In recognition of National School Lunch Week last week, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and US Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona extend their thanks to school nutrition professionals for their commitment to ensuring children are well-nourished and ready to succeed in school.
Share your thanks with school nutrition professionals at your school with free Stronger with School Meals digital thank you cards.
Woodland Consolidated School, a kindergarten through 8th grade school in Northern Maine, is about to be the beneficiary of a major technology upgrade in its classrooms!
Technology Director Lisa Milliard applied for a Rural Utilities Services grant to acquire much needed technology for her school. The Rural Utilities Service is part of the Rural Development division of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant that Ms. Millard applied for, Woodlands Consolidated School will be receiving 65-inch interactive displays for every classroom at the school.
Principal Gillian Laird-Sleeper said that the driving force for the upgrade came from Milliard because she “felt that the school needed some updated technology both in implementation and delivery of lessons, as well as student use of technology.”
Sixth-grade teacher Sandy Swan, and 7th-grade teacher Cody Tompkins, will be just two of the many beneficiaries of this technology upgrade. They are both thrilled about what the interactive displays will do for their classrooms.
Swan mentioned that she’s hoping the tools that come with the new displays will allow for more creativity for her and her students. While her current board allows her to write, save, and erase, she said, “I cannot manipulate what I put on the board whatsoever.” She hopes this new technology will allow her “to complete lessons more effectively.”
Tompkins agrees and described the impact of the interactive display as a “true game changer” for his classroom. “A smart board would allow for home to school access for the students who are remote either due to quarantine or exposure to COVID-19,” he says. He also noted that the interactive features would allow more manipulation of materials like graphing in math, diagramming sentence structure in English, and highlighting vocabulary in reading.
The application of the interactive displays will certainly serve the Woodland Consolidated School staff and students well. As Swan put it, “I cannot wait to see what the tools, gallery and multi-touch options hold in store for us.”
For more information (requirements, terms, application process) about USDA Rural Utilities Service grants visit: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/telecommunications-programs/distance-learning-telemedicine-grants. Grant applications are accepted through grants.gov.
The 5th annual WinterKids Winter Games are happening January 17-February 11, 2022 and they are going to be BIGGER than ever!
This 4-week competition is open to all PreK-8 schools in Maine. WinterKids will select one school per county (a total of 16 schools will compete for cash prizes) based on each school’s online application. Schools will compete in physical activity and nutrition challenges, working to accrue points to win GOLD! The theme this year is the Winter Games—our version of Olympic competition.
Early in December, each selected school will receive a comprehensive toolkit filled with PLAYBooks and weekly incentives for every student. Teacher packets will include the scoring rubric, community resource list, and supplies and materials necessary to complete the challenges.
Don’t worry, if your school is not selected, because EVERYONE will be able to play along at home or at school in our Play-Along Track for chances to win weekly prizes!
The winning school will earn a gold medal cash prize of $10,000. Silver earns $7,500 and the bronze medal school will receive a check for $5000. WinterKids is offering cash prizes to all 16 schools!
To learn more about the Winter Games (we have a Play-Along Track for individual classrooms or homeschool families) or to apply to compete, go to https://winterkids.org/winter-games/
Don’t Delay! The application is open until October 31.
For more information, contact WinterKids at 207.871.5700.
The NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) team invites you to register for the upcoming webinar for educators, educator-led groups of students, or college level students. The targeted audience is students in grades 9 and above, but other grade levels are welcome to register.
Virtual Tour of NASA’s Antarctic Meteorite Lab + Astromaterials 3D
Join a FREE NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) webinar! During this webinar, they will give participants a tour of their Antarctic Meteorite Laboratory at the NASA Johnson Space Center, where they curate meteorites collected during ANtarctic Search for METeorites (ANSMET) Expeditions. They will also introduce participants to their Astromaterials 3D Project, a STEAM effort that encourages investigators of all ages to virtually explore meteorites like never before! The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes followed by an optional ~15-30 minutes of questions and answers.
Register for the live event or to receive an archived recording of the presentation (pending a successful recording). To participate in the live event you will need an internet connected computer with speakers (no microphones or cameras are needed).
Other Webinar Details:
If you have questions, please feel free to email Paige V. Graff (paige.v.graff@nasa.gov) or put your questions in your registration form so she can contact you directly.
Merita McKenzie, a physical education teacher and coach at Lyseth Elementary School in Portland, is the winner of the the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) 2021 Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award. The award recognizes educators who conduct quality programs, serve as positive role models, and are leaders in their profession, school and community.
