Friday, November 19, 2021
Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Partners,
Here's this week's summary of pandemic data and information, as well as good news and information from our schools and departments. Next week is Thanksgiving, and so we have just two days of school. So after today, the next weekly update will be sent on Friday, December 3.
COVID-19 Pandemic Data and Information
Special Request - As our collective patience with the coronavirus wears thin, the fabric holding our community together develops tears and holes. Parents, caregivers, and staff are asked to be sure not to take out their frustration on our fabulous school nurses; they did not invent the pandemic or its mitigation strategies. If, for example, a child needs to quarantine, it is natural to experience exasperation and even anger. Please do not "shoot the messenger" or take it out on our nurses. I appreciate any help you can provide. The truth is that we in RSU 71 are blessed with a generally very supportive cadre of parents, guardians, grandparents, caregivers, students, staff, and school board. Let's continue to be mindful about messaging while also feeling free to articulate our divergent perspectives in respectful ways. Please know that everyone in RSU 71 should always feel free to ask questions, express concerns, and share ideas and feedback with staff and me.
Data - Here's the data from this past week, Friday, November 12, at 9:00 am through today at 9:00 am.
Pooled Testing Update- A reminder that there will not be any pooled testing next week. From the Maine DOE and Concentric: "During the week of Thanksgiving, November 22-26, because the schedule cycle for test and follow-up will be interrupted, Pooled Testing will not be conducted or collected in any Maine schools. This means that the week following the break (November 29 - December 3), anyone who is unvaccinated and identified as a close contact from a school exposure who is also a current pooled testing participant would need to either be quarantined or be tested twice (on separate days) using an antigen test (BinaxNOW) so long as they remain asymptomatic and then resume the normal pooled testing schedule."
Troy Howard is hosting an RSU 71 Vaccine Clinic Today at School from 11:45 am - 3:30 pm.
For folks who could not get to THMS today, please know that there will be a pop-up clinic on Monday, November 22, from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm at Unity Barn Raisers, 32 School Street in Unity. We will have vaccines and boosters for all approved ages, that is to say, five and up. For more information, folks can contact Lawrence Reichard lawrence@mecap.org at 415-565-9867.
Positive Case? If your child tests positive, parents and caregivers should please call all the community programs their children attend, such as the Waldo Y. (The school system cannot share that information.)
Good News and Information
Belfast Area High School and BCOPE (Belfast Community Outreach Program in Education)
Help Needed - BAHS is looking for help with our Booster Club. We need people to write grants, run fundraisers, coordinate volunteers, staff our concession stand, bring ideas, and support our teams. Please get in touch with Mr. Battani if you would like to get involved. https://bahs.rsu71.org/athleticsactivities/athletics
Festival of Trees - The annual Festival of Trees to benefit Project Graduation Class of 2022 is coming right up!
Marine Studies - Here's an article about exciting learning activities in Marine Studies.
Troy Howard Middle School
Art Enrichment - Kathie Gass shares that: Art Enrichment will take a virtual field trip to the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland next Wednesday. They will be meeting with CMCA Staff to tour the exhibits live via zoom. And Doorways, an exhibition of miniature installations, is currently on display at the Belfast Free Library. Inspired by the "Tiny Doors" exhibit around the town of Belfast, THMS 8th graders created these multi-media sculptures of doorways to express ideas and stories important to each artist.
Doorways, an exhibit by 8th grade Art Enrichment
THMS Eighth Grader the Nutcracker! - THMS 8th graders will be visiting the Camden Opera House on Thursday, December 2nd, to watch our very own Emma Dietz perform the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker Ballet!
One-to-One Devices - Melinda Larrabee (Tech Integrator) has been helping our 7th and 8th graders with the exciting process of trading their old Chromebooks in for their new MLTI (Maine Learning Technology Initiative) 1-to-1 devices this week. Here are some basics of this new device to help enforce the expectations:
1. It is a touchscreen. Only FINGERS should be used on the screen; no pencils, pens, erasers, etc. Gentle touches, please.
2. The device can be removed from the case to use as a tablet, but I strongly encourage kids to use it as it is provided to them inside the case. The case unzips, and the device can be used inside the case. Devices do need to travel inside the provided case.
3. Any and all stickers must remain intact on the device; no peeling them off, no coloring on them, no stickering them, etc.
4. All previous rules apply: Computer Rules and Expectations Middle School
Captain Albert Stevens Elementary School
Innovation at CASS - From Principal Widmer: A group of CASS teachers signed on to do extra work with Tanglewood director Jessica Decke and STEM specialist Hannah Raymond over the past summer. The work is funded through a grant from the state to promote innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Our innovation focused on integrated learning, where the traditional school subjects overlap and intermesh. For example, the fifth grade combines their reading, writing, social studies, and science, using themes to tie together the subjects. Having seen this work in action several times in the fifth-grade classrooms, I've been impressed with the students' enthusiasm and the teachers' dedication to making it work; new approaches are never easy, especially during a pandemic! This evening this group of sixteen teachers and educators meets with the Tanglewood staff to celebrate the successes and begin to think about the next steps. Sharing part of my update as a Haiku. I'm calling the poem Endure:
Fierce waves of Covid
Crash upon our shore again
Full moon! Tide will ebb
Belfast Adult Education
The Learning Center has received the first of three Promethean smart boards for the classroom areas. These devices are the most recent addition to the program's technology and digital inventory and were selected to take existing program learning technologies to the next level. Access to and experience with such technological tools as these boards, digital drawing tablets, document cameras, and computers will assist our learners in their preparation for their future academic or workforce needs.
Special Services Department
Students at the Ames Elementary school in Ms. Howe's 2nd-grade classroom had an opportunity to work with Vicky Terpoorten, OTR/L, one of our district's fantastic occupational therapists. She worked with the entire 2nd classroom with the "Size Matters" handwriting programming the district has adopted.
Custodial/Maintenance Department - Beverly Kelley, The Custodian at Gladys Weymouth, leaves RSU 71 on November 30th after nine years of service to the staff and students. All will miss Bev!
Curriculum Development - Grade 3 teachers worked collaboratively to review the newest Social Studies standards and discuss learning in grade 3. The latest standards are rigorous as students understand, identify, and explain concepts around Civics and Government, Geography, History and Personal Finance, Economics, and Global Connections. These newest standards will go into effect during the Fall of 2022 upon Board approval.
If you are interested in reviewing any K-12 curriculum, you can find it on our district website. Curriculum and Instruction
With warm wishes for many moments of happiness, comfort, and joy this Thanksgiving,
Mary Alice
