Lawrence High School

On March 7, JMG is running a Blood Drive in the high school gym from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you would like to sign up and participate, please click on the link below: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?order=DATE&range=10&zipSponsor=04937

The Lawrence High School Speech Team competed at the Maine State Championship Meet this past Saturday. Lawrence placed fourth overall out of fourteen schools. Congratulations on a successful season! Individual awards went to: Marley Peaslee - 5th place in Dramatic Interpretation, Addison King - 1st place in Oral Interpretation of Literature, and 3rd place in Duo Interpretation, Brock Merrill - 3rd place in Duo Interpretation, Ryder Bernier - 5th place in Extemporaneous Speaking, and 5th place in Informative, Speaking, Wyatt DeMott - 3rd place in Informative Speaking, Cooper King - 3rd place in Oratorical Declamation, Abaigeal Marks - 4th place in storytelling, and 6th place in Original Works, and Ronnie Allen - 2nd place in Prose Reading, and 6th place in Poetry reading. This Friday night, we have home varsity basketball games here at Folsom Gymnasium. The boys play at 6:00 PM, and the girls follow at 7:30 PM. The entrance fee is a non-perishable food item or a donation to the Backpack Room. The Backpack Room is a food cupboard for students run by JMG. Guidance will put items in backpacks for students to bring home over the weekends or whenever there is a need for food insecurity. The high school this past week switched into a new semester. Students in new classes have been getting introduced to their subject matter and learning from their teachers. Please check in with them to see how they are doing in their new classes. After this week, we have two weeks left until February Break. Have a great week!

The High School held a community advisory last week to recognize our December Students of the Month. Congratulations to Ella Minnehan (Senior), Arianna Goodwin (Junior), Taylor Beers (Sophomore), and Keon Tae Stevens (Freshman). 🎵The Choral Concert was held on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 6:30 PM in the Williamson Performing Arts Center. The Jr. High and High School Chorus students performed several songs and then combined to sing a song together. Both groups sounded great. It was a good performance! 📚The high school will be entering their midterms and finals week. This year we are doing it differently. Students are required to be here for full days during the entire week and expected to follow their regular daily schedule. There is no school on Monday, a holiday, and Tuesday is an In-Service day for Teachers. Classes and finals will resume on Wednesday, January 22nd, and the last day of the quarter is Friday, January 24, 2025. 🗓️The new semester will start on Monday, January 27th. Students will pick up their schedules in the gym on Monday morning when they arrive at school and proceed to their Block 1 classes. It’s hard to believe that we’re moving into the start of the second semester at the conclusion of next week! 🥎Winter sports are in full swing with Basketball games, Cheering, and Indoor Track. We have independent students participating in Wrestling and Swimming, as well as Hockey. If you want to catch a game, please check out the Athletic Schedule for game times and locations. Also, we will be having our Unified Team starting up in a couple of weeks. 🎓A reminder that scholarship opportunities are shared on the Infinite Campus portal to students and parents from the Guidance Office. Call Guidance with any questions. Scholarship applications are available in the Guidance Office, as well. 😀Enjoy the upcoming three-day weekend and remember it will be a four-day weekend for the students as we have our Teacher In-Service day on Tuesday, 1/21/25 (no students).

LHS Good News, 12/18/24: 🗨️The high school’s Speech and Debate team finished in 2nd place at Mr. Blue on Saturday. Maarley Peaslee placed 3rd in Dramatic Interpretation and 4th place in Original Works; Brock Merrill placed 1st in Duo Interpretation; Addison King placed 1st in Duo Interpretation and 3rd in Oral Interpretation of Literature, Cooper King placed 1st in Oratorical Declamation, Ryer Bernier placed 4th in Informative Speaking, Wyatt DeMott placed 3rd in Informative Speaking and 4th in Extemporaneous Speaking, Stella-Moon Devine placed 2nd in Informative Speaking, as well as in Original Oratory; Abaigeal Marks placed 5th in Original Works and 3rd in Storytelling, and Ronnie Allen placed 3rd in Novice Poetry Reading, and 4th in Novice Prose Reading. Great job to our Speech and Debate Team! 🎭The Lawrence Theatre Company, right off of their Musical Mamma Mia!, are holding auditions for their One Act Play which will be later this winter. The One Acts are a competition between schools which will take place in March. 🎵The Holiday Band Concert was held this past Wednesday evening and featured the instrumentalists from Grades 7 - 12 in the Jr. High and High School Bands, as well as the Jazz Band. Good job by our musicians! 🧦The Sock Drive has collected 380 pairs of socks for those in need. ☕The Cafeteria set up a hot cocoa bar for the students this past week and it was well received! Have a great week.

