Schools

Kindergarten screening

ORONO – An Orono kindergarten screening for children who will be 5 years old on or before Oct. 15 is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.-2:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, and 8:30-10:45 a.m. Thursday, May 6. To make an appointment, call 866-2151, or 866-4141, between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Brewer High School

BREWER – Christopher Noyes, 18, a senior at Brewer High School, has been invited to participate in the 2004 Parkroyal Down Under International Games in July in Australia.

Noyes is the first Brewer High School wrestler to earn 100 wins – an accomplishment that has been compared to a basketball player scoring 1,000 points. He was the regional champion this year and placed third in the state wrestling championship.

He is the son of Christine and Michael Noyes and has been accepted into the engineering program and the honors college at the University of Maine.

Those who wish to help with the expenses for his trip may write to the Christopher Noyes Wrestling Fund, c/o Brewer Federal Credit Union, 77 North Main St., Brewer, ME 04412.

Frankfort Elementary School

FRANKFORT – A carnival will be held 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at the Frankfort Elementary School. Volunteers are needed to help run games and to bake for the refreshment table. Call Kim Chaples, 548-2290, or Deb Williams, 223-9933, for more information.

The school’s parent-teacher organization is collecting recycled ink and laser jet cartridges as a way to raise money for the school. So far, the school had raised $172 collecting the cartridges. Companies that throw away cartridges are urged call Nancy Tang at 223-4698 for more information.

Hampden Academy

HAMPDEN – It’s time to swing into spring at Hampden Academy’s annual swing dance set for 7:30-11 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at the academy gymnasium.

Featured bands will be Reeds Brook Middle School Jazz Band, Hampden Academy Jazz Lab Band, Hampden Academy Jazz Ensemble, John Bapst High School Jazz Band, and Noble High School Jazz Band of Berwick.

The cost is $5, $3 for students and seniors. Proceeds will benefit the Hampden Academy Music Association.

Old Town High School

OLD TOWN – The NAACP Education Fund has been established to provide assistance for young people to participate in special educational opportunities.

This summer, Mona Lakshman, a sophomore at Old Town High School, will attend the National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine and Health Care in Washington.

Members of the Greater Bangor Area NAACP have been working to help Lakshman raise money to take part in this activity. A spaghetti dinner was held recently, and a bottle drive will be held.

Her parents have been active in NAACP for several years and her father, Dilip Lakshman, is secretary.

Those who wish to help with the project may send contributions to NAACP Education Fund, P.O. Box 477, Old Town, ME 04468.

People to People Student Ambassadors

BANGOR – Several area youngsters are planning to participate in the Maine People to People Student Ambassador Program to Australia and New Zealand this summer.

The 21-day program consists of meetings with government officials, interactions with other students, educational activities and home visits with host families.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated People to People in 1956 in the belief that if people of different cultures could come together, so eventually countries would as well.

Student ambassadors are carefully interviewed and evaluated before their acceptance.

The youngsters then spend good amount of time raising funds for their trips.

Those attending this summer will include:

. Isabel Cormier of Bangor, an eighth-grader at James F. Doughty School.

Cormier said she is looking forward to learning about the different cultures of Australia and New Zealand.

“I would like to become a student ambassador because I want to learn how to say “g’day” like they do, and teach them how to use ‘wicked’ like a Mainer,” she added. “I think that the trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn about their way of life.”

Those who wish to help with the trip may contact the Cormier family at 128 Norway Road, Bangor.

. Amanda York, a sixth-grader at Lewis Libby School in Milford. She is the daughter of Steve and Tammy York.

York is active in school and community activities such as band, chorus, drama, cheerleading and student council. She said that she would like to go on this venture to experience new places and cultures and increase her understanding of the world.

York has conducted a car wash, craft fair and bottle drive, distributed requests for corporate sponsorships and is currently selling raffle tickets on an Old Town Helix Kayak, 50 gallons of heating oil donated by Marquis Heating or a $20 gift certificate donated by Dysart’s.

Those who wish to purchase a raffle ticket or help with the trip may contact the family or stop by the Bangor Mall’s Community Booth on May 1.

Colleges

Eastern Maine Community College

BANGOR – The early childhood advisory board will hold a first annual mentor recognition and professional development event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at Rangeley Hall on the Eastern Maine Community College campus. The event will include a keynote address, miniworkshops, a resource area, student displays and a luncheon.

Advisory committee members, faculty, students and mentor teachers will have the opportunity to share ideas and discuss early childhood education.

The purpose of the event is to recognize the contribution made by mentor teachers from public schools and early child care centers in the area.

Mentor teachers coach, educate and support students who complete 300 hours in a supervised field placement site. Without the dedication, expertise and cooperation of mentor teachers, it would be impossible to provide the necessary hands-on experiences EMCC students need.

The learn more about the early childhood education program at EMCC, call Connie Ronco at 974-4813.

Honor society award

BANGOR – Eastern Maine Community College student Adrianne Graves was honored with the 2004 Distinguished Chapter Officer Award at the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society on April 3 while attending the international convention in Minneapolis, Minn. Recipients of the award must demonstrate leadership, involvement in chapter programs, friendship with fellow scholars and enthusiasm for the society’s hallmarks.

Graves, of Hancock, had served as president of the Beta Beta Omicron Chapter of Eastern Maine Community College and New England region northern vice president and was a candidate for international vice president for Division 1.

Graves is studying early childhood education and will graduate in May. She is the daughter of Joe Paganucci and Carol Graves of Hancock.

Maine Sea Grant

ORONO – Maine Sea Grant announced the appointment of Catherine Schmitt of Bangor as science writer for the program. She will work with Maine Sea Grant staff and the Marine Extension Team, a collaboration of Sea Grant and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, to translate marine and other scientific information for coastal communities and the public.

Schmitt received a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of Massachusetts in 1998. She completed a master’s degree in ecology and environmental sciences with a concentration in water resources at the University of Maine in December. Her graduate research focused on the effects of drought on Maine’s drinking water supplies.

Schmitt came to Maine from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Cambridge, Md., where she worked on scientific publications dedicated to coastal and marine science and Chesapeake Bay issues. Before that, she worked as an environmental scientist in western Massachusetts and conducted coastal ecology research with the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

A freelance writer for more than five years, Schmitt recently has published articles in Northern Sky News and The Maine Commons. Her position at Maine Sea Grant is part of a joint appointment with the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, where she also serves as science writer.

Schmitt may be reached at catherine.schmitt@umit.maine.edu.