Carrabec High 2nd quarter honors

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Carrabec High School

Grade 12, high honors: Mason Courtney, Haley McFadyen, Seth Price, Desmond Robinson, and Ciarrah Whittemore; honors:  Damien Bornstein, Logan Caldwell, Cortney Cote, Mary Emery, Jaden Fernandez, Oakley Friend, Kobi Jennings, Dayna-Jean Labonte, Paige Reichert, Gerald Rollins, Josephine Scheve, Levi Small, Ian Smith, Brooks Sousa, and Morgan Steuber.

Grade 11, high honors:  William Rogers; honors: Emma Campbell, Ember Fernandez, Sean Johnson, Alecxander Leeman, Thomas Roderick, Jr., Aaron Soosman, and Myah Williams.

Grade 10, high honors:  Chandler Atwood, Ashlyn Courtney, Kaitlin Dellarma, and David Dixon; honors: Leeyah Nelson, Jillian Robinson, Austin Sales, Katie Scalese, Brooklyn Siconio, Reed Smith, and Ava Welch.

Grade 9, honors: Bradley Allen, Noah Bornstein, Ivan Chapman, Rylie Deuble, and Lane Frost.

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: China high schools – part 2

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Erskine Academy

by Mary Grow

Note: part of this article, like part of last week’s, was first written in September 2021.

Yet another private high school in China, Erskine Academy, opened in September 1883 and is thriving today. The China bicentennial history gives a detailed account of its origins: it became a private academy because China voters at the beginning of the 1880s refused to accept donated money for a public high school.

As the history tells the story, Mary Erskine inherited her husband Sullivan’s considerable wealth when he died in 1880. She consulted John K. Erskine, Sullivan’s nephew and executor, about ways to use the money. (The history says she had no children; on-line sources say Mary and Sullivan had a son, born in 1832 – perhaps died or estranged by 1880? – and a daughter, by 1880 married with three children.)

John Erskine, who regretted his own lack of educational opportunity, suggested endowing a high school in the Chadwick Hill school district, south of South China Village. Mary Erskine agreed, and at a Nov. 13, 1880, special town meeting, voters accepted a $1,500 trust fund for a free high school.

At the annual meeting in March, 1881, voters reversed the decision and told the town treasurer to return the money. In March 1882, school supporters presented an article again offering the $1,500 and “specifying that the town would not pay for providing the school building.” Voters passed over it (did not act).

A month later, a group of supporters asked the Erskines to let them establish a private high school. Mary Erskine approved and helped organize a board of trustees headed by renowned Quaker, Eli Jones.

John K. Erskine was the trustees’ vice-president, Dana C. Hanson secretary and Samuel C. Starrett treasurer. Hanson and Starrett were China selectmen in 1876 and 1877 and again, significantly, in 1881 and 1882.

The trustees “bought the seven-acre Chadwick common from A. F. Trask for $100.” (Wikipedia says the campus is now about 25 acres.) Mary Erskine donated $500 for a building.

Starrett encouraged the owners of a disused Methodist church on the common to sell it at auction. They did, and he bought it for $50.

The trustees had the building moved to the center of the lot and turned into a schoolhouse. “A bell tower and other necessary buildings” were added, and Mary Erskine donated a bell and furnishings in the spring of 1883.

The trustees organized a “tree-planting picnic:” area residents were invited to bring a picnic dinner and a tree. The China history says the grounds gained about 250 trees. A “very happy” Mary Erskine attended Erskine High School’s opening day in September 1883.

Erskine started with two teachers, one also the principal, and “more than 50 students.” The teachers were Colby College graduate, Julia E. Winslow, and Castine Normal School graduate, William J. Thompson.

As Henry Kingsbury finished his Kennebec County history in 1892, he wrote that at “the Erskine School” “under the principalship of William J. Thompson, many young people are receiving a serviceable article of real learning.”

Thompson, Kingsbury said, was born in Knox County and taught in South Thomaston and Searsport before becoming Erskine’s first principal in 1883. The school “has flourished under his management,” Kingsbury wrote.

The China history says in 1885, Carrie E. Hall, from East Madison, succeeded Winslow. In May 1887, Thompson and Hall married; both taught at Erskine until Carrie died “in the spring of 1900.”

Her widower stayed as principal until 1902, and lived until 1949. Find a Grave says both were born in 1860, and both are buried in Chadwick Hill cemetery, near Erskine Academy.

The school initially ran two 11-week terms a year, and in some years “a shorter summer term.” The history lists 16 courses: “reading, grammar, elocution, arithmetic, algebra, history, geography, natural philosophy, bookkeeping, ancient languages (Latin and Greek), botany, geology, astronomy, and anatomy and physiology.”

By 1887, increased enrollment required a third teacher, not named in the China history. The building “was raised ten feet to make room for more classrooms underneath.”

