TIGER TALK 22-23

(6/4/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

How can this possibly be the last week of school?  Where has this year gone? 

Last week was a beautiful week for field trips and hikes.  Grade 4 visited Swan's Island last Monday with the rest of the district 4th graders.  They learned about the island's history, saw landmarks, and explored around the school.  Great day had by all!  Grade 2 had a great walking field trip to Albert's Meadow.  Grade 5 had a walking science field trip to the Sand Bar.  

Our 8th graders headed to Adventure Bound in Caratunk for an overnight whitewater rafting trip.  Rumor has it that they had a great time!  A huge thank you to Ms. McConomy for organizing this fantastic experience and the chaperones who helped make this happen.

First graders learned a song about an apple tree in French class.  Second grade learned about Pablo Picasso and created their own cubist-inspired paintings.  Teh 5-6 Art Club had Ms. Parkinson teaching them how to crochet.

Promotion is almost here!  Our 8th graders will be marching into the gym for the last time on Thursday, June 8th at 4:30pm.  We can't wait to celebrate all of their hard work in getting to this point in their educational journey.


Please check out the school building committee website for information on the new school building project.  School committee meeting will be at 5:30pm tomorrow in the library.

Have a great rest of your Memorial Day weekend,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates

(5/29/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

Thank you to our service members that gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Today is the day that we recognize those who gave their lives in the service of our nation.

After a 4 year hiatus, Ms. Ryan and Ms. Rosinski (along with the able assistance of the first grade teachers) brought back "Grandfriends' Day" for first grade.   Ms. Ryan organized the photos into a wonderful slideshow for each first grade class. The celebration took place on Friday, May 26.  First graders spent the previous month drawing and writing about their "Grandfriends" or other family members.  The first grade teachers displayed the children's work and decorated their rooms for the event.  Parents contributed by sending in photos,  bringing food to the celebration, and joining in on the festivities. Thank you to Ms. Rosinski and Ms. Ryan for helping us revive this most treasured tradition. 

What is better than a Friday afternoon?  How about a popsicle-dance party on a Friday afternoon!  Grade 5 sponsored the freeze pops and Mr. Granholm spun the tunes as the entire school enjoyed some much needed down time at the end of the week.  And of course, what would a popsicle dance party be without a conga line!!!

Seventh grade switched back to social studies for four days while eighth grade took the science MEA. Students spent their time making thematic maps of Conners Emerson. They came up with questions, visited K-8 classrooms, and finally showed and analyzed the data on maps. Turns out once kids hit fourth grade their favorite music genres are rap and pop, kindergarteners prefer surises to sunsets, and tacos more popular in the Emerson building.

Shout out to all of our second grade writers who wrote awesome restaurant reviews and to the businesses who responded back to students with a personal letter, a gift certificate, putty for the class, a second grade pizza party, free ice cream, and stickers. Thank you, Pat's Pizza, Thai Sana, Governor's, Geddy's, Side Street Cafe, Ben and Bills, Shinbashi, Mount Dessert Bakery, Manny's Greek Grill, and Rollies. Our students loved hearing back from you!  Ms. Keene's class had free icecream at Ben and Bill's from their then headed over to Agamont Park on a beautiful day.

Ms. Schmitt and her crew (Gwen and Kate) have been reviving our C-E-S garden boxes by the library with the generous donation of soil from Home Depot.  Owen Carroll has helped to mend a few of the boxes, replacing wood and suring it up.  Ms. Mountford's room has been tending to the garden behind the school and Ms. Parkinson has been busy with new plans for the greenhouse.

On Wednesday, May 24th our 6-8 middle school students attended is an internet safety presentation from Detective Rowe of the Maine State Police Computer Crimes unit at Pemetic.  He discussed current issues affecting children online and how students can keep themselves safe.  A video that is usually shown at these presentation is available for you to look over and share with your children if you wish to follow up on the dangers of posting information online and who might be looking at that information.

Our 4th graders are heading to Swan's Island tomorrow to participate in a district day of fun, learning, and friendship.  We hope they have quite the adventure!  They also went to Carroll Homestead in ANP and participated in the National Honor Society Day at MDIHS will the district 4th graders.  Grade 5 headed to Volta last Friday for a PE field trip.  And the after school Outing Club went on amazing hike together.  

Congratulations to all of our spring sports teams.  They had an amazing season!!!  And a shout out to the coaches and assistant coaches that support them through their season.

Skateboarding in PE has been amazing!!!  Please make sure your children wear sneakers this week so that they can participate safely!

Please check out the school building committee website for information on the new school building project.

Have a great rest of your Memorial Day weekend,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates



(And if you have any baseball or softball games, please send my way!)

(5/21/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

Wow, our Science Olympiad Team rocked the national competition in Wichita, Kansas this weekend. They medaled in an event (woohoo) and did a great job representing both our state and school!  Check out the open ceremonies stream (our team is at 29:15). A huge thank you to Ms. Mackay, the parent chaperones, and everyone that donated to help make this amazing trip possible.  And a huge pat on the back to Alex who also attended the national Math Counts competition in Orlando, Florida earlier in the week.  

