Scarborough High School
Sept 1, 2022
Dear Students, Families, and Staff,
Another school year has begun! For many of you, you’ve had a ten-week break from school routines, but we have seen many of you as well! Here are some of the things that have been going on over the summer vacation:
- For the second summer, we ran Summer School. We had 21 students involved taking 32 semester long classes, and 25 semester long courses were completed. Some students may continue to do this work when school starts until the course is completed. Thank you to Sarah Blaisdell, Jake Brown, Mike Kelly, Matthius Case, and Sarah Belton for their work.
- Extended School Year programming kept some of our students busy over the summer. We appreciate all the commitment from staff to make this opportunity available for our students.
- Many of our dedicated staff came in over the summer to do Professional Development work. Thank you for doing this work!
- This summer, Student Services was open on the average of one day each week to help students register for school, plan out a schedule, get copies of transcripts, etc. Many thanks to Wendy Spaulding, Ryan Soucie, Vickie Sutyak, and Betsy Henderson for this work.
- Even though we started in February, we hired many new staff for this school year over the summer break. We would like to thank many staff members that came in over the summer to serve on hiring committees. We have a wonderful new group of staff coming on board with lots of education, experience, and enthusiasm for teaching!
- On that note, we saw a lot of new staff members in the building over the summer, moving in, getting organized and ready for this school year. Thank you for your dedication already!
- The Building Leadership Team (BLT) would like to thank SRO Mike Beeler, Tim Coombs, and David Yeo for their work late this summer to help us update and organize Emergency Planning for this school year.
- FACILITIES – A big Thank You to the community, Todd Jepson, and Mike LeGage for all of the process to get the new turf field installed and up and running! It looks great and will be much safer for our athletes. Also, thank you to Todd Jepson as well as the community for all of the work that went into our two new classrooms! STEM and Computer Science have two new classrooms this fall. We hope you will stop by to see them when you are in the building.
THANK YOU!
The BLT would like to thank Karen Sprague, Vickie Sutyak, Betsy Henderson, Heather Paonessa, Lisa Manning, and Paula Davis for all of their work over the summer to take care of the many details involved in getting ready for the upcoming school year.
A final THANK YOU to our amazing Maintenance and Custodial Staff for all of their work to get this building ready for another year of school. A lot of dedicated people make this happen and we appreciate their effort! We are lucky to have a beautiful building for teaching and learning!
Important Dates to Begin the Year
- Thursday, September 1: First day of school for grades 9 – 12. Senior March, Senior Breakfast (thank you parents for your work on the breakfast), and an outdoor Senior Class Yearbook Picture round out the day. Welcome and welcome back!
- Friday, September 2: No School
- Monday, September 5: Labor Day, No School
- Wednesday, September 14: Early Release Day. Students dismissed at 12:55 PM.
- Wednesday, September 21: Scarborough High School Open House, 6:00 – 8:10 PM. Open House will be in-person this year.
- Thursday, October 6: Parent – Teacher Conferences, 2:45 – 7:15 PM. Sign up for your appointment in advance. Staff will be in person at the high school for conferences. When you sign up, you may request a virtual meeting if you prefer.
- Friday, October 7: Staff Professional Development Day, No School
- Monday, October 10: Indigenous Peoples Day, No School
- Tuesday through Friday, October 11 – 14: SPIRIT WEEK AT SHS!
- Friday, October 14: Pep Rally at the end of the school day.
- Saturday, October 15: HOMECOMING DANCE, 7:00 – 10:00 PM, SHS Cafeteria. Students need to complete a Dance Form prior to purchasing tickets. Also, there is a separate form for students invited to the dance that do not go to Scarborough High School. This also needs to be successfully completed before tickets can be purchased.
Principal's Letter
New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEAS&C)
Senior Placement Office
Welcome Back from Senior Placement!
We are ready to go to help support you and your students throughout the post-high school planning process. Please check out our Google Classroom for up-to-date information.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Virtual Financial Aid Information Session
Date/Time: Thursday, September 15, 2022 @ 6:30pm
Location: Online
Description: Calling all high school seniors and their families (and anyone else interested in learning about financial aid)! The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be available on October 1, 2022. Now is the time to get ready to apply for financial aid, and FAME is here to help! Please bring your questions, as you’ll be able to ask them in the chat!
Register Here: https://famemaine.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q-c55NHySymhYH4Z6DuIsw
Service Academy Night
Date/Time: Thursday, September 15, 2022 @ 6:30 pm
Location: Clarion Hotel Airport 1230 Congress St Portland, ME 04102
Description: Join us to learn more about the world-class educational opportunities service academies offer, the Congressional nomination and academy selection processes, and ways to achieve your career goals. Also, get your questions answered by service academy professionals in admissions, career services, and financial aid. Representatives from the following offices will be in attendance.
