Schools

Brewer High School

BREWER – Sixteen students at Brewer High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college level Advanced Placement Program and exams.

Students took AP exams in May after completing college-level courses at their high schools. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on student performance on AP exams.

Brewer High School students Michael Keane and Chad Szylvian qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4 or higher on a 5-point scale on all AP exams taken, and 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.

Ryan Brooks and Nathan Haluska qualified for the AP Scholar of Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

Ashley Austin, Ryan Birkel, Jennie D’Amico and Melissa Doucette qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken, and 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.

Khalan Bridges, Kate Chambers, Hilary Fernald, Megan Fraser, Paul Gervais, Kendra Keefe, Adam Mullen and Amanda Osborne qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP examinations with grades of 3 or higher.

Downeast Russian School

BANGOR – Downeast Russian School Inc., a nonprofit corporation, will offer classes for children and adults in conversational Russian from beginners to advanced. Native Russian speakers teach the language in small groups or in individual tutoring sessions.

In addition to regular classes for English-speaking children and adults, the school also offers consulting for adoptive parents of children from Russia and Ukraine, theater for Russian-speaking children and educational trips to Moscow and St. Petersburg during winter and summer 2006.

Group classes begin Oct. 11 and will run for 10 weeks. The cost is $100, which includes 10 one-hour lessons and materials. Classes are held in Bangor and are scheduled for Tuesdays for advanced and intermediate Russian, Wednesdays for beginners and children, and Thursdays for children. Private sessions are scheduled on an individual basis.

To register for classes or to sign up for the trip to Russia, e-mail Dr. Natalia A. Abramova at natabra@yahoo.com, or call 262-9727 and leave a message.

For information on Russian parties, summer camps, schedules or transportation directions, visit www.downeastrussianschool.wtcsites.com.

Young author, UCB student

EXETER – Laila Sarah Dylan Sholtz-Ames is not your typical high school student.

Home-schooled and in the 12th grade, she is also a part-time student at University College in Bangor.

She also has written a book of poems, “… And So We Remember.” Published in June, it commemorates the events and aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.

Sholtz-Ames is a Girl Scout, volunteers with 4-H working with young children and the elderly, hikes, swims and likes to read and cook. In other words, she keeps a schedule that would bring many others to their knees.

She began writing at age 7 when her mother and teacher gave her an assignment to write an essay for a contest. She wasn’t sure she liked writing, but it was a school assignment, and she had no choice. She discovered she loved writing and hasn’t stopped since. Several writing contests and prizes later, she turned to poetry.

After watching a newscast last year commemorating the anniversary of 9-11, Sholtz-Ames was moved to write a series of poems, which were eventually culled to 26 – one for each letter of the alphabet, and dedicated to those who were affected by the disaster. Her book also is dedicated to the two women who have been most influential in her life – her mother, Laura Sholtz, and her Girl Scout adviser, Karen Keim.

As a part-time student at UCB, Laila is looking forward to entering college next fall as a freshman with an eye toward a major in journalism and English, and an eventual career writing for a newspaper or news magazine. Laila plans to obtain an undergraduate degree in three years.

Girl Scouts has played a major role in Sholtz-Ames’ life. She began as a Daisy Girl Scout and is now a teen member of Corinth Troop 70.

She has earned the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver awards and is well on her way to earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. With all the prerequisites completed, she is putting together plans for her major project. She is in conversation with the local elementary school in hopes of starting an after-school program. When she gets approval for the project, she’ll be a few months away from Girl Scouting’s highest award.

Sholtz-Ames hasn’t wasted her time in the summer, either. For the past 13 years, she, her older sister Ariel, and her parents, Bill Ames and Laura Sholtz, have spent summers at Acadia National Park doing volunteer work, clearing trails, taking census of trail use and continuing her education in an outdoor classroom.

Girl Scout Silver Award

BREWER – Brewer High School student Kim Boyle, the daughter of Donna and William Boyle of Brewer, received the Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest award in Cadette Girl Scouts, at a ceremony on Aug. 29 at the Abnaki Girl Scout Council Service Center. Staff member Sue Glidden, on behalf of the Girl Scout Council, presented the award.

For her final project, Kim volunteered three days a week for several months with Dr. Robert Feher at the Brewer Veterinary Clinic. The experience strengthened her desire to become a veterinary technician.

Kim joined Scouting as a Brownie and is a member of Orrington Cadette Girl Scout Troop 089. She and her troop will become Senior Girl Scouts this month.