LHS Good News, 12/11/24 The National Honor Society inducted new members this past Monday evening. Students who meet academic eligibility apply and are accepted into NHS based on their scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Congratulations to the following new members of Lawrence’s NHS: Seniors: Hannah Dostie, Gabriel Fairbrother, Natalee Gordon, Harley Greatorex, Mykenna Martin, Ruby Pierce, Kallie Richardds, and Danielle Wilson. Juniors: Jillian Boyden, Payton Cole, Stella-Moon Devine, and Ashley Shores. Sophomores: Emma Carey, Carissa Crowell, Chandler Firmage, Jenna Lawe, Addison Lea, Michaela Phillips, and Alexandria Young. 🎭The Lawrence Theatre Company concluded their musical, Mamma Mia!, this past weekend. The students put on three great performances. Congratulations to Wilhemina Duffy, Skylah Reid, Emma Spaulding, Helena Page, Marley Peaslee, Brock Merrill, Oli Brooks, Ryder Bernier, Ronnie Allen, Cooper King, Damian White, Jocelyn Clark, Lilli Clark, Hailey Davis, Hannah Doucette, Brooklyn Ferreira, Kate Hartley, Abaigeal Marks, Alex Moody, Natily Reid, Caimbree Stevens, and Melanie Thompson who all participated on stage. Further accolades to the following students who worked behind the scenes: Matthew Menchen, Rhy Kennedy, Wyatt DeMott, Muirean Lynch, Kathrine Brown, Emma Carey, Kaileigh Clowry, Theodore Currier-Webb, Brian Getchell, Jovie Rossignol, Nate Sauer, and Nick Vautour. 🎹We have an upcoming Band Holiday Concert on December 18, 2024, in the Williamson Auditorium. Please come out and enjoy some festive holiday music our band students perform. Have a good week!

Three students headed to participate in Division I and II college sports “signed” their National Letters of Intent in a brief ceremony held in the Library on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 3:00 PM. The students are: Addison Battis, Elizabeth Holden, and Madisyn Niles. Addison will be heading to Southern New Hampshire University to play Field Hockey and major in Psychology with a concentration in Childhood and Adolescent Development. Madisyn Niles will be going to Merrimack College to play Field Hockey and major in Business. Elizabeth Holden is headed to Le Moyne College to play Golf and major in Aerospace Engineering. Congratulations to the girls on their athletic accomplishments, as well as their academic excellence and the prospect of taking it to the next level as they pursue their dreams. The Lawrence Theatre Company will be performing Mamma Mia! this week with opening night on Thursday, 12/5 at 7:00 PM, Friday night at 7:00, and Saturday, 12/7 at 3:00 PM. Please come to see the talent our students have and support them. Give them the thrill of performing before a packed house! The National Honor Society Induction Ceremony will be held on Monday, December 9th at 6:00 PM in the Williamson Center. The National Honor Society is a highly selective honor society for students nationwide. We will be inducting 18 new members on Monday evening. All are welcome to attend. During the Community Advisory on Wednesday, both our Boys and Girls Soccer Teams were presented with the Soccer Officials’ Sportsmanship banners for this past soccer season. This is a great recognition as it is from the Central Maine Soccer Officials group who selected each of our teams as the teams that demonstrated the best sportsmanship over the entire season. Congratulations! Mrs. Beaulieu’s Life Skills class have been making crafts for the Craft Fair at Benton Elementary School this coming Saturday. The Instrumental Band Holiday Concert will be coming up on Wednesday, December 18 at 6:30 PM in the Williamson Performing Arts Center. Please come out to support the grades 7-12 band students and get into the holiday spirit on the 18th! Please check out the Bulldog Bulletin for pictures and updates of other goings-on at the high school this past week. It will be out on Friday. Have a great week!

