Greetings Mustangs!
Winter Carnival: Battle of the Biomes is finally here! Our Student Government (under the direction of Mr. Pascarella and Ms. Menice) have worked hard to put together a week full of fun activities designed to promote class and school spirit! A guidebook was sent via email to all students and staff explaining all you need to know about this coming week’s activities; however I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight a few things just as a reminder:
Class Color and Theme: Seniors are blue with the theme Ocean; Juniors are red with the theme Savanna; Sophomores are green with the theme Swamp; and Freshmen are yellow with the theme Arctic.
Class Coaches: Seniors = Ms. Small; Juniors = Mrs. Neal; Sophomores = Ms. Littlefield and Ms. Simpson; and Freshmen = Mr. Dube. Any issues, questions, or concerns should be brought to the attention of your Class Coach and they will communicate with the MASG Advisors on behalf of your class.
Winter Carnival Dance and Social: Scheduled for Thursday (03/23) from 7:00pm - 10:00pm. No admittance after 7:30 without the advanced approval from the administration. Admission is $5 per ticket or two tickets for $8. You get $1 off your admission for every non-perishable food item you bring in. In addition to the dance, there will be games/activities taking place in the gym. If you plan on bringing a guest from outside our school, they must be at least in high school but no older than 20 years old. All guest permission forms (which can be picked up at the Main Office) must be completed and returned to the Main Office by the close of school on Tuesday (03/21).
Dress-Up Days: Monday (Zoom Meeting Day - business on top; casual on bottom); Tuesday (Country vs. Country Club); Wednesday (BBQ Dads/Soccer Moms); Thursday (Class Theme Day); Friday (Class Color Day). As always, please be respectful and appropriate, and have fun with each theme day!
This year, there are activities happening during the school day as well as after school. Students are reminded about good sportsmanship; and to be safe/school appropriate at all times. We want you to have fun and to work hard as a class collaborating, problem solving, team-building, etc. As I mentioned earlier, please check-out the Winter Carnival Guidebook if you haven’t done so already as it is filled with all kinds of important information that you and your class will need to be successful this week!
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank all faculty and staff who have stepped up to help organize and/or supervise the various Winter Carnival activities to ensure our students have an exciting and memorable week!
Academic Grade Checks: This past Tuesday (03/14) we did a grade check for eligibility purposes (for athletics and any other extracurricular activities). To be eligible to participate on sport teams and/or other non-athletic teams/clubs, a student must maintain a minimum of a 2.5 in each class they are enrolled in (which means they are showing progress towards proficiency, which is a 3.0). Any student who received an eligibility rating of an F, S, or T received an email from me on 03/14 making them aware of this status and advising them to develop a plan with their teacher(s) ASAP as the next round of grade checks will take place on 03/28. In addition to my email, every homeroom advisor passed out and reviewed a hard-copy eligibility report to each student during advisory this past Wednesday (03/15). I also sent a communication out to all parents/guardians via Infinite Campus on Wednesday (03/15) reminding everyone what the four letters (O, F, S, and T) stood for; and at the assemblies on Thursday (03/16), the administration reminded all students about the eligibility reports and what their responsibility is if they received an F, S, or T. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please start with the teacher(s) first as they can best explain why a student is where they are (academically) in their particular class. Thanks!
One Act Play: As I’m sure you all know by now, the MAD Players (the Monmouth Academy Drama Team) took FIRST PLACE at the Class B Regional Competition last Saturday (03/11)! Needless to say we are VERY proud of them for this accomplishment. This coming Tuesday (03/21), they will be performing this 30 minute show at Cumston Hall at 7:00pm. This will be open to the public. There is no admission fee, however they are graciously accepting any/all monetary donations that will go towards supporting their trip to the Class B State Drama Competition, which is scheduled to take place in Ellsworth on Saturday (03/25). Our team will be the last team to perform in the State Competition, and that will be at 8:00pm on 03/25. We want to wish them the very best as they go for the gold on Saturday. We also want to thank the two advisors (Mrs. Littlefield and Mr. Price) for all they have done to prepare and support this team!
FBLA State Conference: Our FBLA Team (advised by Mrs. Neal) did an outstanding job at the FBLA State Conference this past Sunday through Tuesday! The team came home with 80 awards! 32 members qualified for the National competition! Monmouth now holds 4 of the 7 State Board officer positions (President, Secretary, Historian and Parliamentarian). We also received 3 State Awards: The Who’s Who in FBLA; the New Member of the Year; and the Advisor of the Year. So many reasons to celebrate and so much to be proud of! Way to bring it and to represent Monmouth Academy FBLA!
Academic Decathlon: The State Academic Decathlon Competition was held at Monmouth Academy on Saturday (03/18). Our team (lead by Mr. and Mrs. Foyt) competed against three other high schools (Hall-Dale, Oak Hill, and Calais) in a day full of testing and public speaking. For the second year in a row, MA finished as the Runner-Up! MA earned 22 gold medals, 19 silver medals, and 13 bronze medals and tied for first place for the Super Quiz Award. Congratulations to our Academic Decathlon Team. Another job well done!
