The Department of Education offers quarterly windows for districts to review, for accuracy and comprehensiveness, the data that has been entered and reported to us. The fourth quarter review requires final certification for the annual data. It is our hope that review of this data on a more regular basis will save time and work at the end of the year, and will provide more time to make any necessary corrections.
The review period for Quarter 3 (Q3), which includes truancy, behavior, attendance and bullying, opens April 1st and review and submission is requested by April 15th. Again, certification is not required for Quarter 3 (Q3) reports; this will be obtained on the final, Quarter 4 (Q4), report.
National Art Honor Society members participated in Winterfest, a Downtown winter festival full of games, sales, and events happening in West Market Square and Downtown at large. The student artists created snow sculptures, including a variety of snow people and snow chairs, for visiting children and families to interact with.
Submitted by Kathy Harris-Smedberg, Assistant Superintendent of Schools at Bangor School Department.
World Languages On February 8, all Chinese 1–4 students gathered in the BHS library for an in-school field trip to celebrate the Year of the Pig. Students began the celebration with Chinese New Year songs and greetings. Then they watched a video about the new-year celebration in China. Students wrote calligraphy, did paper cutting and folding, played Chinese games, made Chinese dumplings and mooncakes, and ate authentic Chinese New Year dishes. Students also participated in the lion dance, which represents chasing away evil spirits and welcoming good luck into the New Year.
Kathleen Greenlaw received a Scholastic Art Gold Key award for her work titled Zosia at a formal reception at the Maine College of Art. Her work was presented and discussed in front of a crowd of supporters.
Visual and Performing Arts The University of Maine Museum of Art exhibit opening was another huge success! Every exhibit opening brings more people to appreciate the art our students have created! Each student shared a few words about the meaning behind their artwork and answered questions from those in attendance. The exhibit will remain at the museum until early June.
English As part of Bangor Humanities Day, BHS Humanities Academy students will present posters about their capstone research at the Bangor Public Library on Saturday, March 3. These posters will show the initial research pre-capstone students have engaged in this year, including research about the past, present, and future of political parties, the spread of the English language around the world, and diversity in Maine high schools.
To honor notable African Americans, students created posters and made announcements about achievements by African Americans in science, sports, and education. One local connection is Beryl Williams, who graduated from BHS in 1931 and became the first African-American to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Maine. She went on to have an illustrious career in education, teaching at a number of colleges, and eventually became the first female academic dean at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Skills USA – 11 BHS students received medals in the SkillsUSA competition at the United Technology Center in Bangor.
Haley Gould, Gold Medal in Automotive Refinishing
Kylie Braley, Gold Medal in Community Service
Cameron Dysart, Gold Medal in First Aid / CPR
Allison Foster, Gold Medal in Interactive Apps & Gaming
Emerson Landon, Gold Medal in Interactive Apps & Gaming
Damon Tucker, Gold Medal in Power Equipment Technology (2nd Year)
Brittney Pecue, Gold Medal in Robotics Urban Search & Rescue
Alejandra Hernandez, Gold Medal in Television Video Production
Zachary DeRoche, Silver Medal in Audio Radio Production
Noah Braley, Bronze Medal in Medical Terminology
Emma Duplain, Bronze Medal in Photography
Junior David Carroll placed fifth nationally in the 2019 US Crystal Growing Competition in the Quality category. BHS Chemistry teacher Dr. Barbara Stewart guided David in the process.
Art – Students in Eric Hutchins art class designed posters to promote school attendance. They worked with Attendance Specialist, Carolyn Sproul, to spread the message of how important it is to attend school.
Chess – Members of the BHS Chess Team too home top honors for the High School Reserve section of the 2019 Maine Scholastic Chess tournament on March 2.
Photo by Gretchen Fleming
The winter sports season at Bangor High School was nothing short of amazing! Bangor continued to add to its championship tradition (106 titles) by capturing two state titles: Class A girls’ swim & Class AA boys’ basketball. The Bangor Rams also won four regional championship titles: cheering, girls indoor track, girls’ swimming, and boys’ basketball. The swim teams set state records at the boys’ and girls’ championship meets.
