• Principal's Memo

Principal’s Memo – May 21, 2021

Hi Everyone,
Please check with your child about their academic progress to ensure all obligations are completed prior to June 11th.  Things are moving smoothly here at the high school as students are looking forward to graduation, the great weather, and a positive end to the year! Please pay close attention to the “Upcoming Important Dates” section at the bottom of the memo so you can mark your calendars. Here are the communications for this week! 

GRADUATION 2021 RETURNS TO THE SEASIDE PAVILION!
Thanks to loosened COVID restrictions, and as reported, graduation will return to our traditional venue, The Seaside Pavilion, on Sunday, June 6. The ceremony will begin at 2 PM. There are no limits on the number of attendees. We ask people to park at OOBHS and shuttle buses will transport everyone to the venue. The buses will begin running at 1PM. All attendees are required to wear masks. 

OOBHS YEARBOOK WINS NATIONAL AWARD!
Jostens, the leading producer of yearbooks and student-created content, announced that Old Orchard Beach High School’s yearbook program has achieved the Jostens 2021 National Yearbook Program of Excellence award at the Bronze Level. The National Yearbook Program of Excellence recognizes engaging yearbooks that reflect a broad representation of the student body while helping students develop 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, and information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy. The Old Orchard Beach High School award-winning yearbook program is led by Melissa Pelletier, Emily Tucker and Katie Holt under the direction of Stephanie Moutsatsos yearbook adviser. Congratulations!

BOOSTER CLUB NEWS MAY 21, 2021
Greetings and Happy Spring!
We have some exciting news to share!  After careful consideration we have decided to join forces with the Loranger/Jameson PTO. Our new name will be RSU23 PTO/Booster Club! This collaboration will be beneficial to all schools as we continue supporting OOB High School students and faculty! We will still have scholarships, concessions, and be supportive of any school activity or classroom in need of assistance! 

RSU 23 PTO/Booster Club is still in need of volunteers to assist with upcoming fundraisers and future concessions. If interested please email pto@rsu23.org. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped the Booster Club in the last few years! It truly takes a village to make a successful organization and we appreciated all the help along the way!

Let’s continue to show the same support to our new team of officers:
Samantha Sauls, President
Lisa St. Louis, Vice President
Alex LePauloue, Treasurer
Jennifer Erickson, Secretary
Jennifer Partridge, Secretary

Thank you again!
Jenna Payea, past President
Karin Lavigne, past VP
Kara Poulin, past Secretary
Rene LaPlante, past Treasurer

APEX YOUTH CONNECTION
Apex Youth Connection, located in Biddeford, offers low-cost camp options for area youth and they are looking to get the word out. https://www.apexyouthconnection.org. Their executive director Melissa Cilley (email: director@apexyouthconnection.org) has plenty of information available for promoting the summer camp programs, she would love to get in contact and share!

VALEDICTORIAN AND SALUTATORIAN FOR CLASS OF 2021
Congratulations to Ryan Johnson and Duffy Rose who earned Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively. in a very competitive graduating class!!  A great honor.

KATIE O’NEILL!
Congratulations to senior Katie O’Neil who has been named May 2021 OOBHS and Saco Bay Rotary Club Student of the Month!

QUARTER 4 PROGRESS REPORT GRADES
Quarter 4 progress report grades are available on the powerschool parent portal.

SENIOR EXAM WEEK
Senior exam week begins Monday, May 24 and the complete schedule is posted below. All students are expected to take their finals with their teachers during the scheduled exam blocks. Unless teachers have requested otherwise, students are not expected to attend classes after their scheduled exam blocks during exam week. Students will be informed of any of these scheduling adjustments by Friday, May 21. Students that miss an exam due to an excused absence need to see their teacher as soon as possible to schedule an exam make-up. Thanks and good luck!

Additional Information:

• Transportation- Busses will run daily at 12:10 and 2:45
• Food- Breakfast is served daily and lunches will be provided before and after the second exam.
• Study Areas- If students don’t have a final exam they are expected to be in the cafeteria or the library. The library and Study Support (Room 104) will be reserved for students who want a quiet, food-free study area. The cafeteria will be open to students who want to study with classmates and/or eat food.
• Study Support (Room 104)-  The Study Support room will be staffed and the room will be available for all interested students. Attendance at Study Support is required for those students who still have missing assignments and/or failing grades.  
• Executive Functioning Skills- Students with scheduled learning labs need to attend.
• Timeliness: Students should be arriving on-time for exams. Any Students arriving late to tests should be sent to the main office to check-in.
• Afternoon Make-Up Exams- Students that miss an exam due to an excused absence need to see their teacher as soon as possible to schedule an exam make-up. 

2021 VIRTUAL AWARDS CEREMONY
This year’s 2021 AWARDS CEREMONY will be held Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 5:30 pm. It will be held in a virtual format in order to maximize the number of guests who can attend while adhering to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines so as to minimize risks of a COVID-19 exposure prior to the in-person graduation ceremony.  Our hope is that by limiting group gatherings in the days leading up to the June 6th Graduation Ceremony, we will maximize the ability for all seniors and their guests to enjoy the in person graduation ceremony.  We thank everyone for their understanding and support in this matter.  The link to attend the Virtual Awards Ceremony will be sent to all students and parents/guardians via email prior to June 3rd. We look forward to celebrating this event and our students many achievements with you all!

SENIOR CAREER EXPLORATIONS PROJECT
As a reminder, all seniors NOT in a vocational program are required to complete a Career Explorations Project by today (this is the alternate project that was approved as a replacement to the internship project that has been required in past years). At this point, Non-Voc. Seniors should have completed and submitted their Career Explorations Interview and Research Assignment as well as a Thank You Email to their Interviewee, and now should be reaching out to schedule their Final Reflective Conversation with Ms. Moutsatsos or Ms. Hayes.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out for assistance as needed to smoutsatsos@rsu23.org or jhayes@rsu23.org.

RENTAL ASSISTANCE!
The government has released rental assistance funds for families impacted by the economic downturn due to the pandemic. For more information please click this link: https://yccac.org/covid-19-rent-relief-program/

COMMUNITY SERVICE
Students must complete 20 hours of community service as a graduation requirement. Parents of seniors please check with your child to find out if they still have hours to complete. Please contact the guidance office for community service opportunities. We have plenty for the kids to do!

STUDENT SUPPLY CLOSET BOTTLE DRIVE
Money raised will purchase food, emergency needs and gift cards for OOBHS families. See the flyer to participate or Contact Ms. Moutsatsos (smoutsatsos@rsu23.org) or Mrs. Dupee (edupee@rsu23.org) to get a pre-tagged CLYNK bag.

SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM!
As a reminder, breakfast and lunch are available daily at school and free to all students throughout the entire school year. We ask that you still complete a Free and Reduced Application.  These applications help us to receive funding and programming that helps all students district-wide.  In addition, if you qualify, you can get Spectrum internet for only $14.95/month! Applications are available at the front office and on our website at:  http://rsu23.schoollunchapp.com. School breakfast and lunch menus are also posted on the RSU 23 Website on the Food & Nutrition Page. Please feel free to contact Caroline Trinder, Food & Nutrition Services Director, with any questions at ctrinder@rsu23.org or 934-4461 ext. 1239. We are looking forward to serving healthy and tasty meals all year!

Free Breakfasts and Lunches are also provided every Wednesday behind Loranger Memorial School between 10:15-10:45am, no need to RSVP, just show up!

IMPORTANT & UPCOMING DATES

• Thursday, May 20 to Friday May 28  – Senior Exam Week
• Monday, May 31  – No School, Memorial Day
• Thursday, June 3 – Virtual Awards Ceremony (5:30 pm)
• Sunday, June 6 – Graduation (2 PM) Seaside Pavilion
• Wednesday, June 9 – Senior Trip at Wild Acres
• Thursday June 11  – Last Day of School

Thank you!
-John