Friday, February 5, 2020
Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Members,
This week's update includes information about the pandemic and snippets of good news from every department and school.
COVID-19 - Waldo county is still GREEN, according to the state's color-coded risk assessment system. We have been open for in-person instruction since September 1st, with sixth and ninth-grade Transition Events and Open Houses beginning in the last week of August. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have had twelve cases of COVID-19 in individuals associated with RSU 71 schools: ten students and two staff members. School-by-school, we've had:
1 case at East & Nick.
1 case at CASS.
1 case at Ames & Weymouth.
3 cases at THMS.
5 cases at BAHS.
In our remote learning classes, there are currently: 77 students K-5; 51 students 6-8; and 51 students 9-12.
Keep vigilant and stay careful, everyone! As a district, we are doing a fantastic job preventing COVID-19 from totally disrupting our students' growth and education!
Many thanks to the Waldo County Y for their Food Drive, which collected nearly 2,000 lbs. and $1,725 to benefit Waldo County Technical Center, RSU 71, RSU 20, and RSU 3 School Food Pantries! Thanks, too, to the Good Shepard Food Bank, which donated $2,600 to RSU 71's Food Pantry funds to benefit all our RSU 71 schools!! We are lucky to have such strong community partners who recognize that our families' food insecurity has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact.
Good News in RSU 71 - Principals, Directors, and I have included information to share with you all (below).
Technology: The mid-year administration of the NWEA (Northwestern Evaluation Assessment) is in full swing. Kudos to the whole tech department, who provide support, guidance, and training as we continue working in pandemic mode.
School Finance: Each school and department worked hard to have their proposed budgets into the central office this fall, and we are in the process of meeting with all principals and directors to go over their submissions. On Friday, February 12th, the administrative team will have a four-hour meeting to look at what we have and make further adjustments. We will be working hard over February break to finalize a fiscally responsible draft budget to give to the school board by February 22. Every Monday in March, we'll have a budget workshop to go over each school and department budget, with a final review on April 5. All school board meetings and workshops are being conducted via ZOOM and are open to the public.
Curriculum: Teachers are working in grade level or content area teams to review and revise current curriculum standards in ELA, Visual and Theater Arts, and 6-12 Unified Arts, facilitated by our Assistant Superintendent and Curriculum Coordinator Laura Miller. The curriculum will be more closely aligned with the Maine Learning Standards and Common Core and will go to the board in June for approval.
Transportation Team: The RSU 71 Transportation Team continues its proud tradition of safe and reliable transportation for our students. Our transportation staff has also been instrumental in clearing driveways and sidewalks and assisting with custodial duties and bus mechanic work. We are very proud to shine both within our department and beyond. We count ourselves blessed to have a seasoned transportation educator, Gerry French, as our new Director. Gerry is well-known as a fabulous bus-driver and also for his leadership skills. Among other accomplishments, he was elected as an MEA and NEA officer at the local, state, and national levels.
Food Service: This school year, we have served over 73,000 free meals to students attending in-person and remotely. We will be providing 1500 meals during February vacation. The staff continues to be flexible and creative in response to requests from those whose dietary needs necessitate menu modification.
Facilities and Maintenance: We have a new Director of Facilities and Maintenance, John O'Neill, who has had a very successful career in the Navy, serving as a Senior Manager, overseeing operations in 200 ports, managing a fifteen-building complex, and supervising up to 218 people at a time. He is known for excellence in organization, team-building, leadership, out-of-the-box thinking, and fiscal management. He has also taught navigation at Fordham University and SUNY Maritime.
Special Education: Unified Basketball at BAHS will begin by the end of February. At THMS, Unified Fitness Kits were given as gifts from Special Olympics of Maine so that students in quarantine or remote learning can stay active. THMS also received some kits for our in-person students. In the larger district, we have a new testing system that will permit us to complete some assessments virtually if we need to move into Red/Remote mode.
