October 15, 2021
Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Partners,
We are approaching peak foliage season. Every year, it is an occasion to be grateful to live in New England and Maine in particular. So here is this week's pandemic data, along with snippets of good news and information and a plea to the adults in our school system. It will be emailed to staff, the school board, the press, and Robo-emailed to all families this afternoon.
Pandemic Update and Data
This Weeks' Data - As of today, in Waldo County, we have had 2,268 cases, 31 deaths, 65 hospitalizations, and a case rate of 571.4 per 10K. Here is the data in RSU 71 for the week ending Friday 10/15/21 at 9:00 am (since the last update on October 8, 2021):
Your Help is Needed - Everyone is exhausted by the coronavirus pandemic and eager for it to be over. One of the hallmarks of our RSU 71 community, and, indeed, of the state of Maine, and the United States of America, is that we are pluralist and proud of it. We welcome and respect all people, those like us -- in terms of political affiliation, faith tradition or agnosticism, race, ethnicity, country of origin, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and identity, marital and family status, handicapping condition -- and those who are not like us. In this, the students of RSU 71are leading the way forward in these times of polarization and politicization. Our students have friends in all camps and model respect and tolerance, even with those whose families espouse very different belief systems. I encourage all the adults in our community to take a tip from our fabulous students. Students are quite good at following school rules and COVID-19 prevention protocols with which they might disagree and naturally building bridges between opposing perspectives. Other ideas:
Would you mind talking with and listening to perspectives that are different from your own? Some of the people I'm closest to me are on the opposite side of the pandemic fence. I still love them fiercely and aim to preserve and honor our presence in one another's lives. One of my best friends -- for fifty years -- is a hospice nurse and ordained minister who believes that masks are unnecessary. One of our sons didn't intend to become vaccinated and is a MAGA fan. (He eventually did get one because he wanted to see my father, his beloved Grandpa, in the Soldiers' Home.)
When frustrated and angry, please don't cast aspersions or swear at staff or one another. Instead, our collective fatigue and exasperation should be expressed in respectful and kind ways, even when that is hard to do.
Would you please encourage our students to follow the safety protocols in place, including universal masking and quarantining when necessary?
Would you please share the sources of your information and views? I frequently hear from a father who permitted me to use his name. Chris Knight regularly takes the time to be in touch with me to express his views and the source of his information, and I share my own in turn. He believes that all my sources are all liberal. (They include the U.S. and Maine Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Maine Department of Education, The Republican Journal, Courier-Gazette, Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, the New York Times, the PBS Newshour, Maine Public Radio, NPR, Education Week, The Marshall Memo, Alumni Magazines, and my faith tradition and community.) It is good to see examples of the articles and influences that inform his perspective because it helps me understand them. I believe that keeping these channels of communication open is a healthy practice in general and especially in the current moment when we try to make our way through this dastardly pandemic.
Good News and Information
BCOPE: BCOPE students volunteered yesterday at Hope Orchards for the Waldo County nonprofit organization Veggies for All this past Tuesday, October 12th. The Veggies for All gleaning program, run by Allie Smith, harvests fruit and vegetables that would not be otherwise used and gets them to food pantries and soup kitchens in Waldo County. Many thanks to Julia Chapman, Jacob Roberts, Jakob Staples, Kass Hopkins, Mykaila Willard, Makayla Maglaras, Hailey Richards, Mike Gavin, Lincoln Holt, Zech Curtis, and Bre Falcon. These students spent the morning picking over 15 cases of apples that were then brought to food pantries in Northport and Morrill and the Belfast Soup Kitchen. According to a recent article in the Bangor Daily News, "nearly 14% of the overall population of Waldo County are expected to experience hunger and food insecurity this year." In keeping with their mission of community outreach and taking advantage of our new district van, this was a perfect way for BCOPE students to contribute to their community in a meaningful way.
From our Student Resource Officer Rick Smith
As you may be aware, one of my passions as a Police Officer has been assisting patrol with drug-impaired drivers. Because of the workload with my current assignment as a Detective/ School Resource Officer, I have been focused on School Safety. I have let others take over dealing with drug-impaired drivers so I can focus on our students. Over the last 3 1/2 years, I have heard from many students that they are either trying drugs or are feeling pressure from their peers to do drugs. I asked a simple question of these students; "If you were me, when should we be focussing on drug education?".
The answer was Middle School: 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. As a Drug Recognition Expert, I have had the opportunity to talk with many good people who made some choices early on in life and now are addicted. This past summer, I went to the NASRO (National Association Of School Resource Officers) Conference in Orlando. I sat through many good classes and listened to a lot of experts talk about many topics. I learned of a free program called "The Truth About Drugs." I left the conference hoping to assist in a pilot program at the Middle School. We plan to start soon! Please feel free to let your administrators or Mary Alice know if you have questions or concerns. Many thanks!
Ames Elementary School: Veterans of Foreign Wars come to Ames! See the news story on Fox (linked in blue) about a special event at Ames.
VFW partners with school to give back to community - WVII / Fox Bangor
Troy Howard Middle School:
We've had a great week focused on doing our best on NWEA assessments. This data will assist students and teachers in creating learning goals and plans for the year ahead. Great projects are happening around the building, including fun map-making our 6th graders are doing with Mr. Hicock. Preparations for student-led parent conferences have been a focus of advisory time. Students will be sharing personal strengths and identified needs to create some shared goals and seek helpful support.
We're very pleased to share that our first Civil Rights Team meeting of the year will happen Monday, Oct. 18th, in Ms. Lobo's classroom after school. All are welcome! An enthusiastic new crew of advisors is taking the reins and sharing the responsibilities. These include Miriam Lobo, David Wessels, Julia McDonald-Plumb, Lindsay Noyes, and Jenny Richardson-Rossbach. A brief video introduction to Civil Rights Teamwork was shared with students in Advisory, followed by a community circle to share thoughts and ideas. A sample discussion starter was, "What can we do as a school community to help everyone at THMS feel safe, welcomed, and respected?"
School Counselor Donna Kelly shares that she recently attended a workshop on Teen Intimate Partner Violence. A group of interested 8th-grade girls discusses identifying healthy and concerning behavior, including deal-breakers, and they're making a "Healthy Relationships" bulletin board. In addition, a 7th-grade social skills group is being formed that will focus on anxiety/stress reduction. And, in a 6th-grade social skills group, art is being used as a medium to learn mindfulness and emotion regulation.
Troy A Howard Shop- Get your Gear Here! Here's an opportunity to show your school pride with T-shirts, sweatshirts, and more!
Maintenance and Custodial Services
We have a few incidents of vandalism in K-12 restrooms. Please talk with your students about not joining the TikToc Challenge:
Destructive TikTok challenge causes Virginia school to shut down some bathrooms | FOX 5 DC
Special Services: A few weeks ago, a THMS student gave a very informative and enthusiastic talk to his class about honey bees vs. wasps, the life cycle of honeybees, pollination of flowers, and the importance of bees and other pollinators play in our food supply chain. Last Friday, October 8, community member Chuck Piper gave a live outdoor presentation on the same topic. He brought "tools of the trade" for a hands-on demonstration of beekeeping. The students were very interested to learn that there can only be one queen bee per hive and that drones (the only male bees in the hive) are dragged out of the hive at the end of summer because there is only enough honey in the hive to feed the worker bees and the queen through the winter. Students even got to sample fresh raw honey from local hives. Mmmmmm!
That's it for this week. As always, please feel free to be in touch with staff and me with questions, concerns, ideas, and good news.
With warm wishes for a safe, healthy, and happy weekend and week ahead,
Mary Alice
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