Happy Spring Break!
Check out the great photos below while taking a vacation from school. A quick congrats to 8th grade for starting the week with a best-ever 98% attendance rate on Monday. Attendance highlights were also featured at Friday’s assembly when Mr. Lariviere recognized students who had missed 1 or 0 days of school for the entire year. Thanks to staff and students who participated in assembly activities, and thanks to our enthusiastic and respectful student audience.
Coming Up
GMS Student Council has planned our next Spirit Week, April 28-May 2nd. The themes are as follows:
Monday: PJ day
Tuesday: Rhyme Without Reason
Wednesday: Career Day
Thursday: Greely Gear
Friday: Tropical Day.
Friday, May 2nd is also the Spring Fling Step Up Dance for Grades 6 and 7.
2024-25 GMS 6-8 Yearbook (only available online)
Our yearbook is $35 (tax included). Create a free account (or use last year's login) and easily purchase your copy. Click here to order now! The ordering deadline is MAY 15th! After that date, it will be shipped home after the end of the school year and will incur an additional shipping charge.
In the classroom
Grade 6 social studies classes were honored to welcome Mr. Barry Dana back to GMS on April 14th. Mr. Dana, a member of the Penobscot Nation and a former chief of this nation, shared his insights and experiences regarding Penobscot culture. This was an incredibly valuable opportunity to hear from a primary source, someone who lives and breathes the history and traditions we've been learning about in our social studies classes. We all gained a deeper appreciation for the rich history and vibrant presence of the Penobscot Nation.
Curriculum Corner Update
Below, I’ll share the Curriculum Corner Update from Mar-E Trebilcock. Wishing everyone a restful break, safe travels, and fun adventures,
Dr. Monte Selby, GMS 6-8 principal
Curriculum Corner Update
Did you know that….
- Students who miss 10% or more school days per year are considered chronically absent.
- Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.
- Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade.
- By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
- When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.
- 99% of our parents and guardians in MSAD #51 who responded to our stakeholder survey said they agree or strongly agree with the statement, “I believe that my child’s attendance at school matters,” yet our current chronic absenteeism rate for this school year is 10.8%. That’s 242 students who have been absent more than 10% of school days this year.
Why is our chronic absenteeism over 10% when so many families value the importance of good attendance?
There may be many variables influencing our absenteeism rate, but one key variable is the “creep factor.” What is the “creep factor”? It simply means that missed days of school can creep up over time. Missing one day of school a month will result in 10 missed days in the school year, or about 6% of school days overall. Add 8 more days in there, and you’re over 10% for the year. It is easy not to notice the creep factor over the course of a whole school year because the absences are spread out over time.
How can you check your child’s absenteeism rate?
You can easily see how many school days your child has missed by logging into your parent portal on PowerSchool, selecting the quick lookup, and scrolling down to the year-to-date attendance. Click the hyperlinked number of days absent year to date, and you will see a list of dates with codes indicating whether the absence was excused or unexcused. Both count toward chronic absenteeism. You can also see excused and unexcused tardies. Chronic tardiness and chronic absenteeism often go hand in hand, so it is something to watch. We encourage you to check PowerSchool periodically to track your student’s attendance and avoid the attendance “creep factor.”
Thank you for your partnership in promoting good attendance habits. It makes a difference!
Source: “10 Facts about School Attendance.” Attendance Works, 2025, attendanceworks.org/chronic-
Used with permission from Attendance Works.
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