Grades 5 and 6 celebrated Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month with presentations and workshops on Friday.  Students participated in learning about aspects of AAPI cultures from the cultural significance of henna tattoos to Filipino dance to all things rice.  (Thank you for Simon, Neha, Somi, Sraddha, and Cy!)  Simon also visited Mrs. Rechholtz's 2nd grade to talk about AAPI month and showed the students how to make origami pinwheels.

Grade 4 showed off their Changemaker projects to their peers on Friday.  They have worked hard to research a person that has qualities they would like to see in themselves.  They put a lot of effort and creativity into their final products which looked amazing!

Wow, we have a lot to share so please check out the pictures below:  Grade 5 headed to Somesville to learn all about alewives.  Mrs. Edmondson took the orchestra to the UMaine Collins Center on Monday to watch a performance.  And we had a hungry little squirrel on our playground that caused quite the ruckus one afternoon!  Kindergarten went to Sieur du Mont for their Hooray for Habitat presentations and Mrs. Newman's class is doing "Investigation Stations".  And Mrs. Dyer's class has been having lots of fun in the library with Ms. Ryan as well as being serenaded by Mr. Granholm.  Bentley and Harrison knocked it out of the park, Acadia National Park that is with their epic Eagle Lake Pictures.  A huge thank you to whomever donated new recess toys to first grade.  In Art class, first grade made amazing 3-d dinosaur sculptures and grade 3 perfected the seascape.  Ms. Mountford's class is helping in the garden and Ms. Keene's 2nd grade class was having way too much fun in French.

On Tuesday, May 23rd in the MDIHS auditorium at 5:30pm is an internet safety presentation from Detective Rowe of the Maine State Police Computer Crimes unit.  He will be discussing current issues affecting children online and how parents can best monitor phones and other devices.  We hope that you will join us for this very relevant and useful presentation.  Students in grades 6-8 will be attending student presentation at Pemetic on Wednesday, May 24th in the morning.  

On your mark, get set, go!!!  Our track stars are off to the Almquist Regional Middle School Track Championship tomorrow.  Good luck to all of those who qualified!

Get ready to ride...  Mr. Dionne and Ms. Jolley are breaking out the "decks" for a fun and fast skateboarding unit in PE classes!!!  That is so rad!  Student must wear sneakers!!!  In fact, we strongly discourage flip flops or slides this time of year due to field trips, extra recesses, and outdoor PE classes.  Schedules can change and PE classes might be on days you didn't expect so please make sure your child has sneakers on everyday!!!

Ms. Hanna and Ms. Jolley attended an incredible professional development opportunity early last week.  They went to the Outdoor Leadership Training so they will be able to take students into the backcountry such as Baxter State Park and overnight trips.  I cannot wait to see what trips they have planned for students next year!

Please check out the school building committee website for information on the new school building project.

Have a great rest of your weekend and Happy Mother's Day,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates



(And if you have any baseball or softball games, please send my way!)

(5/14/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

It was a busy week in Tiger Town.  Grade 7 and Grade 6 both had overnights at SEA Camp (Schoodic Educational Research Center) in Winter Harbor working on their science skills.  Grade 3 visited the Somesville School House to experience what school was like in the 1800's.  They also had a fantastic field trip to Acadia National Park as part of their MDI Social Studies unit.  Grade 2 worked together on building "hula huts" (not as easy as you think).  We are not slowing down this week with our gr. 5-8 orchestra heading to the Collins Center tomorrow for a show.

Congratulations to a handful of our 6th graders that won the College Essay contest.  Bob Stewart handed out $100 scholarships and summarized their college aspirations at Camp Beech Cliff Tuesday night.  It was great to hear all about where students want to go to school and what they want to study.  A huge thank you to Carol Rosinski and Ms. Gilman for making this opportunity possible for our students.

Our Outdoor Club is absolutely amazing.  Last week was "Bike Week" where students learned to repair bikes and went on rides around the area.  So fun!  And the after school Jesup Book Group with Ms. Ryan ended up at Ben and Bill's for ice cream to celebrate all the fun they have had.

The Science Fair, Spaghetti Dinner, and 7th & 8th grade Art Show was so much fun!  Our budding scientists shared their research on why you should brush your teeth to how dissolution works to building a hovercraft.  (Yes, a hovercraft).  A huge thank you to our judges and the PTSA for making this night happen for our students.

Please check out the school building committee website for information on the new school building project.

Have a great rest of your weekend and Happy Mother's Day,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates


(And if you have any sports or Science Fair, please send my way!)

(5/7/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

A huge thank you to our wonderful school community and the PTSA for celebrating our amazing staff all last week.  From meals to massages, we were pampered!