LHS Good News, 11/20/24 📚KVCC was on campus on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, for their “Admit in a Day” event whereby they accepted 9 Lawrence High School seniors for college to begin next fall. Congratulations to those students! 🏫A Mitchell Scholarship representative will be here at LHS on December 12, 2024. They will help students with the application process and talk with interested students about what is needed to complete their application and what opportunities it provides. Every Maine High School is given at least one scholarship. The message to the students is that this is well worth looking into and if interested, they need to sign up in the Guidance Office to be able to meet with the representative on the 12th. 💸JMG raised over $600 for the backpack program and Christmas for Teens in their annual Penny Wars drive. NHS coordinated the Craft Fair held on November 2nd and raised $1348.50 which they then donated to the Red Cross for Hurricane Relief. The Craft Fair was a success and thank you to the National Honor Society members for their work and selflessness in raising the funds for hurricane relief. 🏅Broden Foster, Zack Hill, Liz Holden, and Ryan Lea received KVAC All-Academic Awards. Congratulations! As I get updated information on the other Varsity fall sports teams, I will pass those recipient’s names along, as well. The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference (KVAC) recognizes those members of Varsity teams who have earned all B’s or higher during each sport season. The following MMTC students have been recognized as November Students of the Month: Bianca Wright - Criminal Justice, Adian Veilleux - Information Technology, and John Ouellette - Mass Media Communications. The following MMTC students were recognized with the quarterly Work Performance Award: Trafton Cole - Automotive Systems, Hailey Davis - Crime Investigation Criminology, Gavin Mushero - CTE Academy, Kaileigh Clowry - Early Childhood, Keenan McLain - Electrical I, and Johnna Douin - Electrical II. Congratulations on this recognition! One final recognition to the following students who attended a KVAC Leadership Group Summit hosted by Edward Little High School and the KVAC on October 28, 2024: Jillian Boyden, Hannah Carlton, Chandler Firmage, Dawson Moore, Trevor Pellerin, Madalyn Provost, and Ashley Shores. 🎬Upcoming Event at LHS - Mamma Mia!, will be performed by the Lawrence High School Theatre troupe. Performances will take place at the Williamson Auditorium on the nights of December 5th and 6th at 7:00 PM and December 7th at 3:00 PM.

LHS Good News, 11/13/24 The Bulldog Bulletin (https://secure.smore.com/n/s0wfv) is a weekly newsletter published on Fridays by Mr. Cyr. Please subscribe to keep up with Bulldog news and events. We recognized our October Students of the Month at a community homeroom held last week. Students of the Month are nominated and voted among the faculty. Congratulations to the following students on being named October Students of the Month: Senior - Ronnie Allen, Junior - Romona McDonald, Sophomore - Melanie Thompson, and Freshman - Kaleb Clement. We also recognized October Citizenship Awards to students for being solid school citizens. Moving forward, the award recipients for the Citizenship Award will be nominated and voted on by their fellow students. October Citizenship Awards went to: Senior - Taylor Levesque, Junior - Ashley Shores, Sophomore - Emma Spaulding, and Freshman - Evan Bowers. The Football team will be playing Falmouth at Cony High School on Friday night for the Regional Finals with a 7:00 PM kick off! Please come and support the Bulldogs! A STEM Mini-grant of $360.00 has been awarded to Jason Bellner for classroom supplies for his STEM classes by JMG. Congratulations to Mr. Bellner on receiving that award. We were the host site for the American Choral Directors’ Association’s (ACDA) Choral Festival of surrounding member schools who came and performed in the Williamson Auditorium during the day on Wednesday, 11/13/24. It was a good prelude to what we’ll be hearing during our winter concerts which will be coming up in December for Band and January for the Choral groups. Here is a picture of the high school chorus performance from Wednesday.

