2012-13 William S. Cohen School Highlights

Academics:

  • To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s revolutionary book, Silent Spring, the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (Wells Reserve at Laudholm), in partnership with Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, sponsored an essay contest for all seventh graders statewide. At Cohen, all seventh grade science students wrote to one of the essay prompts and entered the contest. Five Cohen students received an award in the honorable mention category!
  • 129 students were honored for their high academic achievement during their middle school years at the annual Academic Awards Ceremony. Each of the students maintained a GPA over 3.5 for all 3 quarters this year. Many students have earned the award in multiple years.
  • A 7th Grade student was selected as a State winner in the Maine Municipal Association Essay Contest.
  • 73 students earned proficient with distinction on the 2012 NECAP Reading Test and 116 earned proficient with distinction on the 2012 NECAP Mathematics Test.
  • The entire 8th grade was recognized for their outstanding performance on the 2012 NECAP Writing Test, surpassing the State average of 58% proficient by 16% points… a statistically significant difference! Administrators dished up ice cream sundaes to all 8th Graders to celebrate the occasion.
  • ELA teacher Trisha Smith reported that 27 Cohen 7th graders had poems selected for publication in the next Creative Communications Anthology. Students were encouraged to select a topic special to them, and express their feelings and thoughts in poetic fashion. Kudos to all of the participants and congratulations for having your writing published for many to see!
  • For the fourth year in a row, 7th Grade Maine History students completed a webpage on the Maine Memory network website. The page featured former Secretary of Defense William Cohen as a famous Bangorian. Under the direction of Social Studies teacher Ron Bilancia and Media Specialist Priscilla Soucie, the page went public in early June.
  • Two 8th Grade students worked with Applied Science Teacher Don Stanhope to enter a “Dig into Science” Video, the Cohen Schools first ever entry into that particular competition.
  • Four Cohen 8th Graders won 3 medals at the National History Day Competition, with 2 of the winners going on to the National Competition.
  • A 7thGrader won the School Geography Bee and represented Cohen at the State Competition.
  • The Chess Club had a very successful season and one student competed in the State Individual Competition At UM.
  • The art work of 55 Cohen students was displayed in the Bangor Mall.
  • The art work of 23 Cohen students was displayed at City Hall.
  • To accelerate their learning, 70 Eighth Gradestudents accepted the challenge oftaking high school courses in Spanish or French.
  • Two students participated in 6-week after-school Italian classes, learning basics of the language.
  • Twenty Bangor Middle School students participated in the American Mathematics Competition at Husson University in November.
  • Eighteen 6th Grade mathematicians competed in the Mathematical Olympiads during the school year and five earned silver pins for finishing in the top 10% nationally.

Environment for Success:

