Planning for the use of Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds (Title IA, IIA, IV-A) is underway in parallel with our local budgeting process. For more information on how to be involved with this planning, and/or the development of ESEA applications and policies, please call or email Jon.Doty@rsu34.org
Students may be interested in this free Earth Day event, Saturday April 26th. Thanks to our community partners, Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, for organizing this!
As we work to implement the five-year Strategic Plan, RSU 34 seeks public input on a variety of details. You can provide input through this web survey (https://forms.gle/4siZkgUuCyGyKu69A ), and/or join us in-person at the sessions shown below. Thank you for your thoughtful feedback to inform planning for our students and schools!
The full text of the Strategic Plan can be found here: t.ly/pj5LW
Please join us for input and discussion sessions as we plan for 2025-26 and beyond!
*AES PTC Wed. 12/11 (5 PM at AES)
*OTES / VRS PTC Wed. 12/4 (6 PM at OTES)
*LMS PTC Wed. 11/20 (6 PM at LMS)
*Staff leadership teams on 11/18, 12/10, 12/17
*Community forums
(please attend whichever is most convenient for your schedule, regardless of location)
*At VRS Wed. Jan. 8th, 8 AM (Multi-purpose Room)
*At AES Wed. Jan. 8th, 6:30 PM (Gym)
*At OTHS Wed. Jan. 15th, 6:30 PM (Cafeteria)
https://secure.smore.com/n/rdtysg
Weekly update for Families
No School for Students on October 11. This is a professional development day for staff.
RSU 34 is currently hiring for several roles!
*Part-time contracted Occupational Therapist
*Speech & Language Pathologist
*Special Ed Educational Technicians
*8th Grade Long Term Substitute Teacher
*Substitutes for Teachers, Ed Techs, Food Service, School Nurses, and Custodians
For more info and for applications, please visit https://www.rsu34.org/page/employment-applications-and-vacancies
The Maine CDC and Dept. of Education have encouraged sharing that risk is currently elevated for several serious mosquito-borne illnesses. You can find more information about the risks and actions you can take here: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/index.shtml#mosquito
Our local partners at Hirundo Wildlife Refuge are offering a Fall Fest this year! The event is Saturday, October 5th from 10am to 3pm. There will be food and drinks, games, raffles, activities with organizations like Maine Discovery Museum and NOAA Fisheries, face painting, nature craft vendors and more!
The goal of this event overall is to connect the community and celebrate the fall season!
Here is the link for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hirundo-wildlife-refuges-5th-annual-fall-fest-tickets-1003179365487?aff=oddtdtcreator
RSU 34 is proud to share the 2024 Back-to-School issue of Community Connections! Inside you'll find articles and photos from spring and summer activities, along with back-to-school information such as calendars, open house dates, and bus routes. The City of Old Town has partnered with us for this issue, so you'll also find great city info and the dates for Riverfest 2024!
Many thanks to those who contributed to this issue, and to Corina Larsen / Gossamer Design for bringing it all together.
Here's the link for Community Connections: https://5il.co/2twck
We're looking forward to the coming school year! In addition to our full-time staff, substitutes help out in a variety of ways: teachers, one-to-one support, office staff, custodial staff, and food service. If you're interested in working with awesome kids and staff on a very flexible schedule, please let us know! Here's the application: t.ly/mcbGC
Are you struggling with how to navigate parenting in the digital arena? Are you wrestling with what the right age is for a smatphone and social media? No matter where you are on your parenting journey with technology, you may be interested in the upcoming talk by the Founder of Wait Until 8th, Brooke Shannon. She will talk about the importance of delaying smartphones and social media and will help parents already in the middle of smartphone battles with some strategic advice to rein in smartphone use.
Brooke works with parents and communities across the country to help families establish a healthy relationship with technology. She is a national speaker on how to parent in the digital arena and has given keynotes to the American Enterprise Institute, and numerous schools and churches. Brooke is also a resource to the media; she has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, NBC national news, NPR, and CNN Headline News.
