J.A. Leonard Middle School

***UPDATE: Basketball game information this week: 1/11 @ Reeds Brook, girls game followed by the boys with a 3:30 start. Home fans only at this game and there is no Livestream available. 1/14 @ Nokomis, boys game followed by the girls with a 3:30 start. ALL fans are allowed. Livestream available at: https://www.youtube.com/c/RSU19MaineOfficialVideoChannel/featured

RSU #34 will adjust contact tracing procedures for the duration of the school holiday, in order to meet CDC guidance while recognizing that many families and staff will be hard to reach. If we learn of a positive case of COVID-19 in our school community, we will continue to trace back to their previous 48 hours to identify close contacts at our schools and on school buses. Please note that 48 hours after school/busing ends on Wednesday extends well into December 23. We will rely on email notification to get the word out to close contacts. Because less information will be available than typical, we anticipate that we will be sending some messages advising that children/staff “may have been close contacts” –reminding families of symptoms to watch for and recommending testing. We will not have staff available over the holiday to provide advice for specific children’s circumstances; please use the information available through the Maine CDC’s website (links below) and contact your primary care provider with questions. Please use our COVID hotline to report positive cases of COVID-19 (827-7171 ext. zero). The school offices’ and nurses’ phone/email inboxes may not be checked until school resumes in January. If you are involved in an extra-curricular activity that meets during the holiday, please also be sure to promptly inform the coaches and athletic director. With COVID spread in Penobscot County and in Maine extremely high, contact tracing incidents are a daily occurrence. We urge our school community to continue conducting daily home screening before students get on the bus or attend school, and we urge our school community to continue erring on the side of caution. If you do learn of a positive case, please let us know promptly. We have seen repeatedly and first hand in our community how sneaky a disease COVID-19 is, causing no or minor symptoms for some, while devasting or ending the lives of others. Please keep helping our community, and our overwhelmed hospitals, by acting with an abundance of caution. Maine CDC Website: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/coronavirus/index.shtml What to do if you have COVID-19: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/documents/Isolation-CO.pdf What does quarantine mean? https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/documents/Quarantine-CO-v2.pdf Where can you go to get tested? https://www.maine.gov/covid19/testing

Next Wednesday, December 22, will be a half day for students in RSU #34. At LMS, they will have lunch at 11:45 and dismissal will be at 12:30.

Please check our LMS Winter Sports Protocols and the EMMSL BASKETBALL GAME PROTOCOLS in our News Section: https://www.rsu34.org/o/lms/article/597870 https://www.rsu34.org/o/lms/article/595403

What are we up to this morning? A whole school visit with award-winning author Christina Soontornvat!

Our 7th grade honors veterans.

RSU #34 and Penobscot Community Health Care are partnering to offer COVID-19 vaccination clinics for our 5-11 year olds. The first dose is Thursday November 18th, at an after-school clinic hosted at Old Town High School. Parents/caregivers must accompany the child, and signed consent is required. Two weeks after the second dose, the child is considered fully vaccinated and will be exempt from quarantine in almost all circumstances! We will soon be sending home paper copies of the flyer and consent forms; an electronic version can be found at this link: https://5il.co/11n37 Here are some resources that you may wish to check out to learn more about the vaccine. With specific questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's primary care provider or your school nurse: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/The-Science-Behind-the-COVID-19-Vaccine-Parent-FAQs.aspx https://healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Getting-Your-Child-Ready-for-the-COVID-19-Vaccine.aspx

Regional School Unit No. 34 Alton – Bradley – Old Town 156 Oak Street Old Town, Maine 04468 Telephone (207) 827-7171 David A. Walker, Superintendent SUBJECT: WINTER WEATHER AND SCHOOL Regional School Unit No. 34 maintains a policy of keeping school in session under all conditions; except when weather and road conditions are hazardous and therefore jeopardizing student safety. In general, when bus schedules are disrupted due to road conditions, schools will not be in session. Regardless of our decision to open or not open schools, we respect the right of parents to make the decision not to send your child(ren) to school when you feel their safety is at risk due to travel conditions. In these cases, the absence will be excused when we receive a note from you stating you chose to keep your child at home for safety reasons. NO-SCHOOL announcements will be made using our Emergency Notification system and posted on our website www.rsu34.org. We will also notify area television stations that accept early morning school closing notifications. Under most circumstances children are kept in school for the full day once they have reported to school. Early dismissal of students would occur only when weather conditions would appear to be too hazardous to remain the full day, loss of power for an extended period or when travel conditions are predicted to significantly worsen prior to normal dismissal times. In this case, students would be dismissed early. Parents who are not at home during the day should make early dismissal plans for their child(ren) and make the school aware of these emergency plans. Advance planning for a neighbor, friend or family member to care for your child(ren) if they are dismissed early is critical. We may also delay the start of school if travel conditions so warrant. This too might require advance planning on your part if your child(ren) are not boarding the bus at their usual time and/or the school is not open to accept students until a later time. I STRONGLY URGE all parents to make plans in advance before the winter season. Feel free to call my office (827-7171) or any of the school offices if you have questions or if we can assist you with making plans for your child(ren). The safety and wellbeing of your child(ren) is most important to us. David A. Walker Superintendent of Schools

Progress Reports: We just sent home trimester 1 progress reports. Students should have them as they arrive home. Conferences are coming right up as well, so look for that sign up information coming out next week.