Congratulations to the Lawrence Speech Team for their work at their meet at Bangor High School this past Saturday, 10/26/24! Individual awards include: 😀Ronnie Allen- 2nd Place in Novice Poetry, 4th Place in Novice Prose 😀Ryder Bernier- 2nd Place in Informative Speaking 😀Katharine Brown- 4th Place in Original Oratory 😀Addison King- 2nd Place in Original Oratory, 3rd Place in Oral Interpretation of Literature 🌳When Mrs. Foster and Ms. Perry went to the Farm and Sea to School Institute in the summer of 2023, they learned about ReTreeUS and how they could receive a grant to get an orchard on school grounds. Now we have an orchard of ten fruit trees planted behind the Industrial Technology shop. 🧑‍🎓The quarter ends on Friday. Students with quarter classes will start new ones on Monday, November 4th. Report cards will be issued by November 12, 2024. Guidance issued a letter for all students to bring home on Monday re: any families in need of assistance or willing to help out during the holiday season, please let the Guidance Department know. 👻Happy Halloween! Have a great week.

Blood Drive in the high school gym on 10/30/24. https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/donation-time Two students, Liam Poulin and Jake Begin, were recipients of MMTC’s October Students of the Month. Liam is in the Automotive Systems program and Jake is in the Guiding & Recreation program at MMTC. Congratulations to both students! On Tuesday, we have students who signed up taking the PSAT assessment. This assessment is given to Sophomores and Juniors who would like to take them in advance of the SAT’s. We are not a host site for the SAT’s but interested students can look on their College Board website to see where it is being offered in the spring. The high school is quickly approaching the end of the first quarter, which ends on November 1, 2024. This can be an illuminating moment for some students that come to the realization that grades actually mean something and that they need to be passing in order to earn credits towards graduating. If a student has had a bad quarter, it might behoove parents to reach out to their student’s teachers to see where their child is having difficulty. If it’s homework assignments that aren’t getting turned in, it might be a good idea to clamp down a bit on the student and have them report to the kitchen table when they get home from school to do their homework first thing or let them blow off steam for an hour and then have them report to a designated spot so they can be monitored that they indeed are working on school work. This is a time to give adolescents some more freedoms, but if they are demonstrating that they can’t handle the amount you’ve given them, it would be good for their development to re-establish some non-negotiables until they can demonstrate that they can earn back some of those privileges. Teachers, Guidance, and Administrators are always willing to work with you to help your student navigate schooling, so don’t hesitate to reach out. Enjoy this fine weather we’ve been having and have a good remainder of your week!

We had two of our teachers attend a national conference last week. Mr. Meneses and Mrs. Foster, both our Alternative Teachers went to the National Alternative Education Association Conference in Tucson, Arizona from October 7th through the 9th. The trip was supported by an honorarium grant provided by the Maine Department of Education and the Rethinking Remote Education Venture folks who provided the grant that jump-started our alternative education program at the high school, two years ago. Fall sports teams are winding down, if not wrapping up in the case of our Golf Team. Elizabeth Holden placed second in the State for the Individual Class B State Championships held last Saturday at Natanis Golf Course. Two others who competed in the Individual State Match were Seniors Zack Hill and Jake Frazee; both finishing just out of the top ten. Congratulations to the Seniors for their strong showing and leadership! Something to put on your calendars is the Craft Fair coming up on November 2nd at the high school. A great way to get into the holiday spirit. Senior Parents - we’ll look to schedule another Senior Parent Meeting for Monday, September 28th so watch for notices announcing it. Have a great week!

