RSU 9 staff prepares to open schools to students

FARMINGTON — RSU 9 staff met Monday in the Mt. Blue Campus auditorium to kick off the new school year.

New Superintendent Tom Ward and others spoke to the staff during the gathering.

The district’s schools will open for students in grades kindergarten through nine on Wednesday, Aug. 28. All students, including upperclassmen, are scheduled to attend on Thursday, Aug. 28.

Students will find some new administrators and teachers when school begins.

There will also be a 5-cent increase in fully paid lunch prices and eight additional early release days for elementary students. Students in kindergarten through grade six will have 17 early release days, while those in the upper grades will have nine, the same as last year. All early release days are on Wednesdays.

The first two early release days for elementary grades only are on Sept. 11 and 25. A districtwide early release day is scheduled for Sept. 18, according to the 2013-14 school calendar. The calendar is online at www.mtbluersd.org.

All but one elementary school in the district will be dismissed at 3:10 p.m. this school year. Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon will be dismissed at 3:15 p.m.

Students that attend Mt. Blue High School and the Foster Career and Technical Education Center, both intermingled at the Mt. Blue Campus, will find a renovated three-story classroom wing open for classes, along with other new areas.

The campus, which has been under renovation for three years, including the construction of new additions, is nearing completion. Students will be given maps on the first day of school to help them negotiate the new campus.

A new front entrance and some new artwork on the walls of the hallway will greet students as they pass through the newly finished main entrance.

Ward replaces Mike Cormier, who served as the district’s superintendent for 20 years. Besides Ward, there are several other administrators who are new or new to specific schools.

Keith Acedo is the new principal at the Cushing and Academy Hill schools in Wilton. Former Wilton Principal Darlene Paine is overseeing the Cape Cod Hill School.

Bruce Mochamer is a new assistant principal at Mt. Blue High School and campus. He replaces Randy Cook, the former assistant principal who retired at the end of the last school year after more than 40 years with the district.

Students at Mallett School in Farmington will see third-grade teacher Keith Martin in a dual role, both as a teacher and the new assistant principal at the school. He will teach half of the time and serve as administrator the other half.

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RSU 9 meal prices

Fully paid student meal prices have increased 5 cents.

Students who are eligible and qualify for reduced meal costs will receive breakfast free and lunch for 40 cents.

Fully paid meal prices:

Kindergarten through grade six: breakfast, $1.10; lunch, $1.90.

Grades seven through 12: breakfast, $1.25; lunch, $2.15.

Adult meal prices: breakfast, $2.10; lunch, $3.90.

Source: RSU 9

: Large, colorful, framed artwork featuring a variety of birds flying over land and waterways are being hung in the entryway and hallway leading to Main Street at the Mt. Blue Campus in Farmington. The state requires 1 percent of the construction cost of projects paid for by taxpayer money to be spent on artwork in the building. No one was available Monday to provide details about the artwork or artists.

: RSU 9 staff attended a workshop Monday in the Mt. Blue Campus auditorium to prepare to open the school doors to students in grades kindergarten through nine beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 28. All students are scheduled to attend school on Thursday, Aug. 29.