You can finally feel that Maine's spring is in the air! With spring comes spring parent-teacher conferences, which have been ongoing all week. Thank you to the 95% of families who participated in conferences and the staff who worked tirelessly all week to ensure that every family feels important and part of our great school community! Spring conferences are a great time to reflect and celebrate the incredible learning of our students while also being clear about the priority learning goals that must be in place between now and the end of the school year. I know June feels like a long way away, but trust me...it will be here before we blink!
Here are some pictures from the past few weeks, and then on to the information!
WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD COMING APRIL 5-11!
The Week of the Young Child (WOYC) is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to recognize the importance of early childhood education and the needs of young children, their families, and educators. This week-long event highlights early learning, honors the dedicated professionals who support young children, and raises awareness about the critical role of high-quality early childhood education in shaping a child’s future. Each day of the week features a special theme to engage children in fun, educational activities that promote creativity, literacy, and healthy development. The themes for this year's celebration are:
- Music Monday
- Tasty Tuesday
- Work Together Wednesday
- Artsy Thursday
- Family Friday
Through community events, classroom activities, and family engagement, the Week of the Young Child serves as a time to celebrate young learners and advocate for policies that support their growth and success.
Want to learn more about how you and your family can participate? Visit the NAEYC home page and have some fun celebrating our young children!
As part of the WOYC celebrations, the Maine Department of Education seeks nominations for an Outstanding Early Childhood Learning Professional Spotlight. What a fantastic way to celebrate our early childhood professionals in the community of Gorham! Interested in learning more? CLICK HERE! The deadline for nominations is March 21!
UPDATE ON FY 26 SCHOOL BUDGET
DEVELOPMENT WORK
On Tuesday night, the Gorham School Committee met for the 2nd time to work on the proposed FY 26 Budget. They had some really great discussions and, by the end of the night, had trimmed the budget by approximately $400,000.00 through reductions with minimal impact to student programming. Highlights for where the DRAFT budget currently stands are as follows:
- Overall expenditure increase - 7.31% (down from 8.14% originally)
- Overall projected Mill increase - .51 (down from .64 originally)
- Overall projected Mill % increase - 5.36% (down from 6.71%)
There is still much work to do. This vital work will continue at the school committee's next scheduled meeting, which will be held on March 17 at 7:00 p.m. During this meeting, the School Committee will continue its process of tentative agreements, which will lead to the Committee's final decision on the proposed budget at its April 9 Regular meeting. All meetings are open to the public and allow comments.
Meeting recordings are linked below if you want to watch them. You can also find them on our budget development webpage, along with additional information. If you want to follow this work and ensure you get accurate, factual data, the website is the place to go!
- Link to Budget Workshop #1 Recording
- Link to Budget Workshop #2 Recording
Another incredibly informative document you can check out to help you follow the work is the School Committee Budget Q&A Sheet. School Committee members use this sheet to ask all budget-related questions that help inform their decision-making as they work through the budget development process. The Q&A document is open to the public to view and is also on the website.
You can also reach out to me at any time with questions regarding the proposed FY 26 budget. My email is heather.perry@gorhamschools.org
GORHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT CALENDAR
APPROVED FOR 2025-2026! & UPDATE ON CURRENT
YEAR END.
For those of you who like to get a head start on planning, the Gorham School Committee unanimously approved the 2025-2026 School Calendar on Wednesday. It will soon be posted on the website, but it is linked below for those who want an early look!
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions (heather.perry@gorhamschools.org).
On a related note, folks might like an update on our current status for the last day of school in June of 2025. Now, I realize that by doing this, I have likely jinxed us, and we will have a snow day, but the warm weather this week has made me optimistic, so here goes! We have used just two snow days out of the five from our calendar so far this year. IF THINGS REMAIN THE SAME, the last student day would then be Friday, June 13. Again, if we use additional snow days, that date will move, so please treat this as an early estimate. Once we get to April break, I will finalize the end-of-year scheduling! In the meantime, just keep thinking happy spring warm weather thoughts!☺
UPCOMING P.I.E. MEETINGS W/SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Gorham School Committee visits each school's P.I.E. (Partners In Education) meeting annually to engage with families, staff, and students in person. Their goal in these meetings is to simply listen. While they may share some updates on the school committee's current happenings, the meetings are an opportunity to listen to the conversations, have constituents ask questions, and share their responses. Below is the schedule for School Committee attendance at upcoming PIE meetings. Please mark your calendars to come out and join us!
