April 29th, 2026
Raider Report
“The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword.”— Edward Bulwer-Lytton
FA ROBOTICS QUALIFY FOR WORLDS
By Jacob Palestrant '27
It is a cold brisk morning, the roads to southern Maine slowly warm with the tires of school buses heading to “The Point.” Today seems like any other slow Saturday, but for robotics students statewide this is the apex of their season. Over the past eight months, teams across the state have built, competed, and refined their bots, all so that they could qualify for this event, the Maine State Championship. Qualification for this event is earned through
certain awards throughout the season. These awards are handed to bots that champion an event, innovate, or perform well in the skills challenge. Each team, regardless of how they qualify, are invited to the State Championship. There, six high school teams will earn an invite to fly to St. Louis, where they will represent Maine in the Vex World Championship.
Cont. School Life Pg. 2
Arts Beyond the Art Room for Mr. Factor and Ms. Bondar
By
Mr. Factor and Ms. Bondar will not be returning to Fryeburg next year, having decided to leave their positions teaching at Fryeburg Academy to focus their lives in making their own art.
(From left) Everett Helvie '28, Mateusz Jedrzejowski '28, Anton Liesnoi '26, Emmett Lounsbury '27, and Jacob Palestrant '27 of Team Z prepares for worlds in full costume (Photo - Chloe Sartory)
Serena Di Nucci '27 & Helen Glazer '29
The Factor Fine Arts Studio (Photo - Ian Factor)
SCHOOL LIFE
DORM OLYMPICS
Faculty takes the stage (Photo - Holym Han '26)
Charles Bishop '27 takes the stage
(Photo - Holym Han '26)
Webster students in an intense badminton match (Photo - Holym Han '26)
Webster students on stage (Photo - Holym Han '26)
Chase dorm Olympics winners pose for a photo in the PAC.
(Photo - Holym Han '26)
Continued from front page:
FA Robotics Qualify for Worlds
This year, all three Fryeburg Academy Teams qualified for the state championship, Z-Caesar, F-Michael, and G-!norm. These teams have competed constantly throughout the season, building their robot, redesigning, coding, and learning from each mistake. Their qualification is the result from countless late nights filled with pizza and energy drinks. Each Fryeburg team had exactly four weeks to prepare for the main event. While four weeks seems like an excessive amount of time to build, code, and practice, it is hardly enough. Team Z and F both made the daring decision to rebuild their entire robot before the event. Each Team completed the build, and the code, but both struggled with practice time.
The Fryeburg teams pull up to the front door right at 7:45 am on the dot. Each Team has roughly 30 minutes before their first match. All over the venue 50 other high school teams scramble to prepare their bots, check their drivetrains, and get in a few more minutes of practice. At 8:15 the first match starts: Team Z on red secures their first win in the opening match, marking the start to a long, but successful day. Team F on blue secures their
first win in the following match, and Team G unfortunately loses their first match in Q9. Throughout the day Teams are randomly paired up with a second bot to then compete against another two bot alliance. The Teams are constantly communicating with their new alliance members about strategy and capabilities. Each match tests how well Teams are able to communicate and perform on the field. Team Z finishes the qualification matches with a 6:2 winlose-ratio, leaving them in 7th place for alliance selection. Team F finishes with a 3:5 ratio partially due to lack of their driver, who unfortunately could not make it, Team G matches Team F with a 6:2 ratio.