“For more than three decades, Merita has supported kids in Portland in getting active, developing healthy lifelong habits, and in being the best that they can be in every facet of their life,” said Lyseth Assistant Principal Sarah Rubin. “Merita has spent her career giving back to her students, her community, and her profession, and this is such an incredible way to celebrate her for everything she has done.”
MAHPERD’s criteria for determining Teacher of the Year award winners include:
Rubin detailed the ways McKenzie has spent her career in service of students and her community:
“As a physical education teacher and coach, Merita has had a direct positive impact on the lives of thousands of children in Portland. She has written countless grants to procure equipment and opportunities for her students to ensure all kids, regardless of their background, have access to engaging and exciting experiences to get and stay active.
In the 2020-2021 school year, a non-traditional year due to COVID-19, Merita completely redesigned her entire PE curriculum and worked with our Outdoor Learning coordinator to plan for an entire school year outside with her students. Merita took kids outdoors to engage in specific cooperative games and kinesthetic activities to learn how to work with each other, learn how their bodies work, and learn how to take care of themselves. I will never forget one particular winter day, when temperatures hovered around 15 degrees, and Merita had every single one of her first-grade students armed with a dozen layers and a sled ready to do some warm up stretches and then sled. Many of our students were experiencing only their second winter in a cold, snowy climate and even more of them don’t get the opportunity to experience winter activities like sledding with their families. But Merita made it happen for them and gave them all the gift of enjoying a Maine winter while getting active at the same time.
In addition to all she has done for the physical health of our community, Merita has spent a lifetime leading Equity work in Portland. At Lyseth, Merita is a member of our Equity cohort and an advisor and co-founder for our Civil Rights Team. She has worked tirelessly in these roles to ensure all staff and students at Lyseth and in the district feel safe and welcomed in our schools. She has also volunteered her time in countless ways to lead this work at the city level. Merita has served on the Martin Luther King Jr. Recognition Task Force, as a Board Member for the Restoration of the Abyssinian Meeting House, and most recently as a member of the City of Portland’s Racial Equity Board. She is also a renowned photographer, gardener, and a fixture for children and families in her East End neighborhood.”
Superintendent Xavier Botana said, “We are very proud of Merita for receiving this well-deserved recognition for her dedication and service. She exemplifies the best of our Portland Public Schools People.”
To learn more about the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) visit https://maineahperd.org/.
Maine DOE Team member April Perkins is being highlighted as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about April in the question and answer below.
What are your roles with DOE?
I serve as the World Languages & English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)/Bilingual Programs Specialist. I’ve been with the Maine DOE for about four and a half years. The first three years I supported ESOL educators, and then last January I took on the dual role of World Languages and ESOL. I love both aspects of my job so much!
What do you like best about your job?
Everything! I really love advocating for language teachers and learners at the state level, as I work on various committees and collaborate with teams across the Department. But the best part of any day is talking directly with language teachers, answering their questions, sharing resources, and being a thought-partner. It is so energizing to talk with teachers who share the passion I feel for linguistic and cultural diversity, equity, inclusion. Right now, my favorite project I’m working on is planning supports and resources for the development of bilingual programs in Maine. Bilingual education is such an incredible opportunity for all students, and I’m really eager to plant seeds that may blossom into full programs, and spread widely, in the future.
How or why did you decide on this career?
When I was in 4th Grade at Holden Elementary School, my class made a yearbook. There was a feature where students predicted each other’s future career, and it said I would be an English teacher! I think that’s because I was correcting people’s grammar, which I don’t recommend as a strategy for making friends… But seriously, I loved language from a very young age. Then, I had the great fortune to attend Longfellow Elementary in Portland for 5th Grade, where they had a French program. That was a real turning point for me, and I never stopped studying languages after that. I went on to get my Bachelor’s in French and German from UMaine and then my Master’s in TESOL from the University of Central Florida. For about ten years, I taught ESOL and trained teachers in Florida, India, Libya, Maine, Morocco, and then Egypt, where I learned Arabic. When I returned to my home state of Maine to put down some roots, I jumped at the chance to continue my career in language education in service of Maine school communities. The perspectives I have gained by living abroad and learning multiple languages have proven invaluable to me in this role. Being at the Department is a privilege and an honor, and I feel so lucky get to do this work every day.
What do you like to do outside of work for fun?
I love to go hiking and camping every chance I get. I’m also a mediocre but enthusiastic singer, and I’ve been known to show up at an open mic now and then.
Joe Schmidt (Social Studies Specialist) is happy to announce that for the 2021-2022 school year he has partnered with national organizations to develop professional development learning cohorts. Each cohort will combine training from the organizations, as well interactive workshops led by Maine educators, where participants will work to implement what they have learned in their classrooms.
