SOLON & BEYOND: Solon school opens preschool registration

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

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

It is time to begin the preschool application process for the fall of 2018 at Solon Elementary School. If your child will be four years old by October 15, 2018, you can apply for enrollment into the RSU #74 2018-19 preschool program. The program is open to all four-year olds regardless of family income.

Applications can be picked up at any of the elementary schools, you can have one mailed to your home by calling the school at 643-2491, or you can download one from the district website.

You will need to provide income verification and a copy of your child’s birth certificate, MaineCare card, and immunization record.

If you have any questions about the preschool program, please contact the school at 643-2491.

Grades 3-5 students at Solon Elementary are preparing for State Assessment Tests.

Grades 3-5 students are getting ready to take the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA), which will start the week of March 19. Students in all three grades will take tests in reading, writing/language, and math. Later the fifth graders will take a test in science.

This test will be taken on the computer. The test will be administered over multiple days so that students do not get too tired. Teachers are using practice items and teaching test-taking strategies with the students to help prepare them. Please encourage your child to do his/her best on this important test, which helps us to assess each child’s achievement level as well as the progress of our school.

Again this year Solon Elementary School scheduled some fun activities to brighten the winter season. The Solon Kids Care Club sponsored a Secret Cupid activity in which each of us decorated a heart with some kind words for another person in the school. The hearts have been displayed on the bulletin board in the lobby.

Received this e-mail from my good friend, Nancy Whittemore, and she wrote: I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of the folks in the community of Solon, and surrounding communities for all of the many kind deeds and encouraging words to me during my difficult journey with Terry’s illness and death. It meant so much to me.

And now an e-mail from the Happyknits Crew with some news that perhaps many of you didn’t know about. “We’re starting to notice that the days are lengthening and the temperatures are shifting as we move in fits and starts towards spring. Happyknits is making a bit of a shift too. Julie Cooke, who first opened this yarn shop on her own and gave us all a little place for yarn paradise, has decided to change directions and move on to other interests. We’d like to express our gratitude to her for being our partner and good friend for the last several years, and we wish her the best in her new adventure!

Sarah, Mary Lou and Karla are looking forward to continuing to serve you all. They are grateful to all of you for helping to make Happyknits such a happy place and we hope to see you soon!

Percy’s memoir this week is entitled, The Magic of Love:

Love is like magic.
And it always will be,
For love still remains
Life’s sweet mystery!
Love works in ways
That are wondrous and strange
And there’s nothing in life
That love cannot change!
Love can transform
The most commonplace
Into beauty and splendor
And sweetness and grace!
Love is unselfish,
Understanding and kind,
For it sees with its heart
And not with its mind!
Love is the answer
That everyone seeks –
Love is the language
That every heart speaks –
Love can’t be bought,
It is priceless and free,
Love like pure magic
Is a sweet mystery!

(words by Helen Steiner Rice)