RSU 57 Community Newsletter
November 28, 2022
Message from the Superintendent
Dear RSU 57 Community,
I hope this newsletter finds each of you having enjoyed a healthy and happy Thanksgiving. This past week is a time of reflecting upon all that we are grateful for. Again, I want to express my gratitude to our teachers, students, staff, and families for making RSU 57 an amazing place for students to learn and grow.
We are about to enter the month of December which is a month that for many of us is filled with stress and anxiety. I hope that this is not the case for our students, however, we know as educators that this month can be particularly challenging for our students as well. Our educators and support staff provide a supportive and reliable environment that is so important for the emotional well-being of our students. This is particularly true for our youngest learners. If you have concerns for your child’s social-emotional well-being, I would encourage you to reach out to your child’s school counselor, social worker or principal to inquire about resources available to support your child.
On a different note, I would like to share a final call for parents, caregivers and community members to consider serving on our District Strategic Planning Committee. The committee will likely meet twice per month and there will be some minimal additional work to be completed outside of the meetings. We recognize this time commitment isn’t for everyone, however, this work is vital in shaping the future of education in RSU 57. If you are interested in applying for one of the 3 community member spots on the committee by clicking on the button below.
Finally, as we prepare for the winter months there comes the increased likelihood of inclement weather that may require a delay to school start or cancellation of school for a day. We do our best to navigate information from the various town public works offices to gather up-to-date information on road conditions across our geographically large school district. We always make decisions with student and staff safety being priority number one. In sharing a delayed start or school cancellation we will use email, SMS text messaging, and will post these announcements on our district website and Facebook page. Additionally, delays and cancellations can be found on the various local news channels and their webpages. We do our best to alert families of a delay/cancellation as early as possible so that planning for childcare is possible. In the event a delay is called, we try to give local road crews as much time to make roads safe for travel in hopes of avoiding snow days.
Wishing you all a very pleasant week.
Dr. Stephen Marquis
Elementary Unified Basketball
Way to go, Mustangs! Picture above.
National Honor Society Welcomes New Members
AES Donates to York County Shelter Program
Alfred Elementary Peer Helpers collected food and monetary donations for the York County Shelter Program. The YCSP supports homeless adults and families transition into permanent housing, and operates a food pantry that supports more than 4,500 people per month. Students presented their donations to food pantry coordinator Mike Ouellette on Friday, November 18th. Thank you to our AES students and families for their generosity!
Picture above.
Engineering is Elementary Program
LINE School "Friendsgiving"
LINE School recently held a PTC sponsored school community/spirit day on Friday, November 18th in partnership with our school's Student Kindness Team. Students were encouraged to show kindness by bringing in a donation of a single "Thanksgiving Dinner" food item to school to help support our school food pantry in providing some thanksgiving meals. As a result of this special day, we were able to provide over a dozen Thanksgiving dinners to members of our community. A very special thanks goes out to our Student Kindness Team and their staff facilitator, Mrs. Stephanie Letellier.
Transportation Appreciation
As a thank-you for their outstanding dedication to our District, our Transportation Department gathered to enjoy donuts and coffee. This small token of appreciation was presented by
Dr. Marquis and Mr. Keenan, who spoke of the incredible commitment displayed to serving the students in our community. We are so grateful for all that you do for RSU 57! Picture above.
MMS Giving Tree Program
Thank you in advance for any support of this project to help members of our community.
Please reach out to the MMS School Counseling Department with any questions.
From the Office of the Assistant Superintendent
Dear RSU 57 Community,
I hope you all enjoyed a very Happy Thanksgiving Holiday. In this week’s newsletter I’d like to share a resource for parents and caregivers that can be used with children at home in helping develop and strengthen literacy skills. The National Center on Improving Literacy has developed a fantastic website that is filled with free resources for parents/caregivers to use at home with their child. On their website you will find links to free books, videos and literacy games that can help support your child’s continued growth in literacy when at home. I hope you will have an opportunity to check it out! The website can be found using this link: https://improvingliteracy.org/kid-zone
Enjoy!
Mr. Kyle Keenan
Dates to Remember...
December 2: End of Trimester 1 Reporting for Elementary Schools
December 14: Early Release Day
December 23-26: District Closed
December 23-January 2: Holiday Recess
January 2: District Closed
Regional School Unit 57
Website: https://www.rsu57.org/
Location: 86 West Road, Waterboro, ME, USA
Phone: 207-247-3221
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsu57/