What does it take to land a Laker Pride award?

SAD 61 teachers and staff nominate students for the honor based on their being a positive role model, reliable, trustworthy, respectful, conscientious, consistently helpful to staff and fellow students and selfless.

Staff members can be selected for the award for promoting, creating and enhancing a positive school community.

Monday night, the latest round of Laker Pride awards were given during the SAD 61 School Board meeting held in the Great Room at Lake Region Vocational Center. Honorees included:

Stevens Brook Elementary

Evangaline Whetzel, Pre-Kindergarten, nominated by teacher Janelle Foster, “Eva comes into school every day with a smile, bringing joy to the classroom with her cheerful spirit. Her exceptional kindness, in addition to her responsible and considerate nature make her a role model for her peers. Eva truly makes our classroom community a better place! Thank you, Eva!”

Alexandria Rehmert, Kindergarten, nominated by teacher Melissa Warren, “Alexandria is an all-around hard-working student who always tries her best. She is also a kind friend to everyone and is always ready to lend a hand or a comforting hug. Alex is our little ray of sunshine who makes our school a better place!”

Julian Rivera, Grade 1, nominated by teacher Lee-Ann VanAtta, “Julian does his best work every day in first grade! He works hard and works well with both his peers and teachers throughout the school day. He is a respectful, responsible, and safe student at SBES! Keep up the great work, Julian!”

Grayden Guiffre, Grade 2, nominated by teacher Jenny Hopkins, “Grayden is a shining example of being respectful and responsible. He is up for any challenge and does it with enthusiasm and joy! He works hard, he’s a friend to all and always has a smile on his face.”

Leo Scannell, Grade 3, nominated by teacher Hannah White, “Leo is an exceptional student and human being. His peers look to him for examples of how to follow school expectations, be a good friend, and have a growth mindset when faced with a challenge. Leo has worked hard this year on pushing himself to work on goals and strive for excellence. Leo does a lot of great activities outside of school also, like soccer, basketball, skiing, piano, and he is an incredible actor. I am so lucky to have Leo as a role model in my class and can’t wait to see the great things he will accomplish in the future.”

Sadie Braun, Grade 4, nominated by staff member Courtney Marston, “Sadie is always doing the right thing. She is a wonderful role model and just a good human.”

Kensi Varney, Grade 5, nominated by teacher Allison Sands, “Kensi is a model student. She is kind, polite, and hard working. I am so pleased to have her in my class this year! She is a role model for all!”

Courtney Marston, Staff, nominated by social worker Victoria Haines, “She always goes above and beyond to support her students. Her classroom feels like a family and each child is supported based on their needs.”

Crooked River Elementary School

Norah Jordan, Grade 3, nominated by teacher Megan Brown and librarian Amy Rosetti, “Norah is a great role model for other students. She works hard each day and consistently follows the expectations. Norah shows her best effort in all areas and is an awesome friend to others. Norah is respectful and polite and her behavior is a great example for other students. When others in her class are being loud or disruptive, she shows the ‘quiet coyote’ hand signal to help show her classmates that it is time to be quiet. She joined the comic club as an extracurricular activity during one of her lunches and has worked hard on projects during comic club.”

Isaac Klausner, Grade 4, nominated by social worker Jaimie Klimek, school counselor Amy Saunders, and Principal Steve Gagne, “We nominate Isaac for Laker Pride because of his hard work this year to participate in the learning community. Isaac is involved in band and puts a lot of effort into gaining in his instrumental skills.  He is responsible and brings the instruments he needs each week. He also participates in the ukulele club each week. Isaac takes great pride in his work.”

Gregory Clark, Grade 5, nominated by teacher Betsy Mayo, “I nominate Greg Clark because he is an all-around great guy. He is conscientious and hard-working. Greg looks out for his classmates and helps them when they are confused or need a hand with technology, instructions, directions, etc. Greg is an excellent student whether we are remote or in the classroom. I enjoy him very much!”

Mrs. Leadbetter, Staff, nominated by academic leader Liz Shane and Principal Steve Gagne, “We nominate Mrs. Leadbetter (Grade 4 teacher) because she continues to rise to the occasion.  She began the school year later and has jumped on board.   She works hard to catch on to the way we do things at Crooked River Elementary.  She has quickly become an active member of our school.

