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ACES Day

More than 22,000 children in 88 Maine schools, YMCAs and day care centers will participate in ACES Day – All Children Exercising Simultaneously – sponsored by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports, Health and Wellness, at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 4. Local schools participating in the event are the Dedham School, Newburgh Elementary School and Orland Consolidated School.

Organizers say physical inactivity is creating a crisis and threatening the health of children and adults. Maine ranks first in New England for the least amount of physical activity, which makes children more likely to be obese.

Schools, youth centers or day care centers wishing to register for ACES Day, should check www.mainephysicalactivity.org.

‘Letters about Literature’

Several local students received awards from the Maine Humanities Council honoring their winning letters for the national essay contest, “Letters about Literature.” The contest is a national reading and writing program sponsored by the Center of the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target stores. Entrants were asked to write a letter to an author – living or dead – explaining how that author’s book changed their way of viewing the world and themselves.

Letters were judged in three categories: Level I, grades four to six; Level II, grades seven and eight; Level III, grades nine to 12. Honorable mention was awarded in:

. Bangor: Annemarie Guare, Fairmount School.

In addition to Guare, semi-finalists were selected:

. Bangor: Miriam Kates-Goldman, Bangor High School; Wyatt Frost and Tommy McCarthy, Fairmount School.

. Hampden: Ashley Ayers, Lindsay Beauregard, Will Carney, Victoria Gower, David Smith and Lindsay Thornton, Reeds Brook Middle School.

. Levant: Jenna Sutton, Levant Elementary School.

Arbor Day poster winner

HAMPDEN – Raelle Merrill, a fifth-grader at Weatherbee School in Hampden, has won the state’s 2005 Arbor Day National Poster Contest. She will be presented with a $100 savings bond and a Grow Your Own Tree planting kit for her poster, designed around the contest theme “Trees Are Terrific – and Energy Wise!”

Raelle will receive the award at a ceremony with Gov. John Baldacci the third week in May. In addition, a tree of her choice will be planted at her school.

Raelle’s poster continues on to the national competition sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota Motor Corp. The Maine Forest Service and the Pine Tree State Arboretum sponsor the Maine competition.

Raelle’s poster may be viewed online at www.ProjectCanopy.org.

The national winner will be announced on April 29, from winners representing 48 states and the District of Columbia on National Arbor Day. The winner will be a special guest at the annual national awards celebration held in Nebraska.

The Arbor Day National Poster Contest is open to fifth-grade pupils in states with a designated contest coordinator. The national contest has been held since 1992 to help promote the importance of Arbor Day and tree planting. More information about the Maine Arbor Day Poster Contest is available by calling Jan Ames, 623-2371.

Hampden Academy

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Jennifer Swalec of Hampden is one of 44 students to earn the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship for study at the University of Virginia. The merit-based scholarships cover the cost of attending the college for four years.

Swalec is the daughter of John and Cora Swalec, and a student at Hampden Academy. A National Merit Scholar, she has been inducted into the National Honor Society and the National Latin Honor Society. Ranked at the top of her class, she has consistently enrolled in the school’s most demanding classes.

She participates in varsity track and is a member of the symphonic band, the jazz ensemble, and the jazz and pep bands. She also is a member of the Maine state mock trial championship team.

The Jefferson Scholars were chosen after a rigorous selection process that began last fall when secondary schools across the country nominated 800 students to the competition. Ninety-six finalists were chosen to participate in the Jefferson Scholars Foundation’s national competition March 16-20 at the university.

Levant Elementary School

LEVANT – Town Manager Scott Pullen and state Rep. Chris Greeley spoke to two fourth-grade classes this month at Levant Elementary School.

The children asked questions, and the speakers talked about state and local government and their respective roles within it.

Stillwater Montessori

OLD TOWN – The Stillwater Montessori School has received a $1,500 grant for pupils in the after-school Environmental Club to study local vernal pools.

The club, started four years ago by the school’s head teacher and educational director Joanne Alex, meets every other week throughout the school year to work on a variety of different environmental projects.

The recent Earth Environmental Education Grant from PPL Corp., a hydroelectric owner and operator, allows students to work with the University of Maine while participating in local and state programs that monitor vernal pools.

The grant has helped fund the purchase of dip nets and pond guides, as well as provide money for a field trip to a local pond. Between 35 and 45 children from preschool to fourth grade attend club events, Alex said.

PPL Corp. sponsors the grant program as part of PPL Project Earth, an initiative to educate the public about energy resources and the environment.

Summer art program

NEWBURGH – Windover Art Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to children and the arts, will hold an open house for its summer art program 1-4 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at Windover, 3001 Kennebec Road.

Participants may tour the facilities, meet the staff, see demonstrations, enjoy refreshments and register for the summer program.

For directions or info, call 234-4503 or visit www.windoverartcenter.org.

