Whittier Wire

• September 17: State testing begins
  
• October 11: Staff Workshop Day - No school for students
• October 18: Progress Report 1 goes home
• Week of October 21: Student Led Conferences
• 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.

We just completed our first 5-day week of the year, and it feels like we have a lot of positive momentum at school.

• We have four evacuation drills in the books, and they have gone very smoothly.
• Teachers and students are developing classroom routines. Teacher reports are extremely positive.
• Fall sports are underway. All teams have participated in their first games and meets of the season.
• Band and chorus met four times last week. We have some roster movement as students are making decisions about their participation. Some are struggling with the idea of giving up academic support time to be in band or chorus. My suggestion is students should participate if they have interest. Homework can be done at home.
• Laptops are going home daily. Please speak with your child about charging their laptop at night and leaving the cord at home. We saw many of you dropping off your child's laptops in the morning after they left them behind. Thanks for your help!
• Congratulations to Sharon Goss, who was selected as our first Hootie Award winner of the school year. Christy Carmody selected her for the positive influence she has on our school. Sharon exemplifies part of our school code, "Take care of each other."
  
  

We look forward to Week 4.

Bruce M. Whittier Middle School has used NWEA' MAP Growth assessment for over fifteen years to gain timely and useful information to support student learning. With many teachers across Maine already using NWEA’s MAP Growth assessments to measure student growth, the Maine Department of Education formed a partnership with NWEA in 2019-20. The Maine DOE has worked with NWEA to develop an innovative statewide assessment, the Maine Through Year Assessment in Reading and Mathematics. The Maine Through Year Assessment continues to provide scores as a measure of student growth throughout the year and, at the end of the year, provides performance scores based on the state standards.

Our Middle School will test this week in Reading and Math. Both grades will test on Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8:00.

It is very important that your child is in attendance each day. The testing is required by the state. If your child is not present during testing, they will need to make up the test. Please do your best to refrain from scheduling any appointments and/or vacations during this time unless it is necessary. While we encourage students to try their hardest and to do their best, we also recognize that this testing experience is only a snapshot for student understanding and skill. The testing results can help us all better understand the progress of our students along with guiding us through a process to review and improve curriculum. Certainly having a good night’s rest and a healthy breakfast will go a long way to reducing test anxiety, and we appreciate your support in this area as you do this each and every school day.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Principal Shawn Vincent.

Over the next couple of weeks, students will be introduced to our online gradebook. There aren't many grades posted at this point. After students learn about how JumpRope works, please ask them to sit down with you and teach you to use it. The link is https://www.jumpro.pe/. The student’s school email address is the username, and their nine-digit student ID number is their password. If your child is missing any of this information, send me a quick email, and I can provide you and your child with their login information.

Teachers are asked to update grades weekly. It’s important to remember that it takes time to grade work and assessments after they are submitted. As a parent, I recommend checking your child’s grades once a week to track progress and stay connected. Students should check daily to make sure they do not have any missing assignments or assessments that need to be retaken or revised.

You will see some grades marked as formative and others marked as summative. We provide the following information to help families understand the differences.

The goal of grading in 2024 is to give kids ownership over their learning. If kids know how they learn and how to improve, then they can be life-long learners beyond school.

Think About Your Driver’s Ed Experience:

You would never just tell someone to go take their driver’s test without giving them a chance to practice and study the information and skills required for the final big assessment. Here’s how formative and summative assessments were key for your success as a future driver.

Formative Assessment:

The Formative assessment work of Driver’s Ed would be all the practice work that you do before the day of your big test. These assessments would allow for you to accustom yourself to the knowledge, skills, and performance experience that you’d need to be successful for the Driver’s Ed written and performance tests: practice drives, multiple choice practice quizzes, peer and instructor feedback, and focused work on a particular skill (parallel parking).

Summative Assessment:

It’s the Driver’s Ed test. What can you do and what do you know now that you’ve taken this Driver’s Ed course? You have to show what you can do independently. If you fail your test, then you can apply to take it again, but you’re probably going to need to hit the books, practice driving some more, or get some help from an expert driver.

Habits of Work:

So, when you were working on the skills and knowledge for Driver’s Ed, how did your work habits impact your achievement? Did you attend all the classes? Did you do all of your manual readings? Did you listen to the advice of your instructors? It may not have been important for you to receive a HOW grade back when you took your Driver’s Ed course, but it’s good for middle school students to begin to see how their work habits impact their achievement.

How do I support my child?

Work with your child to check JumpRope gradebook together once a week. Ask your child what he or she is doing in class or at home to practice skills for meeting the standards. If the student has 1’s or 2’s for summative assessments, talk to your child about his or her plan for meeting the standard. Has he or she met with the teacher? Has he or she attempted to get extra help? Is there another opportunity coming up for the student to meet the standard? Has the student emailed the teacher to start making a plan?

As we approach the end of summer and the beginning of fall, flu season will be upon us soon. Flu can cause mild to severe illness. During an average flu season, flu can cause millions of illnesses, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations, and tens of thousands of deaths. The flu season combined with other respiratory illnesses, such as RSV and COVID-19, can cause many illnesses when they are all circulating in our community at the same time. Influenza and RSV seasons generally begin in October, although they can vary in timing.