The second half of the day is the tournament bracket; teams starting from first to last line up to pick permanent alliances. These permanent alliances will compete with other alliances to reveal the state championship. Team Z pairs with Team 56S from Cape Elizabeth, being the only Fryeburg team making it into the bracket. After 16 alliances are made the Teams have 10 minutes to discuss game plans with their permanent alliance. The Team Z alliance claims their first brack-
et win with a final score of 83 to 9, they follow this performance with a high intensity match in semifinals, winning 97 to 6. This win marks the first world event qualification, as all four high school teams that make it to finals qualify for worlds. After two tough final matches, Team Z emerges as the tournament finalist, securing their first qualifying award. After cleaning up, all 50 high school teams head to the auditorium to watch awards. Team G wins the Judge Award, an award dedicated to a team that connected with the judges and showed a unique take to the game. Team Z walks onto the stage earning both a Tournament Finalist Award and the Design Award, dedicated to a team that documents well, performs well, and has a strong robot. Team Z left this event with two world qualifying events, marking the second time in Fryeburg history that a team has qualified for worlds. Team Z now prepares for April 20th where the team and their bot will fly from Boston to St. Louis to represent the state of Maine and the US.
Team Z's bot—Caesar (Photo - Jacob Palestrant)
Mateusz Jedrzejowski '28 driving the bot at States. (Photo - David Sartory)
Continued from front page:
Arts Beyond the Art Room: Life after FA For Ms. Bondar & Mr. Factor
Mr. Factor owns and operates a gallery in Bridgton: Factor Fine Art. Across from the gallery, echoing the layout of FA's art room, is Mrs. Bondar’s Pottery Studio: Bow House Studio. With their new found time, the two each plan to grow and nurture their own businesses in Bridgton. They will continue to contribute actively to the art community of The Valley and beyond, just not from Fryeburg Academy.
Mr. Factor has shared that he plans to offer advanced classes at Factor Fine Art starting in the fall, and will share information to enroll with students at the end of the year. Over the summer he will continue classes and courses at his gallery. He looks back on his time at Fryeburg Academy fondly, but is excited for what lies ahead.
“My plans Post Fryeburg Academy are to spend more of my time and energy on getting back into my studio to start producing my own artwork again with more focus and consistency, in addition to running my nonprofit Center for the Arts and Gallery in Bridgton (Factor Fine Art).” says Mr. Factor in an interview. He also shares that he hopes to spend more of his time outside enjoying nature and the mountains.
These next endeavors follow many successful experiences for Factor. Before teaching at Fryeburg, Mr. Factor exhibited his work in multiple solo shows at major galleries and museums all over the country and the world. He has also painted portraits for the permanent collection of the Players Club in New York City, and was a senior designer and Illustrator for Burton Snowboards. Through Factor Fine Art, he will share his experience and skill with youth of the valley in specialized courses, workshops and seminars including oil painting, figure drawing and portrait sculpture. He wants to encourage Fryeburg Academy Students to participate by offering student discounts to all classes and workshops.
As for Ms. Bondar, she plans to expand her own studio. At Bow House Studio she will offer public events and classes over the summer and throughout the year, in addition to selling her own beautiful work.
Unlike Mr. Factor’s business, her studio was well established in Boston - she opened in 2022, and while teaching at Fryeburg she went through the lengthy process of moving it to Bridgton. Of the process she explained “In some ways it felt like starting over, but I did have a good founda-
“This is something I've been telling my adult students for the last four years - that they shouldn't worry if they feel like they aren't creative or artistic. So much of making art is about the experience and how we feel during that time.”
Ms. Bondar
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tion to build upon. After I found the right studio space to lease, I had to get all my equipment moved including my kiln, pottery wheels, shelving, and furniture.” After plumbing and paper work, she focused on reaching her new audience, and has been very busy since opening in June of 2025. For the summer she has more goals, explaining to us in an interview: “Now that I am dedicating myself full time to Bow House Studio, I will continue to offer studio memberships and beginner wheel and handbuilding classes, but I will also branch out into offering advanced classes and various workshops.” She added that she hopes to also host visiting artists for workshops and talks, in addition to pop up fairs for her members to sell their own work.
