

Mustang Family Newsletter
September 2023
Attendance
September is Attendance Awareness Month
Attendance is one of the major goals that the team decided needed to be a focus this year. As a community, we can work together, by taking family vacations during the times when students are scheduled to not be in school. Of course, we do not want parents or guardians sending their child(ren) when they are sick, please keep your child home if they are not feeling well. We would like to see 100% of our students attend school regularly (91% or more). Please help us reach our school goal.
1 Hour Early Release on Wednesdays
Just a reminder that we typically have early release days on Wednesdays with dismissal starting at at 2:05. However, with the first day of school, we have a full day in which we start the dismissal process at 3:05. Note: We do not have early release on a Wednesday if the district called a late start due to weather.
Technology Fee
- All students in grades K-12 have been issued a Chromebook computer and a school google account. This account and their google drive (for storage) stays with them from Kindergarten all the way to graduation. They can take the contents of their google drive with them when they graduate.
- Annual $10 technology use fee allows us to repair or replace devices as needed, always keeping a device in the hands of students. (Capped at two students per family)
Picture Day!
DATE: Monday, September 25, 2023
Welcome to the new school year! Every student will be photographed, and parents will have an opportunity to purchase portraits.
STUDENTS! Wear your favorite outfit and let’s have FUN! Everyone will get three head-and-shoulder poses. Clothing in solid-colored pastels or whites makes for a truly unique portrait.
PARENTS: NO MONEY REQUIRED IN ADVANCE! We will have portraits in the on-line gallery about a week after the photography date. You will have the opportunity to purchase portraits AFTER previewing them. There’s no obligation!
Your satisfaction with the finished portraits is guaranteed.
PortraitEFX appreciates the opportunity to photograph your student!
Questions? Please call PortraitEFX of Maine at 207-657-6372.
Saint Dominc Academic- Youth Golf Academy
Poland Community Day
Benefit for Gail Griffin
Harvest Supper hosted by Minot Community Club
Community Club invites Minot School families to enjoy great food and company at the Harvest Supper on Saturday, September 23 from 5–7 p.m.
Here’s how it works:
• Families are invited to donate items to a themed RAFFLE BASKET that will be raffled off at the event. More information will come from your child’s classroom teacher.
• Based on your child’s last name, families are invited to BRING A DISH to share at the dinner: A–F, Appetizers/Salads; G–N, Main Dishes; O–Z, Desert.
• Community Club will be producing a cookbook using the RECIPES from the event. If you bring a food item, we’d love it if you could bring a hardcopy of the recipe so we can include it in the cookbook!
This event is dependent on the generosity of our school community, but we ask that you do what is comfortable for your family.
Nurse Update
Medications and Medical Action Plans
Please remember: If your child has medications that they are required to take at school, we are required to have the following form filled out by your child's Primary Care Physician in order to administer these medications at school. This form is required to be filled out for any daily medications that are required to be taken daily at school regardless of if they are prescription or over the counter medications. Medications must be brought in by an adult. Those with Asthma or allergies will need an updated action plan.
Scent Free District
Social Emotional Learning at Home
Parent Volunteers
Lunch and Recess
If you can consistently give 1-2 hours of volunteer time each week next school year, we are looking for volunteers to help with lunch and recess supervision. You would be partnered with school staff. If you are interested in learning more, contact Wendy Simard, wsimard@rsu16.org
Committees
We are looking for parent representatives to serve on a couple of our school committees and as always the community club is always looking for parent representation. Please email Kaitlynn Brown at kbrown@rsu16.org if you are interested in any of these committees or teams.
Community Club
Minot Community Club is a dedicated group of parents and educators working together to support the academic and extracurricular growth of students at Minot Consolidated School. The club meets monthly and all are welcome to attend! If you would like more information, please like and follow their Minot Community Club Meeting Facebook page on Facebook.
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12th (7:00-8:00 pm)
Driveline
Driveline will continue to be what we use for pick up and drop off. Please see the image below to see the route to follow (as of right now, it is the same as last year). Green tags with your child's number will be distributed during Open House. You MUST have a green tag present to pick up your child(ren). If your family would like any additional tags, please contact Kayla Wielki at kwielki@rsu16.org.
1. Please help us keep our arrival and dismissal cars to 6 on each side.
2. Please let us know if you need a replacement driveline number, so we can keep our dismissal efficient and fluid.
3. This is a friendly reminder that driveline is a no cell phone zone.
4. Please be mindful of not blocking the bus turn around when lining up driveline.
Thank you for keeping all students safe.
