Maine School Administrative District 51: MSAD #51 District Newsletter - September 16, 2021

Portland ME

16 September, 2021

6:33 PM

Description

Press release from Maine School Adminstrative District 51: Sep 16, 2021, 1:48 PM Superintendent Porter's Blog  To view Superintendent Porter's most recent Blog Post, click here.  Important Pooled Testing Information  Community Letter  Dear MSAD 51 Community,  As you may have seen on social media, we recently were able to add communication boards to our playgrounds at MIW and GMS. This was a combined effort involving our Speech & Language Pathologists, Functional Life Skills Teacher, and Administration. Some of our students with communication disorders rely on pictures to express themselves and are now able to access core vocabulary words while enjoying playground equipment with their peers. This is a very exciting opportunity for all students.  Unfortunately, this beautiful addition and voice for some of our students was vandalized this past weekend at Greely Middle School. Not only was the board broken, but the r-word that is used to insult people, and specifically targets people with intellectual disabilities, was written on it. This event has brought many emotions to the staff involved in making the board possible, and to the amazing children and families that were excited to use it. Beyond this, it was an affront to the entire school community and its core mission. We know that this vandalism does not represent Greely community values and we want all students and their families to feel safe and supported here at school.  We are a community of inclusion, love, and acceptance of all. Our mission is to help all students achieve their personal best, whatever that may look like. Incidents like this are an opportunity for parents, students, and staff to come together and learn from one another just how hurtful and unacceptable these events are. We are hopeful the individual(s) who did this did not know the actual impact it would have. We invite you to take this opportunity to have conversations in your homes about respecting property, accepting all people, and teaching how much our actions and words can hurt others. For more information on how to respond when you hear this word or how to talk with your children about the use of this word, you can refer to this document produced by the Special Olympics.   Please join us as we work to ensure every student feels safe and supported while they are here at school.  Elementary Dismissal MSAD #51 Needs Your Help! MSAD #51 seeks several people to supervise children in grades K-5 during lunch/recess (typically 11:00am-1:00pm). These are paid positions ($15 per hour). We also need daily substitutes all grades - $100/day. If interested, please contact Fran Prentice [email protected] or go to https://msad51.tedk12.com/hire to apply.   Stay Connected Subscribe to our District's weekly newsletter by clicking here.Follow us on Twitter @SuperMSAD51Like us on Facebook at MSAD #51Find us Instagram @msad_51YouTube Channel MSAD #51  Below is a snapshot of the positive COVID-19 cases since the last newsletter.  For more information, including updated information regarding COVID-19, please visit the COVID-19 Information Center at: https://sites.google.com/msad51.org/covid-19-information-center   MSAD #51 Board of Directors Information Meetings start at 6:30 pm in the Greely Center for the Arts at GHS unless otherwise noted. September 20 - Regular Meeting Remember you can watch our meetings on YouTube LIVE (http://bit.ly/msad51livevideo). LinksMeeting Dates, Agendas & MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting Videos   Community Notices Community Notices are not affiliated with MSAD #51.  Please contact the organization directly with any questions.  For a full listing of Community Notices, please click HERE. Useful Links Employment Opportunities MSAD #51 Website 2018-2021 Strategic Plan District Calendar GHS Athletics Schedule   If you would like something included in our weekly newsletter, please send a brief write up with title along with a JPEG or PNG image of your flyer (if applicable) to Fran Prentice for approval. The deadline each week is Sunday. Any requests received after Sunday will be reviewed for possible submission in the following week's newsletter. All approved submissions will be posted on the district's website. Not all items in this email are MSAD #51 sponsored programs. If you need more information, please contact the group or organization that is sponsoring the event. Sign in|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites This press release was produced by Maine School Adminstrative District 51. The views expressed here are the author's own.