October Monthly Update
Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Partners,
A Letter from the Superintendent
Dear RSU 71 Students, Families, Staff, School Board, and Community Partners,
Please join me in carving out moments to experience fall in midcoast Maine. It's the little things: the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot; the reds, oranges, and golds of trees against a blue sky; the juice of a honey crisp apple running down the chin. Life is challenging, and yet there are also accessible everyday joys.
My favorite joy is seeing the intensity of engagement in the eyes of our students as they talk with me about what they are learning. The administrative team conducts "Learning Walks" in each of the schools, a practice that our teachers will also be undertaking so that they, too, can snitch good ideas from talented colleagues as we work together to use those high-leverage instructional strategies that engage our students and motivate them to work hard, learn lots, and love it.
We are hard at work actualizing our district's Education Plan (see graphic below). Please enjoy photos of our K-8 professional development days last week, found HERE.
Printable version of RSU 71 Education Plan
I'm also sharing information about specific initiatives written by Dr. Laura Miller, our Assistant Superintendent, who is a bonafide blessing to RSU 71.
Please get in touch with our staff and me with questions, ideas, and feedback. We would like your thoughts about what we could do with the Robertson School. If you have some, please share them on the following survey:
I wish you a happy and safe Halloween and a joyous Thanksgiving.
With Thanksgiving,
Mary Alice McLean, Superintendent
of Schools
Good News, Reminders, Information
BELFAST AREA HIGH SCHOOL
TROY HOWARD MIDDLE SCHOOL
THMS THRIVE ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM
The THMS Thrive Environmental Team identifying trees this fall!
AMES ELEMENTARY
FIRE SAFETY DAY
| Our Fire Safety tradition continues! Firefighters from all three Tri-Towns visited the Ames school last week to teach students about fire safety. After completing and returning a fire safety activity with this year's theme of "Fire won't wait. Plan your escape!" one student from each Belmont, Morrill, and Searsmont won a ride to school in that town's fire truck! Each student was chosen by random drawing to be driven to school in a fire truck from their town. Click HERE to watch the video! |
The three firetrucks and firefighters stayed at school to talk about fire safety and give classes tours of the trucks and equipment. Thank you to Searsmont Chief James Ames, Belmont Chief Ron Harford, Morrill Chief Dean Rowlands and assistant chief Randy Markham! |
SECOND GRADERS EXPERIENCE COASTAL MAINE BOTANICAL GARDENS 
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| An incredible experience was had by Ames Second Grade at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens! Students participated in an investigation to find various pollinators and learned about seed dispersal. Each second grader had the opportunity to dissect a snapdragon and identify the parts of a flower. They even saw the youngest, "Guardian of the Seeds," named Lilja, during our exploration! Thank you to all who helped make this field trip happen! – Briana Brennick |
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CAPTAIN ALBERT STEVENS ELEMENTARY
MRS. FLANARY’S ARTIFACTS FROM THE 1800’S
4th graders at CASS are learning about the Oregon Trail. The picture below is of artifacts that Mrs. Flanary has collected that dates back to the 1800's! There are a variety of vintage household items that pioneers would have packed for the trip west. The display is in the CASS Library. Please come take a look!
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BUS SAFETY WEEK
CASS participated in Bus Safety Week and practiced how to evacuate from a bus if needed. We have the best drivers and appreciate all you do to keep our students safe! |
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GLADYS WEYMOUTH ELEMENTARY
OUTSIDE GYM CLASS!
