MSAD #49

🎨 LJHS 8th-grade art students kicked off the year with the Rose Window Art Project, blending creativity and focus to design colorful pieces inspired by stained glass. 🌟 We hope you enjoy seeing their first masterpieces of the year!

💙 The Lawrence High School LEAP students teamed up with our 6th graders at Clinton Elementary for a special book categorizing project! 📚 Together, they read, discussed, and sorted books by social-emotional themes — then shared lunch and recess. The smiles and teamwork in these photos show the amazing connections they built while learning from one another! ✨

📚 Our 6th graders kicked off the year with team building, exploring new books, and a hands-on STEM project in Mrs. Delorie’s library — sparking curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning! ✨

✨ Students at Lawrence Junior High kicked off the year with orientation activities on opening day and are already learning the expectations for a successful year ahead! ✨

✨ First-day-of-school moments at Clinton Elementary! ✨
From morning walk-ins and lunchtime smiles to hallway fun and a few special stops along the way — our students were all excited to be back!
📸 First graders outside the bathroom
🍎 Smiles in the lunchroom
🦷 Fun by the Lost Tooth Fairy Garden bulletin board
❤️ Bright red first-day outfits full of school spirit

Last week, Lawrence Primary School held our annual Open House. We welcomed close to 600 students and their families, including many from the community of Albion. Lawrence High School Senior Brooklynn Ferreira - recently honored with a 2025 ShineOnCass Junior Service Award - used her $100 award to launch a “Backpacks for Cass” drive, purchasing and collecting school supplies, then passing them out to hundreds of our students. We're so proud of her generosity and commitment to our Lawrence Bulldog community, and we're thrilled so many families were able to take part in our special Open House event!


Our first through sixth graders were all smiles as they arrived last Wednesday, and they've settled in nicely with their teachers and classmates. This week, our building was bursting with excitement as our Kindergarten students joined us for their first day of school. We're off to a great start at Lawrence Primary School!

Buzzing with creativity at Albion Elementary! 🐝 First graders from Mrs. Ryan’s class proudly show off their beautiful bee-themed artwork—what a sweet display of talent and imagination!.

Benton Elementary students have been working hard in our Library Learning Center to get our Learning Gardens up and growing again this year! It all began this spring, with our fifth grade students using the Engineering Design Process to create presentations to teach our new fourth grade gardeners everything they had learned last year about gardening. Fourth grade students used the Big 6 research process to determine what they needed to know about gardening, eventually settling on researching the critters they might find as they work in our garden beds. They learned about evaluating online resources for the best sources of information and, through their research, created a resource for the garden that will help future student gardeners know what to expect to see crawling, flying, and slithering through our garden space. In addition to practicing research and communication skills, students have been getting their hands dirty, starting seeds in our Maker Space and getting outside to prepare our garden beds. So far, they've planted corn, beans, herbs, kale, chard, and root vegetables. They're excited to add their tomato, zucchini, squash, cucumber, and cabbage seedlings to the mix this week!

Celebrating a joyful end to the school year at Clinton Elementary! 🎓🎶 These moments showcase Miss Porter’s Pre-K Graduation Ceremony and the Kindergarten Info-Concert with music teacher Danielle Gorman. What a fun and memorable final week for our students!

Haylei is a member of the 8th grade class at LJHS. Not only is she a hardworking, dedicated student, but she is also about to become a published author! Mr. Langley and Mrs. Reynolds had the opportunity to speak with Haylei about her upcoming book. Haylei shared that she has always had a love for reading. She recalls a car ride with her mother toward the end of fourth grade when she first shared the idea for her novel. With support from family, friends, and a few teachers, Haylei brought her dream to life in just four years. Her novel, Tomorrow, is a fantasy story set in the future. Each character in the story represents a part of Haylei’s own personality. She explained that she would sometimes dream about her characters, which helped her shape their stories. For the past two years, Haylei has returned to visit her former ELA classrooms at the elementary school, sharing her passion and writing process with younger students. She hopes to show them that with determination and hard work; they can accomplish anything. When asked about her writing process, Haylei said she doesn’t follow a strict routine. She writes at her desk or in her bedroom when she feels motivated. She believes in not forcing the writing process and stepping back when feeling stuck is sometimes the best way to move forward. Every author has a message they want readers to take away. Haylei’s novel explores how her characters experience and process grief. She hopes readers understand that everyone grieves in their own way and on their own timeline—and that it's okay. Most importantly, she wants them to remember not to let grief take over and to stay strong. Haylei is already planning a trilogy for her series, followed by a novella. We are confident she’ll be successful in these next steps. As Haylei wisely shared, whenever she doubted herself or compared her journey to others, she reminded herself: "Everybody starts somewhere." Congratulations, Haylei!

