Graduating Seniors: The Future of Oxford Hills by Shannon Kriger

Ryan Boucher

For graduating seniors, deciding on postsecondary plans after high school is far from easy. But for Ryan Boucher, a current senior at OHCHS, the crucial decision wasn’t all that complicated.

Since Ryan was a kid, he’s had his eyes on Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine. He’s always had an interest in both engineering and ships, making the major marine engineering technology at Maine Maritime the perfect fit for him.

“My dream job is to ship out on a large vessel for 10 years, and then retire after those 10 years and fine a small shore side job along the lines of engineering,” Ryan explained.

What had initially sold Ryan on the idea of working in the marine engineering field was the money and the work hours. Working on a ship is much different than your typical career where you work a set amount of hours every week with certain days off.  When working on a large vessel, you get shipped out for roughly three months at a time. After those three months, you get to go home for another three months and spend time with family and do as you please. Ryan’s definitely looking forward to his long breaks from work so he can spend it how he likes.

When it comes to leaving the Oxford Hills area, Ryan has mixed feelings. He’s going to miss the fun times he’s had in Oxford Hills and the memories he’s made, but he’s ready to move forward in his life.

“I’m excited to go to college because it’s a new start. After a while, the same scenery, the same people, the same teachers, and the same lifestyle gets old. And that’s why I’m excited to have such a big change in my life.”

Ryan will surely miss many of his fellow students at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, but is eager to take his first big step towards adulthood and his future career.

Dehlia Shaw

Although senior Dehlia Shaw has lived in Oxford Hills her entire life, she’s ready to branch out and go away to college.

Dehlia is going to be attending the University of Maine at Orono this Fall for nursing. Even though University of Maine at Orono is much different and larger than Oxford Hills, Dehlia’s prepared and eager to start the new chapter in her life.

Dehlia had contemplated attending numerous Maine universities throughout the beginning of her senior year, but upon touring the campus at UMaine, Dehlia realized that she belongs in Orono.

“As soon as I visited, I fell in love with the campus and the campus life. I love that it’s such a big school and has so many great programs. I decided on this college because of their great nursing program,” Dehlia disclosed.

As a nursing student, Dehlia plans on becoming an RN. One day, she hopes to get her masters and work at a big hospital.

Dehlia decided that she wanted to become a nurse as a little girl. As a child, she would always try and help others and take care of them. Now, Dehlia intends on turning that passion into a career and helping patients that are in need.

Moving away from Oxford Hills will be hard on Dehlia, but she’s looking forward to start her life and work towards her dream job.

“I am looking forward to leaving Oxford Hills, but I am also very sad. I am going to miss the caring teachers and the friends I have made in my class over the past six years. It’s been bittersweet,” Dehlia clarified.

As a long time field hockey player, Dehlia hopes to join a club team at UMO so she can still compete in the sport that she loves.

Along with her field hockey memories in Oxford Hills, Dehlia will also always remember celebrating Winter Carnival at the high school. Not only has she competed in every annual pie eating contest since when she was in 7th grade, but she has also won every single won.

Competing in the pie eating contest for the past 6 years is what Dehlia will miss the most about the Oxford Hills High School.

“It’s a great feeling having your class cheer you on and get excited for you”, Dehlia commented.

Like many other high school seniors, Dehlia’s anxious about leaving home to go to college. But with her ambition and kindness, it’s obvious that Dehlia will be successful and go far in the medical field. 

Cole Everett:

Although Cole Everett may not be investing in a post secondary education, he knows exactly what he wants to do with his future.

Cole is a senior at Oxford Hills this year, and he intends on going into his family’s successful logging business, Jim Everett and son logging, once he graduates.

“I’m going into this business because I love the job and I fell in love with being in the woods and out in the Maine wilderness. I’m a very outdoorsy person and I’d much rather work than sit around everyday. It’s our family business, so that also got me interested in just pursuing the career rather than going to college,” Cole elucidated.

The business was opened the summer of three years ago by Cole’s father, James Everett.

Cole plans on staying in the business once he retires. Once his father retires, he will most likely inherit the company and run it himself.

Cole will not be leaving the Oxford Hills community after high school. His family business’s garage is located right in Norway, and although they complete jobs all around Maine, Oxford Hills will always be where Cole’s heart belongs.
“I’d like to live in Waterford when I’m older because not only is there a lot of space and freedom, but the snowmobile trails and fourwheeler trails are extremely convenient,” Cole mentioned.
Although Cole plans on staying in Oxford County, he realizes that graduation is the last time he’ll be seeing a lot of his classmates he’s befriended that he’s been going to school with for numerous years. And even though Cole will miss high school adn the people in it, he’s ready to move forward in his life.  One high school memory that Cole will keep with him for the rest of his life is playing in the Class A Eastern Maine Championship last year for basketball. 

