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Bonny Eagle High School
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  • Archive
    • Photo Archive >
      • Breakfast with Santa 2019
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    • News >
      • 2020 mock election results
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      • Student vandals close school
      • Partners and Mothers Both
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      • The "Kindness Guy"
      • BEHS Runs on Dunkin
      • Calling Snow-Days
      • Chelyabinsk Meteor
    • Profile Archive >
      • Math teacher retires
      • Mrs. Templeton-Bush
      • Natalie Bushey:Making the most of a high school career
      • Troy Bogdahn
      • Zach Chase
      • Paul Coughlin
      • Exchange Students 2015
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    • Opinion Archive >
      • Beauty and the Beast
      • Almost Maine (Review)
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    • Satire Archive >
      • Graduation speech 2017
    • Sports Archive >
      • Hall of Fame Additions
      • Unified Basketball 2017
      • Nowhere to Run
      • Women's Ice Hockey at BEHS
      • Girls Cross-Country (2012)
      • Mr. Hodsdon
      • Girls Cross-Country (2015)
      • Dustin Cole and the Basketball Team
      • Lyndie Libby Returns
      • BEHS Nerf Hunger Games
      • Football Best In State
      • Archery 24/7
      • Cheers from the Heart
  • Senior Profiles 2020

The Eagle Times

Welcome to the website of the Eagle Times, the student-run newspaper of Bonny Eagle High School. Our mission is to produce accurate and relevant journalism pertaining to the school, and we hope that you will enjoy our redesigned website. 

If you are interested in joining the newspaper staff, please attend one of our meetings (Tuesdays after-school in Room 206). We are a very friendly crowd.

VIEW THE LATEST EDITION ONLINE
What's Inside
Click on the photos to read some of our most memorable stories of 2020-21

True crime show is back!

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Should you get the vaccine?

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Winter sports salvaged

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Deck the halls with
stained glass artwork

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Volleyball senior still hopes

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Mock election results 2020

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Ms. Maguire earns award

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From BEHS to Channel 6

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Tributes to Mr. Clark

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BE freshman uses time off from sports
to bake batches of cookies for charity

PictureBE freshman Maggie Cook raised $1,000 by baking cookies this winter. Click on the photo to watch the WMTW-TV segment about her.
BY MACEY CABRAL
March. 8, 2021

     Since early February, freshman Maggie Cook, with the help of her family, has been baking cookies like mad in order to earn donations for charity. 
     Cookie Love 207, as it's dubbed, takes individual orders through Facebook. With the gargantuan nine-inch chocolate-chip cookies, she was able to raise $1,000 in donations for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland
     Maggie was interviewed by WMTW-TV recently, and told them she plans to continue baking cookies at least until spring, when she’ll start back up with after-school sports. As for the experience, she says, “It feels good that I did something to help people this winter.”
   

Coach Mike Burleson honored for his commitment to excellence in x-country

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BY AMELIA MCAVOY
March. 8, 2021
    
Every year, a select group of coaches from the state of Maine are chosen to receive the Maine Coach of the Year award. The recipients of the award are voted for by the National Federation of High School Coaches. This year, Bonny Eagle’s very own girls’ cross country coach, Mike Burleson was recognized. Coach Burleson has only been coaching the girls’ XC team for three years, since 2018, but in that time he has brought the school two state championships and one regional championship. 
    It is easy to only see the success that Coach Burleson has brought to his team and connect it to his award, but his coaching talents go beyond the championships. The state titles are important, but in Athletic Director, Mr Eric Curtis’ opinion, the most important part is “the dedication he gives our kids and all the support he gives them. He puts in countless hours planning and supporting our athletes.” 
       Delaney Hesler, a junior member of the cross country team, echoes this sentiment. She says, “He is a great coach who pushes us to be our best physically and mentally, while also keeping the sport fun … his constant support and training has helped [the cross country team] numerous times each season and has allowed [them] to consistently compete at a high level.” Congratulations Coach Burleson on your well deserved award, and good luck on your next season!

