Artful winners posted

The commercial art class at Portland Arts and Technology High School partnered with Pat’s Meat Market and Café in Portland for a recent poster competition.

“All our commercial art students submitted work, and the customers that came in to Pat’s voted on which ones they liked the best,” PATHS Commercial Art instructor Diane Manzi said. “There were over 30 posters to choose from.”

Winning first place for her poster was senior Maria Fontaine of Portland High School. Rowan Hoyt, a senior from Casco Bay High School, won second place for her poster. Alyssa Doherty, a junior from Scarborough, was awarded third place.

The store is displaying the winning posters, Manzi said.

Commercial art students at PATHS learn layout, design and effective composition. All the students have a specialty and learn how to commercialize and make money from their art.

Bowdoin students mentor youngsters

Bowdoin education students are spending their winter break at Lyman Moore Middle School for an “Alternative Winter Break” Jan. 19-22. The older students are mentoring the elementary school students, and giving them a sense of what it’s like to be a college student. They’ll also assist teachers in the classroom.

Lyman Moore Principal Steve Rogers said, “Our students benefit by interacting with college students, hopefully building higher aspirations to attend college themselves.”

Sue Doyon, Lyman Moore’s community coordinator, said this year marks the first time the school has worked with the Alternative Winter Break group.

“The Bowdoin students are typically very diverse themselves, and that is wonderful for all our students,” Doyon said.

Author will read his heart out

Maine children’s author Jennifer Richard Jacobson will participate in a “Read Your Heart Out” reading challenge at Lyman Moore Middle School Feb. 3.

Lyman Moore’s “Third Annual Reading Challenge: A Celebration of Literacy” will take place 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the school, located at 171 Auburn St.

Jacobson, whose books include “Paper Things” and “Small As an Elephant,” will  read aloud and be followed by a question and answer session from 9:30-11 a.m.

Also, throughout the day, students, staff and community members will be invited to bring a book and participate in the challenge.

For more information, call the school at 874-8150.

Financial aid help session

A free session to assist students with the college financial aid process is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at Portland Arts and Technology High School, 196 Allen Ave. The Finance Authority of Maine and other financial aid professionals will be on site to help complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

Students and families are encouraged to bring the following information to the help session:

· FSA ID, a user name and password needed to access all Federal Student Aid websites, including the FAFSA. It is recommended one should be created ahead of time at fsaid.ed.gov.

· Social Security numbers for both student and parents.

· Information to estimate the student’s and parent’s 2015 income, such as W-2 forms or last year’s federal income tax returns, and other records of money earned.

· Current bank statements for students and parents.

USM named among Military Friendly

The University of Southern Maine has been recognized as one of the top 25 Military Friendly public universities in the country.

Initiatives such as accepting credit for military training, veterans-specific orientation, the creation of an admissions liaison for veterans and specialized training for faculty and staff led to the listing in the just-published “2016 Guide to Military Friendly Schools.”

Along with Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts, USM was one of only two New England schools to be named in the top 25 public university category.

Dean’s Lists

University of Vermont

Lucy Crane, a geography major in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Alex Perkins, an environmental studies major in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Kimberly Henry, an undeclared major in College of Arts & Sciences.

Lillian Worthley, an environmental sciences major in UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources.

Students must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and rank in the top 20 percent of their class in their respective college or school.

Stonehill College

Easton, Massachusetts

Francesca M. Guaciaro, a member of the Class of 2018 and an arts administration major.

Marie K. O’Brion, who is a member of the Class of 2016 majoring in marketing and economics.

Katherine A. Reynolds, a member of the Class of 2018 whose major is communications.

Colby-Sawyer College

Ariana Russo, a member of the Class of 2018 who has not decided on a major.

To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must achieve a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale while carrying a minimum of 12 credit hours.

Youngstown State University

Evelyn Molina, who is majoring in French.

To be eligible, a student must carry a grade point average of 3.4 or better and take a minimum of 12 semester hours.

James Madison University

Aren Kiladjian, who is scheduled to graduate in 2019 and is majoring in intelligence analysis.

Keene State College.

Valerie Carpentier

To qualify for the dean’s list, undergraduates must complete a minimum of six credit hours in the semester, and achieve a 3.5 or higher grade point average on a 4.0 scale to earn dean’s list honors.