From the Principals’ Desks
We have had a great transition back to school! Staff have been working hard to establish routines and positive expectations. Students are responding with safe, respectful, and responsible behavior. Thank you for your continued support of our efforts!
Arrival & Dismissal: As a reminder, when dropping off or picking up your child, please use the inner visitors’ loop. The loop closest to the building is reserved for our buses, emergency personnel and vendor deliveries only. Supervision begins on the playground at 8:20am. Parent Pickups, Walkers and Bikers are dismissed first at 3:20pm. For safety, please model and reinforce the use of sidewalks and crosswalks.
Online Student Information Forms: If you haven’t done so already, please be sure to verify/update your online student information forms. Having up-to-date information for you and your emergency contacts is of the utmost importance. Instructions are provided below. Thank you in advance for prioritizing this task!
Parent Information Night: We are excited to welcome you to our Parent Information Night on Tuesday, September 8th. You are invited to join us in the gym at 5:30pm for some whole school information. Teachers will be presenting information in their classroom beginning at 6:00pm.
Personal Devices - Off & Away: All personal electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, must be powered off and stored away in backpacks upon arrival on the school campus and remain there through dismissal, unless otherwise approved per policy.
Students have access to school phones. Parents/Guardians can get messages to students by calling the main office at 829-4815 or emailing [email protected]. Please refrain from using personal electronic devices to correspond with your child during the school day. Students are allowed to use their devices after dismissal to communicate, if needed.
We appreciate your partnership in supporting our efforts to follow this policy to foster a focused learning environment and promote student social-emotional well being.
Sincerely,
Carol MacArthur, Principal
Shannon Peterson, Assistant Principal
Office Reminders
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Student arrival begins at 8:20 AM.
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School begins at 8:50 AM. If your child arrives after that time, they are tardy and need to check-in at the office before going to the classroom.
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You can report absences, communicate transportation plans or make general inquiries by calling the main office at 829-4815 or emailing [email protected]
We greatly appreciate your attention to these procedures, as they help to ensure that our routines run smoothly and efficiently.
Attendance Matters!
September is Attendance Awareness Month, a great time to focus on how consistent attendance fuels academic achievement. Every day your child walks through our doors they engage in collaborative learning that keeps them on track.
While staying home for illness is necessary, occasional absences add up quickly. Missing just two days a month means sitting out on 10% of the school year.
Our goal is to support your family. If you face hurdles getting your child to school on time, please reach out so we can navigate them together. Every morning matters because your child’s presence shapes our classroom community!
Thank you for partnering in your child’s growth. For additional attendance tools, check out the official Count ME In! Site.
Community Corner
Welcome back! We know that getting back into the routine of school can sometimes be challenging. Research strongly supports the importance of regular attendance.
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"Children who were frequently absent from school demonstrated less optimal interpersonal skills than their peers." -- [Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy].
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"Children who were more frequently absent reported themselves as experiencing greater school-related stress, lower levels of motivation, and lower levels of school belonging." -- [Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy].
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Getting into a routine early will help. Some ways to support a smooth morning include:
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Setting out clothes the night before.
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Decide on breakfast choices and set the table the night before.
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Get snacks and lunch prepared the night before and have them ready to pop in backpacks.
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Pack up backpacks with homework, sneakers for PE, etc., the night before.
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Create an evening checklist to remember all these things.
Students at GMS 4-5 who miss no more than one day per month are entered into a monthly drawing for prizes such as lunch with a teacher, art time with a teacher, time in the music room, or extra playground time.
Looking forward to a great year,
Katie Campbell, School Social Worker
Ali Waterhouse, School Counselor
Emma Klein, School Social Worker
Check It Out!
What: MSAD #51 Flu Vaccine Clinic
When: Wednesday September 23, 2026 from 12:45- 4:45 pm
Where: Greely High School Commons
Maine Health will be on the MSAD #51 campus Wednesday, September 23,2026 from 12:45-4:45pm at GHS in the commons to administer flu vaccines to MSAD 51 staff and students.