They bucked the odds
to pick the Buccaneers 

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BY Zachary Myers
Feb. 9, 2021

    The results of Super Bowl LV are in. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers surprisingly blew out the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. Tom Brady won his 7th Super Bowl and 5th Super Bowl MVP. Only two people picked the Buccaneers to win in our Super Bowl poll (besides two Eagle Times staff members): junior Anna White and sophomore Joshua Warren. For their efforts, Anna and Josh won $5 Dunkin Donut gift cards.
     Josh predicted a Tampa Bay win 28-21, while Anna predicted a Tampa Bay 24-14 win. Josh explained that he thought Tampa Bay would win because Tom Brady has much more experience being in the Super Bowl and would have less pressure on him. That being said, while he predicted the Buccaneers to win, he didn’t expect the poor offensive showing from Kansas City, explaining that “I thought the Chiefs would do more offensively and defensively.”  He did overall say that while the game was surprising, it was still fun to watch. 
     Anna made her prediction for Tampa Bay because Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were both very good players (that’s true). She said that she completely guessed on the score but said that, “I thought it was going to be a closer score.” That being said, even though she wasn’t a big football fan, she enjoyed watching the game, which is what the Super Bowl is about. 

Drama Club weathers challenges well 

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FROM STAFF REPORTS
Dec. 22, 2020
      
Solving problems is half the fun of producing a play. The problems surrounding Bonny Eagle’s production of Radium Girls made for an experience that the cast and crew will never forget.
   “Outdoor theater was, largely, extremely bizarre, and very cold. There were obstacles to overcome that we had never had to worry about before, such as the elements, masks, and even the dog across the street,” said senior Alison Jones of the Bonny Eagle Drama Club.
    Drama Director Ms. Marianne Pillsbury and the student drama officers started planning the fall play over the summer. 
   “However, we really didn’t know whether we would be doing an in-person performance or a virtual Zoom performance until we got back to school,” said Ms. Pillsbury. “Our first month of rehearsals were all online, then we switched to in-person outside in October. We were only allowed to rehearse outside for the most part, just like the fall sports teams.”
     One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to hook up the lighting without tripping a fuse. “(It) took us a few tries, but our maintenance people were very helpful and supportive of our efforts,” said Ms. Pillsbury.
    Blocking the play with actors staying three feet apart and wearing masks was a challenge, too. 
    “It was kind of strange for the actors to be wearing masks but it also kind of worked with the play,” said Ms. Pillsbury. “It was kind of funny though when actors were supposed to be eating or smoking a fake cigar but they were wearing masks!”
   Alison said the inclusion of masks and (especially Saturday) background noise made it far more of a challenge. 
    “We had to make costumes that were warm enough for our actors, and our techies had to be outside the entire time, which can't have been fun out in that weather,” she said. “I'm constantly impressed by the work they do, both in years up to now and in the difficulties of this past season.” 
      Alison agreed that the lighting situation was the biggest headache.
    “When the rain hit on Friday, they were covered, but unfortunately with a canvas which would absorb water. That formed a sort of heavy sail, which caused the lights to fall, break, and become waterlogged. It really seemed like they weren't going to work for our next performance,” she said.
     Alison said a group of the club’s main techies, including Alexavier Smith, Samuel Phelps, and Emily Jones, were able to work with Ms. Pillsbury and former  director Mr. Rick Osann to get them working again.
  “It was a huge breath of relief to find out that we would be able to have our second night of performances, “ Alison said.
   On the first weekend’s Saturday performance, about 35 people attended in person and 30 people logged onto the live stream, which was accessed through a link emailed to people who purchased tickets online.  At the following weekend’s Friday night performance, about 25 people live streamed and 30 attended in person, according to Ms. Pillsbury.
     Now that Radium Girls is history, Bonny Eagle Drama is planning for the Winter One Acts, a regional competition which is held each March. Those plans are now on hold because of the suspension of winter activities due to Cumberland County being in the yellow zone until at least Dec. 31. 
     Even after those restricitons are lifted, the club will be planning for a competition that will have to be held virtually.  Despite that, Alison said, “It’s going to be a fun and very interesting challenge to put on.”
      Kaylei Myers contributed to this report

Longtime art teacher has left the building, but her heart is still at Bonny Eagle

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Ms. Maxwell, third from left in top row, always displayed her school spirit in the classroom and at pep rallies and sporting events. Staff photo.
BY KAYLEI MYERS
Oct. 1, 2020

      Ms. Margaret Maxwel will not be teaching at Bonny Eagle High School this year due to Coronavirus concerns. She is currently still involved with school by helping out with the remote learning students. Ms. Maxwell has been an art teacher here since 1989. The beginning of this year would’ve been the start of her 38th year with us. Besides teaching art classes, she has coached tennis, advised the National Honor Society, the FACS (Fight Against Cancer Society), STAND (Students Affirming the Non-Use of Drugs), and the Outing Club. She mentored students in the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) and had a Bible Club for a few years after school.  The Eagle Times caught up with Ms. Maxwell (remotely) for a question and answer session early last week.

