The Read ME Agriculture Program came to Benton Elementary last week to visit with students in twenty-three of our K-4 classes. Volunteers shared Farmer Eva's Green Garden Life, a biography book about Eva Sommaripa and her seaside Massachusetts garden. Students then participated in a variety of follow-up activities, including taste testing various herbs, milling wheat into flour, and tossing their own pizza dough. Classes were gifted seeds to grow, a classroom copy of the book, and a teacher's guide with related classroom activities. The Read ME program is supported annually by funds from the Maine "Support Local Agriculture" specialty license plates. A big Bulldog thank you to all of the volunteers that spent their day with our students!
💻On Wednesday, March 26th, two of our teachers and two of our students attended the Kennebec Valley Superintendents Association Showcase Event at Cony High School. Mr. Bellner, Mrs. Grenier, and two students: Liz Holden and Abby Taylor, manned a table to speak about the Computer Science program at Lawrence High School. Currently we have a Foundations of STEM course and an AP Computer Science class. Next year we will be adding two more offerings: Computer Science Discoveries, a one semester course, and a Computer Science Capstone Project course. Liz and Abby have taken the two courses currently offered and are strong proponents of increasing the Computer Science offerings at the high school.
🖥️Mr. Bellner, a Science teacher, and Mrs. Grenier, a Math teacher, have been instrumental in building out these course offerings; recognizing the needs of Computer Science offerings for students to help those interested in pursuing a field of study in a post secondary setting and the opportunities that those hold for our students.
⚾In other news at the high school, Spring Sports have started this week for baseball and softball throwers and for goalies work for lacrosse. Next week will be the start for all the spring sports teams and participants.
🎤On Saturday, Mrs. Misner will be taking a group of students to Millinocket to compete in the State Jazz Choir Competition. Best of luck to our vocalists!
➗On Tuesday, April 1st, the Math Team will head to the Augusta Civic Center to compete in the State Math Meet. Good luck to our mathematicians!
🗓️The third quarter will end on Friday, April 4th! Eligibility checks will be done after the close of the quarter for athletics and for Jr. Sr. Privileges.
Have a great week!
At Albion Elementary Ms. Emery's 4th graders took their learning outside for an exciting hands-on experiment! ⚡⚽ Exploring energy in motion, they observed how a ball’s energy changed when rolled, hit softly, and hit harder. By making predictions, conducting analysis, and recording observations, these young scientists are strengthening their critical thinking skills in a fun and engaging way! 🔬📖
Miss Petrie’s class had a blast celebrating Read Across America Week and Dr. Seuss’s birthday! 🎉📚 From hands-on crafts to creative expression, these first graders honed their fine motor skills while fostering a love for reading and storytelling. Clinton Elementary is full of strong readers and future authors! ✨✏️
Sixth graders in Haley Fowler's social studies classes have been learning about the Oregon Trail through class discussions and activities. After playing the Oregon Trail Game, students worked in small groups "families" to do some problem-solving. Families packed their wagons for their journey on the Oregon Trail. using discussions and experience from the game as their guide. Students were highly engaged in this simulation experience, making powerful connections along the way.
🥈Congratulations to Ian Gallagher for winning the silver medal for Precision Machining at the State SkillsUSA competition on Friday, March 14th! Great job!
🥈Congratulations to Anthony Paradis for winning the silver medal for Interactive Application and Video Game Design at the State SkillsUSA competition on Friday, March 14th! Great job!
🎓The National Honor Society State Banquet took place at Jeff's Catering in Brewer on Tuesday, March 18th, showcasing the dedication and leadership of students from across Maine. We are especially proud to recognize two of our own, who not only represented our school but also serve on the NHS State Executive Board. Abigail Taylor holds the esteemed position of NHS State Secretary, while Elizabeth Holden serves in the distinguished role of NHS State Representative. Throughout the year, these outstanding students have worked diligently alongside fellow board members to plan, organize, and host this year's annual banquet and convention, bringing together NHS chapters from across the state. Their commitment to service and leadership is truly commendable.
Members of our National Honor Society attended the NHS Convention in Orono on Wed., 3/19/25. At the convention, Junior Sophia Griffith was elected as a representative for next year’s executive board. Congratulations Sophia!
🏛️We are wrapping up course selections for next year by next week and will then move into building the schedule for next year with the intent to present the schedules to students before they depart for the summer. We plan on hosting a step-up day for next year’s incoming students on the morning of June 11th.
⛔No school on Friday as we have a Teacher In-Service day and we have a Delayed Start next Wednesday, March 26th.
Have a great week!
High school LEAP students shared the joy of reading with Clinton’s Elementary grades 1-3 during Read Across America Week! 📚✨ Encouraging a love for books at a young age helps build a lifelong passion for learning.
