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Original dance, drama

BANGOR – Students from Brewer High School, Hermon High and Hampden Academy will perform original drama, mask drama and dance pieces 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Universalist Unitarian Church, 120 Park St. The students have been working on the performance for several weeks. The public is invited to attend.

The students’ collaborative, creative work is part of the Building Community Through the Arts program, organized by the Maine Alliance for Arts Education.

The regional artist residency program, now in its 10th year, brings professional Maine choreographers and playwrights into classrooms in high schools throughout Penobscot and Piscataquis counties to help students create group works, which combine curriculum themes with social issues the students choose to address.

At Hermon High School, one of Elyssa Pound’s English classes is creating a drama with theater artist Jeri Pitcher.

At Brewer High School, Ian Carlson’s creative writing class and one of Meredith O’Reilly’s English classes are working on mask theater pieces with artist Beverly Mann.

And at Hampden Academy, two of Sam Manhart’s classes and one of Lisa Scofield’s English classes are creating dance pieces with choreographer Katenia Keller.

For most of the students, this is their first experience in creative theater and dance.

Besides the six classes from local schools, two classes from Dexter Regional High School, two from Schenck in East Millinocket and one each from Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln and Lee Academy in Lee also will perform Nov. 13. Admission is free.

Building Community Through the Arts is supported this year by the Davis Family Foundation. A detailed schedule of performances will be available by Nov. 8 at www.maineartseducation.org.

Writing contest

The Maine Community College System announced that finalists in this year’s A Journey Into Writing contest will be chosen by a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and two other distinguished Maine authors.

Richard Ford, Wesley McNair and Monica Wood will serve as judges of the contest open to Maine high school juniors. Students may submit work in one of three categories – poetry, short story or essay. Entries will be accepted through Monday, Dec. 1.

“We created this contest in 2004 to showcase excellence in writing by Maine high school juniors,” said system President John Fitzsimmons. “It’s an honor to have three such distinguished authors working with us to support and encourage the next generation of Maine writers.”

Ford was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Pen-Faulkner Award in 1996 for his novel “Independence Day.” A resident of East Boothbay, Ford has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a professor at Trinity College Dublin.

McNair is the author of eight collections of poetry and the editor of three anthologies of contemporary Maine writing. The recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, he is professor emeritus and writer in residence at the University of Maine Farmington. He has served as a visiting professor in creative writing at Colby College. He lives in Mercer.

Wood is the author of four works of fiction, most recently the American Booksellers Association bestseller, “Any Bitter Thing.” Her short stories have won a Pushcart Prize and have been featured on National Public Radio. Born and raised in the town of Mexico, Wood lives in Portland.

Now in its fifth year, A Journey Into Writing is open to all high school juniors in the state. Last year, 218 students from 65 Maine high schools submitted work for the contest, sponsored by the Portland Press Herald-Maine Sunday Telegram, pressherald.com and US Cellular.

Contest rules and entry forms are available at writing.mccs.me.edu. Three winners will be announced in May and honored as the governor’s “Young Writer of the Year.” Each will receive $2,500.

Colleges

Cans Across America at MMA

CASTINE – Throughout November, Sodexo, the food service provider at Maine Maritime Academy, will participate in a companywide, employee-driven initiative to help feed thousands of hungry Americans and set a Guinness World Record. The MMA division is extending its efforts across campus by encouraging student and staff groups to engage in friendly challenges.

The group invites the Castine community to do the same, according to Jayme Maynard, Sodexo retail manager at MMA. The drive will conclude with a mass collection of food Wednesday, Nov. 12, at Sodexo locations nationwide.

An annual program of the company and one regularly held at MMA, Cans Across America aims to attain the record for the Largest Food Drive by a Non-Charitable Organization in a 24-Hour Period at multiple locations. With a focus on giving back to the communities in which Sodexo operates, MMA’s drive will donate its collection to Good Shepherd Food-Bank in Brewer.