Summer School:  

Students entering grades 1-5 ---> click here

Middle School Summer School Opportunity ---> click here  

The Science Fair is this Friday and we hope you are planning to attend!  There a still a few spots open for students to sign-up and show us your staff!  Even if your child is not participating, we invite you come and see all the excitement.  There will be a science fair, 7th & 8th grade Art Show, 8th grade spaghetti dinner, and a booth to learn more about the new school building project.  Oh and a bake sale fundraiser for our Science Olympiad team that is heading to the nationals in Witchita!  We hope to see you there!!! (Science Fair Sign-Ups and Info by May 7th)

The 5th grade math students decided it was time for the school to talk about math—with some healthy competition! They created a “volume zoo” and then placed their animals around the school for students K-8 to find. This scavenger hunt has created quite the buzz. 


They also have an estimation jar in the cafeteria. Last week, there were gum balls in the jar. The students created a video to help students think about their estimation and then created an array with the gum balls for students to be able to count on Monday. The class winner will be announced Monday afternoon and that class will get a prize (not the gumballs) This week, there will be mini marshmallows in the estimation jar! Good luck!

Robert Shetterly, founder of the, "Americans Who Tell The Truth" Portrait Series visited Grade 4 on Wednesday, May 3.  This was the culmination of the 4th Grade "Heroes" Unit.  Students discussed their "Heroes" and why they chose them.  Mr. Shetterly bought 4 portraits:  Mohammed Ali (Boxer and Draft Resister) , Maulian Dana (Indigenous Activist from Maine), Larry Gibson (Environment Activist) , and Sister Lucy Poulin (Social Service Entrepreneur from Maine).  He shared why he chose to paint these people as, "Americans Who Tell the Truth".

The well-being of our students is always on our mind.  One issue that continues to affect our kids is social media/internet safety.  The district will be offering a parent information night at the high school on May 23rd (time tbd) and district middle schoolers will gather at Pemetic on May 24th.  More info to come!

This week Outdoor Club made art inspired by Andy Goldsworthy, using natural materials from around the school. Next week is Bike Week! More details here:  

https://sites.google.com/mdirss.org/conners-emerson-school/more-info/conners-emerson-clubs

Congratulations to all of our students and staff that participated in the K-8 concert on Friday.  It was amazing!!! 

We had a busy week here at CES.  Fourth grade visited Volta.  We had an amazing K-8 concert.  PE classes played "Star Wars".  Tanglewood Marionettes' performed their show "The Dragon King" for grades in K-5.  Mr. Averill taught a class on watercolor lighthouses in the 6th grade art club.

Next week we will highlight all the great stuff that happens in our school after 3pm.  If parents have sports or club pictures, please send my way!!!

Have a great rest of your weekend,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates


FROM THE PTSA - 

Friday May 12 is the K-8 Science Fair (plus 8th Grade Spaghetti Dinner, plus 7th/8th Grade Art Show) from 5:00-6:30pm.

Don't forget to sign up BY THIS SATURDAY (May 6) if your student is doing a project, so that they will be included in the program & so we can be sure to set up enough tables for projects.

Sign up here:  https://forms.gle/8q7BygUqNGFZyhXy7

(4/30/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

This week is Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week!  Sign up HERE to help treat our teachers and staff to a tasty Soup & Salad Lunch at school on Monday May 1.  Sign up HERE to help treat our teachers and staff to a relaxing and delicious breakfast buffet on Friday May 5.

Summer School:  There are still a few spots left at the amazing district summer school program in Trenton!!!  If your child had excessive absences this school year or they would like to continue the fun of school through the summer, we invite you to contact Principal Dagraca for more information (cdagraca@mdirss.org).

Students entering grades 1-5 ---> click here

Middle School Summer School Opportunity ---> click here  Weeks being offered are July 10 and July 17. Only two weeks of programming is available for students entering grades 6-8. (Depending on the number interested, students may be able to participate in one week or two.)

Be on the lookout for some fundraising going on with our Science Olympiad Team.  They are heading to the nationals in Witchita later this month.  If you would like to donate to their trip, please contact Ms. Mackay (mmackay@mdirss.org).

Friday, May 5th is the Spring Concert for grades K-8.  Here are the times for the shows.  We ask that students dress to impress (no ripped jeans, etc...) and are at the school on time for their showing.  Arriving families can enter through the gym entrance and exiting families can leave through the far gym doors.  It will be a packed house so we ask that families do not arrive early and leave once their child performs so that all families can fit!

SAVE THE DATE:  We hope you have cleared your calendars for Friday, May 12th.  This night will be packed with action, adventure, art, and pasta!!!  There will be a 7-8 grade art show, a K-8 Science Fair, an 8th grade spaghetti dinner fundraiser, and a booth with info on the new school building project.  (Science Fair Sign-Ups and Info by May 6th) We hope to see all of you there and bring family and friends too!!!

