From the Hawk’s Nest

By Loreen Wiley
    The Mill Pond School Title IA dinner on October 28 was a huge success with more that 125 people in attendance. The focal point of the evening was the short recitations, poems and readings presented by the students under the direction of the Title IA staff.
    Parents had the opportunity to visit various Title IA sessions their children may attend during the school day. Some of the sessions included Soar to Success, which assists students in learning comprehension strategies, Lexia diagnostic reading assessment which provides our teachers with students’ individual and specific data, and Reading Recovery strategies used with small groups of students.
    We would like to thank the kitchen staff for preparing a wonderful meal. We appreciate the parents, staff members and a representative from the Maine Parent Federation who attended. A special thank you goes to Rhonda Foster for her work in organizing the event.
    Last Thursday evening the staff of Community Health and Counseling Service provided an in-service for our parents entitled Parenting Scene Investigation. The focus of the session was to provide parents with insight and strategies for dealing with children who may be experiencing some typical child behaviors and power struggles that parents deal with.
    It was an enjoyable evening with a lot of humorous entertainment presented through role-playing. Those presenting from the agency were Peter Crovo, Ellen Ellis, Karen Roy, Chuck Moody, Brian Chapla and Tammy Mulvey. We are grateful for the work they did with us.
    We would like to remind parents that we will hold parent/teacher conferences on November 24 and 25. Conferences for students in grades kindergarten through five will be held on November 24. PreK students will not attend school on this day. Students in grades six through twelve will be in attendance on November 24.
    Conferences for students in grades six through twelve will be held on November 25. We would like these students to accompany their parents to the conferences. Students in PreK through fifth grade will have a full day of school on November 25.
    Notices giving conference times are being sent home this week, so please sign these and return them to school with your child. If you need to change your conference time or have any questions, please contact the school.
    Our Civil Rights Team, under the leadership of Mary Harbison, has been very busy these past couple of weeks. For Make a Difference Day, the team sponsored a food sale to raise money for community fuel assistance through the Salvation Army. They raised $270 for this project. The team would like to thank all those who baked goodies, as well as, The Courtyard Café, Mardens, and the Linneus Rec. Department for allowing the students to sell at their places of business.
    Last week the Civil Rights Team sponsored a change drive to benefit the Houlton Humane Society. They raised $205.50 for this project. We are so proud of the students on this team for their diligent work and thoughtfulness for others.