SAD 41 school board notes

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    MILO — As part of the SAD 41 school board meeting on Nov. 6, district officials heard from the SAD 41 administrators with their monthly reports.
    “We got a donation from the group in Milo that puts together the craft fair and we put that money to use buying underwear and socks,” Brownville Elementary School Principal Lynn Weston said. “It’s nice to have those things for kids in need.”

    Penquis Valley School Principal Matthew Hackett said, “The (Jobs for Maine’s Graduates) program has really got a lot going on.” He said the organization had its induction ceremony Oct. 15 with very good student and parent/guardian attendance.
    Hackett said Penquis Valley JMG Specialist Shannon Bishop and four program students have been selected to take part in the JMG National Student Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C. Nov. 21-23. “She’s going to take four students, two boys and two girls, down to Washington, D.C.,” Hackett said about the all-expenses-paid trip. “That should be an awful good experience for those kids, I’m really pleased for them.”
    Eleven middle school students took part in the District V Honors Band and Chorus Festival on Nov. 1, Hackett reported. “It just went very well; that’s great for our middle school students as well as their teacher,” he said.
    The honored musicians listed in Hackett’s report were Samantha Gibson, Alex Kearns, Olivia Kuchinski, Brock Emery, Brandon Thompson, Kelsey Robinson, Noah Zambrano, Victor Eastman, Katilyn Black, Catherine Maxcy and Faith Sickler.
    Superintendent Michael Wright said the first meeting with teachers on a teacher and administrator evaluation plan has been held. “We are getting components in place to have something to bring back to the board,” he said.
    On Nov. 19 the school board’s capital improvement committee was scheduled to meet and the group looked to examine both an enrollment study for the next decade and an upgrade to the building heating system.
    “It’s kind of the first step in the next big picture,” Wright said. He said the information on enrollment and the heating system will help district officials “figure out what we want to do long-term here.”
    The SAD 41 school board normally meets the first Wednesday of the month, but the December session will instead be on Thursday, Dec. 5,  in the Penquis Valley library at 7 p.m., to avoid a conflict with the high/middle school concert on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 4.