Students from Chadwick Hill and other school districts came and went by the term, not the year. Therefore, the history says, it was not until 1892 “that four students finished four years apiece so that the first formal graduation could be held.”

Trustees had a dormitory for girls built in 1900 and “later” (the history gives no date) one for boys. Students who roomed on campus “brought their own food and fuel from home and prepared their own meals,” the history says.

In 1901 the Maine legislature incorporated the school as Erskine Academy and approved an annual $300 appropriation.

The China history says after 1904, Erskine Academy and China Academy, in China Village (see last week’s article), became China’s town-supported high schools. Town Superintendent Gustavus J. Nelson (1896 and 1897, 1899 to 1901 and 1903 through 1907) came to a financial agreement with the Erskine trustees, and “the trustees accepted Dr. Nelson’s ideas about such matters as curriculum and entrance examinations.”

In the fall of 1904, the history says, “three local students passed the superintendent’s entrance examination, and ten more were admitted conditionally.”

China Academy closed in 1909, leaving Erskine China’s only high school. For reasons the bicentennial history does not explore, Erskine’s enrollment went down so dramatically in early 1913 that the State of Maine downgraded it to a Class B school (two instead of four years, a single teacher instead of two or more).

In the fall of 1913 Erskine had 16 students. The history says enrollment doubled to 32 by February 1914, “and the one teacher was overworked.” The state restored a Class A rating in 1915, and enrollment continued to climb: 46 students in the fall of 1916, 50 in 1919, with a record entering class of 26 and three teachers “for the first time in many years.”

More students needed more space; the history credits relatives of the Erskines, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Ford, from Whitefield, with buying a nearby house and turning it into a boys’ dormitory, named Ford Cottage. Another house became the Erskine Cottage Annex, housing “four girls and a teacher.”

A fire destroyed Erskine’s original school building on Nov. 5, 1926. Fortunately, Ford gymnasium had opened in November 1925; the bicentennial history says classes were held there until a new classroom building was ready in 1936.

The history also says Mary Erskine’s bell was saved from the fire and “mounted on campus.” In the fall of 1971, someone stole it.

Erskine Academy’s website says the school has been a nonprofit organization since 1974. It explains that tuition paid by the eight towns from which most of its students come does not cover costs, so tax-deductible donations are welcome.

The eight towns are listed as Chelsea, China, Jefferson, Palermo, Somerville, Vassalboro, Whitefield and Windsor. Erskine also accepts privately-paid students and, the website says, international students.

China school students who became college presidents

Kingsbury named two men who attended China schools (at least elementary schools) and later became college presidents: Stephen A. Jones and George F. Mosher.

Stephen A. Jones was the second president of what Kingsbury called Nevada State College (later University of Nevada at Reno, according to on-line information) from 1889 to 1894.

During his tenure, the “faculty increased to 15 members… and enrollment grew to 179 in his final year as president.” He oversaw the school’s first graduation, in 1891.

The Jones genealogy in the China bicentennial history includes Stephen Alfred Jones, oldest son of Alfred H. Jones and Mary Randall (Jones) Jones (they were second cousins), of China. Alfred Jones taught in freedmen’s schools in Virginia and North Carolina.

Stephen went to the Providence, Rhode Island, Friends School and then to Dartmouth, from which he graduated in 1872, “receiving both MA and PhD from that institution.”

Married to Louise Coffin, he taught Latin and Greek at William Penn College in Iowa, where their older son was born; and then studied in Bonn, Germany, where their younger son was born. After heading the University of Nevada, the genealogy says, he retired to San Jose, California, returning at intervals to visit China relatives.

The genealogy calls Stephen “a good teacher,” with “excellent literary qualifications” who had “excellent results” when he taught in Branch Mills in 1865. It quotes a biographical cyclopedia saying his “large stature and commanding presence, pleasant but firm,…won the respect and confidence of his students and had a strong influence over them.”

 * * * * *

George F. Mosher was the seventh president of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, from September 1886 to 1901. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bowdoin, he was a nurse during the Civil War, and served “in a German consulate” before coming to Hillsdale.

An on-line list of Hillsdale presidents says “Mosher’s years as president were a period of particularly high academic achievement. Hillsdale was widely known as one of the strongest small colleges in the Midwest.”

*****

A digression: Hillsdale’s first president, Daniel McBride Graham (1817-1888), was an Oberlin College graduate who served Hillsdale, then Michigan Central College in Spring Arbor, from its opening in 1844 to 1848. It started with “only five students in a small, deserted, two-room store.”

In 1848, Graham resigned “to become a pastor in Saco, Maine.” In 1855, the school moved about 25 miles to Hillsdale and changed its name.

Graham returned to become the school’s fourth president from 1871–1874. The list of presidents says: “Facing almost total destruction of the campus by fire, Graham led the rebuilding of the campus during the 1873 financial panic.”

