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State Mock Trials

HAMPDEN – High School students from Hampden Academy and Cape Elizabeth will compete in the finals of the state mock trial championship noon-4 p.m. today, Dec. 8, at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland.

Each school won its semi-final competition held last week, with Cape Elizabeth defeating Deering High School and Hampden Academy edging out Bonny Eagle in a close competition, to qualify for the championship.

The Hampden Academy mock trial team comprises: Jarrod Bouchard, Paige Clifton, Jacob Cravens, Logan Deane, Sam Dow, Jessica Hackett, Jason Hamilton, Peter Herrick Jr., Sophie Kelmenson, Kristina King, Rachel Lawler, Tim Leong, Tao Mason, Kaylie Reese, Savannah Sargent, Lauren Sturdivant, Lauren Swalec, Stefanie Veneziano and Samuel Wood.

Several dozen volunteer lawyers and judges participate in the mock trial competition, which is sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association with support from the Maine Bar Foundation.

Coordinator Julia Finn, a Maine attorney, said of the semi-final competition, “The teams all did extremely well. The trial between Hampden and Bonny Eagle was particularly exciting. The teams were so closely matched that the trial ended in a tie of three ballots each. The judge and attorneys had to go back to count how many points had been accumulated and Hampden won by just four points. It was so close that I hated to see either team lose.”

The mock trial competition consists of two trials: one team acts as the prosecution and the other as defense in the first trial, and then they switch sides for the second trial. Team members fill the roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses; the trials are unscripted.

Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley of the Maine Supreme Court will preside over the state championship trial.

Hampden Academy works with high school teacher Kathryn King and attorney coaches William Devoe and James McCarthy.

Hampden Academy, the defending champion from 2004, represented Maine in the national finals in Charlotte, N.C. This year, the state champion will be eligible to participate in the national finals in Oklahoma City in May.

The mock trial competition educates students about the legal system, the judicial process, the attorneys’ roles and the rules of evidence. It teaches effective communication, critical thinking, principles of advocacy and teamwork.

The public is invited to attend the mock trials but seating is limited.

John Bapst holiday concert

BANGOR – The John Bapst musicians will present their annual holiday concert at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, in the auditorium at John Bapst Memorial High School, 100 Broadway.

Performers will include:

. The chorale, with more than 100 vocalists.

. The chamber ensemble with strings and woodwinds.

. The jazz band, comprising auditioned jazz musicians.

. The concert choir, comprising auditioned vocalists.

. The concert band, with more than 100 instrumentalists.

Catch the holiday spirit. Share a concert with very talented and dedicated John Bapst students.

Tickets are $3 a person. They are available 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays in the Fine Arts Office at the school. Tickets will be available at the door if space permits. Snow date is Dec. 18.

Breakfast with Santa

HAMPDEN – Breakfast with Santa will be offered by Hampden Academy Dollars for Scholars 8-10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, in the cafeteria at Reeds Brook Middle School, Main Road South.

A pancake breakfast will be served at a cost of $2.50, or a maximum of $10 for a family. There also will be a Holly Jolly bake sale.

Photos with Santa are $2.

Colleges

Eastern University

ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Shawn Keogan of Carmel has received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern University.

While at Eastern, Keogan was a member of the swim team, flute quartet, outdoor club and pre-med club. He is the son of Chris and Kim Keogan of Levant.

Franklin and Marshall College

LANCASTER, Pa. – Kristina Wihbey of Orono, a junior studio art major, is studying in Florence, Italy. She is the daughter of Frank and Karen Wihbey of Orono.

Maine Space Grant Consortium

“There just aren’t enough young people pursuing technical or research careers,” said Dr. Terry Shehata, executive director of the Maine Space Grant Consortium. “This is true in Maine and it’s true nationwide.”

To address the shortage, the consortium has worked with representatives of industry and higher education in Maine to develop an innovative program that will provide promising Maine undergraduates with an intellectually rewarding experience. It also will provide direct experience working with the best and brightest in various NASA field centers.

The consortium will provide outstanding undergraduate students attending a Maine academic institution with a collaborative research and training experience at several of NASA’s field centers.

“The idea is to make sure that undergraduates in our program take ownership of some portion of ongoing work in their mentor’s laboratory,” said Shehata. “Instead of serving as subordinate staff to a project, they will become intellectual partners in the pursuit of the project.”

Undergraduate career paths that support both NASA and Maine goals include such topics as physical science, life science, computer science, engineering, kindergarten through grade twelve teaching of science, or in the management of science with a strong science background.

The program is open to students attending a Maine college or university, including community colleges. The fall competition is under way to recruit high-achieving students within these areas. Applications are due Friday, Jan. 6.

Those selected will go on to participate in a collaborative research program. As part of the program, they will be required to participate in outreach programs designed to make other undergraduate and high school students aware of how exciting a research experience can be, along with its relevance as a career opportunity.

Finally, each of the undergraduate students participating in the program will be followed over a five-year period to track his or her professional progress and the impact the program may have had on that progress.

NASA’s presence in Maine is the Maine Space Grant Consortium. A nonprofit organization, it is governed by a board of directors representing Maine colleges, universities, research labs, state agencies, businesses, kindergarten through grade twelve schools, and other nonprofit organizations.

The consortium’s mission supports that of NASA and its five strategic enterprises by strengthening Maine’s aerospace-related research and those educational assets important to the agency. Funding is provided through a combination of state and federal dollars. Additional information about the award, the Maine Space Grant Consortium and its various programs, is available at www.msgc.org or by calling toll-free (877) 397-7223.

New England School of Communications

BANGOR – In response to inquiries from current and prospective students, the New England School of Communications, an affiliate of Husson College, will initiate a new course titled Fundamentals of Print Journalism with the start of the spring semester Monday, Jan. 17.

Former University of Maine associate professor of communication and journalism and published author Michael McCauley of Bangor will teach the course.

Benjamin Haskell, dean of the school, said that “any comprehensive communications program should have a place for print journalism. The new course will give interested students another major career choice, and also will be an excellent elective for students.”

McCauley holds a doctorate degree in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a minor in sociology. He taught at the University of Maine from 1997-2005 and was a member of the graduate faculty. Since leaving the university he has taken up writing full time and is the author of “NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio.”

News writing and reporting have been of paramount interest to McCauley, starting with his first job at an all-news radio station in Pittsburgh in 1982. He held various radio news anchor and reporting positions for Wisconsin stations from 1985 to 1997, was a teaching assistant in the school of journalism and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a strong and versatile writer in various styles. In 1998 he was the recipient of a Goldsmith Research Award from the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

University of Maine

ORONO – The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine is to receive the 2006 Maine Merit Award from the New England Board of Higher Education. The award will honor Maine Policy Review, the center’s policy-analysis journal published three times yearly.

Founded in 1991, Maine Policy Review “provides relevant, in-depth analyses of state and regional policy issues for decision makers at all levels of government and interested Maine citizens,” said Kathryn Hunt, editor for the last 11 years.

The journal is available at www.umaine.edu/mcsc/mpr.htm. It is overseen by a board of 23 members representing private, nonprofit and government sector organizations, policymakers, and citizens across the state. It is published jointly by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at UM and Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan.

The next issue, due out in December, will feature articles on health care, tax reform, teacher certification in Maine, forest ownership trends and community development.

The New England Board of Higher Education was formed in 1955 to promote greater educational opportunities and services for the residents of New England. It works across the six New England states to engage and assist leaders in the assessment, development and implementation of sound education practices and policies of regional significance.

An awards ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 24 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston.