BELFAST — RSU 71 (Belfast, Belmont, Morrill, Searsmont, Swanville) Superintendent Mary Alice McLean issued the following March 17:

To: The RSU 71 Community 

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2019

Re: Update on our district closure

Dear RSU # 71 Students, Parents, Staff, School Board, and Community, 

Today at 10:05 am district administrators shared the following message to the staff members they supervise.

• The Situation - As the coronavirus spreads rapidly and as medical experts urge people to stay home, our priority today has become protecting our staff. Therefore, we are encouraging staff to go home by 2:30 today or as soon as learning plans are completed. and to work remotely until further notice.
  
  
• Hours - All schools will be open tomorrow Wednesday, March 18, 2020, during specific hours so that K-12 students and their families can pick up remote learning materials, including laptops for grades 3 and up.
  
  Administrators will be present to help students and families.
  
  
  • BAHS/BCOPE will be open from 7:00 am - 2:30 pm 
  • THMS will be open from 7:00 am - 2:30 pm 
  • CASS will be open from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm 
  • East Belfast will be open from 8:00 am - 11:00 noon 
  • Nickerson will be open from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Weymouth will be open from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm 
  • Ames will be open from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm.
    
    
• Staff Work - All staff may work remotely from home. All staff should bring home their computers, chargers, Leaders of Their Own Learning (Berger) and its companion guide, along with any other materials that will support their choice of professional growth and development. Additional reading material and videos will be sent to all teachers and support staff to read, watch and reflect upon (as able). 
  
  
• Food Service (March 17 - April 17):

1. 1. This Week - CASS, East and Ames will continue to be open from 8:00 am - 12 noon daily this week to distribute grab-and-go meals.
   2. Next Week - Starting Monday, we will be open in the same locations (CASS, East and Ames) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for pick-up only.  Parents and students will take two-days of grab-and-go meals at the same time and three days’ worth on Friday.
   3. Delivery for Families - Starting Monday we will also be using our school buses to deliver grab-and-go bag meals to families who are unable to come to our sites.  A robocall has been sent out asking you to contact your school principal if you need food delivered to your home on those days. Families who would like go-bag meals to be delivered should call or text the building principal. Parents need only contact one administrator and request meals for children who are in separate schools. Make sure to include your students’ names and addresses in the messages you leave. 
      1. BAHS/BCOPE: Jeff Lovejoy 322-1054 and Colden Golann 322-8099
      2. THMS: Bruce Bailey 930-9720 and Alta Seekins 322-4744
      3. CASS: Glen Widmer 322-5742, Ashley Reynolds 322-3086
      4. East Belfast/Kermit Nickerson: Liz Wakem 930-9714
      5. Ames/ Weymouth: Lori Smail: 322-1816

• Central Office - Please check our out newly created Coronavirus webpages at 

www.rsu 71.org. Tech help will be available for parents on the Resources for Home Learning webpage. Administrative help can be accessed by calling:

1. Superintendent Mary Alice McLean - 930-9726
2. Assistant Superintendent/Curriculum Coordinator Laura Miller - 930-9725

I'm deeply appreciative of all the work that our RSU 71-Family is doing and will continue to do as we go forward. I urge you to take care of yourselves and loved ones and think about the advent of the spring that will soon be upon us.