Dear MCMS Students and Families This letter is to follow up on the notification Superintendent Charette sent today. A middle school student has tested positive for COVID-19. All students and staff who were considered a primary contact of this student have been contacted. As always, please monitor yourself/your student for signs and symptoms. Call a health care provider if symptoms start. It is important that you call a healthcare facility before you show up in person. Stay home if you are sick. The middle school will be going to remote learning beginning Monday, 1/11/21 through Friday, 1/15/21. Students will return to school on Tuesday 1/19/21. The school will be providing breakfast and lunch for anyone in need, available for pick up on Tuesdays and Fridays, 2-3pm outside of the high school. This is available for every student. If you will need this everyday, please email either Jen Hall: jen_hall@maranacook.com or myself: kristen_levesque@maranacook.com An email was sent to families with the schedule we will be following for Remote Learning. As all students will be remote learners, we are asking any student identified as an “At-Home Learner” to follow this schedule. At Maranacook Community Middle School, we are a caring school community and it is especially important to be respectful of each other during these challenging times. Thank you for your ongoing support. Respectfully, Kristen Levesque, EdD MCMS Principal

Make a Difference Week is 10/26-10/30! Virtual Food Drive- Help us Make a Difference! To donate online, go to: https://www.gsfb.org/donate/vfd/?id=4659 (goes to MtVernon Food Pantry) https://mef.maranacook.org/article/303507?org=mef for the Maranacook Food Pantry (please specify this donation is for the Maranacook Food Pantry when you make the donation. You can also send in a check to donate. Please write this out to “Maranacook Food Pantry”

The food pantry will be closed until October 15th due to the school closure.

MCMS - Remote Learning 2020-2021 Daily Schedules, Supports and Expectations posted to website and available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RCktoxQejyBxvB8zYKMTwSd8ojrBNFzuEtwcypym3kk/edit?usp=sharing

Dear MCMS Families Please only fill this out if you are in need of district transportation this year Thank you! https://forms.gle/sQkNjWYnfkvzsQCM8

Please see the revised Calendar for 2020-21 School Year-- https://5il.co/jqra

Important Message From LifeTouch (publishers of the MCMS Yearbook): Dear Families, Yearbooks are a tradition for schools throughout the US and Canada. At Lifetouch, we are humbled to be a part of providing that tradition. We know how important yearbooks are - especially in times like these. We want to take a moment to acknowledge this year’s delayed yearbook delivery is not what you, as our customers expect, nor deserve, from Lifetouch. We want you to be aware that our primary yearbook production facilities are located in some of the states that are being hardest hit by the pandemic. We have prioritized the safety of our employees; and we are following all state and local health guidelines to create a safe working environment. Social distancing requirements mean that there are fewer people available to work at any given time. These changes have impacted our production schedule in meaningful ways. We realize this has created a lot of frustration since we are currently unable to provide an estimated delivery time frame for your school’s yearbook. Please know our teams are doing everything possible to get your yearbook to you. Shipping is monitored daily. As soon as your yearbook ships, your school will receive tracking information so they can arrange to distribute the yearbooks to the students and families in a manner that is best suited for everyone’s safety. As we navigate COVID-19, our intent is to provide you with a yearbook that your student will treasure for a lifetime. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this unprecedented time together. Sincerely, Lifetouch

Everyone who ordered a yearbook will be receiving it. Unfortunately, Lifetouch is behind in their printing due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. We apologize wholeheartedly for the delay. Hopefully, we will be in touch soon!

Student Belongings Pick Up & Laptop/ School Materials Drop Off Students will need to return any school books and their school-issued laptops and devices on this day. Students will also have one more opportunity to be given any belongings that were left in school. A lost and found will also be set up on this day,and photos of the items will be sent out in upcoming newsletters, to help families search and identify items which belong to them. June 9, 7:30-11:30am: 7th grade and any 8th graders who did not come yesterday June 10, 7:30-11:30am: 6th grade and anyone else who still needs to drop their MCMS laptops off *This is a curbside drop off/ pick up only. Students and Parents are required to stay in their vehicles during this. *Families with more than one child at the middle school are able to pick up on one day only. Please communicate with their children’s advisor as to what day you are coming.

End of the School Year Student Belongings Pick Up and Laptop/ School Materials Drop Off MCMS will be holding their End of the Year Drop Off/ Pick Up Days on June 8, 9th and 10th. Students will need to return any school books and their school-issued laptops and devices on this day. Students will also have one more opportunity to be given any belongings that were left in school. A lost and found will also be set up on this day,and photos of the items will be sent out in upcoming newsletters, to help families search and identify items which belong to them. June 8, 7:30-11:30am: 8th grade (8th graders encouraged to come, if able) June 9, 7:30-11:30am: 7th grade June 10, 7:30-11:30am: 6th grade *Families with more than one child at the middle school are able to pick up on one day only. Please communicate with your children’s advisor as to what day you are coming. 8th grade families are asked to come on June 8 as there will be some special recognition!

