Because of the inclement weather, tonight’s meeting, scheduled for 7:00 pm, has been POSTPONED. It is now scheduled for Tuesday, February 7. There are two possible meeting times next Tuesday - 7:45 am and/or 7:00 pm. We hope you’ll join us for one of these sessions.
News
Poetry Out Loud: Congratulations, Grace Gilbert!
Grace Gilbert ’13 (Yarmouth) will represent North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) at the Southern Maine Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition to be held on February 8, 2012 at City Theater in Biddeford (snow date February 9). At an all-school assembly on January 9, Gilbert gave a recitation of “Over and Under” by John Brehm to place first in NYA’s competition. More »
NYA Alumna to Exhibit Artwork in Curtis Gallery
North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) is proud to present an exhibit by alumna Amy Miller (’08) entitled “L’Avventura: Chronicling Amy’s (mis)adventures in Italia and elsewhere” in the Curtis Gallery (148 Main Street, Yarmouth) from January 5 through February 17, 2012. The public is invited to an art opening on Thursday, January 5 from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. in the gallery with live music and light refreshments. The exhibit will be open to the public during regular school hours: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Miller, a 2008 graduate of NYA, is currently a senior at Washington University in St. Louis studying Comparative Literature with a concentration in Italian and a minor in German. In the spring and summer of 2011, she spent seven months studying abroad in Italy and Germany. During the first five months, she studied at the Università di Bologna (University of Bologna) in northern central Italy. All classes were in Italian, and she lived in an apartment in the city with Italian students. Next, she traveled to Göttingen, Germany for two months of intensive German language study at the Goethe Institut, where she lived and attended classes with a diverse group of would-be German speakers from around the globe.
NYA Establishes Merit Scholars Program
North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) is pleased to announce the establishment of the NYA Merit Scholars Program. The NYA Merit Scholars Program is designed to recognize deserving students and provide them with the opportunity to attend North Yarmouth Academy. This year, one full and one partial scholarship will be awarded to an incoming freshman student. One full scholarship and one partial scholarship will also be awarded to a rising sophomore, junior or senior student. The scholarship honors the student’s achievements and covers the cost of tuition over the course of the student’s career at NYA. Current and new students are eligible for these scholarships.
Applicants must be nominated for the award and should demonstrate qualities that are intrinsic to NYA’s mission. The nomination process is open to any adult who knows the student’s academic abilities and character and can speak to that on the nomination form. (NYA teachers, coaches and staff are not eligible to nominate students.) Nominees will be invited to apply to NYA, and a Scholarship Committee will review the applicants and invite the top ten finalists to campus for interviews. Nominations must be received by January 10, 2012, and applications are due on February 10, 2012. Scholarship recipients will be notified by March 20, 2012.
“We are thrilled to be able to attract exceptional students and recognize their accomplishments through these generous scholarships. With this program, students will not only have the opportunity to benefit from our academic, athletic and the arts offerings, but also enhance our community through their talents in these areas,” said Head of School Brad Choyt.
To nominate a student, please contact NYA’s Admission Office at 846-2376.
NorthYarmouthAcademy 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.
NYA Students Qualify for All-State and District 2 Music Festivals
Eight students from North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) were selected for the All-State Music Festival, an event occurring nationwide that places top high school instrumentalists and vocalists into a band, chorus, and orchestra. The 2012 Maine All-State Music Festival will be held on May 17 through 19, 2012 at the University of Maine in Orono. Students will rehearse for three days under the direction of leading national conductors and then present a concert on Saturday, May 19, at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus in Orono.
Selected students include:
Band:
- Olivia Stam ’15, Cumberland Foreside, flute
- Chelsea Muller ’12, Gorham, alto saxophone
Chorus:
- Jae Jeon ’12, Gorham, alto
- McKenzie Larson ’14, Raymond, soprano
- Soo Kyung Park ’12, Freeport, soprano
- John LeBlanc ’15, Falmouth, bass
Orchestra:
- Ellis Miskell ‘15, violin
- Elise LeBihan ‘15, South Freeport, violin
Students were selected after November auditions requiring them to learn several scales, a solo, an ensemble piece, and sight-read. Over 1,000 students auditioned statewide. “This is the largest number NYA has had accepted in recent memory, and we are pretty ecstatic here in Higgins [Hall, the music building],” said Linda Vaillancourt, String Ensemble and Middle School Band Teacher.
In addition to the All-State Music Festival, 35 students from NYA were selected to perform at the District 2 Honors Vocal and Instrumental Concerts. NYA students were selected from more than 1,200 auditions. Liz McIntosh ’16 (Falmouth) received the highest score in the district for Middle School violin. District 2 covers schools in Portland to Lewiston/Auburn to Bethel.
