Join the Boston Red Sox for their 2021 Virtual STEM Education Series, presented by Moderna! Each week throughout the month of May, they will release a new video that will include live experiments, geared towards STEM-related curriculum.
The videos will have a different theme and feature one of the team’s amazing Red Sox partners! New to 2021 is that there will also be a take home assignment to continue learning after the video ends.
Register below to receive access to this series! Please note: A parent, guardian, or teacher must complete this form.
Today Governor Mills announced the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, our Administration’s proposal to invest more than $1 billion in discretionary Federal relief funds allocated to Maine under the American Rescue Plan Act. As part of this groundbreaking plan, Governor Mills has committed $10 million to expand public pre-k options in the State of Maine.
Effective and inclusive pre-k programming supports the whole child by intentionally nurturing cognitive, physical and social-emotional development for young children. Research demonstrates that positive and enriching experiences and interactions with caring adults directly contribute to healthy brain development. Studies also show that longer-term positive impacts of preschool include higher graduation rates, better-paying jobs, and lower crime rates, and that cost-benefit analyses have shown for every $1 invested, more than $10 is returned in cost savings.
“Today’s announcement is just the latest example of Governor Mills’ prioritization of education during her tenure,” said Commissioner of Education Pender Makin. “This significant investment in the expansion of pre-K programming allows communities to equitably address barriers so that, together, we will reach our goal of universal access to high-quality early childhood education.”
More information pertaining to the high-quality early education, transitions, and development of young children can be accessed from our Early Childhood home page. Questions and concerns should be directed to our Early Childhood Specialist, nicole.madore@maine.gov or our Early Education Team Coordinator, leeann.larsen@maine.gov.
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is excited to celebrate Maine’s outstanding educators this week, May 3 – 7, 2021 and we have already begun celebrating our rockstar educators and school staff!
“Honoring our educator workforce is always important, but given the heroic effort of our schools this year to meet the needs of learners during the pandemic, teacher appreciation has moved to a whole new level of gratitude,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin.
We are hoping to make certain that all of the 50,000+ Mainers who work in our schools, making sure that the nutritional, educational, and social/emotional needs of students are met, know they are appreciated for everything that they do.
Along with all of the creative and generous local “Teacher Appreciation Week” efforts happening in schools all over Maine this week, the Maine DOE is excited to share our gratitude in multiple ways throughout the week:
An Original Poem Dedicated to Maine Teachers:
Gorham High School Senior and Maine’s 2021 Poetry Out Loud State Champion, Emily Paruk shares an original poem capturing the magnitude of impact educators have on students. Grab your tissues, it’s an amazing poem and performance!
Special Thanks from DOE Staff:
We have already begun posting shout-outs to Maine educators from our staff on our social media pages, Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #Thanks4TeachingME and #TeacherAppreciationWeek. We invite everyone to join us by posting your own shout-out to a Maine educator or staff member currently working in a school or retired, using the same hashtags. Tag us on social media if you want us to share it too!
Ideas to Celebrate:
For ideas on how to celebrate, take it from some of the experts who are organizing efforts all over Maine! We have compiled a list of ideas that communities throughout Maine are doing for their educators/school staff members. Check it out on our Teacher Appreciation Week Website.
Deals and Discounts:
As a special treat for our educators this week, Maine DOE compiled a list of discounts and deals from companies who offer educator discounts during Teacher Appreciation Week and some who provide discounts year-round. This year, local Maine businesses have also provided generous offers to the educator workforce. Check out the list on our Teacher Appreciation Week Website. Local businesses that want to have an offer listed can fill out our form.
In the spirit of elevating and celebrating our workforce throughout the year, the Maine DOE in partnership with Educate Maine will be announcing the 2021 County Teachers of the Year in a live virtual announcement on May 12th on Maine DOE’s YouTube Channel. More information will be available soon!