To Get Vaccinated:
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RSVP using the link below by Friday, September 18, 2026. This helps us know how many vaccine doses to have on hand. Be sure to include the name and age group of all people seeking a flu
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Use the link below to print and complete both the consent form (pages 1-2) and the insurance information card (page 3-4) for each person needing to be vaccinated. Please note there are examples of where to locate the necessary information on both Mainecare and commercial insurance cards.
Flu Clinic Consent Form and Insurance Information Card
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Bring both of the completed forms to the clinic on Wednesday September 23, 2026 to receive your vaccine. Remember to dress so that we can easily access your upper arm for your shot!
If you are unable attend the MSAD #51 Flu Vaccine Clinic, you can visit your healthcare provider or your local pharmacy for a flu vaccine. The seasonal influenza vaccine is covered by MOST insurance plans at no cost to you!
A Look Into Literacy
Welcome to a new school year! This year, our 4th and 5th-grade classrooms are using CKLA for the second year. This year will be filled with engaging, knowledge-based units covering a wide range of topics. Both 4th and 5th graders are starting the year with a unit on personal narratives—they will be both reading and writing personal narratives for the next few weeks!
Research shows that strong readers rely on background knowledge, vocabulary, and deep sentence comprehension to understand complex texts. Here are five simple ways, aligned to this research, that you can use to support your reader at home this year:
1. Talk about what your child is learning.
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The Science: Background knowledge is the engine of reading comprehension. If a child already knows a little bit about a topic (like geology, medieval history, or ecosystems), their brain has a "hook" to hang new information on while reading.
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Try This at Home: "What topic are you learning about in literacy right now?" You don't need to quiz them—just chatting about unit topics at the dinner table builds context and confidence for class!
2. Keep reading aloud!
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The Science: Even when children become independent readers, listening to complex oral reading helps them build fluency, automaticity, and correct pronunciation of tricky, multi-syllable words.
3. Use academic vocabulary.
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The Science: CKLA explicitly teaches high-utility academic words (like analyze, contrast, or pivotal) that appear across subjects. Hearing and using these words in daily speech embeds them into your child's long-term memory.
4. Ask "How Do You Know?"
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The Science: The Science of Reading emphasizes that reading and writing are closely connected. Teaching children to ground their thoughts in evidence deepens critical thinking and supports their written responses in class.
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Try This at Home: When discussing a book, article, or even a family movie, ask questions like: "What made you think that?" or "Can you show me where the book says that?"
5. Embrace nonfiction reading.
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The Science: CKLA 3rd Edition places a strong emphasis on authentic nonfiction texts to expand world knowledge.
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Try This at Home: Encourage your child to read kid-friendly news articles, biographies, science infographics, sports statistics, or manuals. Exploring topics they are naturally curious about builds stamina and expands their knowledge of the world.
Janet Giguere, Literacy Specialist
PE News!
Welcome to GMS 4-5 Physical Education! Our curriculum is aligned to the Maine Learning Results and provides students with meaningful opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge, confidence, and motivation needed to lead healthy, active lives. Through a variety of individual, team, and lifetime activities, students develop physical competence while also learning important skills such as teamwork, communication, perseverance, responsibility, and good sportsmanship. Our goal is to create an inclusive environment where every student can participate, experience success, challenge themselves, and discover activities they may enjoy throughout their lives.
Becki Dodge, GMS 4-5 PE
Co-Curricular Activities - Sign up information will be coming soon!
Monday:
5th grade Band Mr. Barry Saunders [email protected]
Tuesday:
Chorus - Mrs. Jennifer Caton [email protected]
Thursday:
Newspaper Club - Mrs. Melissa Fiess [email protected]
5th grade Ukulele Club - Mr. Barry Saunders [email protected]
5th grade Math Team - Mrs. Laurie Poissonnier [email protected]
During the School Day:
Green Team - Mrs. Monica Moore [email protected]
Civil Rights Team - Mrs. Jane Kilbride-Dupuis [email protected]