PHIPPSBURG EXPLORER'S LOG

August

22 - Popsicles with the Principal on the Playground 5-6PM

25 - Set for Success! FREE School Supplies, Back Pack, Hair Cut, Clothes 10AM-1PM

September

2 - Labor Day Holiday/NO SCHOOL

3 - K-9 First Day of School

3-9 - Scholastic Book Fair

4 - Late Start Wednesdays Begin (start time 9:25AM); morning buses arrive 1 hour later than M,T,Th,F

5 - Open House, Ice Cream Social and Scholastic Book Fair 5:30-6:30PM

9 - First Day for Pre-K

26 - Soggydog Picture Day (Rain Date: 9/27/24)

Welcome Back! I hope you have thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful Maine summer that we have had. The start of our new school year is right around the corner. Our maintenance team has been hard at work this summer preparing the school building for the new school year. We have had two classrooms receive new flooring: the music room and the gifted and talented room. The building has also been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to welcome students and staff!

We have some new staff joining us this year. Our new academic interventionist will be Kaitlyn O’Donnell. Kaitlyn is joining us most recently from the Cushing Community School. Ryan Monroe will be our new PE teacher. Ryan has been in the district for the last four years. He has experience as a classroom teacher, a PE teacher, and a health teacher. Carly Riva is our new Pre-K teacher. Carly has been a classroom teacher at Fisher Mitchell School for the past several years. Madison Burch will be our new gifted and talented teacher. Madison has been working in the district as an ed tech for the past few years, including Phippsburg School. Romy Polizotto will be our new librarian this school year. We are excited to have Romy step into this new role at school. A big welcome to all of our new staff members.

Please make sure you join us at the start of the year for our Open House and Book Fair. This is a great opportunity to see your student’s classrooms, meet the staff, and grab some great new reads.

We love to communicate with you! Please make sure you check your email, visit our school webpage and facebook page, and look for updates from myself and the office. We can’t wait to see all those first day of school smiles!

Best regards,

Nina Willette, Principal

The first day of school is Tuesday, September 3rd, and will start at 8:25AM and end at 3:00PM. (Preschool starts September 9th, 8:25AM-12PM.) Late Start Wednesdays begin September 4th (start time 9:25AM), and continue the rest of the school year.

Each Thursday, communication from our school and other community news will be sent home via a clear plastic folder. We hope you'll take a moment to read the school's newsletter, The Phippsburg Explorer's Log, which will be emailed and available on our website. The "Log" contains important news and information regarding school and community events.

School hours are 8:25 - 3:00; LSW 9:25-3:00.

Office hours are 7:30 - 3:30.

We ask that families make every effort to have their child(ren) arrive on time and attend school every day. If, for any reason, your child does not arrive at school on time, please accompany him/her to the front office.

Please be sure to call the school by 9:00AM, at 389-1514 x101, if your child is to be absent or late. You can call & leave a message (child's name, reason out, i.e., vacation, sick, personal day), even before anyone is at the school. If you don't call the school, a note is required upon student's return to excuse the missed time. Expect a follow-up call if your child is out sick.

Welcome back to school! I hope all your students had a healthy summer. I am looking forward to seeing you and your child very soon. As a reminder, if your child requires medication to be administered during the school day, there is a form that needs to be completed by the doctor and signed by you. The form is available HERE and needs to be updated each school year. I'm happy to answer any questions regarding medication and/or your child's health. Please contact me at btainter@rsu1.org or you may reach me at (207) 389-1514 x108.

By now, you should have received an email from the RSU1 Technology Department (via IC-Messenger-NoReply@rsu1.org) asking you to do your annual online update (via parent portal in Infinite Campus) in place of the mountain of forms that used to go home on the first day of school. Please be sure to complete the annual update no later than September 6th, though the sooner it is done, the better. If you already registered a new student for 2024-2025 online, that student is done. Thank you to all parents who've already done this. If you are having trouble with it, please contact Mrs. Doran at tdoran@rsu1.org or email techsupport@rsu1.org.

Due to the size and cost of copying the Student-Parent Handbook and Student Code of Conduct, they are available on the Phippsburg Elementary School (PES) website HERE or contact Tammy Doran in the office, 389-1514.

Our website address is: www.phippsburg.rsu1.org and teachers/staff email is:

first initial last name@rsu1.org, ie: nwillette@rsu1.org.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are excited to announce that student meals are free to students again this school year, and the free and reduced meal application has been replaced by a question on the annual online update. September Menus: Breakfast & Lunch Food Services Contact LIST

Please feel free to let us know of any special dietary concerns your child may have, and we'll be happy to work with you to ensure that he or she receives a healthy and safe meal!

~Anna Varian

1. Remain seated.

2. Face the front of the bus.

3. Keep hands and feet to yourself and out of the aisle.

4. Use a quiet voice to talk.

5. No eating and drinking.

6. Keep the bus clean by cleaning up after yourself.

7. Use kind and respectful language.

Also: always remember the Danger Zone, and follow Bus Driver’s direction.

Students who violate the bus rules will be sent home with a bus slip. Upon receipt of a third bus notice, the student and parents will meet with the principal to determine a corrective plan of action. The principal reserves the right to remove students from the bus for a period of time based upon rule violations at any time.

We ask for your patience for the first two weeks of school as we adjust the schedule for new students and the new groups. Please plan to be outside at the bus stop 5 or 10 minutes before your scheduled pickup. Remember that kindergarten students riding the bus are not allowed off the bus without an adult present at the bus stop.

For Phippsburg bus runs, click the PES tab at the bottom of the page of the following link:

2024-2025 Bus Runs for RSU 1

If you have questions about specific bus runs, please see the "Bus Company Contact Information" tab for more information.

*Please check with your bus driver on approximate drop off times for your student in the afternoon. It takes a few days to adjust to a routine drop off schedule.

If your child will be getting off the bus at a stop other than their normal stop, please be sure to send in a permission note with student's full name, the address of their destination and whether it is a one-time stop or for the rest of the school year. This note is to be given to your child's teacher first thing in the morning.

If you wish to volunteer this year, or chaperone a field trip, please register now at:

https://www.rsu1.org/page/volunteer-information. You only complete one form, selecting all the schools you are interested in (be sure to choose PES, or you won't appear on our list), and remember to register each school year. Thank you so much; we could not offer fun activities like Great Start without you!

Phippsburg Elementary School has a very robust PTA. By joining the PTA, parents can stay informed about their child's school life, gain insights into the educational system, and contribute to their child's education. Your involvement with the PTA helps to build strong working relationships and a sense of community among parents, teachers, and schools, in support of students. PTA meetings are held the first Friday of each month at 8:30AM in the teachers' room.

The Phippsburg Rec is meeting Wednesday, September 4th at 6PM at the Phippsburg Fire Station. They are still looking for a Chairperson, and welcome your input and presence at their monthly meetings (1st Wednesday of the month).

Email: nwillette@rsu1.org
Website: phippsburg.rsu1.org
Location: 1047 Main Rd, Phippsburg, ME, USA
Phone: 389-1514