Asa C. Adams School Newsletter
March 2024
Dear Asa Families,
March sure has arrived like a lion. The messy and cold winds of March are here as we are all eager to see more sunshine and flowers blooming. Despite the not so pleasant weather here for the start of the month it does look to be a busy one to keep us out and about. During the month of March we have Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Registration, Orchestra Performances, Curriculum Night, a Show Choir Extravaganza to look forward to, and the beginning of the new trimester. The building has also been busy with the buzz of students preparing for the spring play next month.
It is our hope that March goes out like the proverbial lamb and our outdoor classrooms will be in full use in the final trimester of the school year. We owe a big Thank You to many Asa community members for their hard work to create our newest outdoor classroom. See additional information about the outdoor classrooms later in the newsletter.
Finally, as the third trimester is upon us we have lots of learning left to do, along with end of year and state assessments on the horizon. We hope that the final months of school and warmer weather on the horizon will bring all of us a bit of spring cheer. As always, remember we are here if you need us.
Sincerely,
Ms. Wyman and Ms. West
*Please enjoy a few photos from the past few weeks here at Asa.
Thursday March 14th, PreK & Kindergarten Registration Night 3:15pm to 6:15pm
Student Ambassadors at Asa!
We are the student ambassadors.
Our goal is to make every student
feel happy and included. Mrs. Erhardt is our advisor, and we meet every other week during lunch and recess. We have learned how to give a tour to new students and families, played some games so we can come together as a group, and are working on some projects like Say Something posters so kids might report things to adults when something isn’t right.
5th Grade ambassadors
Margaret, Stuart, Nora, Thomas, Molly, Ahmet, Shepard, Kiera, Jocelyn, Fatimah, Sofia, Chase, Kiernan, Kellen, & Maddy
4th Grade ambassadors
Joy, Nyx, Adeline, Anna, Iris, Audrey, Thomas, Sophia, Arabella, Katmai, Olive, Meredith, Annabel, Aela, Noella, Juno, Musqon, Evalyn, Katie, Vera, Arnie, & Molly
Hooray for Outdoor Classrooms!
Last spring our own Ms. Oldenburg along with parent Noah Charney started the hard work behind the scenes for a second outdoor classroom. From grant writing to adding in the stumps and tables, ensuring there was a blackboard for use, dealing with everything from conception to construction to usage. We give many thanks to Kim and Noah for spearheading this project with the grant. Additional thanks to Asa teachers Suzanne Neville, and Meg Dreher for their work with some of the logistics and woman power. Finally, endless thanks to all the community members and families that were out helping to make this project a reality from the layout to wood cutting, and beyond. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
One final tidbit, Kim also created the classroom at the top of the hill on her own. Constructing the benches at home and doing the backbreaking labor of getting them into position. Kim also secured outdoor gear that can be checked out by all. So, a HUGE thanks to Kim who is a silent but an extremely hard worker who is hands down Asa's biggest advocate for Outdoor Education!
*Thank you Suzanne for highlighting all of this great work that has taken place last year and in years previous.
Asaoffice@rsu26.org Email
We have a new office email account. If you need to reach out to the office staff here at Asa, please use the Asaoffice@rsu26.org email address. Using this email for general inquiries and to share general attendance information helps to keep both office assistants aware of important information.
Student Council
Important Dates
- March 13th Early Release Day (No PreK Sessions)
- March 14th PreK-Kindergarten Registration 3:15pm to 6:15pm
- March 15th No School Teacher In-Service
- March 21st Orchestra Performance at 6pm in the OPAC
- March 26th Curriculum Night at 6pm & PTO Fundraiser at Tacorita.
- March 29th Show Choir Extravaganza at 6pm
Signing Students In and Out
We have a new procedure for students arriving after the start of the school day and being dismissed before the end of the school day.
If your child is arriving after 8:35am, please accompany them to the office to sign them in and for your child to pick up an arrival slip for their classroom teacher.
