A Message from Mrs. Hennessey

April 2026

The staff of Memorial School thanks you for your continued support and partnership. We appreciate all that our families are doing to support children at home with their learning. We are so grateful for your collaboration as we round the corner into the last third of the school year.

We have a lot of very exciting events planned in the coming months.  For starters, we hope your family will join us at Memorial School’s Spring Family Night on May 7th from 5:00 – 6:00 pm. Please feel free to contact me directly at ahennessey@sad15.org or (207) 926-4322 if you have any questions. Thank you for all that you do to support Memorial School!

Spring Family Night @ Memorial School

On Thursday, May 7th, Memorial School will host its Spring Family Night!  The theme is “Superhero Training Academy”. The event will take place from 5:00-6:00 pm. There will be lots to see and do including… 

•  A free themed dinner will be served.
•  The GNG Backpack Program will be distributing food bags to any interested families.
•  Our Spring Book Fair will be open in the library.
•  Our Art Show will be on display in the corridors.
•  Community partners will be on hand to share information about summer programming.
•  And much, much more!

Memorial School’s Title 1 Program

Annually, Memorial School renews its application to receive Title I funding for programs and staffing. Being a school-wide Title I school means we receive federal funds to support student learning and can expend these funds across the whole school rather than only for specific students. To maintain this status and funding, the district must reapply annually. This re-application will be submitted to the state by June 1. Any member of the community who wishes to have more information or give input on our district’s Title 1 plans or applications should contact Amanda Hennessey, Memorial School Principal, at ahennessey@sad15.org or Kathy Martin, Director of Curriculum, at kmartin@sad15.org.

Thank you, School Improvement Team!

Thank you so much to the parents and staff who serve on our Memorial School Improvement Team! We meet monthly to write school goals, assess our progress, share student data, and plan family engagement events. Thank you to parents Caitlyn D., Andrew H., Nina P., Rebecca V., Chace C., Dustin W., and Amy P. for your participation, hard work, and insights! Thank you to school staff members Lynn Montgomery, Meg Bissonette, and Mackenzie Gordon for your continued work on this committee as well. Please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Hennessey (ahennessey@sad15.org) if you are interested in joining us!

Counselor’s Corner with Ms. Michelle

In Guidance class, students have been actively building important social-emotional skills that support both their learning and relationships with others.

We have finished working on our Growth Mindset. This helps students understand that they may not be able to do something yet, but with practice, effort, and persistence, they can improve. We have been exploring the “magic of YET,” encouraging students to turn statements like, “I can’t do this,” into, “I can’t do this yet.” This small word helps build confidence, resilience, and a willingness to keep trying even when things feel challenging.

We will move on to Cooperation Skills, including listening, sharing ideas, taking turns, and working as part of a team. Through games and group activities, students have learned how to solve problems together and support one another in a respectful and kind way.

Lastly, we will discuss Future-Focused Week, where students explore goal-setting and thinking ahead. They will discuss their hopes, practice making small achievable goals, and learn how their choices today can help shape their future.

Patriot Parent Update

Patriot Parents PTO at Memorial School

Patriot Parents PTO is a nonprofit group of families working together to support our school community. 

Join us! Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 14, from 5–6 pm at Memorial. At this meeting, we will share updates about school and district-wide fundraisers and events, and hear from Memorial staff about ways we can support them. 

Updates:

• Thank you to everyone who participated in the Memorial Reading Challenge, our read-a-thon fundraiser. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. Funds help pay for enrichment opportunities like field trips, author visits, and special classroom projects. Congratulations to Miss Montgomery and the Batcave – their class had the highest percentage of reading logs returned, earning a popcorn and reading party. 
• We are excited to share that spring field trips are in the works for all grades (info to come from classroom teachers). And, earlier this month, Memorial welcomed storyteller Antonio Rocha for a school-wide program. These experiences are made possible in part because of funding from Memorial Patriot Parents PTO! 
• We are looking for donations of new/like new garden supplies to help students and staff tend to the newly expanded beds in the Memorial School garden. We are in need of gloves, hand tools, tomato cages, and other supplies. Sign up to donate: https://grasshoppersignup.com/s/lvfe4e. 

• Congrats to the kindergarteners for having the highest adult participation rate in the Memorial Family Climate Survey. Memorial Patriot Parents PTO is helping to host a popsicle party for them to celebrate!