Looking for Ed Techs! SALARY AND BENEFITS Pay range $14.46-$16.31, depending on education 32.5 hours per week, great hours for working parents 178-day work year Summer employment opportunities available, but not required Full single subscriber insurance up to 95% for the calendar year, not just the school year Full dental benefits Vision plan 6 University Credit Hours Paid by RSU 34 13 paid sick days (bereavement, personal) 10 paid holidays Disability insurance $1,000 in lieu of taking district insurance health plan $250 bonus for participating and earning 250 points in the health insurance online program For an application, contact angela.porter@rsu34.org For more information, contact gert.nesin@rsu34.org or kimm.kenniston@rsu34.org

It's been 19 months, but band is back! Starting this Monday, October 25 LMS bands will once again be playing. 6th Grade Band…meets Mondays Symphonic Band…meets Tuesdays Concert Band…meets Wednesdays Jazz Band….meets Thursdays Due to the size of the bands they may be split into Green and White days to provide the required spacing. All students have signed up and Ms. Priest has been communicating to them directly about which day their rehearsal will be.

School pictures at LMS are cancelled for tomorrow, October 14. Our photographer, Lifetouch, called us this afternoon and let us know that they are short staffed. We do not yet know the new date, but will let you know as soon as we find out.

PTC meeting tomorrow night at 6:00 via Zoom. Join us using the link: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/87984424440 or using the meeting id: 879 8442 4440

PTC is looking for new members. Join us this Wednesday October 13, at 6:00 via Zoom for our next meeting. We will be voting in new co-chairs and discussing current and future fund raising projects.

If you are DROPPING OFF your child in the morning, you have 2 choices. Choice 1: Drive them into the driveway If you choose this, please DO the following: Come into the UPPER driveway Pull into the LEFT LANE, and stay there until you leave the school grounds The LEFT LANE will be marked by cones. Drop your child off by the cafeteria doors Continue in the LEFT LANE through the lower parking lot, and exit using the left lane. As you move through the lane, please YIELD RIGHT OF WAY to buses. Choice 2: Continue to drop them off on Oak Street. Students must WALK IN THE RIGHT LANE all the way to the cafeteria. They should not, at any point, walk in the car lane. For safety of our school buses and students on them, PLEASE DO NOT PULL INTO THE LOWER PARKING LOT. This is a “Do Not Enter” Zone for all car traffic. Thank you for your help with this, so that we can keep all of our children safe.

Team pictures for field hockey, cross country, and soccer are this Wednesday, October 6, during practice. Football pictures will be arranged through the YMCA. Please remember to bring your uniform!

Dear LMS Community, We’re sorry to interrupt your evening, but ask you each to check your email this evening. We learned this afternoon of a member of our school who tested positive for COVID-19, and needed to do some of the notification by email today. Those emails went to both primary and secondary households for affected students; anyone without an email address has already received a phone call. If you did NOT receive an email from us within the last several hours about close contact with COVID-19, that means your child was NOT a close contact and you don’t need to take any action. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the school or COVID hotline with questions, and have a great weekend!

Updated Drop Off and Pick Up—TO START THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 Now that we know how and when our buses arrive in the morning and afternoon, we will adjust our Drop Off procedures. If you are DROPPING OFF your child in the morning, you have 2 choices. Choice 1: Come into the driveway and drop them off by the cafeteria If you choose this, please DO the following: Come into the UPPER driveway Pull into the LEFT LANE, and stay there until you leave the school grounds The LEFT LANE will be marked by cones. Drop your child off by the cafeteria doors Continue in the LEFT LANE through the lower parking lot, and exit using the LEFT LANE. As you move through the lane, please YIELD RIGHT OF WAY to buses. Choice 2: Continue to drop them off on Oak Street Please tell them to WALK IN THE RIGHT LANE all the way to the cafeteria. If you are dropping your child off in the morning, please DO NOT enter through the lower parking lot. PICK UP procedures in the afternoon We have many buses here at once, so pick-up procedures in the afternoon will remain the same. Students will leave the school up by the office, and you will PICK THEM UP ON OAK STREET. We want to make the procedures as convenient and safe as possible. Your patience and support are very much appreciated. Gert Nesin, Principal

Literacy Consultants Needed! Leonard Middle School, Grades 6 – 8, in Old Town, Maine is looking for literacy consulting for the 2021-22 school year. Our goal is to examine current research to collaboratively develop a shared vision and support effective literacy practices in all classrooms. The work is primarily with our ELA teachers, and will also extend to Educational Technicians, Special Education teachers, and all subject areas to support literacy across the curriculum. Background Our reading achievement in Grades 6-8 largely plateaued before the pandemic and dropped off by the end of the pandemic. We wish to create a solid research-based vision and plan to help all students progress in their literacy skills. Specific data will be shared with the consultants. Format Beginning at the end of September or beginning of October, the consultant(s) will work twice monthly with our ELA and other faculty for a half-day each time for 5 months, and once monthly for 3 months. During this time, they will do some combination of the following: Meet with ELA teachers as a group to create a vision, based on research Meet with teams of teachers to discuss effective literacy practice, and how to support it Visit classrooms and offer supportive feedback Meet with administration about supporting progress Costs Please itemize the costs, as follows: Cost per session for consulting time and preparation Travel expenses, including lodging if needed Materials and resources Submit proposals to Dr. Gert Nesin at gert.nesin@rsu34.org by Friday, October 1, 2021

To stay current with changes made to the LMS athletic schedules please go to our EVENT section of our website or by clicking on MENU then, ATHLETICS and then SCHEDULES. Thank you for your patience and GO COYOTES!!!