Scarborough High School
October 6, 2022
Dear Students, Families, and Staff,
Here are some highlights of the month:
- Thursday, October 6: Parent-Teacher Conferences, 2:45 - 7:15 PM
- Friday, October 7: Staff Development Day, No School for students
- Monday, October 10: Indigenous Peoples Day, No School
- Tuesday - Friday, October 11 - 14: SPIRIT WEEK!
- Wednesday, October 12: Early Release at 12:55 PM
- Saturday, October 15: Homecoming Dance in the Cafeteria, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
- Monday, October 17: Senior Placement Office hosts Senior Parent Night, 6:00 PM
- Thursday, October 20: PICTURE RETAKE DAY!
- Thursday, October 20: Parent-Teacher Conferences, 2:45 - 5:15 PM
- Tuesday, October 25: Flu Shot Clinic, 7:30 AM
- Wednesday, October 26: Student Meeting in the AUD, 10:40 AM (during AEAST)
- Wednesday, October 26: Parent Meeting (virtual), 6:00 PM
- Friday, November 4: First Quarter Ends
Homecoming Dance Ticket Sales
Parent Meeting for First Quarter
The first quarter Parent Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 26, from 6:00 - 7:00 PM. A large majority of voters asked that the meeting continue to be held virtually, so be looking for the agenda and meeting link on Monday, October 24. We hope to see you there!
Flu Shot Clinic
Scarborough High School will be hosting our annual Flu Shot Clinic (influenza vaccination clinic) on Tuesday, October 25, at 7:30 AM. We will be partnering with Northern Light Home Care & Hospice to provide this clinic to our students. Please click on here and complete the consent form by Monday, October 24, 2022 at noon. You must type something into all highlighted fields, so please use NA if it doesn’t apply. Although the vaccine is provided at no charge, there is a cost to administer the vaccine. We appreciate it if you include accurate insurance information. Children presenting with an incomplete form will not receive their vaccine. There is no out of pocket cost and those without insurance will be vaccinated with the appropriate form completed. Click here for SHS Consent.
- You will be notified if there is a change in the planned dates of the school flu clinic
- The Vaccine Information Sheets are included in the link after the consent form. Please take a minute to read these.
- If you need a translated form or are unable to complete an electronic form, please let the school nurse know and we will send a paper form home.
- All clinics will have injectable vaccines only.
For information about flu and the vaccine go to: www.maineflu.gov.
For questions about the flu vaccine, all Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention (Maine CDC) at 1-800-867-4775, Monday through Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. For questions about the vaccine clinics at our school, please call a school nurse, Lisa Verzoni or Stacey Hang, at (207)730-5000.
SHS Choral Singers Perform at Merrill Auditorium
On Sunday, October 2nd, twenty-five Scarborough High School choral students sang in Merrill Auditorium in a performance of Carl Orff’s masterpiece, Carmina Burana! The concert featured ChoralArt and the Kotzschmar Organ, joined by guest singers from six Maine High Schools (Brunswick, Greely, Katahdin, Presque Isle, Rangeley Lakes, and Scarborough). The Portland Community Chorus, four percussionists, soloists Molly Harmon and Aaron Engebreth, conductor Robert Russell, and organ virtuoso James Kennerley rounded out the lineup. We are so proud of our twenty-five SHS singers! Congratulations!
Fall SAT Registration Deadlines
Remaining 2022 Weekend SAT Dates:
- SAT Test Date: November 5, Register by October 7, Late Registration Deadline - October 25
- SAT Test Date: December 3, Register by November 3, Late Registration Deadline - November 22
If you’re a fee waiver-eligible student, there’s no late registration fee.
October 12 Plan
Wednesday, October 12 is not only an Early Release Day, but it is also a special plan day for SHS.
