At the end of last year, our fifth grade students built four larger than life Maine invasive insect sculptures to display in our maple grove and outdoor classrooms. Included are signs with facts students collected for each insect along with a QR code that will take you to the Maine Forest Service insect fact page. All wood for this project was donated and the insects were painted with a mixture of beeswax and mica powder, except for the Asian Longhorned Beetle which was painted with stain created by mixing vinegar with steel wool. Over the summer, parent volunteers generously donated their time to install the insects. Thank you to all that helped make this project possible, including the Maine Environmental Education Association.
8 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Large wooden sculpture of a Japanese Beetle with a labeled sign
Large wooden sculpture of an Asian Longhorned Beetle with a labeled sign
large wooden sculpture of a Brown Tailed Moth with a labelled sign
large wooden sculpture of an Emerald Ash Borer with a labelled sign
SAVE the DATE for School Picture Day: September 27
8 months ago, Dr. Jeanna Tuell
SAVE the DATE
Students who live in Alton and West Old Town - our bus contractor is making some adjustments to routes; we will share more detailed information when it is finalized. Please plan to be out waiting for the bus extra early for the first few days as the routes settle into place. Thanks in advance for your patience!
8 months ago, Dr. Jon Doty
Open Houses Scheduled for Wednesday August 30th and Thursday, August 31st We will be hosting two Open House events to welcome students and families back to school. Visit your classroom, meet your teacher, fill out paperwork, and get school supplies if needed. If you have not received your back to school letters, call 827-1544 or simply attend your Open House for information. 3rd-5th grade Open House Wednesday, August 30 4:30-6:00 pm PreK-2nd grade Open House Thursday, August 31 4:30-6:00 pm
9 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Back to School in black cursive, followed by OPEN HOUSE in green letters with boarder of colored pencils
RSU #34 is thrilled to share our back-to-school issue of Community Connections! Inside you will read about some of the great endeavors of our students and staff, along with important back-to-school info such as school start/end times and bus routes. Please help your kids to be on time every day this year! This issue is dedicated to the memory of our late Board member David Wollstadt, who contributed in many ways to the school district and community. Here's the link! https://5il.co/21o0w
9 months ago, Dr. Jon Doty
Community Connections cover August 2023
Shared from our community: A fall cheerleading opportunity
9 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
YMCA Fall Cheer flyer
All of our librarian roles are filled for the upcoming school year, but we ARE still recruiting a few members to join our RSU #34 team! https://www.rsu34.org/page/employment-applications-and-vacancies You can get started on a career in education in one of several entry-level roles - we support college tuition so you can keep learning and growing, opening up future opportunities! We just added a grant-funded intervention teaching role as well, and seek an additional Special Education teacher to join our team and help reduce caseloads. Educational Technicians support our students in a variety of ways. We have a couple of coach openings for fall middle school athletics, and we always seek substitutes. Please visit and share our employment page! https://www.rsu34.org/page/employment-applications-and-vacancies
9 months ago, Dr. Jon Doty
Librarian Trap
OTES has been selected as the beneficiary of the Hannaford Community Bag Program! Each time the $2.50 reusable Community Bag is purchased at the Hannaford in Old Town during the month of August we will receive a $1 donation. These bags are great to haul groceries, gifts, beach gear, and dare we say it, winter gear when the time comes!
9 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Hannaford Community Bag filled with groceries next to red box stating Buy this bag and we get $1. Every $2.50 Community Bag sold at our Hannaford this month donates $1 to our organization. Share this with your friends!
We know it isn’t even August yet, but we hear some of you are out back-to-school shopping. Here are each grade’s supply lists if you forget yours at home. Lists are also available on our website under the menu tab. Please remember, if supplies are a hardship in any way, we will have some available at Open House and no student will go without what they need!
10 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
2nd grade supply list
kindergarten supply list
4th grade supply list
1st grade supply list
3rd grade supply list
5th grade supply list
RSU #34 is making a big email transition beginning at 3:30 Friday, June 16th. We anticipate that email will be down through the weekend, possibly also including the federal holiday on June 19th. Please continue to use our @rsu34.org addresses, but anticipate that your email will not be received until Tuesday. Thank you, happy last day of school, and have a fantastic weekend!
11 months ago, Dr. Jon Doty
Mrs. Brown is out front every morning, rain or shine, snow or wind, and always with a smile! Thank you, Mrs. Brown, for greeting everyone with a smile!
