The Navigator - June 2026

July 27: Our Annual Update opens! Please check your email for a link.

August 23: Set for Success, 10 AM

August 31: First day for Grade 9 ONLY

September 1: First day for all students

As we close out the 2025-2026 school year, I’m filled with pride and gratitude for all that we’ve accomplished together. Graduation and final exams are behind us, and while we look forward to a restful summer, it’s important first to celebrate the incredible achievements of our students and the unwavering support of our community.

The past month has been a whirlwind of activity, culminating in a beautiful graduation ceremony for the Class of 2026 on McMann Field. Witnessing 143 students—91 of whom will continue their education at college or trade school—embark on the next chapter of their lives is always a bittersweet joy. This graduating class and the entire Morse community have much to be proud of. We were also thrilled to honor Mr. Craig Tinker with the Dr. Patricia Ames Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award at graduation.

The annual Mainsail Assembly occurred in late May, where we honored Brandon and Kristen Cahill of Bill’s Garage for their dedicated support of our students, technical education, and athletic programs. Congratulations to the Cahills!

Students who participated in our AP courses breathed a collective sigh of relief almost a month ago when they completed their AP exams. These exams take a few hours each to complete, and many students take multiple exams. If they score high enough, they will earn college credit and/or entrance into a higher level of coursework in college. Now we all need to wait until early July to find out how they did!

Additionally, we have had several students participate in the Seal of Biliteracy program. The Seal of Biliteracy is awarded by the Maine Department of Education to honor students who demonstrate proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a world language other than English. This distinction recognizes the academic and cultural benefits of being multilingual. Students qualify for the Seal by achieving proficiency on state-approved assessments, and recipients receive both a special seal affixed to their diploma and an official notation on their transcript. Morse had thirteen students pass the exams. Twelve of these students did so in Spanish, and one is Russian.

I would like to thank the Morse Band, who literally braved the elements on Memorial Day to perform in the Bath parade in the pouring rain. All of our performing and visual artists also put on an outstanding Fine Arts Night in late May. In addition to the fine art on display in the student commons, there were hours of entertainment from our advanced drama theater group, Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, and our choral groups. What a fantastic night of performances!

On June 9th, we held our annual senior sendoff, where Morse honors our senior class as a whole and individuals with annual awards that mark significant accomplishments over their four years with us. Individual recognitions included:

• Student of the Quarter: Ren Kauffenger

• Joyce Wilson Award: Caleb Longbottom

• Builders of the Year (Male & Female): Zoe Nicholson and Christian Hollowell

• Neil and Mary LaRochelle Be True to Your School Award: Kendall Darling

• Wendy Pooler Award: Reese Darling

• Spirit of Jimmy Rouillard: Dylan Dittrich

• Steven J Westlake Award: Patrick Mead

• Kai Award: Taber Gale, Levi Riggs

• JMG Companion Award: Taber Gale

• Chris Hagan Award: Allison Mitchell

• Joshua French Award: Levi Riggs

• Elford “Beany” Stover Award: Taber Gale

• Excellence in Leadership Award: Selah Park

I continue to be humbled by the support that the Bath High School Alumni Association gives us annually. Saturday, June 13th, marked the 136th Alumni Banquet, where there were just under 450 people in attendance in our gym to welcome the Class of 2026 to the Alumni Association. Every 5 and 10-year reunion class was present, with the oldest alumnus in attendance being 97 years old! Each class president offered a speech that included advice and a gift back to the school. As a result of all of this community support, Morse was able to announce 101 awards managed by the Morse High School Scholarship Fund, totaling $346,975. In addition, through the generous donations of area businesses, elementary school groups, private funds, families, statewide, college, and national scholarships, we announced an additional 113 awards totaling $739,042 for a total of $1,086,017. This level of support is unbelievable and makes me proud to know that this community values our students’ education to this level.

Spring athletics are complete, with most programs competing in playoffs. Summer sessions for fall athletics will soon be underway (some started today!); remember that fall seasons start in mid-August, before school begins. Read on for more information on that.

A few new staff members are joining us in the fall. I will have more information on all changes in August; however, I did want to give everyone an update on one change in our Student Services Department. I am very pleased to announce that Matthew Weeman will be joining Morse next school year as our new School Counselor. Mr. Weeman will take over Ms. McGowan’s caseload. Here is the reminder on how we divide caseloads in the Student Services Department (there are a few exceptions to this):

• Leslie Trundy: last names A-F

• Matthew Weeman: last names G-M

• Molly Ellis: last names N-Z

School Counselors check their email sporadically through the summer months. Feel free to reach out to them, and they will get back to you when they are able.

This is the final update of the school year. You will hear from us next in August with important information about the 2026-27 school year. I wish you all a happy and safe summer.

Eric Varney

evarney@rsu1.org

📸: soggy dog designs

Fine Arts Night showcased the creativity and talent of our students through an art gallery display, a short play performed by the Advanced Theater & Drama class, and a variety of vocal and instrumental musical performances. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our students as they shared their hard work and artistic achievements.

• ALL PHOTOS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH JOSTEN’S HERE: LINK
• SUBMIT SHOUT-OUTS, QUOTES, ETC. HERE: Google Form

After counting alewives for KELT at the Nequasset fish ladder. Hooray for citizen science!

Students from the Morse High School Unified Literacy class recently traveled to Peaks Island

Elementary School as part of an ongoing literacy exchange program designed to foster

connections through reading and learning.

