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This year’s 2nd Annual Freeport FebFest of Arts & Culture featured scores of events celebrating the richness of Freeport’s arts community. One memorable evening’s event featured the collaboration of Freeport’s Community Band “Coastal Winds” and the Pine Tree Academy Band, both under the direction of PTA Principal and band teacher, Brendan Krueger. In an evening pops concert which helped “to blow some spring into the winter doldrums,” these two groups combined to present music that spanned nearly 300 years, from Bach to contemporary musicals. This intergenerational group of around 70 musicians was a highlight of the many FebFest events. 
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Before break began, one of Pine Tree’s own left us. Sieun Gong, a PTA student since 5th grade, left Maine and returned to her home in South Korea. Sieun is an instant friend to all due to her humor, happiness, and brutal honesty. She is a great person to open up to and you can always count on Sieun for a second and true opinion. Sieun leaves behind many friends and teachers who were sad to see her go. But, we know that she is heading towards a bright future. Sieun is an extremely smart student who possesses diligence and talent and will go very far on her journey through life. We will all certainly miss Sieun but look forward to seeing her again someday. Our thoughts and prayers travel with you Sieun! -Meagan Hodson, classmate & friend      Students of Pine Tree Academy attended the first ever Pine Tree Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, January 31st 2016. The event, this year's Student Association sponsored winter banquet, was a tailored spin on the Oscars hosted by our very own Ephriam Bernard, assistant dean of men. The eight awards granted throughout the evening ranged from best note scribe all the way to the best topic derailer. Students were nominated by their peers and faculty of the academy selected the winner. Each award was presented by a different faculty member. Memorable moments include the Glovers acting out the all too familiar scene of students arriving "fashionably late" to school, Mr. Krueger educating the audience on the 9 types of laughter and Mr. Harlow bamboozlling his wife and other onlookers with his uncanny ability to know...everything. Stuffing themselves on popcorn, vegetable lasagna, salad, rolls, unlimited fountain drinks, brownies and an ice cream bar, the students contested for street cred as the host pitted them against one another in ridiculous games and challenges throughout the evening. The night ended with a viewing of Secretariat, an inspirational film chronicling the rise and ultimate triumph of the greatest racehorse of all time and the family that raced him. On Tuesday, February 9, Pine Tree Academy students in grades 9-12 were presented with a talk on the dangers of distracted driving. Two visitors from the Bureau of Highway Safety set up simulators that the students could try out. The students were asked to "drive" the car while listening to the directions being given to them on the screen. In addition, they had a passenger in the "car" that they were conversing with. Finally, when given a signal, they were supposed to text a friend at the same time. Several "crashes" resulted in this distracted driving. It was a good reminder to students that texting and driving is unsafe as well as ILLEGAL. Attention supporters of the PTA Breakers!!! Both teams have made it into the state championships! This is the first time in the history of Pine Tree Academy sports that both teams have been involved in the playoffs at this level. Please come to Augusta and support our teams on February 15, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. for the girl's game and 10:00 a.m. for the boy's game. The address for the Civic Center is: Augusta Civic Center, 76 Community Drive, Augusta, ME 04330   When does a pair of scissors zip instead of snip? When you are trimming lamination! During a recent study hall the above high schoolers helped trim excess lamination off of easy phonics readers for PTA’s National Honor Society service project. These readers are destined for eight schools in Micronesia. There the humidity wreaks havoc on paper of all kinds says Mrs. Dana Waterman, former student missionary to Ebeye Seventh-day Adventist School, one of the schools destined to receive the books. The lamination extends the life of the book and keeps the pictures looking sharp. PTA’s National Honor Society’s service project aims to send each school five short-vowel sets of 10 readers each and five long-vowel sets of 10 readers each. Each booklet will contain four laminated sheets, which when stapled creates an eight page easy reader. Do the math and you’ll see that eventually 3,200 pages will need to be laminated and trimmed. Thanks to many helpful hands, we have compiled enough to send to our first school, that’s 100 books, or 400 pages of lamination. Thank you, students! Speak with Mrs. Goorhuis, our National Honor Society sponsor if you wish to help. Recently the Pine Tree Academy Campus Ministries team led out the church service for Brunswick SDA Church. The students picked the songs for song service and offeratory led by JP Tshamala, Grace Johnson, Lauren Krueger, Jalen Tamaleaa, Gabe Goodman, and Elizabeth Frye. Victoria Edmond spoke for the offering and Elizabeth Frye played piano for the offeratory and accompanied Jasmine Kunts for special music. The sermon was the first by our Volunteer Pastor of Brunswick Church who was very enthusiastic about having the youth lead out in the church service. Grace Johnson, a senior at PTA, said "It was super fun working along with my friends, everyone had a good time both planning and executing our own youth led church service; the whole thing was a learning experience and a blessing." Gabe Goodman, a freshmen, said it was "Nerve wracking, but fun." The group looks forward to doing this again in other local congregations. I believe the more we can get youth involved the less "nerve wracking" it will be and the more we can provide a learning experience as both sides receive a blessing and God is glorified. This is a necessary step in empowering our youth to not only be active members who take personal ownership of church activities and involvement but also active leaders in service of our God and community. PTA private music lesson students had their winter recital on Sunday, January 31 at 2:30 pm. Keep on practicing kids!! You sounded great!!! |
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