This week Fairfield Primary students took a field trip to a fire station. This is important for elementary students as it provides a hands-on, interactive learning experience that enhances their understanding of fire safety, introduces them to community helpers, and fosters a sense of civic responsibility and appreciation for emergency services.
At Clinton Elementary the third graders are busy working on art projects. Some are working on foreground, middle ground, and background while using mixed media for their Redwood trees. Other students are working on their op-art cubes. Art is crucial for elementary students as it fosters creativity, critical thinking, and emotional expression, contributing to well-rounded cognitive and socio-emotional development.
At Albion Elementary, third grade students practiced their multiplication skills while completing a festive seasonal craft! Students represented a basic fact in 4 different ways, using the strategies of equal groups, repeated addition, arrays, and fact families to solve their equation.
The learning process often involves teaching others about what we know. At Benton Elementary, Aubri Brooks and her braille teacher, Ms. Erin, recently created a braille activity for Mrs. Cloutier’s sixth-grade class. Aubri taught her classmates how to identify and read the braille alphabet, then she challenged each classmate to find a book she had personalized with their name. Our sixth graders were thoroughly engaged in this activity and enjoyed learning about a different form of communication.
At Lawrence Junior High School students created visual displays for books that they have read. Having students craft a display for a book that they read offers a more immersive and impactful alternative to the traditional book report. Unlike a standard written summary, a visually appealing display allows the student to delve into various creative elements, such as visuals, artifacts, and interactive components, creating a multi-dimensional representation of the story.
The National Honors Society Induction took place Wednesday night with 16 new members being inducted into the Lawrence High School Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS). The new members are:
Sophomores - Hannah Carlton, Kiera Day, Brooklyn Ferreira, Arianna Goodwin, Sophia Griffith, and Brock Merrill. Juniors - Michael Hamlin, Madisyn Niles, Taylor Pellerin, Alyssa Welch, and Noah Young. Seniors - Whitney Churchill, Kaylee Elkins, Colby Nadeau, Sophie Rosebush, and Maddox Santone. Congratulations to the students on being recognized for their exemplary scholarship, leadership, service, and character through their induction. The members of the National Honor Society baked cookies for the school communities affected by the Lewiston event as a gesture of support and caring from the Lawrence Bulldogs to the Lewiston Blue Devils, Edward Little Red Eddies and Winthrop Ramblers. Mrs. Hebert, NHS Advisor and English teacher, delivered them to the three schools on Tuesday. Thank you to all involved in helping to bake cookies over the weekend to contribute to this goodwill effort.
At Clinton Elementary the students were working on a garden plot project. They were given a hundredths chart and asked to work in groups to figure out how to plant their garden given the conditions. (For example, 1/3 of their veggies had to be green). This unit required the students to think about fractions and decimals, which was a great wrap-up to Unit one 6th-grade math!
At Benton Elementary first and fourth-grade “Benton Buddies” are in full swing! Pairs of students in Melissa Patterson's first-grade class and Kim Hatch’s fourth-grade class recently met for some "getting to know you" tasks. Buddies will meet once a month to participate in a variety of fun, partner activities. This program encourages our older students to be leaders and positive role models in our school as they interact with our youngest Benton bulldogs.
At Albion Elementary Mrs. Fletcher read the story, "Sarabella's Thinking Cap" by Judy Schachner to Mrs. Smith's class during their Library time. Then she had them make thinking caps! Creating projects based on what a child has read reinforces comprehension and enhances critical thinking and creativity.
Jenni Flood, from the Flood Farm, brought Fairfield Primary some Cabot cheese and our new cafeteria mascot. On Tuesday, the students cast their votes for the cow’s name. Meet Daisy!