Essential Materials Pick Up #2 Information If your child has materials they need from school, please contact your child's advisor or team teachers to arrange the pickup or delivery. Things will be gathered and ready on Wednesday, 4/29/20 from 7-9 am. Unfortunately, no students or parents will be allowed in the building; this will be a drive up service only.   Please email us with any questions. 

Please note that if you did not request a pick up of supplies then you do not need anything from school then please disregard this message. For families who have reached out for the drive-thru pick up of essential school materials: Reminder: Pick up will be today, Friday, March 27th at the following time: 7:30-9am 4-5pm *delivery for those who have asked When picking up these materials, parents/students should do the following: Park in the bus circle by the middle school. Please get out of your car and go to the table outside the Middle School. The principal will be present to ask you these three questions: 1) Who is your child? 2) What did you request ahead of time? The entire process should take approximately only a few minutes but you could be in line for more than that depending on traffic. Thank you for your support. We hope everyone stays healthy!

Remote Learning Prep: Essential School Materials Pick Up Information Starting Monday March 30, 2020, we will be starting Remote Learning. Students will have access to materials for learning on Google Classroom. If your child is in need of hard copies, or has any needed materials, please contact your child's advisor by 5pm, Tuesday 3/24, to arrange the pickup or delivery Things will be gathered and ready on Friday March 27th at the following times: 7:30-9am 4-5pm Unfortunately, no students or parents will be allowed in the building; this will be a drive up service only. Home delivery can also be arranged- this will occur on 3/27 during the hours of 9-2pm. (Please contact your child’s advisor to set this up) Please call us or email us with any questions.

Dear Parents, Thanks for participating in our Remote Learning/Blizzard Bag Day. We would appreciate your feedback on how the day went for you and your child. Here is the parent survey: https://forms.gle/VXemVgMEZXBuqpNX7

Dear Families, I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. Because of the snow day we have moved our 8th grade parent night to Tuesday 2/25 from 6-7. Pizza will be provided. We will start with a brief information session in the student center. After that, we will move into the gym for the Freshmen Fair! In the gym you will be able to visit tables with representatives from all our academic departments, student senate, dual enrollment and more. Tours of the school will also be provided by current students! We are so excited to meet our incoming Freshmen and we are looking forward to welcoming all of you to the high school community! Dwayne Conway, Ed.D Principal Maranacook Community High School

Due to pending weather: Parent Conferences scheduled for Feb 6 have been moved to Feb 27 - same time that you previously signed up for (due to weather concerns)

Don't forget to do a Lunch Order for Remote Learning/Blizzard Bag Day! Order lunch for your child even if you are unsure if you will need it so we can plan. The lunch will be given out the day before we have a Remote Learning Day and is free to all who sign up. http://bit.ly/2ZSnLi8

All after school activities today (12/17) have been cancelled.

Reminder, Thursday, December 5th is an Early Release Day. There are no PreK classes.

The middle school music department is anxious to perform their winter concert for the community. With weather as it is, and in an effort to keep everyone safe, we would like to extend an invitation to the community to attend the performance on Monday, December 9th, at 7pm, our snow date. Hopefully weather will cooperate. In the meantime we hope you will join us at the annual tree-lighting ceremony this Friday at 6:00pm at the Readfield public library. There will be a small performance featuring the middle school chamber choir before we light the tree. We also hope you may join us for cookies, hot chocolate and a visit with Santa before he makes his way to the North Pole. Thank you all for your patience and happy holidays!

ALL after school activities at the high school AND middle school are cancelled today due to the possibility of icy roads.

Great article about the Naturalization Ceremony held at MCMS today! https://www.centralmaine.com/2019/11/15/why-america-citizenship-candidates-tell-readfield-area-students-what-led-them-to-immigrate/

Basketball Tryouts for Wednesday at MCMS today, 11/13: Girls tryout: 2:30-5:00 pm Boys tryout: 5:00-7:30 pm

Happy Halloween! A Note From the Wellness Office Our school partners with Let’s Go 5-2-1-0 to encourage our students to develop health habits. In keeping with the 5-2-1-0 message, we kindly ask that students enjoy their Halloween candy at home. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Happy Halloween from MCMS!

Reminder: tomorrow is our Fall Social! It goes from 2:30-4pm. Pick up is at 4pm. Those who want to attend- please get the permission slip into the school by the end of the day today!

