Two Hour Delay

Good morning, All!

     Due to the nasty weather outside, the administration has issued a two-hour delay this morning.  This means school will start at 9:30, so all you middle-schoolers have to miss Social Studies today.

     Eighth grade, you still have your test tomorrow!

Early Release Today

Good morning everyone,

     Today the administration is closing school at 11:00, even earlier than usual early release time, because the incoming storm will hit us soon after that time.  We will have lunch on an early schedule, and then dismiss to busses.  This means you will have your morning classes, likely half of your 10:00 class, and you will not have your intervention or afternoon courses.

Outdoor Adventure Tomorrow

Hello All!

     Don't forget that tomorrow, Tuesday March 25, we are all going cross-country skiing in the frigid weather, so bundle up!

Sock Hop Saturday!

     Hello everyone!  Do you like to dance?  Do you like loud music and groovy tunes?  Do you enjoy great food and even better entertainment?

     If so, we have just the event for you!  Saturday March 22, at 6:30 PM, we are hosting a 50's Sock Hop here at Helen S. Dunn School!  We have great music, great food, fantastic decorations, and a limbo bar, so come by and have a blast!

     Show up and show off your skills!  Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Flanders, and so many others have put a lot of time into this fun event, so come to the school and have a great time!

     We have new speakers, a disco mirror ball,  food and drink, and even hula hoops!  The staff beat you all at the basketball game Thursday afternoon; here's your chance to show them up!

Early Release Today

Good morning!

     School starts at the normal time today, but the administration has called an early release, due to the incoming storm.  You will have your regular morning classes, intervention, and lunch, and then we will dismiss you at noon.

     Enjoy the afternoon in the snow!

Shriners, Soda Tabs, and Success

     Today the Eighth Grade hosted a party for the first, second, and third place winners in the race for soda tabs.  The Sixth, Fifth, and Third Grades had a great time this afternoon eating delicious snacks, playing fun games, dancing to fantastic music, and, most important of all, receiving the gratitude of local Shrine leaders, who came to collect the soda tabs and show their respect for our efforts.

     The entire experience was planned, coordinated, and presented by Tabitha; she deserves our praise and our respect for suggesting the fundraiser, creating flyers, organizing the collection, and contacting everyone involved.  Along with other students in the class, she created decorations, requisitioned supplies, and acquired administrative approval for the most energetic in-school event of the year.

     Among the other students, of particular note was Christopher, who successfully DJed the entire event, coordinated the dances and the competitions, and stayed after to help clean up the gym.  His enthusiasm and expertise served everyone well; if you see him in the halls, thank him for a successful party.

     Kyler, Mikayla, Scarlet, and other contributed their time and energy as well.  Mrs. Goodspeed, Mrs. Carrie Madden, Mr. Leclerc, Mr. Brownewell, and Mr. Archer all helped as well.  The school successfully raised over $400.00 for the Shriner's Children's Hospitals; that is over 40,000 can tabs!

     I will publish some photos of the event when they become available to me; until then, if you see a Helen S. Dunn student, let them know they did a great job!

Tonight's Game has been Cancelled

Hello All,
     Tonight's basketball game has been cancelled, no doubt due to the remarkable amount of snow coming down right now.

     For future reference, you can find the game schedule on the Helen S. Dunn School website, or you can click right here:  click here to see the basketball schedule.

The Cast of Animal Farm

     Seventh Grade is reading Animal Farm, George Orwell's clever and cutting tale of animals who rise up against tyranny and attempt to create a utopian world of organization and peace.  Today in class, after reading Chapter One for homework, they created diagrams of the characters' relationships.  One in particular looked very nice, so I decided to share it with you all.

     Dorothy, Nikki, and Eric did a great job organizing it, and Dorothy's final product was excellent.  Great job!

New Quarter, Upcoming Assessments

Hello All!

     Monday marked the start of the new marking period here at Helen S Dunn School.  That means your old grades are set, and you have a brand-new chance to improve!  With that in mind, you should all be aware of the upcoming assessments for which you need to study.  They are:

6th Grade:  On Friday, November 8, you have a quiz on the Greek Gods and Goddesses.
7th Grade:  On Wednesday, November 13, you have a quiz on Animal Farm.  Pay attention to the characters and conflicts.
8th Grade:  On Friday, November 8, you have a quiz on the eighteen (18) literary elements and techniques from pages 108 - 109 in your textbook.
8th Grade:  On Wednesday, November 13, you have an exam on the Civil War in Social Studies.

     Study hard; these are the first big grades of the new quarter in ELA!  As always, if you have any questions, please come see me.  Also, don't forget that tomorrow and Friday are half days, and parent-teacher conferences take place tomorrow afternoon.  Work hard!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

No School Today

Hello All!
     Due to a power outage, the administration has cancelled school today.  You should all enjoy your day off and spend some time outside while it's still warm enough to feel your nose.  Don't forget, though, that your homework is now due tomorrow.
     If you want to track the outage, go to Bangor Hydro's outage tracker on their website:  click here to see the outage map.  It is outage 77890-1.
     Have a great day!

A-Hiking We Will Go...

     Today the upper grades took a field trip to Twin Pine Camps and Trails, where they spend several hours hiking through the woods.  Despite the chilly weather and occasional raindrops, it was a fun outing for most involved.  At least, it was probably more for for them than a regular day of school!

     Twin Pine is located in Millinocket, on the shores of Millinocket Lake.  We spent about an hour and twenty minutes riding in busses before we even got to their entrance road.  Everyone was grateful to get off the bus for a grand total of two minutes, and then everyone was cold.  However, the hike warmed us up, and the sun finally came out as well.

Perspectives on Football

Football

by Eric

     Football is a hard sport to play.  During football games you take some hard hits.  Football is a full contact sport, and a lot of people get hurt playing football.  Football is a sport that you have to be in good shape to play, and I'm not just talking about being strong.

     To be in a game, you have to try hard in practice.  More than just being physically in shape, you have to be mentally in shape.  You have to be able to force yourself to keep going when you think you're going to die.  There are many drills we've done to prove this, but by far the worst is "The Russians are Coming" or "Air Raids."  They're the same thing.  What you have to do in that drill is you're running and the coach blows the whistle and you have to do an army crawl.  The coach throws the ball, and if it hits you you have to do 25 push ups.  Then the coach blows the whistle twice and you're up and running again.

     Those are the thoughts I have on football.