MSAD #51 Superintendent's Blog

1. As our district continues to evolve as a support for students in the area of technology, I would like to share a morning of technology training at GHS before vacation that was led by our own teachers. Topics included interfacing instruction with photoshop, Pear Drive scanning, iMovie, Notability for the iPad, YouTube, Google Classroom and 3-D printing.  Many thanks to these teachers who led sessions for their colleagues:  Gregory Greenleaf, Jen Michaelis, Don Legere, Wes Franklin, Heather Perkinson, Jeff Masterson, Erin Pollock, Kelvin Hasch, and Susan Inman.  Our school-based technology teams continue to provide support to their colleagues in each of our four schools, and the model of interfacing our library/media centers with technology has taken root under the leadership of district technology director Dirk Van Curan. 2. Also on the topic of technology, parents and students at the annual incoming freshman orientation night were provided information about the distr...

1.  It was a pleasure visiting several 3rd grade classes recently to experience their " wax museum ". Students dressed up in costume to depict their chosen famous character from history, sports, politics, or another field and read or recited information pertaining to their character.  Students exhibited many facets of 21st Century learning while engaged in this exciting project: Communication Collaboration Creativity/ Innovation Critical Thinking Citizenship 2.  The Girls hockey team ended their regular season undefeated, taking in only 18 goals during the season's 17 games.  Great job to the Lady Rangers for their stellar performance. 3.   The state conducted a review of our  Local Entitlement  (federal special education funds) and determined that our accounting of these funds was among the best in the state.  Many thanks to Scott Poulin, Julie Olsen, Sue Walls, Christine Girard, and Jenn Stults for their outstanding m...

On January 4, the Board of Directors unanimously approved three substantial changes to the district's 2015-18 Strategic Plan that are listed below. As the Strategic Plan is a "living document," the Board has the discretion to amend the plan as needed. a.   Defer Pre Kindergarten planning until the 2016-17 year (Objective 1.2).   The reasoning behind this change is that an unanticipated space issue has occurred since last year when the Strategic Plan was being developed.  First, 20 more students are enrolled at MIW this year than last, which was unexpected.  Second, our space needs for a newly developed special education program changed and thus moved to the space that was being considered for PreK.  The only feasible option at this point would be to lease a portable classroom to be placed on the grounds of MIW. The facilities committee has discussed this and opted not to consider this option at this time, preferring to defer PreK plans until after the ...

Happy New Year! Be The Change In an effort to bring more students together in positive ways, we are partnering with RSU 5 to bring the "Challenge Day" project to GHS on January 12 and 13.  This project is part of the Be The Change  national movement meant to support positive change for high schoolers. This project will hopefully become an annual event for all sophomores that promotes the development of empathy and understanding between students around personal struggles.   This nationally recognized program and professional facilitators focuses on breaking down walls between students and has been an effective tool in combatting bullying.  Many thanks school coordinator Jayme Jones for her work on organizing these days.  Also thanks to Ashley Caswell for handling all of the external logistics with the Be The Change organization. Every Child Succeeds Act In late December, President Obama signed into law the long-awaited replacement for the No Child ...

Happy Holidays! Foundation 51 raised $10,791 at their annual Fall Fling, which is used to fund grant projects for classrooms throughout the district. The PTO "Parent Power Appeal" brought in $10,270 for a variety of events and field trips and their Box Tops for Education drive has raised $1,900 so far. Thank you to both of these organizations for their continued support of MSAD #51 schools! The GMS Color Guard has steadily increased its enrollment over the last couple of years, with over 50 participants now in the program.  Many thanks to all of the students and coach Carrie Begley for their terrific routines in supporting the Greely spirit.  Recently, the district was pleased to support this program with funding to purchase new jerseys and flags. Our athletic advertising account has accumulated $9,000 this fall, thanks to the many business partners who support our schools.  The athletic advisory board, led by chair Eliza Miller, has opted to use these funds to pu...

We recently implemented a new feature called "Links" in our district monthly edition, the Ranger Connection.   This month's feature is our Secondary Start Time committee, which is linked to Goal II (Every Child, Every Classroom, Every Day) Obj. 1.3 Adjusted Start Times.  This committee has continued their study of whether or not to adjust the start times for our schools next year.  The committee will be reviewing survey results that were completed by 1,300 students, staff, and parents this week to determine next steps.  The committee is currently proposing an 8:00 am start time for grades 6-12 and 8:45 am for grades K-5.  I have had the privilege lately of visiting classrooms of 1st year teachers to the district with our principals and have been impressed by the high quality of learning experiences offered by our new hires.  Sally Loughlin and myself also met with all 1st year teachers for our regular check-in meetings last week to help them better und...

December 2, 2015 Dear MSAD #51 Families, It's that time of year again:   SNOW . With snow comes the possibility of school cancelations and delays.  Below is information to assist you as we enter the winter months. 1.  Cancelations and delays are based on general road conditions in Cumberland and North Yarmouth and the ability to safely run buses, clear school access roads, and plow sidewalks.  Cancelations and delays may also be based on forecasted conditions. 2.  Whenever possible, school will be delayed by two (2) hours if it is safe to do so, as opposed to completely canceling the day.  Below is the start time schedule if there is a two hour delay: Grades 9-12:  9:30 am Grades 6-8:  9:33 am Grades K-5:  10:30 am 3.  For two hour delays, buses will arrive at bus stops two hours later than normal.  For example, if a student normally is at the bus stop at 7:45 am, then they should be at their bus stop by 9:45 ...