The Wait Until 8th pledge empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade and encourages parents to delay social media until 16. Learn more about the pledge at www.waituntil8th.org
(Hosted by RSU 64 at Central Community School, Corinth)
From a community partner:
Registrations for the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge Camp are STILL OPEN! Scholarships are available !
Join us for 1-4 exciting weeks of unforgettable adventures immersed in nature. Each week has a different focus, but every week offers opportunities to explore nature, spot wildlife, paddle, and hike at Hirundo!
Register Here: https://www.hirundomaine.org/summercamp
Week 1: July 8-12 Discover Your Inner Naturalist
Week 2: July 22-26 Blaze Your Own Trail
Week 3: August 5-9 Unearth Hidden Hirundo's Secrets
Week 4: August 19-23 Splash Into Your Next Adventure
Camps are designed for Ages 9-12, and run from 9am-4pm weekdays. We welcome you to sign up for 2, 3, or 5 days (or 4 full weeks) of fun!
Questions? Email: brianna@hirundomaine.org
2024 Field Day is in the books! We also enjoyed a fabulous cook out from some incredible volunteers. A huge thanks to all who made this day special!
Our 7th grade mentors had one last visit with their 2nd grade buddies.
The Great East Festival buses will return approximately 11:15 PM (Friday 5/24/24)
Thanks for Jackson and Jack for raising the colors at Leonard Middle School this morning!
Mrs. Zabierek's rocketry class had a great time learning about and launching rockets,
This Saturday, April 27th, Hirundo is offering a free "Meet a Scientist" event to celebrate Earth Day! This will be at Binette Park in Old Town from 10 AM - 1 PM.
Join Hirundo Wildlife Refuge in celebrating Earth Day at Binette Park in Old Town!
Meet scientists from around Maine, who will showcase some of the equipment they use and what projects they are working on right now!
Peer through lenses and activate your brain by asking questions and discovering more about the world around you. Tables will be stationed around the park featuring topics ranging from golden eagles and bird banding, to DNA extraction, to archaeology! Meet A Scientist will be your one-stop shop to learn about all the local science being conducted.
Learn the basics of what scientists do and how you can become a citizen scientist! This celebration of learning will be fun for everyone, so bring the whole family or come on your own.
Pick up a stamp card at the Hirundo table, visit at least 7 tables, and get a free nature-themed poster of your choice (first come first serve)!
Directions ~ Binette Park
434 Main Street, Old Town, ME 04468 (44.937288, -68.647140)
Located on Main Street in Old Town, along the Penobscot River, between Pepper's Landing and The Rock Church.
RSU 34 and the OTO-YMCA partner on the River Runners program, one of the "beacons of hope" identified in this statewide Op-Ed that are proactively creating opportunities for youth. Making multiple positive niches for every child/youth is an important part of their development - some of those happen in school, and some out of school.
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/21/opinion/opinion-contributor/there-are-beacons-of-hope-amidst-maines-juvenile-justice-challenges/
River Runners is part of the Aspirations Incubator Program, of the Rural Futures Fund.
Saturday was a busy day for RSU #34's robotics teams! On one side of the river, the LMS robotics team competed in the FIRST Lego League Maine State competition. The team was excited that in their very first round they exceeded the best score they had all year the prior year. They competed several more times that day, building on that success and growth. Meanwhile, across the river the OTHS robotics teams competed in the VEX "February Finale", the last meet of the regular season. Three of the four OTHS teams had already qualified for the state championships going into that meet, and one of the four OTHS teams had already qualified for the CREATE U.S. Open Robotics Tournament.
In RSU #34, we undertook an initiative a decade ago, spearheaded by one of our community members and volunteer coaches, to integrate robotics and coding into the school day. Beginning with Bee Bots at our elementary schools, through WeDo, Spike Prime, NXT, Sphero, coding, app design, 3D design and printing, laser cutting and engraving - RSU #34 students have lots of opportunities to develop computational thinking and cutting-edge skills!
Along the same lines, we learned Friday that the OTHS JROTC Cyber Security team, league champions, is invited to compete in the 2nd JROTC Brigade competition in March. Congratulations, Cadets!
