Greetings Mustangs!
I’d like to begin by thanking our amazing students and staff for their participation in this year’s Day of Caring (held on Thursday - 10/06). Our school participated in a variety of projects (both on and off campus) to give back to their school and community. This event was sponsored by The United Way, and I also went to thank them for coming over and providing/serving a BBQ lunch for all. We wrapped up the day on Thursday by having students participate in a school-wide scavenger hunt and then a couple of rounds of 4-court volleyball (in which the Freshmen were victorious!). Overall, it was a great day; so nice to see students working together collaboratively; laughing, smiling, and just having fun! So PROUD to be a Mustang!
PSAT Testing: Just a reminder to those Juniors who signed up last spring to take the Fall PSAT test, that the test will take place on Wednesday (10/12). You need to be at school (in Mr. Foulke’s room or Mr. Morang’s room) with an ID by 7:30am. The test should be completed between 11:30/12:00.
NWEA Testing: From the Maine Department of Education: The Department Maine D.O.E. has partnered with the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) to provide to students in grades 3-8 and 2nd year of high school, an assessment for mathematics and reading. The assessment is computer-based and adaptive, meaning the assessment adjusts the difficulty level of the items presented to the student based upon student response. With the transition to a through-year assessment program in Spring 2023, student achievement will be measured both according to benchmark, grade-level Common Core State Standards as well as according to a RIT score which allows for comparisons of academic growth across students and time.
On October 18, 2022, Monmouth Academy students in grades 9 and 10 will be taking the Fall NWEA assessments in the area of reading and math. These assessments will provide valuable data that will allow us to make informed decisions as to how to best support the needs of our students and improve our curricula. Due to the importance of these tests at both the state and the local level, we strongly encourage full attendance and participation. We appreciate any and all support from parents and guardians in encouraging their students to put forth their best effort.
Infinite Campus Update: As you’ve been made aware from previous communications, parents/guardians will be getting access to their student’s Infinite Campus (IC) account through the IC Parent Portal just as soon as the district is ready to roll it out. Teachers, Administrators, and our Tech Department have been working hard to verify/review the standards that have been entered into IC for accuracy; as well as being trained on how to use the next level of IC as our student information/reporting system. As with any new system, it is going to take time and patience, but we are confident that as time goes along, this will be a great informational and communication tool for students, parents, and the school.
Through the Parent Portal, parents will have access to their student’s attendance for each class; access to their student’s lunch account; access to the demographics page; and access to their student’s academic page. The goal is to provide parents with the opportunity to access their student’s information at any time while maintaining an open line of communication between home and school rather than just waiting for the end of a quarter for a progress report or the end of a semester for a report card.
The original plan was to have an IC Informational Night on 10/11. However, since parents wouldn’t be able to access their portal until it is officially opened, we believe it makes more sense to provide a brief training video along with your username and password just as soon as the portal is ready to be opened. We would encourage you to go through this training video and to access your student’s account with the understanding that if you needed assistance or had any questions or concerns, we will have our Tech Department here to address your individual questions/concerns. We want to respect your individual time and schedules, and felt that a drop-in/support session after you have had the chance to access your Parent Portal would be more beneficial for our parents/guardians.
Please check the email you gave us (when you filled out the back-to-school paperwork) for this training video and your username & password (once we send it out); and if you need any assistance accessing your account, we will be happy to meet with you in person (stay tuned - date/time TBD).
Guidance Update: Cony/CATC is hosting a college/career fair and we would LOVE to bring a group of students to check it out. We have 50 seats available for this trip. Preference goes to Juniors and Seniors, however if we don't have enough interest we will consider bringing Sophomores. This trip takes place on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Please email me directly if you are interested in attending and we will see if we have enough interest to put together a bus for this event!
Scholarships for Seniors: Mrs. Knolwton has added a few scholarships to the list, some of them are pretty big! Check out the document attached and let her know if you have any questions!
Student Government: MASG will be hosting a Halloween Block Party on Friday 10/28 from 5-8pm. We will be putting on a haunted house on the lower level of the building and FBLA will be hosting a Trunk or Treat in the student parking lot. Any club is welcome to join in with their own Halloween activity. Please see Ms. Menice or Mr. Pascarella if you are interested in participating.
Civil Rights Team: Our Civil Rights is back up and running; picking up where they left off last school year! Our team 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!
Anti-Bullying Quote of the Week: “Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Athletics:
Monday (10/10) = HS girls soccer @ Mt. Abram 3pm JV, 5:30 Varsity. HS JV football @ Freeport 4pm start
Tuesday (10/11) = HS boys soccer @ Kents Hill (varsity only) 4:30 start (scrimmage)
Wednesday (10/12) = No contests scheduled
Thursday (10/13) = HS boys soccer HOME vs. Mt. Valley 3;30/5pm
Friday (10/14) HS girls soccer HOME vs. Carrabec 3:30pm (no JV) Senior game; last regular season game as of now. HS football @ Poland 7pm start.
Saturday (10/15) HS boys soccer HOME (1pm - JV; 3pm - Varsity). HS XC MVC championships @ UMA.
Monday (10/17) = HS boys soccer HOME 3;30pm vs. Lisbon (no JV) Senior game; last regular season game). HS JV football HOME vs. Poland 4pm start.
Golf State Championship: On a tough day for golf (cool with brisk winds) the MA/HD team competed their way to a 10th place finish out of 12 schools in Class C. Reese Beaudoin finished 3rd on the women's side for the individuals. Grace Levesque finished 10th individually for the women. Carter O'Connell finished 28th on the men's side and Isaac Fortin 64th. Congratulations to our golf team for a great season!
Yearbook: Senior Pictures are due to Dr. Ross by Halloween.
That concludes this week’s edition of The MA Express! Take care and stay well.
Respectfully,
Mr. Ted Finn, Principal