Schools

People to People Leadership

DEDHAM – Robyn Handley of Dedham, a sophomore at John Bapst Memorial High School, recently returned from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she attended a People to People Leadership Summit.

Handley, along with delegates from around the world, participated in tours of colleges, listened to motivational speakers who encouraged them to live life to its fullest and made many friends.

During the weeklong program, Handley learned about effective leadership and how to develop her own abilities to make a difference at home. Hands-on activities such as volunteering at a farm to pick vegetables for the hungry, facing fears on a ropes course, hearing from professional speakers, attending workshops and visiting local venues gave Handley a new perspective on what it takes to lead.

“This program increased my excitement for life and my confidence,” Handley said. “I enjoyed the motivational speakers who really got me excited and increased my passion for life, and I made new friends from around the country and the world. I feel that my confidence is what has changed the most about me. I feel I went into this program shy and quiet and came out confident and ready to do whatever needs to be done.”

People to People Leadership Summits are designed to allow students a chance to explore the aspects of leadership in specific contexts in prestigious venues around the country.

Programs focus on the role of young women as leaders in politics or community service and help them discover their potential. Many participants experience life-changing attitudes toward individual and shared responsibilities, global leadership, cultural diversity and enhanced personal growth and confidence.

State Envirothon

BANGOR – Under sunny skies, the 2008 State Envirothon was held at Unity College in Unity. The Maine Association of Conservation Districts awarded plaques to the three top-scoring Envirothon teams:

. Edward Little High School, Auburn, first place.

. Boghaunter Home School, Casco, second place.

. Bonny Eagle High School, Standish, third place.

Sixteen teams representing 13 high schools from around the state competed at this event.

Envirothon, Maine’s largest high school-age environmental education program, is an international program involving more than 500,000 students in the United States and Canada.

Edward Little High School represented Maine at the international Canon Envirothon competition recently in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The international Canon Envirothon, organized by local soil and water conservation districts and other agencies, is sponsored by Canon USA in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, National Association of Conservation Districts, Mead Westvaco Corp., American Electric Power Inc. and Alcoa Foundation.

The major objective of the Maine Envirothon, an educational tool for supplementing environmental education indoors and outdoors, is to provide opportunities for high school-age students to acquire outdoor skills and scientific knowledge about Maine’s natural resources in order to make informed, educated decisions about the environment.

Also competing in the State Envirothon finals were teams from Bucksport, Caribou Alternative, Dirigo, Hampden Academy, Hodgdon, Jay, Jonesport-Beals, Lee Academy, Washington Academy and Nokomis. Teams from Old Town and Ashland were eligible, but were unable to attend.

An Envirothon Web site is available at www.envirothon.org.

Middle level education

Executive Director Dr. Wallace Alexander of the Maine Association for Middle Level Education announced the award of major foundation funding for improving Maine’s middle grades education.

The statewide initiative will enable the association to provide affordable, high quality, ongoing professional development for school leadership teams in schools containing grades five through nine.

Teams of principals and teacher leaders from around the state will be invited to participate in monthly regional workshops on research and effective leadership practices to improve learning.

Jill Spencer and Chris Toy, who have extensive experience in teaching, school leadership and consulting with middle grades in North America, will facilitate the yearlong series beginning in September.

There are two regional locations planned, one in Bangor and another in Brunswick. The project will schedule additional locations in Aroostook and Down East if five or more schools in either region asks to participate in the series.

The cost will be $25 per participant, Alexander said.

Participating schools are asked to send teams of at least four school leaders to each monthly session. Each team must include the principal or an assistant principal. Foundation support will keep the cost at $800 per school team for the eight daylong workshops, including reduced pricing for conferences and resources from MAMLE and the National Middle School Association.

To obtain information or to participate in the grant phase, contact Alexander at 859-1111 or wallace.alexander@umit.maine.edu.

Audio programs on podcast

The Maine Humanities Council has released six audio programs for parents and children in its online Humanities on Demand podcast. The programs include four children’s book read-alouds, one presentation for young adults and a how-to for parents.

Three of the children’s books are special presentations of Maine author Amy MacDonald’s picture books, staged and read by actors from the Portland Stage Company. Local early literacy expert Vicky Smith reads the fourth book, the popular “Owl Babies” by Martin Waddell.

Young adults will enjoy a program by Portland author Maria Testa, combining readings from her book, “Something About America,” with a discussion of events in Lewiston and Kosovo that inspired the story.

The final program is a short guide to early literacy for parents. Vicky Smith, former director and children’s librarian at the McArthur Public Library in Biddeford and editor of children’s book reviews for Kirkus magazine, offers an introduction to early literacy skills for parents and other caregivers.

The audio programs can be found in the Humanities on Demand section of Maine Humanities Council’s Web site, www.mainehumanities.org/podcasts. Humanities on Demand features 40 programs.

