District officials getting set for the new school year

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    MILO — With the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 27, officials across SAD 41 are gearing up for the start of classes to begin the 2014-15 academic year. During a school board meeting two weeks prior on Aug. 13, the directors were informed of the various happenings to get the facilities prepared for the new return of students.

    Director of Student Services Samantha Hubbell gave the first administrative report, and she said this office has been busy with the shifting of some employees and the filling of vacant positions. Hubbell said 24 students took part in special education summer school courses, with nine at the elementary level and the other 15 being high school pupils.
    “All of the students met their goals for why they were there, so therefore it was successful,” Hubbell said about the summer school program.
    Brownville Elementary Principal Julie Royal reported that teachers have been in the building to make classroom preparations and “the custodians have the school all shined up so we are ready to go in two weeks.”
    When asked about the enrollment for kindergarten, Royal said she believed the student count was eight at the present time.
    Milo Elementary Principal Nathan Dyer said he has been busy, especially being new to the school, and “it looks great so it’s ready to go.” He added that the teachers are also ready for the return of students.
    Dyer said the kindergarten enrollment is at 44 students, to be split between a pair of classrooms.
    Penquis Valley School Principal Jeremy Bousquet said as with the other district schools, the custodial staff at Penquis Valley has been working very hard prior to the start of classes. He added that the last interview for the final open faculty position was conducted earlier in the day.
    “Currently the schedule is still in working order,” Bousquet said. “We are working as hard as we can to get it done,” adding that this should be accomplished by Friday, Aug. 15.
    Bousquet also said he is looking to form an aspirations committee to help high school and middle school students set their goals. He said the process has begun to seek local and national grants to help improve students’ aspirations.
    After the administrative reports, the school board took action on three positions. The nominations of Kathleen Doyon as a social studies teacher at Penquis Valley and Gayle Peirce as library media specialist at Penquis Valley were both accepted for the 2014-15 school year.
    The directors also accepted the resignation of Kara Taheny, who was the teacher at the Carleton Project during the program’s inaugural year in SAD 41.
    Five coaches were appointed for the fall season, with Jason Mills for high school boys soccer, Dawn McLaughlin for high school girls soccer, Kathy Dixon-Wallace for high school golf, Crystal Cail for middle school boys soccer and Erin Allen for middle school girls soccer.
    Assistant Superintendent Stacy Shorey reported 12 students are enrolled in the Carleton Project for the upcoming school year, with Hubbell saying another six pupils are set to take part in the Academy Program.  
    “This is what we need in the district to support our students” board member Arthur Herbest said about the respective alternate high school and behavioral program.
    In other business, the school board gave its approval to a 10-day trip to Spain for high school students in 2015. The excursion across the Atlantic has been held every other year, with the participants raising the funds for the trip.