Daily Announcements
Daily Announcements
Daily Announcements
Daily Announcements
Sanford High School’s marching band continued its stellar season with an award-winning performance at the USBands invitational held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Saturday, September 28th.  Invited to the invitational last spring, Sanford’s marching band competed in Division III Class A.   The band secured first place in their division and swept all available caption awards in best music, best percussion, best effect, best visual, and best colorguard.  “The students had a great performance, and it was such a great opportunity to see other programs,” SHS Music Director Hailey Francoeur said. “The students handled the large venue really well, as we’ve never played in a stadium that large. It was so impressive how they handled the day with confidence.”  The UMass Amherst show featured over 15 bands from various parts of New England, with Sanford High School representing Maine as the sole band from the state.   USBands, a national marching band circuit, hosts competitions throughout the country, providing young musicians with opportunities to showcase their talents on a grand scale.
Daily Announcements
Sanford High School’s annual homecoming parade will start at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 11th, at the tennis courts on Alumni Boulevard (by Route 4) and finish at Gil Dionne softball field (by Main Street). The parade is open to the public.All classes are building floats according to their grade’s theme for a parade.  Spectators are encouraged to park at the high school no later than 3:30 p.m. to line the parade route along Alumni Boulevard. After 3:30 p.m., Alumni Boulevard will be closed off until the end of the parade. People who arrive after 3:30 p.m. should park off campus and walk to the parade route. The Route 4 entrance will be closed to the public and all traffic will enter from the Main St. entrance. The parade will go down the course and back, so onlookers can see both sides of the floats. Alumni Boulevard will be back open to the public for traffic for the football game which will be at 7:00 p.m.
Career Exploration Takes Center Stage in Growing ELO Program For Sanford High School and Regional Technical Center
Daily Announcements
Daily Announcements
Daily Announcements
Daily Announcements
Sanford High School wrestling coach Nate Smith has been selected as the 2023-2024 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) State Wrestling Coach of the Year for Maine. Coach Smith’s selection comes from a competitive pool of wrestling coaches across the state. Smith led the Spartans to a third-place finish at the 2024 Class A South Regional Championships. “I’m honored and humbled to be recognized,” Smith said. “I am blessed to coach with an amazing assistant, Brent Coleman. My wrestlers give everything, every day, to make our community and our program look good. They are the real reason why we get any recognition.” “Sanford High School is extremely fortunate to have Nate Smith as our wrestling coach,” SHS Athletic Director Zach Lemelin said. “He does a tremendous job of coaching the sport and creating lifelong connections with our student-athletes in more than just wrestling. He is an asset to the athletics department and an even greater one to our wrestling community.” As the Maine Coach of the Year, Smith is now eligible for consideration as the Section 1 Wrestling Coach of the Year, competing with top coaches from seven other states. This selection could lead to a nomination for the National Coach of the Year award.
Daily Announcements
Sanford High School's marching band is tuning up for another exciting season, blending tradition with innovation under the guidance of Music Director Hailey Francoeur. With a strong emphasis on community engagement and student leadership, the band is marching toward new heights in 2024. The marching band is in the Maine Band Directors Association Circuit. The schedule for the circuit consists of five regular season shows – all scheduled on Saturday nights – and a Maine Marching Band Finals, which will be held at Sanford High School on October 26th. "Sanford always seems to be a favorite spot to go for everybody," Francoeur noted The band's first performance of the season was at Wells High School on Saturday, September 14th, which exceeded Francoeur's standards. "We got three stars out of five in all of our captions, which was really good," Francoeur shared. "It was a really good turnout. The students had a lot of energy ... They were pretty pumped after that." They will travel to Lawrence (September 28th), Westbrook (October 5th), and Marshwood (October 19th) before hosting the finals. The band graduated "a ton of seniors" in 2024, according to Francouer, but there are still nearly 60 members in the band this year. One of the band's members, senior Quang Lam, said he'd seen incremental growth in the program since he came into the program. "We've grown a lot. We had so many people last year and again this year compared to when I started," Lam said. "I've also seen a bunch of really talented players that are very experienced, smart, quick on their feet. It's just cool to see that progress as I go through my career." Behind the scenes, students put in extra effort to perfect their performances. Before one rehearsal, Lam was working with the band's brass section to help them refine their parts. He explained, "We were just kind of practicing our music before we have the actual sectional, just to kind of fine-tune some specific details that we need to focus on, that we can't really get in a rehearsal where there's a lot of other things going on." This dedication extends beyond just musical practice, as many band members take pride in mentoring younger students. Junior band member Lydia Treadwell shared her perspective on this aspect of band leadership: "I'm looking forward to seeing these younger musicians grow into the skilled musicians that they already are. But also, really encouraging that space of discipline, and just like a whole passion for marching band as a whole, and looking forward to seeing that transformation by the end of this season." "If we didn't have marching band, I probably wouldn't have loved music as much as I do. This is one of the big things that I do in the Music Department," she added.  "Especially just seeing those underclassmen, seeing where we were before, and we know how they're going through right now, and we know how to help them." The band's strong student leadership team is key to its success. Upperclassmen are crucial in mentoring newer members, helping with everything from daily warm-ups to prop management.  "Those student leaders really help a lot with how rehearsals get started," Francoeur explained, emphasizing the importance of peer support in an activity where every band member is important. As the season progresses, audiences can expect to see the show evolve. "We haven't put our closer out on the field yet," Francoeur revealed. The band plans to introduce more props, music, and visual elements to enhance their performance and storytelling as they approach the state finals.
Daily Announcements
As the new school year got underway, the Sanford School Department welcomed students and staff to clean, safe, and well-prepared facilities, thanks to the efforts of our custodial and facilities team over the summer months.   The Sanford School Department oversees an impressive array of facilities, including ten buildings that required management for cleaning, maintenance, and grounds care.  These facilities encompassed a total of 634,000 square feet of building space and spanned 262 acres of land.  At the heart of our school preparation efforts was our hardworking custodial team who took center stage this summer, undertaking a comprehensive cleaning of all facilities. Their work went far beyond routine maintenance, involving a process that touched every corner of our schools.  Staff moved and cleaned furniture, washed lights, walls, and windows, and conducted necessary room repairs. One of their most significant tasks was scrubbing and refinishing floors throughout the buildings, ensuring a fresh and welcoming environment for returning students and staff.  The custodial team faced and overcame challenges during their summer work. They navigated scheduling conflicts with summer programming and demonstrated remarkable flexibility in adapting to last-minute changes.   While the custodial staff focused on deep cleaning, our maintenance team was equally busy with crucial projects. They replaced the boiler at Willard School, installed new doors in the SMS Library and main stairwell, and added climate control to the SPE Library.   Other notable projects included: Installing playground equipment at Margaret Chase Smith School. Setting up an entry heater at Carl J Lamb School. Implementing sound deadening measures at Sanford High School  Our grounds care responsibilities expanded this year to include mowing and maintaining Sanford High School sports fields. This new task totaled 20 additional hours of work and was efficiently managed with the addition of a part-time seasonal staff member.  The combined efforts of our custodial, maintenance, and grounds staff ensured that Sanford schools were clean and safe and enhanced and improved for the new academic year.  As students and staff returned, they found their spaces ready and welcoming, setting the stage for a successful year of learning and growth. Thank you to our Facilities and Maintenance teams!