Getting Ready for Goodbye

Because of the nature of our island and the lack of daily ferry service, students find themselves, after many years of going to school in our little one room schoolhouse, having to move on to high school. This is such a different experience out here than it is in most towns, where you continue to live where you always have, but take a bus or drive to high school. Here, many families are forced into tough choices, mainly: move off with your child so they may attend high school and retain their family unit, or send your child to 'board' with family or friends on the mainland, thereby losing your family unit. This year, we are losing Lance, our lone 8th grader, who has lived his entire life in Frenchboro. Can you imagine growing up in a town of about 40 people, owning your own lobster boat at, say 12 years old, having the independence to go where you please throughout your entire childhood, knowing the safety and simplicity of small island life, and suddenly, at around 14, having to move away simply to attend high school. Well, this is what Lance is faced with this year, and though high school will hold joys and achievements heretofore only dreamt of, the island will always hold him in the palm of its hand. Here's to you, Lance, you will be missed!