Last night was the GSA Prom held at Bay School’s Emlen Hall. Here are a few pics from the pre-prom festivities. Share your prom pics for all to enjoy- just click then upload on the button below.

Last Thursday and Friday, eleven members of the class of 2029 took part in the annual overnight trip to Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership.  Paid for in full by the Blue Hill Heritage Trust, this adventure is designed to "inspire individuals to become impassioned change leaders and informed citizens in confronting current and future environmental challenges. Our research agenda focuses on answering local high priority questions and increasing scientific capacity regionally. We pursue initiatives that increase our knowledge through the scientific process, and the knowledge gained then informs communities and empowers people to take action."

We studied the health of ponds and vernal pools by identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates that are sensitive to water pollution. We learned about the lifecycle and challenges of raising scallops in an aquaculture environment, including dissections! We went on a sustainability hike to identify and analyze the sustainable systems (drinking water, waste water, food production, food composting, human waste management) present on the island. But the hands-down favorite activity for the kids was "gallivanting in the woods.” They also loved constructing mattress forts in their bunkhouses and eating three fabulous meals plus two fantastic snacks a day. All told, it was a marvelous time for everybody!

-M. Lowe

The town of Blue Hill’s Marine Resource Committee reached out to ask if we could repair multiple broken welds and put down new tread on the walkway for the South Blue Hill wharf. Students (Judson Butler and Kayden Mc Laughlin) worked through multiple classes to get this done and back to it's home just in time for summer!

-A. Baker

The Young Birders Club (YBC) is a program run by the Downeast Chapter of Maine Audubon where Hancock County high schoolers are provided free, weekly birding outings. The club has grown since its inception last June, thanks in large part to GSA. While the club is open to all high school students in Hancock County, almost all of the current members are GSA students. GSA also partners with Downeast Audubon by letting us use their van for outings so we can all travel together to multiple locations to bird each week.

In about a week, the YBC will compete in our first Birdathon. A Birdathon is a 24 hour birding marathon where teams try to find as many different species of birds as they can. Birdathon is Downeast Audubon’s annual fundraiser, and it provides almost all of our income and funds most of our programming, including the young birders club. So it’s two competitions in one: fundraising and birding. 

We're aiming for May 23-24 (weather permitting). It's coming up soon, but we're accepting donations for this year's fundraiser through the end of May.

Folks interested in donating can either go to www.youngbirders.club and click the donate button or they can make a check out to Downeast Audubon with YBC in the memo and send it to PO Box 1212, Ellsworth, ME, 04605.

-J. Longo

To contribute to the event or volunteer, sign up at this link.

Click here to download sponsorship materials or get in touch with our Advancement Department at a.saunders@georgestevens.org.

GSA 11th graders are invited to attend Dirigo State at Colby College in late June. This is a program sponsored by the American Legion in which a couple hundred juniors from all around the state convene for five days to learn about and role-play state government. All expenses for GSA students are paid for by the local American Legion chapter. Interested students should contact David Stearns, Dean of Curriculum, by May 15 to apply.

-D. STEARNS