Fellowship, scholarships and NH Teacher of Year semifinalist: Education news

Curtis Haas earns Department of Defense fellowship

DOVER — Curtis Haas, a first-year doctoral student in the Johns Hopkins University department of mechanical engineering, has won a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The fellowship covers three years of full tuition and provides a stipend and travel allowance.

Haas is advised by Tamer Zaki, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Flow Science and Engineering research group. The fellowship will help support Haas’ research on turbulence and hypersonic flows using computational methods and mathematical analysis. He is particularly interested in inverse problems and data assimilation techniques associated with hypersonic turbulence.

Originally from Dover, New Hampshire, Haas completed his undergraduate studies in physics and mathematics at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. At Johns Hopkins, Haas was the inaugural recipient of the Stanley Corrsin Graduate Fellowship in Fluid Dynamics, awarded by the Center for Environmental and Applied Fluid Mechanics.

Haas was also selected for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Oyster River music teacher named 2024 NH Teacher of the Year semifinalist

DURHAM — Andrea von Oeyen, a strings music teacher at Oyster River middle and high schools, has been named a 2024 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year semifinalist.

Von Oeyen was one of 20 educators from across the state to be selected as a semifinalist for the honor. Semifinalists were selected among 92 nominees.

The New Hampshire Teacher of the Year is recognized for their exceptional dedication, knowledge, and leadership skills. The purpose of the program, according to the Department of Education, is to select a teacher capable of speaking for and energizing the teaching profession and representing the positive contributions of all teachers statewide.

Semifinalists will give presentations to the selection committee in July, which will help decide the finalists. Committee members will conduct visits to the finalists' schools in September to determine the winner, who will be announced in October.

Rochester elementary schools kick off summer reading with city library

ROCHESTER — City elementary school students are once again participating in a summer reading program in conjunction with Rochester Public Library.

Rochester School District elementary schools each held summer reading kickoff events from June 8-13, preparing students for a summer of reading outside of the classroom.

In one kickoff event, teachers from the East Rochester School presented a skit to get kids excited about summer reading. The skit was based on the story "Stone Soup" and teaches lessons about working together.

All Rochester School District students in grades K-5 were given logs to track their reading progress throughout the summer, and were asked to bring the logs back to school with them in the fall to earn a chance at winning incidents and prizes.

Information: rpl.lib.nh.us/summerreading

Monarch School of New England establishes James P. Carolan Endowment Fund

ROCHESTER —The Monarch School of New England announced the establishment of the James P. Carolan Endowment Fund. This fund is the first of its kind for the organization.

James (Jim) Carolan served for over 10 years on the Monarch School of New England’s Board of Directors, for many years as president. Carolan died in 2017, shortly after the opening of the school’s high school/vocational center campus. His leadership and guidance were instrumental in establishing those facilities, which allowed the school to expand its enrollment and services.

Carolan was a mentor to the Monarch School of New England’s Executive Director Diane Bessey, who is retiring June 30 after 25 years with the school.

“Jim strongly believed that an endowment was essential to ensuring the school will always be there to support the students who need the type of education that only Monarch can provide," Bessey said. "I’m so proud that we were able to create this fund before my retirement, and to name it in Jim’s memory."

A recent gift to the school from Gail Vanhoy Carolan, Jim’s widow, continues his dedication to helping students with special needs to reach their greatest potential. She shared; “Jim often said his time with Monarch was the most meaningful work of his career. He was inspired by each student’s individuality and the opportunity to realize, in a holistic way, their greatest potential. Helping the school build a sustainable model, and supporting Diane and her staff in their vision was a labor of love. Jim would be so enormously proud of all that they have accomplished and aspire to.”

Portsmouth Women’s City Club announces winner of the Mary Walker Memorial Scholarship

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Women’s City Club announced the first winner of the Mary Walker Memorial Scholarship.  Mary Zealide Walker of Portsmouth was twice a club president. After retiring from the IRS after a career of over 30 years, she decided she wanted to complete her college education. She attended Southern New Hampshire University and earned her bachelor's degree — an achievement of which she was very proud.  In this spirit, according to scholarship chairperson Stephanie Harzewski, the club created an annual scholarship ($1,500), earmarked for a non-traditional community college student, full or part time, who identifies as female.

The first recipient of the scholarship is Katelyn McNamara, a fine arts student as well as the founder and president of Great Bay Community College’s Art Club.  As an Art Department assistant at Great Bay, she manages two art studios and organizes educational and social events for her fellow students.  In preparation for a career as an art teacher for children and young adults, she leads lessons in various media (such as painting, printmaking, and sculpture) for other club members. Most recently, she instructed the group on various watercolor techniques as well as how to carve and print linoleum blocks for holiday cards.  The latter works were then sold to raise money for a gallery trip that the club is hoping to take to Boston or New York. McNamara is also a Member of the National Society of Leadership and Success.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Fellowship and NH Teacher of Year semifinalist: Education news