Boys’ Basketball The closeness of the school community was apparent at the Class AA basketball championship in Portland. The band, cheerleaders, student body, and basketball team exhibited awesome energy and demonstrated great school spirit. The boys’ varsity basketball team won the KVAC championship and the Class AA regional championship on its way to the state championship game against Bonny Eagle! Damien Vance scored his 1,000th career point at the last regular game of the season at Edward Little. Matthew Fleming, who will be attending West Point in the fall, was selected as 2019 Mr. Maine Basketball.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving The girls’ swimming and diving team first won the PVC championship with Mckayla Kendall named Swimmer of the Meet. The team then went on to win the Class A state championship! Rachel Hand set a new school record in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 59.97. Cindi Howard, the girls’ swim coach, was name Coach of the Year.
Girls’ Indoor Track The girls’ indoor track team won the PVC championship. Alyssa Elliott broke a 32 year record by posting a jump of 37 feet, 7 ¼ inches to lead the Bangor Rams to the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League Big Schools championship. Coach Alan Mosca was named the Indoor Track Coach of the Year.
Cheerleading: The varsity cheerleaders were the Class A runner-up at the state championships.
Wrestling Jeffrey: Kirk finished fourth in the 285 lb. weight class at the KVAC wrestling championships at Cony High School on February 2. Additionally, he outscored three other schools in the team points portion of the day!
More than 80 “windgineers” on 28 teams from York, Topsham, Winslow, Freeport and Portland took part in the 2019 Maine State KidWind Challenge on March 20, at Ocean Gateway in Portland.
The KidWind Challenge is an event that allows students to explore the power of wind by building and testing their own wind turbines. Daniel Chuhta, the deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Education attended in the afternoon to watch the action and address the young windgineers.
The top two teams from the middle and high school divisions will be invited to the National KidWind Challenge in Houston, which runs May 21-23.
The Portland Public Schools and KidWind are partnering together to promote and support this STEM education challenge for students around the state.
Terese Hodgdon, Secretary at Noble Middle School in MSAD 60.
In an effort to accommodate students who might be in need of more individualized attention, Noble Middle School (NMS) is one of the only institutes that has school-wide implementation of a program called BARR – Building Assets, Reducing Risks – with our staff. The Teams meet twice a month to discuss (among other things) students who would benefit from said attention. Part of the discussion is to find ways to form a connection between the student and school and to give them favorable interactions with adults so that they want to come to school. Realizing that some students may be in need of positive role models, we try to fill that void.
Kristen Hobbs, Intervention Coordinator for MSAD 60, says, “School isn’t just about academics. It is about social and emotional learning.” Mrs. Hobbs has played an integral part in organizing solutions to this issue.
As such, NMS has partnered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters to bring in matches for students. Currently, there are four pairs at Noble Middle School and 2 more at the High School in the 8th Grade. The Big Brothers and Big Sisters come to the school during the school day to meet with their Littles to do community service and play games. There have been multi-year matches that see the students through the middle school grades.
In addition, several years ago, Noble Middle School also implemented a Mentor Program. It pairs students up with an adult in the building – they could be teachers or support staff, even some retired teachers and admin have joined in. There are currently 28 Mentor/Mentee matches in the building.
The Mentor Program focuses on positive interactions with students and adults. Getting together at Squire Time or during lunch or recess, the pairs can eat lunch together, play games, work on projects or discuss interesting topics. During the warmer months, there are picnics and walk-abouts.
It might be hard to decide who enjoys themselves more – the Mentors or the Mentees – but one thing is certain. There are plenty of smiles being shared.
Submitted by Julie Purdy, Librarian/Media Specialist at RSU 16.
It began as a discussion at one of our district library meetings. The elementary schools in RSU16 often highlight Read Across America Day on or around March 2nd; however, because it has traditionally been associated with Dr. Seuss’s birthday, the middle school and high school have never really participated. This year, we decided that it would be fun to bring together kids and books and celebrate reading district-wide in honor of Read Across America Day!
We decided to embrace the Dr. Seuss theme for our inaugural “Read Across RSU16 Week”! Our goals for this event were to promote Read Across America, promote reading in general by showing our students that it is important and fun for everyone to read, and to generate school spirit! We planned a week of activities and fun to promote our culminating event: On Friday, March 8th, EVERYONE in RSU16, from our superintendent to our preschoolers, dropped everything and just read a book from 10:00-10:20!
To celebrate and promote the week and to get our students fired up for our district-wide reading time, each school had spirit dress up days.
