MSAD #49

Up, up, and away! Last week, our Lawrence Primary fourth graders gathered to launch a giant balloon, sending seven items - seeds, latex balloons, bread, cans of soda, batteries, moss (containing Tardigrades), and pond water into the skies above our community. Students made predictions about how the trip would affect each item, and kept control as for each item in their classrooms so they were able to make comparisons. Dr. Rick Eason - Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and head of the University of Maine's High Altitude Balloon Program - helped the students load their experiments into specialized boxes attached to the balloon. The balloon reached a peak altitude of 34,521 m (113,258 ft). and the payloads landed in a remote location, east of Bangor. Retrieving the students' experiments was no easy task...Dr. Eason and his team had to bush whack about a mile through the woods, figure out how to get the items down from the top of a 50 ft tree, then hike out at dusk. Our fourth graders were excited to discover how each item was affected by its high altitude trip to the Stratosphere!

Lawrence Junior High 7th graders had a special opportunity to attend a “Meet the Poet” workshop at Colby College with renowned poet Richard Blanco. Students even took the stage to share their own poetry with him , an experience that not only celebrated their creativity, but also showed them the power and importance of finding their voice through writing.

LHS Good News 11/12/25

Mr. Bellner brought in a trebuchet that he built to use with his Introduction to Physical Science classes. They have been working on Simple Machines this week. The Trebuchet is a style of siege engine from the 1200s that demonstrates a lever throwing arm. The students were challenged to design and build slings and we tested several designs. Pumpkins were flying across the road as well as Gronk-spiking directly to Earth!!
On Wednesday, November 12th, Maddie Provost, a Senior at Lawrence High School, signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and will play Division I basketball for the Crusaders next year. Maddie officially signed her letter in front of family, coaches, and teammates in the Library at the high school after school. Everyone celebrated with cake after the signing ceremony. Congratulations to Maddie Provost on your decision to attend College of the Holy Cross!


On Wednesday evening, there was a college panel made up of admissions officers from Colby, Thomas, USM, and KVCC to discuss the college admissions process. It was open to the public.

The National Honor Society (NHS) will be inducting new members in a ceremony next week, on Tuesday, November 18th at 6:00 PM in the Williamson Center.

Winter Sports Tryouts start on Monday, November 17th. Athletes will need to have registered on Family ID, accessed through the website, before they can participate in tryouts.

Wednesday, November 19th at 6:00 PM we will be hosting a Financial Aid Information night for college bound students. The Associate Director of Financial Aid from Colby College will be here to host an informational session to go over the financial aid process for college bound students. This is a great opportunity to better understand the process for your Junior or Senior year student who have plans of attending a college or university as part of their post-secondary plans.

Have a great week!

During Halloween week, Clinton Elementary students enjoyed a mix of fun, engaging, and educational activities! Second graders read nonfiction stories about bats, learning fascinating facts while practicing reading skills, and created impressive bat-themed artwork. They also joined first graders for Halloween Bingo, building teamwork and focus, and enjoyed Halloween-themed brain breaks to stay energized. The week wrapped up with a school-wide Mad Science Halloween presentation, where hands-on experiments sparked curiosity and excitement about science. It was a week full of learning, creativity, and seasonal fun!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins at Lawrence Primary! This past week, first graders in Mrs. Skehan's class carved a pumpkin and worked together to count the seeds. They sorted through the pumpkin guts and put seeds into groups of ten, counting a grand total of 506! Our sixth graders spent time collecting and analyzing data from their pumpkins, learning all about mean, median, mode and range. A little bit messy…but loads of learning fun!

Today, the grade 8 students went on a field trip to Cole Land Transportation. They had the opportunity to interview Veterans and see all of the amazing displays. There will be more photos coming next week! The Veteran's were impressed with our Bulldogs and a great time was had by all.

LHS Good News 11/5/25

The Football Team and Cheerleaders will be playing at Fryeburg Academy on Friday night; game time at 6:30 PM. This is the semi-final game in the playoffs. Good luck Bulldogs!

Mrs. Joler is taking her Block 1 English 9 students to the Colby Art Museum on Thursday, Nov. 6th. The following students are scheduled to go: Brysen Bouchard, Brysen Carrier, Lane Chapman, Brady Dearborn, Byten Delile, Cameron Hadley, Ben Hapworth, Tyrick Hartman, Caden LaPlante, Carter Lavallee, Nick Mattingly, Olivia McDonald, Peyton Mullen, John Orgill, Cooper Perry, Tucker Proctor, Lily Richardson, and Noah Trahan.

College Admissions Panel Informational Night with Colby College, Thomas College, KVCC, and USM will be going over the college process. This would be beneficial for Sophomores and Juniors to attend, and is open to anyone, with interest in going to college after high school. Wednesday, November 12th at 6:00 PM in the Williamson Center.

Have a great week!

Students in Mr. Cloutier’s 7th grade Science class at Lawrence Junior High explored lab expectations by mixing different colored liquids to create the colors of the rainbow. This hands-on experiment reinforced both lab safety and proper lab procedures while engaging students in a fun and educational activity.

Students in Ms. Haley Emery’s 3rd grade class at Clinton Elementary explored the concept of friction through a hands-on pencil experiment. This engaging activity helped students understand how friction affects movement and why it’s an important force in our daily lives.

This week, members of the Fairfield-Benton Fire Department spent four days at Lawrence Primary. A parent of one of our 1st graders shared with her child's teacher: "He came home, spotted our smoke detectors, and said, "Mom those are smoke detectors and if they beep they need batteries and if they make a really loud sound there's smoke and it's an emergency!" I said, "Where did you learn that?" He straightened up and got serious and confidently said, "Fire and Safety Class! Firefighters came to my class and we got fire hats too!"" We appreciate these hometown hero's taking time out of their busy schedules to discuss the importance of fire safety with all of our K-5 students!

