Beech Hill School Student Council Demonstrates a Passion that is Immeasurable and Contagious

Beech Hill School’s Student Council is a group of students who care about culture and community and want to serve in an important leadership role. Members of Student Council strive to consistently demonstrate their school’s four core values: respect, responsibility, caring, and honesty. They exhibit positive attitudes, work with others, and possess the desire to make Beech Hill School and the community a better place for all.

Students are not turned away from membership in the school’s Student Council. There is no election process, and interested students may join at the start of each trimester. School staff identify and build on the strengths of any 4-8th grade leader.

Student Council students will do anything to help out! Their typical responsibilities include leading daily morning announcements, helping younger students in the lunchroom, organizing spirit weeks, facilitating monthly spirit day assemblies, planning service learning projects, fundraising, and designing ways to encourage social/emotional wellness. Students are especially focused on activities that increase diversity awareness and promote inclusion.

Beech Hill School Student Council members are also ambassadors of school spirit. School spirit can become the difference between just being at a school and being at their school. Showing school spirit demonstrates a passion that is immeasurable and contagious and sets the tones for other aspects of Beech Hill School.

The last Tuesday of every month is designated as School Spirit Day. On these days, students and staff are invited to wear school colors and/or their favorite Beech Hill School gear to show their school pride. Student Council holds an assembly on each School Spirit Day for activities like promoting a message or event, showcasing a talent, recognizing a team and/or appreciating the work of an individual or group. During this time, they also celebrate birthdays of the month and hold a “green card” prize drawing. Green cards are awarded to individual students for demonstrating their school values throughout the school day.

The fundraisers that Student Council members host throughout the school year fund projects and/or initiatives, including (but not limited to) the BHS High School Scholarship Fund, BHS School Spirit Day Carnival, SPCA of Hancock County, Walmart Giving Tree, and Emmaus (Ellsworth) Homeless Shelter. Fundraisers include game concessions, Read-a-thons, family movie nights, and other events that connect people in the community.

This story was submitted by Beech Hill School as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. To submit at story or an idea, email rachel.paling@maine.gov.

Get to Know the Maine DOE Team: Meet Megan Welter

Maine DOE Team member Megan Welter is being highlighted as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Megan in the question and answer below.

What are your roles with DOE?

I am the Associate Commissioner of Public Education. I work closely with a number of the DOE teams, including the Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education, Communications, the Office of School and Student Supports, the Maine School Safety Center, and the Workforce Development and Innovative Pathways Team. In addition, as a member of the Commissioner’s Office, I also work with colleagues to develop policies and procedures that allow the Department to support the field.

What do you like best about your job?

Learning so much every day! I am also especially grateful to be able to work with so many people who are committed to serving the students and educators in our State!

How or why did you decide on this career?

I began my career working with children and youth in emergency shelter placements. Through this work, I understood the value of providing early and comprehensive services that address a child’s physical, emotional, social, and educational needs. Such early and consistent supports are vital to building a child’s resilience and capacity to persevere through adverse experiences. I truly believe that public education is one of the most powerful ways we can meet these needs while also opening doors to a world of opportunities.

What do you like to do outside of work for fun?

I am married and we have two almost-fully-formed-adult children, who I love spending time with. We have a big dog that I like to walk, but because he is afraid of bugs they are generally short walks. I love all sports, but particularly enjoy watching football. I am a proud St. Louis Cardinals fan (I grew up in StL). I also love listening to music, the theater, and spending time outside. I love cycling, mountain biking, and hiking.

Maine DOE Update – December 2, 2022

From the Maine Department of Education

Reporting Items

NEO and Synergy – State Reporting Training

The Maine Department of Education Data Team is available to provide training in both NEO and Synergy for anyone looking to understand more about the navigation of these programs for state reporting purposes. Trainings can be done one-on-one with new or current users, in small groups, or in a group setting for whole districts. | More

REPORT OPEN: EF-M-39 – Finance Report – Subsidy Allocation for 16-20 Year Old Students Exited from Regular Education and Enrolled in Adult Education Programs

The EF-M-39 report opened on December 1, 2022. This report will be due on December 15, 2022. | More

| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |

News & Updates

Lewiston Students Create Ornaments for Maine’s Tree as Part of the National Christmas Tree Display in Washington, D.C.

