Whittier Wire

• September 12: School Picture Day
  
• September 17: State testing begins
• October 11: Staff Workshop Day - No school for students
• October 14: Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day
• November 10: Tri-Town Family 5K (tentative date)

Click here for the RSU 16 District Calendar

Mark your calendars, set an alarm on your phone or request an absentee ballot.

When you vote September 17 at the Budget Validation Referendum, there will be one RSU 16 budget question on the ballot. The voting polls are open from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM in all three towns.

Question - Do you favor approving the Regional School Unit Sixteen (16) budget for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year that was adopted at the September 5, 2024 Regional School Unit Budget meeting?

• If you vote “yes”, that means you approve of the school budget that was adopted at the public District Budget Meeting held on September 5, 2024.
• If you vote “no” , that means you do not approve of the school budget that was adopted at the public District Budget Meeting held on September 5, 2024.

If you had a physically or emotionally exhausted middle schooler at home last week, you weren't alone. Students in middle school are growing and changing at a faster rate than at any other time in their lives, other than infancy. On top of that, many will need to build up their school stamina again after some slowed down over the summer. Some are also practicing their sports for ninety minutes daily for the first time. Put that all together, and you are bound to have some tired teens.

As much as possible, push the kids to get to bed at a good hour, eat healthy meals and snacks, and cut back on screen time whenever possible. They will build stamina as they go, but they will likely need your help to get there.

We are very excited about the group of kids we have at Whittier this year. They are off to a great start.

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I had the opportunity to recognize Mr. Rose with a game ball on Wednesday for the outstanding role he plays at Whittier Middle School and in RSU 16. Gregg just completed Year 20 in RSU 16.

The game ball is part of the Extra Yard for Teachers campaign offered by the College Football Playoffs.

Gregg is a terrific teammate. He goes out of his way to help students and teachers with whatever they need. Gregg is a great example with his consistent upbeat attitude about school, his kindness and his efforts to always improve his knowledge and practice. He is a pleasure to work with and makes a positive difference for our school. Fortunately, we are in a school where the game ball could have easily gone to thirty different staff members. They are all making a difference here at Whittier. This one is for Mr. Rose. #extrayardgameball #GreatTeachersChangeLives

Next week's newsletter..Learn about our online grade book, JumpRope.

Thank you to those families that have already turned in the green laptop forms and $20 user fee. Students received their laptops this week. Beginning on Wednesday, we will allow students who have turned in their form and paid the user fee to take laptops home. Students who have not turned in the green form or who have not paid the user fee will have to leave their laptops at school. If you are unable to pay the $20 fee at this time, please reach out to Kelly Adams at kadams@rsu16.org and we will work with you.

We have reviewed school expectations for laptop use at school. Please take a moment to review them at home with your student. The expectations are:

• Laptop use is by invitation only

• Exception: in the morning before 7:40 AM and the last 10 minutes of lunch if you choose to stay in the cafe

• Laptops are only used for school purposes

• Gaming is never an option

• Email is for communicating about school purposes, it is not for conversations with friends

• We don’t allow music to be streamed

• Laptops should be charged each night

• Laptop chargers and cases should be labeled with the student's name at all times

• Only the IT Department is allowed to change a student's password

• All pictures and backgrounds on laptops must abide by school rules
  
  

If a student does not meet Whittier's expectations for laptops, they will lose laptop privileges and may need to go on a laptop plan. If you are having any difficulty managing your student's laptop use at home, please reach out and we will work together to help you.

In Science, we will be doing a classroom project that will be using recycled/repurposed materials. We are looking for donations to help us build a model. We would like to have cereal boxes, pasta boxes, small pieces of cardboard, tape, paper, egg cartons, or any other materials that may help us build a model.

Any and all materials would be helpful! Students may drop off the materials in room F119 next week.

Seventh grade students working together in Technology Education with Mr. Brandon.

Band and Chorus start on Monday. There will be different combinations of students meeting throughout the week from 11:30-12:10. If students miss their lunch block with their grade level peers, they should attend the second lunch block. We will keep students informed of which groups are due to meet through the daily morning announcements.

Whittier Introduction to Chorus & Band slide deck.

Any Chorus questions can be directed to Mrs. Edwards (jedwards@rsu16.org) and any Band questions can be directed to Mr. Williams (lwilliams@rsu16.org). Thanks for supporting music in your student's life!

This week the Maine Principals Association has repealed the mandatory mouthpiece rule. Mouth guards are no longer required, although they are recommended to protect the teeth of our young players.

This year the MPA has repealed the goggle rule in field hockey. Again , they are not required, but are highly recommended.

Players received uniforms on Friday. Please help us care for them by washing each game. They will be collected at the end of the season.

Games this week:

Monday 9/9

8th/7th Girls Soccer @GNG MS. 3:30/4:45 Depart 2:20

8th 7th Boys Soccer Hm vs GNG MS 3:30/4:45

Wednesday

Team photos

Girls soccer HM vs Saint Dominics 3:30

Thursday

Cross Country Home (Minot Community Park)

Field Hockey vs Molly Ocket 4:00

8/7 Boys Soccer @ Saint Dominics 3:30/4:45

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