District-Wide Science Fair 

On the evening of Thursday, March 19th, the Gray-New Gloucester High School gymnasium was home to the annual District-Wide Science Fair. Students from all five MSAD 15 schools were invited to complete science-themed research projects and experiments. About thirty-five students participated in the Science Fair, and their exciting projects were on display. Memorial School was well represented at the Fair, and our students completed some amazing projects! Great job, Memorial Scientists!

2026–2027 Kindergarten Registration & Screening

On approximately January 15th, we will begin registering students for the kindergarten class of 2026-2027! Parents of students who will be five on or before October 15, 2026, please visit the Memorial School webpage and click the link to register your child for kindergarten (on the left). We can’t wait to welcome our incoming students into our Memorial community!

More information to come on the K Screening Process. If you have any questions about the registration or screening process, please contact Amanda Hennessey at 926-4322 or ahennessey@sad15.org. 

 iPad Care & Use

Student iPads may be sent home for remote instruction days. Please keep the following tips in mind if/when students are using iPads at home.

• Please be sure to have students carry their iPads back and forth to school in their cases.
• Students have hard-backed keyboard cases. Students should keep the keyboard attached to those cases at all times, when not in use, to protect the device screens. 
• Please remind children to carefully set their backpacks down when getting on or off the bus or arriving at home/school. 
• Please contact Mrs. Hennessey as soon as possible when damage is noticed so we can provide a loaner device and send the iPad off for repair. 

Thank you for your continued support and care with district-loaned devices. Please feel free to contact Mrs. Hennessey (926-4322 or ahennessey@sad15.org) with any questions.

MSAD Inclement Weather Procedures

Please see this excerpt from Dr. Turner’s Superintendent Newsletter:

It may seem early, but winter weather will be here before you know it! MSAD 15 uses three different models for responding to inclement weather. 

They are: 

• Two-Hour Delay, No Pre-K – we will call a two-hour delay when a little extra time will give the towns and the schools what they need to ensure safe attendance at school. On these days, bus pick-up times and school start times will be delayed by two hours. There will be no AM or PM Pre-K on days with a two-hour delay. Dismissal time and after-school activities will generally stay the same. 
• Remote Day – we will call a remote day when weather or other events prevent safe in-person school, but there are no widespread power or internet outages. Most of the time, after school activities, practices, and games will also be cancelled. 
• No School Day – we will call a traditional no school day when weather or other events prevent safe in-person school, AND there are widespread power or internet outages in the Gray-New Gloucester community. These days will be made up at the end of the school year. Most of the time, after school activities, practices, and games will also be cancelled. 

Decisions on weather procedures will be communicated as early as is practical, based on the timing of predicted weather and consistency of weather reports. Inclement weather decisions are communicated to staff, families, and community members who sign up for the community listserv by phone, text, and email. Decisions are also posted on the district website, social media, and with area news outlets.

Remote Learning Days

District administration will be watching the weather throughout the winter. When the forecast is worrisome, Memorial School may be sending home our district-issued iPads in anticipation of poor travel conditions and the potential of a remote school day. When devices are sent, we will communicate this to you through an email and/or Seesaw message. The iPads should stay in backpacks at home unless we actually have a remote school day. If there is no remote school day, please keep the iPad and sleeve in the backpack, ready to come right back to school that day. Should we implement a remote day, we would use the following schedule:

K-2 Remote Day Plan

9:00-9:45:

Live Zoom – Morning Meeting & Literacy (whole group)

9:45-10:00: 

Break

10:00-10:30: 

Live Zoom – Math (whole group)

10:30-12:00: 

Asynchronous work on Seesaw (including Specials) and/or small group/individual sessions with the classroom teacher, Response-To-Intervention staff, or Special Ed services

12:00 – 12:30: 

Lunch

12:30-2:00: 

As needed, small group/individual sessions with RTI or Special Education

Zoom links and assignments will be shared via Seesaw. You can also expect a specific communication from Mrs. Hennessey and your child’s classroom teacher should we need to implement remote learning for any reason.

MSAD 15 -Remote Meal Sign-Up

School meals will be offered when remote learning days are expected due to inclement weather. Shelf-stable meals that meet the USDA guidelines will be sent home with students the day prior to the potential remote day. In the event a remote learning day is not called, these meals are expected to be saved for the next potential remote day. Sign up is required. Please click this link to visit the form and to ensure your child receives these meals.

Updated April 8, 2026