The Navigator - January 2025

Mark your calendar!

January 20: MLK Jr Day - No School

January 21-24: Midterm Exams

January 24: Semester 1 grades close

February 14: International Night, 6pm

February 17-21: Winter Break - No School

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

I hope this edition of The Navigator finds you well. Today is the final day of regular classes of the first semester. A reminder that next week is our Midterm Exam week. This week can be stressful for many students, especially 9th-grade students who have never experienced a cumulative exam before. Classes have been reviewing for these exams this week. Students should have study reviews for the exams and notebooks full of materials that will be helpful to continue the studying process.

Here are a few reminders to help parents and guardians assist their students in preparing for their midterms:

Set a studying schedule for the weekend and week ahead, including plenty of breaks and knowing which classes your student will study at which times. This schedule should include times in the morning or the middle of the day when they are rested and efficient. Also, setting aside their cell phone can expedite the studying process and make the time more effective.
Students should use their study guides and/or review materials from class to study. The amount of material that has been accumulated over the semester can be overwhelming and the materials that teachers prepared for their review material is streamlined to the types of questions that will be on the exam.
Students should get plenty of sleep this weekend and through the exam week. Setting a reasonable bedtime and knowing when it is time to stop studying and go to sleep is important.
Students should wake up early enough to have a good breakfast on the morning of the exam. Whether this is at home or school, having a full stomach before the exam can help!

Here is the exam schedule for the exam week:

Midterm Exam Guidelines

Every Morse class will meet at the designated time on schedule for an exam or culminating activity for the semester.
Attendance is only required by students when they have an exam. Students who have a study hall or GP are not required to attend.
Students must remain in their class for the entire exam block, even if they complete their exam early. Please do not call to dismiss your student unless it is absolutely necessary.
The building must remain quiet during this week of testing. Students who are not in an exam block have the following options:

Leave school grounds
Go to the 1st floor student commons and check-in with study hall monitor
Go to the library and check-in with library staff
Students may not stay in the halls or upstairs student commons during an exam block

The first day of exams includes three scheduled sessions. No student is required to take three exams on one day; however, students must speak with their teachers to make a plan to reschedule one of these exams before the day of the exam.
In the event of a snow day during exam week, the schedule will be pushed-back. Example: Wednesday snow day = Wednesday schedule on Thursday, Thursday schedule on Friday, etc.
Buses will run normal morning and afternoon schedules on Tuesday - Friday. In addition to the normal morning and afternoon buses, First Student and Bath Bus will offer a 12:30 bus to each town (except Woolwich, Arrowsic, and Phippsburg) on Wednesday and a 11:30 bus to each town on Thursday and Friday.

On the first day of exams, Tuesday, 1/21, the Morse student services office will have a special guest to help with the stress level of exam week. Leila, who is an experienced service dog, will join the team in the Student Services office to help students between their exams. Leila will bring her handler as well. Morse is considering the benefits of having a service dog at Morse and this trial day will help us in this process.

The Student Services department has also distributed second semester schedules this week during lunches. Second-semester classes start on Monday, 1/27. Most classes run the full year, so students will likely see little change in their classes outside of elective course changes that run for one semester only. Feel free to ask your student to see their schedule, or look on Infinite Campus.

Good luck to everyone as we make our way through midterms week.

Eric Varney

Principal

If you need to call your student out sick...

Please call 443-8250 (option 1) to leave a message with the Attendance Secretary. You may also send an email to Ms. Orr at korr@rsu1.org.

UPDATING INFORMATION

The Parent Portal makes it easy to update your phone, email or other demographic information without waiting for the next annual update or contacting a school.

NEWS FROM THE HEALTH CENTER

LincolnHealth’s School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) are permanent health centers within schools offering convenient and confidential primary health services including integrated medical and behavioral health and prevention services. They are a collaboration between the school, the community and LincolnHealth. SBHCs may also provide care to school staff.

SBHCs are staffed by licensed behavioral health clinicians, nurse practitioners, certified medical assistants and a physician serving medical director.

To enroll: LincolnHealth School Based Health Center Enrollment Form - Formstack

FREE COVID TESTS AVAILABLE! To request an appointment: Call 207-443-8250, stop into one of our office locations, or click the link LincolnHealth School Based Health Center Appointments - Formstack

NEWS FROM MORSE DRAMA

Spring Production

Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic by Matt Cox.

For seven years a certain boy wizard went to a certain Wizard School and conquered evil. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of the Puffs... who just happened to be there too. A tale for anyone who has never been destined to save the world.

Performances are Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22, 2025

If any of our community members are interested in helping with set construction, costumes, props, box office, programs, etc. please reach out to Sarah Coleman (scoleman@rsu1.org). Morse Drama would love your help!

MAINEHEALTH'S PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

Congratulations to Abby Campbell, Emily Bradford, and George Elwell (not pictured) for completing MaineHealth’s Clinical Healthcare Career Awareness Pre-Apprenticeship. They are among the first students in the state to complete the program! The program is designed for anyone who wishes to explore a career in clinical healthcare further and seeks a guided pathway to potential employment with MaineHealth. After completing the program, pre-apprentices who meet all the hiring requirements will be offered an interview for a clinical training program at MaineHealth.

This program is open to anyone over the age of 16. If your student is interested in the program, have them contact Mrs. Morris (room 145) or Miss Stone (room 203).

BIG THANK YOU!

If you have ever been on the hill here at 826 Shipbuilder Drive, then you know the wind can blow very hard and our flags and banners take a beating. Recently we noticed that a couple of the light pole banners were starting to rip along the stitching and they needed to be repaired or replaced. Thanks to Mari Eosco, they were able to be repaired and will soon be back on the light poles! Mari runs a business called Think About it. She believes in recycling, reusing and repairing and that is what she did for us. "If I can get a few people thinking by creating things out of what-would-be-trash, mission accomplished."

Mari's mission for Think About It is "Raising awareness and starting conversations about trash, creating one of a kind, useful items utilizing materials that were heading to a landfill where they would sit for countless years." Would you like to visit her website and learn more about what she does and why she does it? Visit https://thinkaboutit.global/

THANK YOU, MARI, FOR DONATING YOUR SERVICES TO MHS AND BATH TECH!

THE CLIPPER YEARBOOK

Now is your time to buy a Senior Ad in the yearbook! You can create a space in the yearbook just for your student. This is a rare opportunity to celebrate their passions, inspiring achievements, and unique perspectives in a BIG way. They'll flip through the yearbook for years to revisit your heartfelt ad. Ads must be placed online by February 2nd.

Click here and choose CREATE A STUDENT AD.

If you have any questions, please contact Johnna Stanton at jstanton@rsu1.org .

Two options for ordering a yearbook:

Online through Jostens until February 28
Cash/Check made payable to Morse High School by visiting Mrs. Barter in the Health Center

MORSE HIGH SCHOOL FOOD PANTRY

Serving students for 17 years, the Morse High School Food Pantry is located in the Morse Library. The food pantry provides services to approximately 85 students per day.

We are in need of canned goods, snack foods (individually packaged), and personal hygiene items. If you would like to donate to the Morse High School Food Pantry, the following is a list of suggested food and personal hygiene items: