Weekly Update - Friday, June 3, 2022

Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Partners,

End of 2021 - 2022 School Year

Next week is the last of the 2021 - 2022 school year. I've enjoyed getting to at least part of many of the end-of-year recognitions and celebrations of learning, most recently the Eighth Grade Salon, the WCTC Awards and Recognitions Night, Belfast Area High School's Recognition and Awards Night, and the Adult Education Commencement Exercises, which is always one of my favorites. I look forward to the high school graduation on Sunday and, next week, the Eighth-Grade Graduation Ceremony on Wednesday night. The last weekly update for this school year will be next week (unless there is a need to communicate before August). Every school in the district has planned special end-of-year events for students.

We also recognize this year's retirees with flowers, gift certificates, cards, and delicious chocolates from The Chocolate Drop in Belfast. We deeply appreciate our retirees' dedication and manifold contributions and hope that they will stay in touch with the RSU 71 Staff Family.

School Finance

The school board and staff have worked hard to create an FY '23 budget. The FY '23 (the fiscal year 2023) budget preserves the essential needs of students and staff in our schools and departments. We have sought to be mindful stewards of the resources of our five communities and stay aware of the impact of our proposed budget on town assessments. The budget may be viewed in detail on our district website: Proposed Budget for FY '23.

RSU 71 Budget Information

The overall budget increase from FY '22 to FY '23 is 3%.

The overall town/city assessment increase is 0.84%.

Individual assessment increases:

Belfast

Belmont

Morrill

Searsmont

Swanville

.046%

2.9%

.03%

2.27%

0.67%

The polls will be open on June 14 during the following time in the following places:

Polling locations outside of Belfast (Hours 8:00 am - 8:00 pm for all):

Belmont Community Building

Morrill Community Center

Searsmont Town Office

Swanville Town Office

Belfast residents can vote at the following locations from 7:00 am - 8:00 pm:
(link to website)

Wards One and Two

The Belfast Boathouse (New as of November 3, 2020), 34 Commercial, Belfast, ME 04915

Wards Three and Four
The Tarratine Tribe (New as of November 2, 2021), 153 Main Street, Belfast, ME 04915

Ward Five

United Methodist Church, 23 Mill Lane, Belfast, ME 04915

Pandemic Update

This Week's Data

	# New Positives / in isolation (day 0-5 not attending school)	Positives in days 6-10 (attending school)	# Community Quarantine
Ames	2	2	2
Weymouth	0	1	0
CASS	1	5	1
EB	0	1	1
Nickerson	0	0	0
THMS	3	2	1
BAHS/BCOPE/ AE/CO/ Bus Garage/ Building & Grounds	1	4	0

Good News, Reminders, Information

Ames Elementary

Mr. Campbell is very proud to report that All students at Ames School have now completed their 3-class unit in Darts!

Students learned how to identify the required dart equipment and name the different parts of the dart, such as tip, barrel, stem, and flight(feathers).

Students learned how to properly stand, and the best way to position their dart in their throwing hand. Without question, students gained the knowledge that pointing their throwing elbow at the wall will gain them consistency, good dart grouping, and lend to scoring points.

Learning a new sport can be challenging, fun, and rewarding. Throwing darts can be done throughout one's life and can help make new friends.

Lastly, I would like to say the grades 2-5 combined, there were 6 Outer Bullseyes, and 1 Inner Bullseye (5th grader Morgan Bonin), zero injuries, and an abundance of learning, safety, and FUN!

East Belfast Elementary

The students from Mrs.Rhonda Bishop Wood's 1/2 combination classroom made animal habitat videos. This process took three months of in-depth research and hard work, supported at home and school. Melinda Larrabee deserves praise for her extraordinary efforts to integrate her technological expertise to support this fantastic learning endeavor. In addition, she coordinated a joint partnership with a seventh-grade class at THMS. Their students served as writing buddies by responding to my student's writing and offering positive suggestions for improving their craft. What excitement this has generated! We hope that you will enjoy watching our videos and learn something interesting.

Below are a few screenshots of some of the videos - you can watch all the videos here:

Mrs. Rhonda Bishop Wood's First and Second Graders Videos.

Captain Albert Steven's Elementary

CASS fifth-graders visit Belfast Bay for World Ocean Day! Students were able to touch lobsters, starfish, and many other creatures from the bay.

BCOPE student Mia Fay shows a fourth grade class of CASS
scallop larvae caught in the bay during the district's
World Ocean Day event on May 25. Photo by Kendra Caruso

Read full article: Article on CASS Adventure.

Captain Albert Stevens Elementary Journalism Club Visits State House, Learns Their Beloved Teacher is Being Honored

Check out this terrific article written by the student editor of the CASS Times Eliot Fowler, Assistant Principal Reynolds, and the DOE!

Excitement was certainly in the air on May 12th as people filled the Hall of Flags in the Maine State Capitol Building for an announcement to be made by the Maine Department of Education. Among the guests were several 4th and 5th graders from the Captain Albert Stevens Elementary School (CASS) in Belfast, part of RSU 71.

Read full article:

CASS Elementary Journalism Club Visits State House

Troy Howard Middle School

Pathways Students Go to AllPlay

On June 1st our Pathways students went to AllPlay in Belfast. The students raised the money for the trip by running our school store. They had to assist in ordering merchandise, advertising, pricing, making sales, and more. Additionally, they got to practice their social skills, develop a work ethic, and use a lot of Math. At AllPlay, they bowled, ate pizza, and played arcade games. The staff there went out of their way to comment on how respectful our students were. I am super proud of all that these kids have accomplished this year and felt the need to share this with each of you. If you get the chance, please congratulate these students on a job well done.
Teacher Heidi Paul

8th Grade Baseball Team to Go To Divisional Championship

This game sure brought a lot of smiles to these faces! I can't say enough about how wonderful the coaches were this season! It was wonderful to see the boys talked/coached on the field and encouraged every game - winning or losing. Parent support was great, with one parent purchasing hats for both the 7-8th grade teams, sharing pictures, and cheering on each other's children. On to Divisional Championship Saturday. Fingers crossed!

THMS Newsletter

May 31 - June 3

Belfast Area High School

Grace Hall Receives MEA's Clyde Russell Scholarship

On Saturday, May 20th at the Maine Education Association's Annual Representative Assembly and Banquet at the Sheraton Hotel in South Portland, BAHS Senior Grace Hall was awarded a scholarship from the MEA's Clyde Russell Scholarship Fund. Grace was one of only two recipients from the whole state to receive this scholarship to attend a four-year college or university. Grace was presented with her scholarship from MEA Treasurer and RSU 71 educator Beth French. Congratulations Grace!