From Fryeburg Academy, both teachers have gained teaching experience and connections in the valley, sharing and strengthening what they believe in most. Ms. Bondar spoke specifically about the importance of experiencing the process of making art, without being stressed by the pressures of a final product. “My students at The Academy often vocalized to me that they really enjoyed the process of making their artwork and simply having time to relax and decompress during the school day. Our class discussions were mostly focused around the artistic process rather than the final outcome of their work. This is something I've been telling my adult students for the last four years - that they shouldn't worry if they feel like they aren't creative or artistic. So much of making art is about the experience and how we feel during that time.”
By sharing this experience with others, both Ms. Bondar and Mr. Factor will continue to make great impacts on our community through art. They have helped the school grow and expand creatively, and are leaving us with a well structured art program to remember them by. Luckily though, they have not gone far. You can find both in the heart of downtown Bridgton.
Ms. Bondar’s Studio website: www.bowhousestudio.com
Mr. Factor Non-profit Website: www.factorfineart.com
Mr. Factors Personal Website : www.ianfactor.com
Big Band Plays One Longfellow Square
By Lilia Vishnyakov’26
On Thursday, March 19th, the Fryeburg Academy Big Band had the opportunity to play alongside the Portland Jazz Orchestra at One Longfellow Square. Coming off of a triumphant run at the Maine State Instrumental Jazz Festival, the group of tired but resilient musicians played a four-tune performance in between the PJO’s two sets. Performing at One Longfellow Square is an annual event for the Big Band, but because this year the ensemble has so many first-year members, excitement was particularly high.
For those who haven’t had the privilege of attending a musical event at One Longfellow Square, the venue is nothing short of alluring. It’s a small but dynamic space, and FA musicians were mere feet away from some of the best jazz instrumentalists in the state, including FA’s very own Mr. Sakash playing lead alto saxophone, and Soleil Huang-Dale ‘24 subbing on trombone. Watching the Portland Jazz Orchestra was an equally fun and educational experience for new and veteran musicians alike.
The FA Big Band played their regular set just like they had at the district and state festivals, and also added a new tune featuring Lilia Vishnyakov ‘26 on clarinet. The performance ran smoothly considering how tired everyone was from a long week of big music trips, and FA musicians were pleasantly surprised to see lots of familiar faces in the audience, from families to a large assembly of FA alumni. All in all, the FA Big Band had a great time showcasing their hard work at a unique venue, and gaining inspiration from a professional jazz band. Upcoming for FA Big Band at the time of writing is a jazz concert at the Leura Hill Eastman PAC on April 1st, and a trip to Montreal over April break for another festival.
FA Big Band plays a set at One Longfellow Square. (Photo - Shellie Sakash)
Kaelen Moser '26 solos with Big Band (Photo - Shellie Sakash)
Lilia Vishnyakov '26 solos on tenor sax (Photo - Shellie Sakash)
Joseph Della Valla '26 and John Della Valla '28 in action (Photo - Shellie Sakash)
Ezra Houghton '29 soloing on alto sax (Photo - Shellie Sakash)
Vocal Jazz Wins Big at States
By Peter Priestman ‘29
The 2026 Vocal Jazz State Competition has come and gone for another year. Friday afternoon a group of 13 Fryeburg Academy musicians pushed off the docks for a four hour trip to Millinocket High School. They stayed overnight at an old hotel about 15 minutes out from the high school called Gateway Inn. After a late night the vocalists woke up late, leaving the hotel around 9:00am. After a quick pit stop at a diner for breakfast the bus, piloted by choral director Daniel Kaschub, arrived in Millinocket.
After some quick rehearsal of their set they went onto the stage in front of three judges and many other spectators. They delivered a beautiful performance of three tunes: Wish You Were Mine by Karrin Allyson, Moonlight in Vermont by Karl Suessdorf and Nature Boy by Eden Abhez. This included solos from voices Daria Kolosovska ‘26, Arthur Osborne ‘26, Bridget Wilson ‘26, Lily Bryan ‘26, Mona Wilson ‘27 and Sally Baptista ‘26. Shortly after the Fryeburg Academy’s set the closing award ceremony began.
