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Friday, July 6, 2012
Volume 8 • Issue No. 27
Kennebunk Native Writes from Japanese School Hi From Japan, I am a native of Kennebunk. I have been living and teaching English at a private junior and senior high school in Sendai, Japan, for the past fifteen years. Sendai was near the epicenter of last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. As you can imagine, our school and homes were severely damaged by the quake. It has been more than fifteen months since the disaster and although the emotional scars of students and staff alike run deep, there has been a return to normalcy. Aftershocks are constant reminders, even fifteen months later. But overall things are back to a new kind of normal. On a much lighter note, as part of my recent English classroom lessons, I have been making cultural comparisons of the summer vacation routines of American and Japanese students. My students really enjoy cultural comparisons in general, and we often use The Weekly Sentinel as a classroom tool. My dad still bundles them up for me and sends them overseas four or five times a year. It has provided my students enjoyment and learning over the years, and has been a wonderful way for me to share my love of Maine with my students. Together with my students, we have written a letter. It talks about the Japanese school summer vacation system and the education system of Japan in general. I hope your audience will find it both entertaining and informative. From Richard Meres
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Kennebunk native Richard Meres with his Japanese students. Meres has spent the last fifteen years teaching English in Sendai, Japan (courtesy photo)
to clean out the lockers and say goodbye to classmates. The length of the summer break is the most obvious difference. Since students in Japan attend school about 240 days per year, compared with the
Science Team to Begin Seafloor Mapping
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KENNEBUNK – As most children around the state are settling into their summer vacation routines of sleeping in, cooling off by the pool or at the mall, and watching those summer reruns, I thought it would be interesting to point out how their counterparts half a world away in Japan are spending their summer holiday. First of all, the Japanese academic calendar is quite different from America’s. The school year begins in April rather than late August or early September, and it ends in March rather than June. So essentially Japan has a year round system where students join their new classes in April and move on to the next class or graduate the following March. So summer vacation is more like a midterm break, and respite from the summer’s heat, than a time
The Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) Bold is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s only ocean and coastal monitoring vessel. (photo courtesy of epa.gov)
OFF THE MAINE COAST – A collaboration of state scientists from several state agencies, universities, and non-profits will head fifteen miles out to sea next week to map the ocean floor off the coast of Maine and to observe sea life in the region. Sailing on the Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) Bold – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s only ocean and coastal monitoring vessel – the sixteen scientists and observers hope to map as much as an 800-square-mile area off Maine’s coast at a depth of up
to 300 feet. The five-day research expedition includes scientists from the Maine Department of Conservation (MDOC), the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), and the University of Maine (UM). It is expected to result in significant scientific information that should aide in managing multiple uses of the ocean, such as shipping, fishing, aquaculture, and energy development, as well
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180 days in the United States, it goes to reason that vacation time will be shorter. In fact, students in Japan are still in their classrooms now counting down the days to the start of their holiday. Most summer vacations
begin at the end of July and continue for less than a month. For the sake of reference here are some details from the actual school calendar of my See MERES page 8...
Kittery Organizations Compete in Benefit Barbecue Throw Down KITTERY – The first annual Kittery Barbecue Throw Down will be on Saturday, July 14, at 3 p.m. at Kittery Estates, 220 State Road in Kittery. The barbecue battle will be a friendly competition between the Kittery Fire Department, Kittery Police Benevolent Association and Kittery Estates. Teams from the three groups will be competing for bragging rights and a trophy while proceeds will benefit Footprints Food Pantry in Kittery. The public is invited to attend and support their favorite team. Each team will submit their best barbecue ribs using secret rubs and recipes while a team of judges will select the winner. Kittery Estates will offer a drive-through barbecue plate for the public for $5 per person with 100 percent of the proceeds
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benefiting Footprints. Judging will take place at 5 p.m. Kittery Estates will also be accepting non-perishable food donations for Footprints. Already the competing teams are posturing. Patrolman Brian Cummer of the Kittery Police Benevolent Association is confident his team will win. “We are looking forward to smoking the Fire Department in this competition,” Cummer says. Barbara Fernald, executive director of Footprints is thrilled to be the beneficiary. “This time of year our Food Pantry is running low and proceeds from this event will allow us to replenish to help many people in need. We are grateful for the opportunity to be aligned with this fun event,” says Fernald. Please contact Kittery Estates at 207-438-9111 with any questions.
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