Learning Labs

Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) has many tools at their disposal  to prevent a student from failing. One of the most used tools in the school is called Learning Labs. The creation of Learning Labs stemmed from 6-8 years of different programs in the school. It officially started 2 years ago when the principal Mr.Moccia and the leadership team asked this question: "What are the consequences if students are not learning?"
There are currently 140 students  in these learning labs. Seventy-five  of them are in for English. The second biggest lab is the science lab with 60 kids, followed by a tie of 48 kids in Math and Social Studies. (Note: some kids are counted twice if they are in more then one learning lab.)

Says Moccia, "You put students in a learning lab that their forced to go to and have them do the work, instead of giving them a detention." This allows kids to do their work inside of school instead of hoping that they do their work outside of school.

The process for being assigned to a lab is when a student is failing a class a teacher signs him or her up for a learning lab. Guidance then takes the referral from there and removes one of the student's study halls and replaces it with a learning lab. A student gets to leave the learning lab when all past work is completed and all current work is up to date.

If you ask some of the teachers at OHCHS about learning labs you get  mixed responses. However most are positive. Mr.Kilfolye says, "Some students just do not bother doing the work in their classes so they get more work in here.They do the work in here so it's a never ending cycle."

This cycle is very uncommon for students only a select few do this and its by their own accord.One of the names that always seem to pop up when talking about learning labs is Mr. Burns after asking him what he thought of learning labs.

"Learning labs start to address the cultural problem we have with students who have issues around getting motivated to work hard.  The bottom line is that when students leave high school, they will be competing for jobs.  The national unemployment rate is around 10%, but drops to 4% for those with 4-year college degrees and professional degrees. Getting a college degree requires knowing how to work hard. Learning labs are a small step to help students do so.  Simply failing a class does not motivate students; by putting them in learning labs, we hope to put them in contact with adults who will help them understand that they can, in fact, do the work needed to succeed."
After asking a number of students in learning labs most of them dislike and like it at the same time. They dislike the fact that there removed out of their study halls, but like the fact that they can get caught up with all the work and pass. So from a general consensus learning labs seem to be working.

Mr.Moccia MPA

Mr.Moccia received the "State of Maine Principal of the Year" award on Friday, February 18, 2011 at the Winter Carnival assembly. In order to get this award you must be nominated by another principal in the state. Then you must write an essay and send in statistical information.  Mr.Moccia became a finalist. After sitting down with an interview committee of fellow principals, he became MPA's (Maine's Principals Association) High School Principal of the Year.

Before becoming principal at OHCHS, Mr.Moccia was a assistant principal and a physical education teacher. Because physicality peaked an interest in Mr. Moccia, he also coached the track team and football team at OHCHS. During his tenure he received the Coach of the Year award.

Mr Moccia said this to the student body of OHCHS:
"I think we have the best high school in the state. I truly believe that. It wasn't because of me that I received this award, it was due to everyone in this school, the students,teachers,support staff,office staff."

High School Teacher Keeps A Positive Attitude

Tamara Douglas says she has "always loved helping other people." Maybe that's why she's so good at what she does. Mrs. Douglass works at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School with Special Education students.
She didn't always intend on being a teacher, but after starting a career with her Business Administration major from the University of Maine-Orono, she realized she enjoyed teaching and began volunteering in classrooms when her children entered school. Soon after she earned her teaching certificate and began substituting.
Growing up in the same small town as Mrs. Douglas, I have had the pleasure of getting to know what a friendly and helpful woman she truly is. She is never found without a smile on her face and never passes by without a "hello".
What makes Mrs. Douglas different than every other friendly woman is she doesn't let her disease, Alopecia Areata, affect her attitude. Alopecia Areata is an auto-immune disease when the body rejects hair follicles, meaning she has no hair.
There are three types of Alopecia which are; Alopecia Areata, Alopecia Areata Totails and Alopecia Areata Universalis. This disease affects 4.7 million people in the United States alone.
Mrs. Douglas was diagnosed at a young age, having the disease come and go as she has aged. Although there is yet to be a cure for Alopecia Areata, she maintains her upbeat outlook and tries not to let it get in the way of her day.
Having struggles with Alopecia for so long, Mrs. Douglas has learned a lot. The most important thing she says is "Be accepting of other people and they will be accepting of you."
For more information about Alopecia Areata you can contact the National Alopecia Areata Foundation or visit www.naaf.org.