The symptoms for a common cold and the flu are similar, but each is caused by a different virus. The common cold can be caused by a number of viruses; however, the flu is caused by the influenza virus. Usually, flu symptoms are more severe than the common cold and tend to last longer. A cold tends to last 7 to 10 days and the flu usually lasts 1 to 2 weeks. Cold symptoms tend to be stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, and mild to moderate coughing. Whereas the flu tends to have symptoms of severe aches and pains, fatigue and weakness lasting up to 2-3 weeks, headaches, fever of 100 degrees or greater, extreme exhaustion from the start of illness, and coughing that can be severe.

We have free COVID-19 home tests in the nurses’ office if you would like tests please reach out to us. Also, free tests can be obtained through the mail by ordering them online @ COVIDtests.gov starting at the end of September. Households across the country can order four additional over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for free. These tests will detect the currently circulating COVID-19 variants and are intended for use through the end of 2024. You can also find instructions on how to verify extended expiration dates for any tests you may already have.

Please notify the school office if your child is ill and will not be attending school. When you call the school office please state the child's symptoms and whether or not there is a fever of 100 degrees or above. Students who become ill at school will be dismissed only to the specific people listed as the emergency contact, unless the school is instructed by the guardian to make other arrangements. Students who become ill at school should see the school nurse. The phone call home to notify parents of dismissal will be made from the main office or nurses office. Following this procedure allows us to track common illnesses. Students who have a fever should stay home until they are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of anti-fever medicine). The Maine CDC has four steps to help reduce the spread of the flu. These four steps include washing your hands, covering your cough, getting a flu vaccine, and staying home when you’re sick.

Thank you

Lisa Storer RN, BSN lstorer@rsu16.org 998-5400 Ext. 108

Pamela Tracy LPN ptracy@rsu16.org 998-5400 Ext. 127

International Peace Day is celebrated annually across the globe on September 21st and will be celebrated at Whittier on Friday, the 20th. In 1981, the United Nations established Peace Day, dedicating it to “ commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples”. Forty three years later, the world still devotes September 21st to peace.

On the 21st of September, people around the world have a Minute of Silence at noon in their time zone, to think about what peace would be like and how we could make it a reality. Similarly, our school will also have a minute on Friday, the 20th, during school. It is encouraged for everyone to join the rest of the world on Saturday as well. The main purpose of a Minute of Silence is so people would be able to forget about their differences and struggles, and focus on how we can positively and respectfully make peace with our neighbors.

What is peace? How can someone show the world what it is?

Peace is a word that is used all around the world, in different languages, phrases, even in actions. The word in action is so strong, it could change the earth, and it could make solving problems in our household, classroom, or even our neighborhood a lot simpler if we were able to recognize, and put into practice, the word, Peace.

This year, student planners from 7th Grade GaTE Enrichment will be promoting peace all week leading up to Peace Day. They will share information and public service announcements on the topic of Peace. They have also planned Art, Trivia, and other Peace Day contests, as well as a bake sale.

The bake sale will be happening at the PHRS Football game on Friday, the 20th. The sale will include sweet teats, such as cookies, brownies, Blueberry Muffins, and hand held pies. All the funds will go to the “ Seed of Peace” organization. Seeds Of Peace helps future generations of leaders around the world form alliances, and have peace between each other. We hope we will see you and your students at the game!

Hopefully, Peace Week encourages students to wonder, “ how may I make peace with my peers?” or, “how can I change the world by being peaceful at school?” By asking these questions, we begin to make our way to world peace.

Wishing everyone a Peaceful Week!

Middle School students interested in this year’s GaTE Art program are invited to submit materials by Friday, September 20. The Art ID Committee requests students submit three to five original artworks and a completed Visual Arts Assessment Form. Art submissions may be 2 or 3-dimensional; larger art pieces should be photographed.

If you have any questions or would like the assessment form, please contact either the Art Teacher, Ms. Armstrong, or GaTE Teacher, Ms. Fanus.

Mrs. Gilbert’s ELA classes visited the fabulous school library this week to find their independent reading books.

Athletics this week:

Monday

8th/7th Boys Soccer vs. Tripp 3:30/4:45

8th/7th Girls Soccer @ Tripp 3:30/4:45 depart 2:10

Wednesday

FH @ Sacopee Valley 3:30 depart 1:45

Thursday

Cross Country at Durham 4:00B/4:30G. @ Hunter Rd Fields in Freeport

Friday

8th/7th Girls Soccer Home vs Freeport 3:30/4:45

8th/7th Boys Soccer @ Freeport MS 3:30/4:45 Depart 2:00

Whittier Middle School's Tri-Town Family 5K will take place on Sunday, November 10th, 2024 and it is open to everyone. Join us for a fun family morning on the Minot trails and fields.

Registration is open...and it's free! Let's get the word out there and make this the biggest and best event so far.

We are seeking local sponsors to help make the big day a special one. Tell your friends. All sponsors of at least $100 by October 11 will get their logo on the back of the event shirt. Interested potential sponsors should contact Shawn Vincent (svincent@rsu16.org or 998-3462). This is a great event for students, families and all members of our communities.

Visit the website to register or get more information.

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