TO: RSU #74 Board of Directors
FROM: Jean Butler
DATE: March 26, 2025
PreK-5 ELEMENTARY REPORT
Spring has arrived, and with the melting of snow, the playgrounds have opened up with much more room for students to play. The town recreation departments are signing students up for T-ball, baseball, and softball. Our students can be seen riding their bikes around town. After such a cold winter, we will welcome those warm days of spring.
Our NWEA testing window opens April 14th and runs through May 30th. We administer this assessment three times a year to students in grades K-5 to measure their reading and math skill development. We use the NWEA MAP Growth Assessment for Grades K-2 three times a year. The State of Maine requires us to administer the NWEA Through-Year Assessment as the official Maine Educational Assessment for students in grades 3-5 every fall and spring. In the winter we administer the NWEA MAP Growth Assessment to those students to check their progress. Grade 5 students also take a science assessment in May every year. To prepare for the spring testing, teachers work on test-taking skills and emphasize the importance of trying hard and doing your best work on these tests.
Solon Elementary School will be constructing an outdoor garden and learning space with funding from a STEM Pilot Grant written by Special Ed teacher Angela Dunton and donations from other businesses. The students are starting seedlings in dirt and hydroponic gardens in their classrooms to be replanted in the outside garden when it is time. Both flowers and vegetables will be planted. Students will care for
the garden through the spring, and members of the Solon Community Garden group will help during the summer.
The Solon Elementary School PTO is sponsoring their annual Father-Daughter Dance for girls in grades PreK-5 across the district and their dads (or other significant adults in their life) on Saturday, April 5th from 6:00-8:00 PM. This year’s theme is “Alice in Wonderland.” Erik Carey is providing the music for this event, and the Solon staff and PTO members are in charge of refreshments. This is always a special event for our girls, which they look forward to all year long. Later this spring the Solon PTO will sponsor a Mother-Son Night.
To promote health and wellness, Solon Elementary School is holding four Walking School Bus activities this spring. The first took place on March 19th, and the others will be on April 16th, May 14th, and June 14th. Students and staff will meet at the Solon Thrift Shop at 7:15 AM. Parents will sign permission slips for the bus drivers to drop their children off at that location, and others will drop off their children there. Staff members will walk to the Thrift Shop to meet the students. The walk will start around 7:20. When students and staff arrive at school around 7:40, they will enjoy a healthy breakfast prepared by our cook, Cindy Lawrence.
The Garret Schenck PTFO is funding a program called “Within the Whale” for the students at Garret Schenck on April 17th. This is a traveling outreach program which will bring the ocean to life through interactive lessons with a life-size inflatable humpback whale, allowing students to step inside and explore 3D anatomy firsthand. The program is aligned to the Next Gen science standards, and the whale design is based on a real whale named Chunk, who was seen frequently in the Gulf of Maine.
The Community Literacy Team is sponsoring a “Space Night” family event for district students in grades PreK-5 on April 17th from 4:45-7:00 PM at Carrabec Community School. Families will enjoy a Subway dinner and will see a star show called “Our Wonderful Sky” in a giant inflatable dome brought to us by John Meader of Northern Stars Planetarium in Fairfield. Mr. Meader will offer three shows, as the dome holds fifty-five people at a time. Families will also participate in space-themed activities such as crafts, puzzles and games, cookie decorating, a photo booth, and presentations on nocturnal animals from Serena Sanborn of Waterville Creates. Students will receive take-home bags filled with space related activities and items, and one family will win a door prize basket. We appreciate the help of Solon School Board member Laura Layman on our team. We also appreciate the funding for this year’s event from the Anson Academy Association. We welcome Board members to stop by and join the fun!
We will be holding our annual Preschool Screening on April 29th at Carrabec Community School. We will also screen incoming kindergartners who are not currently enrolled in our preschool programs. The screenings include academic tasks (concepts, language, and motor screenings), vision and hearing tests, and a chance for parents to meet with the school nurse. Preschool and kindergarten students also get to meet their teachers for the fall. In April we also will attend transition IEP meetings for children who currently receive services through Child Development Services (CDS) and who will enter kindergarten in the fall and switch to receiving services through our Special Education Department.
If you have questions about anything going on in my schools, please contact me.
Have a lovely spring!