Art Enrichment Program
Future Task Force Update
Meeting Date: August 29
New Items:
Recapped the August 28 Workshop with the School Board, agenda items included: Review of Task Force task, Scenario Statements, Cost Drivers. Slides from the Workshop are available: https://www.rsu16.org/about/futures-task-force
Utilized “Fist to Five” consensus protocol. Building consensus with a group results in a decision that everyone can live with. Consensus doesn’t mean everyone is enthusiastic or it was your first choice, but it does mean that everyone clearly understands the situation or the problem to be decided, has analyzed all the facts together, and then has jointly developed solutions that represent the whole group’s best thinking about the optimal decision.
The Task Force reached consensus (using “Fist to Five”) that Scenario 2 will be eliminated. It will be referenced in the final report, including the statements and cost drivers; however it will not be one of the scenarios brought to the School Board.
Scenario 1: Keep 3 hometown elementary schools - fund them, staff them and fix them
Scenario 3: Reduce the number of PreK-6 elementary schools (fund them, staff them and fix them) to 2 AND reconfigure (example: PreK-2 school and 3-5/6 school)
Faced with the inability to reach consensus, a non-binding informational poll was employed to provide the School Board with insights into the placement of 6th grade and the preferences related to the final two scenarios. It's important to note that these findings do not constitute a recommendation; rather, they will serve as valuable data.
In the non-binding informational poll, the option of sending 6th grade to middle school received 4 “yes” votes and 17 “no” votes. Regarding scenarios, 16 members favored Scenario 3, while Scenario 1 was indicated as the preferred choice by 5 members in a non-binding informational poll. It's important to note that these findings do not constitute a recommendation; rather, they will serve as valuable data for School Board consideration.
The Final Report for the September 11 School Board meeting is in draft form and will be worked on throughout the week.
All information is on our website:https://www.rsu16.org/about/futures-task-force
Next meeting is September 11 - Presentation to the School Board
Members of the Task Force will hold a workshop with the RSU 16 on September 6 to update school staff on the information it has collected.
Task Force membership: Todd Sanders, Amy Hediger, Erik Anderson, Shawn Vincent, Jessica Madsen, Kaitlynn Brown, Brandi Comeau, Jenny Rose, Jo St Peter, John Hawley, Jacque Russo, Jennifer Gagnon, D'Arcy Robinson, Steve Robinson, Brittany Hemond, Robert Klar, Terri Arsenault, Tarsha Downing, Randy Lautz, Angela Swenson, Elizabeth Martin, Emily Rinchich, Mary Martin.
Free & Reduced Application Form
This year we will continue to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students at MCS. While this is an amazing opportunity to be able to offer our students, we have found that having free lunches has led to less families filling out the Free & Reduced Application Forms (shown and linked below). It may come to a surprise to many, but these forms are what is used to determine our Title I funding. With fewer forms being filled out, we have actually lost our Title I funding... and with it, we have lost some very vital supports for our students. It is so important for ALL families to fill out forms for ALL students so that we can have the best opportunity to provide our students with the most support! Everyone must fill out this form regardless of choosing hot lunch for their child or not.
The COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL application is available to print, complete, and return to your school or you can complete the online form at www.SchoolLunchApp.com. If you have difficulty accessing either of these methods, the form can also be sent home with a student...just contact your school's office to make the request. If you have any questions please contact Ellen Dore, RSU 16 Food Service Director, edore@rsu16.org, 207-998-5400 ext 107.
RSU16 23-24 SCHOOL CALENDAR
Upcoming Dates
September 12th- Minot Community Club Meeting 7:00 pm
September 16th- Ms. Gail's Fundraiser
September 16th- Poland Community Day
September 23rd- Community Club's Harvest Supper
September 25th- Picture Day
September 28th- Auburn Public Library Field Trip (2nd & 6th Grade)
September 29th- Mustang Pride Assembly
October 3rd-Minot Community Club Meeting 7:00 pm
October 6th- No School for Students (In-Service Day)
October 9th- No School (Indigenous Peoples Day)
Planned Absences
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.
If you would like a paper copy of the Student Handbook, please contact the school.
Transportation Routes
Paperless Newsletters
There are many benefits to providing families with newsletters electronically. An electronic newsletter conserves paper, is more cost efficient, and delivers the newsletter directly to parents. Minot Consolidated School will be providing newsletters electronically for the remainder of the year. If you would prefer to receive a paper newsletter moving forward, please contact us at (207) 346-6471 or at kbrown@rsu16.org in order to notify us. Newsletters can also be found on the MCS website
About Us
Future Newsletter Items
If you have any items you would like to have included in a future Family Newsletter, please forward them to me and I will be sure to add them!
School Hours
Arrival- 8:30 am
Dismissal- 3:00pm
Email: kbrown@rsu16.org
Website: https://www.rsu16.org/mcs/index
Location: 23 Shaw Hill Road, Minot, ME, USA
Phone: 207-346-6471