“Having that moment in my basketball career was amazing, especially after all the work I’ve put in since I started playing basketball in boosters,” Cole acknowledged.

Cole may not be leaving Oxford Hills once he graduates, but his positivity and kindness with certainly be missed next year in the high school.

Anna Winslow:

Whether it’s on or off the court, Oxford Hills senior Anna Winslow is ready to take on whatever life throws at her.

Ever since Winslow played for the Central Maine Community College’s women’s basketball coach on his travel team in Auburn, she knew that CMCC was a perfect fit for her.

“I chose to go to CMCC because of the opportunities they have to offer me. I love the atmosphere they create around the school and the basketball team,” Winslow explained.

Although Anna is currently unsure as to what she will be majoring in, she knows what she wants long term wise. For as long as she can remember, she’s fantasized about raising a family of her own and running her own dairy farm. Raising money for her family through farming while also having them by her side is Anna’s dream.

Although Anna won’t be too far from home at CMCC, she’s going to miss the familiarity of the Oxford Hills community.

“I’m a little sad about leaving my family and not living at home, as well as not playing high school sports anymore. But I’m really comfortable at CM and am very excited to be a part of their winning basketball tradition. As a whole, I’m looking forward to start a new chapter of my life,” Anna asserted.

Anna will always remember and cherish the good times she’s had at OHCHS over the past few years. Her favorite memory being helping her team win the Class A Eastern Maine Finals last year and then moving on to compete in the Class A State Finals game.

“Both were pretty amazing experiences, and I can’t wait to see where the rest of this season brings my team,”

It’s safe to say that Anna will make her friends and family proud at CMCC and she will be missed at the high school.

Oxford Hills Seniors Keep Spirit of Deceased Friend Alive by Shannon Kriger

Although Josh Wardwell died at a far too young age, his compassion and spirit will always be remembered and cherished by numerous individuals. Josh was a senior at Oxford Hills when he passed two years ago. He was known for his love for hunting and trapping, as well as airplanes, even taking the time to build his own. There was no doubt that Josh had lived his short life to the fullest.

Jade Morin and Savanna Morin are seniors at Oxford Hills this year, and are hoping to keep the memories of Josh even more alive by fundraising for a scholarship in his name. Jade Morin was a close friend of Josh’s, and her cousin Savanna Morin was Josh’s girlfriend at the time of his death.

“Josh was my boyfriend, who quickly became my best friend. We did so many things together in such a short amount of time, and the memories will surely last forever,” Savanna disclosed.

For their senior project, Jade and Savanna have created a raffle calendar for the month of February. There’s a new prize every day and the winner for each prize will be randomly selected and then contacted to receive their reward. There are numerous valuable prizes on the calendar, such as a $100 CN Brown card, $75 Walmart card, ski passes to Shawnee peak, $100 cash, a years worth of free oil changes, and much more.

The profits from the calendar will be going directly into a scholarship held under Josh’s name. This scholarship will then be given to an automotive student of Oxford Hills that intends on continuing to study automotives. Josh had taken the automotive class himself and enjoyed his three years of being a part of the program.

When asked why she chose this calendar for her senior project, Savanna replied, “Josh will never be forgotten in this community, and this is just a way to keep him here and let him know how important he was and still is.”

Jade and Savanna have put in countless hours towards this project, and are hoping for the best possible outcome.

“It means a lot to me. We are working very hard on it, and it feels awesome to start seeing the success,” Jade mentioned.

Of course, Jade and Savanna could not have done it all themselves. With the help some generous businesses and individuals in the Oxford Hills community, the Morins were capable of putting together an impressive calendar with a wide range of prizes.

“We’d really like to thank anyone who is involved with the success of this project. This means a lot to us and Josh’s family, and I really hope that it’s a success. Josh is worth every penny that is being put towards this project,” Savanna commented.

If you’d like to help support Jade, Savanna, and other loved ones of Josh Wardwell, calendars can be bought by contacting Jade or Savanna, or coming to the school and asking for one of them at the front kiosk. Also, these calendars can be purchased at Cut Loose in Norway and Melby’s in Waterford.

