Mattanawcook Jr. High School

Good morning, Please note that the correct practice schedule has been uploaded for athletics that will be starting next week. I will also e-mail the students with a schedule attached. A couple things to remember, we will begin as Hybrid, so if they attend school on Monday and Tuesday then they will be able to attend practice. The same goes for the Wednesday and Thursday students. We will have to stay with this model until we are green and all in person.( If you are not in school that day then you are not allowed to attend practice) The attached schedule is the correct one. Also, please drop students off ready for practice, they will not have access to the locker rooms this winter. Students should bring a bag with all their belongings that they will need. They must include a water bottle, we will be providing masks for the students this winter. Masks must be worn at all times. If you have additional questions please e-mail me at bmccarthy@rsu67.org. Thanks for your patience as we navigate through these challenging times.

We have received a number of requests in the last 24 hours for students to remain remote until after the holiday break. If you are considering this, we ask that you please call us at MJHS as soon as possible because our teachers need time to prepare materials for you to pick up. When our students are in-person or hybrid, the families who choose to be remote need to pick up materials on Monday between 7am and 3 pm for that week. Due to the increase in students switching to remote, you will receive notification directly if the materials will not be ready for your student on Monday. Thank you for your understanding.

Just another reminder, basketball and cheering will begin on Monday, December 14th at MJHS. Athletes must be registered on Family ID, a Covid 19 Assumption of risk form must be signed and returned before Monday. the link for Family ID and the form can be found on the MJHS Athletic Page.

12/9/20: MJHS experienced a brief internet outage this morning, but as of 8:00am we have internet back.

Just a final reminder to register your student athletes for winter sports. The link is provided below: Winter sports will begin on December 14th, more information will be provide later in the week. You must register for winter sports in order to participate.( Even if you registered for a fall sport) https://www.familyid.com/programs/mattanawcook-junior-high-winter-2020-athletics-registration/edit/publishing

Due to restrictions from COVID-19, this year’s Festival of Trees for Mattanawcook Academy's Senior class of 2021 will be held virtually from December 4 to December 13, and the winners will be drawn and announced on December 14. Documents and links can be found in the attachments below, including pictures and descriptions of each tree. Payments will be received using PayPal. Tickets will be sold for $1 each, and any amount of tickets may be purchased and placed virtually with the tree(s) of your choice. We would like to thank all businesses in our community who participated as well as those who made the best effort they could. In addition, we would like to thank all community members who participate in this raffle to support Mattanawcook Academy's Senior Class of 2021. Please click on the link below to access the Festival of Trees Document https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NrTfCygBsWtXPHRsTYTlg6zbnB0AqsA22cRn9KG9Y7Q/edit

MJHS learning materials for remote instruction will be available for pick-up from 7-5 on Friday, 12/4. We will also be collecting completed work during that time. Please make sure your child's full name is on papers being returned and put them in the labeled envelope they came in if you still have it. We will have a bin for each grade. Please park along the front of the building where busses normally load and load and walk to the table at the front entrance.

A reminder that we have a remote learning page to help troubleshoot internet issues and identify who you should contact for which types of problems. https://remote.rsu67.org/home

November 19, 2020 Dear Staff, Parents, and Community Members: As Thanksgiving approaches, we all look forward to celebrating and connecting with family, loved ones and friends. As people have holiday gatherings, travel, shop, or attend other events, close contacts increase, creating a potential uptick in positive cases. Unfortunately, we continue to face rising cases of the COVID-19 Coronavirus across the nation, the state and our county. At their meeting last evening, the R.S.U. No. 67 Board of Directors discussed at length how to proceed with instruction after Thanksgiving, understanding that in-person instruction is best and remote learning can be challenging for families. In order to reduce the risk of potential exposure and protect the health and safety of staff and students, all R.S.U. No. 67 schools will provide remote instruction for one week (November 30-December 4) following the Thanksgiving break. If health markers allow, we will return to in-person instruction with a remote option on Monday, December 7. Details about meal distribution will be posted on the R.S.U. No. 67 website. Please contact your child’s teacher or school with specific questions regarding remote learning. I wish our entire community a safe Thanksgiving and I look forward to having our students back to in-person learning as soon as possible. Sincerely, Jean Skorapa, Superintendent of Schools

