games and practices. For sports, he also plans on updating the district coaches handbook to include a section on skin cancer awareness and sunscreen use for coaches and athletes.

Martin plans on buying two informational bulletin boards that will show the heat index for outside. They will be placed at the Oxford Hills Middle School and OHCHS, continually being updated to let the students know about the high temperatures.

“Also, in April during Common Block, I’m inviting a guest speaker, who had melanoma, to talk about the importance of not tanning,” explained Martin. “There will also be a screening day for the OHCHS faculty to be checked by dermatologists. As for the students, there will be a UV light which will show the skin damage. It will hopefully help them understand that the damage is happening, they just are unable to see it.”

The Tan Free Prom will consist of a pledge that boys and girls at OHCHS can take before Prom. The students who do pledge will get a bracelet that says, “I pledged to go Tan Free-Prom 2014” and their name will be posted in the Cafeteria. They will also be entered into a drawing for a laptop, $30.00 Applebee’s gift card, and a free spray tan.

“Although no tan is a safe tan, spray tans aren’t as concerning as tanning booths. Booths tend to exceed UV limits and people often stay in the booths longer than the recommended time,” said Martin. “A recent study shows that more young girls getting skin cancer due to tanning between the ages of fifteen to twenty-four.”

A few other ways that Martin is getting the word out about Melanoma is the Skinny on Skin Program which educates hair stylists and massage therapists in the Oxford Hills area on detection of suspicious moles and spots on the body.

There will also be Public Service Announcements regarding protecting skin and getting screened annually. This will air over the local radio WOXO during May, which is also National Melanoma Awareness month.

Healthy OH 5k by Jordan Schorr

Ready to run? Three students from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) are putting on a 5k Run/Walk for their senior project. Randy Bosquet, Benjamin Morton, and Kelynn Laliberte decided that the organization of Healthy Oxford Hills would be a good group to donate the money.

“We love the idea that we are gathering a good portion of the community into an event that will go right back to the people,” said Bosquet.

“Healthy Oxford Hills is an organization does a lot of great work in the community, so we decided to give the money to them,” explains Morton.

The money that is raised from this event will help Healthy Oxford Hills work on the food insecurity issues in Oxford County. The event will take place on April 26, 2014 at the Oxford Hills Middle School. Registration will begin at 9:00am and the actual race will begin at 10:00am. The price to participate is $10.00 for students under 18 and adults who are over 60. Everyone in between those ages will pay $15.00. All of the registration money will be collected on the day of the event.

“We will feel very great when we hand over a check of what we hope will be a respectable amount of money,” Bosquet commented.

To sign up to participate in the 5k, go to the Healthy Oxford Hills website, find Randy Bosquet on Facebook, or call him at (207) 595-6429.

(photo by )

Teens give from the heart to other teens by Jordan Schorr and Maria Shively

Dec. 20, 2013 became a day to remember at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS). It’s the day when students and faculty at OHCHS raised $1000 in just a few hours for Christmas for Teens. Leanna Wielki and Elizabeth Gillespie, both juniors at OHCHS and members of the Varsity Cheering Team, first came up with the idea to create a hat day for students and staff at OHCHS. The only catch was each person would be asked to donate a dollar or more to wear a Santa hat or any  other of their choice

“It was the day before Christmas vacation, and I thought it'd be fun to spread some Christmas cheer and wear Santa hats,” said Wielki.

Later on she and her friend Gillespie decided to take their idea to the school principal, Ted Moccia.

“We chose Christmas for Teens because everyone deserves help during the holidays. The holidays are not only about receiving, but also [about] giving,” explained Gillespie and Wielki.

“Mr. Moccia is  an easy person to talk to and he takes our ideas into account,” Gillespie explained.

After a few hours, OHCHS students and faculty had earned a total of $1000.

“It was a great feeling seeing how many people donated just to donate, and to wear hats, because it was great to see the community and school come together like that to help each other out,” said Wielki.

Christmas for Teens is a non-profit organization which helps teens and their families in the Oxford Hills area during the holiday season. It is run by five people: Jean Delamater, Pam Colby, Carlene Treadwell, Kathy Bean, and Rhonda Maher. The check fo $1000 was presented to the organization soon after the money was collected. When Delameter came to pick up the donation, she was overcome with emotion.

“It’s a huge contribution to the charity and we appreciate it. We’re especially happy because it’s teens helping teens, and it says a lot about the community,” explained Delameter.

Christmas for Teens accepts donations from anyone. They are a non-profit organization. They have drop off bins in multiple locations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Hannaford, New balance and Ken and Thoms Flooring, along with a post office box #726 in Norway. Everything asked for by the over 200 families and teens they help tend to be items they need, rather than want. Christmas for Teens only accepts new items because they feel this is the one time a year their teens should get new items.

Delameter and the rest of the group members plan on keeping this charity going for as long as possible. 

“We don’t say no,” said Delameter, ““and we will never turn anyone down.”

Oxford Hills welcomes three new guidance counselors by Rebekah Fleck and Maria Shively

Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS), welcomes not only one, but three new guidance counselors to the 2013-2014 school year: Kevin O’Reilly, Rachel Paddock, and Stephanie Goss. 

Even though they may be new to OHCHS, counseling is nothing new to them. They each have experience working with students.  

Paddock attended UMaine Farmington where her undergrad was in psychology. She attended got her masters in school counseling at the University of Southern Maine. Says Paddock, “I have always wanted to be a guidance counselor, pretty much since high school.” She enjoys being a guidance counselor because she “likes working with kids and helping them with career development.” Paddock says, “I like working with kids on a short term basis, rather than therapists who have clients for 5 or 6 years.”

Stephanie Goss is the one person out of three who has experience working at OHCHS  Ten years ago she was a guidance counselor at the high school. Before that taught preschool, elementary school, and even was a camp counselor. She worked in Gray, Maine for 7 years as a counselor, and then moved on to Gorham. Goss says, “I really wanted to come back so when the position opened I applied.”

A guidance counselor for 19 years, Kevin O'Reilly graduated from Cape Elizabeth High School. He got his counseling degree from UMaine, but his undergraduate was at UMaine Farmington in Social Studies. He originally wanted to be a Social Studies teacher. O'Reilly says, "Basically I've always wanted to work with kids and I was originally going to be a teacher, but that didn't work out. A family friend suggested counseling, so that's what I got in to. So that's how I started." 

OHCHS is by far the biggest school O'Reilly has worked in. He says, "The other schools I've been in have been very small, so I think the largest school I worked at had about 350 kids. I haven't worked with other counselors in a job before so this is kind of a first.  Other places I've worked at . . . sometimes the environment isn't very friendly, but I find the people here and the kids here are pretty friendly." 

Nancy McClean, who is the head of the Guidance Department, says, "During the hiring process you could see they really wanted to help the students and be a part of the school community."

"I'm excited, Principal Ted Moccia, says, " I think the three new counselors that we have are all extremely talented and are very committed to helping kids. They are knowledgeable, they know their role but they also understand the college process and help kids. It's just a really good group down there right now. They are just awesome and they are doing a great job."

,

Replacing three members of a community can be a hard thing to do, but the people who stepped up to take on the responsibility are nothing but eager to follow in the previous counselors’ footsteps.