Students at Robert V. Connors Elementary School in Lewiston created one-of-a-kind ornaments now adorning Maine’s tree as part of the 2022 National Christmas Tree display on the Ellipse in President’s Park outside of the White House. | More

Regional Connection Events for Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) Coordinators

Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG) is hosting Regional Connection Events throughout Maine for ELO (Extended Learning Opportunity) Coordinators. Each event is held in-person where a light breakfast and lunch will be provided, as will opportunities to spend time sharing, connecting, and being inspired. Find a detailed schedule/program here. | More

Rural School Bus Electrification Webinar

There will be a webinar and Q&A to go in-depth on rural electric school bus deployment. The webinar will take a deep dive into challenges specific to rural Maine, cover the big takeaways of the MDI case study, and address questions. | More

RFA- Restorative Practices for System Involved Youth in Maine Schools

The State of Maine is seeking applications to provide funding to Maine Schools in need of establishing or expanding support for System Involved Youth. | More

Maine Schools Sharing Success Stories

Middle School Teams Prepare for the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotics Competition

Student Voice and Choice a Big Part of Brewer High School Extended Learning Program

“We are seeing dramatic improvement in attitude and effort on the part of our students,” said Brewer High School’s Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator Kevin Napolillo. “They feel that their career goals are finally being addressed and can see the value of what they are doing.” | More

Aroostook County Teachers of the Year Lead Effort to Face Regional Teacher Shortages

Aroostook County Teachers of the Year (CTOY) Leslie Marquis (2017), Bill Guerette (2018), Kim Barnes (2019), Jocelyn Saucier (2020), and Heather Anderson (2022), along with Maine Teachers of the Year (TOY) Elaine Hendrickson (2001) and Alana Margeson (2012) came together to plan, The Future of Aroostook County Education Symposium, or otherwise known as FACES, on November 17th at Caribou Community School. | More

New STEAM Lab at Glenburn School Making a Big Impact

Establishing a culture of creation, innovation and hands-on learning is becoming a focal point at Glenburn School. The driving forces toward that goal are a couple of long-time educators – Technology Integrator, David Davis, and Technology Director, Ken Worster. | More

| Submit your Maine School Success Story |

Professional Development & Training Opportunities

Inclusion for All: How to Support All Learners through Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

The Office of Special services and Inclusive Education at the Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce our next speaker in our Special Topics Series – Dr. Katie Novak on January 4, 2023 from 3:30-4:30 pm. | More

Computer Science Mobile Lab – Training Webinars and Support Resources

Join us during Computer Science Education (CS Ed) Week for FREE virtual training for the mobile computer science labs! We’re excited to announce that we’ll be hosting webinars throughout next week to help folks get started with their lab equipment. These will be vendor-provided trainings and will cover the basics of unboxing, configuring, and getting started. Webinars will be live and recorded. Recordings will be posted to the website once they become available. | More

What Are the MLTI Ambassadors Cooking Up? Daily Asynchronous Professional Learning Offerings Starting 11/28

Student Engagement, Blended Learning, Project Based Learning, Supporting All Learners and Computer Science & Computational Thinking Pedagogies are the main topics for a four-week professional learning series being offer by the MLTI Ambassadors starting on November 28. These daily offerings will go live on the MLTI Youtube channel and are open to all interested educators and will include useful resources and contact hours. These are also available as a professional learning calendar with links to the video and slides going live every day! | More

| Visit the Professional Development Calendar |

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities:

View current Maine Department of Education employment opportunities here

REPORT OPEN: EF-M-39 – Finance Report – Subsidy Allocation for 16-20 Year Old Students Exited from Regular Education and Enrolled in Adult Education Programs

The EF-M-39 report opened on December 1, 2022. This report will be due on December 15, 2022.

All public school administrative units (SAUs), excluding Public Charter Schools, must report even if there are no pupils to report. SAU member entities of Unions and AOSs must report separately. SAUs that send their students to Regional Adult Education Programs must file based on their own resident students attending the Regional Adult Education Program.

Students who have exited regular education, and are enrolled in Adult Education courses should be reported on the EF-M-39.

This report covers the reporting range from July 1st to December 30th of adult education students, courses, and credits/hours.

Resources, including the webinar and slideshow for this report, can be found on the MEDMS Helpdesk Website on the Webinars & Presentations page.

