Old Town High School

Happy 4th of July!

In our next installment of "Where Are They Now?" we check in on a young lady who was the captain of our 2016 Cheerleading State Championship and went to cheer at the University of Maine, Ms. Julia Van Steenberghe! In 2019, Julia won Miss Maine USA and represented our state by competing at Miss USA! Julia obtained a bachelor's degree from UMaine in 2020 in Elementary Education & Child Development and Family Relations. In 2022, she completed her master's degree in Human Development and she was named Outstanding Graduate Student in her program. She lived in Italy for a summer working as an Au Pair for a family of four boys teaching them English. She is returning to the area full-time in August as she continues her work for the University of Maine in a new role as Assistant Director of Academic Advising, Recruitment and Student Success at the Maine Business School. Keep up the great work, Julia! We are proud of you!

Old Town High School has turned out some amazing graduates in its 100+ year history. Let's turn back to 2012 for our next edition of "Where Are They Now?" Today, the spotlight is on Lee Jackson. After graduating from OTHS in 2012, Lee began studying political science at the University of Maine. In 2013, Lee was elected to the Old Town School Board. In 2014, Lee was named a Rising Star by the Republican National Committee. In 2016, Lee was named Crew Member of the Year by the McDonald's Corporation and was presented a Key to the City of Old Town. After leaving Maine, Lee traveled around the country working for the Leadership Institute to mentor young people, helping them strengthen the leadership skills necessary to engage with their local communities and transition into the professional world. Lee currently resides in Richmond, Virginia, where he is an active member of City Church and serves as the Deputy Director of the Virginia Lottery. Prior to joining the Lottery, he served as the Confidential Assistant and Traveling Aide to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Best of Luck in the future, Lee! We are proud of you!

Old Town High School has turned out amazing graduates for well over 100 years. This summer, we are going to profile several of them from a variety of classes in a series we will call "Where Are They Now?" Our first edition has us looking back to 2018, when Oliviah Damboise graduated from OTHS as one of our most decorated Track & Field athletes in school history. She went on to U-Maine to be a student-athlete studying Biomedical Engineering, while also on the Track & Field team. In 2022, she graduated with her bachelor's degree and was named the Most Outstanding Senior Biomedical Engineering Student. After graduation, she made the decision to follow her passion and pursue a career in real estate. Currently, she is a real estate agent at NextHome Experience, where she takes great pride in helping her clients navigate the real estate world.  Oliviah's future aspirations entail further scaling her real estate business and venturing into investment opportunities as well. Best of Luck Oliviah! We are proud of you!

Tip of the hat today to Mr. Dave Ploch who retired from teaching this year after 40 years in the classroom. Mr. Ploch also coached swimming for 31 years, winning 14 state championships! Let those numbers sink in for just a moment. Mr. Ploch was at the State House today, as a guest of State Representative and RSU 34 School Board Chair Jim Dill. Dave - Thank you for everything. You've had a profound impact on so many students and student-athletes who have gone through OTHS. You have left an indelible mark on our school. You are a class act and you will be greatly missed.

Today, as a part of their week-long JROTC Cadet Leadership Camp, these OTHS Cadets hiked up to Mt. Washington’s Tuckerman Ravine. A few other Cadets climbed all the way up to the summit. Tomorrow, they will make a 17 mile canoe trip down the Androscoggin River.

During the last couple weeks of school, the Old Town Fire Dept paid a visit to OTHS. Several students were very excited to explore the inside of a fire truck. Shout out to OT Fire for making this happen for our students!

Does your student need extra help with reading, writing, and/or math? We have summer tutoring spots still available for students entering grades 9-12. Tutoring is one hour per subject (English/math), and you can choose to have your student participate 1, 2, or 3 days a week! These are all small group or individual, so your student will get lots of attention with the specific skills that they need! If you’re interested, please email megan.woodard@rsu34.org or call 827-3910 extension 2101. These tutoring sessions start on July 11th, but some hours are starting to fill up, so contact us soon!

RSU #34 is making a big email transition beginning at 3:30 Friday, June 16th. We anticipate that email will be down through the weekend, possibly also including the federal holiday on June 19th. Please continue to use our @rsu34.org addresses, but anticipate that your email will not be received until Tuesday. Thank you, happy last day of school, and have a fantastic weekend!

OTHS JROTC cadets Jesse Bouchard, Norah Sanborn, Kevin Murray & Miles Felcman at Dirigo Pines earlier today for a Flag Day ceremony.

Please remember to vote on Tuesday, 6/13/2023, in support of the RSU #34 school budget! Alton: we believe voting hours are 2 PM - 7 PM at the Town Office Bradley: per the website voting hours are 8 AM to 8 PM at the Fire Station Old Town: per the website voting hours are 7 AM to 8 PM at the Elks Lodge Thank you for your support of our students and schools!

OTHS Senior Xander Doty and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jon Doty aren't related. For.more than a decade, though, they've greatly enjoyed greeting each other in the hallways of our schools with an enthusiastic exchange of "Good morning, Mr. Doty!" After graduation Xander will study Business and Music... coincidentally at the elder Doty's alma mater. Best of luck to Xander, the photobomber in the background, and all of their fellow graduates as they head off to what's next! We're proud of each and every one of you.

Senior students & parents who would to order either an individual picture and/or a group picture from Lifetouch - here is the QR code!

Class of 2023 - walking the halls of OT one final time.

The empty Josten's boxes and the partially set up MacKenzie Gymnasium tells you what time of the year it is... Things are getting real... Class of 2023 Scholarship Night, Thursday at 7:30pm. Class of 2023 Graduation, Friday at 7:30pm.

Shout out to these nine seniors who performed in their last concert at OTHS last night. Each student has been involved in our music program since 4th grade and spent many hours practicing and performing. Thank You & Congratulations! Izabella Damboise Isabella Bouchard Isabel Frontera Conner May Olivia Neely Andre Paradis Hailee Pelletier Keegan Plourde Cassidy Rackliffe

The OTHS Concert Band performed their spring concert this evening. MacKenzie Gymnasium was just a tad warm, but the tunes were as cool as the other side of the pillow.

We have a bonus day of the WW2 Trip Calendar Raffle!! Today’s winner is Shannon Coiley! Shannon has won 2 pieces of Maine Made Jewelry!! Congratulations, Shannon!

Day 31 of the WWII Trip Calendar Raffle Winner is Judy Smith. Judy has won a won an overnight stay and breakfast for two at The Hampton Inn. Congratulations!

Attention family & friends of OTHS Seniors: OTHS Key Club is doing our annual "Kiss a Senior Goodbye!! See flyer for details. Email me at kim.ketch@rsu34.org to purchase. I will send you the message form for you to fill out & send back to me. I will also give you instructions on how to pay(check, cash, venmo) All proceeds will go toward families in need in our community & Key Club service efforts. Thanks so much for sending off our seniors with a little fun gift! I will take orders only until JUNE 7th!