MSAD #49

As we wrap up the third quarter at Lawrence Junior High School, our students continue to stay engaged, curious, and active whether they’re conducting hands-on lab experiments, creating art, or challenging themselves through activities like rock climbing.

These experiences go beyond the classroom, helping students build confidence, creativity, and real-world skills. There’s truly never a dull moment at LJHS, and it’s exciting to see learning come to life in so many ways.

Celebrating our April Student of the Month honorees from 2 East! 🎉

This month’s theme "fairness" reminds us how important it is to treat others with respect, listen to different perspectives, and make choices that are just and inclusive. These students have shown what it means to lead with integrity and kindness in their everyday actions.

Last week, at Lawrence Elementary, Mrs. Hume's, Mrs. Bolduc's, and Mrs. LeHay's third graders held a writing celebration after completing their informational pieces about animals. Students read their peers' writing and gave positive feedback. In addition, all third and fourth graders were recently visited by volunteers from Maine Agriculture in the Classroom. The volunteers read the book I Love Blueberries, by Shannon Anderson, and talked about the blueberry industry in Maine. They also helped students compare and contrast high bush and low bush blueberries by offering samples of each. It was a great treat!

LHS Good News 4/1/26

Lawrence High School is proceeding along with our State mandated testing. The Science New Meridian testing will be done April 9th for our Juniors and the Maine Through Year Assessment will cover ELA and Math for our Sophomores will take place on April 29th and 30th. These are state mandated testing whose results will be used in measuring progress for our students against the state.

With the quarter ending and the weather turning for the better, we will be starting our outdoor PE classes at the start of the 4th quarter and as long as the weather is conducive to outdoor participation. During our Community Advisory on Wednesday we recognized a student among our registered students who drive with a Safe Driver Award and that went to Jack Pelletier. The Safe Driver Award is presented at the end of each quarter to recognize a student who exemplifies safe driving habits on and around campus.

Spring Sports have started this week. Lacrosse, Track, Baseball, and Softball are all involved with tryouts and conditioning.

LEAP students went to the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences on Tuesday to learn about the production of maple syrup. Every other Wednesday a small group of LEAP students have been going to the food bank in Waterville to volunteer and help with stocking the shelves. On Friday, some of the students will be attending a play in Skowhegan to see The Crucible.

Ms. Pomelow-Book will be bringing a group of interested Theatre students to a play in Portland on Monday of April Vacation. Lawrence Theatre Company will be going to see Portland Stage's professional production of Our Town by Thornton Wilder.

On Wednesday, Mr. Pellerin took 17 of his JMG students to a Career Fair at KVCC. 14 of his 17 students were very active, hitting all the booths for summer employment, as well as career booths. Mr. Pellerin is trying to coordinate and plan a similar event that we would host at the high school for all of our students later this spring.

Results from the State Drama Festival held March 6-7, 2026: Congratulations go to Melanie Thompson and Addie King for being awarded a Special Commendation in Scenic Design and to Marley Peaslee and Jocelyn Clark for their All Festival Cast Award! They performed the one act play The Price, by Don Zolidis.

Lawrence Primary School was full of green, laughter, and joy as students celebrated St. Patrick’s Day! Days like these remind us how important it is to build a positive, fun school community where every child feels they belong. 🍀

8th graders at Lawrence Junior High brought tectonic plate movement to life today using graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, science has never been so sweet! 🍫

Hands on learning like this helps students truly see and feel how our Earth works, turning abstract concepts into real understanding. These moments are where curiosity grows and deeper learning sticks.

Lawrence Elementary fourth graders recently went on a field trip to the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. They were asked to sketch and describe several Native American artifacts in order to hypothesize what what each might have been used for, before learning the actual identity and function of each. A volunteer from the museum read aloud a book about Native American canoe building, and students participated in conversations about a life-size historical artifact. Students also learned about the science behind dams, as well as the pros and cons of them being present in our Maine rivers. It was a fun opportunity for students to extend their learning beyond the walls of our school.

