Update: March 26, 2018

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Greely Center for the Arts Update

Construction has been progressing nicely on the Center for the Arts project. Steel framing has just about finished and the project is starting to be enclosed. You can now clearly see where seating will be. 

With this building project going on, we are lucky enough to be able to partner with Ledgewood and Stephen Blatt Architects to provide some educational opportunities for our students to learn about the process that is happening right on campus. 

 Ledgewood made their first visit yesterday afternoon in Mrs. King's kindergarten class. Scott Clark, "the construction man", who is also the project manager for our Center for the Arts building, visited Mrs. King's class to talk about building and show the students some tools and construction materials. Students then built their own versions of the Center for the Arts building. 

 As we progress in our Center of the Arts Seat & Brick Campaign, we have received over $6,000 in support of this project from our community members.  Thank you to all those who have already generously contributed to the efforts. If you would like to purchase a seat or brick, you can do so online or mail in your order form. Click here for both options and more information. 


Strategic Planning Update

The development for our 2018-2021 Strategic Plan is in full swing. The Strategic Planning Committee has reviewed piles upon piles of data gathered during our "collecting voices" phase. That information has been boiled down and is now with the District Leadership Team and the Board to further review and detail out. More information on the Strategic Plan is available on our website at www.msad51.org.

Fiscal Year 19 Budget

Last night at the Board Meeting, I presented the FY19 Superintendent's Budget. The presentation is linked HERE for those who would like to view it. The Board will be having a workshop on the proposed 2018-19 budget on April 2. 

School Safety Update

  • Our district has a good track record of accounting for every child. The district is supported by 6 social workers and 7 school counselors who (along with all of our teachers and administrators) are vigilant about any child who is a concern or worry. 
  • Each school and the district overall have emergency response plans. These plans outline what must occur in the event of a crisis. We have recently updated our plans and developed a district-wide plan in the event that the entire campus is impacted. 
  • We have a district safety committee, which oversees emergency planning, among other safety issues. This committee includes local emergency responders, such as the police and fire chiefs and other key personnel. 
  • Each school practices at least one lockdown drill annually at the beginning of the year to help students and staff prepare for a potential crisis. 
  • We have a School Resource Officer (sworn office of the Cumberland Police Department) on school grounds daily to help deter safety issues and provide a police presence. Additionally, we have a close working relationship with the Cumberland Police Department, which is less than one mile away from the campus.
  • We have a memorandum of understanding with the county that allows our school cameras to be accessed by county emergency personnel in the event of an emergency. 
  • We keep out school buildings locked during the school day and monitor access. 
  • We have installed silent alarms in strategic locations that directly tie to police dispatch. 
  • We have security cameras in most internal and external places on campus. 
  • We continue to provide numerous programs to bring awareness to students around safety, bullying, and other pertinent issues facing children today. Some of these programs include: Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Challenge Day, Civil Rights Teams, Boys to Men, and Hardy Girls/Healthy Women. 

    Youth Art Month

    Youth Art Month (YAM) is a national celebration of the visual arts and provides recognition for the important skills that are developed through visual art experiences such as problem solving, observation, communication, and creativity. 
    George Reynolds' Artwork and Kira with her artwork at PMA

    The Portland Museum of Art and the Maine Art Education Association (MAEA) have collaborated to bring National Youth Art Month to Maine. A month-long exhibition of artwork by K-12 students throughout the state runs from March 1 through March 31 on the Lower Ground Floor of the PMA. Admission to the exhibition is free for the public.

     We are excited to share that two of our Greely Students have a piece of their artwork displayed at the Portland Museum of Art throughout this month. Congratulations to Kira Shepard (Junior) and George Reynolds (2nd Grade).  


    Congratulations are in Order!

    National Merit Finalists: Congratulations to seniors Gregory Pershing and Peter Theodores who were named as National Merit Finalists. 

    PSAT Award: Junior Mia Rico scored in the top 2.5% on the PSAT/NMSQT among all Hispanic and Latino test-takers in our region. She has been invited to participate in the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP). 
    Winter Sports Wrap Up: It has been an incredible winter season as Greely took home 5 State Championships! Congratulations to all of our winter athletes for competing to the best of their abilities. Here's a quick wrap up of how the seasons finished up... 

