News
2020-2021 School Year Welcome
As we begin another school year, I first want to thank the citizens of RSU #34 for your continued support. At the annual school budget meeting and validation...
September 16 , 2020 Board Meeting
September 16, 2020 Board Meeting RSU#34 September 2020 Board Meeting Wednesday September 16 6:30 pm David Walker is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic:...
Events
LIVE FEED
David Walker
The RSU #34 Board returned to an "in-person" format for it's October meeting. We did a trial run using new technology to record the meeting. Here is the video of the meeting: https://5il.co/mdac We will continue to work to improve both video and audio quality. It is our hope/plan that future meetings, if held "in-person," will be streamed as well as recorded.
Dr. Jon Doty
Good afternoon RSU #34 Community, There are several important topics below, which can also be viewed at this link: tinyurl.com/y3lrot5r Please review this message for new information about screening, attendance, planning for remote-only, quarantine states, holidays, school calendar, and storm/snow days. Screening for Symptoms The Maine Department of Education has adjusted home screening criteria for students and staff based on the latest medical guidance. The new screening flowchart can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/Pre-Screening%20Tool_11.pdf Students may also continue to use the Northern Light screening tool (link). When students cannot attend in-person due to symptoms, please help them participate remotely for the day! If students develop symptoms of illness at school, school staff will use similar guidance (link and link) to guide decision-making. Please remember to contact RSU #34 with information about a confirmed case of COVID-19, so we can take appropriate action to keep the spread slow and protect our community. You can report a confirmed case by calling 827-7171, or go to www.rsu34.org and click “Covid-19”. Attendance and Going “Full Remote” Regular attendance by students is as important as ever, whether the student is attending remotely or in-person on any given day! Attending school is closely tied to success. RSU #34 schools will not be doing typical “perfect attendance” awards this year, because we know everyone needs to prioritize an abundance of caution with symptoms common to COVID-19. However, our schools are devising ways to celebrate student engagement and recognize kids’ hard work to fully participate remotely and in-person. We urge families to keep making backup plans for safe and effective remote learning. Our community has done a phenomenal job of following safe practices; this is to be celebrated! We know from looking around the state that outbreaks can occur in the blink of an eye, forcing families, schools, or even whole counties to change gears rapidly. Should a classroom, school, or the whole district need to go “full remote” for a period of time, please anticipate that the first few days will include some disruption to the normal schedule as we help distribute learning materials to students from their schools and get them connected remotely. As quickly as possible we’ll resume a predictable school-day schedule with our full curriculum. Please be proactive by: gathering simple learning resources at home, planning for a safe and focused learning space, planning for child care, trying to address internet access and device access, and making sure contact information is up-to-date with the schools. Travel and Holidays October, November, and December are a special holiday season! As families make holiday plans, we encourage thinking ahead to keep the spread of COVID-19 slow, protecting your loved ones and our community. Here are some holiday planning tips from the Chief Health Improvement Officer of MaineHealth: https://t.co/UAMKUCJbXL?amp=1 Please also remember to include in your planning the necessary quarantine or testing measures when returning from other states. Maine’s requirements and state exemption list can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/coronavirus/travel.shtml RSU #34 Calendar & Storm/Snow Days Please remember that RSU #34 revised its school calendar at the end of the summer; the calendar can be accessed at the link below. That calendar lays out the school holidays, such as Veteran’s Day on Wednesday, November 11th. The last scheduled day of the school year is Monday, June 14th. We continue to guide families to anticipate a typical number of storm/snow days; with several storm/snow days school would end Friday, June 18th. We will continue to announce storm/snow days through the RSU #34 app and through our website. We know that major storm/snow events often come paired with power outages, internet outages, and other challenges that make a full day of remote learning difficult. When there’s a storm/snow day, we encourage our students to help shovel out a neighbor, build a snowman, play a game, and do other wonderful things. If during the year we begin to accumulate an unusually large number of storm/snow days, we may consider shifting to some remote learning days for moderate storm/snow events. Link to calendar: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/871751/2020-21_Student_Calendar_Revised.pdf Thank you for your hard work for our community’s children! view image
David Walker
Dear Parents/Guardians: Please take a moment to complete a very important form in order to provide information needed by the Maine Department of Education to determine RSU#34‘s eligibility status for State Economically Disadvantaged funds available under the Essential Programs & Services Funding Act. Data in this form is not for school lunch purposes, only to determine our school district economic disadvantaged status and our eligibility for additional State and Federal funds. The form is available in the documents section of the website under PARENT/GUARDIAN-ECONOMIC STATUS FORM. If you have any questions, please call Barbara Grindle at 827-7171 ext. 3. The due date to return this form is October 15, 2020. Thank you for your cooperation. You can sign the form electronically and email it to esf@rsu34.org or return the printed form to your child's school. Sincerely, David A. Walker, Superintendent
Dr. Jon Doty
The University of Maine Black Bear Tutoring program has a parent request form, which can be accessed here: https://umaine.edu/volunteer/parents/tutor-request-form/