On a beautiful June morning, Morse Unified Literacy students boarded the Casco Bay Lines

ferry and made their way to Peaks Island Elementary, where they partnered with Pre-K,

kindergarten, and first-grade students for a morning filled with books, conversation, and

friendship. Students read aloud with their younger peers, helping to build literacy skills while

creating meaningful cross-age connections.

The literacy exchange is a highlight of the Unified Literacy program, which brings together

students with and without intellectual disabilities through shared learning experiences centered

on reading, writing, art, and community engagement. Through activities like the Peaks Island

visit, students develop communication, leadership, and relationship-building skills while

discovering the power of inclusion.

The visit was filled with smiles, laughter, and the excitement that comes from sharing favorite

stories. For both the Morse students and the Peaks Island Elementary students, the experience

demonstrated that reading is more than a skill but also a way to connect with others and build a

stronger community.

The Morse Unified Literacy class is grateful to the staff and students at Peaks Island Elementary

School for their warm welcome and looks forward to continuing this special partnership in the

years ahead.

Charlie Bingham, Lucas Leathers, and Ryan Harrington are in Minnesota representing Team Maine at the USA Special Olympics. They are having a great time meeting athletes from around the country and enjoying all the events. One of the highlights was meeting Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver. They also got to watch exciting events, including the ESPN Unified Challenge at Allianz Field. It has been a fun and memorable experience as they proudly represent Maine.

In a partnership between Morse High School, MaineHealth, and the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office, all sophomores have now been trained and certified in CPR and First Aid in their Health class. This ongoing program has now certified three-quarters of the students currently attending Morse High School. Detective Brian Carlton completes the training over three days in the classroom. This training makes both Morse High School and our community safer by equipping more individuals to respond to emergencies and serve as first responders. Whether it be bandaging someone, using an AED, or performing CPR, the students come away feeling more prepared for any situation.

The Morse Project Graduation committee would like to recognize all of the families, community members and businesses that donated money and volunteered their time to our fundraising efforts over the past year. Thank you so much! It was a huge effort and we are so grateful.

Best wishes to the graduates! 🎓

Congratulations to all the athletes for a fantastic spring season and best of luck to all the graduating seniors!

The Boosters would like to extend a huge thank you to all our departing members. Aggie, Leslie, and Karen, your time, dedication, and commitment to Morse Athletics and the Boosters has not gone unnoticed. We appreciate all you have done over the years - THANK YOU! We hope we will still see you around at the fields next year.

With that, we would like to welcome our new board members:

• Amber Herzog, Treasurer
• Tina Wallace, Social Media & Marketing
• Aurora Hodgkins, Secretary

We hope everyone has a safe and healthy summer and we look forward to seeing everyone back for the Sports BBQ and Morse-A-Thon fundraiser!

And that's a wrap!

Congratulations to the Class of 2026. We hope to see you in 2031.

Thank you to everyone that put on their Blue and White for Alumni Weekend and shared the Shipbuilder Spirit.

Check out bathalumni.org for more information and links to events.
Email morsealumni@gmail.com to volunteer.

The Patten Free Library will kick off Summer Reading 2026 on Friday, June 26, from 3–5 p.m. with a party! This event is full of free family fun, including a bounce house, free books, and ice cream from Zellie's. Registration for the Summer Reading program begins on June 22, and can also be done during the Kickoff Party.

Summer Reading is the Library’s longest and most popular annual program, featuring events,

performances, activities, and games throughout the summer. Last year, more than 500

community members participated.

“This year’s Summer Reading theme, Plant a Seed, Read, couldn’t be more perfect for the active and engaged library-goers we have in our community,” said Mary Randall. “We hope to cultivate and grow our patrons’ love for literature, libraries, and all they do for their communities. We can’t wait to play!”

The Library has scheduled events and performances for all ages throughout the summer,

including a puzzle race, Repair Café, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking classes, and visits from

Sparks Ark, Portland Stage, Rewild Maine, and more. Regular Library programs — including

storytimes, book groups, foreign language conversations, and the Knitting Circle — will

continue throughout the summer.

Readers of all ages can earn prizes through Summer Reading Bingo by attending Library

programs, reading books, and completing activities. Participants can also earn prize tickets every

time they read.

“We have some really great prizes this year,” says Program and Outreach Manager Hannah

Lackoff, “Players who complete reading tickets can enter to win gift cards to local businesses

(including Skillin’s Greenhouses, Renys, and Now You’re Cooking), as well as Hearts of Pine

Tickets, a chia pet, LEGO flower, art supplies, skincare sets, puzzles, games, and more. In

addition, everyone who completes blackout on their bingo sheet will be automatically entered

into a drawing for a gift card to Springer’s Jewelers, Bull Moose, or Island Treasure Toys!”

Summer Reading runs June 22 through August 15 and is open to anyone of any age who lives in

the Patten Free Library service area, (Arrowsic, Bath, Georgetown, West Bath, and Woolwich),

has a Patten Free Library card, or attends an RSU1 school or a school located within the service

area.

For more information, including a complete schedule of events and details on how to sign up,

visit https://pattenfreelibrary.org/summer26/.

In accordance with School Board policy, the following promotional announcements have been included at the request of the sponsoring organization because they may be of interest to students and their families. These activities are not sponsored by the school, and inclusion of these announcements does not constitute endorsement of the organizations or activities by the school.

Morse Website

Infinite Campus

Brightspace

Student Handbook

District Calendar