Letter to Students from Ms. Callan 03/19/20
March 19, 2020
I hope that all of you and your family members are healthy and safe. The purpose of this correspondence is to alleviate some of your stress and possibly answer some questions that you may have.
Before I address the academic concerns that you have I would like to let you know that our food service personnel are providing breakfast and lunch for all students in RSU18 between the hours of 9:00 am-11:00am. If you are unable to pick up these meals at the high school you are more than welcome to visit one of the other sites: Sidney Fire Station (Pond Road), North Belgrade Community Center, Rome Community Center, Oakland Boat Landing, as well as the following schools: Atwood Primary, Williams, MMS, China Primary and China Middle School. In addition, the Alfond Youth & Community Center is providing hot meals for community members Monday-Friday between the hours of 4:30pm-5:00pm at the following locations: Oakland (Fabian Oil Parking Lot), Fairfield (Fairfield Community Center), Winslow (Fort Halifax), and Waterville (Alfond Youth & Community Center). I encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities as they are available to everyone.
As you can imagine the hallways at MHS are very quiet and almost eerie. A school should be filled with students mingling with friends, participating in extra-curricular activities, and yes, learning. But due to the closure of our school we have had to adapt and make some significant changes to how we still connect with you and make sure that you are all well. Academically, this has been the biggest challenge. Your teachers are doing their very best to move you along in your studies by providing you with work in their academic folders. I would encourage you to check those folders as often as possible as the teachers will be updating them frequently. I would also encourage you to hand in past due work if possible. To alleviate some of the stress you are feeling I urge you to not worry about grades or deadlines. I know that this is easier said than done but as administrators we are trying to figure this all out as well. We are focused on keeping you engaged academically and to support you in whatever way we can. You may find that teachers have numbered their assignments and they did that only to provide you with some guidance as to how to progress through the work. You’re probably wondering when the quarter will end, when will fourth quarter begin, what about on-line classes, AP classes, VHS classes, SATs, final exams. That is an exhausting list and one that we are working on. We will continue to keep each of you and your parents up to date on our decisions as often as we can.
For those of you who are seniors we know that this is an especially stressful time under normal circumstances. We are doing everything that we possibly can, with the information that we currently have, to keep those events that are special to you and your families on schedule. Please know that as circumstances change we may find ourselves having to make decisions that could impact these events.
The most important message that I have for you is to stay healthy. Do your best to stay engaged in your learning but don’t worry about the grading and deadlines. Take the time to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Try something new, read a book, help a neighbor, relax your mind as there is a lot coming at you from all directions. Check in with your peers using social media to see how they are doing. Take the weekends off and enjoy the quiet time. If you need someone to talk to please let us know. The counselors can put you in touch with someone that can provide you with support.
Please check your email as that is the way that teachers and I will be communicating with you directly.
I hope to see you very soon! Stay healthy and be safe.
Ms. Callan