The 2013 edition of Emerge has emerged, and in a new format!  Feel free to browse through its electronic pages for a smattering of art, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from the NYA community.  Enjoy!

North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) is officially moving ahead with plans for a lower school to open this fall. Head of School Brad Choyt announced today that the Board of Trustees approved the proposal based on the enrollment of 39 students and the likelihood of enrolling between 50 and 60 students for grades Pre-K through four by the fall. NYA currently serves students in grades five through twelve and will be merging with Meadowbrook Montessori, located in Freeport. The NYA Lower School will be located in a newly renovated 3,500 square foot building on NYA’s campus. Students in the Lower School will have full access to NYA’s 25-acre campus which includes playing fields, a gymnasium and ice arena, a music building, academic buildings and more. “We were thrilled with the excitement this has generated in the community, and the enthusiasm shown by potential families made our decision to move forward an easy one,” explained Steve Bachelder, president of NYA’s Board of Trustees.

NYA’s new Lower School will integrate Montessori methods through the second grade and progress to an approach in the third and fourth grades that continues to foster curiosity and motivation to learn while preparing for an easy transition to the Middle School. Teachers will expand the notion of a traditional classroom by offering opportunities for experiential learning and field research along the coast of Maine and on the shores of the Royal River. This summer, NYA will conduct a curriculum summit for teachers and administrators who will be directly involved in the successful implementation of the Lower School’s program.  “We are excited by the prospect of greater cross-division learning for all of our students as well as creating an environment that inspires the best kind of learning while preparing the youngest NYA students for our Middle School program,” said Choyt.

“The goals of Montessori education include inspiring a love of learning, building self-confidence, fostering curiosity, and developing habits of initiative, concentration and persistence.  These goals are aligned with the mission of NYA and all that we strive to inspire in our students in every grade level. We look forward to all that the addition of a Lower School will bring to NYA. As we enter our bicentennial year, we see this new beginning for NYA as one that will strengthen the foundation of our school and offer myriad benefits and opportunities for our entire community,” explained Choyt.

NYA is currently accepting applications for admission to the Lower School. For more information, please contact the NYA Admission Office at 207-846-2376 or visit www.NYA.org.

Seven North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) students were named semi-finalists in the 2013 Letters About Literature contests. Forty-eight semi-finalists were chosen from over 1,000 entries statewide.

The following students were selected:

• Emilie Burrill ’15 (Topsham)
• Duncan George ’15 (Cumberland Center)
• Acacia Bright ’16 (Freeport)
• Sarah Cooper ’16 (Bath)
• Elizabeth McIntosh ’16 (Falmouth)
• Emily Taylor ’16 (Yarmouth)
• Lena Rich ’16 (Edgecomb)

Letters About Literature is a reading and writing contest for students in grades 4-12. Students are asked to read a book, poem or speech and write to that author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels. Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literature each year. National winners will be announced later this month.

North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college preparatory, coeducational day school serving students in grades five through twelve. For 199 years, NYA has fostered integrity, character and intellect in young adults. For more information, including information on the new Lower School, please contact NYA at 207-847-5423 or visit our website at www.nya.org.

North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) student Morganne Elkins ’16 (Edgecomb) has earned national recognition in the 2013 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.  She was identified by panels of creative professionals as one of the most talented young writers in the nation. This year, 230,000 works of art and writing were submitted. Only the top 1 percent were recognized at the national level. Morganne has been invited to attend a ceremony at the world-famous Carnegie Hall on Friday, May 31. The Carnegie Hall ceremony will also be webcast live at 6:00 p.m. eastern time.

Morganne’s gold medal was awarded for her work entitled “Cold House” in the Personal Essay/Memoir category.  She was also awarded an Honorable Mention medal in the Flash Fiction category for her work entitled “Eden.”

The following NYA students also received regional awards:

• Charlotte Eisenberg ’15 (Peaks Island) received a Silver Key medal for her Personal Essay/Memoir entitled “On the Merit of Stories” and an Honorable Mention medal for her personal essay/memoir entitled “The Nickname Queen”
• Kate Hilscher ’16 (Boothbay Harbor) received a Silver Key medal for her short story entitled “Eternal”

The 2013 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are part of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization that identifies and recognizes students with exceptional artistic and literary talent. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards date back to 1923 and recipients include Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford and Joyce Carol Oates. Students in grades seven through twelve may apply in 28 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published. “All of these kids not only exhibit inherent talent, but a willingness and drive to push themselves beyond any limitations.  Instead, each one took risks, and clearly, that choice has been fruitful,” said NYA English teacher Erica Kent.

North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college preparatory, coeducational day school serving students in grades five through twelve. For 199 years, NYA has fostered integrity, character and intellect in young adults. For more information, including information on the new Lower School, please contact NYA at 207-847-5423 or visit our website at www.nya.org.

Imani Winds (Matthew Murphy photo)

On Wednesday, May 1, Imani Winds, America’s premier wind quintet, will hold a workshop at North Yarmouth Academy (NYA). The workshop will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at NYA’s Higgins Hall (168 Main Street). It is free and open to students from other schools.

“Imani Winds is generally viewed as the best wind quintet in America,” said Ian Ramsey, NYA’s Visual and Performing Arts Chair. “Their performance should be phenomenal,” he said. The workshop will begin with NYA’s Wind Ensemble playing “Amazing Grace.” Imani Winds will give feedback and then discuss the influence of spirituals on American classical music.  The quintet will also perform for the students.

