Doodle for Google

Vote TODAY for Maine!

Scarborough High School senior, Kelly Dodge, is the State of Maine winner in the Doodle for Google Scholarship competition! Congratulations Kelly! The theme this year was inner strength. She titled her doodle “perseverance of passions”. In Kelly’s description, she wrote, “During the pandemic, finding time and energy to do the things I love has been very challenging. This doodle represents me still having the strength to do what I’m passionate about in these tough times.”

Kelly’s artwork now moves on to the National Competition. She is one of 54 finalists in the entire country and now she is competing against all of the other state winners. The top prize is a $30K scholarship for Kelly AND a gift of $50K worth of technology equipment to the school! They are also awarding $5K scholarships to the next four highest vote-getters.

There is a live online voting period from May 10-15 that will determine the winner. Here’s where we need your help! We need to spread the word on this, not only within our school & district, but also throughout the state of Maine. Please share the link with your friends, family, and professional organizations. Let’s get Kelly some votes!

Vote for Winning Doodles until Friday 5/15 at 11:59 pm PT.

VOTE FOR KELLY’S DOODLE

You’ll need to select the “Grades 10-12” button. That will take you to a series of doodles, starting with Alabama. Scroll down to MAINE. Click on Kelly’s doodle.

Congratulations also to Kelly’s art teacher Erin Landry-Fowler, Scarborough High School.

2021 Music Educator Award

Grammy Week

The Music Educator Award presented by Recording Academy and Grammy Museum have announced their quarterfinalists for 2021. Great news – three Maine music educators have been named to the list. How wonderful that three of our won Maine teachers rose to the top out of nearly 2,000 nominees!

CONGRATULATIONS Maine Music Educators:

• CAROL CLARK – Gray-New Gloucester High School
• PATRICK VOLKER – Scarborough High School
• TRACY WILLIAMSON – Gorham Middle School

“I’m honored to have received the nomination for this award, but this is really for my students, and I’m happy for all of us!  This is for my current students and new graduates, for every one who has come through my music program, their parents, my administrators and the caring, supportive communities of Gray and New Gloucester. Wonderful things happen when you teach in small towns!”  ~Carol Clark

Carol Clark with her life long buddies, Loren Fields (band director Lawrence HS) and Lonnie Wescott (band & choir director Traip Academy)!

“It is such an honor to be nominated by my students and recognized on a national level. All I have ever sought to do as a music educator is bring people together, build communities through a love of music, and make the world a better place.”        ~Patrick Volker www.patrickvolker.com and we’re @redstorm_chorus on Instagram and Twitter.

Patrick Volker

“I am beyond thrilled to be nominated as a quarterfinalist for this amazing award along with so many talented music educators from all around the country!  I’m excited for my students to share in this experience with me!”  ~Tracy Williamson

Tracy Williamson

A total of 216 music teachers from 199 cities have been announced as quarterfinalists for the Music Educator Award™ presented by the Recording Academy^® and GRAMMY Museum^®. In total, nearly 2,000 initial nominations were submitted. In addition to our quarterfinalists, 91 legacy applicants from 2020 will also be eligible to win the award this year. Read the entire list of nominees.

The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators (kindergarten through college, public and private schools) who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. A joint partnership and presentation of the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, the recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY^® Week 2021.

The award is open to current U.S. music teachers, and anyone can nominate a teacher — students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators. Teachers are also able to nominate themselves, and nominated teachers are notified and invited to fill out an application.

Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students’ lives. The eighth annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards^® and a range of GRAMMY Week events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants.

Fifteen semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants. The matching grants provided to the schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.

Congrats Student Artists!

Congressional Art Awards

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for Members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 700,000 high school students have competed for the honor of having their work shown in the U.S. Capitol.

The competition is open to all high school students. The overall winner of each participating district will have the opportunity to have their work displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for the entire year, beginning in June. In addition, winners will be flown to Washington, D.C. for the official opening of the show in June.

Congratulations to the following students who are being honored this year, 2015

DISTRICT ONE		DISTRICT TWO
WINNER		WINNER
Self Portrait  acrylic		The Widow  white charcoal
Djordje Jevtic    Grade 12, Scarborough High School    Art Teacher: Erin Landry-Fowler		Liam Reading     Grade 12, Bangor High School     Art Teacher: Kal Elmore
FIRST RUNNER UP		FIRST RUNNER UP
Self Portrait  graphite		Airport  ink pen
Anna Kinee    Grade 12, Brunswick High School    Art Teacher: Allison Price		Youjin Choi     Grade 11, Foxcroft Academy     Art Teacher: Jane Blay
SECOND RUNNER UP		SECOND RUNNER UP
After the Music is Over  charcoal		Mirror’s Reflection  charcoal
Olivia Potter     Grade 10, Morse High School     Art Teacher: Heather Monsen		Maxwell Clarrage     Grade 11, Lewiston High School     Art Teacher: Nathaniel Meyer
HONORABLE MENTION		HONORABLE MENTION
Living in a Bottle  photography		Inside the Yellow Room  gouache
Kailey Coleman     Grade 12, Noble High School     Art Teacher: Ginny Vakalis		Jingfei Zhou     Grade 12, Gould Academy     Art Teacher: Lauren Head
HONORABLE MENTION		HONORABLE MENTION
Lips  acrylic		Pores  photography
Haleigh McKechnie     Grade 12, Thornton Academy     Art Teacher: Jennifer Merry		Riley Hemmings     Grade 11, Hebron Academy     Art Teacher: Jeanine Eschenbach
HONORABLE MENTION		HONORABLE MENTION
The Bermuda Triangle  digital		Menenius  digital
Lily Munro     Grade 10, Brunswick High School     Art Teacher: Colleen Kearney-Graffam		Meghan McDunnah     Grade 12, Mount Desert Island High School     Art Teacher: Charlie Johnson

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Congressman Bruce Poliquin  are delighted to announce the winners of the 2015 Congressional Arts Awards in Maine’s Congressional districts.

Pingree congratulates Djordje Jevtic, an exchange student from Belgrade, Serbia, who is attending Scarborough High School, for his winning artwork, “Self Portrait,” a distinctive work in acrylic.

“I’m always amazed by the quality of work that Maine students submit to this competition,” said Pingree. “I’m excited that Djordje’s work will represent our state at the Capitol—it shows a lot of talent. Winning the competition should be a great memory of Maine for him to bring back home,” “My thanks and congratulations go to all the students who participated this year, the art teachers who inspire them, and the Maine Arts Commission for coordinating this wonderful event. ”

Poliquin acknowledged Liam Reading, a senior at Bangor High School, as this year’s winner for Maine’s Second District for his white charcoal piece, “The Widow.”

“I continue to be amazed by the extraordinary talent and work of our Maine high school students,” said Poliquin. “Congratulations to Liam, and everyone who entered the competition, for sharing their artistic gifts.”

For information about the Congressional Art Competition please contact Julie Horn at the Maine Arts Commission, at 207-287-2790 or julie.horn@maine.gov