Maine's Bell-to-Bell, No Cell Law (Effective August 1, 2026) What does this mean for RSU 71?

 Maine's Bell-to-Bell, No Cell Law

 Effective August 1, 2026

                                                What does this mean for RSU 71?

Community Partner Spotlight: Ducktrap

 RSU 71 would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Ducktrap for their generous donation of 50+ backpacks filled with school supplies for our students.

This thoughtful contribution will help local students start the school year prepared and ready to learn. We are grateful for Ducktrap’s generosity and commitment to supporting children and families in our community.

Thank you for making a meaningful difference in the lives of our students and for being such a valued community partner.

Pictured above, from left to right: Liz Ridgeway, RSU 71 Superintendent, Meagan Rankin, Ducktrap's HR Manager, and Danielle Stitch, Ducktrap's HR Generalist

BAHS Food Pantry Receives Generous Community Donation

 The Belfast Co-op selected the BAHS Food Pantry as the June 2026 recipient of its Common Cents program, thanks in part to the advocacy of parent Todd Bluhm.

Through the program, shoppers can round up their grocery bill, with the extra change donated to a local cause.

Thanks to the generosity of Belfast Co-op customers, the BAHS Food Pantry received $7,258.81! The donation was presented to school nurse Gail Dudley and Principal Jeff Lovejoy.

Thank you to the Belfast Co-op and everyone who rounded up their purchases to support our students and families!

THMS STEM Workshop

Twenty engineer-oriented students from Troy Howard Middle School recently enjoyed a morning at AthenaHealth, learning how the company uses technology and experiencing a STEM workshop organized by Geeks Rule, Tech Integrator Melinda Larrabee, and Extended Learning Program Coordinator Kathie Gass. 

RSU 71 2026-2027 Pre-K Registration is Open!

Click here for more information! 

5K Walk/Run - BAHS Peer Leadership LEO's

 

Troy Howard Middle School's Thrive Team Honored

 Troy Howard Middle School's Thrive Team was honored by the Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition for its environmental action at its annual meeting. The Plastic Pollution committee praised the work of Violet Falconer, Leila Fowler, Truly Curry, Kenadi Harvey, Matthew Wisniewski, and Adrian Hull. The students made a brief presentation of their findings on plastic pollution and their action advocating for the replacement of plastic silverware. With the enthusiastic support of new school director Alison Goscinski,  the school now uses metal silverware saving the district money and reducing waste. 

"We care about the waste stream and what we're putting into the environment," says Matthew Wisniewski, a sixth grader. 

"A one-liter plastic bottle of water contains 240,000 particles of microplastics," adds classmate Adrian Hull. 

What's next for the young activists? "Being part of Thrive opened up a lot of opportunities to talk to other people (about environmental issues)," says Leila Fowler. She spoke animatedly about recycling the piles of paper used in the school, as well as making sure all the lights used low-energy LED bulbs.

BAHS NAHS Scoop.Eat.Give. Filling Bowls, One Sundae at a Time

 

BAHS - BMI Marine Studies

BAHS students in our BMI flagship course Marine Studies recently wrapped the semester-long elective with presentations of their major marine-themed projects. Wide-ranging, timely, scientific and/or commercial in purpose, these student-choice efforts were presented as powerpoints, posters, hands-on demonstrations and models showing their interests, curiosity and passions with the marine world. Topics ranged from establishing a Belfast fishing charter business, updates on the BMI social media pages, examination of the whale entanglement issue, public service announcements on plastics in the ocean and endangered coral reefs, the differences between movie sharks and real sharks (in honor of the 50th anniversary of JAWS), a 3D printing effort replicating the Institute’s Minke Whale bones, examination of marine species such as the weedy seadragon and whale sharks and seahorses, as well as aerial drone applications charting marine life or mapping extent of harbor ice, and a student-designed certification course in underwater ROV handling and operations. And this is just one facet of all the great stuff going on with BMI.

CASS MathMagicians

The 5th grade CASS math team, the MathMagicians competed in the Kennebec Math League Math Competition in China, Maine on January 15th. We competed against 48 sixth graders from 8 schools. These 5th graders came in 1st place in the 6TH Grade team event and individually Gus MacLeod won first place and Oona Morley 2nd place. Amazing kids.