Jammin' with Evergreen before the concert...

Evergreen's Chris Prickitt, a long-time friend of Rich's... below, the Evergreen Blue Grass band on stage at Skye Theater.  

FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON!

Peter was beyond wired when Aunt Connie sent us an email during the middle of watching the movie August Rush (a b'day present from Alexander's twin bro Jonathan) to announce the first snow of the season. And here's one of the first snowballs... the other 6 snowballs were thrown into the kitchen window at Rich while he was on the computer.  :-) 

Peter at home 

with Maine leaves

(photo by Alex) 

Bowling on a Friday Night in Rumford

Falcons finish season 

with 5-4 loss

Team 08 traveled to Oak Hill High School and took on the Black Raiders in a preliminary match for the Maine State Soccer Tournament. Dominated in the first half, the Falcons came roaring back in the second only to fall short by a goal. Alex scored a second half goal. The Falcons ended the 2008 campaign with 6 wins, 7 losses, and 2 draws and many fine memories. 

Congratulations!

68 Days...

Sixty-eight days after their first practice session (top photo), the Falcon Varsity Boys' Soccer Team listens to Coach Dumas (bottom photo) as they prepare for their first playoff match in many years. Many of the boys have worked diligently to earn this playoff berth. They especially proved their worthiness to play in the state tournament when they knocked off  top-seeded Livermore Falls in one of the final matches of the season. So now, win or lose, the Falcons have arrived and have earned a spot...Good luck, Falcons. 
Play on!

Penultimate practice before the first playoff match in many years.

A Three Laptop Home!

The State of Maine Laptop Initiative provided each and every middle school student and teacher with a laptop several years ago. Now, the high schools of Maine are following suit. Over the coming years Maine's high school students will each be given a laptop for their personal use during the academic year. Alexander and Peter received theirs yesterday. We're now--quite proudly--a three laptop home. 

A Sunny Sunday in Maine...

Alex: "I hope he doesn't think I'm doing all these leaves by myself."

Alex: "Where have you been?"   

Peter: "South Park re-runs."

Alex: "Don't go there. Just rake."  

Hangin' with the Coach

We met up with Coach Dumas at the Mountain Valley Conference Championship match today. Mt. Abram's played Lisbon. MA played a brilliant passing match holding possession 75% of the time, but a late second half goal brought Lisbon the equalizer and two OTs did not settle it. In PKs, Lisbon pulled out the victory to win the Championship of the Conference. 

Autumn in Weld

Happy Birthday, 

Fred Kent!

Fred turned the big SIX TWO and celebrated with Peter, Alex, and Rich. Pam has gone to Virginia to help with the newest Kent, Landon Michael Kent, son of Shannon and Fred and little brother to Christian!

Home Sick from School...

The cold and flu season seems to be hitting early at Mountain Valley High School, and Alexander got wacked. 

MVHS Exchange Students Speak to School-wide Assembly

So the nerves were a bit on edge as six of the seven International Students at MVHS spoke to 600 students and staff of the high school. 

Both Peter and Alex handled them-

selves with confidence and easily fielded questions that ranged from the political to the social. Both boys were pleased when the assembly concluded! Int'l students from China, Moldova, Brazil, Thailand as well as our boys from Denmark and Sweden spoke to the well-behaved and interested MVHS crowd. 

  

Autumn in Western Maine 

The hillsides surrounding Rumford and Maine's western mountains are ablaze with colors these days. The temperatures have been terrific, but the most recent long-range forecast calls for temperatures to begin dropping. Fall is in the air, and soon a taste of winter. That's Maine in October. 

Peter @ Niagara Falls: 26 hours and no sleep!

Niagara Falls -or- What happens to Peter when he's awake for 26 hours straight?

Peter trucked off to Niagara Falls this past weekend for a 5-day adventure with YFUers from the East Coast. He stayed in a home with about 35 other kids... and two bathrooms! Talk about cooperation. The students toured

a Native American museum and drank a lot of coffee at their home in Buffalo; but without a doubt, the Falls of Niagara were the highlight of the trip... oh, and trying to stay awake for 26 hours straight. What does that do to a normal teenager from Denmark? See photo above! 

