RSU 16 Community Connection

March provides an opportunity for parents and caregivers to attend student-led conferences. Your presence and active engagement not only demonstrate your commitment to your child's education but also reinforces the importance of collaboration between home and school.

Student-led conferences provide a unique opportunity for you to directly witness your child's progress, accomplishments, and areas for growth. By actively participating in these conferences, you are not only showing support for your child but also fostering a sense of responsibility and ownership in their education journey.

Sincerely,

Todd and Amy

We will highlight the accomplishments and milestones achieved by our staff and students over the past month. From academic achievements to artistic endeavors and athletic successes, we take immense pride in the diverse talents of our students.

"I get to BE a musician, which is all I need to share my love for life with everyone I come in contact with.

There's no other way to explain it."

- Larry Williams - Music Teacher Poland Regional High School/Whittier Middle School

Congratulations to PRHS science teacher Michelle Smith for being selected to receive the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation's Teacher of the Year Award! This award recognizes excellence in math and science teaching, PRHS Class of ‘23 graduate Joseph Elliott nominated Michelle for this honor.

Seniors Emma Martin and Talen Langevin were recognized at the Western Maine Conference Citizenship Award Banquet for their overall contributions to PRHS in the areas of academics, athletics, leadership and extracurricular activities; and for their attitude and consideration of others.

Congratulations to Thea Thornton for winning the Butler Award for WMC Girl’s Basketball. There is one male and female recognized from the whole conference. This is a senior award and takes into account basketball skill, team importance, leadership and character.

ESS Sixth grade students showcased their learning of influential individuals from the State of Maine on March 13, 2024.

PRHS chorus members, Max Benton, Jack Desrosiers, Ayla Dyer, Audrey Fryda, Kayla Massey, Brady Milton, Irelyn Smith, Olivia Snowman, Cheyenne Toth, and Sienna Toth, joined high school singers from across the state of Maine to participate in the first annual UMaine Secondary Choral Outreach Experience (S.C.O.R.E.) event hosted by University’s School of Performing Arts.

The featured major work for mass choir was Aron Accurso’s You Are Enough: A Mental Health Suite in three movements: I: Inside the Storm, II: A Thought Storm, and III: You Are Enough (text by Rachel Griffin). This piece gave students the opportunity to sing a major work and join about 100 voices in concert. It was incredibly timely and meaningful to our students, who were well prepared and sang it beautifully.

Our SEL team and Student Whole-School Reward and Celebration Committees teamed up to host a SEL/Career Spirit Week from March 4th - March 8th. We participated in a themed spirit week, career day, and Mix-It-Up at Lunch Day. Special guests from a variety of careers/trades volunteered their time to share their roles and responsibilities that may spark an interest with students. Some of the careers included: a marine biologist, a musician, a pastor, a truck driver, a veterinarian, a Sea Dogs broadcaster, a computer software engineer, a mechanic/business owner, members of the Pink Feather Foundation, a member of Mission Working Dogs, a crane operator, a manager from Blackie's farm stand, a cosmetologist/aesthetician, a school counselor, a loan officer, a meteorologist, a banker, a contractor, an electrician, a firefighter and an EMT. We can't thank our volunteers enough for donating their time! Below are just a few of our amazing volunteers visiting classrooms!

PRHS students and faculty advisor Elaine Fryda participate in the Can We? Project. This project encourages respectful civil dialogue.

Windham Eagle News story

When we have school events for our students, everyone steps up!

Thank you Ms Renee (custodial staff) and Ms Chelsea and Ms Cheyenne (food service staff) for your effort in making the ESS Family Night a success!

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.

As of April 3, 2024 our school nurses will no longer be offering in school rapid antigen testing for students who become ill with symptoms of Covid-19 during the school day. We have free home tests and will continue to offer those to our families through the remainder of this school year and hopefully into the fall and winter of 24-25. If any students or staff have symptoms of an upper respiratory infection and would like to rule out the SARS CO-V2 virus as being the culprit, reach out to their school nurse to request free home test kits.

Each year, RSU 16 must share with families, under the Title I statute, our dashboard distributed by the Maine Department of Education. To access the dashboard, go to https://www.maine.gov/doe/dashboard