For questions about submitting this report contact MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov or call 207-624-6896

Middle School Teams Prepare for the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotics Competition

Spruce Mountain High School in Jay will host the Maine FIRST LEGO League Challenge State Championship with teams from all over the state this weekend. After a small-scale event at Messalonskee last year and no in-person event the year before, this FIRST Lego League (FLL) event aims to move a step closer to excitement and engagement that only the Civic Center in Augusta could contain! Every season, FIRST has a new theme that goes across its different groups. “Energize” is the theme for the 2022-2023 season with an emphasis on energy generation, efficiency, and use. At the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) level, teams will take part in the “Superpowered” challenge and “explore where energy comes from and how it is distributed, stored, and used – and then put their superpowered creativity to work to innovate for a better energy future.”

This year’s event will have 25 teams competing from across the state. Three of the teams competing this year are the Veazie Vikings (Team 26180) from Veazie Community School, the STEAM Powered Knights (Team 34104) from St. George Elementary School and the RoboSharks (Team 14407) from the Shapleigh School.

The Veazie Vikings Robotics team started in 2016 and are looking to have another successful showing coming off their success last season, which included two awards. They won the Maine Global Innovation Award with their “Veazie Moves” app design and had the highest scoring robot in the competition. Their success even led to a feature on NewsCenter Maine. This year’s team has a mix of veteran and rookie middle school students who each get to build and program a robot. Combining the building and programming to complete assigned tasks on a game field is really what brings the team together. Team coach Brian Gonyar said, “Students learn teamwork. They share ideas, successes, and failures.” Working around students’ busy after-school activities can be challenging, but they are able to practice most days. The team project that focuses on biomass energy production has been an undertaking, but they are optimistic.

St. George Elementary School’s team was formed by STEAM teacher Amy Palmer and Technology & Makerspace Director Paul Meinersmann in 2017. Team 34104 has not had a straight path. After participating in the state competition in 2017, the team is finally returning to the event held in Oakland last year. This year, they will be returning to the Maine FLL State Championship with a completely new group of students. Like many robotics teams in Maine, they are rebuilding their program after going dark during the pandemic. This new team, who renamed themselves the STEAM Powered Knights (they were formerly the “Electro Dragons”), are looking to charge back into robotics action this year.

Shapleigh School will be making their debut at this year’s event. Fifth grade teacher Heidi Randall went through the necessary training this summer to begin coaching a team this school year. They were in the starting process in 2020 and are excited to be able to finally organize a team. “It was certainly a learning year with a huge learning curve,” said Randall, “Our enthusiasm is high as we are getting the final week after the break!” For students and coaches alike, the first time going to an event is a learning experience, but one that will help the team grow and better prepare for the future.

On December 3, 2022, the Veazie Vikings, the St. George STEAM Powered Knights, and the Shapleigh RoboSharks will join many FLL teams at Spruce Mountain High School for the Maine FIRST LEGO League Challenge State Championship. This is event is free and open to the public. Children of all ages can watch FLL teams compete. There is still a high need for volunteers to help at this event in a variety of capacities. If you have any interest in volunteering at this event, please contact Geoff Cyr (geoffrey.cyr@gmail.com). To learn more about opportunities for Robotics in Maine schools, check out Robotics Institute of Maine (RIM). For information about computer science in Maine schools, please check out the Maine Department of Education’s Computer Science page. If you have a robotics success story at your school, email jonathan.m.graham@maine.gov.

Computer Science Mobile Lab – Training Webinars and Support Resources

Additionally, we’ve put together a webpage to provide immediate resources and support for each mobile lab option. These resources offer some quick access information to help get going with the equipment

To check out these resources, learn more about the webinars, and to register, click here. You’ll see the mobile lab options and can find quick start resources as well as the registration links for the webinars.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please reach out to Maine DOE’s Computer Science Specialist, Emma-Marie Banks at emma-marie.banks@maine.gov

NEO and Synergy – State Reporting Training

Training is targeted to meet the needs of anyone utilizing Synergy and/or NEO, including, but not limited to;

Student data specialists
Staff data specialists
Administrative Assistants
Superintendents

Training can be held virtually or in person at the preference of the district and/or user. For more information or to sign up for training please contact:

AlLee Cookson
Data Quality Trainer
Alexandra.Cookson@maine.gov
207-446-3897

Or submit an Onboard Training Registration online survey.

Student Voice and Choice a Big Part of Brewer High School Extended Learning Program

Along with a growing number of schools and districts across Maine, Brewer High School has established an Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator to work with students to set up intentional career/work experiences and coordinate efforts for students to experience and learn about different jobs, career paths, and work opportunities available here in Maine and beyond.

