LMS teacher secures grant, new etching press

Lincoln Middle School seventh-grade art teacher Louis-Pierre Lachapelle was recently awarded a $3,000 Fast Track grant through the Perloff Family Foundation. The award was given to fund the purchase of an etching press to be used in an after-school art program. The new addition will also support the art curriculum offered to seventh-graders. Lachapelle’s background in printmaking and community artwork and his teaching experience at Temple University have allowed him to visit multiple communities in Europe, the United States and Canada, his native home.

The primary focus is to link the greater community of Portland and LMS students through diverse and creative art projects, utilizing printmaking techniques and mixed mediums.

The  Perloff Family Foundation’s objective in grant making “is to provide a source of funding that enables teachers to be educational innovators who are committed to planning, risk taking and achieving timely results.”

Fast Track Grants are one-year grants of up to $3,000, and teachers of pre-K through 12th grade are eligible.  Learn more at: www.perloffgrants.org.

LearningWorks receives $1.5M in grant funding 

LearningWorks announced they have been awarded three grants totaling $499,625 a year for three years from 21st Century Community Learning Centers to support their afterschool and summer learning programs. The award will support Reiche, East End Community, Presumpscot and Ocean Avenue Elementary schools in Portland.

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LearningWorks Afterschool and Summer programs are 21st Century Community Learning Center Funded programs that provide afterschool and summer programming to students in low-income schools who are performing below grade level in reading and/or math. Programming runs year round, serving students in a 10 hour a week after school program during the academic year and a five-week “Summer Camp” in July and August. All LearningWorks programs are free, offer meals and provide free transportation. LearningWorks serves approximately 1,000 students in second through fifth grade in Biddeford, Portland, South Portland and Waterboro schools.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who was a founding member of the Senate Afterschool Caucus, said, “Afterschool programs provide students with a safe and enriching environment once the school day has ended,” adding she is “delighted” that LearningWorks was chosen for grant funding.

Summer Success Picnic celebrating meals program 

A Summer Success Picnic will help celebrate the meal sites operating across this city this summer. The picnic will be held at Deering Oaks Park on July 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (rain date July 14). All are invited to attend the event, which will incorporate friends, fun and food.

The Portland Public Schools and Opportunity Alliance have now begun operating meal sites across Portland this summer. Meals and times will be posted at sites, most of which began serving meals June 26, and will continue through mid- August. All children 18 years and younger may receive a meal free of charge. 

Portland Open Meal Sites are being offered at the following locations: Front Street Community Center, North Deering Gardens, Ocean Ave Elementary School, East End Community School, Riverton Housing, Sagamore Village, King Middle School, Lyman Moore Middle School, Deering Oaks Park, Deering High School, Presumpscot School, Reiche Summer Program, Kennedy Park, Munjoy South Playground, Unity Village, YMCA.

More information may be accessed by calling 2-1-1. To view an online interactive map of meal sites, see www.portlandschools.org, and click on the summer programs notice on the front page.

Cheverus High School announces top 10 percent

The following students listed in alphabetical order ranked in the top 10 percent of seniors who graduated in the Class of 2017 at Cheverus High School:  Schuyler Black, Cape Elizabeth; Janice Booth, Arundel; Brooke Dawson, Portland; Katelyn Gendron, Gorham; Ana Guggenheim, Portland; Angela Haith, Biddeford; Reegan Hussey, Biddeford; Elizabeth Jerome, Falmouth; Mohamed Kilani, Portland;   Valedictorian Steven Larkin, Scarborough; Kaylin Malmquist, South Portland; Jesse Rodrigues, Westbrook.

Sarah Jane Sirois has been appointed assistant principal of Hall Elementary School in Portland, effective July 1. Sirois “brings with her a great deal of passion, enthusiasm and energy,” said to Assistant Superintendent Jeanne Crocker. Sirois said she is excited to take on the new role after working as a teaching strategist at Lyman Moore Middle School for several years.

Students from Reiche Elementary School studied computerized molecular modeling this spring under faculty from the UNE College of Pharmacy. Funded by the National Science Foundation, UNE students and faculty are using computerized molecular modeling to introduce Reiche Elementary School students to the fundamentals of chemistry. The instructors also discussed career pathways in STEM fields.


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