Alton Elementary School

In 2018 through early 2019, a stakeholder group in RSU #34 led a community discussion about aspirations and opportunities for our community’s middle school students. This process included a community forum, community survey, and reporting to the School Board. This fall, RSU #34 is conducting a more compact process to confirm that these are still the priorities of our community. We will use this information to inform our planning/budgeting for future years, as well as to inform our applications for grant funds such as ESSER/ARP. We invite you to complete this brief survey, and/or to join us at an open discussion at Leonard Middle School on Monday, Oct. 24th, 5:30 - 6:30 PM. If you wish, please complete this survey by October 31st, 2022. https://forms.gle/kFYSYkuWgqCNjsuR8 If you would like to be more involved, please contact Dr. Gert Nesin, LMS Principal, at Gert.Nesin@rsu34.org !

Re-Affirming Elementary Stakeholder Priorities In 2019 through early 2020, an “elementary stakeholder group” in RSU #34 led a community discussion about opportunities and needs for our community’s elementary students. This process included a number of open meetings, community survey, and reporting to the School Board. The committee discussed what our community was proud of, what remained on our wish list for students, enrollment projections, facilities, and a variety of possibilities. This fall, RSU #34 is conducting a more compact process to confirm that these are still the priorities of our community. We will use this information to inform our planning/budgeting for future years, as well as to inform our applications for grant funds such as ESEA and ESSER/ARP. We invite you to complete this brief survey, and/or to join us at an open discussion at one of these times: *with Alton Elementary PTC, @ November meeting (date TBD) *with Viola Rand School PRIDE, Monday 10/3, 6 PM (email Heidi.Gifford@rsu34.org for Zoom link) *with Old Town Elementary School PTC, Nov. 2nd, 2022 If you wish, please complete this survey by November 3rd, 2022: https://forms.gle/FuvZHH8NEzbhCrVL9 We also invite you to complete this survey about our use of federal Family Engagement Funds: https://forms.gle/PXY7wo2xipzEaMCfA If you would like to be more involved, please contact your school’s administration or RSU #34’s Assistant Superintendent (jon.doty@rsu34.org)! Similar outreach will be coming out in the coming month for Leonard Middle School and Old Town High School.

It’s been a great day for RSU #34! This morning our grant application was approved for $70,000 in supplies to support Computer Science learning at all of our schools; this will support and expand our current coding and robotics efforts, and give us new capacities in virtual and augmented reality. Many thanks to our STEM specialists Mrs. Daniel and Mrs. Zabierek for their hard work in preparing the grant application. Our schools have been leading the way in robotics and coding since a 2012-era community fundraising effort! In addition to our in-school programming for all students, over the course of the past decade competitive robotics teams from LMS and OTHS have each earned their way to international competitions. Then at lunchtime, the Department of Education announced that RSU #34 is one of just four grantees statewide under the Community Schools program. This $50,000 grant will enable us to continue our existing community outreach efforts led by Mrs. Goodwin. Many thanks to her and Mrs. Wilcox for their hard work preparing that grant application. $120,000 total in grant awards is a great way to end a busy week!

The Back to School Expo for Viola Rand and Alton Elementary School students will be on August 18, 4:30-6:30!

RSU #34- Alton, Bradley and Old Town Schools The State of Maine and Department of Education have completed the statewide pool testing program. The Pool Testing program has ended, but that is not an indicator that COVID has ended. We have seen increased cases of COVID as of late and wanted to give our families some extra resources to help navigate this time. If your student is not feeling well or there are house members who are ill with COVID or awaiting testing, you should continue to keep your child at home notify the school and perform a rapid COVID test/seek testing at a facility. It may be helpful to have some at-home COVID rapid tests on hand in case of an exposure, or if you/your student develop symptoms that may be consistent with COVID such as: *Fever or chills *Cough *Fatigue *Muscle or body aches *Headache *New loss of taste or smell *Sore throat *Nausea or vomiting *Congestion or runny nose *Diarrhea *Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing How can I get an at-home test? • At-home tests can be purchased over the counter without a prescription at pharmacies, retail stores, or online retailers. • There are local facilities offering rapid testing services including PCHC Walk-In Care, Northern Light Walk-in Care, Curative (curative.com , located at the Bangor International Airport), The Northern Light Drive Thru, Walgreens, and ConvienentMD. • Order free tests through the State Program: There are free at-home tests (five per household) available for Maine residents through the successful Project Access COVID-19 Tests (ACT) pilot at www.accessCOVIDTests.org. These tests can be ordered once per month per household. • Order free tests through the Federal Program: Maine people in need of home tests may also order them through the federal program. The White House recently announced that U.S. residents can order two sets of four free at-home tests through www.COVIDtests.gov. Residents can also call 1-800-232-0233 for help placing the order. If you have any questions or concerns, need to discuss an exposure, or report an illness please contact the school nurse Hannah Cloutier, RN (hannah.cloutier@rsu34.org ) at Alton Elementary School (394-2331) or Viola Rand School (827-2508).

