MSAD #51 Superintendent's Blog

PAC Construction Update The construction for the PAC has continued on schedule. Masons are on site and have completed the firesafe wall that connects the two buildings together.    The site work is ongoing, however the storm drains have been installed and substantial loads of dirt has been brought in to shore up the site. The foundation walls are almost finished and the digging has been completed for the elevator and orchestra pits. A safety concern was raised regarding the sidewalk on campus near the construction site. We have extended a temporary sidewalk to ensure student safety around the construction gates. Over the next few weeks, steel beams will arrive on site and the structure will start being framed. This will provide a visual of the size and scope of the building. L to R: Firesafe wall, rebar, dig out for the pit, foundation work Community Dialogue Event On the evening of November 9, 100 community members comprised of students, parents, citizen...

Performing Arts Center Construction Update Trenches are being dug for the foundation of the Performing Arts Center along with the laying of rebar to support the foundation. Concrete has started to be poured and should take approximately 6 weeks for completion. Truck loads of fill are being brought in to shore up the base where the building will be.  School Resource Officer Update We have been aware of several Facebook posts that were written regarding the SRO (School Resource Officer)  position.  Some parents and community members had posted that the district was eliminating the position. Please know this is not accurate. The district has no plans to eliminate the School Resource Officer position.  Parents & community members should always feel comfortable reaching out to school and district administration around topics that arise.  Falmouth Cumberland Chamber of Commerce Meeting On Thursday, October 12, Ashley Caswell, communi...

PAC Construction Update Yesterday we had the Official Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Performing Arts Center! It was a wonderful ceremony with nearly 200 MSAD #51 students in grades 1-12 performing and approximately 200 parents, staff and community members in attendance. This Performing Arts Center will truly be a community asset. Breaking Ground on the Greely Performing Arts Center Construction has continued on schedule. Safety fencing has been erected around the whole site, loam is being scraped up and the base pavement has been laid. AH Grover is diligently moving through all of the site work. Site work will continue into the winter months. Over the next two weeks, you should begin to see concrete being poured for the building's foundation. ACT Scores We received our ACT scores and again they are above-average for predicting our students' readiness for college-level coursework. 65% of our tested high school students are ready for the rigor of college courses (...

Groundbreaking Ceremony You're Invited! I'm excited to announce that the official groundbreaking for the Performing Arts Center is scheduled for Monday, October 2. Please join us as we celebrate this milestone. Out and About on Campus GMS 6-8 Principal Mar-E Trebilcock with students in the cafe This time of year I try to get around to all the schools to see the students and staff. I was able to make it to each of the schools food service program where I helped serve food to the students and some staff. I'm always amazed as I watch our food service employees manage to serve several hundred meals at each school in a timely fashion with a smile on their face as they greet each student who comes through the line.  Our food service employees really are the best! I was also able to visit Mrs. Fluet's 1st grade class as their VIP Guest. It's great to get into the classrooms, especially to meet some of our youngest learners. This visit was a Q & A ...

Welcome to the 2017-18 School Year! It was a busy summer at MSAD #51 as we completed a number of improvements to our facilities... At GHS we reconfigured several spaces to better accommodate our student population and programs. A few major changes include revamping the previous Industrial Arts workshop into a STEM space which has added a Robotics, Technology, Science and Woodworking classrooms to align with the district's STEM initiatives. Additionally we converted the cardio room into an alternative education space and reconfigured our life skills area to increase space for those students. Finally, we repaired the concrete walls and rebar in the mechanical room of the pool. Right to Left: new special education classroom, new technology classroom, new woodworking classroom  At GMS some tile work was completed in the bathrooms. At Mabel I. Wilson School there was a significant energy project which installed heat/AC pumps in classrooms as well as revamping the ventilation...

Curriculum Mapping Workshop In late June, MSAD #51 hosted, with sponsorship by the New England School Development Corp. (NESDEC), a regional curriculum mapping workshop that drew about 30 teachers from the area. Teachers spent the day understanding the importance of curriculum mapping and its impact on the classroom, while having time to work on developing maps with the technical assistance of Curriculum Director Sally Loughlin and Technology Specialist Dawna Green. Many thanks to NESDEC for granting the district $5,000 for this event. Thank You Thanks Stephen Blatt Architects for donating $1500 to Greely athletic advertising. Bond Rating Upgrade Standard & Poor's Global rating agency bumped up the district's bond rating from AA to AA+.  This is the second upgrade to our bond rating this year, with Moody's Investors also upgrading the district. Boys & Girls State               2017 delegates at Girls State and Boys State ...

Thank you I am grateful to the MSAD #51 community for its continued support of the district budget and the 2,000 students who benefit directly from this support. Schools are the backbone of our community and the community is the backbone of our schools. Neither can be successful without the other. Thank you to our community for funding a high quality educational system for its youngest citizens. Employee of the Year Last year, the district implemented a new employee recognition program where any MSAD #51 employee could nominate another MSAD #51 employee. In its second year, 49 nominations were received. A panel narrowed the field to 5 finalists before deciding on the 2017 Employee of the Year: Brendan Bernard: Special Education Ed Tech, MIW Jeff Brookes, Grade 5 Teacher, GMS 4-5 Yana Davis, Science Teacher, GMS 6-8 Bobbi Goodman, School Counselor, GMS 6-8 Barry Saunders, Music Teacher, GMS 4-8 The following was written by a student about the 2017 MSAD #51 Emp...