    Unified Basketball - Finished up the season with a 7-2 record and was able to host their first home playoff game in five years
    Swimming & Diving - Competed in the Southwest Regional Meet - girls place 2nd overall and boys place 4th overall.
    Girls Indoor Track- Secured the 2018 State Championship
    Boys Indoor Track- Secured the 2018 State Championship
    Girls Ice Hockey - Secured the 2018 State Championship
    Boys Ice Hockey - State Champion Runner-Up
    Boys Basketball - Secured the 2018 State Championship
    Girls Basketball - Secured the 2018 State Championship

    The Board of Directors along with Representative Denno and Senator Breen will be recognizing our State Championship Teams at the April 23rd Board Meeting.
    Greely High School Students Compete in the Maine State Science Fair: 
    Madelaine Panici won a full tuition scholarship to UMO with a faculty mentorship for research, admission to the honors college, and a $500/year stipend. Madelaine also placed second in the category of Behavioral Sciences and won a special award from the Society for Science and the Public Award for Community Innovation.
    Anna Briley was awarded the full tuition package and research assistantship to UMO!  Additionally, she placed second in the category of Microbiology. Anna's project design which involved ultrasonic waves, Pseudomonas, and oil spill bioremediation.
    Ibrahim Saleh placed 3rd overall, qualifying him for the Intel ISEF competition this May.  He also placed first in the Environmental Science: Oceans and Climate Change category and won a special award from NOAA.
    Emmaline Raven geometrically optimized solar panels all the way to a first place win in the Energy category.
    Safa Saleh placed 3rd place win in the Biomedical Sciences category for her work with plant-based scaffolds.
    Ahmed Saleh won the ninth grader "Future Innovator" award for his work with 3D printed plastic mulch.



    Greely High School Musicians Win Gold: GHS Jazz Combo performed and earned a Gold award in our division at the State Jazz Festival. Divisions are like classes in athletics and are based on school size as well. Also in each division 5 students are awarded outstanding musicianship awards. Gregory Pershing (piano) and Edmund Paquin (drums) were recognized with these awards. Additionally, Gregory was awarded the Dale Huff Award that goes to the most outstanding musician in the division.

    The GHS big band performed and was one of just two schools in the state in our division to earn a Gold award. Again Gregory and Edmund earned two of the five outstanding musicianship awards and this time Edmund was awarded the Dale Huff most outstanding musician award.



    GHS Drama Presented Robin Hood: I was fortunate to attend the high school's production of Robin Hood on Friday evening. It was a great show! Based on the traditional stories, but with some modern twists, this script was written collaboratively by Liz Rollins and Greely Drama students.  Congrats on a job well done!

    2018 Scholastic Writing Awards: The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers celebrates the creative achievement of America's teens.  The awards were founded in 1923 to offer recognition and scholarship for students and their artistic talents.  Students who excel in the visual arts and creative writing participate in the awards to earn recognition, get their work exhibited or published, and to earn scholarship.  

    In 2018, Maine students sent 534 submissions to the Scholastic Writing Awards.  Of those submissions, 246 received recognition.  Among them were seven Greely High School students. 
    Ciel Antoine (Freshman) scored an Honorable Mention for her Short Story. 
    Ethan Brouder (Senior) earned a Gold Key for his Poetry, a Silver Key for his Short Story, and two Honorable Mentions for Poetry. 
    Camryn Copp (Sophomore) was recognized with a Silver Key for her Short. 
    Sam Jagolinzer (Senior) received two Honorable Mentions; one for his Critical Essay and one for his Flash Fiction.  
    Dale Jensen (Senior) earned a Silver Key for his Flash Fiction and an Honorable Mention for Poetry. 
    Jennifer Spencer was honored with a Silver Key for her Short Story.  
    Rachel Thurston (Senior) scored an Honorable Mention for her Short Story.

    Greely English teacher, Hannah Burroughs, Sam Jagolinzer, Ethan Brouder, Jennifer Spencer, Ciel Antoine, and Greely English teacher, Katie Dexter.