The National Merit Scholarship Corp., a nonprofit corporation established in 1955 to conduct the Merit Program, has announced the names of 12 high school seniors in Maine who have won National Merit $2,000 Scholarships. Recipients of the scholarships were chosen by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors who evaluated scholastic information collected from finalists and their high schools.

Area winners are Andrew Miner of Cony High School, Augusta, Clare Priest of Machias Memorial High School, Jessica Rouse of Skowhegan Area High School, and Katherine Szal of Bangor High School. Others Maine winners are Josh Getchell, Marshwood High School, Eliot; Kristin Jensen, Greely High School, Cumberland Center; Christopher Coyne and Scott Farrar, South Portland High School; Laura Rollins and Jesse Stanton, Mount Ararat School, Topsham; Benjamin Davis, Maranacook Community School, Readfield; and Aaron Weinberg, Morse High School, Bath.

This year’s Merit Scholarship winners were among 1.1 million students in 19,000 high schools in the United States who entered the 1995 competition by taking the 1993 PSAT-NMSQT, which served as an initial screen of entrants. In the fall of 1994, approximately 15,000 of the top scorers were designated semifinalists. Semifinalists, representing about half of 1 percent of graduating seniors in every state, had an opportunity to advance to finalist standing and compete for Merit Scholarship awards.

The majority of scholarships offered through the Merit Program each year are made possible by grants from about 600 independent sponsor organizations and institutions that share the program’s goals of enhancing educational opportunities for scholastically talented youth and increasing public support for academic excellence. This year 6,700 distinguished students received Merit Scholarship awards worth $26 million.

Rachel Pillings, a junior at Deer Isle-Stonington High School, and Michael Cohen, a junior at Deering High School, Portland, will participate in the Sony Student Project Abroad program. Pillings was the nominee of Sen. William Cohen, and Cohen was nominated by Sen. Olympia Snowe. The students will attend a 2 1/2-week all-expense-paid educational and cultural trip to California and Japan. The program is geared to juniors and seniors who demonstrate keen interest and ability in science, mathematics and leadership skills and have an interest in international travel and foreign cultures.

A Celebrity Auction to benefit Project Graduation 1995 at Rockland High School will feature 250 items including some from Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Williams, Tom Selleck and the Boston Celtics. A preview of items will be held 5-6 p.m. before the auction Thursday, May 18, in the school auditorium.

More than 150 students in Aroostook County attended the Student Master Composter Workshops held May 1-10 at area high schools and Northern Maine Technical College. Students received literature, viewed a series of slides on composting and bin designs and were given ideas for projects and workshops. To qualify for a certificate as a student master composter, participants must complete a composting project that reaches a group in their community. The project is sponsored by a grant from the Rural Economic and Community Development Agency, formerly the Farmers Home Administration, and is a cooperative effort between northern Maine communities, regional solid-waste associations, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Northern Maine Development Commission. For information, call 800-427-8736.

Students from Central High School in East Corinth were among participants in the recent Young Leaders Program sponsored by the Maine Army National Guard held at the State YMCA Camp in Winthrop. The program combines classroom instruction with outdoor exercises to help students apply leadership principles in their everyday lives.

Members of the Orono High School Key Club cleaned and painted the high school cafeteria May 8 with the assistance of several Kiwanis Club members. The school department contributed $200 toward the project. Student painters were Chris Brazee, Amy Carleton, Kim Cunningham, Nick Dibiase, Amanda Gammisch, Tyra Gettleman, Heather Holmes, Dalton Ingraham, Erin Lechner, Jody Lew, Laura Shick and Ashley Stinson.

Science Fair winners

The 49th annual Maine State Science and Technology Fair was held May 6 at the Augusta Civic Center. National Semiconductor and the Maine Science and Technology Foundation assisted with the event sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association. Plaques were awarded to schools whose students took first place in the talks and demonstrations and exhibits categories. Individual winners received gold, silver and bronze medals for first, second and third places, respectively. All received certificates of participation.

The Talks and Demonstrations Division required students to experiment or manipulate data in a new way, detailing their activities and progress in logbooks. In 15-minute presentations before science fair judges, the students discussed their original research or applications, employing models, diagrams, collections, charts or other audio-visuals to document or support data. First-place winners were:

Grades nine-10, life science, Mark Dell’Olio, Penquis Valley High School, “How Light Affects the Egg Production of the Chicken”; and physical science, Nathan Hayes, Penquis Valley High School, “Copper in Water Supplies.”

Grades 11-12, biology, Jonathan Schaab, Morse High School, “The Effects of Temperature on the Food Intake of Crickets”; environmental-chemistry, Elizabeth Sayer, Penquis Valley High School, “Where Does the Most Phytoplankton Grow?”; consumer, Katy Cunningham, Morse High School, “When You Don’t Have Time to Brush …”; physics, Aaron Weinberg, Morse High School, “The Effect of Voltage on Magnetically Induced Friction”; and technology, Raymond McAvoy, Katahdin High School, “Designing a Computer Controlled Robotic Arm.”

The team winners were William Butcher III and Shelly-Ann Hazelton of Central High School with “The Degradation of Beta-Carotene Under Various Conditions.”