More happenings (see pics below):  Sixth grade was treated to a visit from an amazing group of high school students.  The HS students shared their experiences at MDIHS and answered questions.  Ms. Hanson joined the last session of 5/6 Art club by introducing our students to journaling. The students in Mrs. Young's class were taste-testing different citrus fruits and stating their opinions in French: J'adore, J'aime, Je n'aime pas, Je déteste. You can see by their faces how things tasted.  Third and fourth grade is mastering their basketball skills.  First and third grade bonus recesses (thank you Mrs. Nicholson!).  May Day baskets with Mrs. Youngs's class (thank you Dawna!).

Have a great rest of your weekend,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates

(4/23/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

We hope everyone had a relaxing vacation week.  It is time to head into the homestretch of this school year so fasten your seatbelts!

Important news from the PTSA:  Next week is Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week (May 1-5)!We will be treating our wonderful staff to a Soup & Salad lunch at the school on Monday May 1, and to a Breakfast Buffet at Galyn's on Friday May 5.

We are asking parents, grandparents, students, community members, businesses - anyone who wants to show their appreciation for our CES teachers and staff! - to help provide food for these special meals.  If you are unable to drop off your food items at any of the pre-arranged times, please email ces.ptsapresident@gmail.com or message the Conners Emerson PTSA Facebook page to make other arrangements.  Please share this with CES community members who you think may be interested in helping provide food for these events.

A huge thank you to the Jackson Lab and their traveling scientists who visited our 2nd graders last week for their Bacteriology unit.  This is an amazing annual event that teaches our students about the scientific method while learning about where we find germs here in our school.  We appreciate all of the volunteers that donated their time to make this such a special event!!!

We are heading into field trip season!!!  Our students are so fortunate to have such amazing educational partnerships right here in our area that help with place-based learning.  From the Somesville School House to ANP to Schoodic Educational Research Center to Volta, we are finding hands-on experiences that help to strengthen our curriculum, increase engagement, and build community.

Be on the lookout for some fundraising going on with our Science Olympiad Team.  They are heading to the nationals in Witchita later this month.  Also, Alex will be busy because he is also heading to Orlando for the Math Counts national competition since he scored number one in the State of Maine!!!  Wow!!!

SAVE THE DATE:  We hope you have cleared your calendars for Friday, May 12th.  This night will be packed with action, adventure, art, and pasta!!!  There will be a 7-8 grade art show, a K-8 Science Fair, an 8th grade spaghetti dinner fundraiser, and a booth with info on the new school building project.  (Science Fair Sign-Ups and Info by May 6th) We hope to see all of you there and bring family and friends too!!!

Friday, May 5th is the Spring Concert for grades K-8.  Here are the times for the shows.  We ask that students dress to impress (no ripped jeans, etc...) and are at the school on time for their showing.  Arriving families can enter through the gym entrance and exiting families can leave through the far gym doors.  Also, this will be Mrs. Edmondson's last concert at CES!!!

Many of you have asked about the last day of school.  We are waiting from the state to find out if the 2 Covid days we had are waived.  The last day will either be Friday, June 9th or Tuesday, June 13th.  We will let you know as soon as we know.

Ms. Schmitt needs 8th grade pictures for the yearbook!  All photos need to be in by May 19th.  If you have any photos of basketball, baseball/softball, cheering, field trips or group photos, please send to cesyearbook@mdirss.org or aschmitt@mdirss.org.  Thank you!

This week in Outdoor Club:  Photography Hike

Bus transportation to the trailhead. Parents pick up at Sieur de Monts parking area at 5pm. If Sieur de Monts is still closed on Friday, an alternate pick up location will be communicated by Thursday.  Open to grades 5-8.  Bring: water bottle, snack, camera, warm layers. 

Sign up here: 

https://sites.google.com/mdirss.org/conners-emerson-school/more-info/conners-emerson-clubs

Our AI Flex Group (artificial intelligence) had a guest speaker, Professor Gray Cox, speak to students about new innovations in this sector.  We have some fantastic afternoon options for our 6-8 graders this quarter from woodburning to greenhouse to robotics to Latin club.  We also had a group of girls head to Camp Jordan for the Hardy Girls workshop.  We are movers and shakers!!!

Ms. Bender's class had a great time with their 6th grade reading buddies.  (And then reading with their new rubber ducky friends.)  Also below is a great photo of the end of the year Chess Club Party and Kindergarten's mixed media landscapes inspired by Van Gogh's "Starry Night"!

Have a great rest of your vacation,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates

(4/9/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

Congratulations to our Science Olympiad Team coached by Ms. Mackay!!!  They have been working together since July and it has really paid off.  Over the weekend our team earned a 2nd place finish at the State of Maine Science Olympiad, bringing home a total of 22 medals (12 gold, 7 silver, and 3 bronze).  Wow!!!

Ms. Hanna's 7th grade science classes visited some of the Conners classrooms with science demonstrations.  With the K-8 Science fair right around the corner, the 7th graders were hoping to inspire some of the younger students to think of an experiment they would like to highlight or exhibit at the fair.

On Wednesday, many of our middle school students walked out of their classes and recess time to participate in a national protest against gun violence.  We applaud our students for keeping current with issues that directly affect their lives and for speaking out for what they believe.

