Closing In On Graduation 2010!!

THANK YOU Project Graduation Committees across Southern Kennebec County!!

Teams of parents and school personnel across the State of Maine are working hard to plan celebrations for their seniors:  highlighting the end of their years of public school-and their first step onward into the future.  For each these groups, the work began many months ago-with a ton of things left to do.  This newsletter highlights some of the activities going on in our area.

Gardiner Area High School

The Events:  This year's Senior Class of approximately 155 students is going on a cruise provided by Casco Bay Lines.  The group is headed out of Portland Harbor on the evening of June 5^th and returning the morning of the 6^th.  There will be lots of activities on board, including a casino-type game (no money involved), a disc jockey, karaoke; a hypnotist; a caricature artist; and a Gardiner High School trivia game.  Many of the prizes in connection with the games will be practical items that the students are likely to find useful as they make their way out into the world, and for many, onto college.

This year's event was planned with input from a survey of student opinions.  It was chosen from a final list of three options, following additional conversation among students and adults.  Last year the Senior Class spent the night following graduation at the Alfond Center in Waterville.

Students also considered a white water rafting trip, and based on high interest in this event, students may opt to participate in this additional activity as well, upon returning to Gardiner on June 6^th.  Students who choose to participate in this extra trip are being asked to pay a fee of $25.

The Planners:  This year's adult organizer is Brenda Lawrence, a Gardiner Middle School Ed Tech who is stepping up, for the first time, to serve as Class Coordinator.  She has been working closely with a group of about 30 students on the planning effort.  She has had help from a group of parents who have stepped in to pick up a series of projects over the course of the year.

Fundraising Activities:  Fundraising has been going on all year!  One of the early events was Take Home A Tiger Day, where students signed up to help local community members with one-day projects, in exchange for a donation to Project Graduation.

Many area and statewide businesses are stepping up to help out.  To mention a few:  Applebee's Restaurant, and Manager Steve Kozma, have helped with a fundraising breakfast and significant donations of product and staff time for a spaghetti dinner.  Matt Folsom, auctioneer from D A Folsom, in Gardiner provided his services to the group for The Auction, which was held in December.   The event featured items donated by businesses from across the state. 

Continued contributions are critical to make this celebration a reality

Upcoming events include:

• A student St. Patrick's Day dance, to be held on March 19^th
• A Raffle for an Old Town Kayak, April 3rd:  This boat was donated at cost, will be given to the holder of the winning raffle ticket (now being sold around town). 
• The Alumni Basketball Tournament, April 2^nd and 3^rd:  Teams of 10 players pay a fee and compete for the tournament title.  Teams must have at least 2 female players--with at least one on the court at all times.  The tournament is a double elimination competition.

Last year's tournament generated a lot of enthusiasm.  The youngest player was a 2008 GHS graduate; the oldest member of any team was almost 60 years old.  One Gardiner family had members of five generations in the building, including those on the court and those in the stands.

Want to Help Make The Celebration A Success?

1)  Buy a raffle ticket!  Contact any GHS Senior; call the High School; or connect with Brenda (see below).  Drawing April 3^rd.

2)  Donate or contribute cash toward the prizes to be awarded to students during the cruise on June 5^th-6th

3)  Are you an experienced referee?  Contact Brenda about helping out at the Alumni Basketball Tournament.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Brenda Lawrence <blawrence@sad11.k12.me.us>

Cony High School

The Celebration:  The Project Graduation team at Cony High is preparing for its annual gathering at the Augusta Civic Center for the 211 members of the Senior Class.  It will be an overnight event on June 13, 2010, beginning at 8 PM, through June 14, 2010 at noon, with music, a casino, a game room (video and table games), laser tag, inflatable games, and other entertainment.  A similar program format has been offered for students for a number of years, with considerable success.  This year, as in the past, the organizing committee surveyed students and used that input to prepare a program designed to capture the particular interests of this year's students.  Committee members expect to have one more open conversation with students over the next couple weeks.

The Planners and Contributors:  A group of parents, in cooperation with the school's Senior Advisors and Staff, has been working since Graduation 2009 to plan and carry out this year's event.  An estimated 30 parents have been involved so far.

Several local businesses have stepped up to support this year's event.  They include Kennebec Jewelers, which provides for customers to donate a portion of the exchange of gold for cash to Project Graduation 2010, and Augusta Florist, which will be donating 10% of the proceeds of tuxedo rentals to the project.

The group is using some creative ways to get the word out about Project Graduation.  John Rodrigue and Charles Fontaine have been interviewed about the effort on Supt. Connie Brown's television show on Cable Channel 7.  The program will be aired over the next several weeks.

Ongoing and Upcoming Events:  There are several projects underway, including:

1)  The Energy Raffle:  Tickets are available for $5 each.  Prizes include

• 100 gallons of fuel oil from August Fuel Company
• A cord of wood from J & M Logging
• One (1) ton of wood pellets from Rocky's Stove Shoppe
• A three month membership at the YKV YMCA, and
• $50 worth of gas from J & S Oil

Winning tickets will be chosen on March 10^th at the following event...

2)  The Harlem Superstars, March 10^th at the Cony Gymnasium:  Tickets are on sale now for this event, at College Carryout, Play It Again Sports, Cony High School and other locations.  Corporate sponsors for this event include: Pats' Pizza, Colwell Banker, EMS, Lipman, Katz and McKee, and Blind Time.  Tickets are being sold at $7 in advance and $8 at the door of the event.

3)  The Comedy Show, April 9^th at Cony High School:  Tickets will be going on-sale shortly.

Want to Help Make The Celebration A Success?

1)  Buy raffle tickets

2)  Attend any or all of the events

3)  Make a contribution that works for you:  the group can use donations of cash, products or food for events, and the time of community members to help plan or implement either the fundraisers or the celebration itself.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

John Rodrigue <jrodrigue@myfairpoint.net>