School activities, the new math program, school spirit assemblies, and a budget update were among the items on the Boothbay Region school committee’s Oct. 12 agenda.

The meeting opened with student representative Kate Friant’s updates on Homecoming and club activities, including the Interact Club, sponsored by the Rotary, and the Drama Club, which is producing the play, “Little Women.”

Boothbay Region Elementary School Principal Mark Tess mentioned that about a dozen eighth graders will be traveling to the Bath Regional Career and Technical Center the first week in November to explore possible educational and career paths. Seventh graders will attend Camp Kieve in Nobleboro during the last week in October for a leadership course. Tess wanted the committee to know that even though some federal funding has dried up regarding the cost to attend Camp Kieve, people have stepped up to help with scholarship monies for students.

For the first time this year, BRES is using the Eureka math program and Tess acknowledged it can be a challenge for parents unfamiliar with it to help their children with homework. Tess would like to hold an educational math night in the BRES gym for teachers, parents, and kids in the near future. “It would be great to have parents see where kids are coming from,” Tess said.

Tricia Campbell, assistant principal at BRES, announced that the school will hold three school spirit assemblies this year based on the three guiding principles of the BRES Positive Behavior Matrix, which emphasizes safety, respect, and responsibility. The first assembly, to be held in December to correspond with holiday community events and Harbor Lights, will center on respect and kindness.

Principal Dan Welch of Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) announced that sophomores and juniors will take their Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Tests (PSATs) on Wednesday, Oct. 19. The PSATs prepare students for the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs).

Eileen King, Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent of Schools, passed around a cash flow analysis-expenditures spreadsheet on the annual budget, showing that the remaining monies for this fiscal year are almost the same as last year’s budget. At the end of September 2015, monies to be spent were at 76 percent, while this year, 77 percent remains.