Good afternoon everyone! I just wanted to say THANK YOU for a WONDERFUL opening of schools this past week. I am sure we all would have liked our opening of school to be more "normal" (and not to mention 5 days per week vs. the hybrid model)...but with the rules we had to work within and the plans we created...I have to be honest - our opening this year far surpassed my expectations! Staff were eager to get started and willing to do whatever was needed for students, students were excited to return to school and parents/family members were patient and flexible as we worked through our new systems! There are still "tweaks" that need to occur - but I couldn't be more PROUD to be a GORHAM RAM right now! Here's a few pictures from each school showing some of our happy students as they really are worth 1,000 words!
Narragansett Elementary:
Village Elementary:
Great Falls Elementary:
Gorham Middle School:
Gorham High School:
Now onto some quick updates to keep parents/guardians informed of what's happening in our schools and community!
MPA and Fall Sports
Just yesterday the MPA released a statement in conjunction with DHHS and MDOE letting us know that guidelines have been adopted that allow for fall sports to be administered following CDC guidelines. This will allow for statewide competition in golf and cross country, and regional competitions in soccer and field hockey (no statewide playoffs). Football and Volleyball will not be played formally this fall, however there is conversation that Volleyball may be moved to a later time and that football m ay be able to be played competitively if it is flag football.
At our School Committee meeting held on Wednesday night, the School Committee reviewed plans for our fall sports programs under "plan A" and "plan B". You can view the slide presentation by CLICKING HERE. What this means is that for those activities approved by MPA and MDOE/CDC to be played this fall under the new guidelines we will go forward with those activities under "Plan A"...for those not approved (i.e. Volleyball and Football) we will go forward with these programs under "Plan B". Bottom line is that we will be offering all of our high school fall athletic programs either under the new MPA guidelines or under our "Plan B" Guidelines.
Additionally, we will be operating our GMS programs under a "Plan B" model whereby we look to provide skills based activities and/or intramural types of activities for our student athletes at these grade levels.
Please reach out to our Athletic Director, Tim Spear (tim.spear@gorhamschools.org) if you have specific questions.
GORHAM FOUNDERS FESTIVAL INFORMATION
Please CLICK HERE for a link to an overview of the Gorham Founders Festival that will be taking place THIS WEEKEND in Gorham. All events will follow physical distancing rules and state guidelines and will include a parade, fireworks, and self guided historical tours. Fireworks are at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday at the old horse race track (off 202 Nar. street). Parade on Sunday begins at 3:00 p.m. Parking is off the municipal lot near ball park road.
NEW INFORMATION ON FACE MASKS
The CDC has requested that the following types of face coverings NOT be worn as they actually intensify the aerisolized spray due to their filtration system and can spread the COVID-19 virus at greater distances because of the concentration of air flow. Here is a link to the CDC information on this and a picture of the type of mask that SHOULD NOT be worn is below. If your child has this type of mask, please know we will be asking kindly that they be removed and replaced with one of our spare masks. Thank you for your continued patience as information continues to change!
SCHOOL NUTRITION FREE/REDUCED LUNCH FORMS NOW ONLINE!
If you haven't already completed your Free/Reduced lunch form and you wish to access it online to send to our SNP folks, please do so! It is VERY IMPORTANT that we have these forms completed...not just for lunch mind you! Did you know that state school subsidy is partially based on our F/R lunch information? Did you know that our Title I, II and Local Entitlement funding streams through the federal government is also partially based on our F/R lunch information?
Please CLICK HERE to learn more about our online form!
Please make sure to complete your forms and get them back to our School Nutrition Program! If you have questions, please reach out to michael.sanborn@gorhamschools.org.
Families who are participating in our fully remote learning program should have had contact with each of our school's remote learning coordinators. Just in case, I'm listing each below along with their email address so you can reach out if you have any questions!
Great Falls Elem. - Darren Choate (darren.choate@gorhamschools.
Village Elem. - Valerie Carpentier (valerie.carpentier@
Narragansett Elem. - Kaitlin Flanders (kaitlin.flanders@
GMS - David Palmer (david.palmer@gorhamschools.org)
GHS - Jeff Burnap (jeff.burnap@gorhamschools.org)
I would really love to have parents/families who are willing please share photos of your incredible work with our online program. I want to be sure to celebrate this learning just like we celebrate the learning of our students when in our schools...but I need your help to send pictures! Please feel free to email me anytime with your pictures (heather.perry@gorhamschools.org) and I'll be sure to post and share on our social media accounts!
GORHAM COMMUNITY SUPPORT PAGES COMING SOON!
I continue to work with an INCREDIBLE group of volunteer parents who are helping me to organize community support Face Book Pages that Gorham families can join and use to help one another navigate these difficult times together. As a community one thing Gorham has always done well is support one another and now is no different! These pages will allow for families to offer up assistance in areas of child care or tutoring or other resources and for other families to access these community based resources.
Each page will be moderated by a Community Support Coordinator who has graciously agreed to volunteer to conduct these services. Each Coordinator is a parent here in Gorham who represents a specific school and age group. Pages will be developed for:
- Great Falls, Village and Narragansett Elementary Grades K-2 (3 pages)
- Great Falls, Village and Narragansett Elementary Grades 3-5 (3 pages)
- GMS grade six
- GMS grade seven
- GMS grade eight
- GHS grades 9-12
These pages will be announced by the end of this month so please stay tuned and be thinking how you too can help support other families in Gorham!
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS - BACK IN PERSON!
Just wanted to make sure folks knew that our school committee meetings are now back in person. We are now meeting at the GHS MPAC for both our "regular" and "workshop" meetings. We are holding them att this location to allow for ample space for members of the public to join us if they'd like. Meetings are open to the public...just wear your mask and follow physical distancing guidelines! You can also view our meetings via live streaming via GOCAT. Here's the links for how to access School Committee information on meetings moving forward:
- CLICK HERE for links to all public meeting agendas and packet information.
- CLICK HERE for the live streaming site from GOCAT.
SCHOOL BASED INFORMATION!
Be sure to check out our school websites! LOTS OF GREAT INFORMATION there for parents! You can find each school's website by going first to our district website (www.gorhamschools.org) and then clicking on "Schools". Find your school and surf around to see all the awesome information about what is happening and reach out to your building principal with questions!
I think that is enough information for now...once again - THANK YOU ALL for an incredibly positive opening to our school year this year. We have much work to continue to do...but it was so awesome to finally get our students back after such a long break! As I close, I just want to share an image from Village Elementary School Staff that I think speaks volumes towards our district's commitment to our students and to our staff. The image below captures a list of five simple goals created by the Village Elem. School Staff. I know the staff from our other schools have created similar lists and have similar priorities/goals. I share this because I think these goals can also be the goals of our entire community as we continue to navigate this new COVID-19 world together. Check them out...think about them...and ask yourselves...how can we all work together to actualize them in support of our children!
Have a great weekend everyone! See you next week!
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