Troop 089 adviser is Jaime Hinson.

John Bapst Memorial High School

BANGOR – John Bapst Memorial High School board chairman Thomas Stone announced recently that Joanne Yestramski of Veazie and Ernest E. Kilbride of Carmel have been appointed to the school’s board of trustees, each for four-year terms.

Yestramski is the chief financial officer and treasurer of the University of Maine System. Kilbride is vice president of engineering at Cianbro Corp. in Pittsfield. Both are parents of John Bapst students and serve as school committee members.

Other board members are Betsy Chapman, Marcia Diamond, Shaun Dowd, Patrick Gaetani, the Rev. James Haddix, Andrew Hamilton, Charles Hewett, Wendie Lagasse, Elizabeth Lander, Rod Libby, Daniel McKay, the Rev. Frank J. Murray, Zev Myerowitz, Clare Payne, James Stoneton and Mary Warner. In addition, the board of trustees includes representatives from three of the school’s largest sending districts: Claude Berthiaume of SAD 63, Kevin Carr of Veazie and Robert Lad of Glenburn.

A vacancy exists for a representative from School Union 91.

In the coming years, the John Bapst board of trustees will focus its efforts on implementation of the school’s strategic plan and exploration of future facilities-related opportunities, both of which will lead the school into its second century.

Old Town High School

OLD TOWN – The Old Town High School cheerleaders will sponsor a food drive Friday, Oct. 7, to benefit Crossroads Ministry, which serves more than 900 families in the Old Town area. The organization is need of nonperishable food items. The food drive will be held at the last home football game of the season.

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Summer seminar

OLD TOWN – Daniel Wheaton, son of Susan and Lowell Wheaton of Old Town, recently participated in the U.S Naval Academy’s weeklong summer seminar program in Annapolis, Md.

Wheaton was introduced to academy life through a regimen of academics, physical training, intramural sports, sailing, seamanship, leadership training and social activities.

The summer seminar program was designed by the U.S. Naval Academy’s office of admissions to give students a taste of the challenges and benefits of a Naval Academy education.

Wheaton is a student at Old Town High School.

Colleges

Scholarships and grants

Theta Chapter of Alpha Psi State Maine, of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, announced the recipients of the following grants and scholarships:

. University of Maine student Sarah Carter, a graduate of Deer Isle-Stonington Jr. Sr. High School, was chosen to receive the Theta chapter Recruitment Grant-in-Aid.

. University of Maine student Katherine Fernald, a graduate of Mount Desert Island Regional High School, was chosen to receive the Patricia H. Thurston Scholarship.

. University of Maine student Stacy Lozier, a graduate of Bucksport High School, was chosen to receive the Doris S. Heath Scholarship.

. Eastern Maine Community College student Kelley Tupper, a graduate of Ellsworth High School, was chosen to receive the Charlotte S. Morse Memorial Scholarship.

Bates College

LEWISTON – Zachery Ray of Holden is serving as a junior adviser at Bates College this year. As one of 36 junior advisers on campus, he will serve as a peer counselor, mediator and resource person for first-year students in college residences.

“The JAs are entrusted with a great deal of responsibility and must exercise sound judgment,” said Tedd Goundie, dean of students at Bates. JAs are selected on the basis of leadership ability, sensitivity and a successful undergraduate career. Just before the academic year begins, new JAs undergo a weeklong comprehensive training session with staff from the dean of students office to prepare them for their role.

Ray is the son of Andrew and Renee Marshall. A member of the men’s basketball team at Bates, he is a 2003 graduate of Bangor High School.

University of Maine

ORONO – Larryl K. Matthews of Brewer, dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Maine, has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The Fellow grade, the highest elected grade of membership in the society, is conferred upon a member with at least 10 years of active engineering practice who has made significant contributions to the profession.

In an engineering career spanning 25 years, Matthews has held positions at Sandia National Laboratories and New Mexico State University, in addition to his current position at the University of Maine. He has made notable contributions in design automation and manufacturing, and has published more than 60 scholarly papers.

Matthews received his education and training at New Mexico State University and Purdue University, where he earned a doctorate in 1982.

Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, today’s ASME is a 120,000-member professional organization focused on technical, education and research issues of the worldwide engineering and technology community. In 2005, ASME celebrates 125 years of service and leadership, setting the standard for professional engineering societies worldwide.