Update: November 5, 2018

Greely Center for the Arts in Final Stretch of Construction

The Center for the Arts project is in its last leg of construction, with substantial completion expected by early December and a tentative opening planned for sometime in January.  The 510 seats have been installed in the auditorium (pictured above).  The last phase to be completed includes interior flooring, trim work, audio visual systems, cabinetry, woodwork, etc.

Unity Day

National Unity Day, which is meant to help bring awareness to the effects of bullying, was held in October at all four schools.  Various activities included a kindness assembly at MIW, police and fire department personnel greeting students at GMS 4-5, and the civil rights teams at GMS 6-8 and GHS planning awareness campaigns around the harmful impact of bullying.  The Congregational Church lit up its steeple the color of orange to help promote Unity Day in the schools and community.

Police & Fire personnel greet GMS 4-5 students on Unity Day

The MSAD #51 district office staff showed their support

Challenge Day 

For the fourth year in a row, Greely High School is hosting Challenge Day (November 5 & 6) for our sophomore class.

Challenge Day is a day-long, experiential social and emotional learning program and offers schools an opportunity to ignite a shift toward greater school connectedness, empathy, and inclusivity. The program goes beyond traditional anti-bullying efforts, building empathy and inspiring a school-wide movement of compassion and positive change. 

For the second year, MSAD #51 has been included in the Pine Tree Circle of Change program that Acadia Hospital runs. By being included in the Pine Tree Circle of Change, Acadia Hospital picks up all of the travel & lodging expenses of the two Challenge Day Leaders during their time at Greely. We are thankful to be included in this wonderful program for the second year in a row.

Additional thanks goes to GHS Principal Chris Hoffman and Assistant Principal Don Gray for coordinating the Challenge Day Program at GHS, and the 50 volunteers who spent the day supporting and interacting with our students during this day-long program.

Congratulations Go To...

Audrey with Chiefs Small (l) and Rumsey (r)

Audrey Hankinson for achieving the highest honor as a Girl Scout, the Gold Award, for her house numbering project. Audrey worked with public safety officials from the Fire & Police Departments to prepare house number signs so people could affix them to their home. These signs are clearly seen from the road and reduces the amount of time an emergency vehicle uses to search for a residence. Congratulations Audrey on this achievement and thanks for making such a difference in our community.


Congrats to our Commended Students in the 2019 National Merit Program:Nicolas Giandrea, Timothy Lester, Matthew Todd. Only 50,000 students out of 1.6 million are recognized as "commended" annually in the United States.


Dr. Denise Allen, Health Teacher at Greely High School, for being named the MAHPERD Teacher of the Year.


Isaac Barr (grade 5) and Eva Dews (grade 6) for being two of the 2018 Count ME In Poster Contest winners. Their artwork promoting the importance of school attendance will be reproduced as a poster and distributed throughout Maine.

GHS student Dani Tebbs was nominated for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen Award. She was chosen for her qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism.


The Boys cross country team for winning the state's bronze award for 3rd place in the state and the Girls cross country team for placing 6th in the state.
Rachel Smith, Maine state girls golf champion.


GHS Civil Rights Team Banner Project
The GHS Civil Rights Team, under the direction of social worker Peter Scott, collaborated with the Student Athletic Advisory Council on a banner that reads "Rangers Lead the Way with Respect for All" and have plans to implement a statement of respect to be read before all athletic events. There are two banners, one for the gym and the other for Hutchins Field. GHS student's Kaitlyn Guay's artwork adorns both banners. 

Students unveiled the new banner at a GHS assembly

Farewell, Mrs. Foster
Long-time community member, teacher, and school volunteer Hope Foster passed away recently. Mrs. Foster spent many years volunteering at MIW after a career of teaching in the MSAD 51 schools. She also was a long-time honorary "member" of the girls basketball team as its #1 fan. Our thoughts are with the Foster family during this time. We will miss you, Mrs. Foster.

Hope and Herb Foster with members of the Greely Girls Basketball Team

Institute Turns 150

The Greely Institute celebrated its 150th anniversary in October. Instead of cows grazing outside the building as they did in 1868, the year it opened, now there is a sprawling high school, MSAD #51 campus, and center of town. Currently, the Institute is being refurbished to remove rot, mildew, and water damage and restore its face to its original 1868 grandeur. Many thanks to Northeast Testing and Doten's Construction for work on this project. Also thanks to the Historical Society, Carolyn Small, and the late Hope Foster for providing input on the restoration plans.

The Institute as it looked c. 1868 when it first opened