Registration is now open for the next two cohorts featuring the National Archives and the OER Project. Learn more about each cohort and register below. Keep your eye open for registration for the next round of cohorts later this year, which will feature Echoes & Reflections and the Bill of Rights Institute.
Teachers! Ever want to have a say in your Professional Development? The National Archives Foundation, in partnership with the National Archives, the Maine Department of Education, and some expert teachers from around the state are pairing up to create some curriculum about how to teach students to analyze documents (including photos, paintings, newspaper articles, speeches and more) at all grade levels with a connection to Civil Rights. It will start with a presentation from the National Archives called Civil Rights -The Impact of Racial Discrimination on Black American Lives in the Jim Crow Era (Summary: Students analyze documents from the holdings of the National Archives to assess the impact of legalized racial segregation on the lives of Black Americans from 1944 – 1960.) Then you will help guide the professional development to meet your needs, with support from Maine teachers and staff at the National Archives. If interested, please complete this form. We are so excited to start working with you!
Using resources from the OER Project’s teacher track talks, Maine Social Studies Teacher Leaders Melanie Brown and Derek Carroll will be creating bi-monthly web sessions centered around the topics of designing inquiry, designing arguments with evidence, young citizens, and assessing historical thinking. These sessions will begin in November, and continue through the end of the school year. Prior to each session participants will watch 3 track talks sourced from OER’s existing library on the topic for that month. During each session, participants will have the opportunity to debrief with other educators about the topic for that month, share any thoughts and questions that they may have on the topic, and most importantly leave with a classroom activity/strategy that they can immediately implement with little hassle or stress. If interested, please complete this form.
For questions, please contact Joe Schmidt at joe.schmidt@maine.gov.
On Wednesday, October 20th from 3:15-4:30, the Maine Department of Education and the Region 1 Comprehensive Center will host a live webinar to share the Continuity of Learning MAP that was recently developed by the MLTI Ambassadors with support from the MOOSE Team Leaders (all distinguished educators and teachers during the 2020-21 school year).
The session will feature a tour of the MAP and further exploration of some of the ready-to-use resources developed and curated by the DOE to support continuity of learning for students when they cannot attend classes in person.
There will also be some time for breakout sessions where folks can ask questions and provide feedback on the MAP so that DOE staff can enhance and improve the resource.
This session is for all educators and educational leaders who wish to learn more about the continuity of learning resources that the DOE has developed and curated and can offer.
Wednesday, October 20th 3:15-4:30pm
Please register for the session here: https://air-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvd–opjItGdP6ys28cp5ykFImdOQItV10
If you’d like more information about the MAP, you can check out the Priority Notice and linked material, here.
If your School Administrative Unit (SAU) is opening or expanding a Pre-K program in the 2022-2023 school year, you are eligible to receive funding on your FY23 ED279 for children you enroll in these new or expanded Pre-K programs in 2022. This means you will receive the funding for enrollment in the same year that you enroll the Pre-K children, without a year delay.
If your SAU is applying for one-year grant funding through the recently released Request for Applications (RFA) #202107114 then you DO NOT need to complete this form because you will include the estimate in your application. More information regarding the RFA can be found here. These applications are due no later than November 4, 2021.
If you are planning to start and/or expand public Pre-K in the 2022-23 school year and do not plan to apply to take advantage of the one-year grant funding but would like to receive an FY23 estimate Pre-K allocation, please notify the Maine DOE by completing the FY23 Estimate Pre-K Count Data Form before November 5, 2021. There are 3 questions to be answered on the funding survey:
SAUs completing the form must also complete the Pre-K Program Application with DOE’s Early Childhood Team by April 30, 2022 and obtain program approval.
The FY23 Estimate Pre-K Count Data Collection form is meant to capture the FY23 estimate for new and expanding Pre-K program enrollment. The estimate student count data, in addition to the current (FY22) enrollment in an existing Pre-K program, will be used to provide funding on the FY23 ED279. An SAU’s Pre-K total enrollment number, as reported and verified October 1, 2022, should match the combined existing and estimated increase total that was used to calculate funds in the ED279. After October 1, 2022, an audit adjustment, based on actual enrollment reported in NEO on October 1, 2022, will be made to the Pre-K allocation assigned on the FY23 ED279. Please note that this may increase or decrease funding.
For more information about establishing or expanding a Pre-K program, please check out our webpage on the topic, or contact Nicole Madore at nicole.madore@maine.gov. For questions specific FY23 ED279 estimates, please contact Paula Gravelle at 624-6792 or Paula.B.Gravelle@maine.gov.
Maine DOE Newsroom 