Superintendent's Update

                                                                                                    NOVEMBER 13, 2023                                                               

As we enter the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday season, we all have much to be thankful here in Jonesport and Beals. Our school staff, with special thanks to teachers Becky Coffin and Robin Monini, have secured a $250,000 state grant to expand our outdoor learning experiences at all three schools and the addition of a large new greenhouse for our aqua-culture and aquaponics programs. I invite everyone to stop in and see the new greenhouse once it is up and running!

Our art teacher, Morgan Look, has secured a new grant through Healthy Acadia for nearly $10,000. She will be forming a photography club and purchasing cameras and equipment for the students who will be participating. Beals has secured a grant to purchase a new salad bar for nearly $3,000 which will be part of our Fresh Foods Initiative. We are waiting to see if the High School’s grant has been approved.

Our Fresh Foods Initiative began planning in early September and we had our first fresh seafood offering, lobster rolls, on October 20. All three schools participated!  Our lunch staff will be offering haddock chowder in November and December and crab rolls in January. We are purchasing all of our ingredients through local vendors so that we can show real dollar support to our fishermen and women. Long-term we hope to increase our students’ awareness of eating as much non-processed healthy food as possible. We hope to introduce a limited salad bar as well in the near future.  Many thanks to Belinda, Nancy and Trisha for all their hard work every day making sure our kids are offered healthy and tasty food!

Parent/teacher conferences will be held in all three schools in December. It is our hope that all parents and guardians will take advantage of this time to meet personally with the child’s teacher(s) and discuss any concerns you may have. This is a great time to meet your teacher, if you already haven’t, and ask questions you may have of them or the school principal.

Finally, a note about public participation. Our School Boards encourage public input from anyone with a question or a concern and set aside 20 minutes at the beginning of their meetings for public comment. The only thing they ask in return is that the comments be civil, respectful and never personal about any student or staff member. The Board members truly welcome hearing from you so please look at the What’s New section of this website for meeting agendas.