RSU #34- Alton, Bradley and Old Town Schools The State of Maine and Department of Education have completed the statewide pool testing program. The Pool Testing program has ended, but that is not an indicator that COVID has ended. We have seen increased cases of COVID as of late and wanted to give our families some extra resources to help navigate this time. If your student is not feeling well or there are house members who are ill with COVID or awaiting testing, you should continue to keep your child at home notify the school and perform a rapid COVID test/seek testing at a facility. It may be helpful to have some at-home COVID rapid tests on hand in case of an exposure, or if you/your student develop symptoms that may be consistent with COVID such as: *Fever or chills *Cough *Fatigue *Muscle or body aches *Headache *New loss of taste or smell *Sore throat *Nausea or vomiting *Congestion or runny nose *Diarrhea *Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing How can I get an at-home test? • At-home tests can be purchased over the counter without a prescription at pharmacies, retail stores, or online retailers. • There are local facilities offering rapid testing services including PCHC Walk-In Care, Northern Light Walk-in Care, Curative (curative.com , located at the Bangor International Airport), The Northern Light Drive Thru, Walgreens, and ConvienentMD. • Order free tests through the State Program: There are free at-home tests (five per household) available for Maine residents through the successful Project Access COVID-19 Tests (ACT) pilot at www.accessCOVIDTests.org. These tests can be ordered once per month per household. • Order free tests through the Federal Program: Maine people in need of home tests may also order them through the federal program. The White House recently announced that U.S. residents can order two sets of four free at-home tests through www.COVIDtests.gov. Residents can also call 1-800-232-0233 for help placing the order. If you have any questions or concerns, need to discuss an exposure, or report an illness please contact the school nurse Hannah Cloutier, RN (hannah.cloutier@rsu34.org ) at Alton Elementary School (394-2331) or Viola Rand School (827-2508).

RSU #34- Alton, Bradley and Old Town Schools The State of Maine and Department of Education have completed the statewide pool testing program. The Pool Testing program has ended, but that is not an indicator that COVID has ended. We have seen increased cases of COVID as of late and wanted to give our families some extra resources to help navigate this time. If your student is not feeling well or there are house members who are ill with COVID or awaiting testing, you should continue to keep your child at home notify the school and perform a rapid COVID test/seek testing at a facility. It may be helpful to have some at-home COVID rapid tests on hand in case of an exposure, or if you/your student develop symptoms that may be consistent with COVID such as: *Fever or chills *Cough *Fatigue *Muscle or body aches *Headache *New loss of taste or smell *Sore throat *Nausea or vomiting *Congestion or runny nose *Diarrhea *Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing How can I get an at-home test? • At-home tests can be purchased over the counter without a prescription at pharmacies, retail stores, or online retailers. • There are local facilities offering rapid testing services including PCHC Walk-In Care, Northern Light Walk-in Care, Curative (curative.com , located at the Bangor International Airport), The Northern Light Drive Thru, Walgreens, and ConvienentMD. • Order free tests through the State Program: There are free at-home tests (five per household) available for Maine residents through the successful Project Access COVID-19 Tests (ACT) pilot at www.accessCOVIDTests.org. These tests can be ordered once per month per household. • Order free tests through the Federal Program: Maine people in need of home tests may also order them through the federal program. The White House recently announced that U.S. residents can order two sets of four free at-home tests through www.COVIDtests.gov. Residents can also call 1-800-232-0233 for help placing the order. If you have any questions or concerns, need to discuss an exposure, or report an illness please contact the school nurse Hannah Cloutier, RN (hannah.cloutier@rsu34.org ) at Alton Elementary School (394-2331) or Viola Rand School (827-2508).

Dear RSU #34 Community, You have likely seen in the news that COVID-19 rates are high in our region. We also continue to see the spread of a number of other respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses. Please help us keep kids and staff in school by doing these things: *Please remember to do at-home screening for symptoms each and every day. (link to screener- https://5il.co/1a64g) *Please order and use your no-cost at-home COVID tests from https://www.covid.gov/tests or https://www.accesscovidtests.org/ *Please keep kids home when they’re sick! *Please consider using masks to reduce transmission of lots of illnesses at school. This week, the week of May 9th, is the last week that the state is conducting the pooled testing program, which makes closely monitoring for symptoms at home all the more important! Thank you, and we’re glad to see the sun shining! https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/Maine%20DOE%20Pre-Screening%20Tool%20for%20School%20Attendance%2010

School and Student Safety Late yesterday afternoon, we were informed of a possible threat to the safety of our schools. We immediately initiated an investigation. In cooperation with the Old Town Police Department, we determined that a comment overheard by a student was perceived as a safety threat. The student did what we ask students to do, “If you see or hear something, say something.” Fortunately, there was no criminal or credible threat to the safety of our students. Nonetheless, the comment was perceived as a threat and as such, will be dealt with administratively. RSU#34 maintains our high-level commitment to the safety and wellbeing of all students and staff.