Olympia Snowe Leaders Institute group involves girls from the school who were nominated and selected by the adults in our school. It is an honor and privilege for them to serve and represent Lawrence High School. This day-long Fall Forum event was held on September 26th in Orono. The girls heard Senator Snowe speak as well and participated in sessions to build their leadership skills. Becky Anderson, our Librarian, stood in for Maureen Ferriter, our school counselor who coordinates the program at the high school. Students who attended are in the picture below: Kylie Delile, Paige Goodwin, Nadia Morrison, Taylor Pellerin, Addison King, Arianna Goodwin, Hannah Carlton, Jillian Boyden, Addison Lea, Jenna Lawe, Charlee Matthews, Marley Peaslee, Mikayla Phillips, and Amyah Vaughn. 📕The ASVAB test was administered on Friday, 9/27, to 31 students. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB) is a comprehensive exam given by all Military Service branches to determine what military service-based skills and job sets a person is qualified to perform. The ASVAB tests math and reading skills but also evaluates a person's ability to comprehend mechanical, 3D rendering, electrical systems, and other vocational skill sets. There is no obligation to join the military by taking the exam. A minimum score of 31 is required to join the services. The higher the score, the more career fields that are available. (The Army has over 120 different career fields) A score above 60 qualifies for additional enlistment bonuses and top-level security clearance for certain positions. Students who are 17 years old or older who are interested in joining any military or just interested to see if they qualify for a good military job, should take the exam to get a baseline score to see what career fields they would qualify for. 🎶This past Saturday, the Marching Band hosted their Home Show which was a marching band competition with six other schools, all from the southern part of the state, and included the UMaine Marching Black Bears at the conclusion of the show! It was a great evening and the Lawrence Marching Band performed well, as did all the bands. 🖥️Students in AP Computer Science Principles represented a computing network. The strings each student held were paths connecting devices and each individual person was a computing device. This physical representation allowed students to visualize how information is shared. It also led to discussions about creating redundancy and fault-tolerant systems. 📗On Wednesday of this week the Sophomores were involved in taking their Reading Maine Through Year test. It was given in their Advisories during Block 1 and Advisory. On Thursday, the Sophomores will take the Math Through Year Assessment during their Advisory and Block 2 periods. These are state-mandated tests and will be given in the Spring, as well. 📙Yearbooks are on sale now. Visit Walsworth Yearbooks Lawrence HS website. All students were emailed with the link on Monday evening. The cost now is $60 and will increase to $65 on November 1, 2024. ☕The high school administration: Principal, Mr. Bowers, and Assistant Principal, Mr. Cyr will be hosting a “Coffee House” from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM in the High School Library. This is an opportunity to come by and talk with Administrators. (The coffee will probably be decaffeinated). You’re welcome to stop by for the full hour or just to pop in and say hi. 🤝Next week we have Parent Teacher Conferences and parents can sign up on www.myconferencetime.com They will be held on Wednesday, October 9, and Thursday, October 10 in the evening from 3:30 - 5:00 PM and 5:30 - 7:30 PM. This is an opportunity to meet with your student’s teachers and hear what and how your student is doing in their various classes. We hope to see you there! Have a great week!

Last Friday, 9/20/24, the Senior Class attended an assembly hosted by Rebecca Casey, the Payroll Manager at KVCC, on the subject of paychecks and withholdings. The Sophomores will be taking the Maine Through Year Assessments in Reading and Math on October 2nd and 3rd. These are State mandated assessments that are given in the fall and the spring of each year to assess student performance for Maine’s accountability standards, the Common Core State Standards. Our students will test in their Advisory Homerooms: on Wednesday the students will test during Block 1 and Advisory for their Reading portion and on Thursday the students will test during Advisory and Block 2 for the Math portion. Students should get a good night’s sleep prior to test day and eat a good breakfast either at home or at school. If a testing Sophomore misses a test date, we will pull them from a class to make it up, so it’s important we get as many to take it on the assigned testing days. We are in the midst of Homecoming Week! The parade kicks off on Friday at 5:00 PM from the high school parking. Football game is at 7PM. On Saturday evening we are hosting the marching band competition and will have the University of Maine Marching Black Bears here to perform. The Home Show starts at 5:00 PM and runs through 8:00 PM. Please come out to support our Marching Band! Due to this event, we will be having the Homecoming Dance on Saturday, October 5th. We hope to see many alumni, family and friends at the parade and game Friday night and the Marching Band competition on Saturday! Have a great week!

