Back At It!

When David Colman was a student at John Bapst, he had no idea what lay in his future. He did know, however, that he had ideas about what he wanted to do and even as a high school senior he knew to exhaust the resources around him –technology was not in the John Bapst curriculum in 1957 so David pursued (after graduating from John Bapst) technology training at another high school.

After finishing that training, he kept following his passion and built a life around creativity, technology, and entertainment decades before the rest of the world embraced those same things.

He may not have thought of himself as a visionary, but he led a visionary’s life.

You’ll read about his remarkable life in the following pages. He is remembered here for his distinctive career but also by his brother and sister who have honored his legacy with a gift to the school that will help the growing and innovative technology department that is now a major curricular area for the school.

John Bapst is different these days. We have built a school around embracing the visionary in each of our students. Between a flexible, rigorous, and creative curriculum and innovative programs like the Distinguished Graduate Program, our studentfounded clubs, our participation in independent research areas, and our willingness to use independent studies, we find many ways to listen to the visionary in each of our students.

We give them the academic tools they need, but also the interpersonal tools and confidence to make it work –even if their goals are not exactly within our coursework. David would be proud of this school and we are proud and honored to be a part of his legacy.

We have built a school around embracing the visionary in each of our students. Between a flexible, rigorous, and creative curriculum and innovative programs like the Distinguished Graduate Program, our student-founded clubs, our participation in independent research areas, and our willingness to use independent studies, we find many ways to listen to the visionary in each of our students.

Around Campus

Highlights and accolades of an exciting season for sports at John Bapst

Several fall athletes received individual accolades and honors ranging from all-star to all-academic. Special recognition was given to the following teams and individuals:

Boys Soccer – Finished the regular Season 13-0-1 and were the PVC Regular Season Conference Champions. They went on to win the Northern Maine Class B Championship and ended their season as the Class B State Runners Up. Coach

Jason Pangburn was selected as the PVC Coach of the Year.

Cross Country –The girls were fourth at PVCs and the boys won the PVC Championship, the Northern Maine Championship, and were fourth in the state championship. Coach Tyler Parsons was named as the Class B Boys’ Division Coach of the Year. Football and Cheer – Earned the MPA Sportsmanship award for Class D this fall in football.

Girls Soccer – Finishing in the top 8, the team made it to the quarterfinals.

Golf – The golf team played in the PVC Qualifier and from there Ellie Kuhl ’24 qualified for and competed in the State Championship match, finishing ninth in the state.

At the age of 14, Antionette started an entrepreneurial venture with her creative balloon art business, Pippy’s Poppin Balloons. The idea initially came from when she designed and built balloon arches for her middle school dances. She went on to become the youngest certified balloon artist in America. After receiving her certification and retail license from the state of Maine, Antionette began decorating the VIP tent of the Waterfront Concert Series.

Antionette has successfully rebuilt her business after Covid-19 and now, with a national reputation and a federal trademark, it is her intention to continue expanding her business throughout her senior year and upcoming college career.

Meanwhile, twin sister Natalie has been pursuing setting her own bar and was the only rising junior accepted in the Jackson Laboratory’s academic year fellowship program.

Around Campus

At Jackson Lab Natalie has been doing research, analyzing data, and helping design experiments. Her work was presented at the Maine State Science Fair and won first place in the Biomedical and Health Sciences category. Natalie also contributed to a paper published in the journal “Frontiers in Immunology,” in which she was named second author. Following her success at the Jackson Laboratory, Natalie is continuing her scientific journey as an intern at the University of Maine at Orono, while completing her senior year at John Bapst.

Did you know that John Bapst has nearly 40 clubs and activities, attracting hundreds of our students?

One such club is the Crusader Chess Club, John Bapst’s competitive chess team. So far, 14 students have competed at four events in Maine, earning three section wins and several trophies.

The Crusader Chess Club has taken home the title of State Co-champion at the Maine Team Scholastic Chess Championship, (it’s regularly within striking distance of the top spot every year) and is a two-time winner of the Claude E. Webber Memorial Cup (2019 and 2021). And, since 2017, the Crusader Chess Club has sent two nominees to the US Chess Scholastic Invitational Championships: the WIM Ruth Haring National Girls’ Tournament of Champions in Norfolk, Virginia, and the GM Arnold Denker

Tournament of High School Champions in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The club meets twice a week for instruction and practice and endeavors to help students realize their own levels of chess excellence at US Chess rated competition in Maine and beyond.

A first as John Bapst holds graduation at Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center

Breaking from tradition for the second time in two years (due to Covid restrictions), the school held the Class of 2022 commencement at Cross Insurance Center on Main Street in Bangor. Though not in the historic school auditorium, the event was a wonderful celebration of 146 seniors and featured the school band. Graduating were 23 seniors from six foreign countries, joining their counterparts hailing from over 20 different Maine towns. The featured guest speaker was Yellow Breen who imparted wisdom and wit on the assembled guests and graduates. Co-Valedictorians Jacob Levesque (Orrington) and Uyen Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh) and Co-Salutatorians Caleb Canders (Brewer) and Olivia Rand (Hampden) also spoke. The new venue allowed for unlimited guests (nearly 1,000 attended), and comforts such as air conditioning and unobstructed views.