Schools

Children’s choir auditions

BANGOR – The Bangor Area Children’s Choir will hold individual auditions 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 540 Essex St. Callbacks will be held 4-5:30 p.m. the next day.

The organization offers two choirs:

. The training choir for first-, second- and third-year singers, soprano voices, no younger than 9 years old as of May 1 and no older than 16 as of Oct. 1. The membership fee is $200.

. The youth chorale for singers with at least two years experience in the treble choir or at the discretion of the director. The membership fee is $250.

This year, there are 30 open spots for singers. Admittance to either group is by audition.

The choir is directed by Michele Hall, a classroom music teacher and organist. Yvonne Drake is the accompanist, and Laura Dearing is the assistant conductor.

To learn more, call Michele Hall at 947-2023.

Bangor High School

BANGOR – Hoping to make college more affordable for local students, a group of Bangor High School graduates wants to establish new scholarships.

The Bangor High School Alumni Scholarship Committee is trying to raise $1 million over the next five years with help from previous BHS graduates, said Paul Newman, a local businessman who serves on the six-member group established by the Bangor school board.

Requests will be sent to alumni beginning in September, Newman said. The hope is that “these people have a lot of their financial obligations taken care of and can concentrate on doing something for somebody else,” he said.

Newman said the hard part is locating up-to-date names and addresses. To that end, the committee hopes to obtain class lists from reunion organizers who likely have the latest contact numbers.

“As class reunions come up during the next year or two, we’ll call someone locally and find out who’s running the class reunion,” he said.

Currently, the Bangor School Department administers about 60 scholarships that range from $250 to $2,500 each. More scholarships are needed because of the skyrocketing cost of college, Newman said.

Current scholarships were established by an earlier class or in memory of a graduate or teacher. Now the idea is to establish one generic endowment fund for the new scholarships that would be known simply as Bangor High School scholarships, said Alan Kochis, director of business services for the Bangor School Department.

Similar to the previously established scholarships, the new ones would be based on need, Kochis said. Teachers would choose the recipients just as they currently do, he said.

Mesa hispanica

BANGOR – The next meeting of Mesa hispanica will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, at Borders, Bangor Mall Boulevard.

Mesa hispanica is organized by the Hermon High School Spanish Club and is intended to give area hispanophiles the opportunity to meet, converse in Spanish and share the experiences they have had with Hispanic cultures. Native speakers, students and those who want to practice the language are encouraged to attend. For more information, call Janice Clain at Hermon High School, 848-3283.

Bangor schools

BANGOR – With the new academic year beginning this week, the Bangor school board hired several teachers recently.

New teachers approved by the school board for one-year probationary contracts at the August meeting were:

. William W. Bell, orchestra and strings, grades four-12; Misty L. Conrath and Jessica B. Harrington, biology, Bangor High School; Laura E. Wittman, English as a second language coordinator, kindergarten-grade 12; Stephanie D. Seccareccia, kindergarten, Downeast School; and Karen V. Karp, grade five, Mary Snow School.

Approved at the July school board meeting for one-year probationary contracts were: Sara McDougall, art, Vine Street School; Margaret Volock, chemistry, Bangor High School; and Scott Wood, physical education, Fairmount School.

Penobscot Job Corps

BANGOR – The Penobscot Job Corps Center honored the following students after they completed the General Equivalency Diploma Exams and attained GED credentials in June and July: May Connor, Southwest Harbor; Aaron Clapper, Durham, N.H.; Eric Wilkinson, Penobscot; Kristina Jackson, Saco; Jimmy Arsenault Jr., Groveton, N.H.; Chris Bragg, Greenbush; Casey Brooks, Sanford; Richard Burrill, Machias; Brandi Celino, Carroll Plantation; Joe Dawson, Bangor; Cheryl Emery, Bangor; Marcus Fillion, Manchester, Conn.; Jonathan Kidder, Sullivan; Mike Lackie, Bath; Jacob McHugh, Peterborough, N.H.; Mike McPherson, Winthrop, Mass.; Anthony Moore, Derry, N.H.; Robert Rainville, Colebrook, N.H.; Jay Reeves, Hyde Park, Mass.; Joshua Sawyer, Bath; and Christopher Stancil Jr., Bridgeport, Conn.

The Penobscot Job Corps Center honored the following students for obtaining high school diplomas in June and July: Kamali Carty, Dorchester, Mass.; Krista Chase, Corinna; Cassandra Dimanche, Cambridge, Mass.; Stefan Honegan, Bridgeport, Conn.; Cyndi Kelly, Bangor; Geena Laraway, Bangor; Ivy Lynn Miller, Rumford; Eliut Pagan, Norwalk, Conn.; Christopher Quinn, Belfast; Jon Rector, Boston; Brandi Mae Sewall, Kenduskeag; Sarah Smith, Derry, N.H.; and John Wolhok, Harrington.

Colleges

University of Southern Maine

PORTLAND – These area students at the University of Southern Maine received awards during the annual 2005 Recognition Day ceremonies last spring.

Bangor: Susan L. Beane, a public policy and management student, has been awarded the Nora and Grace Nason Scholarship. She is a 1981 graduate of Bangor High School and the daughter of Audrey and Herbert Beane of Bangor.

Hermon: Andrea A. Cyr, a business administration major, has been awarded Department of Business Administration Certificate of Excellence for Performance at the Highest Level in Operations Analysis. She is a 2001 graduate of Hermon High School and the daughter of Mary Jane and Richard Cyr of Hermon.