RSU 16 Community Connection

🎓🎓🎓 Stay tuned for a special edition of our Community Newsletter, coming tomorrow, Saturday, June 1st! This issue will be dedicated to celebrating the Class of 2024. We are incredibly proud of all your achievements and can't wait to share all the moments of the last week!

The Class of 2024 graduation ceremony on Friday May 31st at 6p will be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/@PolandKnights for remote viewing.

The PRHS Spring Band and Chorus Concert was a performance with wonderful energy and joy. The seniors of the Class of 2024 were celebrated for their dedication to their music. Well done Mr. Williams and Mrs. Edwards!

PRHS held the National Honor Society induction for thirteen members of the Class of 2025. Twenty-seven members of the Class of 2024 received their NHS stoles for the graduation ceremony being held on Friday, May 31st.

Elm Street School and Poland Community School's Girls on the Run teams combined forces to complete their Practice 5k! The girls ran, walked, jogged, and danced their way around PCS for 3.15 miles. The girls had so much fun and feel ready and confident to complete their Celebratory 5k this June! A huge thank you to all the staff of both schools who ran with the girls or cheered them on in the rain!

If you've ever dropped by or dialed our number, chances are you've crossed paths with the amazing Lauren Hendry, our Administrative Assistant extraordinaire to the Superintendent!

We recently gathered to celebrate Lauren's upcoming retirement with a festive Christmas Party (her absolute favorite holiday!). And if you're familiar with Lauren, you know she's all about spreading joy, sharing laughs, and indulging in chocolates!

Let's send her off with all the warm wishes and fond memories she deserves! We wish her a fantastic retirement that begins on July 1!

Wishing the absolute best to our incredible Adult Education Director, Jenny Rose, as she embarks on an exciting new journey this fall. Your presence will truly be missed! 🌟

Congratulations to Rudy Kyllonen for being named LRTC Student of the Month!

Mr. Martin and Ms. Elias's Biology classes were doing fieldwork - plant and animal biodiversity surveys of the PRHS pond ecosystem.

On May 10th the Sea Dogs hosted a PreK Graduation night! All 3 elementary schools in our district attended. It was a great night of baseball and fun! It was a great way for MCS PreK to celebrate a wonderful first year in school.

Emma from Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District visited a few classes at ESS today to make Insect Hotels. 2nd graders in Ms. Harvey’s class voted to specifically make a Bee Hotel. We learned about social and solitary bees and the importance of supporting native bees because of their highly successful pollination. We learned about solitary bee habitats and how they lay their eggs in hollow tubes. All students played a part in drilling and constructing the Bee Hotel that is now installed in front of ESS. We expect to see more activity in the hotel around the fall.

PRHS students in NCFL National Speech and Debate Tournament in Chicago.

Students: David Crump, Jonathan Crump, Ian Eugley, Audrey Fryda, Benny Fuller, Jason Garneau, Brady Milton, Braiden Stickney, and Cheyenne Toth and D'Arcy Robinson, Faculty Advisor.

Whittier Math Teachers put their critical thinking skills to work trying to solve a murder mystery at the Pink Feather Foundation Murder Mystery Dinner Fundraiser!

Deputy Westleigh: Providing VIP 'rides' for Mr. Anderson and Mr. King - because even administrators need a lift sometimes!

Thank you Gathering Winds Farm & Orchard for teaching PCS 2nd grade students about bees , honey harvesting and the importance of bees to our community.

The Town of Minot would like to thank and congratulate Mrs. Gagnon's third grade class from Minot Consolidated School for having their name chosen for the Town's new plow truck. The class brainstormed a bunch of names before narrowing it down to three and holding a vote for their final selection. The Board of Selectmen then narrowed down all MCS submissions and chose three to present for vote at Town Meeting and "Frostbite" was chosen.

School Calendar

⛄ ⛄ With Snow Days, the last day of school is June 14, 11AM dismissal for WMS and PRHS and 12:15PM dismissal for Elementary Schools.

Access the full school calendar on our website to stay informed and organized. We appreciate your partnership in creating a successful and well-prepared school year for your child.

RSU 16 accepts funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. These funds are commonly referred to as the “Title funds” or “Title grant money”.

A summary of Title Grants and Goals for 2024-2025 is below.

District Goals

• Goal #1: Improve the consistency and effectiveness of reading instruction to increase student achievement.

• Goal #2: Improve the consistency and effectiveness of math instruction to increase student achievement.

• Goal #3: Decrease the percent of the student body chronically absent.

The allocations and use of funds are as follows:

• Title I: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged - $415,471.59 (+$84,342.81 in Title II transfer to Title I) = $499,814.40

• Title I, Part A is a federal program designed “To provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.” Title I, Part A can support early learning and Kindergarten to grade 12. Title I, Part A programs and services provide customized instruction and curricula that helps these students meet academic standards and take an active, engaged interest in what they learn and can do. As the oldest and largest federal education program, Title I, Part A programs build equity of opportunity for children whose struggles often keep them on the academic sidelines.

• Title I is a federally funded program that provides supplemental academic support and extended learning opportunities to low achieving children in high poverty schools. The purpose of Title I is to ensure that all children have a fair and equal opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and achieve proficiency on Maine’s challenging academic standards.

• Our Title I (and Title II) funds pay for the salaries, benefits, and supplies of our Title I Literacy and Math teachers and provide professional development for our Title staff. Funds are also used for PreK-6 Parent Engagement activities with a focus on math and literacy. Title I funds are also used to support homeless students and pay a stipend for our Homeless/McKinney Vento liaison.

• Project Title: Safe and Healthy Students - $3,000 ––– Funds will be used to purchase an SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) curriculum for PRHS and provide a set aside for family engagement.

• Project Title: Professional Learning - $40,000 ––– Funds will be used to enhance teaching and learning by providing professional development opportunities and resources to teachers. This project allocates funds for curriculum and assessment development work and stipends, attendance and travel at conferences and professional learning resources.

• Project Title: Professional Learning - $10,774.51 ––– Funds will be used to differentiate and accelerate student learning through program licenses and subscriptions to meet district and building goals for math and literacy.

RSU 16 is accepting public comment on the ESEA application through July 30, 2024. Click below to share your thoughts about the application’s goals and priorities.