Schools

After-school art program

BREWER – The Brewer Parks and Recreation Department is accepting registrations for its after-school art program, Bev Langley instructing. Classes are held Wednesdays at the Brewer Auditorium and will meet for a seven-week session beginning Sept. 14.

Classes for pupils ages 6-10 will meet 4-5:15 p.m. Those ages 10 and up will meet 5:30-6:45 p.m. The fee is $30 per session for Brewer residents, $35 for others, plus an additional $8 project fee.

For information, call 989-5199.

After-school program

BUCKSPORT – The Franklin Street United Methodist Church, 71 Franklin St., began its after-school program 3:15-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7. The program provides healthful snacks, games, Bible lessons, crafts and singing. To obtain information, or to volunteer as a staff member, call Chris Petravicz, 469-9979, or the church office, 469-3622.

Americanism essay contest

Pupils enrolled in the fifth-, sixth-, seventh- or eighth-grades in Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Hermon, Holden, Carmel, Orrington, Corinth, Winterport and Bucksport schools are invited to participate in the Americanism essay contest sponsored by the Bangor Lodge of Elks 244. The contest theme is “What I Feel When I Look Up at the American Flag.” Entry deadline is Jan. 20, 2006. To obtain information, call 942-6977.

‘Holes’ auditions

WINTERPORT – Winterport Open Stage will hold auditions for the play “Holes” 6-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 8-9, and Monday, Sept. 12.

Artistic Director Reed Farrar needs to fill 34 roles in the play with local adults and teens. No experience or preparation is necessary. Several African-American actors are needed for key roles. Students at local high schools are urged to audition. For information, visit www.winterportopenstage.com.

University of Maine

ORONO – The University of Maine opened its residence hall doors to new first-year students who will be members of UMaine’s largest entering class in 15 years. The class currently numbers 1,823 students, approximately 3 percent more than the same time last year. The increase is attributable to an approximately 20 percent increase, to 375, in the number of out-of-state students who have chosen to enroll at UMaine.

The number of Maine students enrolling at UMaine, which reached an all-time high in the fall of 2004, remains constant.

The average SAT score for new UMaine students is 1,084, a one-point increase over last year and well above state and national averages. Of those students, 21.4 percent were in the top 10 percent of their high school class, 42.7 percent were in the top 20 percent. Those figures also represent slight increases over the entering class from the fall of 2004.

When the students who plan to live on campus arrived on Friday, they were met by some 200 UMaine faculty and staff volunteers, led by President Robert Kennedy, from UMaine’s award-winning “Maine Hello” program. Volunteers provided a friendly greeting and help in moving students’ belongings into the residence halls. “Maine Hello” is part of UMaine’s Fall Welcome Weekend, a series of activities and events intended to get the students acclimated and prepared for the start of classes earlier this week.

UMaine’s total student population is estimated at 11,400; the fall 2004 enrollment was 11,358. Enrollment numbers do not become final until the University of Maine System’s official census on Oct. 15.

Seventy-seven percent of UMaine students are full-time students. Twenty percent are graduate students.

UMaine’s 19 residence halls are at capacity, with 3,858 students choosing to live on campus. That number of students can be accommodated without changing room configurations or using any space not designed for sleeping.

Returning resident students arrived on campus over the holiday weekend, with most returning on Monday.

UMaine has enrolled students from 76 countries and 47 states – all but Oklahoma, North Dakota and Hawaii.