Spring Outdoor Club offers many fun outdoor activities: hiking, biking, outdoor art, nature photography, rock climbing, and an overnight camping trip. Outdoor Club is open to students in grades 5-8. Sign up for one, some, or all activities. Sign up here!

We had three of our tigers in The Grand's production of The Sound of Music over the weekend and will be performing again next weekend.  Fiona, Brielle, and Mrs. Edmondson all had key roles in making this production a huge success!!!  Mr. Granholm brought a group of show stoppers to see the matinee on Saturday and reported it was amazing!!!

This will be the last week for Chess Club. Members are encouraged to bring a treat to share and we finish our tournament and celebrate another great year of chess club! Contact Meggie if you have any questions (megan.curtis@mdirss.org).

Grade 5 attended the Outdoor Safety workshops at Camp Beech Cliff on Thursday with the all of the other fifth graders from around the district.  Living in such a rural area, it is important that all of our students learn how to be safe and stay safe while being outdoors.

We had two individuals associated with the Conners building test positive for Covid-19 last week.  We are hoping the small surge we had a few weeks ago is now gone.  If your child exhibits symptoms of illness, please keep them home and/or contact our school nurses.

Have a great rest of your weekend,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates

Kindergarten's outdoor classroom.

Ms. Galeaz's sister was a guest reader!

We had a visitor on Monday...

(4/2/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

COVID-19 UPDATE:  We have not been notified of any new cases over the weekend.  Hopefully this small surge is behind us.  If your child is showing symptoms of illness, please keep them home and contact our school nurses. 

Thank you to all of the families that participated in parent-teacher conference week.  If you were unable to find a time to meet, please contact your child's classroom/homeroom teacher.  We value the connection between home and school as part of your child's education journey.

Ms. Jolley has an exciting spring line-up planned for the Outdoor Club so come find your adventure! Spring Outdoor Club offers many fun outdoor activities: hiking, biking, outdoor art, nature photography, rock climbing, and an overnight camping trip. Outdoor Club is open to students in grades 5-8. Sign up for one, some, or all activities. Sign up here!

Congratulations to Mrs. Edmondson and her Show Stoppers.  They woke up super early on Saturday morning and headed up to Millinocket for the state Show Choir competition.  They earned a silver medal and an award for choreography.  Wow, we are so proud of you and all of your hard work that led up to such an amazing performance!!!  We thank Mrs. Edmondson for her years of commitment to our Show Stoppers with this being her last show.

The upcoming freshmen class visited the high school on Friday afternoon.  They had an opportunity to tour the school, participate in student panels, and visit the activity fair to find out all about the clubs and teams available at the high school.

On Friday, we had a 5-8 assembly to celebrate all the great things going on at CES and a reminder on common expectations.  Student cell phones should be turned into homeroom teachers first thing in the morning and not used within the school buildings.  If parents need to contact students (or the other way around), please contact Miss Taylor and she can pass along any information.

Have a great rest of your weekend,

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates


OUTDOOR CLUB ADVENTURES!!!

Information about the science fair will be coming home with your child if it wasn't handed out at the parent-teacher conferences.  We are excited to see what our students will amaze us with this year!!!

Looking for a 5k with a good cause?  Check out the Boggy Brook 5K: Skills USA Fundraiser on Sunday, May 21st.  This race raises money for the HCTC students and staff that have qualified to compete nationally.  

We wish all the competitors good luck!!!


Boggy Brook 5k: Skills USA Fundraiser

https://www.runreg.com/boggy-brook-5k2023

...SPECIAL GOOD NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT ALERT...

Our CES Math Counts Team (Shreya, Harrison, Caspar, and Alex) placed first in the State of Maine competition Saturday!!!!  Alex won first place in the individual competition!!!  Our CES Coach Joel has been given the honor of coaching the Maine team at the national competition in Orlando with Alex!!!!  This is absolutely huge!!!  This team has worked tirelessly this entire season and we are so proud of all of you. Thank you to Jen for stepping in as the chaperone to make this day happen.  (And we can't wait to follow Alex and Coach Joel when they head to the nationals in May.)


(3/26/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

COVID-19 UPDATE:  We have had 5 staff members associated with the Conners building and one student test positive for Covid-19 since Friday.  Symptoms range from cold-like to sore throats to no symptoms at all.  If your child is exhibiting symptoms of illness, please give them a rapid test and keep them home.  We have extra home tests at school that we are happy to share with families.  

Parent-teacher conferences are this week.  Our goal as a school is to have 100% participation from all of our families.  We have so much good news to share with you!!!  Please contact your child's classroom or homeroom teacher to set up a time to meet.

Ms. Rosinski took two of our 8th grade girls (Marley and TJ) to "Girls' Day at the Statehouse" on Monday, March 20th.   They learned how a bill becomes a law, debated LD468 (An Act to Provide Later Start Times for High Schools), participated in a scavenger hunt in the capital building, ate lunch with legislative leaders, and listened to speeches by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, Governor Mills, and Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot-Ross. 