Spring Arbor is now home to a private Free Methodist university described on line as “the second-largest evangelical Christian university in Michigan.”

Main sources

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984)
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892)

Websites, miscellaneous.

EVENTS: Erskine Academy to host 8th grade open house

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Erskine Academy invites all eighth-grade students and their parents from the surrounding communities to attend the 8th Grade Open House, on Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30 p.m., in the gym. All incoming freshmen and their parents are highly encouraged to participate in this event, as registration materials will be available and information about the course selection process will be provided. In the event of inclement weather, a snow date has been scheduled for Thursday, February 27.

Parents who are unable to attend are asked to contact the Guidance Office at 445-2964 to request registration materials.

SNHU announces Fall 2024 president’s list

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Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), in Manchester, New Hampshire, congratulates the following students on being named to the Fall 2024 President’s List. The fall terms run from September to December.

Ascher ter Kuile, of Vassalboro, Rebecca Cherish, Blake Laweryson, of North Anson, River Garling, of Madison, Zachary Eggen, of LIBERTY, Allison Nickerson, of Fairfield, Jacob Colson, of Albion, Sierra Winson, of Winslow, Andre Coachman, of Waterville, Joseph Slater of Winslow, Duncan Sawyer, of Waterville, Oase Erkamp, of Waterville, Trevor Lovely, of Winslow, Andrew Cronk, of China, Jennifer Anastasio, of Jefferson, Jaimie Thomas, of Sidney, Krista Neal, of Augusta, Ivette Hernandez Cortez, of Augusta, Krista Knight, of Augusta, Kristopher Mank, of Augusta, and Jamison Bragdon, of Augusta.

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: China schools (Continued into the 20th century)

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by Mary Grow

As mentioned in previous articles about 19th-century Maine elementary schools, in 1894 the state legislature passed a law that began, “The school districts in all towns in this state are hereby abolished.”

The law further directed towns to take over “all school-houses, lands, apparatus and other property owed and used by the school districts hereby abolished.” The property thus taken was to be appraised and district taxpayers reimbursed.

No school was closed by the new law. But in the future, town meeting voters, on the superintending school committee’s recommendation, could close or relocate schools.

The law further required each town to provide at least 20 weeks of schooling a year, and to raise at least 80 cents per inhabitant in local school money, or lose its state funding.

Textbooks continued to be a town responsibility. If a student lost, destroyed or damaged a book, the parent or guardian was expected to recompense the town. If the parent or guardian did not comply, the cost would be added to his next tax bill.

The 1975 China bicentennial history says the main goal of the 1894 law was “to improve primary education by making possible larger consolidated schools which could readily be graded.” In addition to fewer school buildings with more students, other hoped-for effects were standardized school years and school sizes.

A side effect was the need to provide transportation for students who no longer had a schoolhouse within walking distance. The China history named the cost of transportation as a reason “voters were not particularly happy” with the new law.

The history says an immediate effect of the law was to close five schools, supposedly permanently (including China Neck Road with its dilapidated building, mentioned last week; your writer guesses those students went to nearby China Neck school), and six more for “part of the year.” The following sentence says in 1894 15 schools operated “at least part of the year,” only three fewer than in 1893.

The history also summarizes China’s 1894 education budget. The $3,502.39 for “school-houses and furniture” probably included paying districts for their buildings. Voters appropriated $128.80 for textbooks and $90.50 for repairs.

Another $2,604.86 to support schools included “$2,227.85 for teachers’ salaries, $237.80 for transportation, and $139.21 for ‘wood and incidentals.'”

In 1895, voters discontinued five more schools and ordered the selectmen to “dispose of” three of the buildings. They then reversed course and re-established one school whose building they’d just voted to get rid of, plus one discontinued in 1894. The result was 13 schools in 1895.

That year, teachers’ salaries cost $1,808.45, and transportation only $131.50. The history comments that school officials failed to explain to voters how they had reduced “both the number of schools and the transportation costs,” an achievement they were unable to repeat in future years.

Over the next two decades, the history describes repeated rearrangements, including building new school buildings. The result was a gradual reduction in the number of operating schools in town: 12 in 1903; between eight and 10 from 1910 through 1925, as some were closed and others reopened; seven in 1927; six in 1930; and five from 1936 to 1949.

These last five were the four village schools, in China Village, South China, Weeks Mills and Branch Mills, and the (Pigeon) Plains schoolhouse in southeastern China, on Dirigo Road north of Weeks Mills Village.

School consolidation was “difficult to achieve in China,” the history says. “Some of the small rural schools could not be closed without incurring high transportation costs and parental wrath.”

The Hanson District school, in the east-central part of town, was one example.

The history says this school was closed in 1894. At the March 1900 town meeting, voters authorized buying a lot and building a new schoolhouse, “at a cost of almost $400.” The building was not finished until October; school reopened on Oct. 29, and the so-called fall term ran until March 1901.

