A Brief Introduction

After three weeks as the Teen Center's new supervisor, it seems about time that I post a brief introduction of myself. So...

Hi. My name's Damien Howell and I'm the new supervisor at the PORT Teen Center. Professionally, I have a background in education, primarily secondary English. Personally, I've called Freeport my home for the vast majority of my life, which, if anything, means I am a graduate of Freeport High School. In my free time, I pursue a wide range of hobbies and interests, which range from playing the guitar to Japanese culture, book arts to video games.

I am very happy to be a member of the PORT community and am excited about contributing to it in my own unique ways.

That said, I wish you all a Happy Holidays.

The PORT's Vacation Hours

With school vacation coming up, we wanted to be sure you knew our operating hours for the break.

Dec. 23rd - Holiday Cookie Party for grades 9-12. From 12:00-4:00 we'll be decorating delicious holiday cookies and viewing that holiday favorite, Elf.
Dec. 24th & 25th - CLOSED
Dec. 28th - Movie Monday, open 12:00-4:00.
Dec. 29th - Pool Tournament Tuesday, open 12:00-4:00
Dec. 30th - Mariokart Wii Wednesday, open 12:00-4:00
Dec. 31st & Jan 1st - CLOSED

Stop by and say hello!

Delicious & Nutritious

This month, the Trailblazers participants have been enjoying some great Asian cooking classes with local chef and educator Chris Toy. Teens have been able to participate in every aspect of meal prep, and enjoy eating their creations. Highlights so far include learning to roll our own egg rolls, as well as making a delicious won ton soup. Things have been getting a little messy in the FCS kitchen, but we've been having a lot of fun!

Dodgeball Fun

The PORT held our first-ever dodgeball night for FHS students this past Friday night, and it was a great success! Over 30 teens turned out for a full hour of dodging, ducking, and diving at Mast Landing School:
If you missed out, plan to join us on December 18th from 8:00-9:00pm at Mast Landing School gym. You do need a release form to play, which can be downloaded from the Facebook group THE Dodgeball League. One form covers you for the whole school year, so what are you waiting for?

November Update

It's hard to believe that fall is coming to a close and we haven't posted in a few weeks -- things have been busy here at The PORT! We wanted to take a minute and get everyone up-to-date about what's been happening, as well as share a few photos with you.

PORT Outdoors took our second trip, a hike of Tumbledown Mountain, on November 8th. It was the most beautiful day we could have asked for, with perfect weather and clear skies for great views! The hike was definitely challenging, but we conquered the summit. Just a couple of photos:
Trailblazers, meanwhile, have been enjoying some sessions at the Maine Rock Gym in Portland:
We also had a great movie day on Veterans' Day last week, with 20 students in attendance to watch both Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. All in all, November has been a great month here at The PORT.

Upcoming programs include Trailblazers: Delicious & Nutritious cooking classes, which you won't want to miss! Don't forget to register through FRCE. We'll also be launching our Friday night dodgeball games for high school students, so stay tuned for more info.

Pleasant Mountain Hike

Hello All,

Just wanted to report on the great time I had on Saturday, hiking Pleasant Mountain with the Trailblazers! Although we were concerned about the weather early on, the day ended up being beautiful. We followed the Southwest Ridge Trail all the way to the summit at 2006 feet, and along the way enjoyed amazing views of Sebago Lake and Moose Pond. Once we reached the top, we were even able to see snow-capped Mount Washington!


All of the guys were troopers, with this hike being almost 6 miles round trip. We had fun looking for frozen puddles and strange plants, and appreciating how each view was better than the next.

We're looking forward to an upcoming Leave No Trace workshop, and then Trailblazers Rock Climbing in November!

Sarah

Calling All Artists

Remember the great time that we had at last year's "Sitting Pretty: A Chairity Auction"? Believe it or not, plans are already underway for this year's chair auction!

And here is where you come in: we need chair artists! If you are a teen in grades 7-12, or if you are an interested adult in the community, we may have a chair for you. We also welcome artists who might be interested in working with a partner, so don't be shy! Chairs and paint will be available by the end of this month, and all chairs will need to be returned to the teen center by March 1, 2010. So if you want to participate in this great community event by painting a chair...

Middle school artists should talk with Ms. Gosselin.
High school artists should talk with Ms. Medsker.
Adult artists should email our artist coordinator, Louise Price. You can reach her at lprice(at)suscom-maine(dot)com.

If you have questions, give us a call or swing by The PORT!