The Lawrence High School CPR and First Aid class, taught by Mr. Spears, offers students an opportunity to learn and practice the skills necessary to help out in an emergency. Students learn these skills through classroom lectures and activities, independent practice, and emergency simulations. The simulations replicate emergencies that a person may come across giving them the chance to apply the potentially life-saving skills they have learned in a stressful but non-threatening environment. Simulations may take place in a classroom, hallway, stairwell, or even in the school parking lot. To date, more than 150 students have passed the class and received certification by meeting the standards of the American Heart Association for adult, child, and infant CPR/AED use and first aid. On Thursday seniors who have signed up will be attending a College Fair at the University of Maine at Orono. They will be leaving at 8:30 and returning around noon time. This takes place in the field house and features many colleges throughout the state and New England. Sargent Jared Deroshe of the Maine Army National Guard was in on Tuesday participating in the PE classes going over some physical fitness testing with the students. Also in PE, Mr. Blaisdell and some helpers lined 8 pickleball courts for permanent public and school use on the tennis courts. On Tuesday, student speeches for class officers were given before their respective classmates and voting took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute’s Club met with the Jr. girls this week. The Juniors that we have participating are Addison King, Hannah Carlton, Jillian Boyden, and Arianna Goodwin. Information on Olympia Snowe’s Women’s Leadership Institute can be found on their website: https://snoweleadershipinstitute.org/ Mrs. Davis’ two Geography classes have been using a variety of thematic maps to determine the best county in the lower 48 United States to survive after the ‘zombie apocalypse’. They have created visual aids that look like backpacks and highlight the most important information about the resources they will need to restart civilization from their chosen spot. Finished projects will be posted in her classroom, a picture of one appears below. The Lawrence High School Music Department recently hosted the United States Navy Band's "Country Current" small ensemble group on 26 AUG '24 in the WATC to great review and attendance. Here is the link to this concert (and others) courtesy of videographer Chad Smith: www.crossroads-tv.com/live. Viewers will note our Band Director, Loren Fields (LHS '83) soloing with "Country Current" on "When the Saints Go Marching In." Also in the Crossroads-TV archives is this past April's U.S. Army Field Band & Soldiers' Chorus concert hosted on 13 APR '24 in our Williams Performing Arts Center. Lawrence High School is hosting a Maine Band Directors' Association Competitive Marching Band event on Keyes Field in Pete Cooper Stadium on Saturday, September 28th. Attending schools will be Wells, Biddeford, Westbrook, Blue Hawks, South Portland, Dover, Old Orchard Beach, our own Lawrence High School Marching Bulldogs and a special guest The University of Maine Black Bear Marching Band. There is a small admission charge for this family-centric event. $7 for adults, $5 for students/senior citizens w/ a $20 max for a family of four. The start time for the first Marching Band is 5 p.m., so get here early. Concessions will be available. A reminder to folks, if you haven’t filled out the school district’s Meal Benefits Form, you are encouraged to do so. It only needs to be filled out once for the year, so if you have children in multiple schools, one application will suffice. It is used as a data point by the State when allocating funding for Essential Programs and Services. We appreciate your time and effort in completing this and returning it to the school, which will then be turned over to the Food Services Director, Mr. Chamberlain. Have a great week!

The High School just had Picture Day on Wednesday; a sure sign that the school year is underway. To access pictures, please visit the LifeTouch website. The school is accepting nominations for Class Representatives and Class Officers and we will have speeches and voting next week. The following week is Homecoming and next week the classes will be busy with preparation and planning. We are off to a great start to the new school year. Students should be back in the swing of things as far as classwork and homework go. The first year of high school is usually an adjustment period for the freshmen and in the first quarter, grades may take a dip. It is important to check in with your students as to how their classes are going and check into their grades on Infinite Campus, through the Parent Portal. Many teachers also use Google Classroom to post homework and upcoming assignments. Your student can show you their Google Classroom webpages for their classes. Teachers and School Counselors are accessible and available by phone and email, as are administrators. Please reach out if you have any questions or are unsure of your student’s progress in their classes. Attendance is also equally important for the success of any student in school. If your child is sick, please contact the high school and call them out sick. If they have an appointment, in order for them to be excused, we ask that they bring back a note from the appointment: whether it is medical, dental, or vision, etc. If there is a planned absence for a trip, etc., we have Planned Absence Forms outside the Main Office window for the student to bring home to get signed and to take around to their teachers before the trip so plans can be made for any upcoming classwork they will miss or work to be completed upon return. If you have any questions or concerns with regard to your child, please feel free to reach out to any one of us at the high school. Have a great week!