In 1906, “new seats were installed” – and attendance fell below eight students, the minimum prescribed by state law. For the next three years, 1907, 1908 and 1909, school officials recommended keeping the school open, and voters approved, because of the new building and the “great distance” to any other school.

The Hanson school apparently continued, with “a bare minimum attendance” through the spring of 1913, when it was finally closed, “and the students transported to Branch Mills,” the village in extreme eastern China shared with Palermo.

Not even the four village schools had consistent high enrollments. Branch Mills, especially, the history says, tended to attract few students. In 1901 and 1902, its average enrollment was 12, compared to around 45 in the China Village School at the north end of town.

By 1901, the history says, the China Village school was “divided into…a primary school and a grammar school,” the earliest example mentioned of a graded school. By 1915, all China schools were graded.

The history suggests that transferring school management from districts to the town did little to alleviate three other problems mentioned repeatedly in discussions of Maine education in the 19th and early 20th century: truancy, poorly maintained buildings and undertrained teachers.

The history quotes school superintendents’ complaints about truancy in 1913, when George Paine “calculated that out of the 145 day school year, the average attendance was only 47 days”; and in 1928, when Carl B. Lord’s annual report reminded parents that children aged from seven to 16 “must be in school, unless they are ill or excused from attendance by the State Department of Education.”

By the 20th century, superintendents complained less often about unsafe and drafty buildings and more about inadequate flooring, furnishings, lighting and sanitary facilities. Despite annual expenditures on buildings running around $500, “there was always more work than money.”

In 1912, for instance, the history says every classroom still had double desks, “although the teachers thought single desks would be more conducive to quiet study.”

And, a footnote says, “At least, there were desks; in 1906 superintendent [Gustavus] Nelson had reported that some of the students in the China Village primary school had been sitting on dry goods boxes.”

In 1922, the Weeks Mills schoolhouse got “new desks purchased by the community” – whether double or single, the history does not say. That same year, three schools “were screened by the efforts of the teachers and pupils.”

The Vassalboro bicentennial history cites a 1922 state law that required schools to eliminate “those little buildings out back:” privies. China apparently complied gradually. The history mentions (but fails to describe) “approved toilets” added in South China in 1924. In 1926, Superintendent Lord said the Lakeside and Chadwick Hill schools needed toilets connected.

Electricity was added in China’s five remaining schoolhouses in 1937 and 1938. In 1938, Superintendent Lord wrote that three of the five had lighting that was nearly up to state standards, three had “satisfactory school desks,” one had running water and “none has sanitary toilets.”

State laws required increased teacher training, and China teachers’ qualifications increased accordingly. So did salaries, though the history comments that “school superintendents seldom thought them high enough.” Until at least the early 1930s, teachers were paid only for the weeks they actually spent in a schoolroom.

As mentioned above, transporting students became increasingly expensive as the number of schools decreased. In 1899, the China history says, the legislature required towns to provide transportation, authorizing each town’s school committee “to decide which students should be transported.”

This unfunded mandate – to use a modern term – meant that in 1899, “China spent $328.80 for transportation and therefore could afford to provide only twenty-four weeks of school.” The history quotes the school committee’s report: committee members tried to balance transportation and schooling, and “We have not responded to all the calls for transportation; we could not.”

Transportation contracts went to the lowest bidders, the history says, and “drivers supplied their own vehicles.” The earliest conveyances were open pungs (one-horse sleighs). In 1904, China’s school committee required “all permanent transportation supported by the town” to use covered vehicles.

In the 1920s, “cars or converted trucks” began to replace horses.

The China history gives Superintendent Lord credit for starting the movement toward a single consolidated China Elementary School in 1931, when he recommended starting a building fund. The Depression postponed his plan, but he continued to argue for it from 1936 on.

Voters rejected the idea for years. Not until March 1946 did they make the first appropriation, against the town budget committee’s advice.

China Elementary School on Lakeview Drive opened in April 1949, and the remaining five primary schools were closed.

Carl Burton Lord

Carl Burton Lord served as school superintendent in China from 1924 to 1953 (according to the China bicentennial history) and in Vassalboro from 1924 to 1955 (according to the Vassalboro bicentennial history). The Carl B. Lord Elementary School, in North Vassalboro, which opened in 1962, was named in his honor.

(Your writer does not know why the two towns shared a superintendent for almost three decades. The Vassalboro history says by 1935, Vassalboro, China and Winslow had formed a school union; Wikipedia says School Union #52 was dissolved in 2009, when the legislature mandated a statewide reorganization.)

Despite Lord’s importance in these two towns, on-line information is scarce. Sources say he was born May 13, 1894, in either Liberty or Kennebunk. His parents were William A. Lord (1867 – 1945) and Sarah Jane or Sadie J. (Weagle) Lord (1871 – 1936). They died in Vassalboro and are buried in Nichols Cemetery.

