First graders At Albion Elementary explored friendship in the library this week with a heartwarming Franklin story, followed by creating their own 'I am a Friend' crowns! Learning about kindness and connection is an important part of growing together. 📚👑💛
It's been an exciting couple of weeks for our Benton Bulldogs, who were visited by not one, but TWO Maine authors: Tamra Wight and Chris Van Dusen! An amateur photographer and self-professed nature geek, Tamra Wight met with our 3rd through 6th graders and shared photos she's taken of some of the many Maine animals found in her Cooper & Packrat stories. She spoke about the process she's gone through to write each of her mystery books...from coming up with an idea to doing research, writing many drafts, revising and editing, and finally publishing. Her presentation - along with her stories, photography, and knowledge about Maine animals - was fascinating! Maine author/illustrator Chris Van Dusen talked with our Kindergarten through 2nd grade students about how he spent lots of time drawing with his brothers when they were children. As an adult he spent many years as a freelance illustrator, specializing in art for kids, before writing and illustrating his first children's book. During each session, he read aloud one of his favorite books - Circus Ship - before demonstrating his incredible imagination and drawing skills by sketching hybrid animal characters. Our students' giggles filled the library each time Chris turned around his sketch pad to reveal a new creation! We also invited all of our families to join Chris for an evening presentation at the Williamson Performing Arts Center. Thanks to a successful fall fundraiser, EVERY student took home their very own copy of one of Tamra's or Chris' books! Happy reading, Bulldogs!
On March 5th, the students at Lawrence Junior High School participated in the MLTI Maine Winter Classic. They were provided with an opportunity to explore an interactive game-based learning experience for the day. As they “traveled” around Maine on a virtual gameboard, they completed a variety of tasks, earned tokens, and learned about topics like computer science, digital citizenship, digital design, and gamification.
Colby College mentors making a difference! 🌟 Our Clinton Elementary students are engaged in hands-on learning and meaningful connections, thanks to the incredible mentorship of Colby College volunteers. Building knowledge, confidence, and bright futures—one lesson at a time! 📚✨
Albion Elementary celebrated Read Across America with a fun and active theme on Wednesday—jogging attire day! 🏃♂️📚 Students also hit the gym for a jog, reinforcing the idea that Reading Jogs the Mind! A big thank you to Mrs. Heinrich for organizing this wonderful event! 📖✨
Last Friday's theme at Benton Elementary was "Wear Where You've Been!" Our downstairs hallway was full of excitement all day, as students and staff members placed stars on maps of Maine, the United States, and the World to show locations they've visited or lived. While many stars were placed in our own state, we were surprised at the number of stars in other states and around the World! We hope this activity will not only broaden our student's understanding of geography but also inspire them to visit new places in the future. We'll have our second "Wear Where You've Been" day in May, with plenty of stars left to be placed on our maps. Thank you to our Theme Day Team - including teachers Lisa Roy, Amy Cates, Susan Warren, and Kim Hatch - for organizing this fun learning event!
📚To celebrate Read Across America, students are participating in a contest sponsored by the LJHS library to showcase a favorite character from a book read. Here are some of the submissions. Hot cocoa mug prize sets will be awarded.
Kindergarteners from Albion Elementary teaming up with their 5/6 buddies for fun and learning before February break! These connections foster mentorship, teamwork, and a strong school community. ❤️📚
Clinton Elementary students spread kindness by delivering Valentines to the Muskie Center, bringing joy to the community! ❤️ They also marked a big milestone—100 days of learning, growth, and fun! 🎉 These experiences teach the value of giving back and celebrating achievements together.
Benton Elementary's annual read-a-thon took place on the Friday before February break. Our students came dressed in their PJs and they enjoyed a day filled with reading-related activities. In an exciting twist, many classes were surprised by mystery readers throughout the day! Money raised will go toward the future purchase of a Yurt, a shared learning space to be placed between Lawrence Primary School and Lawrence Elementary School. On behalf of our schools, our Student Council would like to extend their gratitude to all students, teachers, families, and community members that helped make this year's Read-a-thon a HUGE success!
On the Friday before February Break, these amazing students from Lawrence Junior High were recognized for their performance on our Winter NWEA screening. These students showed either high achievement or high growth from the Fall testing window to the Winter testing window in Mathematics or Reading. Congratulations to all of those students!
LHS Good News, 2/26/25
A group of high school Seniors went to Benton Elementary School to meet with 4th graders on Tuesday as part of Benton’s Aspirations project. They met with and answered questions from the 4th graders.
🤼Senior, Colton Carter, won his State Championship Wrestling Meet in the 190 lb weight class over February Break. Congratulations to Colton! He finished the season having earned his 100th career victory earlier in the year and with a State Class A Title. Great season and way to cap off your career. Colton will be going to Providence, Rhode Island to compete in the New England Wrestling Tournament in another week. Colton wrestles with Skowhegan as an independent wrestler and is pictured below with his coaches after winning the title.
