On April 19, when the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor CSD School Committee heard updates from Boothbay Region High and Elementary schools, BRHS Principal Dan Welch announced the BRHS food closet has received a $1,000 donation. The anonymous donor asked that the school keep the food closet stocked the rest of the year, Welch said.

"It gets wiped out pretty quickly. It has hygiene products, we’ve got some shoes in there, we have coats for when it’s cold out, we’ve got food. Some kids will go in and grab a few granola bars for their backpack. We intentionally made it so it’s open for all students.”

At some schools with food closets, students typically have to go to a guidance counselor and the principal, be escorted to the food closet and sign the items out, he said. “We don’t want to do that. We don’t want any stigma. It’s open for all students.”

Welch announced he and Athletic Director Allan Crocker were approached by a group of parents interested in starting a boys lacrosse team. The idea is making the rounds on social media, he said.

Citing a shortage of bus drivers, Welch said the school cannot bus students to Mount Blue High School in Farmington on Thursday, April 26 to join the Education and Regional Workforce Opportunities Committee on a tour of the school’s supplemental programs. Welch still encourages students to go.

BRES Principal Mark Tess said the school received $1,000 from Hannaford as top coupon gatherer and $700 raised last fall.

Seventh grade teacher Sandy Wheeler and her class joined a research project through the Gulf of Maine studying invasive aquatic species. They examined plants with red berries to find out which species are and are not invasive; results were uploaded to a research database called Vital Signs.

Tess said Wheeler was awarded $250 to help reimburse funds spent or that will be spent on it.

BRES Assistant Principal Tricia Campbell announced teachers Kathleen Pierce and Kate Schwehm are wellness ambassadors for BRES and BRHS. This is part of a wellness initiative sponsored by the Maine Educational Association Benefit Trust. It gives the ambassadors yearly training for the MEABT’s online health program and a $500 grant toward staff wellness. Free offers to staff have included weight lifting, meditation and yoga.

BRHS students Olivia Paolillo and Riley Sullivan presented their Champions of Change projects from Mark Gorey’s AP language and composition class. Paolillo’s project, “Fighting for Foreign Languages,” described a lack of focus on foreign language in elementary school. She argued this makes learning difficult in high school. Her resolution is to use an online-based program, Middlebury, until the schools can hire one or more foreign language teachers to step up the elementary program.

Riley Sullivan’s project, “Restoring Core: An Inequality of Opportunity,” addresses a need for an extended core period for students to catch up on their questions for teachers. The period gives students 40 minutes to clear up confusion that can make homework take longer, according to Sullivan. The period used to run between periods two and three and was roughly 15 minutes longer. The schedule was changed to accommodate students enrolled in Bath Regional Career and Technical Center (BRCTC). Sullivan proposes trimming the 32 minutes in break time, with the 7:45 a.m. to 8:00 a.m break removed, so core can run longer.

The committee unanimously approved the 2017 audit report; the 2018-2019 budget of $9,998,739.82 with assessment to the towns in the amount of $8,418,695.66; a contracted meal service agreement between the CSD and Edgecomb School Committee; and a contracted meal service agreement between the CSD and Southport School Committee.

The committee meets next at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 25.

The April 4 meeting video is also available on Boothbay Region Television (BRTV)’s website and on Channel 1301.