LHS Good News, 6/11/25 🎓It’s Graduation Week at Lawrence High School. On Monday evening, scholarships totaling over $530,000 were awarded! These scholarships were those housed internally, as well as those external scholarships that students applied for and received. 💵Seniors have been practicing their marching and will head to the Augusta Civic Center to get their class picture taken as well as run through a final practice before Thursday night’s graduation ceremony at 6:00 PM. On the way back from the civic center, the seniors will tour each of the elementary schools, going in one door and walking through the halls in their caps & gowns for the students. 🎓Graduation is at 6:00 PM on Thursday, June 12 at the Augusta Civic Center. It is general seating with the doors opening at 5:00 PM. 🏫Last day of school for everyone is Friday, June 13 with an early release. The high school will finish at 10:30 AM with classes and lunch will be served until 11:00 AM when the buses arrive. Students who walk or drive will be able to leave upon dismissal. 👪Hopefully, everyone will be able to take advantage of the summer with some family plans. I know students will either be going back to work or picking up hours and some will be starting a part time job for the first time. It’s a good time that will teach responsibility and an opportunity for them to earn extra money. For students who may travel, it’s an excellent opportunity to expand their horizons. Whatever unfolds over the summer, it’s a good time for self-discovery, to try new things, and to recharge. We wish the graduating Class of 2025 well and look forward to seeing our returning students at the end of August. Have a great week and summer!

Eighth grade students took the initiative to explore future career paths with an extra visit to MMTC, where they each engaged in hands-on experiences and selected courses that matched their interests—an important step in planning for high school and beyond.

Clinton and Albion Elementary students have been wrapping up the year by reviewing music topics and enjoying favorite songs and games like Hop Old Squirrel, Old Raggy, Over in the Meadow, The Alligator, and Bye Bye Butterfly. All grade levels are getting ready for Field Day by practicing traditional American folk dances. Mrs. Gorman and Mr. Plaisted have teamed up to lead a folk dancing station—a beloved Field Day tradition that students look forward to each year. Fourth through sixth graders have been learning recorder, piano, and ukulele. And on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, our chorus and band students gave a fantastic concert at the Williamson Center Auditorium. Thank you to all the family, friends, staff, and community members who came out to support us—we’re so proud of everyone!

Last week at Albion Elementary, 17 lucky students took home brand-new bikes thanks to the generosity of the China Mason Lodge! 📚🚲 Students earned entries into the drawing by logging their reading—either by minutes or number of books, depending on grade level. The bikes were awarded during our final assembly of the year, celebrating both reading achievement and community partnership. What a wonderful way to promote literacy and reward hard work!

Last week, Benton Elementary fifth-graders visited the Maine Maritime Museum to learn about shipbuilding in our state. They created a prototype of the Wyoming, one of the first wooden vessels built in Bath. They also got to watch the blacksmith create some links for a chain that would have been used on the ships. This trip kicked off the fifth graders' boat-building project and engineering unit in science.

The high school is wrapping up the school year. Seniors are looking forward to next week’s graduation ceremony on Thursday night, 6:00 PM, at the Augusta Civic Center. Doors will open at 5:00 PM on 6/12/25 at the civic center for graduation. Seniors should be down there between 5:00 - 5:15 PM. The lineup will start at 5:30 PM. Seniors will have a meeting on Friday, 6/6/25, after the Yearbook Assembly to go over next week’s events. The Scholarship Awards will be on Monday, June 9, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the Williamson Center. Scholarship recipients have already been notified by mail and invited to attend, but it is open to all. One highlight from the AP Computer Science Principles class is a project they've been working on since finishing their AP Exams: coding to operate Lego contraptions. Pictured below are: Rider Bernier, Ryan Lea, and Ethan LeHay. On Wednesday morning, the underclassmen will go through a brief schedule rotation of next year’s classes. This is an opportunity to meet their teachers and hear a brief summary of what the classes will entail in each of their first-semester classes. The last day of school for the underclassmen is Friday, June 13th, with an early release at 11:00 AM. Have a safe and enjoyable summer!

At Albion Elementary, last week, the 4th graders from Ms. Emery's class took a hands-on learning adventure to the Maine Wildlife Park! 🦌🌲 This trip gave students a chance to connect classroom science lessons with real-world wildlife conservation, deepening their understanding of Maine’s native animals and ecosystems.

At Clinton Elementary, students are exploring creativity in the Art Room! From third graders designing architectural masterpieces, to Monet-inspired watercolor waterlilies, and expressive sculptures — these hands-on projects help develop critical thinking, imagination, and problem-solving skills that go far beyond the classroom.