Freshmen will be taking the iReady test in the morning. We will continue to use the iReady Reading and Math Diagnostic Assessment fall and spring. Data from the upcoming fall iReady diagnostic will help teacher learn more about their students,assisting them to target lessons and activities at their students’ instructional levels. They will be eating B Lunch and then going back to their testing room for a Study Hall until the 12:55 final bell for the day. There will be drinks and snacks provided in the AM. All students will need to have their chromebook with them to do the iReady testing. iReady testing must be completed on a district issued chromebook. Please ensure your student brings their district issued device and charger to school on October 12. There are only a limited number of loaners available in the learning commons, and these devices were not intended to be a replacement for your district issued device. If your student has not picked up their chromebook yet, they can do so anytime the Help Desk is open, but the Chromebook Care, Use, & Responsibility Guide must be completed in the Powerschool Parent Portal prior to pickup.
Sophomores and Juniors will be taking PSATs. They will test in the morning and have C Lunch just before the final bell rings. They need #2 pencils and a calculator for the testing. Snacks and drinks will be provided in the morning.
Seniors will be taking part in a Financial Workshop in coordination with Town & Country Federal Credit Union. This workshop is extremely helpful for students leaving high school and gives them advice on budgeting, credit cards, debt, loans, etc. If you’d like to read an editorial written by David Libby, President and CEO of Town & Country, please click here. Seniors will be eating A Lunch, and may leave before or after lunch (which ends at 11:40) if they have transportation. If seniors need to take the bus, they are welcome to go to the Learning Commons or the Study Center for a Study Hall until 12:55. Seniors should bring a writing utensil to the workshop. We implore seniors to attend this
workshop. It is a very good workshop and Town & Country dedicates a lot of resources to make this possible. PLEASE COME!
Freshmen, sophomers, and juniors should get a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast to be ready for the testing.
Room lists for the testing will be posted outside Student Services and the Cafeteria. Senior small groups for attendance and the workshop will also be posted in these two places.
Picture Retake Day
Maine State Assessment
The NWEA’s will take place in October for our sophomores this year in October and in May for Reading and Mathematics in the fall. The focus will be on student growth, not on achievement levels. The fall testing will provide teachers and students with the information on what students can do, and the spring information will be used to acknowledge and celebrate student growth. Students will be taking these assessments during their English and Math classes.
Snow Days for 2022-23
To clarify any questions about the status of snow days for 2022-23, when the calendar was approved this spring, the board voted to maintain traditional snow days, and not to utilize remote snow days. THe 2022-23 calendar reflects that vote, and states that any storm days will be added to the end of the school year.
COVID Protocols Ongoing
Continuing into the fall, we have been keeping an eye on the latest updates in COVID protocols. Maine DOE has indicated that they will continue to rely on the US CDC rather than creating specific Maine school guidelines. Here are the US CDC guidelines for schools.
EBT Benefits
In order to receive important EBT grocery benefits, families should fill out their school meal benefit form today!
Go to https://mealapp.lunchtimesoftware.net/ to apply today, or call us at 730-4700 if you need help filling out the application.
P-EBT benefits for eligible school age kids and children under 6 were issued by the state of Maine during the last week of August and first week of September for the 2021- 2022 school year. For more information about who is eligible and how to check your EBT balance, visit feedkids.me
Summer P-EBT benefits will be issued before October 31, and additional benefits to support eligible children who miss school due to Covid this school year will be available soon. Get your application in to see if you qualify!
Seniors Photos
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams Information
Dear AP Students, Parents, & Guardians,
This letter is intended to provide you with some important information as it pertains to registering and paying for your 2023 Advanced Placement (AP) Exams.
Registering for an AP Exam through AP Classroom
Once again this year, the College Board is requiring that AP Exam registration take place during the fall months. Our AP teachers have instructed students on how to register for their exams and many students have already completed this process. For students who have not yet registered for their exams, please work with your AP teacher to do so ASAP.
Registering for AP Exams is a very simple process and requires students to complete the following steps:
Sign in to http://myap.collegeboard.org/ using your College Board student account login.*
Click the “join a course or exam” feature
Enter the join code that your teacher provided you and click “submit”
Confirm that the information displayed is for the correct AP course you are enrolled in
The first time you enroll in an AP course in My AP, you’ll need to fill out some registration information. It’s important to provide accurate information. You will only have to do this once.
