RSU 16 Spotlight

September 13, 2024

Hope in our Hearts, Harmony in Our Actions

As we kick off the new school year, it's wonderful to see our classrooms and athletic fields buzzing with activity once again. The energy and enthusiasm from our students is matched by our top-notch staff, who are dedicated to making this year a successful and enriching experience for every child. A special thank you to our parents for all your hard work in establishing routines that ensure students are well-rested and ready to learn. We're excited for the great things ahead!

Heads up, everyone! Deputy Westleigh wants to remind us that SCHOOL ZONE lights are back on! Let’s keep it safe by sticking to the 15 mph limit when those lights are flashing. And don’t forget to watch out for busy crosswalks—our kids are on the move!

Wondering what happened to those supplies you dropped off with Gus the Bus? Look no further! These incredible ladies turned those donations into filled-to-the-brim backpacks, ready for delivery to our amazing students. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed and helped spread the joy!

School Meals

Why are we asking all families to complete the Meal Application Form if meals are no charge?

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. https://www.nlappscloud.com/

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

School Lunch App

Now you can apply for free or reduced school meals online! The process is quick easy and FREE, and in a few short steps you'll be done! Since the information you're providing is electronic we'll be able to review your application faster than ever before.

nlappscloud.com

Meet Our Special Education Ed Techs

Thank you to all of our amazing Special Education Ed Techs! Your hard work, dedication, and care make a world of difference for our students every day. We appreciate you!

Elm Street School Open House and Opening Week Highlights

We were excited to welcome our Wildcat students back! Our Open House was well attended and we welcomed a number of new families into our school. We had a "New to ESS" table in our main lobby to provide our newest members of the Wildcat Family with some ESS swag, tours of our building, and an opportunity to get any and all ESS related questions answered. Our Wildcat Family Connection set up tables with pencil grams for families to be able to send special messages to their child(ren) on their first day and our Girls on the Run Coaches set up tables to continue to promote this amazing program within our school community. We also welcomed School Board members, Andrea Winn and Jess Smith, as they met with community members regarding our upcoming budget process. Our Math 4 ME team leaders set up a variety of fun math based activities for our students to participate in and to help promote the Math 4 ME initiative with our school community. Lastly, our Cool Treats for Charity cart joined us again this year to provide our students and their families with a sweet treat and some time to reconnect with their friends on the playground!

Our first few days of school were a success! Our teachers spent the first few days helping teach our students our school-wide expectations for the cafe, playground, hallways, and bathrooms! In addition, teachers have been getting their students out to our Outdoor Classroom to utilize all the amazing items we were able to purchase with our summer title grants, our ARP grant, and with some additional funding we received from local grants as well. Our Get Everyone Outside Team Leaders were able to create "grab and go" outdoor classroom bags to give teachers everything they need in one quick, ready to go place so they can make the most of the beautiful weather and help support students learning outside!

We are excited to welcome our PK students this week for their orientation and first day of PK! We are excited to have 28 of our 32 available slots for PK filled this year! We are excited to see our PK numbers beginning to increase once again!

WELCOME BACK RSU 16

Sharing Information with You

In RSU 16, we have regular communication systems we use. Those are:

- Website: www.rsu16.org

- School Newsletters: Each school shares a newsletter with their families

- Social Media Site: The district has a Facebook page and ESS, WMS, Adult Education, PRHS and MCS have official school Facebook pages

- RSU 16 Spotlight: Twice a month the Superintendent will share a district newsletter

- "Robo Call/Email/Text": This is used for general and emergency communications via email, text and/or voice message across the district and by each school. (We have moved from School Messenger to Reach My Teach)

- Individual emails and phone calls: You may hear directly from a staff member via email or phone

- Regular mail: While we still occasionally send physical letters through traditional mail, it's less common in our modern, digital-centric world. This practice is primarily reserved for special education purposes.

School Calendar

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.

Math In Action

Tip Line

Our Tip Line represents one approach our schools and communities may use to share the responsibility of school and student safety and well-being. This Tip Line provides students, staff or other members of the public with a safe and confidential way to report a threat or potential threat to student or school safety. Call 911 in cases of immediate emergency. It is located on our website: rsu16.org and scroll down.