SOLON & BEYOND: Continuing with events at Solon Elementary School

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

This is a continue of Solon Elementary School news:

Winter Session of After-School Program To Begin: This program will run on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays from 2:30: 4: 15 p.m., at the school. This program is run by a partnership between the Town of Solon and RSU #74 for students in grades K – 5. Participants will have healthy snacks and will engage in fun and educational activities focused on reading and math and hands-on crafts and cooking projects geared around a weekly theme. We hope to get students outdoors for some winter fun activities as well.

The theme of the first week is Weather. The After-School Program staff members are Mrs. Jen Mello, Mrs. Ellie Howell, and Mrs. Melisa Dube from the Town of Solon and Mrs. Jen LaChance, Mrs. Mary Keenan, and Ms. Samantha Taylor from the school. The program will run for five weeks starting January 11 and ending February 17. There will be no sessions the week of January 31. Permission slips are going home with students this week. Parents will need to pick up their child or children after the program at 4:15 each day. If you have questions, please call the school at 643-2491. We also plan to run a spring session, which will probably begin in March.

Principal’s Message: I want to wish all of our students and families a Happy New Year. I hope you had a festive holiday season and some special times with family and friends during the Christmas break. The Christmas spirit was alive and and well in our community this year! Many generous individuals and organizations supported our students and families during the Christmas season by donating food baskets, Christmas gifts, winter weather gear, and other items.

We thank all of these wonderful people: Solon Congregational Church, New Hope Church and Homeless Shelter, Mrs. Ann Jackson, Mr. Leland McDonough, Mrs. Peggy Luce, Mrs. Terry Hoops and Embden Town Office. On January 5, our school board will consider extending their mask mandate through March 4 as a way to curb the spread of COVID in our schools and reduce the number of students and staff who have to quarantine .

During the month of January we will be administering the NWEA assessment to students in grades K-5. Students took these tests in reading, language, use, and math in October and will take them again in May. The winter assessment helps us to check students’ progress and make adjustments in there instruction if needed.

Now for one of Percy’s memoirs: Everyone one in life goes through a hard time sometime, but you can’t let that define who you are. What defines you is how you come back from those troubles and what you find in life to smile about. So onward and upward, with renewed spirits.