Calais Schools

The Calais Middle School only (Grades 7 and 8), not the high school, will move to remote instruction through Monday, January 25th for all students. In-person students will return to in-person instruction on Tuesday, January 26th, which is a Group I student day. Over the weekend we have receive confirmation of positive Covid results  for a student and a staff member with other primary exposures to additional students and staff. We take this action out of precaution and encourage our staff and students to monitor for symptoms. Students and staff who are considered primary exposure will be contacted today separately by administration or the school nurse.

“Midterm” week schedule and attendance will remain the same as previously schedule for the week of January 19-22.

Stay safe,

Mary Anne Spearin

Principal, CMHS

The Calais Middle/High School hopes this message finds everyone happy and healthy in the New Year.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents/guardians that if you chose to change your child(ren)’s placement from in-person to virtual OR from virtual to in-person instruction, you must contact the front office (454-2591) prior to the switch. These are challenging times for everyone and we want to be able to best serve all of our students. When students change from one placement to another, it does require different preparations for their teachers. We appreciate your help with this matter.

Monday, January 18th is a holiday and there will be no school. The remainder of the week will be a nontraditional midterm week (please refer to this year’s schedule in the notice sent on 1/2/21). Student attendance is mandatory for all students who are not receiving a passing grade in their classes and this does include any “incomplete”.

Calais Middle/High School staff are offering additional individual or small group academic supports from 11am – 2pm Tuesday, January 19 – Friday, January 22. If you would like for your child to take advantage of the additional individualized support, please email Mrs. Spearin (mspearin@calaisschools.org) or Mrs. Bowles (hbowles@calaisschools.org) or call the front office (454-2591). The Calais in-town late bus will run at 2pm for students accessing the additional support. If your student(s) are required to attend during midterm week, you will receive a separate notification by the end of this week.

One last reminder…All incomplete grades from Spring 2020 must be completed by Friday, January 22, 2021. Any courses with unresolved incomplete at that time will need to be retaken in the 2021-2022 school year.

Thank you,

Mary Anne Spearin

Principal, CMHS

A quick reminder that Monday, January 4th will resume classes for our Group II students and Group I students will return on Tuesday, January 5th.

With the end of the first semester, January 22nd, quickly approaching, Calais Middle/High School administration, faculty, and staff took the time to review our past practices around midterm exams. We concluded that during the pandemic the use of traditional midterm exams would not provide the best evidence of student progress, and we also recognized many factors have made it difficult for some of our students to perform as well as they could under different circumstances. Therefore, for 2021 CMHS is modifying our midterm week.

During the week of January 19 – 22 when we would normally hold midterm exams, CMHS will use the scheduled half days as a mandatory attendance for students who are currently failing and voluntary for any student who would like to extend their learning. For the morning sessions, Tuesday, January 19 through Friday, January 22, students may take advantage of direct support from the classroom teacher for their scheduled courses.  The second half of the day will be dedicated to working individually with students who need additional supports in any course. Please refer to the schedule provided below.

Students will not be required to attend in person for a class in which they are receiving a passing grade. All students will be required to have all teachers sign a form stating whether they are currently passing each course, and those forms will be required to be turned into their homeroom teacher by Wednesday, January 13th, 2021. This will help us plan in order to meet the current social distancing guidelines.

Time	Tuesday, January 19	Wednesday, January 20	Thursday, January 21	Friday, January 22
7:30 – 10:30 (mandatory attendance for students with missing work or current course grade below 70)	Blue 1 & 2	Blue 3 & 4	White 1 & 2	White 3 & 4
11:00 – 1:30 (optional – this time is an additional opportunity for students who are at risk of losing credit for first semester classes or students who would like additional help or instruction. This support will not necessarily be from the course teacher but will be from a CMHS staff member.)	Option additional support	Option additional support	Option additional support	Option additional support

IMPORTANT reminder for students who still have an outstanding incomplete from SPRING 2020 or first semester Fall 2020:

ALL student work from courses with an incomplete from spring 2020  or first semester of fall 2020 must be finished by Friday, January 22, 2021. Any outstanding incomplete after that date will turn to a failing grade and the student will not receive credit for the course, which will result in the need to retake the course. Please know that at this point there is still plenty of time for students to complete the necessary work in order to finish the incomplete. It will require additional focus by the student, but students can still receive credit if the work is completed by Friday, January 22, 2021. If you have any questions regarding an incomplete your student has, please call the front office at 454-2591.

Thank you,

Mary Anne Spearin

Principal CMHS