Carl Lord was the oldest of William and Sadie’s three children. He graduated from Colby College, Class of 1915.

He married Mildred Bessie Clarke, of Washington, D. C., on Tuesday, June 10, 1919. She was born in June, 1899, in Washington and died May 22, 1992, in Waterville.

Carl and Mildred had two children, Bernice Mae (or May) (Lord) Peterson, born May 9, 1920, and died Aug. 15, 2021, and John William Lord, born in 1922, Colby Class of 1948, died Oct. 4, 2006.

Carl Burton Lord died in North Vassalboro in July 1969. He is buried in the North Vassalboro Village Cemetery, as are his widow, his younger brother Maurice and members of Maurice’s family.

Main sources

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984)
Robbins, Alma Pierce, History of Vassalborough Maine 1771 1971 n.d. (1971)

Websites, miscellaneous.

Husson University announces Spring 2024 local academic award recipients

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Husson University announces Spring 2024 academic award recipients

Husson University has announced academic achievements of students recently named to the President’s List, Dean’s List and Honors List for the Spring 2024 semester of the 2023-2024 academic year.

Full-time online students who earn President’s List, Dean’s List and Honors List recognition must be enrolled as an undergraduate, carry a full-time load of 12 credit hours over the course of 21 weeks, complete all attempted courses in the time allotted, and achieve a designated semester grade-point average. Credits from pass/fail classes do not qualify toward meeting the minimum credit hour requirement.

President’s List: 3.80 to 4.0 semester grade-point average. Dean’s List: 3.60 to 3.79 semester grade-point average. Honor’s List: 3.40 to 3.59 semester grade-point average

Feed Abdulmohsin, of Augusta, – President’s List – BS Biology – Biochemistry.
Malak Alkattea, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Pre-Medicine.
Brayden Barbeau, of Augusta – Honors – BS Business Administration.
Alyssa Bell, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Accounting – Master of Business Administration.
Samantha Bell of Sidney – Dean’s List – BS Graphic/Visual Design.
Hope Bouchard, of Clinton – President’s List – BS Biology.
Evan Bourget, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Sport Management.
Leanna Breard, of Norridgewock – President’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Rebekah Bucknam, of Oakland – Dean’s List – BS Nursing.
Elizabeth Campbell, of Waterville – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Luke Desmond, of Vassalboro, – President’s List – BS Criminal Justice.
Emma Doiron, of Augusta – Dean’s List – BS Nursing.
Alexis Dostie, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Nursing.
Warren Dowling, of Liberty – Dean’s List – BS Video/Film Production.
Emily Dunbar, of Canaan – Dean’s List – BS Nursing.
Dayton Dutil, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Sierra Gagnon, of Sidney – Honors – BS Nursing.
Izaak Gajowski, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Rylie Genest, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Pre-Medicine.
Jaden Grazulis, of Waterville – Honors – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Cooper Grondin, of Vassalboro – Dean’s List – BS Business Administration- Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management – Master of Business Administration.
Trent Gunst, of Skowhegan – President’s List – BS Mass Communications – Journalism.
Joseph Hamelin, of Waterville – President’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Gunnar Hendsbee, of Fairfield – Dean’s List – BS Criminal Justice – Psychology.
Avery Henningsen, of Palermo – Honors – BS Mass Communications – Sports Journalism with a Certificate in Marketing Communications.
Abbigail Hreben, of Oakland – Honors – BS Secondary Education – Physical Science.
Megan Huesers, of Winslow – Dean’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Pharmacy.
Jazmin Johnson, of Clinton – Dean’s List – BS Business Administration- Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management – Master of Business Administration.
Brooklyn Kelly, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Business Administration with Certificates in Hospitality, Small Business Management and Leadership – Master of Business Administration.
Jordan Lambert, of Sidney – President’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Hannah Lee, of Washington – Honors – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Timothy Lessa, of Winslow – Dean’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Pharmacy.
Madeline Levesque, of Augusta, ME – President’s List – BS Graphic/Visual Design with Certificates in Marketing Communications and Photography.
Jasmine Liberty, of Waterville – Dean’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Chiara Mahoney, of Whitefield – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Colin Manning, of Skowhegan – Dean’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Ryan Martin, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Accounting – Master of Business Administration.
Karalee Milewski, of Augusta – Dean’s List – BS Psychology.
Savannah Millay, of Chelsea – President’s List – BS Psychology – MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Casey Mills, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Financial Planning.
Gage Moody, of Windsor – Honors – BS Criminal Justice – Psychology.
Lauryn Noyes, of Skowhegan – Dean’s List – BS Forensic Science.
Richard Orgill, of Fairfield – Dean’s List – BS Psychology – MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Cameron Osborne, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Natasha Parker, of Anson – President’s List – BS Criminal Justice – BS Psychology – MHRT/C Certification.
Trevar Pease, of Canaan – Honors – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Kayla Peaslee, of South China – President’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health – MS Occupational Therapy.
Ryan Pelletier, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Graphic/Visual Design.
Kaden Porte, of Palermo – President’s List – BS Business Administration- Master of Business Administration.
Rylee Poulin, of Oakland – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Joey Ramsdel,l of Skowhegan – President’s List – BS Elementary Education.
Karlie Ramsdell, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Biology.
Mitchel Reynolds, of South China – Dean’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Marjanna Roy, of Skowhegan – Honors – BS Criminal Justice – Psychology with a Paralegal Certificate in Advanced Criminal Practice.
Roxanne Sasse, of Windsor – Dean’s List – BS Exercise Science – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Jackson Stafford, of Winslow – Honors – BS Mass Communications – Sports Journalism with a Certificate in Digital and Social Media Marketing.
Kara Stelly, of Augusta – Honors – BS Nursing.
Madisyn Stewart, of Oakland – Dean’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Riley Sullivan, of Windsor – President’s List – BS Legal Studies – Pre Law with Certificates in Business Administration and Criminal Justice, a Paralegal Certificate and a Paralegal Certificate – Advanced Civil Practice.
Logan Tardif, of Waterville – President’s List – BS Health Sciences – Doctor of Pharmacy.
Alexis Trask, of Winslow – Dean’s List – BS Forensic Science.
Jenna Veilleux, of Winslow – President’s List – BS Biology.
MaryJo Wadsworth, of Washington – President’s List – BS Video/Film Production.
Jude Wallace, of Augusta – President’s List – BS Business Administration- Financial Management.
Payson Washburn, of Skowhegan – President’s List – BS Criminal Justice.
Avery Willett, of Waterville – Dean’s List – BS Hospitality & Tourism Management.

