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Speakers
May 09, 2017
Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals
May 16, 2017
WHS Interact
May 23, 2017
Westbrook Schools Nutrition Program - Summer Program 2017
May 30, 2017
Visit Portland (formerly Greater Portland Convention & Visitors Bureau)
Jun 06, 2017
The value of seniors to Maine's economy & our community
Jun 13, 2017
Update on Sister City Exchange Program
Jun 20, 2017
Elder Abuse Prevention
Jun 27, 2017
Jul 04, 2017
View entire list
Upcoming Events
Board Meeting
WRVC Board Room
May 30, 2017
10:30 AM – 11:15 AM
 
Save the Date - Annual Lobster Boil
Home of Henry Saunders
Jul 11, 2017
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
 
Rotary Links
Rotary International
RI President Home
About Rotary
Joining Rotary
Rotary History
Rotary Foundation
For New Members
     The Four Way Test
      Of the things we think, say, or do:
            First, Is it the truth?
            Second, Is it fair to all concerned?
            Third, Will it build goodwill & better friendships?   
            Fourth, Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
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Next Board Meeting of 2016-2017
5/30 10:30AM at WRVC
All members are welcome at Board Meetings
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Stories
Opportunities This Week
The Locker Project - On Wednesdays May 17 and May 31, volunteers are needed to help at the produce and baked goods table at Westbrook High School from 1:30-3 PM. Activities include helping off load produce boxes (light and heavy), setting up the food on tables for students to take home with them, interacting with students, and cleaning up at the end.  Still need one volunteer for May 17 and two for May 31. If interested, please contact Christine Johnson. We will meet other volunteers at the rear of the school by the cafeteria door by 1:30 PM each of these dates.

Intercultural Community Center - The ICC needs to replace a very old van for use this summer. A generous donor has offered $15,000 towards a new van if the ICC can raise an additional $15,000.  This van will used to transport students from school, to the ICC and home. If you can help, please mail a donation to 36 Patrick Dr Westbrook ME 04092. Note that the funds are for the van matching fund.  For a full list of items on their wish list, you can visit http://iccmaine.org/wish.php.
 
Donate to our Club's Charity through Amazon Smile – Ongoing - If you order items from Amazon.com, even if not very often, you can help Westbrook Gorham Rotary Club Charities.  Go to http://smile.amazon.com/. Search for our Charity and select it. You may need to login to your Amazon account before being able to finalize your selection.   Then, when you shop Amazon.com (always starting from http://smile.amazon.com/) a portion of every purchase will be donated to our charity.
 
CLYNK for Literacy – Ongoing - Keep those cans and bottles coming! Drop off your filled CLYNK bag at any Hannaford. Thanks to those who have contributed bottles so far to help purchase books that we donate for each speaker.  If you need more CLYNK bags, they are available at each meeting. 
Reading Aloud Boosts Achievement
Jacquie Lortie, Literacy Lead Teacher at Village School in Gorham was our guest and speaker on May 2. Her primary job is to support students in Kindergarten through fifth grade who are having difficulty learning to read. Jacquie and three ed techs serve almost 50 students each day.
 
Jacquie and her team see their students daily for 45 minutes in small groups of 2 or 3, organized according to their reading levels instruction can be individualized as much as possible. Typically, they see 12-15 in each of Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade each year. The numbers decrease as the students move into third, fourth and fifth grades because they have made the gains needed to be working at their grade level.
Part of the students’ program is reading outside of school and homework is assigned at the end of the lesson each day.  In order to become efficient readers, children need to practice their reading, so the homework is to reread whatever they have read that day during the lesson.  Parents are asked to listen to their child read for 15 minutes each night.
 
Unfortunately, for one reason or another, some parents are not able to read regularly with their child. Not having the opportunity to practice reading places the child at jeopardy for making progress.  This is where volunteers come in. Ten years ago, many parents volunteered in the schools and could often be put to work listening to children read.  Now, they are finding that fewer parents are available to volunteer in school.
 
 
Research has found that the number of minutes spent in oral reading with an adult, even if it is a small amount, correlates positively to reading achievement. High achieving students who scored at the 90th percentile on reading tests spent 200 times as many minutes per day reading in contrast to the struggling readers who scored at the tenth percentile on tests. Students who read well choose to read more. Conversely, students who struggle with reading choose to not read and the poor reader has a very difficult time catching up with their peers who read more often. Research also tells us that students who are poor readers at the end of third grade will probably not catch up in the future.
 
Jacquie told us that it has been a wonderful gift having the Rotarians volunteer. Each has been assigned 3 students with whom they read for 15-20 minutes once a week. The students are mostly children who are receiving extra support in school, but do not read regularly with an adult at home.  Village School also has high school volunteers and “reading buddies” from the 4th and 5th grades who read with the younger students. However, our five Rotarians are currently the only adult volunteers reading with students.
 
 
L-R: Christine Johnson, Jacquie Lortie, Kate Wight
and Woody Beach
 
The staff at Village School is very appreciative of the time and patience that Kate, Woody, Ethan, Christine, and Steve have given to the students this year and are hopeful that this partnership can continue next year.
 
 
At the end of the program, Jacquie signed a new book which was donated to the Baxter Library.
Read more...
Food Drive for District Conference
Attendees of the District Conferences are being asked to bring non-perishable food items, toiletries or cleaning products. Donations will be given to Rockland Area Interfaith Outreach which supports food pantries, emergency assistance and a backpack program for school children.
 
If you would like to help our District with this project, please bring your donations to our meetings on May 9 or 17. 
 
Rotary Foundation Matching Opportunity
If you haven’t done so already, there is still time!  For every dollar donated to the Rotary Foundation (TRF), up to $100, the club will make a matching donation to TRF in that member’s name. Here is a great opportunity to support our well-respected Rotary Foundation which consistently achieves the highest rating from Charity Navigator. It is also an opportunity to move closer to a Paul Harris Fellow or PHF+ level.
 
Paul Harris Fellow recognizes members with lifetime giving of $1000 to TRF.  Each subsequent $1000 is recognized with PHF+1, PHF+2, etc. Donors are recognized with the presentation of a pin with the silhouette of Rotary’s founder, Paul Harris. 
All money donated to TRF is spent on projects proposed and run by Rotarians. Your donation can be earmarked for the Annual Fund, Polio Plus, Endowment Fund or sent directly to the Peace Centers.  If you choose the Annual Fund, you can donate to the SHARE Fund or to projects in any of Rotary’s six areas of focus: maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, clean water and sanitation, disease prevention and treatment, economic and community development, or peace and conflict resolution.  Money donated to the Annual SHARE Fund drives the amount available to be returned to our District two years hence for projects championed by Rotarians in our District.
 
To make it even easier, you can sign up for Rotary Direct.  With Rotary direct, you may have an amount automatically paid with a credit or debit card on a periodic basis: monthly, quarterly or annually.  At the end of the calendar year, Rotary provides a receipt detailing your donations. If you sign up for Rotary Direct, the club will donate an additional $25 in your name.
 
To donate on line, go to https://www.rotary.org/en/donate. Click on the Donate button and select a fund.  When you choose an amount, you may also choose to enroll in Rotary Direct on that page.
 
If you have any questions about TRF, about signing up for Rotary direct, or about your progress towards a PHF level, please contact our Foundation Chair Steve Rand steve@desmondrand.com.
Upcoming District & Rotary International Dates
 
2017 District Conference - May 19-21, 2017- Samoset Resort, Rockport ME. Sign up deadline has been extended to May 11. Sign up at: http://rotary7780.org/SitePage/2017-district-conference
 
2017 International Convention - June 10-17, 2017 - Atlanta GA - Georgia World Congress Center - http://www.rotaryconvention2017.org 
 
District Changeover Ceremony - Camp Hinds in Raymond - 5-10PM - The changeover ceremony will be followed by supper and the RYLA graduation ceremony. All members are welcome to attend. A small fee will be charged for those who wish to join the RYLA attendees for dinner. 
 
Speaker Assignment List
We have been receiving many requests to provide programs this year so have not assigned members to specific weeks as we have done in the past.  
If you have an idea for a program, please contact Christine Johnson.  We are currently seeking programs for July. 
 
Here is the list of upcoming dates with speakers and their sponsors:
  • 5/9   - Jason Beever - Meris Bickford Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals
  • 5/16 - WHS Interact - Dr Bruce Dyer & Students
  • 5/23 - Barbara Nichols  - Director Westbrook Schools Nutrition Program
  • 5/30 - Vanessa Pike - Membership Director Visit Portland
  • 6/6   - David S. Nealley- Publisher MAINE SENIORS Magazine
  • 6/13 - Andrew Turcotte - Russian Sister City Updates
  • 6/20 - Betty Balderston - Elder Abuse Prevention
  • 6/27 - Changeover Ceremony - Welcome Dr Bill Chadwick as our new President
  • 7/4 - No Meeting - Happy Independence Day
  • 7/11 - No Lunch Meeting - See you at the Lobster Boil
  • 7/18 - TBD
  • 7/25 - TBD
 
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Missed a Meeting?   Make up online at Rotary E-Club One
 
Or at one of these other local clubs in our area:
 
Portland - Fridays 12:15PM at Holiday Inn by the Bay or Clarion
check website for current week's venue
 
Portland Sunrise - Thursdays 7:15AM
Cumberland Club 116 High St Portland
 
Falmouth - Mondays 4:30PM
American Legion Post  65 Depot Rd Falmouth
 
Scarborough - Tuesdays 5:45PM
Cabela's 100 Cabela's Blvd Scarborough
 
Sebago Lake Rotary Club - Thursdays 12:15PM 
Dena's Lobster House & Tavern 765 Roosevelt Trail Windham
 
OR you can always claim a make up by attending Rotary-sponsored events of our club or other clubs like fundraisers, selling Christmas Trees, by volunteering at our Golf Tournament or our Road Race, or by attending District events or training. Just let our Secretary Mike Foley know when you have participated in any of these activities at mfoley@me.com
 
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