“We have set up extended learning opportunities in the areas of auto mechanics, child psychology, and marine biology just to name a few,” said Napolillo. “We have also established a CNA [Certified Nursing Assistant] training program with a local nursing home.”

Napolillo says that the best part of his job is, “Observing the signs of realization when a student becomes aware that the school personnel will find out their likes and foster their desires for careers.”

In an effort to keep the program student directed, Napolillo has also worked to establish a relationship with the local Chamber of Commerce to develop relationships with local business owners.

It takes those strong local and State partnerships to develop and sustain a successful Extended Learning Opportunity programming and to that end, Napolillo would like to extend a debt of gratitude to: Walker’s Garage-Brewer, Brewer Center for Health and Rehabilitation, and Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.

Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) are hands on, credit bearing courses outside of the traditional classroom with an emphasis on community-based career exploration. These opportunities are personalized for students and help them explore options for their professional lives. They help students engage in learning through instruction, assignments, and experiential learning. The Maine Department of Education (DOE), along with State-wide partner Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG), have made a concerted effort to provide working models, support, and funding opportunities for Maine schools to set up ELO programs within their school communities. To learn more about Maine’s initiatives with extended learning opportunities, visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/index.php/learning/elo or reach out to Maine DOE ELO Coordinator Rick Wilson at rick.wilson@maine.gov.

Aroostook County Teachers of the Year Lead Effort to Face Regional Teacher Shortages

Aroostook County Teachers of the Year (CTOY) Leslie Marquis (2017), Bill Guerette (2018), Kim Barnes (2019), Jocelyn Saucier (2020), and Heather Anderson (2022), along with Maine Teachers of the Year (TOY) Elaine Hendrickson (2001) and Alana Margeson (2012) came together to plan, The Future of Aroostook County Education Symposium, or otherwise known as FACES, on November 17th at Caribou Community School.

Current teachers, ed techs and paraprofessionals, interested high school students, pre-service teachers, administrators, career/guidance counselors, community partners, policymakers, and higher education representatives enjoyed an evening of conversation, collaboration, and visioning to address the critical need to both draw and keep dedicated educators in our schools as we face an unprecedented time of teacher workforce shortages in Aroostook County, Maine, and nationally.

Maine DOE Educator Excellence Coordinator Emily Doughty, Educate Maine Program Specialist Kaitlin Young, and Valley Unified School District Superintendent Ben Sirois served as keynote speakers to ground conversations about teacher recruitment and retention. Delta Kappa Gamma Society of Women Educators also supported the evening event.

“In true Aroostook County fashion, we ‘rolled up our sleeves’ and dug into the what, why, and how of teacher recruitment and retention,” said 2019 Aroostook CTOY and 8th grade Teacher Kim Barnes.

Future of Aroostook County Educators Symposium (FACES)

Media Release: Lewiston Students Create Ornaments for Maine’s Tree as Part of the National Christmas Tree Display in Washington, D.C.

(Photo from National Park Service)

Students and educators from Connors Elementary School’s Civil Rights Team led the effort and designed ornaments featuring familiar Maine scenes including the outline of the state, moose, lobsters, and pine trees filled with messages celebrating the themes of belonging, inclusivity, and feeling welcome. They wanted to ensure that those who don’t celebrate the holiday were also represented and highlight how Maine welcomes all.

“The students were really excited to be part of this, and we are really honored to have this opportunity,” said Kelsey Boucher, an art teacher at Connors Elementary and the 2022 Androscoggin County teacher of the year. “Students were already working on a Day of Welcome project and wanted to make ornaments about what makes them feel welcome at school. They got creative by filling in outlines of iconic Maine shapes with diverse images and messages around belonging, inclusivity, and welcoming all.”

Boucher joined her Civil Rights Team Co-Advisor Nesrene Griffin and Assistant Principal Travis Jalbert in Washington, D.C. today to represent Maine for the National Christmas Tree lighting this evening. The school will host a watch party for students, educators, and family members when the ceremony is aired on December 11.

The America Celebrates ornament program is an annual collaboration of the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Education and the National Park Foundation (NPF). These ornaments adorn 58 smaller trees that surround the National Christmas Tree. The trees represent states, territories, and schools managed by the Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity. This year, more than 2,600 students participated in the America Celebrates ornament program. Click here for more information.