Songo Locks Elementary School

Bodhi Moon, Pre-Kindergarten, nominated by teacher Janice Labrecque, “Bodhi comes to school every day with a smiling face and positive attitude.  He actively participates, he helps his teachers and his friends.  Bodhi always tries his best and tries to help his peers be their best too. He is doing a great job making connections between the stories that we read and making inferences all on his own. He is a pleasure to have in class.”

Lillyana Fortin, Kindergarten, nominated by teacher Danielle Tardiff, “Lillyana is a great community helper within the classroom. She has been coming to school every day eager to learn and is a great role model to her peers. She is willing to help anyone in the classroom with learning and is very happy to help the teacher when needed.”

Beverly Webster, Grade 1, nominated by teacher Alexandria Hafford, “Beverly is a positive peer and has shown kindness and patience for other students above and beyond what would be expected of her. She is always giving her best effort on her work and asks great questions to better understand.”

Courtney Kenneally, Grade 2, nominated by staff member Kambria Carlile, “Courtney is a positive role model for others and is always the first person to volunteer to help others. She is a respectful, thoughtful member of our school community and works diligently when tasked with something.”

Samantha Parlin, Staff, nominated by SLS Staff, “Mrs. Parlin has been a huge asset to our school these past few years. Since Covid, our students have been in NEED of a caring, helpful, kind person to help them through their day. Mrs. Parlin is quick to help out, always is able to meet with students, and is a huge support to staff. We are so lucky to have Mrs. Parlin as part of our SLS team. I don’t know what we’d do without her!”

Lake Region Middle School

Ethan Nichols,Grade 6, nominated by 6th Grade Team, “Ethen is a strong, capable student. He is a quiet leader by example in both his behavior and work ethic. He is very respected by teachers and peers.”

Ava Small, Grade 6, nominated by 6th Grade Team, “Ava is a very conscientious student in all school study areas. She is polite and kind to both adults and peers, and is a good team member. She also loves to read!”

Jordan Thibodeau, Grade 7, nominated by 7th Grade Team, “Jordan is full of energy and enthusiasm! He participates in multiple extracurriculars, gets involved in our pep rallies and always shows school spirit.”

Allison Manchester, Grade 7, nominated by 7th Grade Team, “Allison is a quiet leader, who always follows our Laker laws. She is highly spirited and is involved with numerous extracurriculars, including Team Lakers, band and drama, among others.”

Jacob Bright, Grade 8, nominated by 8th Grade Team, “Jacob is a hard worker who tries his best in all his classes. He is willing to challenge himself and always does it with a positive attitude. He has contagious enthusiasm and excitement for learning.”

Joshua Long, Grade 8, nominated by 8th Grade Team, “Josh is a sea of calm who is willing to stand up for what is right. He is also willing to challenge himself and does it kindly, respectfully and with good humor. We can’t wait to see where Josh’s unique outlook on life takes him!”

Jason Ward, Staff, nominated by Roger Smith.

Lake Region High School

Allie Fitzcharles, Grade 9, nominated by Danielle Andrews, “Allie displays what it means to be a Laker. Allie is always on top of her schoolwork, and has excellent grades. Allie is a loyal friend, and is kind to everyone in her community. Allie is a fun and outgoing, and a joy to be around.”

Hayden Roy, Grade 9, nominated by Mark Snow, “Hayden is a positive young member of the T&F team. She is involved in the interact club. She seems to get good grades. And since I nominated her sister…”

Ayana Coffin, Grade 10, nominated by Saphrona Stetson, “Ayana has become a leader in both chorus and after-school drama. They have grown as a musician in the last year and have stepped up to lead the way in their section. They worked hard during audition season and were accepted to the Maine All State mixed chorus, which they will participate in in May of this year.”

Ben Peterson, Grade 10, nominated by Rebecca Lagoda, “Ben is an excellent student who maintains good grades, great relationships with his peers and holds a position at Pleasant Mountain as a snowboard instructor.”

Mya Lee, Grade 11, nominated by Ann Bragdon, “Excellent student. Has jammed out the work out in alt ed, made up an English credit, finished a math class, excels in humanities and is awesome on class discussions.”

John Paul McHugh, Grade 12, nominated by Jessica Daggett, “John Paul has been a consistent member of student council going above and beyond helping out with fundraisers and getting the student body involved. He consistently comes with student concerns from his advisory and is taking his job in student council seriously.”

Lake Region Vocational Center

Lori Katz, Staff, nominated by LRVC staff,

Transportation, Facilities, Food Service

Ryan Thoits, Staff, nominated by District Wide Operations Team.