(From left) Chief Petty Officer Adam Peers and Petty Officers Rob Shores, Lindsey Tabor and Jessica Lawrence try out the CGC Pemetic. The play-sized boat, which was donated to the Pemetic playground by the Coast Guard station, was recently repainted.

SOUTHWEST HARBOR —

“Recess is the best,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Rob Shores, describing when a student at Pemetic Elementary School invited him to play. “I finally felt accepted.”

Shores is part of PIE, the Coast Guard Partnership in Education program. The program’s aim, said Chief Petty Officer Adam Peers, is to build connections and get into the community. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, a group of volunteers from the Coast Guard station heads over to Pemetic to participate in recess, read aloud and work with students one on one.

The PIE program has operated at the school for many years, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to a two-year stretch without any volunteers. Now that the program is up and running again, teachers, administrators and Coast Guard members are excited to work together.

“They have been coming since October,” said Pemetic Principal Christine Gray. “There are a lot of great things about it.”

Coast Guard volunteers come in groups of four or five and then split up. Some volunteers go out to recess with pre-K while others head upstairs to help fourth graders with their reading.

Volunteers connect with the kids through one-on-one tutor time, through playing outside and by reading aloud. “It is so awesome to see a kid come out of his shell,” said Peers.

Added adults in the classrooms also help the school staff, currently lacking one ed tech, one speech-and-language pathologist and one gifted-and-talented teacher. The school has been advertising to fill the open positions, but to no avail. The Coast Guard volunteers allow teachers to focus on students who may need extra help.

“I can work with some [students] while the volunteers can work with others,” said fourth-grade teacher Kim Schroder, adding that each student is receiving more direct attention. “It is very helpful.”

Relationships between students and volunteers can also aid in a student’s development beyond academics. “I had one kindergarten teacher explain to me what a huge difference it makes to have men in the classroom that aren’t dad or an uncle,” said Peers.

While educating students about the Coast Guard is not the aim of the PIE program, many kids have questions about the uniforms. “It is so important to open the conversation that we are normal people who wear uniforms,” said Peers. “Really what it takes is just coming in here and being a bit of a goofball.”

“A lot of kids don’t realize that women can be in the Coast Guard…so they really like seeing me in uniform,” said Petty Officer Jessica Lawrence.

Petty Officer Lindsey Tabor added that a lot of students don’t know about the Coast Guard station in general. The station, at the end of Clark Point Road in Southwest Harbor, has always brought Coast Guard members and their families to town. At times, since the station’s inception in 1945, thirty percent of the elementary school’s population consisted of children of Coast Guard members. That number now is much lower.

PIE offers the Coast Guard and the community the opportunity to get to know each other.

“We enjoy working with the community and it is fun, and if we can educate the kids along the way, then that’s a positive impact,” said Lawrence.

The PIE program will continue throughout the school year as Coast Guard members continue to build connections throughout the Southwest Harbor community.

Monday Jan 23, 2023

• Girls A Practice 3-4:30pm(Pemetic)

• No School

Tuesday Jan 24, 2023

• A Team vs. MDES g/b 3:45pm(Pemetic)

• B Boys Practice 4:30-6pm(Tremont)

• B Girls practice 3-4:30pm(Tremont)

Wednesday Jan 25, 2023

• B Team Girls/A Team Boys @Trenton b/g 3:45pm

• Boys B Practice 3-4pm(Pemetic) 

Thursday Jan 26, 2023

• Winter Concert (No Practice)

Friday Jan 27, 2023

• HH 3:30-5:30pm

• No Practice

Summer Festival of the Arts (SFOA) will kick off its 2023 Season with the eighth annual February Vacation Camp, to be held during local school vacations, the week of February 20-24. This year's camp will center around creating and performing an original musical, "Hakuna Matata," and creating art inspired by it. The camp will feature musical theater classes in the morning at the Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor, and visual art classes in the afternoons at the YWCA, and all classes will be taught by Tami Chessa and Nick Roberts. A free public performance and art show will be on Saturday, February 25 at 12pm at the Criterion Theatre. Registration will open on January 13th at www.sfoamaine.org.

Who:   Summer Festival of the Arts, in partnership with the Criterion Theatre and the YWCA

What:   February Break Vacation Camp

When: February 20 - 24, 2023

Where: Criterion Theatre and YWCA, Bar Harbor

Website: https://www.sfoamaine.org/

Local Food Resources

Common Good Food Pantry
Southwest Harbor 
207-479-5313
Common Good is also open between 12 and 1 on Sundays for food pick up.

West Side Food Pantry
Southwest Harbor
207-664-8615 

Bar Harbor Food Pantry 
207-288-3375

MDI Food Access Program

Open Table MDI Community Supper
116 Cottage Street
Every Tuesday from 4-6

THE GOOD FOOD BOX

Each participant will be provided with a food box on a weekly basis containing prepared meals, pantry items, and fresh produce at no cost. The food boxes will be offered at pick-up sites every Saturday and at-home delivery options will be available to those who qualify. The Fall Session 2022 of The Good Food Box will be offered for a period of three months from October 1, 2022, through December 17, 2022. This program will continue to run year-round and any currently active participants will roll over into the next session unless otherwise noted. Please note that to participate in this program you must be a resident of Hancock County.
This program is in collaboration with the Bar Harbor Food Pantry and does NOT disqualify or change one's ability to utilize the food pantry as needed. 

Delivers on Saturdays
For More Information or For Help Completing This Registration:
Contact Claire Bailey at food.access@opentablemdi.org or 207-479-1941
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mdi-food-access-project