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Schools

Americanism contest

Joan Glans of the Bangor Elks Club has announced the winners of the club’s Americanism Essay Contest for area high school students:

. Brandi Leathers, a 12th-grade student from Bangor Christian Schools, won the $200 first prize.

. Ninth-grader Aimee Putnam of Bangor Christian Schools won the $100 second prize.

. Twelfth-grader Yolanda Elliott of Central High School in Corinth took home the $50 third prize.

Contestants were asked to write about their American hero. Students from Central High School, Bangor Christian School and Hermon High School participated in the contest.

Bangor High School

Winners of the 2004 regional Scholastic Art Awards and Congressional District Awards held at Maine College of Art in Portland were announced recently. The competition brought 332 submissions from 295 young artists representing 12 middle schools and 53 high schools.

Maine College of Art is showcasing the talents of the winning artists in its professional gallery, the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art through Jan. 17. Special gallery hours are 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Thursdays until 7 p.m.

Bangor High School students who received awards and who will compete in the national Scholastics Art Awards are:

. Adam Boss, 17, Grade 12, of Veazie, “Downtown Bangor,” Merit Award.

. Caitlin Edwards, 17, Grade 12, of Bangor, “Breakfast,” Merit Award

. Katie Poirier, 17, Grade 12, of Bangor, “Sunflowers,” Merit Award.

Capri Street School

BREWER – Kindergarten registration for Brewer children who will be 5 years old on or before Oct. 15 will be held at Capri Street School 7:30-10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3; 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4; and 1:30-3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5.

Parents must bring child’s official birth certificate, not the hospital certificate, immunization records and Social Security number. No appointment is necessary and it is not necessary for the child to attend. For more information, call the school at 989-8620.

Know Your Orchestra!

BANGOR – The Bangor Symphony Orchestra was recently awarded grant funding from the Morton Kelly Charitable Trust to send orchestra musicians to schools in Aroostook, Franklin, Piscataquis and Somerset counties.

Education Coordinator Diane Kern said the Know Your Orchestra! program takes groups of musicians – and sometimes Xiao-Lu Li, the orchestra’s music director and conductor – into area schools for workshops, demonstrations and performances.

“We are thrilled to be able to return to schools and build on what we’ve already started,” said Kern. “Nothing can take the place of having professional musicians working one on one with students in a relaxed and familiar setting. It’s a great complement to what school music teachers are already doing with their curricula.”

For the past two seasons, music teacher J. Colin Windhorst has had Know Your Orchestra! ensembles visit his classroom.

“Bringing orchestra musicians into the classroom is a dramatic and unforgettable introduction to good music for every child present,” he said. “Their informal demonstrations and explanations make instrumental music accessible to the children. They also humanize the world of classical music, which can often seem distant and remote to those who see it only on television or in the more formal setting of a concert hall. Many of the children otherwise would have no direct contact with people who have devoted a considerable portion of their lives to making music.”

Grant funding from the Morton Kelly Charitable Trust is targeted specifically for outreach in schools in northern Maine counties.

To obtain more information about the Bangor Symphony Orchestra’s Know Your Orchestra! educational outreach or to schedule a school visit, call 942-5555, or (800) 639-3221.

Colleges

Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology

BOSTON, Mass. – Nathan Ames of Bangor has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at The Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston. Ames is in the associate’s degree automotive technology program.

Dartmouth College

HANOVER, N.H. – Two local students from Dartmouth College studied anthropology in Auckland, New Zealand, during the 2004 winter term as part of the college’s foreign study program.

. Julia Payne is the daughter of Lewis and Clare Payne of Holden, and a graduate of John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor. She is a member of the Class of 2004.

. Timothy W. Clement is the son of David M. Clement and Elizabeth T. Weiss of Orono. He is a member of the Class of 2005.

Dartmouth’s off-campus programs are designed to expand the college’s curriculum into new areas of academic and cultural understanding. Through the programs, students are given the chance to study one topic in depth. Dartmouth’s off-campus offerings include 44 programs in 17 countries and the United States. Approximately 65 percent of Dartmouth undergraduates take advantage of the college’s foreign study opportunities.

New England School of Communications

BANGOR – Area students named to the dean’s list at New England School of Communications are:

High honors: Aaron Blackmer, Dedham; Nicholas DeFlaminis, Holden; Jesse Giroux, Bradford; Bret Johnson, Winterport; Jodi Leigh, Bangor; Holly Lusignan, Dixmont; Garrett MacGowan, Hampden; Dave MacLaughlin, Hermon; Daniel Rainey, Frankfort; Michael Rancourt, Hermon; Zachary Van Dyne, Orrington; Rodney Verrill, Carmel; and Jennifer Wilbur, Hermon.

Honors: Kristina Garcelon, Hermon; David Potter, Glenburn, Sean Sickles, Brewer; and Adam Davis, Old Town.

Onward Program at UM

ORONO – The Onward Program invites the public to a presentation, “Opportunity Onward: An Educational Option at UMaine,” 2-4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, in Jenness Hall’s Soderberg Center at the University of Maine.

The Onward Program focuses on nontraditional students through a supportive community, which provides the feeling of a small college environment. The program is for those who want a degree from the University of Maine. Onward links to other resources, such as the tutor program, disability support services and group tutorials.

The presentation also will be a way for professionals to learn about another higher education resource. The presentation will include refreshments from 2 to 2:30 p.m. and offer information from current students and staff. To RSVP, call 581-2320.

University of Maine

ORONO – A University of Maine engineering professor is among the recipients of the 2004 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards, announced by the New England Board of Higher Education.

Habib J. Dagher, University of Maine professor of civil and structural engineering, will receive a New England Higher Education Merit Award given to one individual or program from each New England state that has shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity.

Dagher is director of UMaine’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center and Bath Iron Works professor of structural engineering at the university.

Under Dagher’s direction, the wood composites center conducts research on new applications and structural properties of wood composite systems. Engineers and scientists at the center have developed new composite wood materials to create stronger, cost-efficient construction materials.

Technology created at the center has had a direct impact on the Maine economy and the forestry industry in the state.

Maine senator and higher education board delegate Mary R. Cathcart said, “Dr. Dagher’s work epitomizes the economic and civic contribution of America’s land-grant universities. He truly deserves this honor.”

The awards ceremony will take place Friday, Feb. 27, at Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza.