February 4, 2022
Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Partners,
This morning, I've reflected on a book read last year: Love is the Way: Holding onto Hope in Troubling Times by Michael Curry. Here's a quote about how practical and pragmatic the way of love is:
That's what love is about: where selfishness excludes, love makes room and includes. Where
selfishness puts down, love lifts up. Where selfishness enslaves, love sets free and liberates.
The way of love will show us the right thing to do every single time. It is moral and spiritual
grounding – and a place of rest – amid the chaos that is often part of life. It's how we stay decent
in indecent times. Loving is not always easy, but like with muscles, we get stronger both with
repetition and as the burden gets heavier. And it works (p. 27).
One of the bazillion things I love about the United States of America is our firm grounding in pragmatism, born in our country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of William James, John Dewey, and others. American pragmatism holds that meaning and truth are functions of an idea's practical outcome; principles need to bear fruit in lived experience (Philosophy Talks: American Pragmatism). As James wrote, "You must bring out of each word its practical cash-value, set it at work within the stream of your experience."
I like Michael Curry's book because he brings together insights born of many faith traditions with an American penchant for what works.
Pandemic Update
"Outbreak" Status - Please know that the Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reverted to its historical definition of "outbreak." For the first two school years of the pandemic, an "outbreak" was based on the number of positive coronavirus cases within schools during specific periods. In this our third pandemic school year, as of December 31, 2021, an outbreak in a public school is considered open whenever 15% of a school's population (students and staff combined) are out sick with any kind of illness. Schools have always been required to report to CDC whenever 15% of a school population is ill, and a CDC investigation opens on that first day. Schools must then report the outbreak status to their school communities. An outbreak is considered resolved when a school community has had 86% of its population present for 14 consecutive days. It is important to know that any illness counts, not just the coronavirus; an outbreak does not mean that all the people out sick have the coronavirus. For example, I spoke with one of our RSU 71 fathers, who was concerned to learn of an "outbreak" in his son's school and suggested that many parents might be panicked in getting this news. His son had been sick, and then his wife; neither tested positive for the coronavirus. Even if a school is in outbreak status, all its students and staff can come to school so long as they are not sick, have not tested positive, and have a universal masking policy in place. (It is in place in all eleven RSU 71 locations.) This morning, three schools have reached outbreak status: Ames, East Belfast, and Kermit Nickerson.
Update from MAAP (Maine Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics)
As of today, February 4, 2022, we will be following the new guidelines, which require that "all students with a known or suspected history of a COVID-19 infection" receive "clearance from a primary care provider" before returning to physical activity. After that, students are welcome to return to school but must have this form completed before participating in PE classes and sports. Here's a link to the new form:
Pediatric Clearance to Begin Return to Activity following COVID-19 Infection
This Week's Data - From Thursday afternoon 1/27/22 to Friday 2/4/22 at 9:00:
Good News and Information
RSU 71 Students Shine AGAIN at the Winter Regional Middle School Math Meet
On Thursday, February 3, 2022, twenty students from Troy Howard Middle School, Captain Albert Stevens School, Ames, and Nickerson competed in the second regional Math Meet held at the China Lake Conference Center. Three other school districts from Winslow, Warsaw, and Searsport participated.
Awards are given to the top-scoring students and top-scoring teams at each grade level. All RSU#71 teams went home with team ribbons, and seven students placed in the top 4 individuals on their grade-level teams.
6th Grade Team Blue: 1st Place
Miles Fleming (THMS - 6th) 2nd Place Individual
Silas Ociepka (THMS - 6th) 4th Place Individual
Avery Gobin - (THMS - 6th)
Alex Miller (THMS - 6th)
6th Grade Team Green: 3rd Place
Lucy Engstrom (THMS - 6th) 4th Place Individual
Doug Richards (THMS - 6th)
Ella Chase (Ames - 5th)
Reagan Mitchell (Ames - 5th)
7th Grade Team Red - 1st Place
Ibis Bird (THMS - 7th) 2nd Place Individual
Emma Tripp - (THMS - 7)
Brody Baliki (THMS - 7th)
Avery Adams (CASS - 5th)
7th Grade Team Purple - 4th Place
Glenn Bitely (CASS - 5th) 3rd Place Individual
Kaloyan Lozanov (CASS - 5th) 4th Place Individual
Pierson Dietz (CASS - 5th)
Braylon Stover (Nickerson - 5th)
8th Grade Team - 1st Place
Misaki Kranendonk (THMS - 8th) 1st Place Individual
Lydia Butler (THMS - 8th)
Nick Hicock (THMS - 8th)
Maxton Sinagra (CASS - 4th)
Math Team Coaches: Nicholas Hills (THMS), Tish Manning (ELP), and Jacquie Gage (ELP)
Congratulations to all our RSU#71 Mathletes for a job well done! Special thanks go to our parent volunteers who helped the organizers score: Jake Fleming, Susan Adams, Sarah Lozanov, Lisa Chase, and David Jicklin. There will be one more math meet this school year, and students are looking forward to another day of intellectual fun!
Ames - Staff Self-Care in ACTION at Ames
CASS - Enjoy the most recent CASS Times, written by students for students (and their parents, teachers, and community).
THMS
Our 8th graders are working hard to prepare for their Historical Fiction Fair! We have researched the decades in which our books are set. We have learned about informational text structures and features and created writing pieces to inform our readers. We are proud of our work and look forward to sharing it with our classmates. We hope to share pictures soon!
Our Civil Rights Team wants to share their informative Black History Month bulletin board!
THMS used our January teachers' meeting to do some mid-year reflection on progress toward schoolwide improvement plan goals. We did some thinking and sharing on what was going well, specifically our classrooms, our work in teams, and then schoolwide. We then looked at areas for growth in each of those same areas. Our school leadership team is working to categorize and synthesize this information. We'll prioritize some next steps and explore options and resources to help us move forward. We're feeling positive about re-envisioning our advisory time around building relationships, teamwork, and supporting students' social-emotional needs. Key to this has been our work with restorative practices and circles of connection.
BAHS
BAHS Brothers Caleb Hayes and Christian Hayes are profiled in the Bangor Daily News!
BDN Article on BAHS Brothers Racing Sled Dogs
Thanks to all our staff who helped dig us out of the blizzard last Sunday!
Special Services
Several special education staff could participate in SPIRE training this week. It is an Orton Gillingham-based reading intervention program. Teacher-led, it methodically walks students through phonemic awareness and phonics, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. The workshop was great for our staff to attend, adding another valuable intervention tool to our teachers' toolboxes.
Our BAHS Unified Basketball Team, coached by Sara Bryant and Tina Young, has its first basketball game this Saturday at Ellsworth High School, 24 Lejok St, with a 4:00 p.m. start. Ellsworth permits spectators to the games as long as they wear a facemask and follow their protocols. Support our Belfast Lions!
Our team's first home game will be against Mt. View at 3:30 p.m. on February 15. If you cannot attend in person to cheer on our team, you can view their game at:
https://www.mpaschedules.org/public/genie/1142/school/1525/date/2022-02-15/view/week/
You can access all BAHS sports on this link or just Unified basketball. You can subscribe to get changes if you wish.
That's it for this week. I'll include here a flyer from CAC (Connecting Across Cultures), an organization of many Mainers working to help the Afghan refugees who helped our country and are now at risk themselves. It is easy to take the daily blessings to which we are accustomed for granted. I hope some may wish to join my sister, husband, many other Mainers, and me to support Afghan families new to Maine as they seek to settle in and send help to relieve the loved ones left behind and now starving: CAC.
Please feel free to be in touch with our awesome RSU 71 staff and me with questions, suggestions, concerns, and feedback.
With love to all in RSU 71,
Mary Alice
Mary Alice McLean
Superintendent of Schools, RSU 71
(207) 338 - 1960