Spirit Dress Up Days at the elementary schools:
Monday: Horton Hears A Who – Wear Blue
Tuesday: Green Eggs and Ham – Wear Green
Wednesday: Thing 1 and Thing 2 – Twin Day
Thursday: Fox in Socks – Wear Red
Friday: The Lorax – Wear Orange
Spirit Dress Up Days at the Middle School and High School:
Monday: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – Wear Red or Blue
Tuesday: Cat in the Hat Day – Wear Stripes and/or a Hat
Wednesday: Thing 1 and Thing 2 – Twin Day
Thursday: Fox in Socks – Wear Crazy or Mismatched Socks
Friday: Oh, the Places You’ll Go – Wear a College T-shirt or Sweatshirt
Throughout the week, all schools promoted Read Across RSU16 Week in fun ways. Teachers and librarians at the elementary level read Dr. Seuss books all week. At the high school, we read a page of a Dr. Seuss book over the intercom, and the first five students to post the correct answer on the library Instagram page won a prize! Younger students decorated cakes and Truffula trees! At Minot Consolidated School, everyone was given a mustache to wear on The Lorax day! The libraries at Minot Consolidated School and Bruce Whittier Middle School/Poland Regional High School also hosted a bulletin board “Seuss Shadow Silhouettes” contest where students could match up the Dr. Seuss character silhouettes with the character names, and the winners received cool prizes! We also had a Cat in the Hat photo booth cut-out so that students could take their pictures as the Cat in the Hat reading a book.
All of the fun during the week led up to the culminating event where everyone district-wide dropped everything to read! It was a lot of fun for everyone, and we hope to make this an annual event!
Check out Poland Regional High School Library’s Instagram page (@prhslibrary) for lots of pictures of Read Across RSU16 Week!
James Hotham, Maine FFA State Vice President (second from right) joins State FFA Advisor Doug Robertson, Legislative Aide David Knorr, Representative Dustin White and Maine DOE Staff Support Specialist Faith McLaughlin at display in the Hall of Flags.
Maine FFA State Vice President, James Hotham, joined representatives from a number of Maine agriculture and natural resources organizations in the Maine State House on Maine Agriculture Day, March 21, 2019.
In addition to staffing a display on his 500-member agriculture student leadership organization, James and Maine FFA participants Doug Robertson & Faith McLaughlin in the Maine Department of Education were recognized by the Maine House of Representatives courtesy of Aroostook County Representative Dustin White.
James Hotham speaks before members of the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.
James also had the opportunity to present to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs information on the statewide organization for students grades 7-12 in programs related to agriculture and natural resources, with chapters extending from Sanford to Caribou. He explained that FFA members gain valuable technical and leadership skills to assist them in future careers. For those interested in chartering new chapters, James noted that technical agriculture and natural resources programs would qualify schools for membership, as would science curricula incorporating these concepts and including features such as school gardens or greenhouses. He encouraged legislators to promote FFA to their home communities and elsewhere in the state so that more students could take advantage of opportunities such as the $2,000,000 in national scholarships, exciting competitions, travel opportunities, and top-notch leadership trainings.
For more information on FFA and on starting a new FFA chapter, please contact State FFA Advisor in the Maine Department of Education, Doug Robertson, doug.robertson@maine.gov (207) 624-6744
Submitted by Shane Gower, Social Studies Teacher at Maranacook Community High School in Readfield, RSU 38.
Maranacook Community High School teacher Shane Gower was among 50 educators from across the country selected to travel to Washington, D.C. this summer to participate in the Fourth Annual Friends of the National World War II Memorial Teachers Network and Conference.
The conference will feature presentations by fellow educators and other experts in the area of World War II history, discussions with World War II veterans, tours of sites of World War II significance, and a remembrance ceremony at the World War II Memorial.
“At the heart of Friends’ Teachers Network and Conference program is the concept of community service,” said Holly Rotondi, executive director of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial. “Through a thoroughly prepared and well-devised community engagement program, our educators share what they learned during their time in Washington, D.C. with their students, fellow teachers, and the community at-large. The result is countless service-learning initiatives popping up across the nation that promote critical thinking and personal reflection while encouraging a heightened sense of community, civic engagement, and personal responsibility.”
“Working with students to learn about the Fallen Heroes of the Second World War from Maine has been a great passion for me,” said Gower. “I am very excited to learn more about the War and ways to expand remembering their sacrifice in our community.”