The high school had a good opening day with the Freshmen (Class of 2028!) on Wednesday and a smooth opening with all the students back last Thursday. This week during Advisory block Administrators met with the individual classes, as we always have to set the stage for the upcoming year. We have some new staff members at the high school this year and they are: Mr. Cyr - Assistant Principal Mrs. Davis - Social Studies teacher Mr. Kandiko - Science teacher Mr. Richards - School Counselor, returning to us after a couple years away. Monica Towne - Guidance Secretary Becky Anderson - Librarian, coming over from the Jr. High Luke Quirion - Social Studies teacher, coming from the Jr. High Derik Saucier - Student Support Services, coming from the Jr. High Picture day for the high school will be on Wednesday, September 11th. Follow the link to the LifeTouch web page web page for Lawrence High School. Open House will be on Wednesday, September 4 from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. All are welcome to come in and tour the school and check in on your student’s classrooms, etc. Mr. Cyr and I will be manning a table in the main entrance area and will have a series of dates for Coffee House days we would like to set up and hold once a month for parents as a way to keep folks informed. A Senior Parent Meeting is also in the process of getting set up to help keeping folks informed in their student’s final year of high school and to meet with the Class Advisors, Mr. Holt and Ms. Vanhout. Date tba. Fall Play auditions for Mama Mia will be held on Tuesday, September 10th and Wednesday, September 11th from 2:30 - 4:30 PM in the Williamson Center. Call backs will be on Thursday, September 12th. The Marching Band will be hosting a competition on Saturday, September 28th, capping off Homecoming Week (Sept. 23 - 27th). The Homecoming Dance will be held the following Saturday, Oct. 5th from 7-10:00PM. We’re off to a great start and hope to see folks at our Open House, or any one of our Coffee House dates and games.

Lawrence celebrated the underclassmen academic achievement awards on Wednesday evening in the Williamson Performing Arts Center. Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors were awarded certificates for High Honors and Honors, as well as for Growth and Achievement in the various classes they’ve held this year. Juniors were among those selected for the Junior Book Awards which include scholarships in some of them, should the student choose to go to that college or university. Junior Book Award recipients were Nadia Morrison, Michael Hamlin, Addison Battis, Paige Goodwin, Taylor Pellerin, Lilly Gray, Alyssa Welch, Kiera Allstrom, Madisyn Niles, Wyatt DeMott, Abigail Taylor, Elizabeth Holden, and Natalee Gordon. Receiving the "ShineOnCass" award for character, volunteerism, and service was Taylor Pellerin. Taylor received a monetary gift from the ShineOnCass Foundation to be used at her discretion to extend kindness and service. This award has been in existence for ten years and was created in the name of Cassidy Jean Charette, then a Junior at Messalonskee High School, who died in a hayride accident. The award was created to reflect the qualities that Cassidy possessed to recognize a Junior student in each of the surrounding schools of Lawrence, Messalonskee, Waterville, and Winslow. Congratulations to Taylor Pellerin on being named this year’s recipient for Lawrence High School. Thank you to the Vocal Vibe members, under the direction of Renae Misner, for performing for the audience before the start of the Evening of Excellence. A reminder that Graduation is on Thursday, June 6th, at 6:00 PM and is outside, weather permitting.

In some MMTC news: On Friday, May 24th there will be no MMTC classes held as they are having an in-service day for their staff. Our MMTC students will just need to attend their Lawrence classes on Friday. Also upcoming we have a Step Up Day for MMTC students on June 4, 2024. Underclassmen enrolled in MMTC courses next year will be visiting in their programs on the 4th. Lawrence High School students released salmon fry into the Sandy River in Farmington on Monday. Here is a link to the article in the paper. https://www.sunjournal.com/2024/05/20/lawrence-high-school-students-release-salmon-fry-into-the-sandy-river-in-farmington/ https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/05/20/lawrence-high-school-students-release-salmon-fry-into-the-sandy-river-in-farmington/ Band and Choral concerts were held this week on Monday night. Wednesday evening the Jazz Band and Vocal Vibe will perform. Olympia Snowe’s Women Leadership Institute met with the new reps and new members on Tuesday morning. The mission of the Institute is to raise the confidence and aspirations of high school girls by helping them develop the skills required to be leaders in their lives, families, careers, and communities. Carly Perry, one of our Science Teachers who works with the LEAP students reports that Lawrence will be the site for the 100th tree orchard planted with a grant from ReTreeUS. Richard Hodges came and taught the students how to space out fruit trees and the science behind testing soils for nutrients. The students built boxes to surround the trees and contain compost to ready the ground. The trees will be planted in the fall, with a variety of apple, pear, and peaches. LHS was able to get compost donated from one of the local Albion farms. Tobey Simpson and his son, Tobey, brought the compost to the garden. Also, LEAP students started to build the greenhouse they bought, which will provide learning opportunities for the students of LHS. This will help with teaching plant sciences, and will provide a place to grow starters for the garden to grow food to be used in our cafeteria. A couple of reminders - Evening of Excellence is on Wednesday, May 29th at 7:00 PM in the Williamson Performing Arts Center. On Monday, June 3rd at 7:00 PM, we will be holding the Senior Scholarship night. Scholarship recipients will be sent an invitation in the mail. The event is open to all. Graduation is June 6th at 6:00 PM, outside, weather permitting. Have a great week!