Exchanging students, ideas

Click here for SunJournal Article and Photograph
RUMFORD -
By Eileen M. Adams , Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Zhongling Cao is a bit surprised that she has to attend classes only five days a week.

In her native China, it's six long days each week.

Peter Krause-Kjaer misses the wide-open fields of his native Denmark, but he likes playing soccer with students at Mountain Valley High School.

Cao and Krause-Kjaer are two of seven foreign exchange students spending the year learning about American culture. It's the largest number of foreign students to take part in an exchange program at the Rumford school.

"It was the luck of the draw," Principal Matt Gilbert said. "There were enough families requesting foreign exchange students."

And for that, he is grateful.

"They contribute so much to the school's climate. It's so wonderful for Mountain Valley students to interact with students from other countries," Gilbert said.

Several students represent new countries at Mountain Valley, including Valeri Gonta of the former Soviet republic of Moldova, David Vojtovic of the Czech Republic, and Peerapoom Sang Poom Pong of Thailand. The other two exchange students are Rafael Andonini of Brazil and Alexander Szeps from Sweden.

On Tuesday, they were seated around the high school's conference table eating pizza and preparing to make presentations to Mountain Valley students at a schoolwide assembly on Wednesday.

Peerapoom has found the students and people of the area helpful and friendly. This is his first time in America. Once he finishes high school, he hopes to attend a university to study business and culinary arts in England or the United States.

"There are Americans all over the world, American business owners," he said.

Like the other foreign exchange students, he attends school at home for more hours than students do in the United States. His school day runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Thailand.

The foreign students, all 16 or 17 years old and in their last year of high school, were surprised to learn that the price of gas here is a fraction of what it is in their home countries. They also were surprised to find so many open spaces. Most thought the United States was pretty crowded and urban.

They also were surprised to learn that people with disabilities attend classes with other students. In the visiting students' countries, most people with disabilities attend special schools.

Valeri, who wants to be a journalist, said part of the requirement from his home country for attending school in the United States includes devising a social program when he gets home. The American attitude toward students with disabilities may be his project.

The foreign students say they are quite amazed at the presidential election.

"It's too long," Krause-Kjaer said.

"In Sweden, the focus is on policies rather than on the person," Alexander said.

Also, in most of the students' home countries, voters have a chance to choose from five or more major parties, rather than from two.

Although the students have been integrating themselves into their classes, sports teams and clubs, the official introductions take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Gilbert said all will go through graduation with their Mountain Valley High School classmates in June and receive honorary diplomas from the school. They will then return home to complete their final year of high school.

He said he'd like to see his school, as well as any other high school, take a greater part in a foreign exchange student program.

"It broadens perspectives," he said.

BIG WIN!

3-2 Victory Over Second Place Livermore Falls....!

The Falcons of Mountain Valley High School played their best match of the year defeating one of the top teams in their league. For 80 minutes the boys played solid defense and stellar attacking soccer with brilliant passing. Our own Alex scored two goals, including the game winner, to help the Falcon boys move toward a chance to play in the state tournament for the first time in many years. 

Good Luck, Falcons!

Congratulations!

[Pictures: Celebrating after the win; Half-time talk by Coach; Myles motivating his team; Coach Dumas after the win... Congratulations, Coach)

Fall in Weld, Maine

The colors in Maine this day are at peak. Bus loads of tourists wind through the mountain passes enjoying the fall ritual of "leaf peeping." Soon, however, the buses will disappear from the roadways and November, our favorite month, will arrive with the "nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." 

Happy Fall, Everyone! 

Happy Birthday, Rich!

Rich celebrated his birthday today with the Trevetts & Alex in Trenton. Then, he returned home to be surprised by Aunt Connie and a scrumptious cake. Alex, Connie, and Rich feasted on cake while chatting.  

Mountain Valley Falcons 1, Monmouth Academy 1

Monmouth Academy Match 

by Alex

October 11th, 11am

Saturday morning's game against Monmouth was a disappointment for Mountain Valley. It was a game we should have won, but we only tied it. The score was 1-1. The match on Tuesday against Livermore Falls High School is the most important game of the season. There is a chance that if we win we will make it into the play-offs.  

Peter is on a five-day trip to Niagara Falls in New York State with other YFUers. We hope to publish photos from Peter when he returns on Tuesday evening.