Winners in the Exhibit catagories were:

Grades nine-10, biology, Jennie Hahn, Georges Valley High School, “Cellular Respiration and Temperature”; chemistry, Amy Nunan, Cony High School, “Column Chromatography”; consumer, Autumn Johnson, Katahdin High School, “Insulation”; environmental-earth science, Stacy Stitham, Foxcroft Academy, “The Effects of Different Liquids on Tree Growth”; physics-technology, Catherine Foster, Cony High School, “Receiving Satellite Images”; and psychology, Maggie Zamboni, Penquis Valley High School, “Does the Ability to Smell Differ Between Males and Females?”

Grades 11-12, biology-psychology, Amelia Carignan, Georges Valley High School, “The Effects of Change in Frequency and Increase in Sound Amplitude and Pitch on Fish”; chemistry-physics-technology, Rachel Long, Foxcroft Academy, “Construction of an Insulating Solar Structure for the Roof of an Environmentally Compatible Home”; and consumer-environmental, Benjamin Cookson, Foxcroft Academy, “Comparison of Selected Brands of Laundry Detergent and Their Cleaning Ability.”

Team winners were Joelle Smith and Katie Trask of Jay High School with “How Does the Color of the Paper Affect the Student’s Grade?”

Horizon Scholarship winners

Sixteen students at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft have been awarded Horizon Scholarships, funded by the Annual Giving Campaign, to further their academic studies beyond the wall of the academy.

Those awarded scholarships are: Emily Pratt for an eight-week stay in Brazil through the American Field Service program; Kathleen Charles and Katrina Wilcox for a four-week homestay in France during the summer; Joshua Iannetta for his attendance at the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Boston; and Jessamyn Mackey for a five-month visit to Australia under the American Intercultural Student Exchange.

Also receiving scholarships were Lisa Downing and Matthew Peterson, who will pursue summer studies in geometry; Sarah Keenan, who will attend the University of Alaska for two weeks to study the cultural lifestyle of the Alaskan people; Amanda Roberts, who will attend a three-day craft program at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle; Carol Raymond and Maida Rollins, who will spend two weeks at the University of Maine’s summer music camp; Catherine Santore, who will travel to Russia next winter for a three-week stay as part of Project Harmony, and Benjamin Cookson, who will spend three weeks in Ireland as part of a cultural homestay program.

In addition, LaDawna McLeish will travel to Oklahoma and Arizona to attend the Nazarene Youth Convention for students to aid in enhancing their leadership skills as well as participating in service projects, including working with babies infected with the HIV virus; Joy Sharrow will travel to a place yet unknown, through the AFS program, and Shawn Keenan will attend the Catholic Scout Leadership Conference in the Southwest.

State VICA winners

In the State VICA Skills Competition, Richard Gray of Rockland High School won first place and a gold medal in welding while Stacy Luce of Medomak High School took second in commercial baking, and Tory Amborn of Camden-Rockport High School won third place in public speaking. All are students at Mid-Coast School of Technology, Rockland.

Gold award winners from Orono High School were Jon Kill in automotive, Tim Myers, culinary job skill, and Dave Spellman, OSHA handbook.

The students qualified to attend the National VICA Skills Competition in Kansas City, Mo., June 27.

National Honor Society

The following juniors were inducted this month into National Honor Society at Brewer High School: Matt Ring, Rob Reynolds, Casey Davis, Susan Flagg, Katie Norton, Sarah Hanson, Cheryl Beaulieu and Alicia Gilmore.

Maine writer and educator Sandy Phippen will be the guest speaker at the National Honor Society induction at Ellsworth High School at 7 p.m. tonight in the school gymnasium. Inductees are seniors Kara Bennett, Christy Jansen, Amanda Kochakian, Marc Leclerc, William Machon, Dawn Merchant, Michael Nickerson, Stacey Okerman and Rebecca Stanley, and juniors Vivian Beer, Marcia Boles, Philip Buswell, Erik Cattelle, Sara Closson, Nell Donaldson, Tatiana Gott, Deanna Heard, Erin Ehrlenbach, Christy Nuss, Matthew Povich, Martha Schoppee, Heidi Wasson, Erin Wilkes and Elizabeth Wilson.

On May 18, the Hermon High School chapter of National Honor Society will conduct an induction ceremony for the following students: seniors Craig Goodspeed and Joshua Hunsinger; juniors Erica Brewer, Emily Brown, Richa Chaturvedi, Madonna Gagnon, Kenneth Peterson, Theresa Thompson and Lindsay Whitney; and sophomores Sarah Devlin, Kristina Duran, Melissa Hunsinger, Jay Moore, Amanda Pearson, Corey Reynolds, Megan Smist and Steven Tweedie. The public is invited to attend the ceremony at 7 p.m. at Hermon Elementary School.

Coming events

Evening of the Arts, 7 p.m. tonight in the Brewer High School Gymnasium featuring music, drama performances, the annual student art show and refreshments. Sponsored by the Brewer Music Association and BHS art and music teachers.

Brewer High School Academic Recognition Night, 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 17.

SeBeowulf Initiation, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18, in the Brewer High School library.

Mount View High School Project Graduation Benefit Supper, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at the Grange Hall in Troy.

Maine All State Music Festival Concert, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20, in the gymnasium at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. Performances by the All-State Chorus, Band and Orchestra.

Spring Cabaret Concert, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, Central High School Gymnasium, East Corinth. Proceeds from donations and refreshments will benefit the band’s trip Memorial Day weekend to see the Boston Pops Orchestra.

The School News column is compiled by Darlene S. Henderson.