Friday, December 17, 2021
Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Partners,
Yuletide is upon us, and evidence of the holiday spirit abounds in RSU 71. We hear Christmas music and singing, see staff dressed as elves and students in festive attire, feel the glow born of bounteous good-deed-doing, and taste seasonal treats such as gingerbread and fruitcake.
Still, the challenges continue. This morning, for example, we sent Robo messages to all families to convey our awareness of a national Tik-Tok challenge for students to bring guns to school today. While no direct threat has been made to our state, county, district, or schools, we have nevertheless increased the presence of law enforcement for our schools and put other safety measures in place.
This weekly update will be the last in 2021, with the next one scheduled for Friday, January 7, 2022. Next week we have two and a half days of school, with early dismissal for students and staff on Wednesday, December 22 at 11:30 for grades 6 - 8 and 12:30 in grades K-5. There will be no pooled testing next week.
Pandemic Update
Data for this week
*will be fully vaxxed as of Christmas Eve!
Good News, Information, and Opportunities
Teacher of the Year at Ames
This morning, Ames Elementary School Teacher Briana Brennick was recognized as the 2021 Teacher of the Year by the State of Maine Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mrs. Brennick was surprised with a presentation by VFW Veteran Jim Roberts in front of her students and her husband.
Game Loft/I Know ME
Game Loft/I Know ME is a fabulous community organization working on behalf of the young people of Waldo County. We are proud of and grateful for its partnership with RSU 71. Please consider becoming an AmeriCorps member working with the good folks at Game Loft. More information may be found in this link: AmeriCorps and Game Loft.
Substitute Teachers Needed
RSU 71 invites you to complete an application to be a substitute teacher or support staff in our district. The Substitute Application is linked here and can also be found on our website under the employment tab. The Substitute Handbook linked here outlines the expectations and responsibilities and much more. Compensation for a classroom teacher substitute (needing at least two years of college) is $130 a day, and for ed-tech substitutes (requiring at least a high school diploma), it is $112 a day. We are also in need of people who are interested in substituting for nurses, administrative assistants/secretaries ($128), bus drivers (base pay), custodians (base pay), and food service (base pay). We encourage students that are home on winter break to apply as well. Working in our schools is interesting, engaging, and gratifying. If you have questions about being a substitute, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Superintendent’s Office at 338-1960.
Ad Hoc Committees - Community members may be interested in serving on an ad hoc committee of the RSU 71 School Board: Transportation, Athletics, and K-5.
The Transportation Ad Hoc Committee will focus on the possibility of re-locating the bus garage.
The Athletic Ad Hoc Committee will create a plan to develop our athletic fields in RSU 71.
The K-5 Ad Hoc Committee will investigate the needs of our K-5 students across the district and create a plan moving forward (possible re-organization/consolidation of schools).
If you have expert knowledge and an interest in serving on any of these ad hoc committees, please get in touch with the Superintendent’s Office at 338-1960. The first meeting for all the ad hoc committees will be on Wednesday, January 5th, at 5:00 in the BAHS band room.
Ames Elementary School - It Takes a Community!
It’s always difficult to receive the phone call that a class needs to quarantine. Adjustments must be made for childcare, instructional platforms change, and work schedules are altered. The entire learning community is impacted, and it can feel overwhelming!
With this reality in mind, Ames Elementary School was fortunate recently to partner with Dunkin’ GO!, located at 22 Belmont Ave in Belfast. The newly opened site provided gift cards in notes of appreciation for families, celebrating the grit and positive attitude necessary to engage in remote learning. Staff members saw this as an opportunity to provide a moment of rest for hard-working and supportive families in hopes that they could enjoy a freshly brewed cup of coffee or a delicious pastry.
Many families responded with incredibly positive comments:
Thank you for the DD card; that is very kind of you to do!
Thank you for the sweet card… I’m always in awe of the patience you and the other teachers have when doing virtual learning. You guys are wonder women!
Thank you for the sweet card and gift card.
Thank you for the gift card and the kind words! It means a lot.
Although we all understand how trying these times can be for everyone, by taking a moment to stop, reflect, and refresh, we realize how fortunate we are to live in a small country community, where folks work together to navigate even the most challenging times successfully. Thank you! - S. Nelson, M.Ed., SELI, Gr. 4, Ames Elementary School
Troy Howard Middle School
Grade 7 Math - Mrs. Duff shares that Grade 7 Math has been working on problem-solving, converting fractions to decimals, and mean, median, and mode."Wreck My Mathematical Brain" involves students solving real-world problems with math. It also challenged their G.R.I.T: G — Goal Clarity. · R — Reasoning· I — Innovativeness. · T — Toughness, Tenacity, and Tirelessness. Students worked in teams with one partner and were given cards with real-world problems. They solved the problem using Math Targets, Math Concepts, and Manipulatives. They can also use a “LIFELINE” from the teacher. If they picked a black card, they must select an additional card to solve or give both cards to a competing team.
The TEAM that finished first won a mini calculator and had a blast! Who knew that math could be so much fun!?!
Pathways - Our Pathways program is having a busy holiday season! Pathways received over 200 presents for students to give to their families. Once Pathways has finished 'shopping,' the TLC program will do the same. A huge thank you to everyone that donated. They also welcomed back Derrick Bates, who has been in training with the Armed Forces at Fort Jackson and Fort Lee; he is happy to be back in time to spend the holidays with friends and family. Thank you for your service, Derrick.
Holiday Spirit - Annual Door Decorating and Toys for Tots Drive are underway as well as Festive Apparel Fridays. These events allow staff and students to have fun and celebrate the holiday season by focusing on relationship building, helping others, and teamwork.
Service Learning - Students in Miss Joy's 8th-grade advisory worked to create small handcrafted ornaments throughout November and December. They sold them to their fellow students and teachers to raise money to help a family in need at Christmas. The money they raised (approximately $280) was used to purchase Christmas presents for two local boys through the WaldoCAP Neighbor to Neighbor Holiday Gift Program. The students are thrilled to make the Christmas holiday a bit brighter for two kids in need this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Our Gardens - Mr. Wessels shares that 7th-grade math students are germination testing seeds they saved from the garden. We prepare to pack seeds for sale and work with random sampling, fractions, and percentages to calculate germination rates.
Maintenance - Congratulations & Welcome to Larry Weaver, who joins the Glady Weymouth School as the custodian.
Special Services - The Special Education Department has been working hard on the desk audit for the Department of Special Education for Maine. We are proud to report our B-13 screeners met with 100% compliance. Thank you to all special education staff who work hard every day to ensure our state-required paperwork is completed accurately and on time. Bravo!
Curriculum and Assessment - K-5 grade-level teams have met to review and revise social studies standards throughout the fall. Teachers identified themes and discussed teaching strategies. Middle School and High School social studies teachers will meet next month to follow a similar process. The draft curriculum will go to the Board of Directors in the spring for approval.
Professional Development - K-8 math teachers continue to meet monthly with math facilitation specialists to build their capacity about grade-level standards and best practices to support student learning. The professional development is interactive as teachers explore how students learn and process information. Teachers are working hard to employ instruction that actively engages their students.
With warm wishes that the fruits of the spirit will be with you and yours this holiday season,
Mary Alice
Mary Alice McLeanSuperintendent of Schools, RSU 71(207) 338 - 1960
Friday, December 17, 2021
RSU71 Weekly Update - Friday December 17, 2021