First graders At Albion Elementary explored friendship in the library this week with a heartwarming Franklin story, followed by creating their own 'I am a Friend' crowns! Learning about kindness and connection is an important part of growing together. 📚👑💛
It's been an exciting couple of weeks for our Benton Bulldogs, who were visited by not one, but TWO Maine authors: Tamra Wight and Chris Van Dusen! An amateur photographer and self-professed nature geek, Tamra Wight met with our 3rd through 6th graders and shared photos she's taken of some of the many Maine animals found in her Cooper & Packrat stories. She spoke about the process she's gone through to write each of her mystery books...from coming up with an idea to doing research, writing many drafts, revising and editing, and finally publishing. Her presentation - along with her stories, photography, and knowledge about Maine animals - was fascinating! Maine author/illustrator Chris Van Dusen talked with our Kindergarten through 2nd grade students about how he spent lots of time drawing with his brothers when they were children. As an adult he spent many years as a freelance illustrator, specializing in art for kids, before writing and illustrating his first children's book. During each session, he read aloud one of his favorite books - Circus Ship - before demonstrating his incredible imagination and drawing skills by sketching hybrid animal characters. Our students' giggles filled the library each time Chris turned around his sketch pad to reveal a new creation! We also invited all of our families to join Chris for an evening presentation at the Williamson Performing Arts Center. Thanks to a successful fall fundraiser, EVERY student took home their very own copy of one of Tamra's or Chris' books! Happy reading, Bulldogs!
On March 5th, the students at Lawrence Junior High School participated in the MLTI Maine Winter Classic. They were provided with an opportunity to explore an interactive game-based learning experience for the day. As they “traveled” around Maine on a virtual gameboard, they completed a variety of tasks, earned tokens, and learned about topics like computer science, digital citizenship, digital design, and gamification.
Colby College mentors making a difference! 🌟 Our Clinton Elementary students are engaged in hands-on learning and meaningful connections, thanks to the incredible mentorship of Colby College volunteers. Building knowledge, confidence, and bright futures—one lesson at a time! 📚✨
Albion Elementary celebrated Read Across America with a fun and active theme on Wednesday—jogging attire day! 🏃♂️📚 Students also hit the gym for a jog, reinforcing the idea that Reading Jogs the Mind! A big thank you to Mrs. Heinrich for organizing this wonderful event! 📖✨
Last Friday's theme at Benton Elementary was "Wear Where You've Been!" Our downstairs hallway was full of excitement all day, as students and staff members placed stars on maps of Maine, the United States, and the World to show locations they've visited or lived. While many stars were placed in our own state, we were surprised at the number of stars in other states and around the World! We hope this activity will not only broaden our student's understanding of geography but also inspire them to visit new places in the future. We'll have our second "Wear Where You've Been" day in May, with plenty of stars left to be placed on our maps. Thank you to our Theme Day Team - including teachers Lisa Roy, Amy Cates, Susan Warren, and Kim Hatch - for organizing this fun learning event!
📚To celebrate Read Across America, students are participating in a contest sponsored by the LJHS library to showcase a favorite character from a book read. Here are some of the submissions. Hot cocoa mug prize sets will be awarded.
Kindergarteners from Albion Elementary teaming up with their 5/6 buddies for fun and learning before February break! These connections foster mentorship, teamwork, and a strong school community. ❤️📚
Clinton Elementary students spread kindness by delivering Valentines to the Muskie Center, bringing joy to the community! ❤️ They also marked a big milestone—100 days of learning, growth, and fun! 🎉 These experiences teach the value of giving back and celebrating achievements together.
Benton Elementary's annual read-a-thon took place on the Friday before February break. Our students came dressed in their PJs and they enjoyed a day filled with reading-related activities. In an exciting twist, many classes were surprised by mystery readers throughout the day! Money raised will go toward the future purchase of a Yurt, a shared learning space to be placed between Lawrence Primary School and Lawrence Elementary School. On behalf of our schools, our Student Council would like to extend their gratitude to all students, teachers, families, and community members that helped make this year's Read-a-thon a HUGE success!
On the Friday before February Break, these amazing students from Lawrence Junior High were recognized for their performance on our Winter NWEA screening. These students showed either high achievement or high growth from the Fall testing window to the Winter testing window in Mathematics or Reading. Congratulations to all of those students!
LHS Good News, 2/26/25
A group of high school Seniors went to Benton Elementary School to meet with 4th graders on Tuesday as part of Benton’s Aspirations project. They met with and answered questions from the 4th graders.
🤼Senior, Colton Carter, won his State Championship Wrestling Meet in the 190 lb weight class over February Break. Congratulations to Colton! He finished the season having earned his 100th career victory earlier in the year and with a State Class A Title. Great season and way to cap off your career. Colton will be going to Providence, Rhode Island to compete in the New England Wrestling Tournament in another week. Colton wrestles with Skowhegan as an independent wrestler and is pictured below with his coaches after winning the title.
🩸The High School will be hosting a Blood Drive on Friday, March 7, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter: Lawrence HS to schedule your appointment.
📚The High School is also getting ready to have students sign up for courses for next year. An 8th Grade Parents’ Night will be held on Monday, March 3rd from 6:00 - 7:00 PM in the Williamson Center. At this meeting, High School Administration, School Counselors and Department Chairs will go over the process with the parents and answer any questions. We hope to see you there if you have an incoming member of the Class of 2029!
School Counselors will be meeting with current Juniors next week to go over the process and then the week after with current Sophomores and Freshmen. The Portal on Infinite Campus will be opened up for the returning students to be able to sign up starting on March 11 - 17th. During that time, the returning students will make their selections online. If you have questions or concerns with the scheduling process, you can reach out to speak with your student’s School Counselor.
Have a great week!
Did you know that February 8th is National Kite Flying Day? Observed annually, National Kite Flying Day encourages exploring kite flying and kite making. Enthusiasts across the country mark the day by launching their kites or making plans to attend festivals.
At Clinton Elementary, Miss Alley's second-grade class learned about kite design through a STEM project. They built kites and tested them out! 🪁✨