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
female staff member stands outside at school arrival area with arms outstretched and a smile
female staff member poses in school arrival area smiling
Last November, OTES was awarded a mini grant from the Maine Environmental Education Association. Fifth grade students were tasked with the job of creating an outdoor learning opportunity for our students and the surrounding community. Inspired by the giant trolls at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, students used reclaimed wood to create four Maine invasive insect sculptures. They built a Japanese beetle, an Asian longhorned beetle, a browntail moth, and an emerald ash borer. The insects were colored with a combination of beeswax and mica powder or stained with a steel wool and vinegar mixture. These sculptures will be put on display this summer in the University of Maine forest surrounding the elementary school. A special thank you to our donors, volunteers, DaVinci Signs in Hermon, the University of Maine, and all of the staff and students who worked hard to make this project a reality.
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
13 fifth grade students pose with their large insect sculptures and labelling signs outside in the garden
a student saws a piece of wood in half with a hand saw and guide while another student watches
a group of 4 students work on staining the wings of a large wooden insect sculpture
This Friday, June 16th is our last day of school and dismissal will be at 11:15am. Please make sure your student's teacher is aware of their dismissal plan if it is different than a typical Friday. Thank you!
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Black background with white shaded arrows and white stars, print says LAST DAY OF SCHOOL & EARLY DISMISSAL in yellow and blue
From the Art Studio: Fourth grade students, Haylee, Stevie, and Amariah have been working for several weeks on creating their very own business, Bethany's Biscuits. They plan on giving each student in their class a biscuit. Great job girls!
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Three female fourth grade students pose with a box decorated as an oven as well as biscuits and ice creams made out of cardboard
Upcoming Kindergarten Screening Reminder: Wednesday and Thursday June 14th and 15th A reminder to families with an incoming kindergarten student, screenings will be held this coming Wednesday and Thursday, the 14th and 15th of June. If you are unsure of your appointment time or have other questions, please contact Betsy Clark at 207-827-1544 ext. 3602.
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Kindergarten SCREENINGS with kindergarten written with various colors and designs on each letter, screenings in red, small images of items such as music note, pencil, planet, heart, rain drops, stars and dots surrounding the words
Please remember to vote on Tuesday, 6/13/2023, in support of the RSU #34 school budget! Alton: we believe voting hours are 2 PM - 7 PM at the Town Office Bradley: per the website voting hours are 8 AM to 8 PM at the Fire Station Old Town: per the website voting hours are 7 AM to 8 PM at the Elks Lodge Thank you for your support of our students and schools!
11 months ago, Dr. Jon Doty
A reminder about Field Days this week: Please remember to apply sunscreen and bug spray at home, wear comfortable clothes and sneakers for activities, and pack an extra pair of socks and shoes as the fields are still wet. Monday, June 12- 3rd and 4th grade Tuesday, June 13- K, 1st and 2nd (rain date of Thursday, June 15 for 1st and 2nd only) 5th graders will participate in Field Day activities after their celebration on Wednesday, June 14th
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
FIELD DAY in yellow with red border, with LET THE GAMES BEGIN! under in red and white, surrounded by images of stars, cones and a ball
Fourth grade students Winn and Dakota opened a restaurant in this art studio earlier this week. On the menu, vegetable soup, blueberry muffins, and pudding pie.
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Two fourth grade boys hold up the food they created from recycled art supplies available in the art studio including vegetable soup, blueberry muffins and pudding pie
Upcoming Kindergarten Screening Reminder: Wednesday and Thursday June 14th and 15th A reminder to families with an incoming kindergarten student, screenings will be held this coming Wednesday and Thursday, the 14th and 15th of June. If you are unsure of your appointment time or have other questions, please contact Betsy Clark at 207-827-1544 ext. 3602.
11 months ago, Maggie Mitchell
Kindergarten SCREENINGS with kindergarten written with various colors and designs on each letter, screenings in red, small images of items such as music note, pencil, planet, heart, rain drops, stars and dots surrounding the words
We're very proud of our World Cultures and Languages program in RSU #34 - our K-8 program was featured in the Educators for a MultiLingual Maine newsletter! You can read more here: https://5il.co/1w1kh
11 months ago, Dr. Jon Doty
Excerpt from EMME Newsletter