Spruce Mountain Primary School

Cheryl Mills is an ed. tech. at the primary school. She began working in the Livermore/Livermore Falls system in January of 1984. Her first 14 years were as an Ed. Tech. in Special Education. Since then, she has served as the Library Media Ed. Tech at LES/SMPS where she truly found her passion for instilling the love of books and reading. When asked what her favorite part of the job is, her reply was, “I love capturing that wonder in a child’s eyes as I read to them!” She loves to have fun and has a history of, literally, wearing many hats and dressing up.

She has served many roles over the years, including a member of the former parent teacher organizations, Scholastic Book Fair chair, summer reading programs, fundraiser chair and co-chair which, with the support of a generous community, earned the funds for all the playground equipment. She was a playground committee member and has spearheaded publication of two school cookbooks. She has served many years as, and is currently, the SMPS elected Association rep for secretaries and ed. techs and a negotiator.

She is married and has raised two boys. The best place she ever visited was Hawaii and would now like to get to Alaska. She and her husband are currently building their own house and doing it all themselves. Her hobbies include reading (of course!), dabbling with photography, traveling, crafting, wandering through antique shops, snowshoeing, dancing, and karaoke.

Spruce Mountain Elementary School

Tammy Deering teaches grade four at the elementary school. In her opinion, she has the best job in the district. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Farmington. Her hobbies include almost anything that allows her to be outside, including hiking, running, kayaking and snowshoeing. When forced to be inside she enjoys watching her beloved Red Sox, cooking, reading and restoring old furniture. Spending time with family and friends at her camp in Chesterville is one of her greatest pleasures. She also enjoys traveling to different areas of the United States, especially by car.

Spruce Mountain Middle School

Denise Acritelli teaches seventh and eighth grade English language arts and social studies at the middle school. She grew up in Jay and graduated from UMF. Denise began her teaching career at Livermore Falls Middle School in 1990. She taught in Fayette for 9 years before going back to LFMS for 11 years before it became SMMS. She and her husband Bill live locally and have 2 grown daughters, Emily and Allison. She enjoys cooking, photography and any quiet time she can find to read.

Spruce Mountain High School

Daniel Lemieux, technology education teacher at the high school, graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelor’s degree in technology education. He obtained a Master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Maine at Orono. He began teaching in 1983 at Jay High School. As a technology education teacher, he feels that having hands-on skills are essential to success in life. He has taught woodworking, metalworking, drafting (CAD) and building construction for 37 years. He stated the SMART Robotics team in 2011 which has encouraged many students to pursue STEM career pathways. Twice during his career in Jay he traveled to China as part of an international teaching exchange program. He enjoys walking and hiking and traveling throughout the world with his wife and family, especially traveling in Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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