LHS Good News 3/25/26

Congratulations to Dyllan Foster! Dyllan’s score as school champion has automatically qualified him as a national finalist for the National Geography Bee. The final event takes place May 16 in Cambridge, MA. Good luck, Dyllan!

Congratulations to the Lawrence Theatre Company on their performance of The Price, by Don Zolidis at the Maine State Drama Festival this past weekend! Congrats to Melanie Thompson and Addie King for being awarded a Special Commendation in Scenic Design and to Marley Peaslee and Jocelyn Clark for their All Festival Cast Award! Great job by all!

The District Choral Festival concert was on Wednesday evening featuring all the choral members from Grades 5 - 12. It was great to see and hear all the talent in our choral program. Our next concert will feature the high school choral and band students on Wednesday

Spring sports tryouts start on Monday, March 30, 2026 for Lacrosse, Track, Baseball, and Softball. Students planning on participating need to be signed up and registered on Arbiter before tryouts. Any questions, please contact Mr. Packard in the Athletic Office.

Quarter 3 ends on Friday, April 3, 2026. Upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences will be held the week leading up to April Break on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 14 - 15th starting at 3:30 PM and finishing at 7:30 PM. On Wednesday, April 15th, we’ll be hosting a dinner for folks coming to the conferences in the Jr. High cafe from 4:30 - 6:00 PM. No charge for the meal of American Chopsuey. Plan your conferences around dinner!

Have a great week.

Lawrence Primary School recently had the exciting opportunity to celebrate our high school girls’ basketball team after their state championship victory. The players proudly visited with their gold ball trophy, while students and staff lined the hallways cheering them on with great excitement. Many children held handmade signs congratulating the team, and some classes shared pictures and notes they had created to celebrate the players’ accomplishment. It was a wonderful moment of school pride and inspiration for our young learners. Congrats Bulldogs!

Earlier this week, two fourth grade classes from Lawrence Elementary took a quick walk down the access path to meet with their first grade buddies and celebrate the 120th day of school. The first graders shared their collections of 120 items, and the buddies did a fun St. Patrick's Day craft together. This buddy program helps build confidence in our younger students while giving our older students a chance to take on a mentoring role...a valuable experience for all involved. They are looking forward to gathering once a month until the end of the school year.

Ms. Badamo’s Art Classes at Lawrence Junior High School are super-sizing creativity once again! 🎨🍿
Students are learning sculpting techniques using paper and paint to create larger-than-life models of their favorite snacks. Hands-on art projects like this help students at Lawrence Junior High School build creativity, strengthen problem-solving skills, and gain confidence as they turn imaginative ideas into impressive works of art.

LHS Good News 3/18/26

Lawrence High School Jazz combo got silver at states this past Saturday! John Ouellette was awarded one of the “Outstanding Musician” awards for his performance on vibraphone. Mr. Davenport is the Jazz band director. Congratulations to our Jazz performers!

In MMTC News - On March 12-13th, Mid-Maine Technical Center students competed at the SkillsUSA Maine State Championships in Bangor. The following Lawrence students received medals: Jovie Rossignol - Gold Medalist in Emergency Medical Technician; as a gold medalist, Jovie will represent Maine in the National SkillsUSA Championships in Atlanta, Georgia which will be held June 1-5, 2026. Congratulations Jovie! Best of Luck in Atlanta! Hunter Waning earned a Silver Medal in Additive Manufacturing and Thomas Stratton earned a Bronze Medal in Precision Machining. Congratulations to our three medalists!

JMG hosted a Blood Drive this past Tuesday. A total of 34 units were donated. Congratulations to our JMG students and Mr. Pellerin for organizing this annual event.

On Thursday during our Advisory block, the high school was treated to a performance by the Lawrence Theater Group of the play, The Price, as they prepare for their championship this Saturday.