🩸The High School will be hosting a Blood Drive on Friday, March 7, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter: Lawrence HS to schedule your appointment.
📚The High School is also getting ready to have students sign up for courses for next year. An 8th Grade Parents’ Night will be held on Monday, March 3rd from 6:00 - 7:00 PM in the Williamson Center. At this meeting, High School Administration, School Counselors and Department Chairs will go over the process with the parents and answer any questions. We hope to see you there if you have an incoming member of the Class of 2029!
School Counselors will be meeting with current Juniors next week to go over the process and then the week after with current Sophomores and Freshmen. The Portal on Infinite Campus will be opened up for the returning students to be able to sign up starting on March 11 - 17th. During that time, the returning students will make their selections online. If you have questions or concerns with the scheduling process, you can reach out to speak with your student’s School Counselor.
Have a great week!
Did you know that February 8th is National Kite Flying Day? Observed annually, National Kite Flying Day encourages exploring kite flying and kite making. Enthusiasts across the country mark the day by launching their kites or making plans to attend festivals.
At Clinton Elementary, Miss Alley's second-grade class learned about kite design through a STEM project. They built kites and tested them out! 🪁✨
Learning math is even sweeter with hands-on activities! At Albion Elementary Mrs. Quick’s class used M&Ms to explore key math concepts, making learning fun, interactive, and delicious! 🍬✨
At Benton Elementary, fourth-grade scientists in Chelsea Sionni's class have been learning about the internal organs of various animals. Last week they performed dissections of model bats, frogs, salamanders, and piranhas. Our Bulldogs were highly engaged in this "paws-on" learning experience!
Students at LJHS participated in The Hoops for Hearts fundraiser to benefit the American Heart Association. Students obtained pledges and were able to participate in a three on three basketball tournament. This was a big score for our students and the American Heart Association.
LHS Good News, 2/12/25
👐Lawrence hosted the District IV Jazz Festival on Wednesday. Our Jazz Band and Vocal Vibe groups performed, as did the other participating schools. Today's festival included judges to critique each group's performance and this served as a qualifier to the State Jazz Festival to be held later this year.
🏅In other news, the Unified Team played a game today against Winslow and won! Congratulations to the Unified Team on a well played game.
Colton Carter won a State Title in the 190 lb weight class this past weekend. Congratulations to Colton!
The Indoor Track Team will be competing in their State Meet this Saturday at Bowdoin College. Good Luck!
🏀Our Girls’ Basketball Team will play Friday night in a Quarter Final game at the Augusta Civic Center starting at 8:30 PM. Good luck to the ladies in their tournament run! Our KVAC Champion Cheering squad will be headed to the tournament to cheer on the team, as will the Pep Band to provide the music. We’d like to see you at the tournament cheering on the girls but if you can’t make it you can subscribe to nfhsnetwork.com and watch it online.
🧑💻On Tuesday, the Sophomores went to Mid-Maine Technical Center to tour the programs in preparation for course sign ups that will be done next month.
🧑🍼We will be hosting an 8th Grade Parent Night on Monday, March 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM in the Williamson auditorium to go over the process for course sign ups for their Freshman year. We will be meeting with the 8th graders in an assembly on Friday, February 28th to explain the process to them and pass out our Program of Studies so they can have them to look at over the weekend. We would ask that you bring these with you to the Parent Meeting as we will be referring to them during our overview with the parents.
We will be having our current Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors sign up for next year’s courses during the week of March 17th. More to come as we near that week.
📚Teachers should be updating grades weekly for the students. If you’re not seeing updated grades in Infinite Campus, you can reach out to your child’s teacher. If your child has been out due to illness, please make sure that you’re calling them out sick. When a student returns to school, they should speak with their teachers about getting make-up work done and setting up a schedule for when it will be completed. Teachers will use Academic Support time, as well as after school time to help students get caught up.
Please see the weekly Bulldog Bulletin posted on Fridays and have a great week!
Mrs. Cloutier’s class at Albion Elementary getting creative with clay animals in Art with Mrs. Bolduc! Hands-on projects like these help students express their imagination while building fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities.
Clinton's 3rd and 4th graders enjoying the snow during recess—learning through play and embracing the beauty of winter! These moments are essential for fostering creativity, teamwork, and a love for the outdoors.
At Benton Elementary, Kindergarten scientists in Beth Leary's class experimented with vinegar and baking soda to "grow" their own snow people. Our first and fourth grade buddies have spent valuable time reading books together this month. Many of our third graders earned PAWS for "pawsitive" behavior during the second quarter. A group of lucky winners were given a certificate and treat bag during their grade level assembly, and later enjoyed a special lunch bunch with our principals! Keep up the great work, Bulldogs!