Was this a hard decision to make?
    “This decision to not go back was and continues to be very difficult. It was made by me and strongly recommended by my doctor. After doing the research, she highly advised me not to enter the classroom due to my health issues.  I do not want to make the students ill and I do not want to get sick either.  My immune system is weak and I need to be aware of the current situation.”

What are you going to miss most about working here?
    “I will miss all of it. The students, my colleagues, the art room being such a special time for Mr. Twilley and I to share, that sacred place where so many students enjoyed making art, hanging out, and becoming great artists in the real world. Our classrooms were like open books. The door between us was never locked and students and teachers knew when and where to be in order to express their creativity and to find inspiration. Mr. Twilley was a great teaching partner. We had 30 years of collaboration, friendship and pure love of art.
    Every day I woke up ready to teach in that wonderful room. Waiting for students, walking the halls with many smiles, and hearing ‘Good Morning Ms. MaxwellI’.  I had a cluttered classroom, but I knew where everything was when someone needed something. I miss the students coming after school and needing to work on a project from another class and wanting help with posters, information, or just a cup of tea or pizza when we needed to clean the space.”

​Has Bonny Eagle High School been a welcoming place for the arts?
    “The Bonny Eagle community always supported the arts, our requests for materials, workshops, and additional educational resources to make all of this happen. This district rocks, including, the school board, administration at all levels, and the greater public. We have students working for CNN, Disney, North Face, Mass General Hospital, Dartmouth Press, Flowfold Inc., Illustrating for Amazon, FableVision, PBS, interned with Dale Chihuly, Nickelodeon, Wired Magazine, Burton, Rossignol, MIT Industrial Design, etc. The list goes on and on. I just had a former student, Chelsea Johnson, make me a great Wizard of Oz platter reminding me of my continued references to Dorothy and the importance of having a heart, brains, and the courage to succeed in tough times, like now.
     Our school was part of NEA grants through the Portland Museum of Art on three occasions commemorating the works of Winslow Homer ,and student work was displayed on the walls of the museum. Lastly, an essay about my curriculum during the pandemic last trimester was published in the Union of Maine Visual Artists this summer. 
     The MSAD 6 district has provided me with many opportunities to teach at the state and Tri-District levels with integrated Arts and STEAM workshops. They provided summer opportunities for me at Bennington College in their summer institutes, studying book arts with Meryl Brater, a Radcliffe Scholar. This brought much integration into the district for K-12 education. They gave me the opportunity to study at the Darling Marine Education Center in Damariscotta, as well as study Marine Biological Illustration, and many courses at MECA in botanical illustration and digital art and 3-d printing and laser cut art works. All of this enhanced the curriculum for the students when I returned each fall to share the information and my work.”

Are there hopes of you coming back after this is all over? And if not, what other ventures do you have in the works?
    “As for now, I will not be able to go back to the school and need to quarantine until this is over.  I am not able to have vaccines even if there is one, so I’m working at home developing a non-profit on food security. My dream is to have my puppets create an online or zoom presentation to teach children about food security. I worked with Jim Henson when I started teaching in the 1970’s at Princeton University when he was developing Sesame Street. I taught preschool in an inner-city head start program. We gave him stories and he gave us ways to teach kids through entertainment. I have a trademark in the final stages in Washington and the copyright to song lyrics that I have written to accompany a well known tune. I’m in the process of getting the rights to the music.
    I have a board started and the puppets designed. Several former Bonny Eagle students are consulting with me and helping me in the process. Our Backpack program inspired a set of puppets I do think all will like.
     My Dream is to start a production company at Bonny Eagle after I retire and work with departments who want to collaborate. I have a student interested in painting the backdrops for the puppet theatre. I would like to have students on the board and willing to work with all aspects of developing a production company. I have the drive and the expertise of great people. I was asked to go national with the idea, but I do not have the strength or the desire. My heart is at Bonny Eagle and that is where I want to end my career.  
     In addition, I have been writing a memoir and a musical for several years. My playwright teacher from New York City thinks this would be a great way to end it. ‘The closing of the BLUE DOOR’, as I see it.  I painted my house doors the same color blue as my classroom door. I have been writing silly songs since I was six years old and poetry essays and stories all my life. Now it is the time to tell my story.  Bonny Eagle has been a major part and will be the finale.”