Maine-Wabanaki REACH is a cross cultural organization working in support of decolonization and Wabanaki self-determination. REACH focuses on truth, healing, and change. Our work with Wabanaki people is flexible, responding to activities in the communities themselves. It includes wellness and history learning, healing circles, support for growing food and medicines, and emergency financial support. This work takes place in Wabanaki communities, Maine communities, and in the Maine State Correction System. Our work with non-Native people around Maine and beyond includes learning about the history and ongoing relationships of Native and non-Native people, understanding colonization, and the work of decolonization.
Interacting with Wabanaki-Maine History
This program is an interactive experience in which we engage in a story of particular events in the history of 400-years of colonization of Wabanaki people by Europeans in this territory now called the State of Maine. This highly engaging experience requires our full participation in order to genuinely increase our understanding of colonization and what it means for current descendants and future generations; to reflect on what story we are writing for our grandchildren.
This workshop is sponsored by the Maine DOE’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team.
The two-hour interactive workshop will be offered on three different occasions. To maximize the impact of the experience, a cap of 50 participants per workshop will be applied. This means space is limited. We will be accepting registrations on a first come-first served basis. A certification of completion will be provided to attendees that can be used toward Maine educator endorsements.
For more information contact Danielle Despins; a volunteer member of Maine DOE’s internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) sub-committee at danielle.r.despins@maine.gov.
As we head into National Teacher Appreciation Week this week and as college students across Maine celebrate their education accomplishments with graduations and plans for the future, the 2020 Maine County Teachers of the Year (CTOY) have created a very special message for those completing teacher-preparation programs and transitioning into their very first teaching job.
“We, the 2020 County Teachers of the Year, strongly feel that the current teacher shortage and the plethora of reasons that people are leaving our profession is a very serious issue and concern in our state. We collectively believe as teacher leaders, it is our duty to promote the success of our profession. In an attempt to address our concerns, it became our goal to support, encourage, and endorse the committed students/pre-service teachers in our teacher preparation programs across the state. Pre-service teachers, new teachers, and veteran teachers could all use a positive reminder that teaching is joyous and collaborative. Together we lift each other up and celebrate our triumphs! This video message was created to promote the profession, have a little fun and welcome valuable new team members to this amazing career, and our team!
Professional baseball player and hall of famer, Babe Ruth once said, ‘The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.’”
Maine County Teachers of the Year are nominated by a member of their community and selected through a selection process each year as part of the Maine Teacher of the Year Program. They serve as ambassadors for teachers, students, and quality education state-wide through speaking engagements and collaborative work with education stakeholders and decision makers throughout Maine.
The Maine Department of Education’s Teacher of the Year Program is administered through a collaborative partnership with Educate Maine. To learn more about the Teacher of the Year program visit: https://www.mainetoy.org/
As part of effort to increase school meal participation and access to healthy foods, the Maine DOE Child Nutrition team has created a toolkit of resources for Food Service Directors. This toolkit contains information and tips on how to increase meal participation, as well as social media graphics and templates.
All Food Service Directors from districts across the state are encouraged to utilize these materials to continue to spread a positive message about school nutrition programs to reach more Maine students. Templates and graphics in this toolkit can be used and customized for social media updates (and other avenues of communicating with families).** As school meals continue to be free to all students into the next school year, we want to ensure that as many children as possible are accessing the nutrition needed to fuel their learning!
**Please note: if distributing materials containing information on accessing benefits and services, a full non-discrimination statement must be included.
For questions, please contact Caroline Bennett: Ending Hunger in Maine AmeriCorps VISTA (caroline.bennett@maine.gov)
Are you a teacher who loves computer science and tries to weave it into everything you teach? Or maybe you’re still somewhat new to technology, but have developed an understanding throughout the past year? Share your progress and showcase your innovations in computer science education at this year’s Computer Science Teacher Association New England (CSTA NE) conference, hosted (virtually via Hopin) by our very own Maine CSTA chapter!
The CSTA NE conference is a great opportunity to learn more about computer science education, connect with other computer science teachers, and hear perspectives from computer science teachers in other New England states. Sessions will be focused around innovation and will vary in both duration and topic. Session designs include: 15-minute flash talks, 30-minute topic discussions, and 60-minute sessions.
