As we send our students home today for the holidays in what has been a challenging academic year, I am thrilled to announce a very significant financial contribution we recently received.  Mr. Paul Coulombe sent to the Boothbay Region Education Foundation (BREF), a check for over $128,000, specifically to pay for major improvements to the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) programs at Boothbay Region Elementary School and Boothbay Region High School.  His contributions give us access to cutting-edge hardware and software, we will use to engage students in 21st-century learning initiatives.

Speaking for the principal and teachers who put together a long list of items that they submitted in response to an offer from Mr. Coulombe to help move our STEAM initiatives to a high level, we are thrilled to have these instructional devices to offer our students.  The tools the students and their teachers will be working with are phenomenal.  Robots, computer-aided design tools, high-end computers, and much more, literally everything the staff requested, were funded in full by Mr. Coulombe.  We are anxious to quickly get everything into the hands of our students and see what they design and produce.

Donations to BREF, support initiatives in our schools that normally are not included in the school's budgets.  This year alone, donations to BREF ensured our food lunch program was able to provide lunches to our students when they were out of school in the spring.  Another large donation to BREF went to the industrial arts program at the high school, to purchase a large computer programmable router that the students will use to build and design projects useful in a myriad of applications.  I encourage you to learn how you can help by visiting the BREF website ([http://www.aos98schools.org<http://www.aos98schools.org]www.aos98schools.org<http://www.aos98schools.org>) and consider making a tax-deductible donation to the schools to benefit our students.

This has not been a normal school year. Nonetheless, given the community's support for our schools and our students, we look forward to a safe, healthy, and exciting return to classes in the New Year. Happy Holidays!