Whittier Wire

November 17, 2024

Coming Events

November 20: Standards Recovery, 1:15-3:30
November 22: Trimester 1 ends
November 26: Turkey Bowl II
November 27-29: Thanksgiving Break
December 6: Report Card 1/Academic Probation Check
December 11: Middle School Band & Chorus Concert, 7pm
December 23-January 1: Holiday Break

Click here for the RSU 16 District Calendar

Grades Closing Friday

The first trimester of the school year will close Friday, November 22nd. Report cards will go home on Friday, December 6th. At that time, families will be notified if students are on academic probation. We will also post the first trimester honor roll.

In the meantime, Standards Recovery will meet after school on Wednesday from 1:15-3:30. This is an opportunity for students to make up work, get extra help, and retake assessments. Teachers have reached out to families to let them know if their children should attend. All staff will be available. If students finish early, they are welcome to call home before 3:30.

The Excel program meets on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 2:20-3:30. Students attend to complete school work/homework before going home. Two teachers facilitate the program each afternoon and provide students with guidance and assistance.

Unless they participate in band or chorus, students have Academic Support daily to get a head start on their homework, meet with teachers, or retake tests. This is a 30-minute time slot before or after lunch. Many students make great use of the time. Others are not taking full advantage of the work block.

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Eligibility Requirements for Performance-Based Activities (Academic Probation)

Student participation in athletics and co-curricular activities is viewed as an integral component of the learning process, and for this reason the eligibility policy is intended to be motivational rather than punitive. Eligibility is checked five times each school year. If a student has less than a 2.5 in any academic standard, but has at least a 2.5 for Habits of Work (HOW) within the same class, the student is eligible to participate. If a student has less than a 2.5 for an academic standard and less than a 2.5 for his or her HOW grade in that class, the student is placed on academic probation for up to two weeks.

During the two weeks, the student may practice but may not participate in games or performances. The student should use this time to meet with the teacher, make up missed work, and/or retake assessments.

Honor Roll

Whittier Middle School assesses and reports on student progress and performance in all academic areas as well as Habits of Work (HOW). Whittier Middle School is proud to recognize the achievements of our students and publishes an Honor Roll three times each year.

Honor Roll will recognize students who earn at least 3s in all academic standards for classes. The Habits of Work (HOW) Honor Roll recognizes students who earn at least 3s in all HOW standards. High Honors recognizes students who average 3.5 or higher on all academic standards assessed that term (with no score below 3). A separate HOW High Honor Roll uses the same criteria as it applies to these standards.

Mrs. Martin: Counselor's Corner

This week I visited Ms.Yorkey’s 8th grade Wellness classes and shared a lesson about Depression/Anxiety/and Suicidal Ideation. The students learned how to distinguish between depression and anxiety and how depression and anxiety often overlap. Your children learned that if both conditions are left unchecked, people start feeling isolated, and like a burden to their loved ones. They listened attentively as the lesson turned to understanding suicidal ideation and what to do if they are worried about a friend. We debunked the myth that if you openly ask a friend if they are thinking about suicide that it will plant a seed. They were surprised to learn that a person experiencing suicidal thoughts is actually relieved to be asked because they feel less alone and the door to getting some help has been opened.

I began classes by sharing that this is a heavy topic, but the information about to be discussed is crucial for them to receive. It saves lives. I am happy to report that all students listened attentively and gave the topic the respect that it deserves. I left all classes feeling thankful for the kids I get to work with.

Poland Regional High School Community Forum

Poland Regional High School is hosting a community forum on Thursday November 21st at 6pm to gather input to create a Vision of the Graduate. RSU16 families and community members are invited to share ideas to answer: What are the skills our graduates need as they transition into the broader community?

Grade 7 Science: Solutionary Project

Dear Families,

In Grade 7 Science classes, we are finishing our unit on the human impacts on watersheds. Students are in the process of planning and implementing environmental action projects in class. Either individually or in a small group, they’ve chosen a topic to research and an action project to complete that involves a solution for what they believe to be the root cause of a specific problem associated with water. The topics students have chosen include deforestation, point source pollution, non-point source pollution, plastic waste, water quality, water access rights, and water usage. There are a range of ideas so far about their topics, and we are working on understanding how they can be changemakers in their local communities

Projects can involve art, writing, direct action, or fundraising. If there is a cost associated with this project, it should be paid for by the students. Money is not required for the projects, but some have ideas that may involve fundraising or buying art supplies.

Students should not start this project until they have discussed their project and any costs associated with caregivers and their teachers. Please talk with your child about their project ideas and make sure you are comfortable with what they have planned! This is a blank version of what they should be sharing with you.

Pre-approval of the action plan

They will present their topic and action project either before Thanksgiving break or right after the break in class. We hope to share their work with a wider audience, and we will inform you if and when that takes place. Any photos that can be taken of your student working on their project would be great to show as part of their presentation.

Students are excited for this opportunity to not just talk about problems, but do something about them! Please reach out with any questions.

Best regards,

Mrs. Patenaude (Team Perseverance): hpatenaude@rsu16.org

Mr. Jones (Team Unity): cjones@rsu16.org

Grade 7 Science

Student Council Food Drive

Student Council is sponsoring a November Fall/Thanksgiving themed Food Drive. Roundtables will earn points for non-expired, non-perishable foods, and monetary donations, which will be applied toward their December Spirit Week points. Roundtable teachers can start collecting food and monetary donations on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. The Food Drive will run until Thursday, November 21, 2024, when student council representatives will collect all food and monetary donations from roundtable teachers. At the November 21st student council meeting (after school from 2:15 - 3:30), representatives will tally points and load Ms. Adler's car with donations for delivery to a local organization. We appreciate your help. Please let Ms. Adler know if you have any questions: kadler@rsu16.org.

Ms. Allocco: Grade 8 Spanish

This week students have been working with the ¿Puedo ir al baño? video. In addition to reading and writing about the video, students have played a variety of games to familiarize themselves with the vocabulary introduced in the video. The photos show students playing "Floor Memory" where they match Spanish sentences with illustrations of the characters the sentences describe. Other activities this week include a Spanish version of "Guess Who?" and "Pass it Up."

Mrs. Fox: Grade 8 ELA

Students in Mrs. Fox's 8th Grade ELA classes shared their suspense-filled fictional narratives with each other in a speed dating style writing celebration.

Mrs. Yorkey: Grade 8 Wellness

Wellness students will continue to have workout Wednesdays every week. This means we will be going outside as long as possible, unless the temps are below freezing and/or wet weather. Please make sure your student is prepared to be outside: this means long pants, coats, hats and mittens/gloves.

Mr. King: Whittier Athletics

Games begin this week. Please remember to pack uniforms, and a water bottle. By rule, if they wear a shirt under their uniform, it should be the color of the body of the uniform. By that , it means that if they are home (white) they should wear a white undershirt, and if they are away (blue), they should wear a navy undershirt. It is so helpful if you can help your child take care of their uniform. They are purchased about every 5 years. All game times are: 8th grade at 3:30 and 7th grade to follow at about 4:45, unless otherwise noted.

Please do not approach the bench area during the game. We want them to be responsible for their water bottles and gear. If your child goes down with injury, the official will call time out and call the coach onto the court. If there is a game supervisor present, they will also come out. Most often, the injury turns out to be minor. We will call the parent if it is more than that. We ask the players to gather in front of the bench. When players circle the injured and we rush to the injured player, it serves to raise the level of concern and anxiety. Calmness helps to access what is going on.

Game Schedule

Bruce M. Whittier Middle School

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