Last Week Recap: JHB

Continuing on with our “Last Week Recaps,” let’s take a look at the final school days at the James H. Bean School!

Bikes for Books: A few of the members of Rural Masonic Lodge #53 of Sidney, Maine visited the James H. Bean School on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 to deliver bicycles to eager readers. Principal St. Peter asked the student body, “Do you know what a Mason is?” She received various responses from students, including, “People who lift heavy things” to “People who help others.”

Pete Downing, of Sidney, told the students that they were absolutely correct if they thought the Masons are people who help others. He explained, “The Masons are a group of men who meet together in a lodge who help their community and schools.” He told them that their lodge is located not far from the school beside the Town Office on the Middle Road.

A girl and a boy from each grade level received a bicycle and a helmet during the assembly at the James H. Bean School through the “Bikes for Books” program which is designed to promote reading. Students read to earn entries into the drawing for a brand new bike! “Thank you again to the Masons for providing our students with the opportunity to participate in this program!” – Louise Erskine

Ocean Study: Kindergarten students at the James H. Bean School have been learning about the ocean and the animals that live in it. They have been learning about the life cycles of different animals – which ties in nicely with their science standards. Students have also been learning that Maine borders the Atlantic Ocean and how vital the lobster industry is in Maine – which ties into their social studies standards. This unit of study is always high interest and keeps the young students engaged to the very end of the school year!

Bean Bird Walks: Last-week-of-school bird walks are an annual tradition for the gifted and talented program students at Bean, Belgrade, and Williams. Here’s a crew from Bean – out looking for birds. At all three schools, students contributed data to eBird about the birds they heard and saw. EBird is a citizen science tool run by Cornell University that helps scientists learn about population trends.