Sanford School Department

This message is a just a reminder that our 8th grade Celebration is this afternoon from 1:30 to 3:00 at Sanford Junior High. Please enter through the junior high their driveway entrance. I hope students will be able to be driven, or are able to walk or ride their bikes to receive their gift bags from our PTA. Collection of laptops, chargers, band instruments and any other school item can also occur at this time. If you are unable to attend, collection of laptops and all other school items is occurring Tuesday June 8th at Sanford High School from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PTA gift bags can also be picked up at that time. We hope to see you this afternoon."

Attention Sanford Junior High families! Device drop-off/Item pick-up options for grades 5th through 7th will run tomorrow 6/2 @ the Junior High from 1:00-4:30, 6/3 from 9:00-12:00, and 6/4 from 9:00-12:00. Any 8th graders needing to turn in devices may use these times also.

7th grade STEM students collaborate on the design of solar powered cars.

Happy Memorial Day! Remembering and honoring our heroes who served and fought for our freedom. Thank you.

Hope all is well. Happy Friday! Another successful week of distance learning. A letter to families regarding the end-of-the-school year can be found at this link: https://5il.co/g5ji Have a great weekend.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms who love, support, teach and mentor every day. Thank you for all you do for your families and communities -especially during these challenging times.

Today is School Lunch Hero Day. Thank you to our food service workers who are working hard to prepare meals for our students during distance learning. Below is a link to see their impressive work in action: https://youtu.be/EbRbVGAnX0U

Letter from Superintendent Nelson Sanford School Department Extending Distance Learning for the Remainder of the 2019-2020 School Year Wednesday, April 29, 2020 Good Evening, During her press conference yesterday, Governor Janet Mills extended Maine’s Stay-at-Home Order through May 31, 2020. For Sanford’s public schools, this means that “distance learning” will remain in place for the remainder of the school year. Classrooms will remain closed, with the expectation of reopening in the fall as conditions permit. As you may have seen, Governor Mills provided details of a four-stage phase-in “post-COVID19” model that placed the re-opening of schools in the final stage (no earlier than September 2020 dependent on the success of stages one, two and three). This four-stage plan also included limits on group gatherings and criteria for re-opening businesses. Still to be determined is whether summer school programs, athletics, end-of-year celebrations and the use of school facilities for various summer school programs will be allowed this summer. I will continue to carefully monitor the situation and we will communicate information as it becomes available and decisions are made regarding specific end-of-the-year activities (graduation, kindergarten screening, award ceremonies, etc.). Thank you for your patience as our school leadership teams continue to explore the various options and best ways to recognize students as we close out this school year. It may mean holding scaled back or virtual celebrations, or, in some unfortunate cases, canceling an event entirely. Safety will continue to guide these decisions and we will abide by the Governor’s plan to ensure the safety of our students, staff and community members. I am aware of the tremendous burden that distance learning has put on our students, staff and families. Historically, it is challenging to maintain student engagement as summer draws near so I have asked our teachers to adjust their schedules and not assign any new learning after Memorial Day. The last week of May and first week of June will be focused on allowing time for students to submit outstanding assignments, practice and review key concepts and areas of weakness, return books and technology and to retrieve personal belongings; your child’s school administrative team will communicate information regarding these schedules and processes separately. Please know that our primary focus remains the health and personal well-being of our students, staff and community members – and also the academic progress of our students. Student academic achievement is crucial as we prepare to return to the classrooms next fall. We do not want our students falling too far behind grade level expectations and benchmarks. I encourage everyone to continue their amazing efforts during this unusual time and I challenge everyone to finish the 2019-2020 school year strong.

"Max Cote is an extremely hard working 5th grader who has been doing an AMAZING job throughout our distance learning. He worked very hard on a letter expressing his gratitude for his family and for all that they have done for him. Max is a great role model and a great example of how hard our kids are working in the face of adversity."

Another week of distance learning down and another great job. Thank you! Enjoy the long weekend. Unplug and unwind. Spend time outside and with family. A reminder that meals will be delivered next week Tuesday thru Thursday. Stay safe, healthy and practice social distancing.

Good afternoon, Important letter regarding elementary student placement for fall 2020 https://5il.co/f5rv

Good Afternoon - four weeks of distance learning in the books and over 33,000 meals served to date! Everyone's hard work is greatly appreciated. Important information regarding a change to the upcoming April vacation can be found at this link: https://5il.co/eytm Stay safe.

SJHS students share their work and discuss their readings during a zoom with Mrs. Cote!

This is message from Superintendent Matt Nelson. I am sure that many of you have heard the announcement by the Maine's Commissioner of Education encouraging schools to begin planning for distance learning through the end of the current school year. I wanted to let everyone know that we have already begun planning and we are proceeding with a measured approach that is thoughtful and strategic for our educational community. There are many factors and impacts that need to be considered before an official announcement. We are examining our approach to the upcoming April school vacation and are considering possible changes that would impact end of the year schedules. I hope to share more information soon. In the meantime, I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding. Stay safe and stay healthy.

Mrs. Cote hosts a Kahoot game with her 6th grade ELA students!

Ms. Allen's 7th graders explore science by looking for DNA food.....and finding it!

Gwen at 6th Grader at SJHS shows off her PJ's to kick off school spirit week!!

A public service announcement from Sanford Police Chief Connolly regarding Stay Home Stay Healthy: https://youtu.be/y_dS6JMYPOk

Starting on Monday, April 6th, we have made minor adjustments to the bus stops and delivery times for meal delivery. For the latest delivery schedule visit https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/646069/Meal_Delivery_Bus_Routes_updated_4.1.20.pdf. Safe Stop is now activated to track your child's bus using activation code SFRD 2020. If you have questions about Safe Stop, please contact Ledgemere at 324-4888.

Good Evening. This is Matt Nelson, Superintendent of Schools We have just completed our 3rd week of distance learning and I want to take this time to let everyone know how proud I continue to be of our entire Sanford Educational Community for all of your hard work and support. The closing of our school buildings has been hard on everyone. The discomfort we are all feeling is understandable; these are stressful times for everyone. Please know that we are doing our best to continue to refine and improve our approach to distance learning as we learn more about what works best for our students, staff and families. Governor Mills issued a “Stay Healthy at Home” order this week further restricting public contact and movement and extending our school closure until the end of the month. Please practice proper social distancing and proper hygiene. Kudos to our food service department for their lunch deliveries. We are serving over a 1000 lunches daily Monday thru Friday. Starting this coming Monday, April 6th, we have made minor adjustments to the bus stops and delivery times for meal delivery. For the latest delivery schedule please visit our website. Also, the Safe Stop App has been updated and is now activated to track your child's bus using activation code SFRD 2020. If you have questions about Safe Stop, please contact Ledgemere at 324-4888. Finally – have a great weekend and stay safe and healthy.