Local student news
Kevin O’Connor, a resident of South Portland, was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2012 semester at Alfred University. O’Connor is a junior in the College Liberal Arts/Sciences. Students must earn at least a 3.5 grade point average to qualify for dean’s list. O’Connor is a biology major at Alfred University. A graduate of South Portland High School, O’Connor is the son of James and Margaret O’Connor.
Keene State College has released the Dean’s List for the fall semester 2012. Among the 1,441 students named to the Dean’s List are: Anne Sinclair Johnson of Cape Elizabeth, and Kelsey Ann Schild of Scarborough.
Elena Castro, a resident of Cape Elizabeth, was awarded dean’s list honors for academic achievement during the fall 2012 semester at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM).
The following local residents were named to the Dean’s list at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine for the fall semester. From Scarborough: William Armishaw, Katherine Gadbois, Jennifer Green, Emily Howes, Mickeyla Murphy, Emily O’Connor, James Rouse, Kelsey Webber, and Kiley Yescott. From South Portland: Mary Leasure, Nicholas Lops, Molly Skog, and Samantha Viola.
Robert Harrison Jordan of South Portland has been named to the dean’s list at Clemson University for the fall 2012 semester. Jordan is majoring in Marketing.
Buy Local Scarborough sets bowling social
Buy Local Scarborough with hold a Big 20 Bowling Center Social Event on Thursday, Jan. 31, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
This event is for Buy Local Scarborough members, employees of members, spouses of members or prospective members. Support Buy Local Scarborough, and see the new improvements that have taken place at Big 20 Bowling Center, including resurfacing the lanes, electronic score displays and new tap room/bar and restrooms. Bring some business cards and network with members and have a drink and light appetizers and enjoy bowling a few strings. Seven lanes will be reserved for Buy Local Members. The cost will be $6 for two strings and shoes. There will be a gift card prize for the highest men’s and women’s scores.
Buy Local Scarborough membership includes small independent businesses in Scarborough, individual resident members and nonprofit members. Learn more about Buy Local Scarborough’s mission and membership requirements at www.buylocalscarborough.org. RSVP for the event to buylocalscarborough@gmail.com.
Scarborough chorus holding fundraiser
As a result of their success at achieving a “Gold” rating at last year’s competition in New York City, the Scarborough High School chorus has been invited to participate and compete in an “All Gold” choral festival this April.
They will be competing in New York City again, but with other “Gold” choruses from around the country and Canada, and participating in a clinic with Anton Armstrong, world famous conductor of the St. Olaf College Choir. The Scarborough chorus will be raising funds for their competition trip with help from the Opus One Big Band.
Opus One will present a benefit concert/swing dance on Sunday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. in the Winslow Homer Auditorium at Scarborough High School. Tickets are $8 for high school students with an ID, $15 for adults, and $25 for two adults, and are available through the Choral Arts Department at Scarborough High School (318-6637), Bullmoose, Starbird Music and Hannaford, and at the door.
The Opus One Big Band, together for more than 20 years, will be playing favorite jazz and swing standards of the 1930s and ‘40s-in the tradition of Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Gene Krupa and Glenn Miller-as well as more recent pieces.
Legislators to hold public hearing
The three state legislators representing Cape Elizabeth – Sen. Rebecca Millett and and representatives Kimberly Monaghan-Derrig and Scott Hamann – will host a community forum on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
The event, to take place from 7-8:30 p.m. at town hall, is being conducted, the Democratic lawmakers say, to “provide citizens an opportunity to share concerns, ask questions and learn about issues being addressed by the 126th Legislature.”
According to Millett, a primary focus of the forum will be the supplemental and biennial budgets recently submitted by Gov. Paul LePage.
“It is important that residents understand what is being proposed and how it will affect them, and have the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns,” she said.
Sen. Millett chairs the Legislature’s education and cultural affairs committee and serves on the taxation committee. Rep. Monaghan-Derrig sits on the judiciary committee while Rep. Hamann serves on the committee that oversees issues related to labor, commerce, research and economic development.
SMCC to host business conference
Southern Maine Community College will host its first-ever Launch or Grow Small Business Success Conference on Jan. 25, featuring area business leaders sharing their expertise on everything from funding to branding.
The conference, sponsored by SMCC’s Entrepreneurial Center, will feature two tracks. One will focus on helping entrepreneurs start a small business, the other on advising small business owners on how to grow their existing enterprise. The day will also feature a “shark tank,” where conference attendees can pitch their business ideas to a panel of experts for feedback.
“SMCC has prepared thousands of Mainers for workforce success, whether they earn a business degree and found their own company or gain practical skills through programs including culinary, pre-engineering, horticulture, computer technology and more,” said SMCC President Ron Cantor. “We created this ‘Launch or Grow’ conference to further support Maine’s economy by reaching out to that critical engine of growth, the entrepreneur.”
The keynote speakers at the daylong conference are brothers John and Brendan Ready, Cape Elizabeth natives and founders of Ready Seafood and Catch a Piece of Maine. The Ready brothers will speak about how they launched their business right out of college, and the path they’ve taken to grow successfully.
Other speakers include: Bob Johnson, owner of Scratch Bakery in South Portland, business lawyer Zeke Callanan, Nat Henshaw of Coastal Enterprises Inc., financing expert Chris Speh, Don Gooding of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, business coach Dange Vespignani, author Tam Veilleux, Bitzy Baby founders Whitney and Seabren Reeves, business coach Mandy Schumaker, motivational speaker Jim Bouchard and Angela Helton of Northeast Media Associates.
The cost for the daylong conference is $50; $25 for SMCC students and alumni. Scholarships are available. For more information, including a complete agenda for the day and registration information, visit http://www.smccme.edu/static-content/events/small-business-seminar.html.
Baxter Academy ?opens facility
Baxter Academy for Technology & Science in Portland will hold a public tour of the facility and opportunity to learn about the school noon-3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26. The school is currently accepting applications for enrollment for ninth- and tenth-grade students for the 2013-2014 school year.
The school is located at 54 York St. in Portland.
“This is a chance for potential students and parents to see first-hand what our school is all about and to see the amazing opportunities that would be available to them at Baxter Academy,” said Baxter Academy Executive Director John Jaques. “We’re still accepting applications for enrollment and are very excited about classes starting this fall.”
Classes at Baxter Academy for Technology & Science are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 3. The STEM education school is the third public charter school to be approved in Maine by the Charter Schools Commission. Tuition is free for any student living in any Maine town.
The school is capping enrollment at 160 students, total. Baxter Academy has already received more than 125 applications as of the week of Jan. 14. A lottery system will be used if more than 160 applications are received. Public Charter Schools generally have smaller class sizes than traditional public schools, which is one of the benefits seen by its students.
Students interested in applying to the school should visit www.baxteracademy.org to fill out an application. In addition to the open houses, two enrollment information sessions are scheduled from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, and Monday, Feb. 25, both at University of Southern Maine’s Glickman Library.
More information and applications can be found at www.baxteracademy.org.
Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Breakwater Daybreak presented third-graders in South Portland schools their personal dictionary for the fourth consecutive year. Rotarians look forward to this event, when they can visit the classrooms and interact with the students, asking them to look up words and their meaning, find maps of the world or the population of Maine. Pictured above with their new dictionaries are students at Dyer Elementary School. Send questions/comments to the editors.
