01/25/2009
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Photo by Jeff Poulandfrom the Kennebec Journal
FAIRPOINT PLAN TARGETS DEBT
Wind project off Mass. meets strong resistance
Three bills seek tougher rules for petitioners
New rules for special education debated
Happy apples
AUGUSTA: Cuts to French curriculum run into opposition
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Hall-Dale drops MVC title game to Mountain Valley
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY NOTEBOOK: Different stakes in Gardiner-Winslow rivalry
All of today's:
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from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
'At the time ... he was psychotic'
Man answers door, is attacked with Mace and then robbed
FairPoint reorganization plan aims to slash company's debt
Concerns over special-education changes aired
FAIRFIELD: Clinton man, 21, arrested on rape, assault charges
Stun gun, arrest of suspect end high-speed, 2-town chase
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY NOTEBOOK: Gardiner, Winslow take to ice again
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Skowhegan wins KVAC A title game
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
Staff Writer
Callie Rogers smiles the way fifth graders do when she talks about what she saw at Mr. Paperback. The bookstore chain, which sells the latest magazines and offerings from nationally known authors, is also selling a greeting card she made herself.
"To actually see something that you made," Callie said, "it's really cool."
Callie is one of the students at Albert S. Hall School in Waterville who is in fifth grade with either Uri Lessing or Holly Trottier. The two teachers developed a plan whereby students produce and sell greeting cards, with the goal of raising $200 to support the puffin population in Maine.
Puffins are short-winged diving birds, and the puffin population in Maine was nearly eliminated by humans hunting during the 17th through 19th centuries. Trottier learned about puffins through the book "Project Puffin: How We Brought Puffins Back to Egg Rock," by Stephen W. Kress, as told to Pete Salmansohn.
In the book, Kress recounts how he brought puffins from Newfoundland to Eastern Egg Rock, a small island off the Maine coast.
"In July of 1992, seven pairs of puffins nested. Since then, each year has seen more puffins breeding. In 1996, we counted forty active burrows!" a passage in the book reads.
The book has a note in the back about the "Adopt-A-Puffin" program, which assigns one Atlantic puffin to a person who contributes $100. Lessing and Trottier are hoping to raise enough money through selling cards -- $251, after expenses -- to adopt one puffin for each class.
"What we would get in return is information about that puffin -- the life, when it was born, where it's lived -- and there would be posters and pictures that we could have in the classroom," Trottier said.
The teachers brought math into the program by taking surveys and making graphs to determine the most popular cards. They also talked with Jim Howard, who writes for Hallmark.
"We actually videoconferenced with him, and he talked with the kids about how you plan a card, how you write a card, what people look for when they're creating cards," Lessing said.
Then it was on to creating the cards. The students set a price of between $1 and $3 on their own cards, which are made from things like construction paper and other art supplies.
"Every aspect of card production has been in the hands of the students," Lessing said. "They controlled colors. They controlled what appears on the cards. They controlled how the cards were going to be produced, whether they'd work by themselves or in partnership. They have control over the price."
"It's pretty long, hard work," said Joamy Roldan, another fifth grader at the school. "It's fun to see how they come out in the end."
Mr. Paperback in Waterville began selling the cards on Jan. 16, and Lessing said the goal is for the cards to be sold at Flo's Flower Cart and the Colby College Museum of Art within the next two weeks.
"For me, it's about them feeling empowered that they can make a difference in the world, and that they, individually, count because they are able to take action," Trottier said.
If cards don't sell, the students will revisit the price. They'll also look at which cards are the top sellers, so they can meet the demands of their customers.
"It's a very active business model," Lessing said. "It's very much connected to the real-world situation."
"It's really interesting," Joamy said. "I've never done something like this."
Of course, as in any business model, the opportunity is there for the students to surpass their goal.
"We have two new markets that opened up, and we're certainly going to be watching carefully and keeping our fingers crossed as we get our returns in," Lessing said. "If the cards sell well, I think the kids will continue to produce more cards. We'll take it as far as the community wants us to take it."
Matt DiFilippo -- 861-9243
mdifilippo@centralmaine.com
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