Fryeburg Academy received five awards: Peter Priestman ‘29 on Piano received an outstanding musicianship award along with vocalists Arthur Osborne and Daria Kolosovska. The outstanding rhythm section award was also given to Fryeburg Academy. This award winning rhythm section included Kaelan Moser ‘26 on electric guitar, Kai Cannon-Steele ‘27 on bass guitar, Peter Priestman on piano and Kai Ohashi ‘27 on drums. The group as a whole brought home one of two gold awards with the competition's highest score at 97.3.
This is a major improvement over last year’s score of 90, which had gotten them a silver award. This achievement and performance was a great way to go out for senior group members Arthur Osborne, Sally Baptista, Lily Bryan, Daria Kolosovska, Dodge Mixer-Bailey and Kaelan Moser.
RAIDER REPORT STAFF
President and Manager of Publication: Holym Han ‘26
Vice President and Manager of Writing: Lilia Vishnyakov ‘26
Layout Designer and Assistant Manager of Publication: Serena Di Nucci ‘27
Senior Editor: Aspen Hazlewood '26
Section Editors: Thomas Hubbell '27
Olivia Stacy '27
Jacob Palestrant '27
Visual Media Manager: Sy Stevens ‘27
Club Advisor and Publication Supervisor: Laura Ayer
Vocal Jazz champions pose with trophies and swag (Photo - Sally Baptista '26)
Seniors group photo (Photo - Dan Kaschub)
Sports Awards
By Benedikt Arnason '27
On Wednesday evening, March 18, Fryeburg Academy athletes, coaches, friends and family assembled in the Performing Arts Center to attend the Winter Sports Awards Ceremony. During the ceremony, multiple student-athletes were recognized for success both in their respective sport as well as in the classroom. A whopping 29 students were named to the All-Academic team, which is given to senior student-athletes who have maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher. During the evening, athletes that made the All-Conference and All-State teams were recognized. In Ice Hockey, Carlin Galligan '26 and Azaela Grant '26 were named
to the Girls All-State Team, while Jokubas Mostavicius '26 earned First Team All-State and Senior All-Star honors for Boys' Ice Hockey. Nordic, Alpine, and Track and Field also had athletes named to All-State and All-Conference teams. To conclude the event, students who have received three varsity letters were given their three star jackets, Seniors recognized were: Alimzhan Aitimov, Joseph DellaValla, and Quinton Moore. Several underclassmen were also recognized.
FA Winter Sports were very successful this season with Nordic and Alpine skiing, Basketball, Wrestling, and Ice Hockey, all competing at a high level.
Baseball Ranking
By Emmett O’Brien ‘30
This year’s baseball team is going into the upcoming season with the bar set high, with the team being led by a big hitter, Alex Allain ‘26, and pitcher Brady Chappell ‘26. Pre-season rankings have put the Academy at number one in Maine and in the top 25 in the Northeast. When asked about his approach to the upcoming season, Brady Chappell said “we need to take the games one at a time and come into each game with aggression.” When asked, the coaches said, “the goal for this season is to go one game further than last year.” The Fryeburg team is filled with potential and hopes to make it to the State Championships and bring back a win.
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Contributors
Alda Dufilho
Anhelina Kalishchuk
Anton Liesnoi
Arthur Osborne
Aspen Hazlewood
Benedikt Arnason
Daria Kolosovska
Elise Dunn
Emma Bariteau
Emmett O'Brien
Haley Spofford
Helen Glazer
Holym Han
Jacob Palestrant
Jeehoo Lee
Lilia Vishnyakov
Maks Bondarev
Olivia Eveleth
Olivia Stacy
Peter Priestman
Rylan McBride
Sally Baptista
Serena DiNucci
Subeen An
Sy Stevens
Thomas Hubbell
Violet Dunn
Wasp Harlow
William McDonnell
Zonder McKenzie