Erskine Academy first trimester honor roll

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Grade 12

High Honors: Emmett Appel, Emily Bailey, Bryana Barrett, Noah Bechard, Geneva Beckim, Rylan Bennett, Octavia Berto, Jayda Bickford, Kaleb Bishop, Lauryn Black, Brooke Blais, Olivia Brann, Lauren Cowing, Kaden Crawford, Lillian Crommett, Gabrielle Daggett, Trinity DeGreenia, Aydan Desjardins, Aidan Durgin, John Edwards, Ryan Farnsworth, Josiah Fitzgerald, Hailey Garate, Ellie Giampetruzzi, Kaylene Glidden, Brandon Hanscom, Serena Hotham, Kailynn Houle, Alivia Jackson, Ava Kelso, Sophia Knapp, Jack Lucier, Owen Lucier, Eleanor Maranda, Jade McCollett, Abigail McDonough, Shannon McDonough, Madison McNeff, Addison Mort, Thomas Mullens, Makayla Oxley, Noah Pelletier, Elsa Redmond, Justin Reed, Lillian Rispoli, Laney Robitaille, Carlee Sanborn, Joslyn Sandoval, Aislynn Savage, Achiva Seigars, Jordyn Smith, Zoey Smith, Larissa Steeves, Katherine Swift, and Clara Waldrop.

Honors: Daphney Allen, Ava Anderson, Carter Brockway, Paige Clark, Madison Cochran, Dylan Cooley, Andra Cowing, Brady Desmond, Lucas Farrington, Wesley Fulton, Addison Gagne, Keeley Gagnon, Abbi Guptill, Jonathan Gutierrez, Landen Hayden, Montana Johnson, Rachel Johnson, Rion Kesel, Bodi Laflamme, Chase Larrabee, Shelby Lincoln, D’andre Marable, Lilas Moles, Elijah Moore, Colin Oliphant, Gavyn Paradis, Ava Picard, Victoria Rancourt, Carter Rau, Nathan Robinson, Kyle Scott, Emily Sprague, and Parker Studholme

Grade 11

High Honors: Connor Alcott, Emily Almeida, Addyson Briggs, London Castle, Nathan Choate, William Choate, Drew Clark, Timothy Clavette, Madeline Clement-Cargill, Claire Davis, Sylvia Davis, Joshua Denis, Audryanna DeRaps, Lauren Dufour, William Ellsey Jr., Jacob Faucher, Ethan Frost, Madison Gagnon, Stephen Gould, Kolby Griatzky, Madison Griffiths, Aiden Hamlin, Evan Heron, Mia Hersom, Halle Jones, Kasen Kelley, Talula Kimball, Timothy Kiralis, Kayle Lappin, Jacob Lavallee, Ava Lemelin, Jaden Mizera, Jack Murray, Elijah Nelson, Bayley Nickles, Jordyn Parise, Ruby Pearson, Jacoby Peaslee, Abigail Peil, Elijah Pelkey, Isabelle Pelotte, Emily Piecewicz, Taisen Pilotte, Hannah Polley, Logan Poulin, Desirae Proctor, Owen Robichaud, Brynna Rodrigue, Kameron Rossignol, Jackie Sasse, Autumn Sawyer, Edward Schmidt, Benjamin Severy, Kathryn Shaw, Madelynn Spencer, Abigail Studholme, Leah Targett, Donovan Thompson, Kammie Thompson, Addison Turner, and Finnegan Vinci.

