Welcome to King

The staff of King Middle School wishes you all success and happiness. You have raised the bar here at King.

Hundreds of students, parents and community members attended the second annual Bridge Music Festival -- a collaboration among Portland music students, professional performers and industry professionals. Congratulations to all who participated!

Students and teachers at King have celebrated their accomplishments with culminating events in every house over the past weeks.

Visit On Expedition to learn about each of our expeditions this spring. See the calendar for dates, times and locations.

King students and teachers showcased their work from the school year for members of the community. Student guides were on hand to give explanations about their work and other aspects of school life at King.

King holds Expeditionary Learning Schools Site Seminar: A Middle School for All May 7
In it's 11th year, this event draws a national audience of educators interested in school change

Educators from around the country will be joining King faculty, students and community members for our annual Site Seminar held on May 14 and 15. These two active days will be focused on Expeditionary Learning as a school-wide design to help all students achieve at high levels. Participants will attend seminars conducted by King staff, as well as observe classes and interact with teachers, teacher teams, administrators, and students.

The seminar coincides with King's Celebration of Learning -- a free community event held annually at the Portland Expo that features the great work of King students and staff.

The site seminar will be preceded by an education Leadership Summit on May 13.

Mike McCarthy featured speaker at Institute for Civic Leadership breakfast April 26

King principal Mike McCarthy was the featured speaker for the ICL's Leadership in Action Breakfast Series. His presentation, Values-Driven Change: Everything I Learned About Leadership, I learned in Prison, focused on the strategies and values that transformed King Middle School from a bottom to top performing school in Maine over Mr. McCarthy's tenure. Click here for more information about the ICL.

With the March assessments out of the way and the weather warming, our students have kicked off eight learning expeditions in each grade and ELL. To get an overview of what's happening around the building -- and in the field -- visit On Expedition.

School Committee unanimously approves new budget; City Council schedules public comments on budget for April 16 April 9
The proposed 2010 budget reduces local tax burden

The Portland School Committee has unanimously approved a fiscal year 2010 budget that reduces reliance on local property tax revenue by nearly $1 million while maintaining programs, supporting strategic planning, updating a portion of the bus fleet and making modest improvements in technology.

The Portland City Council will receive the $91.4 million budget on April 6. A public hearing will be held on April 16 at 5 p.m. in the Deering High School cafeteria. The council is scheduled to vote on the school budget on May 4, and a public referendum will take place on May 12. Learn more

King teacher, Gus Goodwin, receives Excellence in Teaching Technology award April 3

The Foundation for Technology Education in cooperation with Pitsco / Hearlihy & Company presented a $2,000 grant to Mr. Goodwin at the International Technology Education Association conference in Louisville, KY in March. The grant recognizes the integration of a quality technology education program within the school curriculum.

KingTV features student-produced media and expedition documentaries dating back to 2000.

Expeditionary Learning Schools' new promotional and informational video features King, among several EL schools. President Obama also appears in the video, describing EL schools as models for education reform.

The King expedition featured in the video is Riverworks. Both the EL video and King's own documentary of Riverworks are available on KingTV.

Student led conferences scheduled for end of the month March 17
Appointments for conferences scheduled through students' homeroom teachers

Student led conferences are scheduled for March 25 - 27th. The school schedule for the week of March 23rd is as follows:

PTO meets Tuesday evening to plan for auction, talent show, and celebration of learning March 16

Claudette Colvin, unsung hero of the civil rights era, spends time with King students March 12

Claudette Colvin was the first African American to refuse to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama city bus. Her act of courage set the stage for Rosa Parks and the organized civil rights effort that would desegregate public transportation throughout the Jim Crow South. Ms. Colvin and Phillip Hoose, author of the new biography, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, recently visited King Middle School to talk with students about Claudette's acts of courage. Continued on the Library page

It's testing time for King students, and students throughout Maine March 9
MEAs continue through first half of March

MEAs for eighth graders wrapped up last friday, but are just beginning for lower grades. SIxth graders will be testing on Monday through Wednesday; seventh graders begin testing on Thursday and finish next Tuesday. All make-up testing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18.

Please help our students do their best work by insuring that your child is well rested and has had a nutritious breakfast on testing days.

Hundreds of family members celebrate King's rich community at the first International Potluck Dinner Feb 27

We wish to express our appreciation to the PTO, the performers, and all of the members of the community who participated in last night's dinner and community gathering. Now we all know why it's great to be a kid at King!

King receives grant from the Perloff Family Foundation supporting student media production Feb 4
The grant includes 6 Flip cameras for producing web video

As part of their effort to promote the use of video for learning in Maine, the Perloff Family Foundation has awarded King with 6 Flip cameras and supporting hardware. Flips are among a new generation of simple, high-quality video cameras that eliminate the need for tape and wires. The foundation has contributed to King in the past, providing technical support for KingTV, as well as a still/video camera.

Students are already producing work with Flips. Windsor 7 recently featured video from their Flip, purchased prior to the grant, at their culminating event. To keep up with video being produced at the school, visit the house blogs. Video from the fall and winter expeditions will be appearing on KingTV soon.

Windsor in Motion hosts community and industry Green Expo an 21

The Jan 22nd event included local vendors and a keynote by L.L. Bean public affairs manager Carolyn Beem

The students and teachers of Windsor 8 hosted a Green Expo at the school, complete with industry experts, local green vendors and businesses, and a keynote from Carolyn Beem of L.L. Bean on the company's commitment to green building and sustainability.

