Week #33 of face to face instruction has come to a close in Gorham. Hard to believe it folks, but we really only have just 4 weeks of school left before we put the 2020-21 School year in the books! Scary yet exciting all at the same time! As I often do, I wanted to take a moment and just share some photos from the past week from our schools...
Its been a great week of learning - no question!
Now, on to some other updates!
CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. BRIAN PORTER, GORHAM'S NEW ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS!
You can CLICK HERE for the full press release, but in an abbreviated version - The Gorham School Department is proud to announce that Dr. Brian A. Porter, Ph.D. will serve as the new Assistant Superintendent of the Gorham School Department, beginning July 1, 2021. Dr. Porter has been the Principal at Village Elementary School in Gorham for more than 20 years! His loyalty and commitment o the students and staff in the Gorham Schools over time is unmatched and greatly valued. He leads with compassion, caring, and a focus on strong collaboration to problem solve and get things done! We so very much look forward to welcoming Dr. Porter to his new position within the Gorham Schools! Congratulations Dr. Porter!
GOV. MILLS EASES MORE RESTRICTIONS, BUT THEY DO NOT APPLY TO SCHOOLS - AT LEAST NOT YET!
The Mills Administration yesterday updated its public health protocols under the Moving Maine Forward Plan. Effective May 24th, Maine will:
- Lift all capacity limits and requirements to physically distance in all public outdoor settings.
- Lift all capacity limits in public indoor venues. Physical distancing requirements are also eliminated, except in settings where people are eating or drinking and therefore would be removing their face covering – such as indoor restaurants, bars, dining areas in camps or in congregate living facilities, and break rooms.
- Face coverings must still be worn in public indoor settings.
I just wanted to get that information out there before people got too excited about what these new changes may or may not mean for schools. Clearly things are moving forward in Maine, which is awesome, but let's keep in mind that we all still have to be careful. COVID 19 is still very much in our communities. With all of our end of year celebrations coming up for students and families, I would hate for anyone to have to miss out due to either contracting COVID 19 or due to close contacts and the requirements to quarantine that still very much exist. Let's enjoy these renewed freedoms...but still be careful as we do! I would also be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to once again STRONGLY ENCOURAGE all eligible children and adults to get vaccinated. Check out the Maine CDC Vaccination site for information on how!
FY 22 PROPOSED BUDGET INFORMATION PRESENTED TO TOWN COUNCIL DURING JOINT WORKSHOP ON TUESDAY NIGHT
Next steps in the process are (1) for the Town Council to vote on the proposed school budget which will take place on June 1, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. You can access the meeting by going to the Town's website and clicking on "Minutes and Agendas" and finding the agenda for their June 1 meeting. The zoom link is always located at the top of the publicly posted agenda. (2) for the public to vote via referendum to approve of the proposed FY 22 budget. This will be done at the polls on June 8, 2021 so please get out to vote!
ASPIRE GORHAM MAY NEWSLETTER READY FOR VIEWING!
In this edition, two of our incredible GHS students are spotlighted - Senior Emily Paruk and Sophomore Faith Connolly. Definitely worth the read...we have such talented students! CLICK HERE to read the Aspire Gorham newsletter for May!
GORHAM HIGH SCHOOL CELEBRATING THE END OF ANOTHER INCREDIBLE SCHOOL YEAR!
Of course all of our schools celebrate the end of a school year. We do this to honor the accomplishments of our students and their families across grades K-12. But there is something about the end of year celebrations at the high school that are just unmatched. It is probably because at this age, these young adults are finally coming into their own. They are learning and growing and writing their own "Future Stories" and we are all lucky enough to be able to witness this as they are "putting pen to paper" figuratively speaking to begin to create their own life stories.
We have such incredible students. Whenever I walk into the high school, I say good morning to students. Guess what, they actually say good morning back too! And even better, they more often than not do it with a smile behind those masks! I've had high school students in meetings where you wouldn't guess that they were high school students because they spoke so well, so passionately about a given topic. Our Gorham students represent us so well.