Colleges

Maine Maritime Academy

CASTINE – These area students graduated during commencement ceremonies on May 3 at Maine Maritime Academy:

Bangor: Joseph Blier, bachelor’s degree in international business and logistics, and Henry Brooks Award in International Business and Logistics.

Eddington: Robert Canning, bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in power engineering, and Power Engineering Technology Award; Richard Collenburg Jr., bachelor’s degree in marine systems engineering.

Hampden: John Higgins, bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in marine engineering technology; Zachary Growe, bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in power engineering technology, and award from the Maine Maritime Academy Parents Association.

Orrington: Andrew Thoms, bachelor’s degree in marine engineering technology.

Winterport: Lucus Anderson, bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in marine transportation operations, and award from the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots.

Area students named to the spring dean’s list are:

Bangor: Joseph Blier, James Proctor, Jenna Algee.

Brewer: Elizabeth Cote.

Corinth: Levi Nickerson.

Dedham: Shawn Evans.

Eddington: Robert Canning.

Hampden: John Higgins, Zachary Growe, Rebecca Allen.

Holden: Anthony Ngo, Thomas Carey.

Orono: Fahad Almutirei, Ahmad Alawadhy.

Orrington: Andrew Thoms, Asa Solomon.

Winterport: Lucus Anderson.

Drew University

BANGOR – Bonnie Lee Case of Bangor received a bachelor’s degree from Drew University in Madison, N.J., during commencement exercises on May 17.

Eastern Maine Community College

BANGOR – Eastern Maine Community College has hired Michael A. Osborne of Bangor to serve as director of finance. In addition to overseeing college finances and operations of the business office, he will supervise the college store and dining services department.

As a key administrator for the college, Osborne serves on the president’s cabinet.

The former director of finance and administration for Eastern Maine Development Corp., Osborne also served as the controller for the Augusta Water and Sanitary Districts.

Osborne holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Husson College and is a certified public accountant licensed with the state of Maine.

Library services, EMCC

BANGOR – Janet Blood of Orono has been hired to replace longtime Eastern Maine Community College Dean of Library Services Karen Reilly, who retired in June. Blood had been an associate librarian with the college for the last two years, having come from a high school library.

As the college’s associate dean of library services, Blood is responsible for library collection development, acquisitions and budget in addition to supervising day-to-day operations and maintaining and developing internal and external connections to resources, volunteers and agencies.

Recently elected to serve on the Minerva executive committee which governs the statewide Minerva library system, Blood also will serve on Eastern Maine Community College’s college senate.

Blood holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine and a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina.

University of Maine at Farmington

FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington has announced its dean’s list for the spring semester.

Amherst: Murray Bridges.

Bangor: Maureen Capehart, Kristen Farrar, Catherine Hall, Erin Porter.

Brewer: Sarah Defilipp, Kiley McCloskey.

Bucksport: Jennifer Murauckas, Jennifer Pelletier.

Corinth: Ryan Nickerson.

Eddington: Charity Campbell.

Exeter: Miranda Cote, Stephanie Fogler.

Frankfort: Sarah Ellis.

Hampden: Tyler Kirk.

Hermon: Heather Madore, Casee Orourke.

Holden: Kevin Stewart, Mallory Wilson.

Hudson: Elizabeth Ellis.

Milford: Elizabeth Bergeron.

Old Town: Skylar Hopkins, Barbara St. Peter.

Orland: Erin Blair.

Orono: Timothy Berry.

Penobscot: Cameron Gray, Phineas Peake.

Stetson: Shannon Clukey.

Winterport: Heather Bossie, Haily Chase, Carmen Rioux.

University of Maine

ORONO – For the fifth consecutive year, the Princeton Review lists the University of Maine as one of the nation’s best choices for undergraduate education.

The New York-based publisher announced the listings from its annual book, “The Best 368 Colleges,” on July 28. Princeton Review rankings are based on several criteria, including the opinions of each school’s students.

Only about 15 percent of the four-year colleges in the United States are chosen for the list.

“The Princeton Review ranking affirms UMaine’s place as a quality institution in a national context,” said UM President Robert Kennedy. “It also shows that UMaine’s students feel good about the UMaine undergraduate experience and that they are willing to tell others that UMaine provides both quality and value. I can’t imagine a better recommendation than one coming from our students.”

An average of 325 students per institution respond to the Princeton Review’s 80-question survey.

“In our opinion, each school in this book is first-rate academically,” said Robert Franek, author at the Princeton Review. “But their campus cultures and offerings differ greatly. Instead of ranking schools academically, 1 to 368, we tally ranking lists in 62 categories based on what students at the schools – their customers – report to us about them. We also compile rating scores in eight categories based on institutional data we collect. We believe college applicants need to know far more about schools than an academic ranking to identify which colleges may be best for them. It’s all about the fit.”

“We are excited about UMaine’s current direction and its bright future, and this ranking signifies strong appreciation for the quality of the UMaine experience,” Kennedy said.

Fall semester classes begin at the University of Maine on Tuesday, Sept. 2.