Girls Varsity Basketball Coach ready for Season by McKayla Ivey

Nate Pelletier, a math teacher at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS), has been coaching basketball for 13 years. Before he moved to South Paris 10 years ago, Pelletier grew up in Brunswick, Maine and went to Brunswick High school and there he played 4 years of high school basketball. Pelletier went to Saint Joseph’s College in Maine, where he also played four years of college ball. He explains, “I kind of worked my way up. My senior year in college I coached an 8th grade boys basketball team, and then I coached JV girls at Edward Little for three years and now I’m the varsity coach and it’s my 10th year here.”

As a basketball coach, he states the thing he loves most is, “I love the kids. I mean they work hard every day. I love basketball. And you know you kind of put it together and it’s really one of my passions.” He also states the most difficult thing for himself as a coach, “Sometimes its difficult for me, as being a player, to get across what i’m looking for them to do as a player, and I’m just on the sidelines. Just watching the games a knowing exactly what I want them to do, and sometimes its hard for me to explain what I want them to do. Its definitely a different realm of being a player and a coach, but I’ve gotten there. Its taken a while but I've finally figured it out.”  Pelletier says that nothing really prepared him to be a basketball coach other than the fact that he was a player himself.

To prepare for this season, Pelletier explains, “You know, I think we are in a good situation this year, with a lot of kids coming back. I think it’s just everyday we are just trying to improve on our skills. We have a lot of talent. Were not really in a phase of trying to figure out where we are, its just trying to get better at what we do.”  Last year the OHCHS Girls Varsity basketball team won playoffs, the Eastern Maine Championships and went to the State Championships. There they lost to McColley. This year they have the goal of going to playoffs, and then the goals will continue to get bigger as the season goes on.

“...right now its just day to day. We’re trying to get to playoffs, and I think we have a talented team that could get back to where we were last year. But thats really far out in the realm of what’s going on right now.”

High Expectations For Oxford Hills Boys Basketball by Shannon Kriger

The Oxford Hills boys basketball team are more than ready to make a statement about themselves this year. After losing to Hampden Academy in the Eastern Maine Finals to last year, the team is determined to make it back to the Augusta Civic Center.

With 6-foot-6 junior Andrew Fleming and 6-foot-3 junior Tyus Ripley, the Vikings are expected to dominate in the paint this year. This season for the two is looking very promising after their first regular season game against Edward Little, where Fleming had scored 27 points and Ripley contributed 13 points.

Although the team had lost several senior players last year, they are confident in their young team.

“We are adjusting to the change by trying to teach the new players about being and acting like varsity athletes. Also, having them play in preseason games benefitted them in getting used to the speed of the game,” Head Coach Scott Graffam explained.

The team is looking forward to their 18-game season and are prepared to compete against all the teams in their league night in and night out.

The team of 10 is very confident with their offensive skills. Graffam mentioned that once the athletes get used to playing together and strengthen their competence on the defensive end, they will be practically unstoppable.

“We are a very hardworking team. We are very capable of scoring, and we are getting better at defending,” Graffam commented.

Scott Graffam has led the Oxford Hills Vikings through numerous successful seasons. He has always pushed the boys to become the best that they can be, and he also often emphasizes the importance of working together and playing like a united team.

When asked about his coaching philosophy, Graffam replied, “Athletics are a good way to teach life lessons without some of the consequences of real life problems. Also, I find it important to coach how to behave and prosper in situations where you can’t control what goes on around you.”

The boys have had their fair share of setbacks, but it has only made them more motivated and ready to dominate in the Eastern Maine Class A conference this year.

Ambitious Foreign Exchange Student Adjusts to New Home by Shannon Kriger

Leaving your home country to come to a completely foreign nation is clearly a rather difficult concept, but 17-year-old Jette Vogel of Northern Germany makes it look easy.

When passing her in the halls, you’d never guess that Vogel is from overseas. She is eminently friendly and always appears to be enthusiastic when it comes to learning something new.

Attending a school where everyone speaks a foreign language is undoubtedly difficult, but Vogel proved herself willing for new experiences even more when she decided to join the basketball team at Oxford Hills.

“I decided to play basketball this winter because I wanted to learn a new sport. In Germany I had done track and field for 12 years and I never had the chance to learn something new,” Jette explained. “I’m happy to play basketball and I enjoy the time I spend with my team.”

Although Vogel loves Maine and being in the USA, she pointed out that she is not too fond of all of the woods that surround Maine. She’s used to a more metropolitan environment; especially when it comes to public transportation.

“There’s no form of public transportation or anything like that in this area, and that’s kind of bad if you don’t have a car or license,” Vogel clarified.

