COVID-19 Update from Superintendent Potenziano |
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Health and Safety Update: COVID-19 Cases |
Between December 4 and noon on December 10, there were 25 new COVID-19 cases in the Brunswick School Department: |
School officials have been in contact with the Maine DOE/CDC, and those impacted have been contacted. Cumulative statistics on all COVID-19 cases during the 2021-22 school year are available on the COVID-19 Dashboard.
Pooled Testing
There will be no pooled testing in Maine schools the week of 12/20/21. Pooled testing will resume the week of 1/3/22.
Parents can still register their children for pooled testing. The directions are below:
Click the appropriate link:
If you are filling this out for multiple students, you will need to complete a
separate consent for each student.
This consent requires creating a free account with Concentric by Ginkgo.
Enter this access code for where your student attends or where you primarily work:
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Kate Furbish Elementary School: KFS2021
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Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School: HBS2021
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Brunswick Junior High School: BJHS2021
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Brunswick High School: BHSDRAGONS2021
Follow the prompted steps and submit at the end.
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COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic and Notification Updates |
COVID-19 2nd Shot Vaccination Clinic:
There will be a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for 5-11 year olds at Kate Furbish Elementary School on December 13 for those students who received their first shot on November 22. These students have already been scheduled and do not need to complete additional forms.
COVID-19 Notification Update:
We are changing our COVID-19 notification process slightly. Participants in pooled testing who are in positive pools and who subsequently test negative using the BinaxNOW test will be notified by email and not by telephone. (Please be sure to monitor your spam and junk folders in case emails from the district were directed there.) Individuals participating in pooled testing and who test positive AND unvaccinated individuals not participating in pooled testing who are designated close contacts will continue to be notified by telephone.
Please email your school nurse with any questions:
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Brunswick School Department Files MPA Football Waiver |
On December 2, 2021, the Brunswick School Department filed an official waiver with the Maine Principals Association (MPA). As a result, Superintendent Potenziano and Athletic Director Watson have begun the official process to ensure our student-athletes have the opportunity to play High School football next season. The MPA guidelines state, "Any member school which submits a game schedule in Heal point or Crabtree sports for a specific sport and does not complete that season's schedule, will be prohibited from participating in varsity competition leading to postseason play in that sport for the following two years after that season. This action may be appealed to the Interscholastic Management Committee for a waiver in extenuating circumstances."
We welcome the opportunity to meet and consult with the MPA's Interscholastic Management Committee. We will vigorously defend the decisions of the district that were based on ensuring the safety of our student-athletes. Brunswick School Department stands steadfast in its commitment that hazing, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its students in a safe environment. Sports, including football, are an extension of the classroom, and the school district will not tolerate acts of hazing, harassment, intimidation, or bullying and believes this situation qualifies as an extenuating circumstance.
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Guide to Student and Staff Investigations |
Assistant Superintendent, Shawn Lambert, provided the Brunswick School Board with an overview of student and staff investigations at the 12/8/21 Board meeting. The overview included the initial investigation steps as well as the different pathways that may be followed and relevant policies and forms. The information shared can be found on the district website. A recording of the 12/8/21 Board meeting can be found at this link.
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BJHS / Coffin School Complex Planning Committee |
The Brunswick School Department is seeking community volunteers to participate in a planning group. This planning committee was designed by the Brunswick School Department in collaboration with the Brunswick Town Council to accomplish the following objectives:
- To develop a long term strategy that includes renovation/expansion, maintenance, etc. of Brunswick Junior High School for the future of BJHS / Coffin School Complex...(10-year plan).
- Maximize existing building resources such as Coffin School to assist with poorly functioning spaces at BJHS.
- Understand the issues of priority for our community in regards to selecting a plan.
- Ensure fiscal responsibility to taxpayers while providing a world class educational setting for our students.
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Superintendent's Notebook |
Students can succeed through many career paths
"In business, when the boss “manages by objective,” it means there can be many roads to accomplishing the goal. Employees are deemed “successful” whatever path they choose, as long as the goal is achieved. Fortunately, education is taking a page from the business playbook. As this year’s class of high school seniors considers the options for their next steps in life, there are many paths to explore to achieve that “life objective” of being happy, fulfilled, challenged and self-sustaining in society."