- March 18 at 5:30 p.m. - Gorham Middle School P.I.E.
- March 20 at 6:00 p.m. - Village Elementary School
- April 7 at 6:00 p.m. - Narragansett Elementary School
- April 10 at 5:30 p.m. - Great Falls Elementary School
Each meeting is held at the school listed. Just come in and join us! Its a great way to meet others in the school community!
Note: The HS has already held their meeting earlier in March, that's why it is not listed above.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE NOMINATION PAPERS AVAILABLE TO FILL OPEN SEAT
If you feel a little déjà vu and think we just released something about this, don't worry—your memory is working fine!☺
If you recall, former School Committee member Stewart McCallister resigned his seat on the School Committee earlier this winter. The School Committee worked to fill the open seat until the next regular election in June. THANK YOU to Jaci Reynolds for stepping up to fill this important role!
Stewart's original term expires in November 2025. Therefore, the rules require that we hold an election in June 2025 to fill the seat until November 2025, when the full three-year seat will be open.
What does all this mean? Jaci will continue serving until June 2025 as an appointed member. Individuals interested in filling the open seat from June to November must take out nomination papers and return them to the Town Clerk. That will place their name on the June ballot. Whoever wins the election in June will serve on the SC until November of 2025, when the seat re-opens, and a new process to take out nomination papers must occur. Whoever is elected in November of 2025 will serve a full 3-year term.
Any registered Gorham voter interested in running for the position must submit nomination papers with no fewer than 35 and no more than 50 signatures of persons who are registered voters in the town. Completed nomination papers must be submitted to the Town Clerk's Office at the municipal center no later than 5 p.m. on April 10. The election will take place on June 10, 2025.
GORHAM STUDENTS MAKE SCHOLASTIC NEWS!
Words into Action: During the 2021-22 school year, Narragansett students in Mrs. Laurie Kenny’s First Grade class were inspired to raise money to purchase inclusive playground equipment for our playground. These student-led efforts resulted in being able to purchase three new pieces! Mrs. Kenny retired after that year, but she returned to Maine to participate in a ribbon cutting celebration with her former students, who are now fourth graders. Scholastic News recently spotlighted these efforts in their Scholastic News Education Solutions publication.
Most definitely an example of our Code of Conduct in Action! GO RAMS!
Check out the full story by clicking this link: How Scholastic News Motivated Students to Support a More Inclusive Playground
GORHAM BEE CLUB AND SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM COLLABORATION FEATURED BY MAINE FARM & SEA TO SCHOOL NETWORK
Our GHS beekeepers were at it again, but this time, a collaboration with our School Nutrition program caught the attention of folks at the state level!
It all started when our school nutrition director, Raina Lee Cooper, walked through the halls at GHS while our beekeepers sold their wares to interested students. Raina stopped and talked with the students and became immediately interested in how she could use the student-produced honey in creative ways in our school lunch program. Let's say the idea took off like a bee after pollen!
Check out the article LINKED HERE to learn how Raina and our GHS beekeepers collaborated to bring a sweet Maine treat to our students in creative ways across all five schools!
GHS DREAM FACTORY CLUB TO HOST FUNDRAISING BREAKFAST!
Recently, GHS student Ella Senatore told me that the GHS Dream Factory Club will host their annual pancake breakfast to raise funds to support the Dream Factory. The dream factory works to support children suffering from complex illnesses and we are so proud of our students who participate to help raise funds for this deserving non-profit.
Want to learn more about the Dream Factory? CLICK HERE. Then make plans to come out and support the student's fundraising efforts, get a great meal, eat with great company...and COME HUNGRY! Check out the flyer below for more details!
That's it for this blog! Remember, you can follow all of the district's activities using our website and social media sites. There are always so many great things happening in our schools!
P.S. THANK YOU TO ALL STAFF AND FAMILIES PARTICIPATED IN OUR SPRING PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES THIS WEEK! As always, we had a great turnout across all schools! It shows how engaged our families are in their children's education and how much our staff cares about each family! Whenever I am "out and about" in the state talking to other public school educators, I always brag about how involved our families are in our schools, and our Gorham families never disappoint! Thank you for doing all you do for our children - all our children! Being a parent in today's complex world is no easy job, and our Gorham families are ROCKING IT! GO RAMS!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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