Parker School students visit Maine

Twelve Parker School students recently returned from three weeks in Camden, Maine.

Two sophomores, eight juniors and two seniors traveled with Headmaster Carl Sturges to study as part of an exchange program operated by Camden Hills Regional High School. The purpose of the exchange is for students to visit and learn about another part of the country.

Parker’s itinerary included visits to Bowdoin, Colby and Bates colleges in Maine and Tufts and Northeastern universities in Boston. Parker college counselor Joanie Brotman joined the group for this portion of the trip.

In addition to their studies in Maine and the college visits, the group enjoyed a day at Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, a lobster dinner for all the participants and their Maine host families, seeing the fall colors, ice skating and apple picking. The students also experienced the big storm that brought 10 inches of snow and caused school to be canceled for three days. Sturges said none of the kids complained, as they got to go sledding and have snowball fights.

Eight of the Parker students are debate team members and while there, they participated in the Bangor High Debate Invitational tournament.

Parker took first place in Novice Public Forum and Varsity Public Forum Debate categories.

“The Maine association really laid out the welcome carpet for us, providing gift bags filled with Maine products for our students and introducing them specially at the awards assembly, where they got a big ovation from the crowd,” said Sturges, who also is Parker’s debate coach. What a great day!”

Sturges also reported most of the kids developed strong relationships with their host families the Maine students who will be coming to Hawaii, as well as a group of students from Italy who were visiting.

The twelve exchange students from Camden Hills School will visit Parker School at the end of February.