Casco Bay High School in Portland held its National Honor Society induction ceremony on May 9.  The following students were inducted based on excellence in scholarship, service, leadership and character: Cole Spike, Maddie Pierce, Oliver Nolan, Noah Williams, Issac Santerre, Zoe Helmick, Emma Pontius, Lilly O'Leary, Jack Melcher, Isabel Handanos, Meghan Suslovic, Ava Koenigsberg and Caroline Bennett.

The Portland Public Schools benefited from United Way’s Day of Caring on May 16.  Volunteers helped with projects such as schoolyard improvements at Presumpscot Elementary School.  Presumpscot first graders partnered with the Day of Caring volunteers.

The Deering Players at Deering High School will sell costumes, props, games, jewelry, kitchen items and other merchandise on June 1 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the front lawn of the high school.  The rain date is June 15.  All proceeds benefit the Deering Players.  For more information, please contact Kathleen Harris at harrikportlandschools [dot] org or 874-8260.

The John T. Gorman Foundation has awarded the Portland Public Schools $98,710 for a summer learning program at three elementary schools.

Hall Elementary School, Lyseth Elementary School and Reiche Community School all will offer the program free of charge to students who have academic needs.  Research shows that students are at risk of losing ground academically during the summer months.  Those in the program will strengthen their literacy and math skills as they learn about science topics.

The student council at Lyseth Elementary School recently collected items from students and their families for the Ronald McDonald House in Portland, which provides housing for families who have a child in local hospitals.   A representative from the house visited Lyseth to thank the students personally and to collect the supplies.

Lincoln Middle School seventh grade language arts students in Eagle House recently created public service announcements about invasive plants in the Portland area.

A team of automotive technology students from Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) received first place in Maine’s Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition on May 11. 

Twenty students representing 10 high schools across Maine put their automotive skills to the test by fixing mechanical problems on their assigned Ford cars.  The team that fixed all of the problems on its car first won the competition. 

The Portland Public Schools will hold several concerts featuring student musicians during May and June.  All concerts are free and open to the public.

The schedule is:

The Portland City Council honored the highest-achieving high school seniors in the Portland Public Schools at its May 20th meeting.  See a video of the event.

Portland Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk issued the following statement in response to the passage of the referendum validating the Portland Public Schools’ $96,360,549 budget for Fiscal Year 2014:

Thank you to the voters of Portland for showing their support for the Portland Public Schools by approving our proposed budget for the 2013-2014 school year.