The 2019 conference will have the theme of “Industry and Innovation During World War II.” Friends of the national World War II Memorial covers all the costs of the conference for the teachers, including a travel stipend. Mr. Gower will receive a certificate for 30 continuing education hours.
Nearly 200 English teachers from across the state attended the Maine Council of English Language Art’s annual conference at the summit of Point Lookout in Northport last week. The conference began on Thursday with a celebration of poetry headlined by Maine Poet Laureate Stuart Kestenbaum. Kestenbaum read several of his poems, explaining how several started as a list of words handed to him by students, then transformed into moving and vibrant stories in verse.
On Friday, teachers supported teachers by providing 24 different opportunities to learn with and from each other. Topics included Teaching Trauma and Resilience Through Literature, The Dream-Centered Classroom, and Exploring Power, Social Justice, and Other Contemporary Issues Through Book Clubs in Middle and High School Classrooms.
The event ended with Gillian French, author of Grit and several other novels, reading from her works and encouraging place-based writing. A native of Bucksport, French embraces to beauty of Maine, the grittiness of its residents, and the sometimes challenging, sometimes uplifting experiences that come from rural living.
MCELA presented the 2019 Brassil Award, honoring distinguished Maine educators John and Claudette Brassil, to Stephanie Hendrix of Bangor High School. Hendrix teaches English and Humanities, is a doctoral student, integrates technology flawlessly into her instruction, and is quite active in theater. This award recognizes exceptional English language arts and literacy teachers who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, contributed to the profession, and shown a commitment to the community. MCELA is currently accepting nominations for the 2020 Brassil Award. Go to the MCELA Brassil Award page for further details.
Catch up on all the details on twitter with #MCELA2019
Teachers of all grades: Looking for an exciting and informative summer opportunity related to agriculture? Consider the upcoming July 29 – August 2, 2019 “Agriculture for ME on Land and Sea” Summer Teachers’ Institute. Located at the University of New England, on their beautiful coastal Biddeford Campus, and offered by Maine Agriculture in the Classroom! With stimulating local trips, talks featuring hands-on activities, and high quality lesson plans to take home with you, this event promises to be a great success. The cost of the 5-day training (registering through July 1st) is just $200, including lodging, travel and meals, with scholarships available. Participants will receive 36 contact hours, or 3.6 CEUs, from the University of Maine for re-certification credit, as well as many valuable materials. For further information, and to register, please go to https://www.agclassroom.org/me/programs/summer_inst.htm For any additional questions, please contact Maine Agriculture in the Classroom at maitc@mainel.gov or (207)287-5522.
Administrative Letter: #24 Policy Code: EEAEB To: Public School Administrators, Business Managers, Transportation Directors, and School Bus Vendors Date: 26 March 2019 Subject: Clarification Concerning Local and State School Bus Bid and Purchase
To assist and support school districts in their diligent work to purchase school buses, the Maine Department of Education is providing clarification concerning the process for districts to bid and purchase school buses.
The information in this letter has been reviewed and confirmed by our legal team in the Office of the Attorney General.
For a school bus purchase to be eligible for State subsidy, per 20-A M.R.S. § 5401(15) and § 5402, the school administrative unit (SAU) must:
(1) purchase the bus from the bidder selected through the State of Maine Division of Procurement school bus bid Request for Quotations (RFQ) for bus Type and capacity or
(2) upon request, provide to the Department documentation that demonstrates the purchase was the result of a competitive bidding process conducted by the SAU following, 20-A M.R.S § 5402 bid procedures.
For school buses purchased by a SAU when the SAU is not seeking subsidy, the SAU must still engage in competitive bidding, as outlined above.
Vendors are welcome to register with, and submit school bus bids through, the Maine Division of Procurement’s Request for Quotations (RFQ). During an open bid, vendors may not contact the Maine Department of Education. Questions that vendors receive about Maine Department of Education transportation programs, policies, and procedures from SAUs or citizens are to be redirected to the state agency with subject authority, e.g., Maine Division of Procurement or Maine Department of Education.
SAU use of the Maine Department of Education’s School Bus Bid and Purchase System (SBBPS) is voluntary. SAUs are encouraged to contact Pat Hinckley at 207-624-6886 or pat.hinckley@maine.gov with any questions about the SBBPS, transportation programs, or policy questions.
Submitted by Shane Gower, Social Studies Teacher at Maranacook Community High School in Readfield, RSU 38.
Maine DOE Newsroom 