We are wrapping up March Into Reading.  Please check out the March Into Reading page on this website to see all of the fun and activities that were happening.  We had guest readers, buddy reading, Drop Everything and Read, posters, bookmarks, door decorating, and a super fun spirit day filled with amazing Favorite Book/Favorite Character costumes.  We know that reading is fun to do year round, but this was a super fun way to show our love of reading this month!!!  And did you notice that Maine's very own children's author, Chris Van Dusen, sent us a message for our March Into Reading Month!!!  (see photo below)

Spring sports are kicking off this week.  If your grade 6-8 child is interested in playing baseball, soccer, or track but didn't attend the meetings, please contact Mr. Dionne (bdionne@mdirss.org).

Some fun photos below are from the 5th grade class collecting trash around our school (13 pounds!!!), our Civil Rights Team visiting grade 2, the "CAT WAGON" a science project by Caroline and Ellen, and PE fun with wheels. 


Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates


One of the Clubs and Classes options for students in grades 6-8 is Photography/Photojournalism.  Mr. Newman has been helping his group with the basic tenets of photography.  Check out some of their amazing work:

KIDS' NIGHT OUT ON FRIDAY, MARCH 31ST    Sign-up


March Raffle Calendar

(3/19/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

Please make sure to sign-up with your child's classroom/homeroom teacher for parent-teacher conferences the week of March 27-31st.  We are excited to share with you the growth your child is making!

We had a visitor in some of our primary classrooms...  Students had their own theories on who it might have been (check out the pictures below).  Kindergarten is still tapping our school maple trees and Ms. Mackay's 8th grade Geometry class has been helping out with the K Thinking Skills class.  We love when our youngers and olders can learn together!  And check out the 8th grade modernist paintings and the 3rd grade seascapes.  Grade 7 learned about St. Patrick's Day history through an interactive scavenger hunt, third grader were constructing during STEAM, and Mrs. Craighead's room had their author celebrations.  So much going on!!!

We want to remind you that your child's attendance matters.  Every day that students miss school is time, experiences, activities, and learning that cannot be replicated.  We understand that students will be ill, have appointments, or that families schedule trips outside of school vacation times, but we ask that you are mindful of how many days your child is missing.  

Please check out our March Into Reading page on our school website.  A huge thank you to our guest readers!  We are already seeing some of the fun door decorating starting to take place and you might want to start thinking about book character spirit day!!!

Several of our middle schoolers have joined Ms. Hanna in competing on our district middle school volleyball team.  Last week they made the trip downeast and played in a roundrobin at Ellsworth Middle School over the weekend.

Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates

(3/12/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

A huge congrats to Shriya for placing first in the district speech contest and for Molly placing second.  We couldn't be prouder of you!!!  Below are pictures from Mr. Newman of the semi-finals and finals at Camp Beech Cliff.  We also had 2 former tiger there; congrats Abbie and Corbin!

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held during the week of March 27-31st.  Classroom/homeroom teachers will be sending out conference times and we sincerely hope that every parent/guardian sign-up for a time.  We have so much great news to share with you!!!

If your K-5 has had extensive absences (over 10%) during this school year, you may want to talk with their teacher about the possibility of Summer School in July.  Summer School Info:  Here is the link https://forms.gle/sEVkLSPi6BWn8ZGU8.

Mr. Cote traded in his classroom for a day on the ice last Friday.  Fifth graders spent the day ice fishing and learning about the outdoors while rotating through stations (animal tracking with wildlife ecologist Billy Helprin, improv theater and smores with Ms. Dority and Mc, and an ice fishing derby with Tony Preston Schrek).  It was a glorious day and one they won't soon forget.  Thank you to staff and volunteers that helped make this day happen and Corey Goodwin from MDI Portables for the porta potty.  This was the Frozen Classroom's 20th anniversary which Tom Lawerence, Billy Helprin, and Brian Cote started in 2003.

Ms. Hanna's 7th grade Science class is learning about the parts and functions of a cell.  They created models last week and this week they acted out the parts, becoming the cell.  Lots of laughs and lots of learning.

Check out some of the fun happening with Andrew Simon from Barn Arts who is hosting a Shakespeare workshop for all of our theater lovers.  Sign up here (come for one or come for all).  In addition to Shakespeare, Ms. Q has a crochet cohort that is having way too much fun.  Lego Challenge is coming soon!

Please check out our March Into Reading page on our school website.  We are excited to have a month full of literacy activities from individual challenges to whole-school fun!  We will be posting student book reviews, March Into Reading posters, and updates as the month goes on.   We are already seeing some of the fun door decorating starting to take place and you might want to start thinking about book character spirit day!!!

Speaking of reading, our library is almost ready to re-open!!!  Ms. Ryan has been working hard to put our collection back together and we expect the library to be open to students this week.  A huge thank you for all of your patience as we worked to replace drywall and patch the growing gaps between the wall and foundation.

