Today's trip back in time takes us back to 2008, to catch up with Erin (Burns) Card. Erin graduated from Old Town High School in 2008 and went on to attend the University of Southern Maine to major in music education. After graduating, she began teaching in the Maine public school system first in Hallowell, then Scarborough, and currently in the Augusta School Department where she teaches 6th-8th grade instrumental and general music. During her time at OTHS Erin played trombone and was actively involved in all things music. She would like to send a special shout out to Mr. Priest who provides his students with one of the very best music experiences in Maine. The OTHS bands traveled to Florida, California, Boston, and across Maine during Erin’s time in school- earning top scores in all of the festivals they participated in. All of these experiences inspired Erin’s love for music and a career in music education. She lives in Gardiner with her husband, 4 year old daughter, dog and two cats and is throughly enjoying summer vacation!
Congratulations on all of your success Erin! We are Super Proud of You!
All of our librarian roles are filled for the upcoming school year, but we ARE still recruiting a few members to join our RSU #34 team! https://www.rsu34.org/page/employment-applications-and-vacancies
You can get started on a career in education in one of several entry-level roles - we support college tuition so you can keep learning and growing, opening up future opportunities!
We just added a grant-funded intervention teaching role as well, and seek an additional Special Education teacher to join our team and help reduce caseloads. Educational Technicians support our students in a variety of ways. We have a couple of coach openings for fall middle school athletics, and we always seek substitutes. Please visit and share our employment page!
https://www.rsu34.org/page/employment-applications-and-vacancies
Hey OTHS - Just a reminder... Yearbooks are IN! You can pick up your copy this evening between the hours of 6pm and 8pm in the main office at OTHS.
(Note the time change from my previous post)
Attention community members!
Our Science Department could use as many copies of the Maine Atlas and Guide as possible. If you have old copies hanging around that you no longer need/use - please consider donating them to us. You could simply drop them off in the Main Office at OTHS.
Thank You!
The finale of RSU 34's Band Camp 2023 occurred on Thursday afternoon with a concert in MacKenzie Gymnasium. Year 27 is in the books and does not happen without a lot of work and planning. A BIG Thank You to: RSU 34 staff members: Jessup Henderson, Amanda Marquis, David May, Dr. Gert Nesin, Jeff Priest & Shianne Priest. Important adult volunteers: Chelsea Cote, Ciyenna Hall, Bernie Milligan, Betsy Shields & Steve Smith. A shout out to both Channel 5 & Channel 7 for local media coverage! A great time was had by all! Only 355-ish days to Band Camp 2024! :)
In today's "Where Are They Now?" we venture back to 2012 when Zach Mishou graduated from Old Town High School and ventured into the world. •Before graduating in 2012, Zach competed in Skills USA for plumbing and received 1st place in states. He spent many years working in the HVAC/plumbing business. Between friends and family, he was completely surrounded by people in the trade growing up. Zach worked all throughout high school learning a lot about plumbing and heating. After graduating in 2012, he put countless hours in, working around the clock, to be able to earn all of his licenses. He became licensed with his Universal Refrigeration license, propane and natural gas licenses, including all of the endorsements, such as Plant Operator, Tank Setter, and Large Equipment. He later became a Master Oil Burner Technician. In the fall of 2022, he decided to officially go out on his own and start his own business, Mishou Mechanical. In his free time, Zach enjoys spending time at camp on Pushaw Lake with his fiancé, Jami O’Clair (OT Class of 2013), their two kids Olivia and Jack, and their dog, Ruff. Congratulations Zach! You have done really well for yourself and we are Super Proud of you! All the best to you, Jami and the kids.
Well, they say that patience is a virtue. You do not need to be patient any longer! The 2023 yearbook has arrived!
Mrs. Turner will be available to assist with picking up your yearbook on Monday, July 31st from 10am to 12pm and Tuesday, August 1st from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Please make plans to arrive at OTHS during one of those times to pick up yours'!
Just a reminder... The deadline for signing up for the August 26th SAT is July 28th. Students need to sign up through the college board: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat Students should log into their emails for more information.
These Old Town High School Band students (and two alums!) are volunteering as mentors at band camp this week.
THANK YOU!
Go Coyotes!
The halls (of OTHS) are alive with the sound of music!
It's RSU 34 Band Camp week!
As you can see from the pics, it is a full house with musicians of all ages contributing to a great sound and having a lot of fun!
Today's lesson, you can accomplish a LOT in ten years... "Where Are They Now?" - Drew & Riley (Marquis) Van Steenberghe.
After graduating from Old Town High School in ’13, Riley moved to Germany for 4 years. During that time she became fluent in German, she traveled Europe visiting France, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Turkey and Norway and found her passion for health and wellness. After returning home in 2017, Riley began pursuing her goal of helping others improve their own health and wellness. She attended Bloom - School of Therapeutic Arts in Newport, Maine, where she earned her massage therapy license and became a certified yoga/pilates instructor. She then opened her first small business, Pause Massage Therapy. During this time, Riley reconnected with one of her best friends from Old Town High School, Drew Van Steenberghe. Drew graduated in 2012, then attended the University of Maine where he received his degree in electrical engineering in 2017. He currently works as an electrical engineer designer for SMRT Architects and Engineers. Riley and Drew were married in 2021 and currently reside in Orono. In 2022, they embarked on their next small business adventure - Hidden In Thyme, Florals & Farm. Riley and Drew look forward to watching their new business grow (literally😉). Drew hopes to expand his knowledge of beekeeping and Riley is excited to begin hybridizing her own dahlias.
