At Albion Elementary, our students are getting ready to shine!
During writing this week, they broke into groups to practice presenting their portfolios for next week — and they did an amazing job supporting and encouraging one another! 🙌🎉
This kind of preparation builds confidence, communication skills, and pride in their hard work. 💪📚 We can't wait to see them showcase their learning! 🌟
At Clinton Elementary, we were thrilled to welcome Maine children's author and illustrator Chris Van Dusen last Friday! He inspired our young writers by sharing what it's like to be both an author and illustrator, and even joined students for lunch! 🍎
📖 His visit highlighted the importance of creativity, storytelling, and following your passions. Our 3rd graders made his day when he learned they chose one of his books in their Final Four Book Selection in March! 🏆📚
What an unforgettable experience for our future authors and artists!
Benton Elementary held Student-Led Conferences on April 15th and 16th. Over the course of these two nights, families came together to celebrate their child's learning! They also visited our PTO Sponsored Book Fair and had ice cream at the Darlings Ice Cream Truck. All of the proceeds from the ice cream truck go towards our Student Assistance Fund. We also held our annual Student Art Show, which filled the walls of the school. A special Thank You! to our art teacher, Mr. Walston, for curating this beautiful show! We are extremely grateful to all of the students and families who participated!
The Lawrence Junior High School Book Club competed in the second round of The Great Maine Book Tournament and placed second in the Central Maine division. The team worked together to become experts on fifteen titles to be ready for questions about the books. Students reflected that the challenge gave them the motivation to read more while being with friends. Another shared that he would never forget the group because of all the new friendships and fun moments. One student enjoyed friendly competition to outread her librarian, Ms. Butterfield, with the tournament books and was successful! Pictured are some of the club members who wanted to share the books they each read to prepare for the competition.
LHS Good News, 4/16/25:
👷🧑⚕️On Thursday, some of our upperclassmen JMG students will travel to UMF to attend a Workforce Development fair.
💃A reminder that Friday will mark the start of April vacation, as it is a non-student day. When we return from vacation, the remainder of the spring semester will go by quickly. On Saturday, May 10th, we will have the Jr./Sr. Prom. Tickets are being sold now, and guest forms are available to the upperclassmen. All guest forms are due in the Main Office by Wednesday, May 7th.
📃AP Exams are right around the corner, starting on May 5th and running through May 15, 2025. Students are taking them digitally this year at the high school. Students taking AP exams are allowed to leave once the testing period is over. These are roughly four-hour exams. Students are encouraged to get a good night’s sleep and eat breakfast, which they can pick up at school in the morning before heading to the testing room.
🏫As we have had Parent Teacher Conferences, we are getting word from some parents that students are telling them that they can be off campus during the day. This is not accurate. Only Juniors and Seniors with Academic Privileges are allowed to sign out and leave during a study hall. They are not allowed to bring other students with them, particularly underclassmen. If students who have vehicles are found to be driving other students off school grounds, they are subject to losing their driving privileges for a couple of weeks. Freshman and Sophomore students are not allowed to leave campus unless dismissed by a parent to go home sick or for an appointment. If you question what you’re being told by your student, you can always call to speak with us to verify.
Thanks and have a great vacation week.
Benton Elementary's "Smoothies for Success" tradition continues! Students in grades 4, 5, and 6 have been working on essays about their future aspirations, and this week they had the opportunity to submit their essays for the Bulldog Future of Maine Scholarship. Staff and younger students lined the hallways to cheer on the older students as they paraded toward the cafeteria to exchange their essays for a "success smoothie." A total of 181 students submitted their essays this year, an accomplishment worth celebrating! Thank you to our kitchen staff for preparing this special smoothie treat, and good luck to all of these students. Community members will gather this Friday to read and score essays, and winners will be announced in May.
At Clinton Elementary, our Student Council proudly honored Mr. Dana Bourgouin 🧹 — our amazing custodian who takes great pride in keeping our school clean, safe, and shining bright! 🏫✨👏💙
At Albion Elementary, Mrs. York’s kindergarten class is diving into science 🔬 with fun experiments and spreading kindness 💌 by writing thank you notes — growing curious minds and caring hearts from day one! 🌟🧠❤️
LHS Good News, 4/9/25:
⚕️On Friday, Mr. Pellerin’s 11/12 grade JMG students will be attending a field trip to Maine General in Augusta for a Job Fair/Networking event. The students will be able to learn about all employment at Maine General, not just in the medical career fields, but all the different opportunities at an organization the size of Maine General.
🎭The Williamson Performing Arts Center will be hosting a Barbershop Quartet concert Saturday evening.
📔For those students who received an Incomplete for Quarter 3, they will need to have their incomplete made up by April 18th.
🚫A reminder that April 18 is a Teacher Comp day, meaning no school. April vacation starts on the 18th!
📋Parent Teacher conferences are next Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Signups can be done online: https://www.myconferencetime.com/searchgroup/ Type in Lawrence High School and follow the link. We hope to see you next week for conferences.
Have a great week!