Colleges

Drew University

MADISON, N.J. – Sarah Winn Marquez of Orono, a senior at Drew University, has been named to the dean’s list all four years at the school. She has earned better than a 3.4 grade-point average.

Maine Maritime Academy

CASTINE – The Maine Maritime Academy Students in Free Enterprise team was recently named regional champion at the SIFE Regional Competition on April 4 in Boston.

The MMA team matched its educational outreach projects against the programs of other SIFE teams in the division, defeating collegiate competitors from Suffolk University, Sienna College, Worcester State College and Boston University.

As a regional champion, the MMA team will compete May 22-24 in the SIFE National Exposition in Kansas City.

More than 100 teams compete at the national competition. The MMA team also will advance as finalists in the SIFE National Entrepreneurship competition.

SIFE encourages students to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real-life situations, and to use their knowledge to better their communities through educational outreach projects. The projects presented by the MMA team included volunteer development of a fund-raising campaign for a class trip for pupils at Castine’s Adams School, and free business consulting services and customer polling for the Castine Variety Store. SIFE students also volunteered in the annual pledge drive in support of Maine Public Radio.

A voter registration project increased the number of students registered to vote by more than 50 percent.

The MMA SIFE team is led by Travis Lamontagne of Scarborough, SIFE president and a member of the Class of 2006 majoring in international business and logistics.

Team members included: Jacqueline Auger, Cheshire, Conn.; Jarrod Bilodeau, Livermore; Patrick Earls, Erie, Pa.; Brannen Gee, St. Albans; Ashley Hayden, Bangor; Eric Holland, Norfolk, Va.; Amanda Johnson, Holden; Julia Knights, Brookton; Isaac Koenig, McKinney, Texas; Meghan Marshall, Madawaska; Mark McKeon, Moyock, N.C.; Rebecca Moore, Winthrop; and Brett Ringo, Colchester, Conn.

Dr. Shashi Kumar, associate dean of MMA’s Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics, is adviser for the team.

University of Maine

ORONO – Elizabeth Allan, assistant professor of educational leadership, was honored by the American Educational Research Association for her article, “Constructing Women’s Status: Policy Discourses of University Women’s Commissions.” Allan is one of two recipients of the 2005 Outstanding Publication Award.

The national award recognizes publications for making a substantial contribution to the literature and-or practice of higher education – scholarship that extensively revises knowledge and understanding of a particular problem in the study of higher education or looks at it in a new way.

In her article, published in the Harvard Educational Review, Spring 2003, Allan explores how discourses – language and images – embedded in university women’s commission reports position women as victims, outsiders to the structure and culture of the institution, and as being in need of professional development.

“Predominant women’s issues,” as defined by faculty and professional women, sometimes leave out or marginalize the concerns of the majority of women – staff members and students – according to Allan’s research.

“We should question discourse,” Allan said, “because it can limit our thinking and viable solutions to social problems.”

ORONO – The University of Maine’s Clean Snowmobile Challenge team received a Best Value Award while coming in fourth in competition among 13 teams at Michigan Tech recently. Teams from SUNY-Buffalo, Clarkson University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison took the first three places.

UMaine’s modified Arctic Cat snowmobile stayed in the running for a top spot through most of the events, according to team adviser and mechanical engineering professor Michael Peterson. Events included a 100-mile endurance run, performance events, and tests for acceleration, fuel economy and noise.

Peterson said the UMaine team, all seniors, achieved significant gains over last year.

“The students learned a lot and showed their ability to work as a team and to present the quality program at the University of Maine to a broader audience,” he said. “The team built a snowmobile that reduced emissions by 99 percent and sound – as we can measure it – by 90 percent. That is quite an achievement, and a unique way to finish their course work in one of the most rigorous engineering programs in the country.”

Gov. John Baldacci has nominated recently four members to the board of trustees for the University of Maine System: P. James Dowe Jr., Bangor; Chad Marquis, Fort Kent; Marjorie Murray Medd, Norway; and Charles J. O’Leary, Orono.

“These capable individuals come from a variety of backgrounds and bring an amazing level of skills, intellect and experience to the board,” Baldacci said. “They will use their talents to promote the University of Maine System and highlight why Maine is a great place for students to learn and to make a career. These appointees will further enhance the critical links between the university and economic development throughout the state.”

P. James Dowe is president and CEO of Bangor Savings Bank. He graduated from the University of Maine and was recognized in 2003 as Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year. The governor reappointed him to the board of trustees.

Charles O’Leary served for many years as president of Maine AFL-CIO and has served as a member of various state-appointed committees. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Maine and was a Fulbright Fellow.

Chad Marquis is currently enrolled at the University of Maine Fort Kent majoring in business management.

Marjorie Medd has served in a wide variety of education, nonprofit and civic positions, including chairwoman of the Maine State Board of Education and chairwoman of the Maine Children’s Alliance.