Hall-Dale School District

Hall-Dale Middle and High schools were in the news recently with a report focused on the mixing of middle and high school students. Click here to read the full article from the Kennebec Journal.

Photograph by Andy Malloy

Photograph by Andy Malloy

Saturday will be the 14th of March.  That’s 3.14 or the rounded value of pi.
Want to learn why pi is such an important constant?  Click here.
And here for a look at a fancy pi plate.

Thanks Dan Crocker for reminding us!

RSU_Review_Feb_09.pdf

Today - 3/3/09 is Square Root day.
It happens when the day and the month are both the square root of the year.  Next one - 04/04/2016.

Thanks Dan Crocker for reminding us!

You are cordially invited to the 13th annual Mountain Valley Conference Play Festival to be held at Hall-Dale this Friday evening.  There will be five schools participating, Carrabec, Madison, Mt. Abram, Livermore Falls and Hall-Dale.  Shows begin at 6PM.  Hall-Dale’s show “Blue,” a show about conformity, is the last show of the evening.  Shows generally run about 30 minutes each with some set up and strike time.  Admission is free.

Several parents have approached the administration about phone calls they received regarding the purchase of SAT preparation materials.  The callers used student names and required credit cards numbers in order to send test prep materials.  You should know that the school has not been contacted by any legitimate business that is promoting SAT Preparation materials.  Please view these contacts with some skepticism.

AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER)—Governor Baldacci and Maine’s Education Commissioner announced a $1 million grant Monday to create the New England Secondary School Consortium. Maine will partner with Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Experts say in the 21st century the high school experience has to reach beyond the classroom. The goal of the New England Secondary School Consortium is to increase high school graduation rates, decrease the rate of drop outs and encourage more kids to go to college. And make sure they’re better prepared when they get there.
They say the same applies to students going directly into the workforce.
“At no other time in the course of our education history have the tools and skills required to be successful in the marketplace as well as in schools been so similar,” says Mark Kosten of the Great Schools Partnership.
The states will pinpoint cutting edge programs already part of the curriculum in some schools. They’ll also identify other progressive learning tools—from challenging internships to virtual learning.
The grant for the Consortium is from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
NEWS CENTER

This tutorial will walk parents and guardians through the simple process of creating a portal account on our Infinite Campus student information system (SIS).  First, you should have gotten a letter with your initial access code.  You will need this code to identify you within the system so you can complete the registration process.

We have arrived!
Google streetview has mapped/photographed Hallowell/Farmingdale:

View Larger Map

The KIDS RSU (Kennebec Intra-District Schools Regional School Unit), Hall-Dale School District and the towns of Hallowell, Farmingdale, Monmouth, Richmond and Dresden were honored today by the Maine Department of Education for being the first successful consolidated district under the school consolidation law.

DOE Commissioner Susan Gendron was present to award the KIDS Regional Planning Committee and each town with a plaque thanking us for our very successful efforts to improve education while reducing education costs.  Commissioner Gendron even brought a cake!  Congratulations to the RPC members, school board members and the voters.

Last night, the School Board approved a motion to use standards-based grading and reporting at the middle school grades 6-8 beginning this fall 2008.  They approved the initiation of standards-based grading in grade 9 for fall 2009.  The motion also approved the creation of an “Implementation Team” consisting of some administrators, teachers, parents, and students to focus on developing timelines and answering the many questions still being asked by the community. 

Thanks to so many of you at Hall-Dale who worked hard to support this initiative.  We’ve seen what it can do for kids at ES.  Now the middle school students will benefit from standards-based instruction and grading!

-Christine Chamberlain

Check out this great opportunity for families who have never been camping to register to win a Family Camping Weekend for First Time Campers at a Maine State Park.
Camping in Maine is one of the best ways to reconnect with your children and start a great tradition.
Take it Outside is an initiative led by Governor John E. Baldacci to encourage Maine’s children and families to reconnect with nature.
Click on the link below to register to win:
http://www.take-it-outside.org/
The deadline for registration is June 15th.
Renee Page, MPH, CLC
School/Youth Community Coordinator
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area
A Healthy Maine Partnership
36 Brunswick Avenue
Gardiner, ME 04345
tel. 207-588-5020
cell. 207-557-2945
fax. 207-582-5804
rpage@mcd.org

(Thanks Chris Chamberlain for letting us know about this!)

Please remember to vote on Tuesday, June 10.

School consolidation is one important question on the ballot.  Hallowell, Farmingdale, Monmouth, Richmond and Dresden have submitted a plan to consolidate into the Kennebec Intra-District Schools (KIDS).  Read more about it at www.kidsrsu.org.  If you have questions feel free to contact any consolidation committee member.  Names and contact information are listed on the web site.

Click the “Read More…” link below to read the ballot language.

A weblog has been established for news and information regarding the move to standards-based grading in the Hall-Dale School District.
Likewise you can share your ideas and concerns regarding standards-based grading in the Hall-Dale Forum.

“Would you like to have the cultural experience of a lifetime?  AFS, the foreign exchange organization, is looking for host families for next year.  If you would like to learn more about welcoming a student into your home, please contact Jody Bachelder at 622-6211 ext. 301 or jbachelder@halldale.org”