Best of luck to our Lawrence Theater Company as they compete in the State Drama Festival on Saturday at Windham HS performing the one act play The Price by Don Zolidis. They will perform at 1:00 PM this Saturday and compete against seven other regional finalists for the Class A State Championship in One Act Plays. Break a leg!

Have a great week!

At Lawrence Primary, our class loves turning learning into games! 🎲 Through friendly competition and teamwork, students build community, support each other through wins and losses, and make learning fun every day. Here are a few snapshots of that learning in action! 📸

Lawrence Elementary School recently held MSAD 49's annual Bulldog Aspirations Day. Our sixth grade students choose from 29 breakout sessions, led by volunteers representing a wide variety of professions, including medicine, engineering, performing arts, business, teaching, athletics, marine biology, agriculture, carpentry, law enforcement, and the military. This unique opportunity has surely sparked a greater interest in students' continued career exploration. A big Bulldog "thank you" to all of the volunteers who generously shared their time and expertise with our students.

On Friday, March 6th, students at Lawrence Junior High school participated in the Annual MLTI Maine Winter Classic. Students were provided an opportunity to explore an interactive game-based learning experience for the day. As they “travel” around Maine on a virtual game board, completing a variety of tasks, earning tokens, and learning about topics like computer science, digital citizenship, digital design, and gamification.

LHS Good News 3/12/26

On Friday, March 6th, we have the following swimmers competing in the Class A State Swim Championships at Colby College: Hayden Averill, Carissa Crowell, Kloee Grant-Hamm, Ian Lane, Sophia Vautour, and Caden LaPlante.

We have two new State Class A Swim Champions at Lawrence! Congratulations to Caden LaPlante on placing 1st in the Butterfly and in the process set a new State Record with a time of 48.81 seconds! Caden also placed 1st in the Breastroke and then he and Ian Lane were part of the relay team that placed 3rd in the 200 Freestyle at the championships! Congratulations!

Congratulations also to Madelyn Provost on being named Miss Maine Basketball player of the year for her play this year. She beat out two other finalists for this prestigious award. Congratulations Maddie!

This past Saturday the Lawrence Theatre Group was involved in the Regional Finals for One Act plays. Lawrence took first place and was named the finalist for our region! They won an All Festival Cast Award and received Special Commendation for Ensemble Acting. Brock Merrill received a Special Commendation for Lighting Design and Marly Peasley was recognized with an All Cast recognition award, as well! Congratulations to all! They will compete at the State One Act competition at Windham HS on Saturday, March 21st! Break a leg!

Eighth grade students in Mrs. Fournier's History are learning about Egyptian History. They had an opportunity to create scrapbook pages to showcase all that they have learned. A group of 7th grade students used their Block Class to explore building a motorized car. They learned a great deal as they made adjustments to arrive at a working model.

At Lawrence Primary, students have been jumping into learning in Physical Education! Kindergarteners practiced jumping rope solo and with friends using the long rope. 1st and 2nd graders tackled Jump Rope Ninja training, earning ninja belts one level at a time. Jumping rope builds hand-eye coordination and musculoskeletal strength. Second graders also worked together to turn the long rope themselves, learning teamwork and collaboration along the way.

Lawrence Elementary's 4th Grade Explorers Club is off to an exciting start this year, with 36 curious and enthusiastic students ready to dive into hands-on learning. Club members will be raising 200 Atlantic salmon eggs in the coming months, giving them a unique opportunity to learn about conservation and local wildlife. Earlier this week, a team of dedicated “Salmon Experts” helped placed the tiny eggs into the tank that will serve as their home over the next several months. The eggs were provided through the Fish Friends program - with the help of Richard Upham - in partnership with the Maine Council Atlantic Salmon Federation. As the eggs hatch and grow, students will observe the life cycle of Atlantic salmon, monitor water conditions, and create projects to showcase their learning.