Principal’s Pen
Good Afternoon:
It seems like it has been awhile since I last wrote. I would like to start off by congratulating the following students who were selected as the March Students of the Month: Liana Arnold (gr. 9), Madilyn Doody (gr. 10), Alexandre St Jarre (gr. 11) and Morgan Genness (gr. 12).
We are three weeks away from our spring break and I think everyone is ready to have some down time. As you may have read in Mr. Gartley’s recent update memo, students will be remote learning on April 14th and 15th. Our students are very familiar with this shift but just as a reminder we will be running a regular school day on-line. Everyone is expected to attend classes as the regular scheduled time and attendance will be taken. If a student runs into a technology issue please have them give us a call at the high school and we will connect them with the technology department.
For all third year students (juniors) they will be participating in the NWEA testing during the month of April or May. This test replaces the SATs which used to be the State of Maine’s assessment tool. Both in-person and remote students will take this assessment on their laptops. Juniors will also take the Meridian Science Assessment (all students who participate in this particular assessment will need to be in person) this spring as it is required by the Maine Department of Education. More information will be coming out soon for both the parents and students to review.
We are granting junior privileges fourth quarter to those students who meet the eligibility criteria. Two members of the junior class advocated for this opportunity to be conducted on a trial basis. Those students who have a 80 in each of their quarter three courses (at the end of the quarter), had no disciplinary referrals or driving violations will be eligible for consideration. Juniors will be permitted to leave campus during study hall and guided study (if they have not been tagged for academic support). All other requirements can be found on the permission slip that will need to be turned into the main office prior to the privileges becoming active. I am hopeful that this privilege will be able to be carried into the new school year.
I have been working with the senior class officers and their advisors to get their input into the graduation celebrations. I will have a finalized calendar of events ready for when we return from April break.
Lastly, I would like to share with you my concerns regarding the increased number of students who are cheating and/or plagiarizing work and assessments. This issue is not specific to one group of students (remote or in-person learners) but it has become more pervasive across all content areas. This can prove to be a costly mistake as students will receive a zero for the work they have done which can significantly impact their overall grade. It can also impact their acceptance into academic organizations, such as NHS, the writing of recommendations from teachers and close post-secondary options whether it be college or work. I am hopeful that once they hear from their teachers the negative impact that this behavior will have they will think twice about using someone else’s work or answers.
Enjoy the weekend
Paula