From the Principal’s Office
Ms. Lindsay’s School Counseling Corner
Over the last week, Dunn’s computer class teacher, Sarah McCann, and I co-taught our annual lesson around Internet Safety to our 3rd and 4th graders. This lesson scaffolds upon concepts from our personal safety SEL lesson back in December. Specifically, we discussed with students ways to stay safe online. Our lesson focused on the following key rules:
- Keep your personal information private! Use a nickname instead of your real name whenever possible;
- Only talk to people online that you know in real life! Family members, friends, classmates. If someone messages you whom you do not know in real life, do not respond to their message, and tell a trusted adult right away.
- Think before you click! Check with a trusted adult before you click on any unknown links if you’re unsure. Some links can give your device a virus, bring you to inappropriate websites, or steal your personal information.
- Use strong passwords! Create strong passwords with a mix of letters, numbers and symbols, as well as change it every month or two. Never share your passwords with anyone EXCEPT your caregivers – it’s their job to closely monitor your technology and to keep you safe!
- Be kind online! Always use kind words when communicating with others online. It is never OK to share hurtful comments or pictures. It’s important to be a kind friend both online and in real life. If someone says something unkind to you online, be sure to talk to a trusted adult about it!
- Tell a trusted adult if something online makes you feel sad, scared, uncomfortable, worried or unsafe. These can be adults that you feel comfortable talking to when at school, as well as outside of school.
Mrs. McCann and I provided students with the opportunity to practice applying these rules through the examination of different real-life scenarios in whole group discussions. Students were encouraged to identify their trusted adults in their life (both at school and outside of school) with whom they can go to if they find themselves in uncomfortable or unsafe situations/conversations online. With understanding and awareness of their choices online, we hope that students are able to engage in the digital world with respect for themselves and others!
Celebrating Differences! During the month of March, I will be visiting with 3rd, 4th and 3/4 multi grade classrooms to teach an SEL lesson around celebrating our differences, and identifying what makes each of us unique. I will be reading the children’s book Just Ask by Sonia Sotomayor, which highlights differently-abled students who use their strengths to work together and learn about each other. The book shows us that our differences are wonderful, and that you just have to ask if you don’t understand something! Students will create a simple craft where they identify one thing that makes them unique, to add to our mid-level bulletin board entitled, Our Differences Make Us Beautiful.
We will be continuing our food drive this month, to benefit our GNG Food Backpack Program! Please see the attached flier for more information.
Have a wonderful weekend! – Ms. Lindsay, Dunn School Counselor lfriberg@sad15.org
Book Sale during Literacy Night!
We will be accepting book donations from February 9 through March 20 for our Literacy Night Book Sale, 5:30 to 7:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26.
All proceeds from the book sale will go directly to classroom teachers to use at the BOGO Scholastic Book Sale this spring. Your donations will help us put new, exciting, and high-interest books into our classrooms for students to enjoy all year long!
Thank you for supporting literacy at Dunn School and helping grow our classroom libraries. We appreciate your generosity and look forward to seeing you at Literacy Night!
From our Patriot Parents
Common Conference Dinner Sign-Up – The Patriot Parents are excited to host a Chili Dinner potluck for Common Conference Night on Tuesday, March 17th. We would love for families to contribute to making this dinner an awesome one for our teachers and staff! Here is the sign-up link:
Common Conference Dinner Sign Up
Movie Night – Save the Date for a Movie Night on Friday, April 3rd at 6:00! All families from Memorial, Russell, and Dunn schools are invited to join the Patriot Parents at Dunn School for an evening of fun. Movie title will be announced in a few weeks.
SAVE THE DATES! Patriot Parents is excited for this year’s events. We welcome all our PreK through 8th graders to GNG MS for an evening full of fun. Our Sons Social will be March 28th and the Daughters Gala will be May 9th. We will share ways to donate or volunteer for both events in the coming week. If anyone has any questions, families can reach out to their school Patriot Parents PTO rep or email us at patriotparents@outlook.com.
The Science Fair is Coming!
The District-Wide Science Fair will be on Thursday, March 19th, from 5:00 – 6:30 pm at Gray-New Gloucester High School! Important details:
- Any MSAD 15 student can enter the Fair.
- Student projects can be experiments or research-based and can be on any science-related topic.
- All students will receive feedback from the judges.
- Any student who enters the Fair will be entered in a raffle to win science-themed prizes! Participants will also get a certificate and a medal!
- Registration for the Fair is open (QR code on flyer – attached).
- We will also have exciting events for Fair spectators, and all are invited to visit the Fair.
- This year, there will be nature-themed games and activities for participants and visitors to enjoy!
- Here’s the link to sign up: Science Fair Sign Up
The Scholastic Discovery Fair is coming to the MSAD 15 Science Fair! SAVE THE DATE for March 19th, 5:00 – 6:30 pm at GNG High School and get ready for a STEAM-powered adventure that inspires reading and hands-on learning in science, technology, art, math, and more.
Start exploring together: Scholastic Discovery Fair
Questions? Reach out to Dr. Harvey (aharvey@sad15.org) and/or Mrs. Hennessey (ahennessey@sad15.org). We hope to see you at the Science Fair!
From the Music Room
Hello Dunn School Families! Our concert(s) will take place over 2 nights – Monday April 6 and Tuesday April 7. As always, we will be performing by team. A schedule of the shows is as follows:
April 6, 5 pm: Robash, Gamage and Gillis April 7, 5 pm: Murray, Rausch and Keepes
April 6, 6 pm: Raymond, Gillis and Audette April 7, 6 pm: Granholm, Marzilli and Fecteau
Students should dress their best and arrive about 10 minutes before the show is scheduled to start. Students will gather in the library and parents, friends and families can gather in the gym. Due to limited parking and seating, we ask that you attend only the show for your student. (We understand some families have students on multiple teams.) Please reach out to Mrs. Libby (emlibby@sad15.org) with any questions!
From the Office
Please contact the office if your student will be tardy or absent: 207-657-5050 or email jsouthard@sad15.org.
Please encourage your student to check our Lost & Found for any missing clothing or gear – we have a very large collection of items down by the Library.
Dates to Remember
Mar 11 Early release day: no preK classes, 3rd & 4th grade students dismissed at 1:00 PM
Mar 12-13 Records Day & In-Service Day: no classes
Mar 17 Common conference night
Mar 19 District Science Fair, 5:00 to 6:30 PM, GNG High School
Mar 26 Literacy Night & Book Sale at Dunn, 5:30 to 7:00 PM, Dunn gym
Apr 15 Early release day: no preK classes, 3rd & 4th grade students dismissed at 1:00 PM
Apr 17-24 Spring Break: no classes
May 20 Early release day: no preK classes, 3rd & 4th grade students dismissed at 1:00 PM
May 25 Memorial Day: no classes
May 28 GNG High School Graduation: Early dismissal for gr 3 & 4 at 1:00 PM, no preK classes
** This is a change from the calendar published last spring **
Updated March 6, 2026