November 13, 2020 Dear Staff, Parents, and Community Members: I am writing to you in response to the recent news regarding the rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our state and county. At this time, there continue to be no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our schools. However, out of an abundance of caution, beginning Monday, November 16, 2020, all R.S.U. No. 67 schools will operate in a hybrid model in which students attend school two days and have remote education three days. We will continue in this model up to the Thanksgiving break. R.S.U. No. 67 remains committed to providing a safe environment for our students to learn and our staff to work. I want to reassure you that the entire district will continue to follow all health protocols from the Maine Center for Disease Control and the Department or Education. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, keep parents/guardians informed, and make any adjustments to our learning environment and school plans as necessary. I ask for continued cooperation from our families and community to adhere to our health protocols. Face masks are required on R.S.U. No. 67 properties per the Governor’s Executive order. Families are reminded to continue to complete the self- screening assessment daily for their child to check for symptoms of COVID-19 prior to coming to school each day. Children who have any symptoms and/or are feeling unwell need to stay home. I would like to thank our families and students in advance for your support and continued engagement in learning during this time. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s school. I appreciate your support and look forward to our continued work together as we navigate through this challenging time. Sincerely,. Jean Skorapa, Superintendent of Schools

The online registration link for winter sports is now available on the MJHS athletic page. Please sign your student athletes up now. You are required to register for a winter sport even though you registered for a sport in the fall. Thank you!

In honor of Veteran's Day, there is no school this Wednesday, November 11, 2020. The History of Veterans' Day Formerly Armistice Day, Veterans Day is a holiday observed annually in the United States in honor of all those, living and dead, who served with the U.S. armed forces in wartime. Some states observe the holiday on November 11 and others on the fourth Monday of October. Armistice Day, the forerunner of Veterans Day, was proclaimed in 1919 to commemorate the termination (at 11 am on Nov. 11, 1918) of World War I. On the first anniversary of the truce, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation eulogizing fallen Allied soldiers and referring to November 11 as Armistice Day. It became a holiday in the U.S., France, Great Britain and Canada. The holiday acquired its present name and broadened significance in the U.S. in 1954. In Canada it is known as Remembrance Day, and in Great Britain, as Remembrance Sunday.

Students who ride bus 1 and bus 8 will be later than usual, potentially an hour or more, today, Thursday 11/29 due to an unexpected road closure on Route 2 in Winn. The first trip bus is currently stopped on Route 2. The second trip of those busses will be rerouting around through Lee and will be later than usual as well.

Dear Families, It is that time of year when parent-teacher conferences are scheduled to take place. As you all know, we have rules that prohibit us from meeting in-person so all conferences must take place remotely. Parent-Teacher conferences are on Tuesday, November 10th and Thursday, November 12th. Grades 4-6 will hold conferences from 2:30pm to 5:30pm on both days. Grades 7-8 will hold conferences on Tuesday, November 10th from 4-7 and Thursday, November 12th from 3:30pm to 6:30pm. Parent-Teacher Conferences are by appointment only. Each grade level will be sending out information on how to set up your appointment and any other info that you will need in order to access the conference. The conferences are scheduled to be 10-15 minutes long. We are requesting that you Zoom in as your primary point of contact. This allows us to use our limited amount of outward lines for the families that do not have internet access. Thank you all in advance for working with us to get conferences scheduled for your child. Christopher Cowing, Principal

Here is the lunch menu for the month of November. Please share!

The online registration link for winter sports is now available on the MJHS athletic page. Please sign your student athletes up now. You are required to register for a winter sport even though you registered for a sport in the fall. Thank you!

We have received many questions regarding dressing up for Halloween at school this Friday. Students will be able to dress up if they are able to follow the guidelines listed below: MJHS Halloween Costume Guidelines 1.) Dress code – all regular MJHS dress code policies apply. 2.) Masks- you must be able to see, breath, and hear. Any mask that prevents staff from identifying students will not be allowed. Additionally, students must be able to wear their regular protective mask. 3.) Violence – no pretend “prop” weapons such as guns, knives, or swords. Fake blood or other liquids that could stain clothes is not allowed. 4.) Appropriateness – costumes cannot promote use of drugs, alcohol, or violence of any kind. Costumes may not be offensive or inappropriate in any way. 5.) All students participating must come dressed in their costumes.  Time is not permitted for getting ready in the building. Students who wear costumes that do not follow the costume guidelines listed above will be asked to change their clothing. 

Red Ribbon Week at MJHS! Please join us in our MISSION to help keep kids drug-free. Next week, Nov. 2-6, will be Red Ribbon Week at Mattanawcook Junior High. This is the largest drug-abuse prevention campaign in the nation. The challenges our youth face today are not the same as when we were growing up, but our desire to keep children and families drug-free has never changed: support our nation’s families and communities in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug free youth.

The MJHS yearbook advisor, Jean Hanington, will be taking student pictures on Friday, 10/23, for any students who did not have their picture taken on 10/14. In-person pictures will be in the morning at MJHS. Remote student pictures will be from 1-2pm at MJHS. Please call the school to let us know that your student plans to have a picture taken. Also check your student's Friday schedule to make sure they finish their last class before coming. (Your student is being sent an email today with a new bell schedule we're using Friday due to the earlier release times.)

The MJHS practices scheduled for Tuesday, October 10th are on as scheduled,