Highlights from Bangor High School

National Art Honor Society members participated in Winterfest, a Downtown winter festival full of games, sales, and events happening in West Market Square and Downtown at large. The student artists created snow sculptures, including a variety of snow people and snow chairs, for visiting children and families to interact with.

Submitted by Kathy Harris-Smedberg, Assistant Superintendent of Schools at Bangor School Department.

World Languages On February 8, all Chinese 1–4 students gathered in the BHS library for an in-school field trip to celebrate the Year of the Pig. Students began the celebration with Chinese New Year songs and greetings. Then they watched a video about the new-year celebration in China. Students wrote calligraphy, did paper cutting and folding, played Chinese games, made Chinese dumplings and mooncakes, and ate authentic Chinese New Year dishes. Students also participated in the lion dance, which represents chasing away evil spirits and welcoming good luck into the New Year.

Kathleen Greenlaw received a Scholastic Art Gold Key award for her work titled Zosia at a formal reception at the Maine College of Art. Her work was presented and discussed in front of a crowd of supporters.

Visual and Performing Arts The University of Maine Museum of Art exhibit opening was another huge success! Every exhibit opening brings more people to appreciate the art our students have created! Each student shared a few words about the meaning behind their artwork and answered questions from those in attendance. The exhibit will remain at the museum until early June.

English As part of Bangor Humanities Day, BHS Humanities Academy students will present posters about their capstone research at the Bangor Public Library on Saturday, March 3. These posters will show the initial research pre-capstone students have engaged in this year, including research about the past, present, and future of political parties, the spread of the English language around the world, and diversity in Maine high schools.

To honor notable African Americans, students created posters and made announcements about achievements by African Americans in science, sports, and education. One local connection is Beryl Williams, who graduated from BHS in 1931 and became the first African-American to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Maine. She went on to have an illustrious career in education, teaching at a number of colleges, and eventually became the first female academic dean at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Skills USA – 11 BHS students received medals in the SkillsUSA competition at the United Technology Center in Bangor.

  • Haley Gould, Gold Medal in Automotive Refinishing
  • Kylie Braley, Gold Medal in Community Service
  • Cameron Dysart, Gold Medal in First Aid / CPR
  • Allison Foster, Gold Medal in Interactive Apps & Gaming
  • Emerson Landon, Gold Medal in Interactive Apps & Gaming
  • Damon Tucker, Gold Medal in Power Equipment Technology (2nd Year)
  • Brittney Pecue, Gold Medal in Robotics Urban Search & Rescue
  • Alejandra Hernandez, Gold Medal in Television Video Production
  • Zachary DeRoche, Silver Medal in Audio Radio Production
  • Noah Braley, Bronze Medal in Medical Terminology
  • Emma Duplain, Bronze Medal in Photography
Junior David Carroll placed fifth nationally in the 2019 US Crystal Growing Competition in the Quality category. BHS Chemistry teacher Dr. Barbara Stewart guided David in the process.

Art – Students in Eric Hutchins art class designed posters to promote school attendance. They worked with Attendance Specialist, Carolyn Sproul, to spread the message of how important it is to attend school.

Chess – Members of the BHS Chess Team too home top honors for the High School Reserve section of the 2019 Maine Scholastic Chess tournament on March 2.

Photo by Gretchen Fleming

The winter sports season at Bangor High School was nothing short of amazing! Bangor continued to add to its championship tradition (106 titles) by capturing two state titles­­: Class A girls’ swim & Class AA boys’ basketball. The Bangor Rams also won four regional championship titles: cheering, girls indoor track, girls’ swimming, and boys’ basketball. The swim teams set state records at the boys’ and girls’ championship meets.

Boys’ Basketball The closeness of the school community was apparent at the Class AA basketball championship in Portland. The band, cheerleaders, student body, and basketball team exhibited awesome energy and demonstrated great school spirit. The boys’ varsity basketball team won the KVAC championship and the Class AA regional championship on its way to the state championship game against Bonny Eagle! Damien Vance scored his 1,000th  career point at the last regular game of the season at Edward Little. Matthew Fleming, who will be attending West Point in the fall, was selected as 2019 Mr. Maine Basketball.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving The girls’ swimming and diving team first won the PVC championship with Mckayla Kendall named Swimmer of the Meet. The team then went on to win the Class A state championship! Rachel Hand set a new school record in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 59.97. Cindi Howard, the girls’ swim coach, was name Coach of the Year.

Girls’ Indoor Track The girls’ indoor track team won the PVC championship. Alyssa Elliott broke a 32 year record by posting a jump of 37 feet, 7 ¼ inches to lead the Bangor Rams to the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League Big Schools championship. Coach Alan Mosca was named the Indoor Track Coach of the Year.

Cheerleading: The varsity cheerleaders were the Class A runner-up at the state championships.

 

Wrestling Jeffrey: Kirk finished fourth in the 285 lb. weight class at the KVAC wrestling championships at Cony High School on February 2. Additionally, he outscored three other schools in the team points portion of the day!