This week, the RSU34 School Board approved the dismissal of elementary students at 11:30 next Wednesday, December 22. Middle and high school students will be dismissed at 12:30. Have wonderful holidays and we look forward to students returning to school on Monday, January 3rd!

If you would like to learn more about the Covid 19 vaccine for children, here is information about a zoom webinar with a panel of pediatricians from across the state.

If you'd like to sign your child up for pooled testing in RSU #34, the info is below! Pooled testing is a great way to keep more of our students out of quarantine and learning in-person. Participating in pooled testing is optional, and parents must give consent. Pooled testing is a once a week, gentle nasal swab that kids do themselves. Participants qualify for one of the four quarantine exceptions in Maine's Standard Operating Procedure for schools. Each school has a different access code and if you have multiple children, you'll need to repeat the quick process for each child. To give consent for a student to participate in optional pooled testing, start here: http://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com//minor-consent PLEASE BE SURE TO ENTER THE CODE FOR THE CORRECT SCHOOL. Alton Elementary School: PJDN15 Viola Rand Elementary School (Bradley): H52L8P Old Town Elementary School: Z1A0SE (note: the fourth character is a zero, not a capital o) Leonard Middle School: O9T2Y0 (the letter o at the beginning, zero at the end) Old Town High School: X67ZUZ You’ll answer a few questions and can give your consent online. No paper needed! If you need a paper copy of the consent, or if the student has reached age 18, please contact your child’s school.

The Open House will be Tuesday, August 31st from 4-6 PM. School starts on Tuesday, September 7th!

There will be a Parent Group Meeting via Zoom on Thursday, February 25 @ 6:00PM. Please join us! cheryl leonard is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: AES February Parent Group Meeting Time: Feb 25, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/86486401448

The December Parent Group Meeting will be tomorrow evening at 6PM. The agenda and minutes from the last meeting went home in student folders before Thanksgiving. It will be a Zoom meeting this month. The link is: Join Zoom Meeting https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/88184968924 Meeting ID: 881 8496 8924

Parent meeting tonight at 6:00! Zoom invitation link is: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/81214679266

The first Alton Elementary School Parent Group Meeting for this year will be held at 6:00 PM via Zoom on September 28. Please email cheryl.leonard@rsu34.org for an invitation to the zoom meeting! It would be great to welcome new faces to our group!

COVID Advisory Council Application: https://forms.gle/wX1tH3haStRsZnSZ8 We are excited to launch the 2020-2021 school year, and very much look forward to welcoming our students in person and remotely! Our schools and community will break new ground this year, navigating the pandemic together, as will schools and communities around the world. Each school is forming a continued input/feedback team of parents and staff, called the “COVID Advisory Council.” (AES and VRS will have one combined council). The principal will chair the team for each school, which will have these responsibilities: Receive and share input about what is working as intended, and what can be improved on, Review emerging research, Review public input, Report to the Board with issues discussed, and whether consensus exists on any recommendations. The membership of each school’s team will be as follows: (Ex Officio: Superintendent of Schools, Director of Curric/Instruction/Assessment, Special Education Director, School Nurse) Chair: Building administrator(s) Teacher representative 4 Parent Representatives. If you are interested in being a parent representative, please complete the form below by September 11th. On the form, please indicate if you’re comfortable with the current RSU #34 plan, if you think the plan is too cautious, or if you think the plan is too risky. We will seek to have a representative balance of parent perspectives on the team. The team will be formed, with participants notified, by Friday, September 11, and the first meeting will take place on late afternoon/evening of Monday, September 14. If you have any questions, please call or email your principal.

Parents of Alton Elementary School, please use this link to receive information about the first day of school. We have some new drop off and pick up procedures along with screening information. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bq4H6YMhbYWCXSCMM0Z-8T82aF7e91k5CVmKuIFxC18/edit?usp=sharing

We are planning a "Meet the Teacher" day on Wednesday, September 2nd. Please use this link for more information and to sign up for a time slot for your child(ren). If you already received this information, please disregard! :-) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P2b8QP1eDYzVuJmJm9T60gp33-6T3cvFNg92-jMKt1g/edit?usp=sharing