Andrei Llanto, of Waterville, has been named to the deans’ list at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the fall semester of the 2024-25 academic year.
Llanto, a junior majoring in business and law, was named to the dean’s list for the College of Business.
Endicott College, in Beverly, Massachusetts, has announced its Fall 2024 dean’s list students.
The following students have met the requirements:
Oliver Parker, English, Katherine Parker and Walter Parker;
Emily Clark, Nursing, Stacy Clark and Christopher Clark;
Hailey Hobart, Education, Deborah Hobart and Daniel Hobart
Elizabeth Greenleaf, Liberal Studies;
Alexi ONeil, English, Michelle O’Neil.
A total of 2,393 undergraduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in Worcester, Massachusetts, were named to the university’s fall 2024 dean’s list.
The following students were named to the dean’s list for Fall 2024:
Kaitlyn Henry, of Augusta, class of 2028, majoring in Computer Science;
Lily Ker, of Waterville, class of 2027, majoring in Interactive Media and Game Development;
Emiko Peck, of Waterville, class of 2028, majoring in Mathematical Sciences.
Vassalboro Community School girls basketball team, 2025 Sheepscot Valley Athletic Conference, undefeated champions. (The Town Line file photo)
Vassalboro School Board members began their March 11 meeting by recognizing the Vassalboro Community School girls’ basketball team, who won the 2025 Sheepscot Valley Athletic Conference championship with a 12-0 record. (See the photo on p. 8 of the March 13 issue of The Town Line.)
“From worst to first,” Coach David Trask summarized: last year, he said, the team didn’t win a single game, though they steadily improved. He said the junior varsity girls also had an undefeated season this year.
Trask and Athletic Director Traci Tibbetts both coach basketball, but Trask said because Tibbetts has many other duties, he has worked with the teams. He praised them as a “great group of girls” supported by “fantastic parents.”
At the end of the meeting, board members recognized two other students: eighth-graders Savannah Judkins and Agatha Meyer were waiting to learn on March 14 whether their applications to the Maine School of Mathematics and Science (MSSM) had been accepted.
On March 14, both girls learned they have been accepted at the specialty school, in Limestone, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer reported.
At the school board meeting, the girls’ parents and board members discussed whether Vassalboro taxpayers can be asked to help cover room and board expenses at MSSM, as part of the school budget. Pfeiffer explained that the State of Maine pays tuition there; Vassalboro gets no subsidy or reimbursement. Neither the state nor the town covers room and board, which people said costs close to $11,000 a year.
Pfeiffer pointed out that if the students attended Erskine Academy instead, the tuition – paid by the town, mostly reimbursed by the state – would be more than that.
School board members decided they should develop a policy. Needing time to consider it, they postponed a decision to their April meeting.
Board member Zachary Smith, whose son Judson is in his first year at MSSM, said MSSM’s financial aid information comes out in June and families’ payments are due beginning in July.
In other business March 11, board members reviewed the first draft of the 2025-26 school calendar. Pfeiffer explained that every year, state education officials send a suggested schedule; he coordinates with Waterville and Winslow, since they and Vassalboro share many administrators; and the school board tweaks the final version to meet specific Vassalboro needs.
One outstanding question is whether November 2025 voting will be held at Vassalboro Community School, and if it is, how to compensate for missing a day of classes.
After another brief discussion of school board members’ stipends, board members voted unanimously not to recommend an increase this year.
Each Vassalboro board member currently receives $400 a year, a figure Board Chairman Jolene Gamage said has not changed for more than a decade. Gamage’s figures showed Vassalboro select board members receive $2,580 a year with an additional $500 for the chairman. Waterville and Winslow school board members’ per-meeting stipends add up to well over $400 annually.
Pfeiffer reported with pleasure that Vassalboro has hired a new bus driver. Board members confirmed her appointment.
The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 8. Before then, board members have 2025-26 budget discussions scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, March 26; but Pfeiffer said if he does not receive information on 2025-26 insurance costs in time, the meeting could be postponed.
Emmett Appel
Headmaster Jamie Soule has announced that Emmett Appel, of Windsor, a senior at Erskine Academy, in South China, has been selected to receive the 2025 Principal’s Award. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association, recognizes a high school senior’s academic excellence, outstanding school citizenship, and leadership.
Appel is a consistent high honors student in a highly competitive academic program that includes honors or accelerated level classes and numerous Advanced Placement and Concurrent Enrollment courses with nearby colleges. He has been commended and honored within the school for his exceptional academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, leadership, and community service. Appel is currently ranked among the top students in Erskine Academy’s Class of 2025, and was one of only two students in the state to be selected to represent Maine at the 63rd annual U.S. Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Washington Week this month.