Honors: Savannah Baker, Gavin Bartlett, Anders Bassett, Lucas Berto, Julia Booth, Brock Bowden, Addyson Burns, Benjamin Carle, Lillian Clark, Lucas Crosby, Mason Decker, Charles DeSchamp, Riley Dixon, Solomon Fortier, Willow Haschalk, Cadence Homstead, Easton Houghton, Aidan Huff, Jacob Hunter, Alexus Jackson, Natthaya Khositanont, Savannah Knight, Bernhard Kotter, Nathaniel Levesque, Kloie Magoon, Brayden McLean, Paige McNeff, Parker Minzy, Tucker Nessmith, Phoebe Padgett, Jackson Pelotte, Chase Pierce, Joeseph Pilsbury, Allianna Porter, Alexander Reitchel, Leahna Rocque, Eva Simmons, Nichala Small, Blake Smith, Benjamin Sullivan, Phoebe Taylor, Kamryn Turner, Charles Uleau, Oryanna Winchenbach, Ella Winn, Addison Witham, Brody Worth, and Maddilyn York.

Grade 10

High Honors: William Adamson IV, Isaac Audette, Olivia Austin, Ashton Bailey, Jeremiah Bailey, Linnea Bassett, Luke Blair, Jackson Blake, Silas Bolitho, Madeline Boynton, Cassidy Brann, Delaney Brown, Liam Burgess, Olivia Childs, Hunter Christiansen, Botond Csaszi, Jilian Desjardins, Ryley Desmond, Robin Dmitrieff, Logan Dow, Isabella Farrington, Gianna Figucia, Audrey Fortin, Aina Garcia Cardona, Adalyn Glidden, Bailey Goforth, Cody Grondin, Madison Harris, Eva Hayden, Lilly Hutchinson, Reid Jackson, Johanna Jacobs, Ivy Johns, Callianne Jordan, Sawyer Livingstone, Jasai Marable, Annie Miragliuolo, Alexis Mitton, Jacoby Mort, Molly Oxley, Caylee Putek, Gabriel Ratcliff, Sovie Rau, Tayden Richards, Lailah Sher, Bryson Stratton, Gabriel Studholme, Sabrina Studholme, Kaleb Tolentino, Carter Ulmer, Tyler Waldrop, and Eryn Young.

Honors: Ariana Armstrong, Delia Bailey, Benjamin Beale, Lucas Beale, Hailey Boone, Seth Bridgforth, Logan Chechowitz, Khloe Clark, Owen Couture, Slayde Crocker, Connor Crommett, Bradley Cushman, Landen DeCosta, Kiley Doughty, Kelsie Dunn, Delaney Dupuis, Gavin Fanjoy, Danica Ferris, Madison Field, Annabelle Fortier, Nicholas Gould, Kaylee Grierson, Addison Hall, Camden Hinds, Spencer Hughes, Evan James, Peyton Kibbin, Chantz Klaft, Maverick Knapp, Mason Lagasse, Bryson Lanphier, Matthew Lincoln, Jack Malcolm, Kate McGlew, Gaven Miller, Kienna-May Morse, Emi Munn, Lauryn Northrup, Madeline Oxley, Layla Peaslee, Bryson Pettengill, Teagan Pilsbury, Noah Pooler, Dylan Proctor, Samuel Richardson, Colton Ryan, Lucas Short, Ian Smith, Hellena Swift, Malaya Tagalicud, Braeden Temple, and Isabella Winchenbach.

Grade 9

High Honors: Joshua Bailey, Hunter Baird, Madeline Berry, Ella Beyea, Dominic Brann, Nicholas Carle, Ryan Carle, Lily Chamberlain, Jack Coutts, Ryleigh French, Jasmine Garey, Shelby Gidney, Kolby Glidden, Rachel Grant, Naomi Harwath, Christina Haskell, Bristol Jewett, Colbie Littlefield, Dylan Maguire, Stella Martinelli, Lainey McFarland, Ava Miragliuolo, Annabella Morris, Grant Munsey, Lexi Pettengill, Angelina Puiia, Jakobe Sandoval, Parker Smith, Khloe Soucy, Maxine Spencer, Ethan Studholme, Reid Sutter, Benjamin Theberge, Audrey Tibbetts, Hannah Tobey, Kayleigh Trask, Kallie Turner, Kinsey Ulmer, Sorrel Vinci, Mackenzie Waldron, and Leah Watson.

