Old Town High School
Honors Diploma Program

Upcoming Events
Mentor groups during PRIDE
(first Thursday of each month)

Senior Exhibition Fair
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 (evening)
Attendance (and reflection paper) will apply toward seminar requirement

Honors Diploma Requirements
The Old Town High School Honors Diploma was created to recognize sustained academic achievement of extraordinary distinction, and to encourage students to take full advantage of the rich offerings at Old Town High School. In order to graduate with an Honors Diploma, students must:

• Successfully apply to join the Honors Diploma Cohort
• Maintain a 90% grade average in:
  • Two college-level courses (Advanced Placement courses, for example)
  • An additional eight Honors or college-level courses
    • Advanced Placement tests must be taken
  • These courses shall be taken over a minimum of seven semesters, except in the case of early graduation
• Complete four years each of Math, Science, English, and Social Studies
  • Must include three lab sciences
• Complete the third year of a foreign language
• Complete an approved Service Project
• Complete a Senior Exhibition Project of superior quality
• Participate in nine Honors Seminars
  • For students in the class of 2008, six seminars are required
  • Up to two of the seminars may be external (not arranged by Old Town High School)
    • Written pre-approval strongly recommended (mentor or committee member)
      • Guidelines: similar to seminars offered through OTHS (formally arranged, expert in field, at least an hour in length, diverse content, aimed at near-adult or adult audience, reflective paper to mentor within 1 week)
      • Examples: University lecture, special guest lecture hosted by a community agency
      • Non-examples: routine talk, sermon, or course
• Students shall maintain an honorable academic career, free of cheating and plagiarism
• Completing course requirements to earn the Honors Diploma is ultimately the student's responsibility; keep the requirements in mind as you make course enrollment and add/drop decisions. It is highly recommended that you plan well ahead and not rely on a perfect schedule your senior year to finish the requirements.

Honors Diploma Graduation Checklist

Honors Diploma Committee
Mrs. Kelley Weiss, Science
Mr. David Walker, M. Ed., C.A.S., Supt. of Schools
Ms. Vi Smith, Français
Mr. Paul Smith, Social Studies
Dr. Judith Pusey, Curriculum Coordinator
Ms. Karen Marley, English
Mr. Ed Lindsey, Science
Ms. Karen Larson, M. Ed., Academic Dean of Students
Ms. Amy Ketch, M. Ed., Mathematics
Mr. Joseph Gallant, Principal of Old Town High School
Ms. Colleen Fitzgerald, Guidance Counselor
Mr. Jon Doty, M. Ed., C.A.S., Gifted/Talented Services
Ms. Vanessa Clarida, M. Ed., Mathematics
Ms. Millie Cannon, Librarian

2006-2007 Seminars

Philosophical Thought
Guest Presenter: Dr. Michael Palmer, University of Maine

Media Impact on Democracy
Guest Presenters: Dr. Amy Freid (University of Maine),
Mr. Jeff Tuttle (Bangor Daily News)

Oppression and Civil Rights/Liberties
Guest Presenter: Dr. Nathan Godfried, University of Maine

Global and Historical Theology
Guest Presenters: Dr. Alexander Grab (University of Maine),
Pastor Bruce Stevens (United Baptist Church),
and Dr. Doug Allen (University of Maine)

Confluence of Environmental and Economic Policy
Guest Presenter: Mark Anderson, University of Maine

2007-2008 Seminars

Quantum Mechanics
Guest Presenter: Dr. James H. Page

Cycle Notation, Group Theory, and other Rubik’s Cube Mathematics
Guest Presenter: Kevin Roberge (University of Maine and EMCC)

Forensics, Cult Psychology, and Mass Murder
Guest Presenter: Cornel Plebani, M.A. (Husson College)

Our Changing Atmosphere: The Ozone Layer and Carbon Dioxide
(UMaine Lecture: Nobel laureate F. Sherwood Rowland)

Roots of Terrorism: From the Horn of Africa to Pakistan
(UMaine Lecture: Ambassador M. Bellamy and B. Riedel)

Geoarchaeology in Peru
Guest Presenter: Dr. Alice Kelley

This page managed and maintained by Jon Doty (jon.doty@mail.otsd.org)
Last Update March 20, 2008 4:34 PM