“This event provides an opportunity for fun and spirited competition between campus groups while serving a very deserving need in our own area,” said Maynard. “We also hope it will serve as inspiration for individuals and service groups in our community to help neighbors in need.” Last year MMA donated more than 1,000 pounds of food to Good Shepherd Food-Bank and came close to being one of the top 10 contributing colleges nationwide.

According to organizers, in order to qualify for the Guinness record, donations to Sodexo must be delivered only on the collection day, Nov. 12.

“It’s the preplanning that will help us accomplish this goal,” said Maynard. “Any group with a caring spirit, formally organized or not, can collect, bring their items to MMA’s dining hall Nov. 12, and allow us to take care of getting it into the hands of those who need it most in our area. There’s no signing up, pledges or any other prior commitment.”

Contributions from the community may be dropped off at the dining hall reception area 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the Alfond Student Center lobby. Contact Jayme Maynard for information at 326-2460.

National geological society

ORONO – Scott Johnson, University of Maine professor of Earth sciences, has been elected to the management board of the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division of the Geological Society of America.

During this four-year commitment, Johnson will rotate through second vice chairman, first vice chairman, chairman and past chairman positions.

Established in 1888, the Geological Society of America, based in Colorado, is a global professional society with a growing membership of more than 21,000 people in 85 countries. With nearly 1,800 members, the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division is the largest of the society’s 17 specialist divisions.

Johnson will assist in the organization and oversight of activities the division engages in each year – publishing two newsletters and organizing sessions, field trips and short courses for the society’s annual meeting. He also will distribute annual awards for both student and faculty achievement.

Johnson said he looks forward to “helping to forge the direction of the division in the times ahead in which Earth sciences will play a more important role in all of our lives, owing to energy prices, availability of mineral and metal resources, and the impacts of climate change on the environment.” He has been a faculty member at UM since 2000 and is a resident of Orono.

Babson College

HAMPDEN – Caitlin Churchill of Hampden has qualified for the dean’s list for the spring semester at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass.

Boston College

BOSTON – These area students graduated in September from Boston University in Boston:

. Sarah Templeton of Bangor. She received a master’s degree in studio art teaching.

. Erin Campbell of Hampden. She received a master’s degree in reading education.

Mount Allison University

HAMPDEN – Rory Woods of Hampden, one of four Mount Allison University students who has returned from the Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference at the University of Toronto, won recognition for writing the best research paper for the astronomy, geophysics and space physics division.

Woods’ award-winning paper, “Meteoroid Impacts into Cometary Nuclei,” summarized findings from his summer research at Mount Allison University, Sackville, N.B. His research will determine whether cometary material is a pristine representation of the early solar system, or if comets are contaminated by impacts with asteroidal meteoroids.

Woods is a fourth-year honors physics student and a teaching intern in astronomy with Mount Allison’s Purdy Crawford Training Centre. He also played a critical role in the assembly of the Gemini Observatory. Woods is the president of the Mount Allison Astronomy Society, organizing activities such as Astronomy Day.

Wells College

BANGOR – The Wells College Performing Arts program presented “Balancing Acts,” original choreography by faculty and students Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, at the college in Aurora, N.Y.

The dances in the program explored in some way the maintaining, losing and regaining of balance, from the delicate poise of the dancer en pointe, to the physical risk of dancing on ramps and pedestals, to the asymmetry of choreographic and scenic design. Among the students who had a key role in the annual performance was dancer Arianna Bickford of Bangor.

Wheaton College

BANGOR – Eric Pelletier, a junior at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., recently earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2007-2008 academic year.

He also was awarded the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference laurels during the spring semester. In addition, he was awarded the Wheaton Athletics Coaches’ Award for Men’s Tennis for 2008.

Pelletier, who is pursuing a degree in economics and international relations, maintained a grade point average of 3.68 during the spring semester. He was named a Wheaton Ambassador in October and was the recipient of the Alma Grew Scholarship at Wheaton College. Currently, he is studying at the London School of Economics in England.

Pelletier is the son of Cheryl Pelletier of Bangor and Raymond Pelletier of Hampden.