PARIS — Oxford Hills School District classrooms have been cleaned and teachers are ready to welcome students this week.
New staff, new programs, new facilities and more await the more than 3,400 students from the eight district towns of SAD 17, including 1,100 at the comprehensive high school, 500 at the middle school and 1,900 at the eight elementary schools.
Students in grades one through six, plus seventh- and ninth-graders arrive on Wednesday, follow by students in grades eight and 10-12 on Thursday.
Parents of prekindergarten and kindergarten students were sent letters announcing the first day of school for their children. Those will be the weeks of Aug. 27 and Sept. 4.
Oxford Comprehensive High School
At Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris, Principal Ted Moccia said Nancy McClean-Morrisette will serve as the new Oxford Hills Technical School student services director and Stephanie Goss as the new director of guidance.
“OHCHS is excited with the hiring of several new staff,” Moccia said. “They are talented professionals that are sure to help our students succeed.”
The Streaked Mountain alternative education program has relocated from lower Main Street in Norway to Fair Street in Norway across from the high school.
Oxford Hills Technical School Director Shawn Lambert said McClean-Morrisette is the former SAD 17 guidance director and “has much experience with both student counseling and program implementation.”
Lambert said the technical school also has a new forestry trade assistant, Brian Barrett.
“Brian is a licensed arborist and former forest ranger with a wealth of experience with forestry, environmental science applications, as well as heavy equipment operation,” he said.
The program is adding a piece of heavy equipment also.
“We are purchasing a mini-excavator to train students in the preliminary operation of earth-moving equipment in the forestry setting. We will also be providing commercial truck driving training (Class A and B) for some advanced forestry students,” he said.
Oxford Middle School
At the Oxford Hills Middle School, students will remain on two campuses this fall — Paris and Oxford — but will no longer be moving from one to the other each trimester.
Instead students will remain in one building for the entire school year and have semesters, Principal Paul Bickford.
In a related issue, Superintendent Rick Colpitts reported to the SAD 17 board of directors last week that Speedway Inc. has agreed to allow the district to occupy an additional 3,500 square feet of space at the Madison Avenue building in Oxford at no charge for the coming school year.
“The additional space comes at an opportune time, given that the board has expanded access to art and world languages at the Middle School South campus, Bickford said.
Rowe Elementary School
Guy E. Rowe Elementary School Principal Dan Hart said 15 new staff members have been hired. They include prekindergarten teachers Jennifer Cousins, Brigitta Valente and Paula Miller; fourth-grade teachers Jennifer Perry and Richard Caughey; fifth-grade teacher Susan Allen; art teacher Anthony Orlando; music teacher Meliss Brennan; and half-time social worker Katherine Case. Emily Woodworth will be an educational technician II, Jason Wallace as educational technician II and Holly Davis as an educational technician I.
The following are transfers or changes in positions: Samantha Medici, fifth-grade teacher; Carisa (Miner) Hammer, sixth-grade teacher; Katrina Soucy, Title I/reading interventionist; Lorette Ayotte, educational technician I; and Ashbury-Hoy, life skills.
The Rowe Elementarty School will hold an open house from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27. Parents can tour the school and meet teachers, specialists and administrators.
Parents and others are encouraged to attend informational meetings on PTO news, community groups’ information booths, school news/changes and the school’s Parent Compact at 6:15, 6:35 and 6:55 p.m. in the cafeteria.
The prekindergarten open house is from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Parents should meet at the Early Childhood Learning Center in the school’s prekindergaren classroom areas.
Agnes Gray School
Agnes Gray Elementary School Principal Beth Clarke said new hires include Justin Onofrio, sixth-grade teacher; Kate Rideout, part-time social worker; Gergana Rupchina, part-time art; Tony Orlando, part-time music; Ralph Nelson, part-time physical education; Dawn Davis, reading recovery and intervention; Jaime Gilman, reading recovery; and Jane Turner, library.
A Family Hike will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Participants should meet at the outdoor classroom. An open house will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday. Parents should again meet at the outdoor classroom.
Clarke said after-school enrichment programs, including the Garden Club, 4-H Club, Girl Scouts, karate and drama, are being held this year.
Oxford/Otisfield elementary schools
Principal Tiffany Karnes said, “We have a new assistant principal, Denise Bourgoine. Ms. Bourgoine is an Oxford Hills alum who is happy to be ‘back home’ working to serve the kids and communities of Oxford Hills.”
New staff also includes kindergarten teachers Caitlyn Flaherty and Amy Irving; first-grade teachers Tekia Poulin and Micah Pretorius, second-grade teacher Michelle Fortier and sixth-grade teachers Nicole Stevenson and Carol Coy.
An open house will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“We hope our families will be able to visit the school during this time, meet their new teachers and see where their classrooms will be,” Karnes said.
Hebron Elementary School
Hebron Station School Principal D.J. Thorne said there will be a prekindergarten class taught by Emily Ivers. Ralph Nelson and Mathieu Bowen have been hired as part-time physical education teachers and Tony Orlando will fill a positon in the music department. An open house will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, Thorne said.
Harrison/Waterford elementary schools
Principal Margaret Emery said the majority of the staff for Harrison Elementary School’s grades three to six are returning. The school has about 115 students.
“We are interviewing for physical education and art teachers and hope to have these teachers soon,” she said.
All staff at Waterford Memorial school are returning, except for a physical
education teacher, Emery said.
“We are actively looking for an physical education teacher,” she said.
Waterford serves approximately 100 pre-kindergarten through grade two students.
Open house for the Waterford school will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5. Open house at Harrison will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6.
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