Great Parent/ Teacher Conferemce Night, PTO- sponsored teacher dinner (THANK YOU!) and Student Government Bake Sale! We put our next parent/ Teacher conference night on 10/17

There is an update for our App! It fixes the crash on launch.

Our App is not ready for iOS 13. Developers are working on an update as we speak but in the meantime, if you update your device, the App won't work. We will let you know when it's ready!

Check out this article! Great job, Sebago Team and the RSU 38 Food Kitchen Volunteers! “Maranacook Area Food Pantry helps families in ‘tenuous’ times” Kennebec Joirnal Article: https://www.centralmaine.com/2019/09/28/maranacook-area-food-pantry-helps-families-in-tenuous-times/

Our Environmental Club Started! Thanks to the hard work of student Molly Mahoney, and staff advisor, Margot Gyorgy, we have an environmental club that will meet afterschool on Fridays!

Congratulations to our community food kitchen and it’s volunteers (including students on the Sebago team)! They are going to be highlighted in the local news for their dedication to helping our community!

Robotics Galore! 7th Grader, Larrie Minoty III, has written code using Nested Loops, to direct Cue Robot all the way around the bookcases and then park itself! Great job Larrie!

Check out the beautiful artwork from our students!

Middle school is an amazing time. Other than the earliest years of life, the middle-school ages are the time when the brain develops most. The prefrontal cortex is developing so quickly and it is such an important time for children to develop relationships and have opportunities to explore who they are. Middle school is also a time when our students meet new people and make lasting friendships. It’s a time when they get to discover and explore new interests on their own. Throughout this year, students will learn more about who they are and who they have the potential to become. We are so happy to have our students grow with us at MCMS!

Meet the new Girls B soccer coaches! Athletic Director Brant Remington and Principal Kristen Levesque. All girls B practices end at 4:15- next practice is 9/16!

Eye Dropper Cartesian Diver Meets Occom’s Razor Lab in Mr. Holman's class! Students were engaged & intrigued! Named after Rene Descartes, who used the diver to demonstrate gas laws & buoyancy. Occam’s Razor suggest we explain using theories that require the fewest new assumptions

MCMS Field Hockey practiced is cancelled today, 9/3. They will have practice 9/4. MCMS girls soccer and boys soccer start today! Practice ends at 4:15. Students need to have their physical in and emergency form/contract in. Good luck athletes!

Middle school soccer and field hockey start Tuesday, 9/3! It will go from 2:45-4:15. Cross country starts 9/4! Have fun, student athletes!

School is back in session and everyone is reading! Over the last two days, our middle school students have already taken out 195 books from our Learning Commons Library!

The middle school is looking for a soccer coach for our Girls B team. If interested, please email: brant_remington@maranacook.com

Welcome Back from MCMS!! Here is the link to our welcome back video! Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/search?q=welcome%20back

We have a new way for parents to submit lunch payments electronically. It's called e~Funds for Schools. When parents submit lunch payments, it posts directly to PowerSchool. Here is a link to our webpage with directions: http://maranacookrsu38me.appte...

Just a reminder that bus times are approximate and that students should plan on 15 minutes leeway either way of the current listed time. If you have questions, please contact the Transportation Office at 685-3621 x1. Have a great day!

2019-2020 Bus Schedules have been posted at https://www.maranacook.org/o/rsu-38/browse/77205 Sorry for the delay! Contact the Transportation Office at 685-3621 x1 with questions. Thanks!

A huge thank you to our wonderful PTO and the AppleShed for providing our faculty and staff with an amazing lunch during our professional development day today! We are all so excited to be back at school!

Thank you everyone for coming to our Open house tonight. New students and families- thank you for participating in the Technology Family Information Session!

Great advisor training day today at Camp Androscoggin in Wayne!

We are looking for a soccer coach for our Girls B team. If interested, please email: brant_remington@maranacook.com

We cannot wait to see our MCMS families at the open house 8/26, 5-6pm! Agenda: 5-5:15: Welcome, introductions and overview of the night (in Gym) 5:15-5:25: Parent and Advisor time (in the advisor meeting location) 5:25-5:45: Team overview (on team) 5:45-6: specialist, special education, unified arts and world language meeting time (in classrooms of specialists)

Due to paving, no traffic will be allowed in the circle at the High School and Middle School on Thursday, 8/22. Parking will be allowed in the lower parking lot, but there will be traffic delays.

Welcome Angela Palmer who will be our nurse, alongside Vicky Gabrion, this year!

Pesticide Treatments on Maranacook Campus We are treating all sports infields and tennis courts plus fence lines with pesticide and will be closed from Friday, August 9th am until Sunday, August 11th 9:00 am.

Reminder, MCMS will be having an Open House on August 26th from 5-6 pm. 6th graders and new students (with their families) must attend the Technology Night immediately following, from 6-6:30 pm.