Mr. Dionne and Ms. Jolley have wrapped up their Ropes and Mats Obstacle Course Extravaganza.  This is by far the favorite PE unit for all of our students and from all the smiles we saw in the last 2 weeks, it didn't disappoint!

It was a busy weekend for our MDI Sharks.  Congrats to all of you that swam your hardest and beat your personal records.  And we have had a few cheerleaders down in Orlando for a national competition, wow!!!  In addition, we have students playing basketball for AYS and soccer for Acadia Fire.  And don't forget our theater-lovers that are putting in many hours at the Grand working on upcoming productions.  Our tigers sure stay busy!!!  And feel free to share pictures, we love to see hardwork and dedication both in the classroom and on the field (pool, stage, court, etc..)

One person in our school tested positive for COVID-19 last week.


Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates

(3/5/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

If you having a rising freshman, please make sure to mark your calendars for March 9th at 6:30.  Parents and guardians are invited to learn more about what MDI high school is all about.

Summer School Info:  Here is the link https://forms.gle/sEVkLSPi6BWn8ZGU8.

Congratulations to all of our 7th and 8th grade students who wrapped up their speech unit with their wonderfully written pieces on "This I believe...".  The top classroom performers gave their speeches in front of their peers on Friday and did an absolutely amazing job (Jolene, Penelope, Bree, Maeve, Molly, Juliette, Hayden, Marley, Cora, Wyatt, Keira, and Shriya).  The district speech competition will be held at CBC on Tuesday with light refreshments at 4 and the speeches starting at 4:30.

The Show Stoppers performed their amazing production for grades K-4 on Monday.  It is a great way for our show choir to practice in front of an audience before they had to states and an even better way for our K-4 students to spend their Monday morning!

The Outing Club had an exciting winter weekend adventure March 3-5 at the Lennox Outdoor Leadership Center or Flagstaff Lake.  Thank you Ms. Jolley and Ms. Hanna for organizing this amazing trip and did you really sleep in a yurt???

Andrew Simon from Barn Arts in collaboration with our PTSA will be hosting a Shakespeare workshop for all of our theater lovers.  Please look below for details and a sign up.

I am not sure if there is a make up day for the missed Thursday afternoon Obstacle Course.  If changes are made to the schedule, we will post on this page.

Students in grades K-2 received a recess surprise: shovels, scoops, and buckets!  With all the snow this week, our littles have been busy building, rolling, and digging.

Please check out our March Into Reading page on our school website.  We are excited to have a month full of literacy activities from individual challenges to whole-school fun!  We will be posting student book reviews, March Into Reading posters, and updates as the month goes on.  And you might want to start thinking about book character spirit day!!!

Three people in our school tested positive for COVID-19 last week.


Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates


Check out pictures from the Outdoor Survival Course, Show Stoppers, Beginning Band, snowy recesses, speech contest, 7th grade speech party day, 7th grade parts of a cell, Kindergarten tapping maple trees, our Geometry students helping with a K Thinking Skills class, and of course the obstacle course!!!

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( 2/22/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

Hello and happy vacation week.  We hope you are either on an adventure or having a restful break.  Sand castles or snow forts, either are a ton of fun!

If you having a rising freshman, please make sure to mark your calendars for March 9th at 6:30.  Parents and guardians are invited to learn more about what MDI high school is all about.

Ice fishing with Mr. Cote was a success.  Please check out the pictures below to see all the fun from the first time fishers to a few veterans.  What did they all have in common?  Tons of fun on the ice with friends.

Fifth grade loved school so much they decided to sleep at school!!!  Yes, you heard me, they slept at school!  About 25 students had a school slumber party: slept in the gym, watched a movie, ate pizza, had a talent show, and enjoyed an early school breakfast last week.  And here I didn't think anyone loved school as much as I do!!! 

Two spirit days in one week!  Valentine's Day was full of love and fun.  Students exchanged valentines, wore the colors of love, and were full of smiles.   Pajama Day wrapped up the week.

Our Outing Club is offering an exciting winter weekend adventure March 3-5.  Please check here for more details: Winter Adventure Weekend Info and Winter Adventure Weekend Sign Up. 


Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates

 ( 2/12/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

Congratulations to our boys basketball team for winning the championship!!!  It was a battle, one that Blue Hill fought bravely.  In the end, our tigers pulled out a hard fought victory.  Amazing.  And did you know that this is Coach Tomlinson's second undefeated season?!?!  It was a super fun game with our team being cheered on by our awesome cheer squad and a gym full of excited fans.  It was quite the night and dedicated to our tiger Wyatt that couldn't be with us (but we sure missed him).

Here is the link if you are interested in learning more about the district summer school program: Summer School 2023.

What is #LoveTeaching week?  It is a grassroots campaign started by teachers in 2015 as an opportunity to celebrate teaching, leading, and learning in a way that unites and invigorates and unites educators around the world.  Check out the #LoveTeaching pictures made by our students in music classes below.  