  • 100% of Cohen students participated in at least one after school activity during the 2012-13 school year.
  • Secretary William S. Cohen visited the school and spent time with 8th Graders from JFD and WSC and 6th and 7th Graders from Cohen. The formal assembly took place in the Cohen Auditorium and will long be remembered by both students and staff who attended. Secretary Cohen’s word were quite inspirational!
  • Cohen teachers Alex Todorova and Hilary Poisson, teamed with Doughty teacher Kristi Erb to host several after school presentations about cultures from around the world. Featured countries/cultures included: Russia, Fiji, United Arab Emirates, China, Egypt, Peru, Ghana and Franco-America. The club was called "What in the World!" Students from both Bangor Middle Schools attended the very interesting and informative presentations.
  • The Grade 6 Greek Fair was a huge success!
  • The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation Board of Directors awarded the students at the William S. Cohen School and the James F. Doughty School $2500 to use toward the purchase of Lego Robotics Kits and software to start an after school robotics club. Robotic clubs were held at both middle schools during the 2012-13 School Year.
  • Over 50 Cohen 8th Graders combined with students from Doughtyto clean up the Bangor waterfront during the third annual service project.
  • Students at both Cohen and Doughty enjoyed a multi-media bullying presentation that provided students with a modern day, stimulating training in how to recognize, prevent, and deal with unsafe behaviors as a teen. The emphasis of the program was bullying, with a great piece on how cyber bullying can really hurt!
  • The WSCS Hiking Club, with over 40 students participating, completed five hikes in the Bangor area starting with an excursion to the City Forest and culminating with a challenging hike up Wood Chuck Hill.
  • Director Pat Shulman led a very talented and enthusiastic cast of 42 WSCS students in a performance of the play “The Wish Giver”. The play was written by Director Shulman and her cast!
  • A large group of students from William S Cohen and James F. Doughty combined forces to compete as a team in the Maine Middle School Acting Competition held in Belfast. The team finished an overall second while collecting the most individual awards of any team competing.
  • The William S. Cohen School Theater Arts Group presented their seventh annual spring musical “Camp Comic”. Based on comic strip characters attending camp, the show was written in part by Cohen students. Many of the acts from the Belfast Acting Competition were included in the show.
  • The WSCS Student Council set up polls and coordinated the student voting on election day to give the students a glimpse into an important responsibility as a U.S. citizen. Nearly 87% of the students and staff at Cohen cast a vote for the next President of the United States, Maine Senator, and Maine Representative.
  • 150 students and 12 staff members participated in a school wide wellness activity on December 20th at the Bangor-Brewer Bowling Center.
  • At the Dec. 14th Student Council meeting, members voted to donate $200 to needy Cohen families for gift cards, $250 to the Ronald McDonald house, and $250 to the Bangor School Children’s Fund. In addition, with the entire school department bringing food donations, the Student Council set forth a challenge for each week from Nov. 26 through Dec. 21 to bring in different requested nonperishable food items. The goal was 394 items, which was our student total at the starting time. We’re proud of our students and faculty for bringing in more than 100% of the goal!
  • The 2012-13 William S. Cohen Field Day was a tremendous success thanks to the excellent prep work by the PE Teachers Lisa Richards and Matt MacKenzie, full participation and enthusiastic attitude of the staff and student body, and the fantastic weather!
  • Appearing in vintage clothing, 7th grade students from the William S. Cohen School in Bangor showed displays and unveiled their “Famous Bangorian” web-exhibit project before an audience of about 100 students, parents, staff members, and community members.

Professional Excellence:

  • Science teacher Marie Thompson earned her C.A.S. from the University of Maine.
  • Art teacher KatrinaLajoie earned a C.A.S in computer technology.
  • Aspiration’s teacher Tammy Wyman was named by MADSEC as the 2013 Special Education Professional of the Year!
  • Science teacher Carolyn Vose earned the National Board Professional Teacher Certification.
  • Math teachers Terry Tibbetts, Roland Dube, Chantelle Holmes, and Karen Bagley received specialized training and implemented the ASSISTments program to fully participate in a two year study on using technology to support academic achievement in mathematics through homework.
  • The Grade 6 Team, consisting of two cagey veterans and four new members, successfully worked together coordinating and implementing both regular curriculum and new ideas and provided students a top-notch educational experience in their first year at Cohen!
  • Cohen School staff members read the book “Teach Like a Champion” by Doug Lemov over the summer. Many teachers were able to participate in the book talk sessions led by Ron Bilancia, Carolyn Vose, and Dr. PamAstbury.

Staff Wellness:

  • 10 WSCS Staff members rode in the September event “Pedal the Penobscot” to raise money for the Bangor Land Trust and as a school wellness activity.
  • In August, Cohen teacher Paula Maxim held a garden party for teachers at Cohen to bring the staff together as we prepared for the opening of school.

Facillties:

  • The Cole Land and Transportation Museum donated a 77” Smart Board with a UF65 projector, software, cables, and a sound system to the Cohen School for our long standing tradition of visiting the War Veterans at the museum in the spring.