Welcome to the 2024-25 school year at Bruce M. Whittier Middle School. I hope you are having a fantastic summer. The halls of the middle school are very quiet right now, but they will soon be filled with students and staff ready for the school year.

Middle school is about new learning, relationships, and opportunities. Students learn about themselves through new challenges and experiences. It is always exciting and amazing to see the academic, physical, and social development of our students during their time here.

In a few short weeks, it all begins. Let’s make the 2024-25 school year the best year yet!

See you soon,

Shawn Vincent
Principal

• Thursday, August 15: Parent and Athlete Meeting (more information below) 5:30pm
• Monday, August 26: Open House! Drop in anytime between 6:00pm and 7:00pm. Visit the school and meet staff. Your first stop should be at your child's Roundtable classroom to pick up their schedule.
  
• Wednesday, August 28: First day of school for Grade 7 students.
  
• Thursday, August 29: First day for Grade 8. All students attend.
  
• Tuesday, September 3: Middle school athletic practices begin.

We have a great team ready to go for the 2024-25 school year, and excitedly welcome the following staff!

• Erica Swenson returns to Whittier after two years teaching abroad in Bahrain. She will teach 7th grade social studies.

• Anna Allocco joined the Whittier staff last February. She will return for her first full year as our Spanish teacher.

• Samantha Enters will teach writing to 7th and 8th graders. Samantha's previous position was as a high school librarian in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The 24/25 school year is quickly approaching and we are looking forward to seeing students return to school in a few weeks. We are here to help students have a healthy and safe school year.

In planning for the upcoming school year, please send any updated medical documentation/plans received over the summer to school as soon as possible. These documents will be reviewed and school health care plans will be updated or created as needed. Our health office fax number is 998-5523.

If your student has a life threatening health condition (asthma requiring inhalers with spacers, severe allergy requiring an epi-pen, seizure, diabetes, or other medical conditions), please be sure to send in or fax your student’s yearly care plan prior to the start of the new school year. It is important to have clear communication between you and your child, your health care provider and school staff for managing asthma, allergies, and other medical conditions while at school. A written asthma, allergy, or medical plan developed by your healthcare provider and shared with the school will help keep your child safe at school.

As public health professionals, we know that everyone must make an effort to keep our community safe. We can only do this if we all work as a community and adopt measures to protect our families.

As a reminder,

1. If daily prescription medications can be given at home, please do so. Most scheduled medications can be timed to administer at home. For students that require medication to be administered at school, the parent/guardian will need to drop off the medication in its original container with the provider's order to the nurses office and complete necessary paperwork. Students are not allowed to transport medication on the bus. This includes over-the-counter medication such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, etc.

2. Please make sure that your student’s immunizations are up to date. Please note that per the Maine state law, your student will not be able to attend school if your student is not up-to-date or an exemption letter is on file. The State of Maine immunization requirements for students to be allowed to attend school for the 2024-2025 school year are as follows, unless a yearly letter of exemption has been signed.
   

• 5 DTaP (4 DTaP if 4th is given on or after 4th birthday)

• 4 Polio (3 Polio if the 3rd is given on or after the 4th birthday)

• 2 MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella)

• 2 Varicella (chickenpox) or reliable history of disease

• 1 Tdap

• 1 Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4), a second vaccine of MCV4 will be required for 12th grade entry
  3. As a reminder, student’s' RSU#16 health updates and standing medical orders form need to be signed each school year. Please complete the forms and return to school so we can best support your student while at school.
  
  We will provide the 2024-25 standing medical orders, Healthy Smiles for ME, Inc, and the free State of Maine School Oral Health Program fluoride varnish forms to your student in the first few days of school. Please complete all applicable forms and return to school for your student to receive standing order medications throughout the school year as well as dental services if desired. Please feel free to contact us regarding any questions or concerns you may have related to your child’s health for the upcoming school year. It is our goal here at Whittier to keep students healthy, safe, in school, and ready to learn. We believe that communication is key, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
  
  

Thank you,
Lisa Storer RN, BSN
BMWMS/PRHS School Nurse

lstorer@rsu16.org

(207) 998-5400 EXT. 108

The following supply list is provided annually to help guide back-to-school shopping. Some items may not be needed immediately at the start of the school year. We have resources available for your child if necessary. Please let me know if you need help getting supplies.

• 2 three-ringed binders

• 5 pocket folders

• tabbed dividers for the binders

• basic calculator

• sticky notes

• highlighters

• pencils, pens, erasers

• zippered pocket for writing utensils

• colored pencils

• earbuds (cheap ones for school; please leave valuable ones at home)

• water bottle

Please note that all fee types are separate when paying your students fees. Please include a separate check for each fee type.

• Technology fees

• Lost library books

• Lost sports uniform

• Other/Misc
  
  

Parents Paying School Fees Online

If you are paying any type of school fees online (except lunch), please follow this process:

• Go to AndroGov

• Please note that Technology Related Fees are separate from all other fees. Please choose the correct link under Transactions. There are High School Fees, Middle School Fees and Technology Related Fees.

• Fill in the student’s name that you are paying the fee for, not the parents (your) name

• There are two available payment methods:

• ACH/Checking Account- You will need to provide your account number and the bank's routing number to pay by this method. A helpful check image is available during the payment process to assist in locating this information. There will be a $1.00 processing fee assessed.

• Credit/Debit Cards - We currently accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards. There will be a 2.75% processing fee assessed per transaction with a minimum charge of $1.95 for credit and debit cards.
  