NHS Update: Any Sophomore or Junior who was academically eligible to receive an application to apply for our National Honor Society received this information and had a group meeting on Friday (03/10). All applications must be returned no later than 03/27. If you have any questions, please see our NHS Advisor (Mrs. Arsenault).
Guidance News:
If you haven’t already done so, please let Mrs. Knowlton know as soon as possible if you wish to attend CATC next year, and what program you are looking forward to. She will be scheduling interviews with Mrs. Huckey in the next few weeks.
SERVICE ACADEMY NIGHT hosted by Maine's U.S. Congressional Delegation in cooperation with Maine Maritime Academy. See the attached flier for more information or visit https://m.mainemaritime.edu/.../large/events/detail.
Become a softball umpire (for more information see your email from Mrs. Knowlton). Training clinics for all students 15 years and older interested to:
Develop leadership skills that will serve you in the future.
Earn a high extra income with game schedules that work for you.
Partner with Maine JMG for added resources to succeed in credential credit.
Be mentored and trained by top veteran female and male USA Umpires.
Become a nationwide USA Certified official and the new generation blues.
Maine Blue Collar Scholarship (3/10/23): This scholarship is for people who want to study and work in a skilled trade. It will be awarded to over 30 students yearly. To qualify, you must:
be a resident of Maine
be in the field Plumbing / Carpentry / Electrical / skilled trade
be applying to a Trade school study
currently be a High school senior
There have been several new scholarships added to the document this week! Please check out the scholarship document! It is loaded with free money for seniors! Please reach out to Mrs. Knowlton for help or more information.
Consider Engineering is a challenging and rewarding four-day overnight summer program for high school juniors to get a taste of college life and what it takes to be an engineer.
Be one of 108 students from Maine and around the U.S. invited to spend four days at the University of Maine participating in exciting engineering experiments, problem-solving challenges, and great networking with faculty, practicing engineers, and fellow campers—at no cost to you.
This program is offered three times in July to groups of 36 students who have completed their junior year of study, excel in math and science, and demonstrate communication and leadership skills. This free-of-charge educational and inspiring program is competitive, with only half the applicants gaining admission. On-campus food and lodging is included.
If you have questions please see the email from Mrs. Knowlton.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE OUTDOORS! The Katahdin Area Council is looking to hire 50 enthusiastic camp staff members to serve at one of the premier resident Camps in all of New England. Camp Roosevelt...Are you built for scouting? See Mrs. Knowlton’s email for more information.
Senior grades will close for the purpose of determining Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Summa Cum Laude for graduation purposes and the honors banquet on Friday, April 7, 2023. Teachers will have until Wednesday, April 12, 2023, to finalize and post grades for seniors, and seniors will be notified of their standing on Thursday, April 13, 2023. If you have more questions see Mrs. Knowlton.
Civil Rights Team: Our school is part of the Maine Civil Rights Team Project (CRTP) whose mission is to increase the safety of elementary, middle, and high school students by reducing bias-motivated behaviors and harassment in our schools. ALL students are invited and encouraged to be part of this team! For more information, please connect with Ms. Darrell and/or Mr. Shain.
Say NO to Bullying! Bullying is NEVER OK, and has NO place at MA. If you or someone you know is experiencing any type of bullying or harassment (directly or indirectly), please let a teacher, staff member, or administrator know immediately. We take great pride in maintaining a school environment in which ALL students and staff can feel safe and secure. As it’s been said before, “If you ignore it, you approve it.” Please join me in making our school a bully-free zone. Thank you!
Food for Thought: Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying is a more dangerous form of aggression. Cyberbullies can remain anonymous, allowing bullying to take place at any time of the day or night. Cyberbullying can ruin your lives if you let it. Filter Your Online Friends: Restrict who can access your online posts. You can’t control what people do but you can choose whom you can see on your feed. Only accept accounts that do not engage in any negativity. Don’t allow bully’s to message you directly. Maximize Privacy Tools: Familiarize privacy settings and tools in social media. Maintain the confidentiality of your password and other personal information. Maintain the confidentiality of your address, contact number, or email address. (Mobile Cuisine)
Update: TRAVEL OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT AND MEETING DATE: Mrs. Arsenault, a Monmouth Academy English teacher, is pleased to announce our next European trip to "Amsterdam and Paris" in the spring of 2024. There are already several students and parents on the trip, but there is still room for more to join this exciting adventure. There will be an informational Parent, Student, and Teacher meeting via Google Meet for all those interested on Wednesday (03/22) at 6:30pm. Students entering grades 9-12 for the 2023-2024 school year, parents, and teachers are welcome to travel. Please email Mrs. Arsenault at carsenault@kidsrsu.org and a link to the meeting will be sent to you.
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. I hope you all have a great week! Take care and stay well.
Respectfully,
Mr. Ted Finn, Principal