Elementary principals in place for schools

 
By Stuart Hedstrom

Staff Writer

MILO — A pair of familiar faces will be in somewhat new places for the upcoming school year as the new principals for the Brownville and Milo elementary schools were appointed and transferred respectively during an Aug. 12 meeting of the SAD 41 school board.

Superintendent Michael Wright recommended that Julie Royal’s transfer from Brownville to Milo be approved. Royal had been the Milo Elementary principal in the 2013-14 academic year, after teaching at the school before becoming the head administrator. After a year in Milo she took over the teaching principal’s position in Brownville for 2014-15.

“We would like to propose hiring Carol Smith as teaching principal at Brownville Elementary School,” Wright wrote in his report to the board. “Carol is a well-respected veteran teacher who is eager and willing to take on these new leadership responsibilities. Carol would retain her literacy coaching responsibilities at Penquis.”

In other business, Penquis Valley School Principal Jeremy Bousquet updated the school board on several items. He thanked the maintenance staff for all of the work in the school redesign, construction and room change. Bousquet said many of the moves happened to better utilize space and prepare for possible future events in AOS 43.

Bousquet said orientation for sixth- and ninth-graders as well as new students will be on Wednesday, Aug. 26 with a grade 6 family orientation that evening at 6. The first full day of school will be Aug. 27.

“I would like to do a day of service for our school but I need community support for projects that could be done by classes and by classes I mean grades,” Bousquet said. He said the plan is for a day of service for grades 6-12 sometime in September, with community organizations having a need that could be fulfilled by one of the groups of Penquis Valley students. Those with ideas or seeking more information can contact Bousquet at 943-7346 ext. 100 or jbousquet@msad41.us.

Speaking on the SAD 41 Maine Community Foundation Grant, Assistant Superintendent Stacy Shorey said, “I think we had a very successful year this year, we had five grants that were funded.” She said the purpose of this anonymous grant is to engage students who are not athletes in after-school activities.

“I think about 25 to 30 students were impacted by those grants,” Shorey said. She said the programs were “a geek squad” to help troubleshoot technology issues at the middle school, middle school boys and girls book clubs, band trip to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, N.H. and 4-H trip to the University of Maine. Shorey said the total cost for these programs was just under $700.