Honors: Clifton Adams IV, Landon Alexander, Torren Ambrose, Dawson Baker, Brooke Borja, Mackenzie Bowden, Aiden Brann, Jackson Bryant, Kenneth Cobb, Daegan Creamer, Dylan Dodge, Heleana-Marie Doyon, Taylor Gagnon, Tyler Gagnon, Riley Gould, Myla Gower, Amiah Graves, Bruce Grosjean, Griffin Hayden, Baylee Jackson, Josephine Kelly, Gabriella Lathrop, Marlin Lawrence, Dorothy Leeman, Bella Lefferts, Madison Levesque, Mason Marable, Mason Mattingly, Alexander Mayo, Orin McCaw, Ayla McCurdy, Max McKenlogue, Annaleysha McNeil, Grace Oxley, Paige Perry, Carter Peterson, Nolan Pierce, Reed Pilsbury, Brandon Piper, Camryn Prosper, Kenzie Pyska, George Roderick, Thomas Roe, Jacob Rogers, Jacob Shanholtzer, Jaylynn St. Amand, Leigha Sullivan, Eli Vallieres, and Reid Willett.

Husson University Online celebrates Term 4 academic award recipients

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Husson University Online has announced the academic achievements of students recently named to the president’s list, dean’s list and honors list for Term 4 of the 2023-2024 academic year. Courses for full-time online undergraduate students are offered over the course of seven weeks. This accelerated timeframe provides adult learners with an opportunity to balance existing personal and professional commitments as they complete their studies.

Full-time online students must be enrolled as an undergraduate, carry a full-time load of 12 credit hours over the course of 21 weeks, complete all attempted courses in the time allotted, and achieve a designated semester grade-point average. Credits from pass/fail classes do not qualify toward meeting the minimum credit hour requirement.

President’s List: 3.80 to 4.0 semester grade-point average

Dean’s List: 3.60 to 3.79 semester grade-point average

Honor’s List: 3.40 to 3.59 semester grade-point average

Ashley Castagnetto, of Winslow, – President’s List – BS Healthcare Administration & Public Health;

Sarah Rodrigue, of Cornville, – President’s List – BS Accounting;

Vivian Tschamler, of Whitefield, – Dean’s List – BS Psychology.

Sophia Labbe named to Lasell University Fall 2024 dean’s list

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Sophia Labbe, a Lasell University student, from Vassalboro, was named to the dean’s list for their academic performance in the Fall 2024 semester, in Newton, Massachusetts.

Judson Smith adjusting well at Maine School of Science & Mathematics

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Judson Smith, center, flanked by his mother Lisa Libby, left, and his father Zachary Smith. (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro resident Judson Smith, 14, has no regrets about choosing the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM), in Limestone, as his high school.

Home for Christmas break after his first semester, Smith said adjustment wasn’t easy, but now, “I’m happy with it. I really like the school.”

His parents, Zachary Smith and Lisa Libby, are also pleased with their son’s choice. They appreciate the education, and the frequent contact with the school – the one day their son was ill, they had a conversation with the school nurse who attended him in his dormitory room.

Courses are hard, advanced enough that students can arrange to get college credit at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Smith is satisfied with his A’s and B’s.

MSSM students take at least four core courses a semester; Smith’s were math, science, English and French. Next semester, maybe six, he said.

Students live on campus. Their dormitory, close to the academic building that also houses Limestone Community High School, has two wings for boys and two for girls, plus common areas: a lounge, a kitchenette, a room with pool tables, a fitness room and a gym. In the academic building is an Olympic-size swimming pool that MSSM and LCHS share, Smith said.

In some ways, Smith makes MSSM sound almost overprotective. Students need a phone app to check out of their dormitories. There are mandatory study hours from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, with students who have shown a need for supervision expected to report to the library and the rest to study in their rooms or other appropriate places (including picnic tables in mild weather). Students’ bicycles were locked in a storage shed before the first snowfall.

Every student has a campus job, Smith said, though nothing that takes a lot of time away from education.

Students also enjoy a multitude of activities, sports and clubs. The seniors who serve as dorm residents organize activities. Every other weekend offers a shopping trip to Presque Isle, a city half an hour away that’s almost six times the size of Limestone.

The lettuce club intrigues Smith’s mother. Smith explained that the club meets annually: a head of lettuce is put before each student, and whoever eats his or hers fastest becomes club president.

When a student has a birthday, the food service staff bakes him or her a cake.

Most important, Smith said, is the constant support, from teachers, other staff and fellow students. When he found himself ill-prepared for one of his courses, he was able to get almost daily help from his teacher and from other students. By next year, he sees himself helping first-year students.

“It’s definitely a difficult school. They try their best to make it fun, but a challenge at the same time,” he summarized.