Mr. Campbell’s gym class is always an exercise in creativity, as there is no gymnasium at Weymouth. Here Mrs. Linscott’s class has gym outside, taking advantage of the nice fall weather. | 
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SPECIAL EDUCATION NEW WEBSITE! STUDY BUDDIES |
Students in 8th grade who receive special education services are accessing “study buddies” in Ms. Russo’s room this year. These little guys promote socio-emotional learning by encouraging self-management, responsible decision-making, and self-awareness. They act as calming companions and encourage studying and learning. Students each choose their little “bud” before they start class, and they stay with them until they go to their next block. They are a hit! | 
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BASE AND BRIDGES PROGRAMS STUDYING AGRICULTURE |
| The day treatment BASE and Bridges programs have expanded their commitment to incorporating the study of agriculture into their curriculum. Special Education Teacher Ian Howard was the recipient of a CHS Foundation Scholarship to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Saratoga Springs. The program has raised chickens with cross curriculum activities in science, math, and literacy. Additionally, students are growing insects that will be used to feed our poultry as well as class animals including a bearded dragon and tree frogs. Students also work with program social worker, Annie Gray, LCSW, in the area of life skills and wellness. |
Ian Howard (CHS Foundation Scholar) (back row-fifth from the right) at the 2022 National Agriculture in Education Conference in Saratoga Springs, New York. |
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CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION CURRICULUM REVISIONS FOR SCIENCE, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
This year curriculum revisions will be completed in science, health and physical education. This work is connected to the RSU 71 Education Plan, Goal 3: High quality, effective curriculum and instruction. Science: This year K-12 teachers are reviewing and revising science standards and programming. Grade level/department teams will use the updated Maine Science Standards as they work to create rubrics to better clarify student learning expectations and create a year-long plan for science instruction and learning in their classroom. Work will begin in October, documents will be shared with the School Board in the spring for approval and the new standards will go into effect for the 23/24 school year.
Health: The K-12 Health curriculum will also be reviewed and revised. This work will begin in January of 2023. Teachers will create rubrics for standards at each grade level and create an instruction/learning plan for their classroom. The curriculum will go to the board in the spring with implementation planned for the fall of 2023.
Physical Education: K-12 P.E. teachers will review and revise district standards using the Maine DOE standards late this winter. P.E. teachers collaborated to create instruction/learning plans based on those standards. Teachers also create rubrics that showcase learning outcomes and expectations.
All of the curriculum work involves teachers diving deeply into the curriculum standards, building their capacity in the subject area and determining best instructional practices that support student engagement. Teacher collaboration is an integral part of this work. For more information on our district's curriculum, you can visit our webpage at https://curriculum.rsu71.org/
WELLNESS COMMITTEE WELLNESS GOALS
The first Wellness Committee meeting took place in September. Members include teachers, school counselors, nurses, FoodCorp representatives, Board Members and administrators. The committee will continue to focus on the same RSU 71 Wellness goals that were created for the 21/22 school year based on survey data collected from both staff and community members. Goals were identified for staff and students: a. Staff Goal: To support staff mental wellness and connectedness, schools will provide opportunities (a minimum of 30 minutes per week) for staff to self-select self-care activities that attend to their mental well-being. b. Student Goal: In an effort to support student wellness, schools will increase student outdoor physical activity/friendship time by scheduling 10+ additional minutes each day. This is a suggested practice. Schools will also promote good nutrition through complimentary breakfast and lunch meals available to all students every day. The committee recognizes both goals may be challenging to accomplish but we hope that each school team will work toward implementation....one small step at a time. In order to successfully implement these goals, staff needs to be purposeful in planning for them, embedding mental wellness time for themselves and their colleagues, and time outdoors for students. The goal should be to increase these opportunities for both students and staff throughout the school year.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERING WITH EL EDUCATION ON THE PATHWAY TO BECOMING IB SCHOOL
This year K-8 teachers of reading and writing will be participating in professional development from our partners at EL Education. EL Education is a dynamic instructional program using our current Maine standards, providing a framework that integrated science and social studies topics into reading and writing instruction. Teachers will spend the year learning about the program that includes instructional strategies to increase student engagement and student voice. Later in the spring, all teachers will teach module 1 of the program with full implementation scheduled for the 23/24 school year. The high school has begun the application process to become an IB (International Baccalaureate) school, filing an application to begin the process. IB schools are best defined by their rigorous academic and personal standards. At the high school level in addition to the Diploma Program, there is a Career Pathway, consonant with our district’s Education Plan, which envisions multiple pathways that lead to successful and fulfilling lives for students. This process will bring rigorous courses to students, professional development to teachers and incorporate the CAS system (creativity, activity and service). CAS enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience. We are excited about this process which will take up to three years to complete the process and receive final approval as an IB school. (currently, there are only 3 public IB schools in Maine.)
A few photos of our K-8 professional development days last week: |
PDF Version of this update is available here for download:
RSU 71 Monthly Update - October 2022