  

Lunch fees are still paid ay MySchoolBucks

As you prepare for the 24-25 school year, I hope you and your child are looking forward to being part of our school community. Playing middle school athletics represents a change from recreation sports. For the first time for many of our kids, they will have practices or games five days a week and they will travel on a bus to away games, they also have to meet eligibility standards. We also offer clubs during and after school.

Please join me on August 15 for a Parent and Athlete Meeting in the auditorium to discuss what to expect and how to register. The meeting will begin at 5:30 and will be out in time for the annual Whittier Ice Cream Social.

Our athletic offerings include:

Fall

• 7 & 8 Boys Soccer
• 7 & 8 Girls Soccer
• 7 & 8 Cross Country
• 7/8 Field Hockey

Winter

• 7 & 8 Boys Basketball
• 7 & 8 Girls Basketball
• Indoor Track

Spring

• 7 & 8 Baseball
• 7 & 8 Softball
• 7 & 8 Outdoor Track and Field
• Girls and Boys Lacrosse (with GNG MS)

In the coming SY 2024-2025, school meals will be provided to your children at no charge. I’m writing to let you know how important it is to fill out the school meal application form even though meals are free for the next year.

We understand concerns about listing income amounts and social security numbers on the application. Any personal information you provide will not be shared. Along with the paper application, we now have an online application, please access it at www.nlappscloud.com. Free and reduced price meal applications are confidential. Your information will only be used to determine your child’s eligibility for the school meal programs. We cannot share your information without your written permission.

There are a few important reasons to fill out this form:

• If your child qualifies for free or reduced price lunches you may qualify for Pandemic-EBT benefits

• Your child may receive other school benefits. The number of applications that are returned and approved can affect how much funding our school gets to help students meet academic benchmarks, including materials like books and computers. These numbers are the percent of free and reduced, no one is individually identified

• Another benefit is after school and summer meal programs. Local summer programs can benefit by having meals provided to them at no cost to the parents.

The forms will be sent home on the first day of school.

Sincerely,
Ellen Dore, Food Service Director-RSU 16
edore@rsu16.org
207-998-5400 ext 107

The student school day is 7:35-2:10. If you are transporting your child, please arrive between 7:15 and 7:30 and drop them off in the inner circle of the driveway. The lane closest to the school is for bus loading and unloading. Please do not drop off your child prior to 7:10am. Supervision is extremely limited prior to 7:15.

Students are dismissed from school at 2:10pm (1:10 on Wednesdays). You are encouraged to park in the student lot (near the track) and have your child meet you there. You do not need to sign out your child. They can meet you at your car. Leaving school at the end of the day will require some patience. Our priority is to get the buses out as quickly as possible, so they can get to their elementary runs in a timely manner. Thank you for your help with this.

• Transportation: Our transportation team is working hard to send bus route information to families on August 19, and sooner if at all possible. If your student was assigned to a bus stop located anyplace other than at their residence last year or did not ride the bus last year and plans to this year, please submit a transportation request form ASAP. If you have questions or concerns, please contact our transportation director, Stewart Mason (smason@rsu16.org).

• Breakfast and Lunch: Free breakfast and lunch are available to all students daily. However, we ask that all families complete the National School Lunch Program form. Participation from families provides potential school resources that we may not otherwise have. Thank you for your help.
  
  Students may bring their own breakfast and lunch items to school, but breakfast (such as Dunkin’ treats and drinks) must be finished by 8:00. Following that time, students may carry water bottles only. There will be a designated snack time around 10:00.

• Summer Reading: Every Whittier Middle School student is encouraged to read at least one personal reading book of choice over the summer. Students received a Maine Student Book Award/Tarin Challenge Summer Reading Sheet to record books read. If it was lost in the summer shuffle, students should just keep a list of titles and authors from the books they completed since school ended. All students who submit a summer reading sheet will be invited to a party in September.

• Cell phones: Starting at 7:15, students’ cell phones and all other electronic devices must be powered down and stored in backpacks, locked in lockers or dropped off at the main office, where they are to remain for the entire day. Students may not access cell phones without permission during the day. If students are found accessing their phones without permission, they will be required to leave the phone at the office. If you need to get a message to your child, please call 998-3462 and we will be happy to relay the message.

• After School Supervision: After school supervision is limited. All students are required to go home at the end of the school day unless they have scheduled time with a teacher or are participating in a sport or co-curricular activity. If the activity does not begin directly after school, students will wait in a designated area until it is time for the activity to begin. Middle school students may not make "food runs" while they wait for practice to begin. If they leave school grounds, they should go home and return 5-10 minutes before practice.
  
  

• Technology: Laptops will be distributed in September. Due to the high cost of repairs, Regional School Unit 16 requires a non-refundable, annual technology device use fee of $20.00. This use fee is not insurance. This fee will cover replacement costs and/or repair costs for damages not covered by the technology device warranty with the exception of negligence. Negligence is defined as failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. Students that would qualify for free and/or reduced lunch will pay $10. Repair fees incurred due to negligence* will be billed to the parent at $100 per incident. The repair fee is not insurance. *The principal will make this determination after investigating how the damage occurred.
  

Email: svincent@rsu16.org
Website: https://www.rsu16.org/bwms
Location: 1457 Maine Street, Poland, ME, USA
Phone: (207) 998-3462
Facebook: facebook.com/WhittierMidknights