North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college preparatory, coeducational day school serving students in grades five through twelve. For 199 years, NYA has fostered integrity, character and intellect in young adults. For more information, including information on the new Lower School, please contact NYA at 207-847-5423 or visit our website at www.nya.org.

North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) is holding its 29th annual auction event, NYA Soiree, on Saturday, April 27, from 6:00-10:00pm in the Priscilla Savage Middle School (172 Main Street) and NYA gymnasium (154 Main Street, Yarmouth). Proceeds from this charity event support NYA’s visual and performing arts and financial aid programs. The Soiree includes an art sale and live auction with entertainment from student musicians and dancing to the local band North of Nashville. An exciting variety of hors-d’oeuvres, Allagash beer and a selection of wine (cash bar) will be served. The auction committee, comprised of NYA parent volunteers, hopes to surpass $50,000 at this event. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.

There will be a raffle for a $10,000 cash prize or half of one year’s tuition. Raffle tickets are for sale online, by phone 847-5443 or at the Soiree. The winner does not have to be in attendance. 

Bid on a one-week stay at this Northeast Harbor cottage

The highlight of the evening will be the live auction with auctioneer Charlie Crosby. A sample of items up for bid include:

• One week stay at an English cottage in Bucklebury, Berkshire, England
• Premium Red Sox and Patriots Tickets
• Tuition for one at Bartley’s Driving School and the coveted, reserved NYA parking space on campus for an entire year
• One week stay in a Northeast Harbor Cottage
• Gourmet dinner for eight at Churchill Caterer’s chef’s table
• Week-long Stay in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
• Cocktail cruise on Casco Bay and island party around the fire pit
• Latest generation iPad, a dress down day for your student’s class, plan the school menu for a day, and a week of summer camp at NYA
• One Week at Sugarloaf plus a round of golf for four at the Sugarloaf Golf Club and a gift certificate to dinner at Gepetto’s.

Tickets for the Soiree are $30 in advance and $35 at the door, may be purchased online or by contacting Aldona Shumway at 207.847.5443. Corporate Sponsorships are still available at various levels. Call 847-5443 for more information.

North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college preparatory, coeducational day school serving students in grades five through twelve. For 199 years, NYA has fostered integrity, character and intellect in young adults. For more information, including information on the new Lower School, please contact NYA at 207-847-5423 or visit our website at www.nya.org.

Upper School art students at North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) will display their work at Clayton’s Café, 441 US Route One in Yarmouth now through April 26. Entitled NYA Now:  A peek into what is being created in the NYA Upper School art studio, the exhibit includes a selection of two-dimensional artwork created by students in ninth through twelfth grade. Clayton’s is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and closed on Sunday.

Since the fall, NYA art students of all levels and disciplines have been studying and applying the fundamentals of art and design by mixing various methods such as drawing, painting and printmaking with numerous media including graphite, charcoal, ink, pastel, conte, oil paint, silk screen, lino-block prints, and spray paint stenciling.  NYA Now is a small sample of the creative magic that happens every day at NYA.

Student work created by: 

Oliver Silverson ’13, Falmouth
Alex Cai ’13, Yarmouth
Tom Fast ’13, Cumberland
Emma Randall ’14, Lisbon Falls
Neil Chen ’14, Yarmouth
Freddie Hu ’14, Yarmouth
Hannah Hungerford ’15, Portland
Diana McLeod ’15, Woolwich
Charlotte Eisenberg ’15, Peaks Island
Sarah-Jane Metsker ’16, Yarmouth
Morganne Elkins ’16, Edgecomb
Corinne Poitras ’16, East Boothbay

North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college preparatory, coeducational day school serving students in grades five through twelve. For 198 years, NYA has fostered integrity, character and intellect in young adults. For more information, please contact NYA at 207-847-5423 or visit our website at www.nya.org.

North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) plans to open a Lower School for grades Pre-K through fourth grade in the fall of 2013. NYA currently serves students in grades five through twelve and will be merging with Meadowbrook Montessori, located in Freeport. NYA’s new Lower School will integrate Montessori methods through the second grade and progress to an approach in the third and fourth grades that continues to foster curiosity and motivation to learn while preparing for an easy transition to the Middle School.

Board members and key administrators from NYA and Meadowbrook Montessori met initially to explore the possibility of merging. NYA’s Head of School Brad Choyt explained, “After meetings and visits to both schools, we recognized the great potential of such a merger and began to develop a working model for a Lower School at NYA.”

The Lower School will be located in a newly renovated 3,500 square foot building on NYA’s campus. Students in the Lower School will have full access to NYA’s 25-acre campus which includes playing fields, a gymnasium and ice arena, a music building, academic buildings and more. Teachers will expand the notion of a traditional classroom by offering opportunities for experiential learning and field research along the coast of Maine and on the shores of the Royal River.

“The goals of Montessori education include inspiring a love of learning, building self-confidence, fostering curiosity, and developing habits of initiative, concentration and persistence. These goals are aligned with the mission of NYA and all that we strive to inspire in our students in every grade level,” said Choyt. “We look forward to all that the addition of a Lower School can bring to NYA. As we enter our bicentennial year, we see this new beginning for NYA as one that will strengthen the foundation of our school and offer myriad benefits and opportunities for our entire community.”

NYA is currently accepting applications for admission to the Lower School. A Lower School information evening will be held on Tuesday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the Savage Middle School Community Room (172 Main Street, Yarmouth). To RSVP for the information evening and for more information on the Lower School, please contact the NYA Admission Office at 207-846-2376 or visit www.nya.org.