Congratulations Riley & Drew!
We are so happy for you and so Proud of you both! :)
In today's edition of "Where Are They Now?" we go back to 2016 to check in on Makayla Morey. After graduating in 2016 and being a part of the 2016 cheering state championship team, Makayla has gone on to coach the Leonard Middle School cheer team. In 2020, Makayla picked up her camera again and began to take photos for fun. In 2021, she took on her first wedding and now has her very own business that she does full-time! Makayla takes a lot of pride in being a business owner + has worked very hard to get to where she is today. On top of being a couples and wedding photographer, she is planning her own wedding with Old Town's Chris Hoxie Jr, (also an OT alum from 2016). The couple enjoy adventuring around Acadia, playing with their pup Moxie, and challenging each other to be their very best versions of themselves! Congratulations Makayla and Chris!
We are happy for you and Proud of You!
Just a reminder...
The deadline for signing up for the August 26th SAT is July 28th.
Students need to sign up through the college board: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat
Students should log into their emails for more information.
Don't look now, but we are only six days from the start of Band Camp!
It all starts here. The magic of music and what will be an amazing school year in 2023-2024 of concerts, pep bands, jazz bands and lots of fun, it all starts here.
After graduating in 2017, Kaylee went on to study nursing at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish. During this time, she worked at EMMC in Bangor as a CNA. She then graduated Magna Cum Laude and started her career as a nurse at EMMC in the cardiac unit. In 2 years of working there, she has precept nursing students, new hires, and travel nurses. She also has just recently been trained to be a relief charge nurse on the unit. In her spare time, Kaylee has enjoyed traveling the world. She’s been to countries like Bermuda, Jamaica and Honduras. She hopes to travel across the ocean soon! Kaylee also bought her first house after graduating nursing school! She lives there with her pets Apollo and Trooper. Kaylee hopes to go back to school to become a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant someday!
In today's edition of "Where Are They Now" we are climbing a mountain or rafting a river and traveling the world with 2017 OT graduate, Alex Blackie! Directly after graduation, Alex started rafting guiding in the Forks, Maine. He did that for 3 seasons (2017 - 2019) For the last 4 summers (2020-present), he has been working for Maine state sea kayak as a sea kayaking guide. He even worked his way into the head guide position. Alex went to the University of Maine at Machias and earned a degree in Recreation and Tourism Management graduating in December of 2020. Alex has done a lot of traveling as well. He went to Chile for whitewater kayaking in 2017, went to Nepal to hike into Everest base camp in 2018 and he has visited Costa Rica a few times. (2021 and 2022) He also went to Argentina to climb Aconcagua (tallest mountain in South America) He has rafted the Grand Canyon twice once for fun and once working as a baggage boater in May of 2023. He has lived in Utah for the past two winters working as a snow cat operator at Park City Mountain. (Winters of 21/22 and 22/23) If all of that is not enough for you thrill seekers out there, he plans to climb Mt.Kilimanjaro in February of next year. Congratulations, Alex that is an amazing list of experiences. Keep up your traveling adventures! We are So Proud of You.
Where is my yearbook? When will yearbooks be in? These are questions that we have heard or read (from emails) quite a bit so far this summer. Our best guess at this point is early to mid August. Remember, the final pages were not sent in until after graduation, so we do think it will be a little bit longer. We promise - as soon as we get new information - we will let you know. Have a Great Summer!
Old Town High School "Where Are They Now?" Our subject today is Garvey Melmed. Let's take our Time Machine back to 2014. Specifically, let's start the story on February 22, 2014. The Old Town Coyotes boys' basketball team has made their way to the Eastern Maine Class B Championship. They are playing an excellent Caribou team and the game is close all afternoon. While the game plan called for Garvey Melmed to primarily be a defender, he was needed for more offense and he stepped up. He scored the final eight points of regulation and overtime, including two game winning free throws with 22.6 seconds left in overtime to lift OT to a 43-41 victory. This was OT's first championship since 1991. They would go on to defeat Poland a week later to win the Class B State Championship. After leaving OTHS, Garvey went on to UMaine for Mechanical Engineering. If that was not enough, he also walked on to the men’s basketball team playing all four years and playing against schools that he grew up idolizing. After graduating from U-Maine, he started at BAE Systems where he has worked numerous roles in Operations, Engineering, and Program Management, and where he remains today. Garvey also moved to Upstate NY for work after graduation. He highly recommends checking out the finger lakes region for some very cool waterfall hikes! Not too long after the move, Garvey married Old Town legend, Sarah White! (He'd like to thank Mr. Priest for band class - where he met Sarah) While working, Garvey decided to return to school online and get his MBA focusing in Leadership and Management from Kansas (Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk) Then after about 4 years in NY, he and Sarah moved to Austin, TX where they've been enjoying the best breakfast tacos and daily doses of sunshine. (What is sunshine?) :) A move back to the state of Maine is in the plan for this fall! Exciting news! While he no longer competes for State Championships, you can still find Garvey at a local men’s league shooting hoops or training for the next big event (Boston Marathon in 2024) Congratulations Garvey (& Sarah) We are So Proud of both of you!
Class of 2027...keep an eye on your mailbox. Schedules are in the mail!
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!