New principal is up for the challenge

PictureMr. Greg Applestein is Bonny Eagle's new principal. Staff screenshot.
From staff report
     
Sitting in his assistant principal’s office on the morning of March 16, with Scarborough High School shut down for at least two weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Greg Applestein decided to email MSAD6 superintendent Paul Penna. He inquired if the job as principal, which had been filled on an interim basis by Mr. Michael Johnson in 2019-20, was still open. 
      “I knew sitting in my Scarborough office that I would be involved in the reimagining, the restructuring, and the retooling of high school education in Maine regardless of which office I would be sitting in, either as an assistant principal or as a principal,” Mr. Applestein said during an August interview. “And I thought, number one, what a great opportunity, just the principalship alone….And secondly, what a great time to be serving as an administrator where, through the teamwork I totally believe in and the collaboration with not only administrators but kids and staff and families and stakeholders, how much of a blessing that would be to be a part of something that we’ve never ever done before.”
     After an exhaustive search, which included interviewing five candidates from inside and outside the state of Maine, Mr. Applestein was chosen to lead BEHS in this most unusual and challenging year.
    “Mr. Applestein was the overwhelmingly favorite candidate of the selection committee because of his professional experiences in education,” said Mr. Penna. “His enthusiasm and desire to be the principal of BEHS was well articulated, as was his passion for students.”  
     Mr. Applestein says he had done his homework on Bonny Eagle and had come to realize that it would be a great place to start his career as a high school principal after five years as an assistant at Scarborough High School. Before Scarborough, Mr. Applestein was an assistant principal at Ellsworth High School for three years. Prior to completing his Masters in educational leadership at USM, he taught English and video production for 22 years at Belfast Area High School.
     Mr. Applestein says he was impressed with the plan for remote learning that Bonny Eagle administrators and staff put together virtually overnight last spring.  He believes our Hybrid plan is working extremely well.
     “Students, staff, and families have done a fantastic job adhering to the 6 DOE, CDC, and State mandates we need to uphold to keep BEHS open,” he said.  “We all know the Hybrid isn't as ideal as being in person in school 5 days a week.  But given what we are up against, I believe the entire BEHS school community has risen up to the challenge and we've all made the best of it!” 
     Mr. Applestein says our staff, students, and families have shown “great resilience in addressing and overcoming” the challenges, especially when it comes to the remote learning days.
       “Again, 42-minute remote classes on Fridays is not ideal, but it's better than having no interaction at all,” he said. “We're so blessed to have the dedicated faculty and staff we have here at BEHS and I can't thank them enough for all they have done and continue to do on behalf of our students every day!  Students and families have also contributed to our Trimester 1 successes by re-arranging their homelife schedules and adjusting their lifestyles to accommodate the Hybrid plan.  Lastly, our fully Remote Learning Plan instructors, students, and families need to be applauded  for their efforts.  We've never tried all of this before on such a big scale, and it has certainly been a learning process for all of us!” 
    Mr. Applestein participates in a weekly Google Meets session with other high school principals in southern Maine.  He says it’s been helpful to compare experiences, although it would be unfair to rate one school’s efforts over another’s. 
     “I have no doubt each school and district is doing what they believe is best for their stakeholders and we're all adjusting things as we move forward and learn more about COVID and how it impacts all of us.
      ”Moving forward, Mr. Applestein expects the goal of “synchronous learning” to be the focus for BEHS.  “It's clear to me that many folks want us to look into how we can provide more in person and/or remote instruction to all students in what's commonly called a ‘synchronous learning environment.’ This involves the blending together of students who are in person and in classes at BEHS with students who are tuning into those classes remotely from home through Google Meets and the use of other technology,” he explains.  “We all know students do best in an in-person learning environment, and we have to continue to try and find ways to make that happen as best we can for all students, given our current COVID mandates.” 


Heartfelt words from spring sports coaches

FROM STAFF REPORTS
April, 2020
     
It's the middle of April and the snow is finally gone. But Bonny Eagle's fields of dreams are empty this spring since Covid-19 shut school down for the rest of the year. Senior students are feeling the greatest loss in their final season, and their coaches are also feeling their pain.
     Athletic Director Eric Curtis has been posting photos of senior athletes on Facebook and Twitter, but he wanted to do more to reach out to all the athletes who were deprived of their chance for competition this year. He and administrative assistant Shelley Barrows, along with athletic trainer Jenna McCurdy, came up with a script to be read by the spring coaches via video.
     Julie Bruni pieced the clips together into the video at right. You will smile through your tears as you listen to it.



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