Click here to read the full article from Superintendent Potenziano.
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REAL School Takes the Teens to Trails’ |
“Life Happens Outside Challenge” by Storm!
-Melissa Cleaves, REAL Team Member
During the last full week of October, local non-profit organization Teens to Trails partnered with climate-crisis fighting tech company Arcadia to encourage schools to get their students outside more often by introducing the Life Happens Outside Challenge. The challenge was open to Maine middle and high schools and was intended to “foster an appreciation for the outdoors and its multitude of wellness benefits”. To participate in the program, students needed to track the time they spent outside from midnight on October 23rd to midnight October 29th and submit the information through a Google form. Faculty and staff were encouraged to participate as well and the total hours submitted by each school were divided by school population so that small schools and large schools had equal chances of winning. Three Maine schools - one from northern Maine, one from central Maine and one from southern Maine - would each receive a $1000 check from sponsor Arcadia.
In early November, The REAL School learned that they were the winners of the southern Maine portion of the contest. With 247.25 hours among the 14 participants they actually had the highest hours per participant ratio among the 22 schools that participated. As an expeditionary school, The REAL School was already dedicated to promoting time out of doors to their students and as a group typically spends more time outside than they did that week, which turned out to be the rainiest yet of the fall season. Group activities the school participated in included walking meditations and hiking Rattlesnake Mountain in Casco. Activities reported by students outside of school hours include hunting, dirt biking, dog walking, working on automobiles, and a bonfire. On December 2 representatives from Teens to Trails visited The REAL School and presented them with their check. The students have chosen to spend $500 of their winnings to sponsor ten local children with holiday gifts and are still considering how to spend the remainder of the money.
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Suzi Ring
8th Grade Science Teacher,
Brunswick Junior High School
Suzi grew up in Springvale, Maine and has two daughters. Each of her daughters now have one daughter, ages 6 and 16. She holds a BA in Anthropology-Geography from the University of Southern Maine, a BS in Business Administration from the University of Maine Augusta, and a MEd from Capella University in Educational Leadership.
What makes you proud to work in Brunswick? #BSDProud
I love the work we do with students and how supportive the staff is.
What do you like to do outside of work for fun?
I like to cook, travel, and collect Samurai swords.
What is your favorite line from a movie?
"The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life." - The Last Samurai
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?
Neil deGrasse Tyson.
What is something that you learned in the last week?
I learn new things every day!
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Midcoast Athletic & Recreation Complex at
Brunswick Landing Survey
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Help shape the future of your community! The Brunswick Town Council-appointed Landing Community Center Complex Committee (LC4) seeks input for new recreation facilities to be located on approximately 10.3 acres of open space property adjacent to the Town’s Recreation Center at the intersection of Neptune and Orion Drives (Parcel 40—211A) in Brunswick Landing. Please share your thoughts to help create a comprehensive plan for the amenities, programming, and funding options for the Midcoast Athletic & Recreation Complex that best suits the needs and wants of Brunswick residents.
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Minutes & Agendas for
Brunswick School Board Meetings
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Having trouble finding where to access minutes and agendas for current meetings? The Brunswick School Board is now using BoardDocs, a web-based, paperless solution for all School Board meetings. BoardDocs can be found on the BSD website or by clicking here. School Board meetings starting with August 2021 are now available to view in BoardDocs.
Once in BoardDocs:
- Current meetings will appear under the 'meetings' section on the home screen.
- Click on the meeting you would like to access information for.
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Click view the agenda to view the agenda or click view minutes to view minutes for that meeting. If view minutes is not available as an option, the minutes for that meeting have not been added or released to the public yet.
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Current meetings will be featured for one month. To view meetings outside of the current month, click the + on the left side of the screen next to 2021. A new dropdown menu will appear of older meetings.
Where to find the Zoom link to a meeting:
- If a meeting is using zoom, the zoom link can be found at the top of the agenda.
Attachments:
- If your meeting has attachments, they will be available to view within the agenda section it relates to.
If you would like to print an agenda:
- Click on the meeting you would like to print the agenda for.
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Click print agenda - you will have the option to print a simple agenda, a detailed agenda or a specific agenda item.
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WE'RE HIRING! Click the link below to view current employment opportunities within the Brunswick School Department.
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