The PTSA held a family movie night at CES on Friday.  They had a great turnout and full was had by all.  Thank you to Camden National Bank for the use of their popcorn machine.  I think the 5th grade will put it to good use during their "sleep in" this Thursday...

ICE FISHING WITH MR. COTE:  Are you in 5th or 6th grade and always wanted to go ice fishing?  Well here is your chance!  Students interested in spedning an afternoon on Hamilton Pond can sign up outside of the Science room.  The 5th grade will go on Monday, February 13th and the 6th grade will go on Tuesday, Februrary 14th.  Students will ride Bus A to the pond and parent pick-up is at 4:45 at the boat launch on Hamilton's Pond.  Students do not need to bring any fishing gear, just winter clothing.  If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Cote (bcote@mdirss.org).

Our Outing Club is offering an exciting winter weekend adventure March 3-5.  Please check here for more details: Winter Adventure Weekend Info and Winter Adventure Weekend Sign Up. 

We have had two people tested positive for Covid-19 last week.  

Mrs. Webster (Go Eagles!!!)

Upcoming/Important Dates


Below are some pictures from the big game, 4th grade weaving, 100th day celebrations, a COA student read aloud (of the book she wrote!!!), outdoor recess fun, cooperative learning in 1st grade, Dungeons & Dragons, and so much more!

 ( 2/4/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

We made it through the freeze!!!  Wow, that was some crazy temperatures over the last few days.  A huge thank you to everyone that helped keep our students safe through those plummeting temperatures, especially our brave bus drivers!!!

We are coming up to our 100th day of school this week.  Hard to believe, but true!  And it is time to start thinking about summer camps and summer plans.  Here is the link if you are interested in learning more about the district summer school program: Summer School 2023

We were excited to have one of our favorite speakers return to CES.  Robert Shettely visited Mrs. Hanna's 7th grade classes to speak with students about his "Americans Who Tell The Truth"  Portrait  Series.  Students in Mrs. Hanna's classes studied Mr. Shetterly's website and chose a "Truth Teller" to report on during his visit.  Mr. Shetterly's visit was funded by a generous grant from the PTSA.

Speaking of the PTSA will be holding a family movie night this Friday.  Fliers went home last week and there is more info on the community news page of this site.  We have an amazing PTSA and they are always looking for new members if you are interested!!!  Please contact Jen Dougherty (jdougherty@mdirss.org) for more information.

Basketball playoff time!  Our boys team has a game Monday night and if they win, they will play in the championship game at the high school on Thursday.  We would love to have a big tiger turnout if we make it to the finals on Thursday and hope to see as many CES peeps at the game as possible!

The Emerson Cheerleaders led our little future cheerleaders in instruction for motions, jumps, cheers and basic stunting. Everyone had so much fun (see pics below). If our basketball teams make it to the championship games, we would like to invite any of the students who joined us today  to join us on in our crowd cheers between quarters at the highschool during the game. 

We have had one person associated with the Emerson building test positive for Covid-19 over the weekend.  

Mrs. Webster

Upcoming/Important Dates

(3/26/23)

From the desk of Mrs. Webster...

COVID-19 UPDATE:  We have had 5 staff members associated with the Conners building and one student test positive for Covid-19 since Friday.  Symptoms range from cold-like to sore throats to no symptoms at all.  If your child is exhibiting symptoms of illness, please give them a rapid test and keep them home.  We have extra home tests at school that we are happy to share with families.  

Parent-teacher conferences are this week.  Our goal as a school is to have 100% participation from all of our families.  We have so much good news to share with you!!!  Please contact your child's classroom or homeroom teacher to set up a time to meet.

Ms. Rosinski took two of our 8th grade girls (Marley and TJ) to "Girls' Day at the Statehouse" on Monday, March 20th.   They learned how a bill becomes a law, debated LD468 (An Act to Provide Later Start Times for High Schools), participated in a scavenger hunt in the capital building, ate lunch with legislative leaders, and listened to speeches by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, Governor Mills, and Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot-Ross. 

We are wrapping up March Into Reading.  Please check out the March Into Reading page on this website to see all of the fun and activities that were happening.  We had guest readers, buddy reading, Drop Everything and Read, posters, bookmarks, door decorating, and a super fun spirit day filled with amazing Favorite Book/Favorite Character costumes.  We know that reading is fun to do year round, but this was a super fun way to show our love of reading this month!!!  And did you notice that Maine's very own children's author, Chris Van Dusen, sent us a message for our March Into Reading Month!!!  (see photo below)

Spring sports are kicking off this week.  If your grade 6-8 child is interested in playing baseball, soccer, or track but didn't attend the meetings, please contact Mr. Dionne (bdionne@mdirss.org).

Some fun photos below are from the 5th grade class collecting trash around our school (13 pounds!!!), our Civil Rights Team visiting grade 2, the "CAT WAGON" a science project by Caroline and Ellen, and PE fun with wheels. 


Mrs. Webster 

Upcoming/Important Dates