Register Here: https://admissions.mainemaritime.edu/register/SANFall2022
Upcoming Virtual College Fairs
- October 9, 2022 - 1:00 to 6:00 PM EST | Register: https://www.nacacattend.org/22VirtualOct9
- November 6, 2022 - 1:00 to 6:00 PM EST | Register: https://www.nacacattend.org/22VirtualNov6
Upcoming In-Person College Fairs (no registration required)
For Full List: https://www.neacac.org/fall-college-fairs-2022
- September 21, 6:30 - 8:30 pm & September 22, 9:00 - 11:00 am University of Maine, New Balance Fieldhouse Orono, ME List of Schools Attending: https://neacac.memberclicks.net/assets/collegefairs/Fall2022/8-19Maine.pdf
- September 29, 9:00 - 11:00 am Southern New Hampshire University, Athletic Complex, Manchester, NH | List of Schools Attending: https://neacac.memberclicks.net/assets/collegefairs/Fall2022/8-19SNHU.pdf
- October 2, 11:00 - 1:00 pm Worcester State University, Wellness Center, Worcester, MA | List of Schools Attending: https://neacac.memberclicks.net/assets/collegefairs/Fall2022/8-19WSU.pdf
Testing
While many schools are still test optional for this year it is a good idea to have this in your back pocket if needed. Students can still register for SAT or ACT.
SAT Registration is available here. Upcoming SAT Test dates are below.
- Test Date: Oct 1 | Registration Deadline: Sept 2 (Late Sept 20)
- Test Date: Nov 5 | Registration Deadline: Oct 7 (Late Oct 25)
- Test Date Dec 3 | Registration Deadline: Nov 3 (Late Nov 22)
- Test Date: Oct 22 | Registration Deadline: Sept 16 (Late Sept 30)
- Test Date: Dec 10 | Registration Deadline: Nov 4 (Late Nov 11)
Newsletters
Student and Parent Meetings
The Building Leadership Team (BLT) hosts a Parent Meeting each quarter as well. There is an agenda that is designed to keep parents and guardians informed on the work being done at SHS. The dates for this year are set for:
- Wednesday, October 26, at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, December 7, at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, March 1, at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, May 3, at 6:00 PM
More information will be coming for the agenda and specifics on our first quarter meeting. The BLT also hosts a Student Meeting quarterly during Advisory on the same day as the Parent Meeting each quarter.
Chromebook Information
Distribution will be in Room C103. Students should enter through the Learning Commons and go into C103 on that side and when they are finished the will exit into the C100 corridor.
Distribution Dates:
- August 15 – 26: All students
- August 31 – Freshmen
- September 1 – Sophomores
- September 6 – 9 – Juniors, Seniors, and anyone still needing a device insurance
There is a $15 (per student) opt-in insurance program being offered for students in grades K – 12 – you will not be allowed to opt-in once damage has been done to a device.
This insurance covers accidental damage only and this will be determined by an administrator.
Deployment Delays
If your student did not return last year’s device until the beginning of school this fall, please know that the device will need to be set up for the 22-23 school year. This may take up to a week to be completed and the student will not have a device while this update is being done. We will work as quickly as we can to turn devices around.
PLEASE NOTE: that devices will not be issued until the proper paperwork is signed. Please click here for links to the forms.
LASTLY, every student needs to get a device in order to have one for standardized testing. Even if they use a personal device throughout the year, they need the school issued device for these testing days. So, please get your Chromebook. (You can store it in your locked locker if you’d like.)
Planned Absences
Students that are planning on being out of school for a full school day or more need to do a Planned Absence Form. Students need to bring a note from home to Admin II so a form can be started. Students will take the form to all of their teachers (they do not need to have it signed for their Study Halls) and then return the signed form to Admin II so these dates can be put into PowerSchool. Forms must be completed and turned in prior to the days they are going to be out. Teachers may make notes on the form regarding due dates and work that needs to be done. We recommend the student take a picture or make a copy of these notes for their own records. For a medical reason (tonsils out, oral surgery), you can just call and notify us.
PSAT Information
Raptor Safety Technology
Attendance Information
For students that are out absent for the day, a parent or guardian needs to call the main office at 730-5000 to let us know of the absence. This helps us get an accurate attendance which is so helpful for our daily operation. Please know that you can do this early in the morning if need be. We’ll get the message and record it. If a student is coming in late or being dismissed, we require a phone call or a note in the Main Office so a student can get a pass. With nearly 950 students, following these protocols helps us with this daily work tremendously! Thank you!
COVID Information
If a student tests positive for COVID, you need to notify the Health Clinic ASAP (730-5015). The day you test positive is considered Day 0. Students must stay home for five calendar days (Days 1 – 5). For the next five calendar days (Days 6 – 10), students may return to school but must wear a mask.
We hope that all through the year you will find this monthly letter helpful with school to home communication! You can look for the next letter on Thursday, October 6, since October 7 is a Staff Development day. Generally, the letter comes out the first Friday of each month.
We are so excited to get students back and to start the school year! We’ll see you soon!
Building Leadership Team
Jacob Brown, Assistant Principal Gr 9 & 11
Susan Ketch, Principal
Michael LeGage, Director of Athletics and Activities
Nathan Theriault, Assistant Principal Gr 10 & 12