SOUTH PARIS – Kemsen Searles, an eighth grader at Oxford Hills Middle School received the first June Sawicki Musicianship Award at the school’s closing ceremony on June 13.

The award was created by the OHMS student council and music staff to honor longtime music teacher June Sawicki. Kemsen was selected for her outstanding contribution to the music department, where she plays viola in the orchestra and trombone in the band and jazz band. She was also principal violist in the District II Honors Music Festival Middle School Orchestra, assists with the Elementary Band, and played for the Oxford Hills Music and Performing Arts Association’s production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”