Additionally, if your child is being dismissed before 2:45pm please come into the building to sign them out.
Asa C. Adams PTO Corner
Dear Asa Adams Families:
** Asa Family Dance -- We are so pleased with the number of folks that came out on Saturday March 2nd for our beach party at Asa -- the "Beach Ball"! The energy at the family dance was electric!
Moreover, with over 50 families in attendance... and multi-generational groups there (i.e., yes... we saw you, grandparents and other caregivers!), we really took heart in the idea that there is a thirst and desire for family-centered events in our community!
To host this type of event, it takes a village... and thus, we have many folks to thank for helping us to make this happen:
* Refreshments: Claudia Torres for contacting local business and organizing our snack menu;
* Games and non-dancing diversions: Chrissy Wilcox for making our magnetic fishing game and supplying the umbrella used in the photobooth;
* General help with dance set-up: Megan Dean, the Crisp-Torres family, Mickey Hogan, and Erik Poulsen;
* General help with dance take-down and clean-up (a formidable task!): Ash Cardurns, Samantha Lott Hale, Kristi Copeman, Suzanne Neville;
* Ticketing: Kristi Copeman;
*. Dance preparation (think hula hoops) in PE class for Asa students: Nate Case
* Popcorn-machine operation: Sophie Neville and her friend Lila for being expert poppers and dealing with throngs of hungry kiddos;
* Our fearless dance floaters, ready to assist at any location and at a moment's notice: Suzanne Neville and LeeLee Lamotte;
* Our MCs for the evening! Marissa and Zoe McLaughlin;
* School access: Maddy West;
* Photo booth (!!): Amy Pierce and Bjorn Grigholm provided an exemplary photo booth at NO COST to the PTO (who else is PSYCHED to see those photos?!);
* The sound engineers!! The Dixon Duo for bringing the beats!
Special thanks also to LaBree's Bakery for donating mini-cupcakes and the Bangor Walmart and BJs store for donating gift cards to help cover food costs!
Finally, a huge thanks to everyone that ATTENDED and DONATED to our dance cause! If you like these types of events, keep showing up and donate your time and enthusiasm to make these events possible!
We hope you enjoy a few photos that showcase the splendor of the evening:
PTO Fundraisers
** Fedco Seed Fundraiser -- order your garden seeds by March 13th! 50% of sales go to support your PTO and school!
With the recent warm weather, the prospect of spring plantings and summer harvests may not seem so far-flung into the future. We at Asa PTO are sponsoring a fundraiser that may spark interests (and hopefully generate revenue) relative to garden bounties! We are sponsoring a Fedco Seeds Fundraiser -- and inviting teachers, staff, students, and families to order seeds for their spring plantings... with 50% of each sale to benefit Asa Adams PTO! For each $4 seed packet that is purchased, Asa Adams PTO will receive $2. All proceeds will go toward garden-related programming at Asa!
Support a Maine business and support our school! Spread the word widely, if you can!
Shop online at: https://fedcoseeds.com/fundraisers/ASAADAMS-24
Thanks to another fantastic Maine business, Tacorita, we have a sterling (and very local) opportunity to raise funds for our school in March. Skip the cooking on the evening of March 26th, and let Tacorita do the meal prep and planning! Tacorita will donate 10% of all sales obtained between 4:00 - 8:00 pm. No need to mention the PTO, but this fundraiser applies to eat-in and online order (no doordash). Thanks for supporting an Orono business *and* your school community!
Stay tuned for updates about our upcoming events (i.e., memory books, fun run, teacher appreciation week, playground improvements) -- as ever, we are so incredibly thankful for your continued financial support and your donation of goods for and time during events, and are eager to find ways to increase community participation as we coordinate these events!
National Association of Elementary School Principals Report to Parents
March Menus
2023-2024 Calendars
Asa C. Adams School
Email: kwyman@rsu26.org
Location: 6 Goodridge Drive, Orono, ME, USA
Phone: (207)866-2151