That’s it! You are now registered for your AP course and can access your AP Classroom!
Paying for an AP Exam via RevTrak
All payments for AP Exams must be received prior to the close of business on Monday November 7, 2022. Adherence to this deadline is critical to the timely processing of all exam orders, and to avoid incurring any late fees. We will again be using the RevTrak Online Payments program to collect and process all AP Exam fees. The link for our RevTrak site is: http://scarborough.revtrak.net/. The cost is $97 per exam. The RevTrak portal will be open from Oct. 3 - Nov. 7.
Students who qualify for the Federal Free or Reduced Lunch Program are eligible to receive an AP Exam fee reduction. The total cost for each exam under this provision is $61. Eligible students should see Mr. Soucie, Ms. LaBelle, or Mrs. Sutyak in the Student Services Office prior to paying for their exam(s). Reduced fee payments will only be accepted via personal check made payable to Scarborough High School.
Canceling an AP Exam order
Students who wish to cancel their AP Exam order after November 15, 2022 will be able to do so for a partial refund. The College Board charges Scarborough High School a fee of $40 for every exam canceled after November 15, 2022. As a result, Scarborough High School will reimburse you a total of $57 if you paid the full amount, or $21 if you paid the Federal Free or Reduced amount. Students wishing to cancel their exam order must contact Mr. Soucie, Ms. LaBelle, or Mrs. Sutyak. Refunds will be issued back to the student directly by Scarborough High School.
Senior Placement News and Information
Parent & College Application Event: Mr. Harris will present about the application process, timelines, and financial aid and answer questions.
- When: Monday, October 17, 2022, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
- Where: Scarborough High School AP Room & Online
Deadlines for Applications are Approaching! Please be aware of when your application deadlines are, and you are giving teachers at least two weeks’ notice to write letters of recommendation. Please keep in touch with the Senior Placement Office about this too.
If students have not met with Mr. Harris yet, please stop by the Senior Placement Office to set up an appointment. Or follow this link to schedule a time: https://calendar.app.google/fGBZU8DYkQP94KAk9
The 2023-24 FAFSA is now available! The FAFSA became available on October 1. Filing in the early fall is one of the best ways to maximize financial aid eligibility.
Most people can fill out the FAFSA in 30 minutes when the website is functioning well. This time of year, it can be a bit slow and glitchy, so if it isn’t responding well, save what you have and come back later. Take a deep breath and know that you have time to get this done!
https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Need help filing the FAFSA? Free help is available from FAME: FAME is holding In-Person FAFSA Help sessions in October. To make it financially easier to attend, every student will receive a $20 gas card in recognition of gas prices. Gas cards are being provided by FAME in partnership with the Maine Association of Financial Aid Administrators and the MELMAC Education Foundation. We appreciate students and families pre-registering, but it is not required.
FAME is also offering Virtual FAFSA Help sessions. Registration is required for virtual sessions: https://www.famemaine.com/affording-education/pay-for-school/get-financial-aid/fafsa/fafsa-help-sessions/
Free College Scholarship for the Class of 2023 for Maine’s Community Colleges! If you graduated high school (or earned the equivalent of a high school diploma, like a GED or Hi-SET) in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023 – you’re eligible. It’s that simple. There are no income or age limits. All you have to do is enroll full-time in a degree or certificate program at any of Maine’s seven community colleges and accept any state or federal aid you qualify for. That’s it – you’re in! For more information, go to: https://www.mccs.me.edu/freecollege/#top
We will continue to send out emails for events and announcements and will post them in Google Classroom. We are here to help with this process. Please reach out with any questions you have throughout this process.
As you can see, October will be a busy month at the high school. We hope you enjoy the leaf season and that we see you at some of our activities this month.
Be well,
The Building Leadership Team
Jacob Brown, Assistant Principal (9 & 11)
Susan Ketch, Principal
Michael LeGage, Director of Athletics and Activities
Nathan Theriault, Assistant Principal (10 & 12)