Casco Bay, Deering, and Portland High Schools each held commencement ceremonies at Merrill Auditorium.

Portland High School held its 203rd graduation exercises on Wednesday, June 5 at Merrill Auditorium. In his address, Portland Superintendent Ryan Scallon noted that the 194 members of the Class of 2024 started their freshman year in the fall of 2020 “just as education in ​Maine and around the nation was massively disrupted by the pandemic. We give great credit to you, Class of 2024,” Scallon said, “for the tremendous resilience you have shown in overcoming obstacles, managing responsibilities, and persevering to reach this graduation milestone today.”

He lauded those who engaged in scientific research while still in high school, citing examples of a student working with the Maine Space Grant Consortium, programming software to predict tides, configuring resin 3D printers to be able to rapidly prototype different shapes of hydrofoils, and creating the electrical schematics for a hardware prototype of a RivGen generator; another student doing independent research with a University of Southern Maine biology professor on skin cells; and still another doing genetics research with geckos.

Other Bulldogs accomplishments include winning the boys’ cross country Class A state championship meet, the first time Portland has won the state title in 45 years; winning the Class A North football championship at Fitzpatrick Stadium; and helping the Deering/Portland cooperative RamDogs girls’ swimming team bring home the Class A state championship this year.

Scallon also said the Class of 2024 produced strong musicians, excellent leaders in the classroom, and incredible volunteers who logged hundreds of hours of community service.

Deering High School held its 150th graduation exercises for 174 graduates on June 6 at Merrill Auditorium. Superintendent Ryan Scallon spoke of the accomplishments of the Class of 2024. Deering graduates are headed to Yale, Smith, Boston College, Mount Holyoke, Emory, the University of Connecticut, and schools in the University of Maine system. Students have won more than $1 million in scholarships and grants to help them attend college. Nearly 50 graduates started college a semester early through SMCC’s Spring Ahead program.

Twelve students graduated with STEM diploma endorsements, recognizing their extensive work in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Eleven graduates earned a Seal of Biliteracy for having attained mastery of English and another world language. Three of these earned the seal for three languages.

Seniors helped the Deering Science Olympiad Team win third place overall in the state tournament this spring. They were instrumental in Deering’s Trivia Team claiming the Maine State Quiz Bowl Championship title in May. Seniors also were key in helping the Deering boys’ soccer team win the Class A South boys’ soccer championship game—the first time the Rams played in a regional final match since 1999. Senior involvement helped the Deering Players win the One-Act play competition at the Maine Drama Festival Class A regionals in March.

Casco Bay High School held its 16th graduation exercises for 86 members of the Class of 2024 on Thursday, June 6 at Merrill Auditorium, the final ceremony at which the school’s beloved founding principal, Derek Pierce, was presiding. Pierce is retiring at the end of this month after 19 years leading the school. Speakers choked back tears as they described his tenure, but there was also plenty of levity, and the overall mood was one of celebration for the 86 members of the Class of 2024.

Superintendent Ryan Scallon pointed out that every single member of the Class of 2024 was accepted to college. While some students are taking a gap year or working, many are headed to a variety of institutions of higher learning, including highly competitive colleges and universities all across the country and in Maine. The class also won nearly 2 million dollars in scholarships and grants to help them attend college.

This year, fifteen class members graduated with STEM diploma endorsements, recognizing their extensive work in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Fifteen seniors graduated with the Seal of Biliteracy for having attained mastery of English and at least one other world language.

Scallon said that the achievements of the Class of 2024 were instrumental in Casco recently being named one of Maine’s top 5 high schools by U.S. News & World Report—and also for Casco being selected as a model high school by Edutopia for their “Schools that Work” series.

Scallon also recognized Casco Assistant Principal Priya Natarajan, who will officially take on the principal role at the school next month. “She has pledged her commitment to celebrating and deepening the traditions that make Casco a special place to learn and teach,” Scallon said. “We’re confident that she is the right new leader to help your school continue to be the amazing place it is.”