The high school has wrapped up Through Year testing in ELA and Math this past week for the Sophomores, as well as Juniors having taken their State Science Test this past Tuesday. Those who missed the tests are making them up within the week. Our goal is to have 95% of the required testers to take them. On Wednesday and Thursday of this week some students will be taking a field trip to the Colby Art Museum with Mrs. Joler. This past Wednesday we had a former graduate, Alyssa Bourque - now a Junior at UVM, come back and meet with students interested in Engineering. She related her experiences as an Engineering major talking about engineering options and answered questions from the students during a community homeroom for those interested students. Mr. Brown said that her main message was: “You can do it! Don’t think that just because you are from a small school in rural Maine that you can’t go to cool places and do big things!” Thanks to Alyssa and Mr. Brown for coordinating and making this opportunity possible. On Thursday there is a field trip for a college fair at the Augusta Civic Center. Students have been signing up in the Guidance Office for the past week. On Thursday and Friday of this week, the following students will be attending the All-State Music Honors Choir: Hallie Firmage, Zoe Hutchins, Brock Merrill, and Emma Spaulding. Congratulations to these students on being accepted into the Honors Choir! On Friday some JMG students will be attending a field trip to KVCC to have a hands-on career event with local employers in four different industries. Addison Battis, a Junior, will be attending the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts this weekend as our representative for the student session weekend from Friday through Sunday. This is an intensive immersion weekend where she will be learning about a new artistic topic and more about a medium that she is interested in studying. Congratulations to Addison for this opportunity. A reminder that we have a couple of upcoming concerts next week: Monday, May 16 at 6:30 PM we will have the high school band and choral concert and on Wednesday, May 18, at 6:30 PM, we will have the Jazz Night Concert - featuring the Jazz Band and Vocal Vibe. These will be in the Williamson Performing Arts Center. Please come out to enjoy two evenings of music! Have a great week!

In Mid Maine Technical Center News: Lawrence firefighting student, Alex Johnson, will be attending an all day training and exam for their certification on Monday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 22. Monday was at the Fairfield Fire Dept & Training Center for Live Burn practical. Wednesday, May 22nd will be at Foster Tech, the Regional Center for the Pro Board Firefighter skills exam. Best of luck Alex! In other MMTC news, Trey Bard passed his certification exam for automotive services. Congratulations, Trey! On Tuesday the following JMG students from Mr. Pellerin’s class went to the Jr. High to speak with three 8th grade homerooms about the JMG program: Colton Carter Cole Quirion Olivia Moore Kaylee Nutter Trinity St. Peter Maine Through Year testing is going on this week for Sophomores. The sophomores are assessed in English Language Arts, which was done on Wednesday, and in Math, which will be done on Thursday. Next week the Juniors will take the Maine Science Assessment. All of these are part of the Maine Comprehensive Assessment System (MECAS) which provides information about the academic progress of our students, schools, the state, and the nation as a whole. Our students have done a good job, thus far, taking these seriously and the students who aren’t testing have been very respectful of the testing areas and being quiet when passing classes. We are also in the midst of AP Testing which started this week and will continue through next week. For all students testing, it is important that the students get a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast. The cafeteria serves breakfast daily, so there’s no excuse! At the end of the month on Wednesday, May 29th, we will celebrate our Evening of Excellence where we will recognize the academic accomplishments of our underclassmen. That will take place at 7 PM in the Williamson Performing Arts Center. Invitations will be sent out in the mail for underclassmen receiving an award that night. That is all for now. Have a great week!