Spaulding student to attend Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy and more: Education news

Portsmouth Herald
·3 min read

Spaulding student selected to attend Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy

From left to right are SMSgt Joe Kerrigan, Andy Jackson, Noah Jackson, and Major Dan Heeter.
From left to right are SMSgt Joe Kerrigan, Andy Jackson, Noah Jackson, and Major Dan Heeter.

ROCHESTER — Cadet Captain Noah Jackson was selected to attend this summer’s Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy. Jackson will attend one of 12 participating aviation colleges for eight weeks and earn his private pilot certificate, launching a career as a military or civilian pilot.

There are approximately 100,000 AFJROTC cadets nationwide and Jaskcon was competing against a field of 800 finalists. Only 171 were selected this year. This is an all expense paid program valued at $125,000.

Oyster River Middle School students develop life skills at ORMS Coffee Connection

ORMS students offer hot beverages like the King of Caramel, baked goods and school spirit to employees.
ORMS students offer hot beverages like the King of Caramel, baked goods and school spirit to employees.

DURHAM — Oyster River Middle School students are gaining the perfect blend of hands-on work training and life skills each Wednesday when they brew coffee and prepare treats for staff and teachers.

Under the supervision of Special Education Teacher Robin Grondin, Occupational Therapist Sarah Wilson and Nurse Cheryl Thibodeau, students run the weekly Coffee Connection out of the second-floor kitchen, offering hot beverages like the King of Caramel, baked goods and school spirit to employees.

"We began this project to provide a way for our students to practice their social communication and functional life skills," Grondin said. “What we have seen develop over time is a team of determined, hard-working students who practice these and many other skills while also spreading joy to our school staff."

Through this innovative program, students are learning:

  • Communication and social skills such as greeting customers, listening, making eye contact, writing, creating flyers, and making conversation.

  • Business skills including tracking inventory, project development and data analysis.

  • Math skills like measuring, sequencing, data collection, and budgeting.

  • Life skills such as following directions, creating a weekly grocery list, and cleaning the kitchen.

Students love being a part of Coffee Connection, a place where they can gain real-world experience, interact with staff on a more personal level and have a good time.

Principal Bill Sullivan said he’s been impressed with the success of the program and is thrilled to see the enthusiasm among students and staff to create and maintain such a unique opportunity for the school community.

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Students receive recognition from the 2024 College Board National Recognition Programs

National Merit Scholarship Commended students from left to right, Wilson Weygant, Evelyn Dearborn and Stephen Perry, celebrate their notification of recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
National Merit Scholarship Commended students from left to right, Wilson Weygant, Evelyn Dearborn and Stephen Perry, celebrate their notification of recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

NORTHWOOD — Headmaster David S. Smith of Coe-Brown Northwood Academy announced that Evelyn Dearborn, Wilson Weygant and Stephen Perry have been named as Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program for their exceptional academic promise and outstanding performance on the PSAT. In addition, nine CBNA students have been awarded the National Rural and Small Town Award through the College Board National Recognition Programs, including Anna Bergeron, Rex Betts-Levine, Gavin Bungard, Claire Burbank, Evelyn Dearborn, Francesca Ferguson, Colin Kane, Somer Loto and Jayden Porter. This is the largest single group of CBNA awardees to date. Letters of recognition have been presented to these scholastically talented seniors.

Out of over 1.3 million juniors who entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), approximately 34,000 are named Commended Students. Dearborn, Weygant and Perry are part of this elite group who scored among the top 3% in the nation, and who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

Recipients of the National Rural and Small Town Award through the College Board National Recognition Programs celebrate their notification of recognition. From left to right are R. Betts-Levine, C. Kane, A. Bergeron, S. Loto, C. Burbank, F. Ferguson, E. Dearborn. (Missing G. Bungard and J. Porter).
Recipients of the National Rural and Small Town Award through the College Board National Recognition Programs celebrate their notification of recognition. From left to right are R. Betts-Levine, C. Kane, A. Bergeron, S. Loto, C. Burbank, F. Ferguson, E. Dearborn. (Missing G. Bungard and J. Porter).

The National Rural and Small Town Award is one of four awards in the National Recognition Program, which includes three others that recognize students of Hispanic, African American, or Indigenous heritage. Bergeron, Betts-Levine, Bungard, Burbank, Dearborn, Ferguson, Kane, Loto and Porter were all recognized through the National Rural and Small Town award program for being academically competitive students from a rural region that is traditionally underrepresented in the college application process. Students who may be eligible for this recognition must attend school in a rural area or small town, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and have excelled on the PSAT/NMSQT or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Spaulding student to attend Air Force Flight Academy: Education news