Burchard A. Dunn School

As we enter the holidays and vacation we hope that students, teachers, staff and families will have the opportunity to relax, reflect, and recharge for what’s ahead.  Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holiday season!

Math Olympics:  The Patriot Parents PTO will be holding a Math Olympics fundraiser on January 15, 2025.  All 3rd and 4th graders are asked to participate in the Math Olympics.  Pledge forms will be sent home before the holiday vacation. Students are asked to gather pledges, from friends and/or relatives, for the number of problems they complete correctly.  They may also collect a flat rate pledge. We will send home a notice, once we have completed the Math Olympics, with the number of correct problems your child solved. Please return your pledge sheet and money by January 31st, 2025.

From our MTSS Team

A strategy staff uses to interact with students is called 5:1 reinforcement and can easily be applied at home as well! The purpose of 5:1 reinforcement is to minimize disruptive behavior, increase student productivity, and build relationships with students. This means that we are working on positively interacting with students five times, before providing a corrective. Positive and corrective reinforcement can be both verbal and nonverbal. For example, some positive interactions may include a smile, thumbs, up, or specific praise. A verbal or gesture reminder of the appropriate behavior, such as the quiet coyote, can be considered negative reinforcement.

Staff also works on identifying the function behind student actions in order to decrease disruptive behaviors. Behaviors that are rewarded, are often repeated. Some of the functions behind behavior may include receiving a tangible, gaining attention, providing an escape from an activity, or satisfying a sensory need, such as rocking back and forth.  

For example, a student who is seeking adult attention might shout out answers instead of raising their hand. The teacher acknowledges that they did in fact call out the correct answer, and moves on. In the future, that student will continue to blurt out the answers because they received the attention they were seeking.

We encourage you to evaluate the function behind your child’s behavior and to implement the 5:1 reinforcement at home. By implementing these two strategies, you will decrease the disruptive behaviors that you are seeing. Another variation that you can try is to set a five minute timer, and only interact with your child positively for the duration of that time.  Although it seems simple, it is not as easy as it sounds. 

From Patriot Parents

Come see the Maine Mariners play the Tahoe Knight Monsters at the Cross Arena on January 5th!  A portion of the concession sales and tickets purchased through the link in the attached flyer will be donated to SAD 15 Patriot Parents.  Please see the flyer for the QR code to buy tickets.  More information about the game is available at the Maine Mariners website.

Patriots Parents are grateful for everyone’s support. If you’d like to get involved, please reach out to patriotparents@outlook.com. 

From the Office

If your student will be late or absent, please let us know at 207-657-5050 or jsouthard@sad15.org.  Please include your student’s full name in your message, and please cc your student’s teacher as well.

Dates to Remember 

Dec 23-Jan 1 Holiday break – no classes

Jan 2 Welcome back!

Jan 15 Early release day & Math Olympics day – grades 3 & 4 dismissed at 1:00 PM, no preK classes

Jan 20 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day – no classes

Jan 31 Math Olympics pledges due