The students displayed their working wind turbine models, as well as site evaluation proposals for placing these turbines within communities in Portland. Following the expo, student teams went up against one another in Voltage Wars: a competition designed to identify the most efficient turbine designs.

PTO fundraiser tops $2400, bringing total fall 08 grants and awards to over $15,000 Jan 16

King's combined total for grants, awards and PTO fundraising this fall exceeded $15,000. The largest grant, $9000 from the Cole Foundation, was used to fund the 7th grade camping program. Several teachers also received Donors Choose awards. One project, for example, Memorializing King: Civil Rights in Clay, received over two hundred dollars worth of art supplies for an upcoming eighth grade unit. Reading teacher Catherine Anderson and her students will study civil rights leaders through their writings and accomplishments, and create memorials based upon their work.

King students participate in statewide mock election Oct 30

King students elect Tom Allen for Senate, Chellie Pingree for the House, and Barack Obama for President by an overwhelming margin. See the complete results.

Free home internet access available to 7th and 8th graders Oct 29

Free dial-up home internet access and discounted broad band services area available again this year to all 7th and 8th grade students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch.

This service is being provided through a cooperative agreement between Great Works Internet and the Maine Learning Technology Foundation, a privately funded non-profit under the direction of Angus King, set up to support ancillary services associated with MLTI.

Complete information about the program is available here.

Bill Nemitz returns to King to talk about freedom of expression Oct 21

Bill Nemitz, columnists for the Portland Press Herald, speaks with York 8 students about freedom of speech for the Four Freedoms expedition.

Listen to a podcast of his talk.

And They're Off!
King students are on expedition Oct 2

With beginning of the year business out of the way, expeditions are getting underway in every house. To get an overview of what's happening around the building, visit On Expedition.

Former governor Angus King shares his energy plan with Windsor 8 Sept 29

Governor King presented his recent work on harvesting wind power in the Gulf of Maine to the students of Windsor 8 for their expedition Windsor in Motion. Mr. King provided an overview of Maine's energy challenges and invited students to become collaborators in designing floating wind turbines that could meet the state's energy needs ten times over.

Maine artist Robert Shetterly discusses art and activism at King Sept 25

Artist and author Robert Shetterly speaks before students of Windsor 6 and York 8 for their respective expeditions Lead On and Four Freedoms. Mr. Shetterly described his inspiration for creating the fifty portraits that make up the Americans Who Tell the Truth series. His book by the same name includes all of the portraits. A full exhibit of his work is currently showing at USM in Lewiston.

Family involvement is key to King's success Sept 18
Record turnout at Open House

King had a record turnout for our September Open House, which is great news for our students.

Among the most important factors determining academic success is parent involvement. Studies indicate that nearly three-quarters of all high performing students receive encouragement and modeling from parents. In contrast, nearly half of all low performing students report little or no parent involvement in their academic lives.

There are lots of ways to be involved in your child's education at King:

Sign up for our Volunteer list.
Attend your child's sports and extra-curricular activities.
Join the King PTO.
Keep up with school events and assignments on the web via daily announcements, our calendar, homework links (upper right), house pages (top), and PowerSchool.
Contact your child's teachers rights away if you have concerns.
Take part in your child's student-led conferences.

Beginning of the year information

Please Update Your Contact Information:
If you are a returning King family with new contact information, please send an email with changes to Laura Mannette at ma nnel@portlandschools.org, or call 874-8140.
King Calendar Reports on Schoolwide Events; Daily Announcements Reports on News of the Day
Always available in the right column on this homepage. For house-specific info, click on the house links above.
If Your Child Will be Absent:
Please send an email to Caroline Dhams, dahmsc@portlandschools.org, or call 874-8140.
Early Release Starts in October
As was the case last year, students will be dismissed at 1:25 on Wednesdays, beginning on the first Wednesday in October.
Drop Off and Pick Up Safely
The school traffic circle is for buses only during drop off and pick up times. Be sure to observe the 15 MPH speed limit to avoid tickets in excess of $300.
Fall Sports Schedules Available
Download sports schedules and find directions to games, as well as a list of student clubs and activities, in Student Life.

About our Enrollment:

Total Enrollment	500 students
6th Grade Enrollment	170 students
Total Out of District	90 students
6th Grade Out of District	30 students

This year, King received many more out of district enrollment requests than could be granted. Out of district enrollment is limited by optimal class sizes.

Hundreds of students, parents and community members attended the first annual Bridge Music Festival -- a collaboration among King and Lyman Moore music departments, teachers, students, professional performers and industry professionals. Congratulations to all who participated!

More than 75 educators from 14 states were welcomed by students and staff this week for King's 11th National Site Seminar. The seminar was sponsored by Expeditionary Learning Schools and gave educators from around the country a chance to find out what makes King a great place to learn and work.

Windsor 8 expedition, Truth or Consequences, turns the spotlight back on the media Oct 22

In a panel discussion with principal Mike McCarthy, and Portland Press columnist Bill Nemitz, students in Windsor 8 were given the chance to ask questions about changes at the health clinic, and how the media reports, and sometimes distorts, the truth.

The conversation became the source of Mr. Nemitz column in the Saturday edition of the Press Herald. Read the whole story here.

Letter to King families from principal Mike McCarthy explains new Health Clinic policy at school Oct 19

As most families at King are aware, recent changes at the King Health Center, changes that provide equal services to students who rely on the clinic as their primary care facility, have become the focus of local and national media.