For the second year, Wells Junior High School music teacher Katie Mercier has introduced a unit of study to her eighth-grade students on learning to play the ukulele.

“I think it’s good because it gives them a basis on a stringed instrument,” said Mercier, who pointed out that the ukulele is an accessible, four-string instrument that is popular.  She believes it gives students “a start” to either continue with the ukulele or branch out to another string instrument, such as the guitar or bass guitar. 

At the start each student was assigned a ukulele to play and care for while in class.  Students got familiar with the notes on the small fretboard that corresponded with notes on the upper or treble clef of sheet music. They eventually learned to form chords and play simple songs that they could record on their laptops. 

“I like playing the ukulele,” said student Gavin Dusza, who has been learning piano for the past seven years. He noted that he had experienced some instruction with the violin in elementary school.  “Ukulele was definitely different for me because I never played guitar, but after two weeks, you get the hang of it.”

Fellow eighth-grader Jack Kennedy said, “I liked this unit. I was surprised at how much I liked playing the ukulele.  Music has never been my favorite subject, but the ukulele was actually fun. It’s easy and my new favorite instrument.”  He added, “It makes me think of a nighttime beach-type-of-vibe every time I play.  It's really smooth.”  Kennedy said he would continue playing the ukulele following this class.

The ukulele originated and became popular in Portugal during the 1880s.  Eventually, it became a significant fixture of Hawaiian culture.  The instrument comes in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.  The Hawaiian word “ukulele” translates in English to “jumping flea.”   "Uku" is the word for "flea," and "lele" translates to the verb "jumping."

The Wells Junior High School cheerleading team is in the midst of their performance season and recently collaborated with the Wells High School team for a special showcase. Held at Wells High School, this event provided an opportunity for friends and family to witness the exceptional progress of both teams as they presented their competition routines.

The junior high team has upcoming performances on February 15 and February 22. A special thanks to our outstanding coaching staff for their immense dedication in supporting our cheerleaders!

Wells Junior High School eighth grade student Scarlett Lantz bested a crowd of competitors from across York County to win the county spelling bee before a packed crowd at Massabesic Middle School on Tuesday, February 4th.

Lantz qualified for the county bee by finishing 2nd in the WJHS Bee. WJHS champion Tyler Donahue finished in 8th place. Lantz will now represent York County at the Maine State Spelling Bee at Bowdoin College in March.

In the early morning of January 9th, twelve finalists in the Wells Junior High School Spelling Bee for 2025 entered the Ward Gymnasium to compete in a school-wide assembly in front of an audience of hundreds of students. The finalists consisted of three students per grade level.  They all placed first in earlier pre-qualifying classroom spelling bees.   

The finalists were 5th-grade students Lucy Minogue, Lucie Parker, and Jordan Schettino.   Sixth-graders present were Tyler Donahue, Eric Lee, and Will Minogue.  From the 7th grade were Kyle Dolliver, Riley Gosselin, and Carmen Puliafico.  Representing the 8th grade were Kylie Afthim, Scarlett Lantz, and Laila VanWeest.

“It was great to see the enthusiasm, respect, and excitement that the audience showed the spellers,” commented English Language Arts (ELA) teacher Julie Esch.  “It was a lot of fun!”   

Sixth-grade student Tyler Donahue won this year’s Bee.   In the deciding round, he spelled the words ‘séance’ and ‘vociferous’ correctly in that order.  Eighth-grade student and runner-up Scarlett Lantz advanced to the final round by correctly spelling the word ‘impeccable’ but misspelling the next word, ‘séance’.  Both students will now represent their school at the York County Spelling Bee on February 4th in the library at Massabesic Middle School in East Waterboro at 2:00 pm. 

“It was something,” said an excited and surprised Tyler Donahue.  “I never thought I would get first place, let alone second or third.  It's amazing.”    Regarding the final word of the contest, he added that “I was just in the dark” when presented with the word, ‘vociferous’. 

The first-place prize awarded to Donahue was a deluxe Scrabble board.  Those who placed in the top four of contestants received medals.  All of the participating students received pencils with “WJHS Spelling Bee” imprinted on them plus some Smarties Candy. 

This year’s judges of the contest included ELA teachers Mary Rand, Laney Yeomelakis, Molly Foran, Sarah Downs, and Daysia Cornett.  Music teacher Alison Graichen operated the sound system for the hour-long event.          

York County junior high students participating in this first stage of the National Spelling Bee will join with WJHS finalists in the State Spelling Bee to be held at Bowdoin College in Brunswick on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 2:00 p.m.  Students who win state competitions are then invited to participate in the National Spelling Bee held in the spring.  Began in 1925, the National Spelling Bee is administered by the E.W. Scripps Company and 267 sponsors in the United States. and elsewhere.

Wells Junior High School will present its 30th Annual Turkey Dinner for area seniors on November 17 th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This free dinner will be held in the school’s cafeteria.

The meal is a traditional holiday dinner consisting of turkey with all the “fixings,” coffee, and dessert. Typically, about 400 are served over the two-hour period.

Begun in 1994 by the then principal of WJHS Jeff Rodman, these special dinners continue to serve as a goodwill gesture to the community. It is also an important “service learning” project for the eighth graders. In preparation for the big day, students fill various roles. They make decorations, banners, and table napkins to decorate the dining room and set up tables and chairs.

They also greet guests, bring them to their table, work in the kitchen, wait on tables, and help clean up.

As in past years, the turkeys are donated by Wells IGA and cooked by Congdon’s Family Restaurant & Bakery. The coffee served is provided by Dunkin' Donuts in Wells.

WJHS is located at 1470 Post Road (Route One) in Wells. No reservation for this dinner is required. For further information, call WJHS at 646-5142.

This weekend, consider going to see the Wells Junior High School Drama Department’s presentation of “Eerie Academy,” a spooky comic play that is a collection of vignettes about the strange goings on in a school that not only has students but ghosts, vampires, ghouls, and aliens.

Under the direction of Allison Le, over 60 WJHS students have worked diligently to be ready for opening night on October 24th.

“The actors and set crew have worked hard on bringing this play to life!” wrote Director Le.  “(They) have been busy studying lines, learning to block, and working on their characterization(s) with our Assistant Director, Gregg Trzaskowski.  Stage manager Madison Richards has been working with a large group of students on the sets and props for the show.”

Dates and times of the performances are as follows: Thursday, October 24th at 6:00 pm, Friday, October 25th at 3:30 pm and Saturday, October 26th at 1:00 pm.  Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the door of WJHS’s Ward Gymnasium an hour before curtain time.

Come see the Wells Junior High School Drama Department as they open their fall show with a production of the spooky Halloween spectacular of Eerie Academy!

Under the direction of Allison Le, over 50 Wells Junior High School students are hard at work getting ready for opening night on October 24.

Wells Junior High School Drama presented 3 performances of the Disney tale Shrek, Jr. The Musical inside the Olenn Performing Arts Center at Wells High School on April 6 and April 9. The productions wraps up the 2023-24 drama season which began in September when the cast began their season in preparation to deliver Alice in Wonderland. Be on the lookout for show announcements for the 2024-25 school year soon!