LHS Good News 10/29/25

The Football team will play a home playoff game on Friday night against Mt. Blue for the quarter finals. Admission to the game for all spectators is $5 at the gate. We hope to see you there!

Yearbook prices go up from $60 to $65 in the first week of November.

Report cards will be issued to students on Friday, November 7th first thing in the morning. Students will report to their Advisors/Homerooms for ten minutes to get their report card and then resume their normal schedule.

A reminder to folks to fill out and return the Economic Status Sheet, sent home with students on Wednesday and posted on the district website, by Monday, November 3rd.

Have a great week!

At Clinton Elementary, our October bulletin board project was all about creativity! 🎃 Each student designed their own unique monster while listening to Halloween music and sharing fun conversations about the holiday. They chose where to display their creations, and many proudly shared their imaginative monsters with families during conferences. Every monster had its own personality — and we loved getting to know them all! 👻🧡

It isn't often that students get to actually eat their learning, but that's exactly what 5th grade students at Lawrence Primary School are doing this fall. Last spring, when they were in 4th grade, these students collaborated with older student-gardeners to learn about planting. As part of a Library Learning Center unit about finding information online, these 4th graders did their own research to learn about gardening here in Maine. From there, they used what they had learned to plant our school garden, with the help of Teacher Librarian Amanda Delorie. This fall, they've enjoyed fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, as well as pickles, kale chips, and pesto made from their own basil. Our school cafeteria has also turned our school-grown kale and beets into a salad that students had a chance to sample during lunch last week. Next on the menu? Delicious zucchini bread!

LHS Good News 10/23/25

The first quarter (ranking period) is coming to a close on October 31, 2025. Here’s hoping your student’s grades aren’t scary. With one week left, there is time for students to get work made up and arrange for help with teachers. Teachers have been offering help during academic tagging time and after school as well as reminding students all quarter when work is missing. With the close of the ranking period comes academic eligibility checks for Jr. Sr. Privileges, as well as athletic participation.

With the fall sports season nearing the end, the winter sports season is around the corner. Sign ups for winter sports will be coming up. Students should pay attention to the announcements and postings for those meetings.

On Wednesday, October 29th, Hannah Hartnett from Colby Admissions will be holding a College Essay Writing Workshop for Seniors who are filling out college applications for any college (not just Colby). Seniors interested in attending need to sign up in the Guidance Office.

On Wednesday, November 19th, Hannah Hartnett and a financial advisor from Colby and the state will be hosting a Financial Aid Night to help families filling out FAFSA forms and providing answers to questions regarding financial aid and timelines, etc. Again, this is for students and families looking at various colleges, not just Colby, who would like information and help on the financial aid process.

Congratulations to our Sophomores for reaching the 95% participation rate for Maine’s NWEA testing. If we hadn’t met that threshold it would have been a mark against us from the state testing folks, so thank you to our Sophomores!

Have a great week!

It's that spooky time of year again when 8th grade Artists are working on the Tim Burton Inspired Characters while they explore the new medium of Traditional Pen and Ink.

Next week is National Bus Safety Week and Bus Driver Appreciation Week! Our dedicated MSAD 49 bus drivers spent time this week reviewing bus safety with all of our K-6 Lawrence Primary students.

LHS Good News 10/15/25

The following JMG students went to the Interfaith Food Pantry to assist with the bi-weekly delivery of food they receive from the Good Shepherd Food Bank:

Legacy Curtis
Maxwell Dow
Eliza Gagnon
Natalie Grard
Katie Greenleaf
Emma Hale
Benjamin Hapworth
Dominick Knudsen
Mason Luce
Brooke Pooler
Ezra Richardson
Landon Smyth

JMG teacher Mr. Pellerin has been taking his Block 1 students and sometimes Block 2 students to help unload the truck and stock the shelves for the food pantry. It has been much appreciated by the folks at the food pantry.

Our Flu vaccination clinic will be held on Monday, October 20th in the high school. Permission forms have been out for a while and were due back on the 14th. Those students who passed them in will be called out of class on Monday to receive their vaccination.

The Parent Teacher Conferences held last week were very well attended. If you happen to miss it or miss getting to a teacher, please reach out to that teacher to schedule an appointment or just to touch base if you have any questions pertaining to your student’s progress in class.

PSAT’s were completed on Wednesday of this week.

Senior Nights for Athletics have been happening - traditionally the last home game of the regular season. We have Field Hockey’s Senior Night this Thursday, 10/16/25, prior to the 4PM game time and the Boys’ Soccer Senior Night coming up on Tuesday night.

Mrs. Packard has been working with her Children’s Literature class on writing their own children’s stories and reading them to the students at Lawrence Primary School. The class went to LPS on Tuesday to read to the students.

We are in our last month of the first quarter. The first quarter ends on October 31, 2025. Report cards will be ready to be viewed on November 7th.

Have a great week!

Students at Lawrence Junior High showed their school spirit all week during Spirit Week! 🎉 From themed dress-up days to fun activities, our students brought energy, creativity, and pride to the school community.

Lawrence Primary School’s kindergarteners in Ms. Lerette’s class enjoyed Art with Mrs. Wilcox! 🎨 They explored the elements of art by learning how to use lines creatively, while also practicing how to use art tools properly and safely. Understanding how to use lines is an important foundation in art, helping students express ideas and build skills for more complex projects.

Clinton Elementary’s Mrs. Daigneault’s class wrapped up September with creativity and kindness! 🎨 Students made collages combining all of this month’s topics and completed compliment worksheets, where each student wrote a sincere note to every classmate. The smiles you see are from reading their personal collection of compliments—it’s a beautiful reminder of the power of positivity.