“Emmett’s dedication and commitment to his academic studies, extra and co-curricular activities, and to causes he cares deeply for, perfectly exemplifies our school’s core values of scholarship, leadership, stewardship, and relationships. Emmett has consistently distinguished himself as an exemplary representative for Erskine Academy, and I am proud to honor him with this well-deserved award,” noted Headmaster Soule.
Appel, Soule, and other award winners and their principals will attend an Honors Luncheon at Jeff’s Catering, on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. The event recognizes outstanding students by presenting a plaque and awarding ten $1,000 scholarships in the names of former Maine principals and MPA Executive Directors: Horace O. McGowan, Richard W. Tyler, and Richard A. Durost.
The Principal’s Award is presented in more than 100 Maine public and private high schools by member principals of the MPA, the professional association representing Maine’s school administrators.
This year, Sarina chose Assistant Principal Tabitha Brewer as her target, having pied math teacher Stephanie Tuttle last year. Estabrook again honored Michaud. (contributed photo)
Two seventh-grade girls won the annual Pi Day contest at Vassalboro Community School on March 14 – the same two who won as sixth-graders last year, in reverse order. The contest requires reciting from memory as many digits as possible of pi – an endless number defined as the “mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159.” Principal Ira Michaud said this year’s winner was Mariah Estabrook, who memorized 347 digits. In second place was Sarina LaCroix, with 328 digits. In the 2024 Pi Day contest, LaCroix placed first with a mere 167 digits, according to last year’s The Town Line report. Winners earn the right to throw a pie in the face of a school administrator or teacher.
Maine Moose 12U Tier II team wins state championship The Maine Moose 12U Tier II hockey team has been crowned the 2024-2025 Maine Amateur Hockey Association State Champions after an outstanding performance in the state tournament. The team showcased skill, determination, and teamwork, securing the title with a thrilling final victory. The Moose will now move on and represent Maine in the New England Regionals starting Friday, March 14.
• #1 – Isak Harrington
• #48 – Gabe Loubier
• #8 – Reagan Gendron
• #21 – Parker Boucher
• #27 – Lincoln Fogg
• #52 – Easton Gradie
• #87 – Austin Roderick
• #97 – Greyson Arnold
• #2 – Brendan Greer
• #4 – Eli Bilodeau
• #10 – Campbell McCarthy
• #22 – Bryson Johnson
• #24 – Bryson Nichols
• #63 – Isaac Turner
• #76 – Malcolm Campbell
• #82 – Landon Ward
• #88 – Wesley McPherson
• #89 – Ezra Orlandello
• Head Coach: Brian Boucher
• Assistant Coach: Brian McCarthy
The Vassalboro Community School girls basketball team rolled through an undefeated season to claim the Sheepscot Valley Athletic Conference championship for 2025. (contributed photo)
Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)
Vassalboro School Board members got their first look at sections of the proposed 2025-26 school budget request at a March 4 special meeting. Finance Director Paula Pooler, Transportation Director Ashley Pooler, Technology Director Will Backman and Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer explained parts of the draft.
Pfeiffer praised Paula Pooler, who manages finances for Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow school departments, for her hard work. The proposed budget is neither final nor complete, he emphasized. Some figures might change with additional information, and major accounts, including regular and special education for elementary-school students, are not yet ready for review.
Pfeiffer called the 2025-26 budget “one of the most challenging budgets I’ve seen so far in my career,” with inflation and other factors increasing expenses faster than usual.
One of the largest increases in the accounts reviewed at the March 4 meeting was in tuition, at that point up by almost $355,000.
The amount Vassalboro pays to send its students to high school varies every year, depending on the number of high-school students and on the schools they choose to attend. Different area high schools charge different tuition rates.
In addition, the insured value factor, the amount state law allows private schools – like Erskine Academy, in South China, popular with Vassalboro students – to charge for maintenance of buildings and grounds, is rising from six percent to 10 percent of the school’s tuition rate. This change “has caused an uproar” in other school districts that, like Vassalboro, offer high-school choice, Pfeiffer said.
Ashley Pooler summarized a projected almost $99,000 increase in the transportation account as mostly due to higher salaries and benefits. Pfeiffer and Paula Pooler praised the transponders installed in all three towns’ school buses. The new equipment lets school office personnel tell inquiring parents where their children’s buses are in real time.
Technology and health services accounts are among smaller budget lines with less influence on the total budget. Paula Pooler said the health services budget is down slightly, due to personnel changes. Principal Ira Michaud praised new school nurse Kasey Paquette, calling her “amazing” and “fantastic.”
Paula Pooler identified some of the expenditures that will be reimbursed by state funds. Nonetheless, she warned, the final draft of the 2025-26 school budget will likely cause sticker shock.
School board members were scheduled to continue the budget discussion during their March 11 regular monthly meeting.
Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire, has released the dean’s list of high academic achievers for the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year.
Mark W. Cronin, Dean of the College, announced that Abigail Breznyak, a Biology (BS) Major from Waterville, was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2024 semester at Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire.