The MSK Messenger

It has been another fantastic week at MSK, filled with exciting learning opportunities and meaningful experiences across all three grade levels! Our Grade 8 students enjoyed their trip to Bradbury Mountain, while our Grade 7 students continued their work on geologic time research projects. Meanwhile, our Grade 6 students have been exploring their creativity and storytelling skills as they work on their graphic literature novels. It is wonderful to see our students engaged in such a variety of learning experiences!

I also want to highlight the amazing work happening through our MSK Best Buddies program. Our dedicated staff and students are working together to promote inclusion and create a welcoming school environment where everyone feels valued, accepted, and comfortable being themselves. These efforts help strengthen our school community and remind us of the importance of kindness, friendship, and belonging. We are looking forward to our upcoming Best Buddies Match Party on October 28! Students are encouraged to wear costumes and join in the fun. Be sure to check out the Best Buddies Flyer later in this newsletter for more information.

A quick reminder to parents and guardians that Monday, October 19, is Picture Retake Day for students who need a retake.

Thank you for your continued support of our MSK community. I hope everyone enjoys a fun-filled, relaxing weekend and takes some time to recharge for another great week ahead!

Marty Bouchard

Principal

October 19

School Picture Retakes

October 23

7/8th Grade Dance 6-8 pm

October 30

End of First Quarter

Click here for the full calendar

We, Brian Grant and Alli Metz, are excited to introduce The Counseling Corner! Once a month, we’ll be sharing updates, helpful resources, and insights right here in the Weekly Messenger. Among other topics, we look forward to keeping you informed about CharacterStrong—our new school-wide advisory curriculum. Through this column, we hope to build a stronger connection with our school community and share a closer look at our roles as your child’s school counselors.

Here is our very first installment:

Please click on the link below to check out the video Ms. Alli and Mr. Grant created to introduce our Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.

Say Something (link)

Additionally we’ve added a letter with additional information regarding CharacterStrong

Regular attendance is essential for academic success, social development, and the development of strong lifelong habits. Students are expected to attend school each day unless they have an excused absence. Maine law and School Board policy define excused absences as: personal illness; necessary medical appointments during the school day; observance of a recognized religious holiday; family emergencies; approved planned absences for educational or personal purposes; or education disruptions as outlined in Policy JEA.

A student is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of the school year (approximately 17 days), for any reason—including both excused and unexcused absences. Even when absences are excused, extended time away from school can affect a student’s learning and overall progress. When a student reaches this 10% threshold, a meeting will be scheduled with the family to work together on strategies that support regular attendance and ensure the student stays on track academically and socially. This meeting is meant to be a supportive step, focused on partnership and problem-solving.

To further support regular attendance, letters will be sent home when a student accumulates 8 unexcused absences. If a student reaches 10 unexcused absences, a formal attendance meeting will be held to develop a plan moving forward. These efforts reflect our shared commitment to each student’s success.

If a student is absent, he/she may not participate in any co-curricular events on the day of the absence unless excused by a physician and/or an administrator

Tardiness

Students are expected to arrive on time each day, ready to learn. Any student who arrives after 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m. on Wednesdays, will be marked as tardy in attendance records. Upon arrival, the student must report to the office to sign in before going to class. Office staff will provide the student with a tardy slip, which must be given to the classroom teacher upon entry. This process ensures accurate attendance records and minimizes classroom disruptions.

To support consistent and timely attendance, students will be assigned Extended Learning Time (ELT) for every three unexcused tardies. ELT is a one-hour session held after school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. During this time, students can complete academic work, receive support, and reflect on the importance of arriving on time. The goal of ELT is not punitive but to reinforce positive habits that contribute to academic success. Students will receive extended learning time for every 6 excused tardies.

Weekend Snack/Food Bags Available for Students!

Due to the wonderful work of The Community Gourmet,

We are able to offer food/snack bags for students to take home every Friday!

These kits contain kid-friendly snacks and easy to make meals for one. If your family could benefit, please reach out to Nurse Amy at amurphy@rsu21.net

Winter 1 Sport Sign-Ups are open October 13th - 23rd!

Keep an eye out on the MSK Athletic Website & Reach My Teach message for the link to sign up! Please complete all required forms. Instructions HERE

Sports Offered Winter 1 (Nov 3rd - Jan 27th)

Sign-Ups for Winter 1 open Oct. 13th-23th

• Cheer (All Grades)
• Girls Basketball (7th + 8th)
• Boys Basketball (7th + 8th)

Sports Offered Winter 2 (February / March)

Sign-Ups for Winter 2 open Jan. 4th-14th

• Unified Basketball
• Swim (All Grades)
• Wrestling (All Grades)
• Volleyball (All grades)

VISIT THE MSK ATHLETICS WEBSITE HERE

MSK Sports Apparel
Show your MSK spirit this season! Team apparel is available through our online team store, with options for all MSK sports.

SHOP THE MSK TEAM STORE HERE

Stay Connected!
Schedules can change throughout the season, so families are encouraged to check SportsYou and the MSK Athletics Website regularly for the most up-to-date information.

Reach out to Christine Jarowicz <cjarowicz@rsu21.net> if you have any questions.

Thanks to the hard work, generosity and participation of our school community, our school raised $750 through the 2026 Hannaford Helps Schools program. These funds will help us continue creating a positive, thriving environment for every student. Your support has made a meaningful impact on our school and your involvement and encouragement truly make a difference for our students, teachers and staff. Thank you for your continued dedication to our school community!

KENNEBUNK AREA MIDDLE SCHOOL HOCKEY

2026–2027 SEASON — PLAYER REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

The Kennebunk Area Youth Hockey Association (non-RSU affiliated) is excited to sponsor the Kennebunk Area Middle School Hockey Team for the Southern Maine Middle School Hockey League.

We are looking for 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th grade hockey players interested in playing competitive middle school hockey during the 2026–2027 season.

WHO CAN PLAY?
Players who:

• Live in or attend school in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Arundel, Wells or Ogunquit
• Have experience playing organized/competitive hockey
• Are interested in developing their skills and preparing for the next level

SEASON DETAILS

League Start: November 15, 2026
First Practice: Typically the Wednesday before the season begins

• 12–14 games per season
• Games are played primarily Sunday evenings
• Game times generally range from 3:50 PM–8:30 PM
• Games are typically at UNE or USM, with occasional games in Falmouth and other Southern Maine rinks
• Approximately 4–5 practices during the season
• Practices are typically Wednesday mornings at 6:00 AM at Biddeford Ice Arena
• Practices are optional but strongly encouraged
• We take advantage of RSU 21's late Wednesday start

REGISTRATION

Player fee $325, which covers ice time and referee costs. Final 2026–2027 registration fees will be posted with registration.

REGISTER ONLINE:
https://www.smmshl.com/smmshl/

MORE THAN JUST HOCKEY

Our middle school program works closely with the Kennebunk High School Hockey program, giving players an opportunity to understand the expectations of high school hockey and become familiar with the coaches and players they will encounter at the next level.

It's a great opportunity for players to compete, develop their skills, build relationships and prepare for high school hockey.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

A special thank you to Kennebunk Savings Bank and Kennebunk Physical Therapy for their generous donations toward our new team jerseys!

Your support of Kennebunk-area youth hockey is greatly appreciated!

QUESTIONS?

Mike Naimey
mnaimey1@gmail.com
207-939-6595

Click Here

Call or Text 988 or 1-888-568-1112

Kennebunk

Kris Fogg

207-604-1394

Arundel

Wendy Lank

207-985-4201 ext. 113

Kennebunkport

Alison Kenneway

207-967-4401

Kennebunk Chamber of Commerce

Laura Dolce

207-967-0857

English:

You have the right to an interpreter at no cost to you. If you would like to request an interpreter's assistance to communicate with our schools and teachers, all you need to do is ask. We will make sure interpretation services are arranged in advance of your meeting.

Burmese:

သင့်အတွက် အခကြေးငွေ မယူဘဲ စကားပြန်လုပ်ပိုင်ခွင့်ရှိသည်။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ကျောင်းများ၊ ဆရာများနှင့် ဆက်သွယ်ရန်အတွက် စကားပြန်တစ်ဦး၏အကူအညီကို သင်တောင်းဆိုလိုပါက၊ သင်လုပ်ဆောင်ရန်သာ လိုအပ်ပါသည်။ သင့်အစည်းအဝေးမတိုင်မီ ဘာသာပြန်ခြင်းဝန်ဆောင်မှုများကို သေချာစီစဉ်ပေးပါမည်။

Chinese:

您有权免费获得口译员服务。如果您想请求口译员协助与我们的学校和老师沟通，您只需提出请求即可。我们将确保在您的会议之前安排口译服务。

Gujarati:

તમને કોઈ પણ ખર્ચ વિના દુભાષિયાનો અધિકાર છે. જો તમે અમારી શાળાઓ અને શિક્ષકો સાથે વાતચીત કરવા માટે દુભાષિયાની સહાયની વિનંતી કરવા માંગતા હો, તો તમારે ફક્ત પૂછવાનું છે. અમે ખાતરી કરીશું કે તમારી મીટિંગ પહેલા અર્થઘટન સેવાઓ ગોઠવવામાં આવી છે.

Japanese:

あなたには無料で通訳を雇う権利があります。学校や教師とのコミュニケーションのために通訳のサポートをリクエストしたい場合は、リクエストするだけです。会議の前に通訳サービスを手配いたします。

Portuguese:

Você tem direito a um intérprete sem nenhum custo para você. Se desejar solicitar a assistência de um intérprete para se comunicar com nossas escolas e professores, basta solicitar. Garantiremos que os serviços de interpretação sejam organizados antes da sua reunião.

Russian:

Вы имеете право на бесплатного переводчика. Если вы хотите попросить помощи переводчика для общения с нашими школами и учителями, все, что вам нужно сделать, это попросить. Мы позаботимся о том, чтобы услуги устного перевода были организованы перед вашей встречей.

Spanish:

Tiene derecho a un intérprete sin costo alguno para usted. Si desea solicitar la asistencia de un intérprete para comunicarse con nuestras escuelas y maestros, todo lo que necesita hacer es preguntar. Nos aseguraremos de que los servicios de interpretación se organicen antes de su reunión.

Ukrainian:

Ви маєте право на безкоштовний перекладач. Якщо ви хочете попросити допомоги перекладача для спілкування з нашими школами та вчителями, все, що вам потрібно зробити, це попросити. Ми подбаємо про те, щоб послуги усного перекладу були організовані заздалегідь до вашої зустрічі.

Vietnamese:

Bạn có quyền có một thông dịch viên miễn phí. Nếu bạn muốn yêu cầu sự trợ giúp của thông dịch viên để giao tiếp với trường học và giáo viên của chúng tôi, tất cả những gì bạn cần làm là yêu cầu. Chúng tôi sẽ đảm bảo sắp xếp dịch vụ phiên dịch trước cuộc gặp của bạn.