Another diversity that Jette had noticed in the United States is the school system. She explained how in Germany, you have to take all the classes that are offered; giving Vogel a school schedule of 14 different classes in her home country. In Oxford Hills, students class schedules usually consist of 7 or 8 classes.

Vogel appreciates the freedom in Oxford Hills when it comes to the classes she is taking among the various classes offered at the school.

“I really enjoy not having so much pressure with so many different classes. It’s a lot easier,” Jette commented.

Aside from having to adjust to Maine’s diverse environment, Vogel is thrilled to be in Maine and is making countless memories that she’ll cherish for the rest of her life.

“I have never had an experience like this and I had never been in the US before, so the whole thing is really exciting for me.. I like Maine and am very happy to be here.”

Coach is Prepared for Basketball Season. by McKayla Ivey

Scott Graffam, a physical education teacher and basketball coach, has been coaching high school basketball for 35 years. Before he moved to Oxford Hills in 1982, Graffam grew up in South Portland and went to Medomak Valley High School, where he played four years of basketball and was an all state player. After high school Graffam went to Colby College in Waterville, ME. Graffam has lived in the Oxford hills region for about 25 years.

As a basketball coach he states “ I find the most interesting thing over the 35 years I’ve been coaching, is watching the change from how good the kids are athletically when they first get to the high school to when they leave. Also how in tune they are to their sport(s). I think it’s also interesting how much more the parents are involved as far as getting their kids into other basketball leagues. Some pay a lot of money to support their kids playing one sport or even several sport” and the worst thing is the referees. After being a coach for so long he has come to the conclusion that nothing could have prepared him to be a high school basketball coach, other than the years he played as experience.

Last year, the Oxford Hills varsity basketball team made it to playoffs. The first game against Bangor they won 44-41, in which Andrew Fleming scored 24 points. The second game against Brunswick the team won in overtime in which Andrew Fleming and Dalton Rice both had 21 points. Then when we went to the Eastern Maine Championship, the team lost to Hampden. To prepare for this season, along with quite a few new varsity team players, Graffam and his fellow staff go to conferences and listen to college coaches talk. Graffam informs, “For this particular season we’ve done a lot of research on what we are going to run for our offense and we already know what we are going to do for our defense. We have staff meetings with the coaches” and they have also gone to the state conference and the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference (KVAC) league meeting.

“I think it’s going to be very similar this year. Every game will be a hard game, there’s no easy win. I think every team on our schedule could beat us, and we could beat every team.”

Key Club baskets make Thanksgiving Possible by McKayla Ivey

Every year, the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School’s (OHCHS) Key Club makes Thanksgiving baskets for those in our community who may not otherwise be able to afford a Thanksgiving dinner for their family.

The Key Club is a service organization that focuses mainly on children in our community. The current club advisor is Michael Vandemark, a teacher at OHCHS. When asked about how he felt about doing these baskets for the community he said, “It’s a very positive thing for the community.” Each family that receives a basket from the Key Club gets a direct phone call from Vandemark, informing them of the baskets that the families will be  receiving. The reactions from the families “are a little of both, it matters. Some people say yeah, or some people are very hesitant. It’s really mixed reactions, and most people are thankful.” explains Vandemark.

“The baskets include everything that a Thanksgiving dinner would from a turkey to cranberry sauce, and everything in between,” Vandemark explains. These baskets are given out to fifteen different families with children in our community, and these families are chosen by the principals in the elementary schools. The principals recognize the children in need, and refer them to the Key Club. Each basket is directly delivered, by students in the Key Club, to the homes of the families.

Along with the Thanksgiving baskets that the Key Club gives away, there are also many free dinners and lunches throughout our community. The third Friday in November at the Second Congregational Church in Norway there is a dinner. Thanksgiving day there is a free community dinner at the South Paris Fire Hall. There is also one at the Progress Center in Norway, and every Wednesday there is a free lunch at the Universal Church in Norway.

DECA craft fair continues on for its 40th year by Rebekah Fleck

In its 40th annual year, the DECA craft fair hosted by Oxford Hills DECA has grown from just 7 spaces for vendors to approximately 170 spaces with 142 vendors this year.

The Chairpeople of this event are Brennan Gillespie, Whitney Morse, and Cameron Letourneau.

The DECA Craft Fair will be taking  place on November 22nd, 2014 from 9:30am to 3:00 pm. During this event, there will be over 142 vendors selling their original crafts. There will also be a 50/50 raffle. To make this event more cheerful and less chaotic, the Chamber Choir will be traveling around the event singing Christmas carols.

