Wow, what a busy time of year it is here at Houlton Middle/High School. Whether it be in the classroom, on the stage in the music area, or on the court, our students and staff currently have so many things happening. This busyness does help pass the winter months, and we are so appreciative of the effort of our students and staff as we head towards springtime. I will illustrate some of what is going on at Houlton Middle/High School below.
Let me begin with the classroom where our students and staff are working so very hard. We have developed a rigorous, comprehensive curriculum to deliver to our students. In order for this to happen, our students are working very hard on a daily basis to achieve the learning targets presented to them by their teachers. We feel confident that this very curriculum will help prepare all of our students for what lies ahead of them, whether it be acceptance to the college of their choice or entrance into the work field.
We are also making preparation for the upcoming state testing during the last week in February, the entire month of March, and mid-April. Our grade 8 students were selected to take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) this year. All grade 8 students will be tested on Feb. 26, 2015. In addition, grades 6 through 8 and 11 will be taking part in the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) for Mathematics & English Language Arts/Literacy test, as required by the state of Maine, during the month of March. All Maine students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 will take this test in March. If that is not enough, all grade 11 students will be taking either the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT) or the Accuplacer Test(AT) on April 15 at our school. Needless to say, the combination of these required tests along with our rigorous curriculum, will require a lot of hard work and determination by our staff and students.
Congratulations to our girls basketball team on capturing the Eastern Maine Championship Saturday night! We are so proud of all of the students who take part in our winter athletic events. This goes way beyond just the teams who compete. Each and every night we have about 100 students participating in a winter athletic event. The students who are participating do not just compete, but they entertain, and they do it in a first class way. While attending the tournament in Bangor, my heart swelled with pride when I witnessed our school community present itself with such a high level of competition and sportsmanship. Our teams, band, cheerleaders, and fans are fabulous and many people from other communities have reached out to give us their positive feedback. A big thank you to everyone involved for your part in making it such a great experience.
Our music department has numerous activities that have begun. High school show choir, jazz band, and percussion ensemble are practicing hard in preparation for upcoming concerts or state competitions. In the middle school, jazz band and percussion ensemble are just getting started and auditions for the upcoming middle school musical “Aladdin” are taking place.
In closing, our students and staff appreciate all of the support that comes from the RSU 29 communities. We all work very hard to create a product people can be proud of each and everyday. After a long, hard winter here in Aroostook County, let’s hope we will hear the birds chirping and experience the smell of fresh cut grass very soon. In the meantime, let’s fill the Cross Center Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. as our girls attempt to bring home the gold.