Belfast Adult Education (BAE) - The levels of cooperation, caring, and achievement typical of BAE and the RSU 71 system have never been more evident. The success during this challenging time is largely due to the recruitment efforts of the program advisor, Marie Roberts, the expansion of remote learning options provided by Marie Roberts and Kim Widmer, and the efficiency of program assistant Patty Edgecomb, who keeps everyone on track. BAE has provided instruction to 43 BAHS students primarily in credit recovery, with a few taking full courses. Many of these 43 students have registered for multiple courses presented in both classroom and remote learning formats. BAHS Guidance staff have worked diligently to coordinate the placement of BAHS students in Learning Center programs. We've seen the adult education enrollments increase as well, enrolling 55 new adult learners since the start of the fall semester, with many registered for multiple courses. Of these 55 adults, 40 new adult learners are enrolled in the diploma program, with 15 enrolled in the high school equivalency testing program, a 500% increase over the previous school year. The addition of the software program, HiSET Academy, has provided increased support to those enrolled in the testing program, especially math. BAE has six adult learners who have at this time completed all requirements for a high school diploma, with more projected to do so by the end of the spring semester. BAHS staff, BAE staff, students, and learners have worked very well together to overcome the conditions imposed on all of us by the pandemic.
Captain Albert Stevens School: We all had a very successful remote school day on Tuesday! Most students were able to join, and learning continued to happen despite the snow. Students and staff all seemed to enjoy the opportunity to connect differently than usual and keep learning even though the Internet was getting them to school instead of school buses. CASS would like to invite everyone to celebrate NATIONAL DENTAL HEALTH MONTH this FEBRUARY. Each Friday is "SUGAR OUT" day. Brush your teeth and smile! Mrs. Nickerson's fourth-grade class has begun a student newspaper, The CASS Times: Made by the Students. Made for the Students.
Belfast Area High School: Administrators Matt Battani and Colden Golann took thirty students and five staff members free of cost (we used CRF money) to the Camden Snow Bowl last Thursday and took another group this week. Some skied, some snowboarded, some were beginners, and some were experts. It was a lot of fun and felt "normal." Masks, for once, added more comfort than they took away. Students were great sports from start to finish. Mr. Golann dusted off his ski instructor skills and guided numerous kids down their first-ever ski runs! Principal Lovejoy reports that 41 seniors have been accepted into a college or university for next year, and three seniors have been accepted into a branch of the US Military.
East Belfast and Kermit Nickerson Schools: Our attendance for our first remote snow day is at 99% for both schools! Four classrooms between the two schools had 100% of the students participating. Many students and staff commented on how nice it was to see classmates without their masks on. A parent wrote, "I need to tell you, I was skeptical (shocker there) of how this remote school day was going to go, but all of your teachers that we've got are doing a stellar job engaging the kids! I am so happy my skepticism was entirely misplaced and that the experience is going great. Watching my child work through math with his teacher is super, and watching my other child curl up and watch her teacher read to them all is really beautiful. My kid never sits still for that long for me! And Mr. Campbell is doing a fantastic job - watching a bunch of little kids jogging on Zoom is super cute. Great job, East Belfast and Nickerson!"
Ames and Weymouth Schools: The first remote snow day was a huge success with online attendance. Those who did not participate online due to power outages or connectivity issues completed their storm packs. Students and staff were very engaged. In other news, several classes at both schools will be finishing up with WinterKids activities this week, embracing circles, winter, and outdoor learning.
Troy Howard Middle School: THMS is continuing to rock with both in-person instruction and remote instruction. We were well prepared for our first remote snow day as our staff and students have all had a bit of practice at this point with remote learning. A math teacher shared a great example of the timely, relevant, and engaging activities. As a group, the students were asked to model the situation with the COVID virus and vaccine, research statistics, and plan and carry out calculations to make predictions about when things might be "back to normal." They then talked about the assumptions made and whether they were optimistic or pessimistic about creating some bounds for their projections. Finally, they brainstormed a list of what they were looking forward to when things were more normal. The teacher shared, "We ended with a better understanding of the stories we hear in the news about the virus, and a strong sense that there will be a return to normal. We also saw how mathematical models, assumptions, and predictions all tie together."
That's it for this week! This message will be Robo-sent to all families and posted on our district website and my blog. All are encouraged to share feedback, questions, and ideas with nurses, administrators, and me.
Kind regards,
- Mary Alice