In a 12-part video series SEED (Students Empowered to End Dependency) interviews young people who have struggled with Substance Abuse Disorder (SUD). Most are now participating in recovery programs that have enabled them to pursue a healthy lifestyle. The series also speaks with several medical experts to explore the science behind the disease model of chemical dependency and features many Maine people on the front lines helping those suffering from Substance Use Disorder as different recovery methods are explored.
The series premiers on Saturday, May 1st at 7pm on WGME and Bangor’s WABI, and on April 30th at 7pm on WAGM in Presque Isle.
SEED is a coalition of students and adults from 5 school systems and the Scarborough Police Department. The five school systems participating in this project are Bath, Gorham, Scarborough, Windham, and Yarmouth.
Thank you to the sponsors: Pineland Farms Natural Meats, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, and Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG).
For Questions, comments, or sponsorship inquiries, please contact David Packhem at voicesofhope.ep@gmail.com
Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) will be hosting a Mobile COVID-19 Vaccination Unit in Waterville May 9-12. The site will be using the one-shot J&J vaccine, and have the capacity to do 400-500 vaccinations per day. Registration and other information is available below.
The Maine Department of Education is sharing this information with Maine schools and districts so that they can share it with their school communities.
When:
Sunday, May 9 from 10:00am-4:30pm
Monday, May 10 from 8:30am – 4:30pm
Tuesday, May 11 from 8:30am – 4:30pm
Wednesday, May 12 from 8:30am – 4:30pm
Location: La Fleur Airport, 2 LaFleur Road Walterville (map)
Registration: call the Community Vaccination Line at 1-888-445-4111 or go online at VaccinateME.Maine.gov
Transportation assistance:
MaineCare call 1-844-736-7847 (Penquis CAP)
Non-MaineCare call 1-855-608-5172 (ModivCare)
rides must be requested at least 48 hours before the scheduled appointment
Assistance for Seniors and Disabled Adults: Spectrum Generations, 1-800-639-1553
On-call list:
There are sometimes doses left at the end of the day that we don’t want to waste, so we’d like to have an on-call list. Calls will likely go out around 4pm for people to get to the airport by 4:30pm.
If you are interested in having your organization called when we have these doses, please send me your contact information.
The Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition Team is hosting the 6th annual Farm to School finals competition in which a panel of judges including a chef, school nutrition director, and farmer will score dishes made by school nutrition teams based on presentation, taste, creativity, and feasibility to be used in a school breakfast or lunch program. Other criteria will include food safety and time management. In the competition, local “challenge” ingredients will be incorporated into the meals, including eggs donated from Weston’s Meat and Poultry in Gardiner, and parsnips donated from Goranson Farm in Dresden.
Who: RSU 12 (which includes the town of Whitefield) and South Portland
Members of the media are welcome to attend the final cook-off in-person but need to confirm prior to the day of the event. For more information and to confirm coverage, contact: Kelli Deveaux at kelli.deveaux@maine.gov.
Background Information: Maine DOE kicked off their 6th annual Farm to School Cook-off this spring; however, it took on a different form. Cook-off teams representing four school districts from Maine participated in a virtual cook-off event where voting took place and determined the top two teams who advance to the finals round. The teams, consisting of a student and school nutrition professional, created tasty and nutritious breakfast and lunch meals that showcased Maine grown ingredients and followed recipe guidelines of the competition. This criteria included producing meals that meet the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) meal pattern and include at least three local ingredients and one USDA food.
The team that wins the over-all competition will be awarded a plaque and have the opportunity to be spokespeople and participate on the judging panel for the cook off in School Year 2022. Recipes used in the cook-off will later be shared with all schools in a Maine farm to school cook-book.
RSU 12- Whitefield Wildcats
Vicki Dill & Kiara Luce
South Portland- Kaler Kooks
Lisa Riley & Sam Messana
Maine DOE Newsroom 