Every so often, the high school will hold a Community Homeroom during Advisory time. Today was one of those times. The students and faculty had author and retired Maine Biologist and Waterville resident, Ron Joseph, speak to us about his new book, Bald Eagles, Bear Cubs, and Hermit Bill, and regale us with some stories about his experiences. His specialty is ornithology (the study of birds); specifically songbirds. He shared photographs of his grandparents’ farm where he spent much of his time during his childhood as well as wildlife photos. One photo, in particular, was of a bear cub that he held during a biologist outing to bear dens during the winter to change out the radio collars of female black bears. While they tranquilize the mother bear, the others in the group have to take the cubs and cuddle them to keep them warm until they are all returned to their den. Mr. Joseph took questions from students and teachers and was very interesting to have in and speak with us. We are thankful to him for coming in and to Mrs. Pullen for reaching out to him and inviting him to our community homeroom. It was very interesting and the students were very attentive.
In other news at the high school, the Lawrence Marching Band competed over this past weekend in Sanford at the Marching Band Directors’ Association (MBDA) State Finals and earned an overall Silver Medal rating. Excellent for a band with over half new members this year. Sophomore Brock Merrill received a Gold Medal rating in the Drum Major category. Great job to all Marching Band Members!
In the spring Albion students in grades 2 - 6 entered the Maine Association of School Libraries Bookmark contest. Two of our Albion students were recognized. Joe in 6th grade was an Honorable mention and Colton in 4th grade was the Winner! MASL had their entries made into bookmarks to share with students.
On the evening of Monday, October 23 Benton Elementary Reading Recovery/Title I Literacy team hosted a family literacy night for many of our first and second-grade Title I students. Adults learned about the roles of teachers, parents, and students receiving Reading Recovery and Title I lessons. There was an emphasis on the home-school partnership to accelerate literacy learning for students. During this time, the children went with a couple of teachers to enjoy several read-alouds. Smiles and laughter filled the cafeteria when families came back together for engaging literacy activities, including building an interactive Pigeon bulletin board near our main office. Each family went home with a 20th-anniversary edition copy of Mo Willems' Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, which included a game in the back.
At Fairfield Primary the students are involved in activities associated with their readings. Paisley is using the pointer to read our October poem. Declan and Karter are acting out the story "Abiyoyo" with puppets. Killian and Aubrey are writing stories at our writing table and Declan and Nova are building a city using the book "Abuela" as their inspiration.
Check out these fun Halloween photos from Clinton Elementary School.
On October 31st students and staff got dressed after lunch, had a snack, and some holiday fun!
Lawrence Junior High School students in Miss Badamo's art class created a beautiful welcome, “wall of fame” for the entrance to her classroom! Check it out Below!
Elizabeth Holden, a Junior at Lawrence and member of the Golf Team, qualified for the New England golf tournament and played over the weekend finishing 27th overall which was in the top half of the field! She played at the Mohegan Sun Golf Course in CT. Congratulations Liz! See the Picture below. Also, a nice article in The Town Line appeared on October 25, 2023, on Nash Corson and a $1,000 scholarship he was eligible for and won for organizing a Blood Drive for the Red Cross. Congratulations Nash!
In other news, LifeTouch Picture Retakes for the High School and Jr. High will be on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.
Mrs. Joler’s 12th-grade English classes went to the Colby Art Museum on Tuesday, October 31st. Students enjoyed the tour with the tour guide and lunch in one of the dining halls on campus. They did an analysis activity on a piece of art that they viewed of their choice. Feedback from students was positive along with comments of wishing to spend more time in the museum.
Football will host Gardiner for a rare Saturday game at 1 p.m. this weekend. This is a semifinal game. As a KVAC league event, there is a flat entrance fee of $5 for students and adults. The winner will advance to the regional finals. Go Dogs!
The Blood Drive scheduled for this past Friday had to be postponed. At this time, Mr. Pellerin is working on trying to set up another date.
The 1st Quarter closes on Friday with teachers’ grades due Monday morning. As such, new quarter classes will start on Monday, November 6, 2023. One quarter down and three to go!
The fifth graders of Clinton Elementary took a field trip to Boothbay Botanical Gardens.
All Fairfield Primary’s kindergarten classes went on a field trip to Lemieux’s Orchard on Friday.
At Albion Elementary the principal, Mrs. Blais, went into the first grade and read them her favorite fall book - The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin.
