[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 52 (Monday, April 28, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MAINE HIGH SCHOOL PARTICIPATES IN ``WE THE PEOPLE'' PROGRAM

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, during this past weekend, 14 students 
from St. Dominic Regional High School in Lewiston, ME, joined with 
almost 1,200 other high school students from across the Nation to 
participate in the national finals for the ``We the People'' 
competition, a program designed to help students better understand the 
history of our Constitution and its Bill of Rights, which are the 
foundations upon which our system of government rests.
  The St. Dominic High School students have been representing the State 
of Maine during this weekend's activities, which will culminate in a 
national winner being chosen tonight, at an awards banquet here in 
Washington. The St. Dominic's team spent a considerable amount of time 
and energy reaching the national finals this weekend by winning various 
competitions in Maine in order to earn the honor of representing our 
State.
  The 14 members of our State's outstanding team, who should be 
individually acknowledged for their efforts in this undertaking, are:
  Robyn Adair, Michael Beam, Julie Blanchette, Nicole Bouttenot, Rachel 
Bouttenot, Martin Bruno, Derek Coulombe, Emma Dore-Hark, Jennifer 
Elliott, Jonathan LaBonte, Kendra LaRoche, Kathryn Mailhot, Michael 
Theriault, and Matthew Walton.
  Of course, in addition to these outstanding students, I want to 
acknowledge and recognize the hard work of their teacher, Rosanne 
Ducey, who deserves her fair share of the credit for the team's success 
as well. The ``We the People'' program coordinator for Maine, Pamela 
Beal, has also contributed a significant amount of her time and effort 
to help the St. Dominic team reach the national finals.
  The ``We the People'' program, which is administered by the Center 
for Civic Education, is the most indepth educational program in the 
country developed specifically to educate high school students about 
the U.S. Constitution. This past weekend's 3-day national competition 
re-creates a public hearing in which the student's oral presentations 
are judged on the basis of their knowledge of constitutional principles 
and their ability to apply them to historical and contemporary issues.
  The ``We the People'' program has been operating for 10 years now. 
Since its origination, millions of students nationwide have 
participated in this program at either the elementary, middle, and/or 
high school level. This program provides an excellent opportunity for 
students to gain an informed perspective on the significance of the 
U.S. Constitution and its place in our history and our lives.
  Mr. President, I'm pleased to be able to recognize the valuable 
contribution that the St. Dominic Regional High School team has made to 
the success of the ``We the People'' program, and I wish these students 
and their teachers the very best of luck. I am proud of their 
accomplishments.

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