Principal’s Pen: January 4th-8th
Happy New Year:
We are so looking forward to the start of second semester but before we do so I wanted to take an opportunity to share some important dates with you as well as clarify a couple of things that came up in recent conversations.
As you know we will be ending the first semester on January 15th. During the week of January 12th we will be administering final exams and I have posted below for you the exam schedule along with the bell schedule for each day.
Final Exams- First Semester
January 11th: Regular schedule
January 12th: Period 1 (r)
January 13th: Period 1 (w)
January 14th: Periods 2-3 (this is an early release day for high school students only)
January 15th: Periods 4-5 (this is an early release day for high school students only)
Tuesday, January 12th (Red Day) Wednesday, January 13th (White Day)
Period 1 8:00-9:20 Period 1 8:00-9:20
Period 2 9:25-10:20 Period 2 9:25-10:20
Period 3 10:25-11:20 Period 3 10:25-11:20
Lunch A 11:25-11:55 Lunch A 11:25-11:55
Lunch B 12:00-12:30 Lunch B 12:00-12:30
Period 4 12:35-1:30 Period 4 12:35-1:30
Period 5 1:35-2:30 Period 5 1:35-2:30
Thursday, January 14th Friday, January 15th
Period 2 8:00-9:20 Period 4 8:00-9:20
Period 3 9:35-10:55 Period 5 9:35-10:55
Lunch 11:00-11:30 Lunch 11:00-11:30
Buses 11:30 Buses 11:30
There will be no afternoon MMTC on Thursday and no morning or afternoon MMTC on Friday for MHS students.
School will be closed on January 18th (Martin Luther King Day) and January 19th (Teacher workshop day, district wide). Our second semester will begin on January 20th.
We have been very fortunate to remain open for most of the first semester. I would like to remind everyone that our schedule is not a hybrid model but rather one that has the student learning either remotely or in-person. For those students who have elected to be a remote learner second semester please remember that you will need to follow the regular daily schedule. Your teachers will be sending you a link to log into their classes. Please reach out should you have any difficulty doing so. For our in-person learners please remember that if you are out due to illness you are encouraged to log into your classes (if you are feeling well enough to do so). We have had a few situations where students have started missing a couple of days each week and assuming that logging in remotely was an option. Please remember that if you are an in-person learner you are expected to be in school daily. Should we see any attendance patterns start to form we will be reaching out to parents to ask that they (both student and parent) make a decision as to how they will be learning during the remainder of the school year. I am sharing a link with you that outlines the expectations for remote learning. This gives students an opportunity to review what they may already know and for those new to remote learning it may answer any questions they may have.Remote Learning Expectations-3
On these same lines we have had several conversations around excused and unexcused absences and why we need to code students one way or another. We have to take attendance every period for every student whether they are in person or remote. The reason for doing this is to make sure that we know where every one of our students is during the day. This is important should we ever find ourselves needing to evacuate our building or conduct a lock-down. Many of you have asked what the difference is between an excused absence and an unexcused absence and here is a simple explanation that I hope will clarify things for everyone. An unexcused absence is one that is not excused by Maine law and/or one that is not called in by a parent or guardian indicating why their student is absent from school. For example, missing the bus would not be an excused absence. An excused absence as defined by law is one of the following:
Excusable absence. A person’s absence is excused when the absence is for the following reasons:
- Personal health, including the person’s physical, mental and behavioral health
- An appointment with a health professional that must be made during the regular school day and the absence has prior approval
- Observance of a recognized religious holiday when the observance is required during the regular school day and the absence has prior approval
- A family emergency
- A planned absence for a personal or educational purpose that has prior approval
If you have any questions around absences or the remote learning vs in-person learning please do not hesitate to reach out.
Students will be receiving their course registration forms for the 2021-2022 school year during the week of February 8th. They will be due back to their school counselors no later than February 12th. This seems like a quick turn around but we have learned that the more time we give the fewer forms we receive back.
We would like to congratulate our December students of the month. They are Freshman Kristina Parker, Sophomore Obediah Meyer, Junior Faith Rice and Senior Brody Armstrong. Congratulations!
As always everyday that we are in school is a good stay. Stay well and enjoy the day
Paula