As a reminder, Friday March 15th is a teachers workshop day in RSU56.
Also, The RSU 56 school board approved having an early release on April 8 so families could observe the Solar Eclipse if desired. Student dismissal will be at 11:30 on April 8th, and Staff dismissal will be after the last bus leaves the school.
Go Cougars!
Good Morning from RSU 56. Due to power outages and issues from the storm in some areas, we will be having a remote learning day today, February 29, 2024. Thank you.
Attention TWKDMS: IF there is a delay tomorrow, we will STILL have the ice fishing trip and Winter Extravaganza! Region 9 has 2 aluminum ice shacks and several portable fabric shelters set up with different activities such as hot chocolate, smores, chili, and education centers. They have portable outhouses and a warming bus staffed with student leaders hosting cribbage and UNO games. There will be a taxi service provided by Region 9, Mexico Fire, and Paris Fire- each transport is assigned a rescue bogan for your safety. The weather looks favorable and the ice is holding at over ten inches. We look forward to seeing you all for a fun-filled day! Buses leave TWKDMS 30 minutes after the start of school. Go Cougars!
Pre-K Registration - If you have a child who will be 4 years old by October 15 and you would like to register them for the Pre-K program at Dirigo Elementary School, please contact the school today at 562-4207. We are trying to eliminate our waiting list and potentially plan for a third Pre-K classroom. So please call as soon as possible to register your child.
With conditions later this week looking favorable, TWKDMS will be working with the Region 9 Outdoor Leadership program to allow students to attend an Outdoor Extravaganza up in Roxbury! Many other Region 9 programs are coming out to support this adventure. They are planning to have snacks- chili, smores, hot chocolate, etc. In addition to ice fishing, there will be a snowshoe relay race. A winter "fun" day is a TWKDMS tradition, and this year Region 9 is kicking it up a notch. Students have a choice for their day's activities, and anyone going onto the ice will be coming home on Monday with a permission slip (and proper winter clothing will be required to attend). Go Cougars!
Today a group of TWKDMS students joined the Region 9 Outdoor Leadership program for a guided ice-fishing experience. Flags were popping and smiles were everywhere. Thank you to Mr. Rainey and Mr. Longley for helping celebrate the achievements of some of our students with this trip, and if the weather holds cold enough we have some exciting opportunities coming up down the road. Go Cougars!
Attention Parents/Guardians: TWKDMS will start the Winter NWEAs on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. Go Cougars!
Attention Parents/Guardians: I can admit that today's remote day snuck up on me. Most students take home school laptops or have access to an electronic device with internet connectivity at home, and those students should try to follow our normal remote learning plan (including sending an attendance email to their homeroom teacher before 10:00 am). If you have a situation where a student is without the ability to participate, their absence will be excused. Just give the school a call at the usual number to let us know: 562-7552. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1021/TWK_Dirigo_MS/2706394/TWKDMS_Remote_Plan_2023.pdf
Good Morning from RSU 56. Due to the incoming storm, RSU 56 will have a Remote Learning Day today, 1/26/24.
Article in the Rumford Falls Times about DHS and TWKDMS's special events from last week. Go Cougars! https://www.sunjournal.com/2024/01/23/rsu-56-hosts-dirigo-diversity-day/
Today Mr. Rainey and Mr. Longley from Region 9 met with students after lunch to make an introduction to their outdoor leadership program (and awesome gear), and to gauge interest in some activities down the road (and in the works). Go Cougars!
Good Morning from RSU 56.
Due to the inclement weather there will be a two hour delay in RSU 56 today 1/25/24.
TWKDMS and DHS were featured as today's "Positive Story of the Day" by the Maine Principal's Association. https://mpaprof.org/maines-positive-story-of-the-day-dirigo-middle/
Good Morning from RSU 56. Due to the incoming storm we will be having an early release day today, 1/16/24. Students will be dismissed at 11:30. There will be no after school activities today. Have a great day.
Good Morning from RSU 56. Due to the inclement weather, RSU 56 will have a remote learning day today, 1/10/24.
Attention Parents/Guardians: Today we will send students home with a letter about next week's Diversity Day event as well as what they should need for a remote learning day tomorrow JUST IN CASE that it is needed. If we have a remote learning day, students are counted as present by emailing their homeroom teacher before 10:00 am for attendance, doing their work in Google Classroom, and they can reach their teachers using Google Meets following a regular schedule. Here is a link for 2023-2023 TWKDMS Remote Day expectations: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eQE8XeNLQHByDfitfV2PBdgDm53dCvJcWHkBrJbib6k/edit?usp=sharing
Good Morning from RSU 56. Due to the incoming storm, all afterschool activities are cancelled today, 1/9/24. This also includes the school board meeting that was scheduled for tonight. Have a great day.
Here is the lunch menu for January.
This past Thursday, after a week of weather-related chaos and cold, TWKDMS staff came together to provide our students with a Winter Fun Day before the start of vacation. Students were able to build their personal schedules with all sorts of different activities before an assembly where we celebrated our first-trimester recipients of the Academic Achievement and Academic Excellence Awards, as well as the T1 Classroom Awards. We also had a "knockout" tournament (congrats Layne) and the annual "Pie the Principal" prize for top sellers of our PTO's fall clothing fundraiser. Staff and students, many still without power and dealing with the outcome of the storm, rallied to have a good send-off for 2023. Bring on 2024, and as always, Go Cougars! (If you need a little extra humor in your life, click the link and watch Mr. Long be on the receiving end of 8 pie tins: https://youtu.be/iSTjHr65ttw)
Update: Our phones at TWKDMS are now working well enough to get incoming calls. No need to call the high school. It's great to see our kids walking in for a fun day. Go Cougars