The Start of Something New

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Schools around the world have a wide varieties of after-school activities, from sports to chess to larking. Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School offers a pretty wide variety of clubs and sports already, but the staff is always up for students coming up with new ideas and starting new clubs. That's just what two juniors, Joel Doherty and Max Brown, are wanting to do. They have an activity in mind in which is fun and which will draw pretty big crowds. This activity is called table tennis or ping pong.

Ping pong has been around for ages, and has even had its own professional stage. The sport was featured in one of the most widely known movies in America, Forrest Gump. The main character, Gump, became a ping-pong champion after being injured in the war. He fell in love with the sport and quickly picked up the essentials of the game. In the movie, he could beat everyone.

“This sport is really fun and would hopefully get a bunch of people together, where they could meet new people and improve their skills,” comments Doherty, one of the juniors who is working on this. Says his friend, Brown, “The intensity of the game and it being not that hard to learn is the best thing about it."

The Ping Pong Club is something they want to start as soon as possible. What's stopping this is the lack of a counselor or coach. If you're interested in helping the group out, get in touch with either Mr, Moccia or the two students who want this club to be an official activity at OHCHS.

A Family In Need

Camp Sunshine is a year- round retreat for children and their families with a life-threatening illness. Families stay one week at the retreat, located in Raymound, Maine on the shore of Sebago Lake, free of charge. During this week both children and families participate in adventurous and safe activities and are offered support groups to learn ways to cope with the illness the family faces.
Since opening in 1984 by Anna and Larry Gould, Camp Sunshine has served over 32,000 family members from 48 states and 22 countries. Over 24,500 volunteers have contributed 820,000 hours of time. As well as families of children with a life threatening disease bereavement programs are offered for families who have lost a child from an illness. This camp has affected the lives of many. It is known as "being one of the only programs in the nation addressing the impact of a life threatening illness on every member of the family".
Every year Seniors of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School are required to complete a Senior Project. This project must give back to the community in some way. This year being my last year at OHCHS, I  will be trying to raise enough money, $2,000, to send a family to Camp Sunshine. To help raise enough money to send a deserving family to Camp Sunshine contact (207)838-7930. Or to learn how you can volunteer your time at Camp Sunshine contact Camp Sunshine's Executive Director Matt Hoidal (207)655-3800

Oxford Hills has some MAJOR Talent!

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A mix between the hit shows 'American Idol' and 'Americas Got Talent', Oxford Hills Got Talent is the new rave in the school. Consisting of singers, dancers, magicians and more, this show is gonna' rock your shoes off. The contestants that wish to be in the actual show must go through auditions, with judges and peers watching. From there, you wait until the day of Winter Carnival where Mr. Cummings, the headmaster of Key Club, announces the top 10 acts that will perform in the real deal.

Three judges determine who will win the cash prize. The winner receives $200 while the runner-up receives nothing. There is also a crowd favorite contest, the winner of which will also receive $100 cash prize. The three judges are Stacey Hanscom, Barbra Ruth, and Sasha Campbell.

This being the third year of this event, it is already a crowd favorite. People of all sorts attend the event, students, parents, and others in the community that enjoy the arts.

The contestants each do one 4-minute performance, and the top 4 perform again to see who the winner is.

During the event there will be free refreshments in the cafeteria.

All proceeds for the event will go directly to the Key Club.

So if you want to come join in on the fun and support your fellow Oxford Hillians in their art, come to the show. The show is on March 11^th at 7 pm in the auditorium. Prices are $5  if you buy before hand and $6 at the door.

The contestants with their act are as follows:

1.    Lacy Landry – singing
2.    Lindsey Redgate – singing
3.    Jasinda Mills – singing
4.    Matt Bouchane – singing
5.    Caitlin Fouler & Clare Robertson – dancing
6.    Caleb Ferris – singing
7.    Shelby Downs – monologue
8.    Meredith Potter – singing
9.    Zach Waite – singing
10.   Jesse Newcomb – singing

Introducing our New Viking Voices Editor

by Ms. Pamela Chodosh

Like most publications, our Viking Voices Online News Journal now has an editor. His name is Jon Kuvaja and he is a senior at OHCHS. He is editing our work,  managing story assignments and taking care of many other behind-the-scene tasks. He is doing this as his senior project.

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Jon has a keen interest in writing and a natural ear for language. Though he has never been an editor before, he is quickly learning what it takes. He may work with the Advertiser Democrat to see what a real-life editor does day-to-day. He certainly will be learning as he goes, as will we. We are excited to have such talent behind the scenes. You won't see his writing, but you will see the results of his editorial eye.