Schools

PowerHouse Teen Center

BANGOR – The Salvation Army’s PowerHouse Teen Center, at 65 South Park St., has expanded its hours.

The new hours will allow time for creative arts and leadership programs from 4 to 6 p.m. After-school homework time with tutoring available is 2-4 p.m.

The center is now charging a membership fee of $10, or $2 per program session. Homework and tutoring time are free of charge.

To help support the center, discount cards are for sale at the Salvation Army’s Family Store at the Broadway Shopping Center.

For more information, call Charlie at 941-2990.

Bangor Christian School

BANGOR – Principal Jim Frost of Bangor Christian Schools announced recently that Denise Spencer has been named a Commended Student in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program.

A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corp. was presented by Frost to Spencer, a senior at the school.

Some 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are recognized for exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top 5 percent of more than 1.4 million students who entered the 2007 competition by taking the 2005 Preliminary SAT-National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Bangor High School

BANGOR – The Bangor All-Sports Boosters will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, in the ROTC room at Bangor High School. The public is welcome. For more information, call Shirley MacDonald at 944-8018.

Brewer High School

BREWER – The Brewer High School Project Graduation committee will sponsor Take a Walk in the Park during October. For each test drive taken at a Quirk location, the Quirk Boys will donate $10 to the school’s Project Graduation 2007 fund.

The offer is good at the following locations – Quirk Auto Park, 293-327 Hogan Road, Bangor; Quirk Hyundai- Quirk Mitsubishi, 162 Haskell Road, Bangor; and Quirk Cars By Us, 44 Griffin Road, Bangor.

Test drive participation sheets are available at the administration office at Brewer High School. Participants must be at least 21 years old to “take a walk in the park.”

John Bapst Memorial High School

BANGOR – Thirty-three students from John Bapst Memorial High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program exams. Some 18 percent of the more than 1.3 million high school students in more than 16,000 secondary schools worldwide who took AP exams were named as AP Scholars.

At Bapst, more than 29 percent of the students who took the exams earned the AP Scholar designation.

The Advanced Placement Program at John Bapst Memorial High School offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses and receive college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP exams.

Each year the school offers 15 AP courses in a wide variety of subject areas in addition to a similar number of honors courses to help students prepare for the higher-level Advanced Placement work.

At John Bapst, four students qualified for the AP Scholar with 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 exams. They are: Jacob Harrow-Mortelliti of Holden; Sara Lammert and Qian Yang of Glenburn; and Ryan Lena of Orono.

In addition, five students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. They are: John Gekeler of Dexter; Nicholas Hubbard, Megan McBurnie and Kyle McGuan of Holden; and Vanessa Weber of Dedham.

Twenty-four students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP examinations with grades of 3 or higher. The AP Scholars are Kelsie Anderson of Etna; Andrew Askins and Megan Pritham of Bangor; Charles Bergeron, Marc Girard, Molly Jones and Gwendaline Wadleigh of Veazie; Justin Frye, Nathaniel Hewett and Kevin Townsend of Holden; Rebekah Green of Brewer; Kymberly Horth of Orland; Elizabeth Kane of Castine; Emily Lad, Melissa Moreau, Hailee Romain and Marcienne Scofield of Glenburn; Elizabeth Mayhew and Caroline Openshaw of Hampden; Denise Miller and Jordan Trundy of Clifton; Anna Schwarcz of Orrington; Meagan Tilton of Corinth; and Lukas Wong-Achorn of Skowhegan.

Old Town High School

OLD TOWN – For the fifth year, Old Town High JROTC cadets participated in the Riverfest Parade on Sept. 30.

Cadets taking part were Felicia Allen, Dustin Alley, Jessy Armstrong, Lucas Bartlett, Robert Bickmore, T.J. Bouchard, Joseph Busque, Caitlin Carroll, Jon Collins, Dustin Fowler, Jean Gamperle, Ryan Gilman, Matt Gray, Kahlil Haamid, Maryanna Hatch, Adam Hatch, Amanda Heath, David Hodsdon, Benjamin Honnell, Joshua Lally, Keith Larby, Jakob Larson, Brock Lavasseur, Chloe Meisner, Bradley Miller, Jared Miller, Joshua Miller, Lela Newbury, Janelle Oakes, Chad Paradis, Brendon Paradis, Mark Reike, Joe Sayers, Terran Stone, Lawrence Tiller, Rebekah Wheaton, Joshua White, Moriah Willard, Hannah Willard, Brandon Winchenbach, Travis Winchester, and Matt Young.