Our students, especially our high school students have been through a lot this past year and a half. Last year's seniors (class of 2020) at least had a partial year's "normal" experience. This year's seniors (class of 2021) have had a full year of dealing with our new Pandemic world. Our high school students have not let this get in their way of accomplishing great things and in savoring every moment of time they had together while at school! They've managed to safely pull off successful athletic seasons in the fall, winter and spring! They've managed to still have band/chorus even if it was outdoors at times. They've managed to put on concerts and plays. They have managed to earn hundreds of early college credits. They have attended school physically and virtually. They have met the challenges that COVID 19 has thrown at them with their heads up, and their shoulders squared. Their strength of character astounds me. They are most definitely worth celebrating!
To celebrate them, we have the following events occurring over the next few weeks:
*. Academic Awards Night - May 25
*. Senior Celebration - May 28
*. Scholarship Night - June 2
*. Graduation and Project Graduation on June 13
Please join me in giving a shout out to all our students for a job well done this past Pandemic school year...but especially to our GHS students, and even more especially to our GHS seniors - the class of 2021. Your resilience, your passion, your caring continues to amaze me! Kudos to you all!
MAY IS LYME DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH
You only have to go outside to enjoy the beautiful weather Maine has to offer once and return with ticks to understand the importance of understanding how to prevent Lyme disease. This month is Lyme Disease awareness month and the Maine Department of Education has created some great resources for educators and families to help better understand what Lyme disease is, how it is spread and how to prevent it. Do those frequent tick checks and check out the resources provided by MDOE by CLICKING HERE!
UPCOMING MAY OPEN PARENT FORUM
This will be the last monthly open parent forum for the 2020-21 School Year! The forum is scheduled for Monday night, May 24, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. Please come to ask your questions. Do you want to know more about what we are thinking for Fall 2021 re-opening? Do you have questions about summer programs? Would you like to ask a question about our proposed FY 22 budget? You name it - the time is yours! Zoom link is below:
Passcode: 168094
VOICES OF HOPE: THE RUGGED ROAD TO RECOVERY SERIES EPISODES 1&2 NOW AVAILABLE TO VIEW
Almost all of us know someone who has been negatively impacted by chemical dependancy. SEED (Students Empowered To End Dependency) was formed two years ago to add the voice of students to help understand this disease. The Gorham Schools has contributed to the work of this organization that has recently produced a series of video stories that I believe are powerful and definitely worth the watch. If you are a parent who may be struggling to have important pro-active conversations with your child on this important topic, these videos may be a helpful tool for you to use! Definitely worth the watch! Here's the link:
New episodes of the documentary can be viewed every Saturday at 7pm on WGME Ch. 13.
ALL MAINE SCHOOL NURSES ARE NAMED SCHOOL NURSES OF THE YEAR BY GOV. MILLS
This has been a tough and difficult year for everyone - no doubt. EVERYONE has had to step up in our schools to make this school year even possible, let alone the success that it has been! One group in particular that has stepped up is our school nurses. Pouring over daily screening data, communicating with parents, answering questions, guiding staff, contact tracing, helping everyone to navigate the ever changing CDC rules and so much more! We could not have made it through this school year without our nurses! I want to join Gov. Janet Mills in thanking all our school nurses and naming them all nurses of the year! Check out the video message below from Governor Mills. Melissa, Collette, Carrie, Alicia, and Joyce...you most definitely deserve it! GO RAMS!
ONE LAST PUSH - FUN EVENT TOMORROW!
Just wanted to remind folks of the Gorham Outdoors Bike and Bow event scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, May 15). Check out the flyer below for more details and keep track of all their events on their website: https://gorhamoutdoors.org/
Well that's it for this week's message! I look forward to next week's vaccination clinics at GMS and GHS. I also look forward to another incredible week of instruction across all our schools. PROUD TO BE A RAM!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.