District 2 Honors Vocal and Instrumental Festivals:
High School Band
- Kevin Schwarm ’12, Freeport, percussion
- Olivia Stam ’15, Cumberland Foreside, flute
High School Orchestra
- Elise LeBihan ’15, South Freeport, violin
- Ben Randall ’12, Lisbon Falls, violin
- Maggie Meixell, ’12, Westport, violin
- Tae Eun Park ‘12, Freeport, violin
- Hannah Hungerford ’15, Portland, viola
High School Mixed Choir
- Soo Kyung Park ’12, Freeport
- McKenzie Larson ’14, Raymond
- Jae Jeon ’12, Gorham
- Hadley Gibson ’12, Freeport
- Jessica Powers ’12, Falmouth
- Tae Eun Park ‘12, Freeport
- John LeBlanc ’15, Falmouth
High School Treble Choir
- Olivia Stam ’15, Cumberland Foreside
- Anya Siviski ’15, Lewiston
- Grace Gilbert ’13, North Yarmouth
- Louisa Mahoney ’15, Freeport
- Anna Bilodeau ’15, Winthrop
- Rhiannon Ramsey-Brimberg ’15, East Boothbay
Middle School Band
- Zelda Clegg ’17, Brunswick, clarinet
- Suzanna Butterfield ’17, Raymond, clarinet
- Cris Paradis ’17, Portland, bass clarinet
- Tyler Waaler ’17, Yarmouth, trumpet
Middle School Orchestra
- Acacia Bright ’16, Freeport, violin
- Liz McIntosh ’16, Falmouth, violin
- Claire Maurer ’16, Freeport, violin
- Dagen Braun ‘16, Windham, violin
- Linnea Hull ’16, Portland, violin
- Hailey Frager ’16, Portland, violin
Middle School Chorus
- Suzanna Butterfield ’17, Raymond
- Hailey Frager ’16, Portland
- McKenzie Sangster ’16, Brunswick
- Andrei Vile ’16, South Freeport
The District 2 Honors instrumentalists will perform at Oxford Hills High School in South Paris on January 27 and 28, 2012, and the District 2 Honors vocalists will perform on February 3 and 4, 2012 at Windham High School.
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.
NYA Robotics Club Embraces VEXing Challenge
The NYA Robotics Club sent 5 representatives (Phong Ho ’11, Katherine Roche ’12, Matt Hawkins ’12, Ben Ford ’15 & Muriel Adams ’15) to the Southern Maine VEX Tournament at USM Gorham on Saturday. Of 17 teams competing, NYA finished the Qualification rounds ranked 3rd. This placed us on the 2nd ranked alliance (with a team from Sanford) for the Elimination Rounds. Making it to the Finals, our alliance placed second in the tournament to Cape Elizabeth! More from the Press Herald.

NYA Robotics Club at USM competition
The next competition is the State Tournament in Bangor on Saturday, February 11.
Creative Community Service Event Yields Smiles All Around
On Thursday, November 10, NYA students, faculty and staff attended a community service event to benefit those in need locally and globally. For a $10 donation, each participant could make four greeting cards – two to take home and two to donate to Ronald McDonald House in Portland. The entire $10 registration fee went to A Village of Children to support orphans in Bolivia.

Creative cardmakers hard at work!
Science teacher Barbara Farrell and Grace Gilbert ’13 (North Yarmouth) organized the event. On Friday, Barbara reported that she “went to Ronald McDonald house and dropped off 43 cards that were made yesterday at the card making event. They were SOOO thankful! We also raised about $130 for A Village of Children, with a few more donations to be collected … Thank you to those who donated money to A Village of Children, to those who made cards for Ronald McDonald House and to those who did both!!! I hope you had as much fun as I did. It was wonderful to see the MS and US faculty, staff and students’ creativity and generosity in action.”
Writer Susan Conley to Attend Classes and Give Public Reading at NYA
Writers in Process
Writer Susan Conley will visit North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 to speak with Upper School students followed by several workshops with Upper School English classes. From 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Conley will read and sign books in Higgins Hall (168 Main Street, Yarmouth) that is open to the public (donation suggested). Royal River Books will provide books for sale at a 10% discount.
Conley is the author of the critically acclaimed The Foremost Good Fortune, a memoir that explores her experiences in China with her family as she battles breast cancer. Currently, she is writing a novel to be published by Knopf. In addition to writing, Conley co-founded The Telling Room in Portland (ME), a non-profit creative writing center for students ages six to eighteen.
Conley’s visit is part of a visiting writers’ series entitled Writers in Process: Bringing the literary world to NYA and Yarmouth. The series began in October with Lily King, author of Father of the Rain, The English Teacher and The Pleasing Hour. Each visit will include an evening lecture and book signing open to the public.
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.
NYA Parents’ Association Holds Holiday Craft Fair
The North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) Parents’ Association will host the Annual Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in North Yarmouth Academy’s gymnasium (154 Main Street) and Safford Center cafeteria (148 Main Street) inYarmouth. This annual event is held in conjunction with a town-wide holiday celebration. Over sixty vendors from across the state will present a diverse variety of crafts including artwork, photography, jewelry, candles, soap, alpaca products, blown glass, woodworking and much more. Enjoy a sit-down lunch at the NYA Café and listen to holiday music by the NYA Chorus. Money raised from booth rental fees will help support NYA teacher grant requests.
There are no longer booth rentals available – the fair is currently full. Crafters who would like to be placed on next year’s mailing list may email the Vendor Coordinator, Deb Cutten, at dcutten@maine.rr.com.
NorthYarmouthAcademyis 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.
NYA Hires Ice Hockey Goaltending Coach
North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) Athletic Director Mike Dutton announced that Former Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender coach, Cap Raeder, has been hired as the goalie consultant/coach for the NYA hockey program for the upcoming 2011-2012 season. Raeder will work with both boys and girls hockey players in the Middle School and Upper School helping goalies at every level improve their game.
Raeder was a professional coach in the NHL for twenty years. He has worked with some of the league’s best goalies, including Evgeni Nabokov, Miikka Kiprusoff, and Mike Smith just to name a few. Raeder has also coached for the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks and was the head coach at Division I Clarkson University.
Raeder played college hockey at the University of New Hampshire and was an All-American in 1974. He was drafted by the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association and by the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. He played for the Whalers in 1975-77. During his 1976 season, he was selected to play for Team USA in the inaugural Canada Cup.
“The entire NYA coaching staff is excited to welcome Coach Raeder to the NYA hockey family. Cap’s goaltending experience is superior and his expertise will have an immediate impact with the NYA goalies at every level. We are so pleased to have Coach Raeder join us for the upcoming season,” said Dutton.
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.