The application process to be a vendor at the craft fair is pretty simple. Wendy Robichaud, teacher of Oxford Hills DECA says, “When we send out the applications, the first round of applications go to the returning vendors. They then have 2 weeks to get the application back to us, and after that we send applications to our waiting list.”

A waiting list of around 200 vendors. In order to get on the waiting list, people can call or email, and they will be added.

The DECA craft fair has been held at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High school (OHCHS) for 39 of its 40 years, with around 2,700 people in attendance this year.

Admission for the DECA craft fair is $1 dollar, with people 65+ and under 12 getting in for no cost. The money raised at this event will go towards Oxford Hills DECA’s conferences and activities.

Counselors Help Aspirations Lab Stay open for Another Year by Rebekah Fleck

For those who are not in high school, when you hear ‘Aspirations Lab’, you probably don’t know what that is. In years past, students can remember having access to the Aspirations Lab whenever they needed help with things such as college applications, studying for SAT’s, or doing things such as filling out the FAFSA. Things took a change for the Aspirations Lab this year when it’s lost it’s grant from F.A.M.E, causing it to lose it’s yearly Aspirations Lab coordinator, and leaving it useless.

Luckily for students, the Guidance Staff at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) did not want the students to lose such a beneficial item. Because of this, the Guidance Staff decided to take the Aspirations Lab under their wing and make is accessible to students for 2 days during the week, Tuesdays and Fridays.

In the past years that the Aspirations Lab was open, it had one person in their that was in charge of running it, known as the Aspirations Lab Coordinator that was mentioned earlier. Because their was no funding for one, the Guidance Counselors, Rachel Paddock, Kevin O’Reilly, Amy Peterson, Stephanie Goss, and Nancy McClean now rotate running the Aspirations Lab on the days that it is open.

Paddock says that although it hasn’t seen a lot of action yet this year, she is confident that as things such as college and financial aid creep around the corner that the Aspirations Lab will see more students coming in.

Last year the Aspirations Lab coordinator was Sean Merz, who returned to OHCHS this year as a math teacher. He had a very good time running the Aspirations Lab. Merz says that he enjoyed helping students prepare for what they were planning to do after high school. He also enjoyed the fact that all of the students who walked through the doors of the Aspirations Lab were motivated in some way to learn how to do something.

Merz said, “I liked the environment of this Aspirations Lab as compared to a classroom because it was a lot more open, it was a lot more comfortable and it didn’t seem forced on any students.”

Merz had many cases last year where had the students not asked for help they would not have been able to pursue any of their dreams or pursue any of the things that they had wanted to do. Merz saw many students succeed and grow in the process of using the Aspirations lab. The Guidance Staff is hoping that was Merz saw last year will be the case this year as well, that many students will succeed, grow and be able to pursue their dreams.

High School attempts to break World Record by Shannon Kriger

As the students of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School filed into the gymnasium for the annual “Aspire Higher” day, there was excitement and much anticipation in the air. Although none of the students had known what the school administrators had up their sleeves at the time, the cameras placed in every corner of the gym was a clear indication that something out of the ordinary was about to take place.

All of the students found their way to a seat on the bleachers with their friends while the school’s staff threw college t-shirts into the crowds of undergraduates, in honor of the school day dedicated to encouraging students to consider their post-secondary education options.

Once the hype had calmed down, Mr. Moccia, the principal of OHCHS, became the center of attention.

“Today, we are going to break a world record”, Moccia announced.

With this being said, the students were inquisitive. Many children grow up reading and hearing about people that have made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, but making it into the infamous book is something that very few are capable of doing.

Moccia explained to the crowds of teens how the record was the most people doing sit-ups simultaneously. This record was last achieved by a company in Japan, who had broken it in the October of 2013 with 263 people doing one concurrent sit up.

Although the world record that the students of Oxford Hills were breaking wasn’t exactly the most prominent, the pupils were still enthusiastic. After all, how many people get to say that they made it into the Guinness Book of World Records?

The students that wanted to participate in breaking the world record made their way down to the gym’s hardwood floors where they all crowded around Moccia.

Moccia made clear that the students would all be doing 7 sit ups- one for each letter in “vikings”, which the group would spell out letter-by-letter after each sit up they performed.

With over 500 people on board, the cameramen prepared to video tape the scene.

Moccia stood with the microphone in the middle of the sea of high school students, and vocalized how many sit ups the crowd had done- all while spelling out “viking”.

The spacious room was filled with excitement as the students completed the 7 sit ups and broke the world record and cheered from enthusiasm.

With the incident caught on camera, it is to be sent to the Guinness Book of World Records and if all goes as planned, will be published in their next book and on their website.