At Albion Elementary, Mrs. Ryan’s class had a great time in phys ed with Mr. Plaisted! 🏃♂️🎉 Physical education is essential for building coordination, teamwork, and lifelong healthy habits. Keep moving and having fun, first graders! 💪
This week our Benton Elementary sixth-grade students travelled to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, located on the waterfront in Portland. This trip provided students an interactive, hands-on experience learning about the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, specifically collecting and analyzing data about lobsters and black sea bass. Students were divided into research teams and given opportunities to not only handle and investigate live lobster but also to use other scientific and technological equipment like microscopes and an interactive touch table. Teams recorded videos of their hypotheses and conclusions using their digital “field notebooks” and then were able to compare and contrast their findings with other student teams and researchers in the field. It was an unforgettable experience for our Bulldogs!
The Yearbook Club is working on the final pages of this year’s yearbook. The yearbook costs twenty dollars and orders are due by May 4. Visit ybpay.com to order a yearbook and enter 15009625 as the ID Code. Money or checks made out to Lawrence Junior High School can also be turned into Ms. Butterfield in the LJHS Library. A receipt will be issued for money or checks collected at school. The library will be open during upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences for purchases too.
LHS Good News, 4/2/25: 👐Vocal Vibe Jazz Choir brought Gold home from the Maine State Jazz Festival! Congratulations to our vocalists
We held our monthly community advisory this past Wednesday. Students of the Month were recognized. Congratulations to Senior Lucas Proctor, Junior Samantha Hamilton, Sophomore Natily Reid, and Freshman Mariah Salsbury!
⚾We also had 22 Students nominated by teachers and recognized as “most improved” by the Portland Sea Dogs. These students were presented with a complimentary ticket to attend a Sea Dogs Game in Portland during April Vacation.
Parents are reminded that Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up in a couple weeks and you can sign up to schedule conference times with your son or daughter’s teachers by going to myconferencetime.com/lhs.
Have a great week!
On Wednesday March 19th Mr. Drew visited Clinton Elementary School. Mr. Drew runs a rescue and rehab for exotic animals in an education center.
His outreach visits include schools, libraries and communities to teach everyone about proper care of animals and their habitats.
At Albion Elementary, Mr. Drew and his animal friends visited this week, sparking curiosity and teaching our younger students about compassion and responsibility. Their hands-on experience underscores the importance of community and interactive learning. Stay tuned for his upcoming visit with our older grades!
At Lawrence Junior High, Ms. Badamo's 8th grade art class is busy creating another round of delicious snack bags—an engaging project that highlights the importance of creativity and community. With previous masterpieces on display in our hallway, these talented students continue to innovate and inspire!
The Read ME Agriculture Program came to Benton Elementary last week to visit with students in twenty-three of our K-4 classes. Volunteers shared Farmer Eva's Green Garden Life, a biography book about Eva Sommaripa and her seaside Massachusetts garden. Students then participated in a variety of follow-up activities, including taste testing various herbs, milling wheat into flour, and tossing their own pizza dough. Classes were gifted seeds to grow, a classroom copy of the book, and a teacher's guide with related classroom activities. The Read ME program is supported annually by funds from the Maine "Support Local Agriculture" specialty license plates. A big Bulldog thank you to all of the volunteers that spent their day with our students!
💻On Wednesday, March 26th, two of our teachers and two of our students attended the Kennebec Valley Superintendents Association Showcase Event at Cony High School. Mr. Bellner, Mrs. Grenier, and two students: Liz Holden and Abby Taylor, manned a table to speak about the Computer Science program at Lawrence High School. Currently we have a Foundations of STEM course and an AP Computer Science class. Next year we will be adding two more offerings: Computer Science Discoveries, a one semester course, and a Computer Science Capstone Project course. Liz and Abby have taken the two courses currently offered and are strong proponents of increasing the Computer Science offerings at the high school.
🖥️Mr. Bellner, a Science teacher, and Mrs. Grenier, a Math teacher, have been instrumental in building out these course offerings; recognizing the needs of Computer Science offerings for students to help those interested in pursuing a field of study in a post secondary setting and the opportunities that those hold for our students.
⚾In other news at the high school, Spring Sports have started this week for baseball and softball throwers and for goalies work for lacrosse. Next week will be the start for all the spring sports teams and participants.
🎤On Saturday, Mrs. Misner will be taking a group of students to Millinocket to compete in the State Jazz Choir Competition. Best of luck to our vocalists!
➗On Tuesday, April 1st, the Math Team will head to the Augusta Civic Center to compete in the State Math Meet. Good luck to our mathematicians!
🗓️The third quarter will end on Friday, April 4th! Eligibility checks will be done after the close of the quarter for athletics and for Jr. Sr. Privileges.
Have a great week!
At Albion Elementary Ms. Emery's 4th graders took their learning outside for an exciting hands-on experiment! ⚡⚽ Exploring energy in motion, they observed how a ball’s energy changed when rolled, hit softly, and hit harder. By making predictions, conducting analysis, and recording observations, these young scientists are strengthening their critical thinking skills in a fun and engaging way! 🔬📖
Miss Petrie’s class had a blast celebrating Read Across America Week and Dr. Seuss’s birthday! 🎉📚 From hands-on crafts to creative expression, these first graders honed their fine motor skills while fostering a love for reading and storytelling. Clinton Elementary is full of strong readers and future authors! ✨✏️