Students of the Month for September were senior Alan Smith, junior Lindsey Geroux, sophomore Ryan Gilman and freshman Casey Clark.

The Barking Foundation is offering scholarships to the first 300 approved applicants who are Maine residents who will attend a post-secondary institution. Applications are available in the guidance office.

Maine Alliance for Arts Education

AUGUSTA – The Maine Alliance for Arts Education recently welcomed six new board members and one new staff member.

New board members are Emily Cain, John Jenkins, Patricia Messler, Stephen Wicks, Hannah Lennett and Abby McCann.

Stephen Wicks is the director of education at the Maine Center for the Arts, University of Maine, and a former commissioner of the Maine Arts Commission.

This year the alliance has added two new board members representing youth: Hannah Lennett, a senior at Oak Hill High School, and Abby McCann, a senior at Winslow.

MAAE also has added Melissa Hunnibell to the alliance’s staff. She joined MAAE in August as the Communities for Children and Youth’s Americorps VISTA volunteer. Working to develop MAAE’s community partnerships and resources during her one-year position, she continues her experience as an arts advocate.

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education, a nonprofit organization in its 33rd year, works at the state level and in local communities to strengthen educational excellence in visual art, music, dance, theater and creative writing.

For info about MAAE, visit www.maineartseducation.org.

Signing for babies, parents

BANGOR – Parents and babies can learn to “speak” with their hands at the Maine Discovery Museum.

The museum will begin a new session of Baby Talk classes, with Deaf and American Sign Language educator Carrie Pierce at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31. Pre-registration is required, and space is limited.

The cost is $7 per class or $40 for six classes for baby and parent or parents. The class is recommended for babies up to 18 months old who can sit up.

Class participants who sign up for all six classes will receive a complimentary membership good for free admission to the museum anytime during the six weeks.

Babies have always tried to communicate with their parents before being able to speak. Babies are physically capable of communicating with their hands months before they’re able to coordinate all of their speaking muscles. They can learn basic signs to assist with communication, and sign language classes have been gaining in popularity with young families across the country.

Difficulty communicating, not knowing whether the crying means baby wants a snack or a snuggle, causes a great deal of frustration between parents and babies. How often do parents say, “I can’t wait until she can talk.”

Pierce will show parents basic signs that can be practiced and soon the baby will be able to convey what he needs or wants without saying a word.

For more information about museum events and programs, call Jennifer Chiarell, marketing director, Maine Discovery Museum, at 262-7200 or visit www.mainediscoverymuseum.org.

Colleges

Masters in social work

Those interested in learning more about the UM Masters in Social Work Program are invited to attend informational meetings at one of the following locations:

. Noon-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, University of Maine Hutchinson Center, 80 Belmont Ave., Belfast.

. 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, Room 104, Social Work Building, University of Maine School of Social Work, Orono.

. 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, University of Maine Hutchinson Center, 80 Belmont Ave., Belfast.

. 2-3:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, Room 104, Social Work Building, University of Maine School of Social Work, Orono.

Attendees will learn more about the program, meet current faculty, students and alumni, get answers to questions and learn about financial aid. For more information, call 581-2389 in Orono, or 338-8000 or (800) 753-9044 in Belfast.

Babson College

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Caitlin Churchill of Hampden was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Babson College.

University of Maine

ORONO – Many young people pursue athletics to escape impoverished backgrounds, but a program called Musica y Juventud, or Music and Youth, in Guatemala aims to help underprivileged young people improve their station in life through music.

The University of Maine School of Performing Arts music professor Anatole Wieck is helping the faculty at Del Valle University and the National Music Conservatory in Guatemala City with a new program designed to empower children from some of the city’s poorer neighborhoods by raising their confidence and aspirations through classical music.

Wieck, a violinist and conductor, completed a three-week residency in Guatemala several months ago, working with college-age string players, music education majors and their teachers, instructing them in North American teaching techniques, and helping to start a beginners’ youth orchestra for underprivileged children.

“These little kids in the youth orchestra,” Wieck said, “would never have the money for instruments or lessons without the Musica y Juventud Foundation. This project will enable the kids to study. Through music and performance, they can upgrade their skills and aspirations, and they can take these skills to another level.”

Wieck’s participation last summer in the developing music program at Del Valle University and the National Conservatory was funded by a Fulbright Scholar Program grant.

Wieck plans to return to Guatemala City next year.