Look at this crew! One of the best things about our school is that we're a close-knit community. Our students have friends across all grade levels, and those relationships help make our school such a special place to learn and grow. 😊📚🏫
Please enjoy Canaan Elementary School's EOY News: https://bit.ly/49zAVFO
As an extension of our learning in the First for ME program, Animals Surviving and Thriving, we welcomed Audrey's dad, Dr. LeClair, a biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, to our first-grade classroom. Dr. LeClair shared a fascinating collection of animal skulls and furs from wildlife found in Maine. Students had the opportunity to observe, touch, and compare White tail deer, Beaver, Red Fox and Coyote, while learning how their adaptations help them survive and thrive in their habitats. This hands-on experience brought our classroom learning to life and we learned a new phrase, "Eyes and teeth tell us what it eats."
The Carrabassett Masonic Lodge #161 was back at CES to award bicycles through their annual Bikes for Books program! Throughout the spring, students earned tickets for books they read independently or had read to them. The Masons then drew one boy and one girl from each grade level to receive a new bike and helmet.
Our winners were thrilled to bring home their prizes in recognition of their reading efforts. Congratulations to Brantley, Alder, Breck, Addy, Reid, Yarra, Bailey, and Malcolm!
A special thank you to the Carrabassett Masonic Lodge #161 for their continued support of literacy and for encouraging a love of reading among our students. And, Congratulations to all of our CES readers for their hard work and dedication to reading this year! 📚🚲🎉
Our winners were thrilled to bring home their prizes in recognition of their reading efforts. Congratulations to Brantley, Alder, Breck, Addy, Reid, Yarra, Bailey, and Malcolm!
A special thank you to the Carrabassett Masonic Lodge #161 for their continued support of literacy and for encouraging a love of reading among our students. And, Congratulations to all of our CES readers for their hard work and dedication to reading this year! 📚🚲🎉
Today, we enjoyed a special visit from Wildlife Encounters sponsored by Aspire Riverhawks! Wildlife Encounters is a private, family-owned nature-based educational organization that delivers more than 1,200 live animal outreach programs annually throughout New England.
Derek Small, owner of Wildlife Encounters and a graduate of Skowhegan Area High School, shared a variety of fascinating animals with our students. In addition to teaching about each animal, Derek spoke about careers and aspirations involving working with animals, encouraging students to think about future possibilities and follow their interests.
Students were thoroughly engaged and excited throughout the presentation. Some of their favorite comments included:
• "The millipede was sticky when it was walking. We were touching its exoskeleton!"
• "I liked the hedgehog's pokes."
• "My heart beeped a little bit, but I was brave."
• "I liked the frog! It had cool eyes!"
• "We were brave! We believed in ourselves and touched them."
It was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about wildlife, explore future career aspirations, and practice being brave while interacting with some amazing animals!
Derek Small, owner of Wildlife Encounters and a graduate of Skowhegan Area High School, shared a variety of fascinating animals with our students. In addition to teaching about each animal, Derek spoke about careers and aspirations involving working with animals, encouraging students to think about future possibilities and follow their interests.
Students were thoroughly engaged and excited throughout the presentation. Some of their favorite comments included:
• "The millipede was sticky when it was walking. We were touching its exoskeleton!"
• "I liked the hedgehog's pokes."
• "My heart beeped a little bit, but I was brave."
• "I liked the frog! It had cool eyes!"
• "We were brave! We believed in ourselves and touched them."
It was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about wildlife, explore future career aspirations, and practice being brave while interacting with some amazing animals!
One of our favorite end-of-year traditions returned this week with a visit from school board member Jeannie Franklin! For decades, Jeannie has celebrated the close of the school year with the students of Canaan Elementary by treating every classroom to lunch and spending time playing bingo, complete with fun prizes. Her continued support of our little school and the Canaan community means so much to our students and staff. We are grateful for all she does to support CES and helping to make special memories for our students year after year.
Canaan Elementary School was thrilled to welcome author and illustrator Hazel Mitchell through the support of Aspire funding. Students had the unique opportunity to listen to Hazel read and discuss her book, Sweet Pea Summer, while also learning about the creative process behind becoming both an author and illustrator.
During her visit, Hazel shared how imagination can spark the beginning of a story and encouraged students to look for inspiration in their everyday lives, memories, and experiences. Her message helped students see that ideas can grow into something meaningful when nurtured with creativity, perseverance, and passion. By sharing her own journey, students were able to make real-world connections between their interests, talents, and future career possibilities in writing, art, publishing, and storytelling.
The experience also promoted literacy engagement across grade levels as students listened closely to the storytelling and illustrations that brought the book to life. To make the day even more memorable, one lucky student from each grade level received a personally signed copy of Sweet Pea Summer to take home and treasure.
Through Aspire funding, students were able to experience firsthand how creativity, imagination, and hard work can lead to exciting opportunities and future aspirations.
During her visit, Hazel shared how imagination can spark the beginning of a story and encouraged students to look for inspiration in their everyday lives, memories, and experiences. Her message helped students see that ideas can grow into something meaningful when nurtured with creativity, perseverance, and passion. By sharing her own journey, students were able to make real-world connections between their interests, talents, and future career possibilities in writing, art, publishing, and storytelling.
The experience also promoted literacy engagement across grade levels as students listened closely to the storytelling and illustrations that brought the book to life. To make the day even more memorable, one lucky student from each grade level received a personally signed copy of Sweet Pea Summer to take home and treasure.
Through Aspire funding, students were able to experience firsthand how creativity, imagination, and hard work can lead to exciting opportunities and future aspirations.
This time of year is always exciting as students enjoy the warmer weather and extra opportunities to play and socialize outside during recess. Outdoor play helps build friendships, teamwork, problem-solving skills, and gives students a chance to stay active and have fun together. While we may be counting down the days until summer break, we are not counting down our time together and continue to make the most of every moment we have left this school year.🌼
Kindergarteners practiced recognizing and building teen numbers by playing Teen Number Bingo! Students worked on identifying numbers 11–19, listening carefully, and matching the correct teen numbers on their bingo boards. This fun game helped strengthen number recognition and understanding that teen numbers are made up of one ten and some extra ones. There was some strong competition during this activity as students were excited to win!
We love our CES kiddos! ☀️ A little playground fun before the rain rolls in. These moments of laughter, friendship, and fresh air are the best part of the day!
You know it’s almost the end of the school year when the students start doing the teacher’s job! 😊 Here’s Cecilia with the morning message she wrote all on her own. So proud of her confidence and growth this year!
Please enjoy May's Canaan Elementary School News:https://bit.ly/4n5YETy
Kindergarten students have been hard at work during their K for ME centers, exploring creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving through hands-on learning!
Students used small blocks to design and build their own construction equipment, showing imagination and engineering skills in action. They also created puppets to retell the classic story of The Three Little Pigs, bringing the characters and sequence to life in a fun and engaging way. In another center, students followed blueprints to build structures, learning how to plan, focus, and turn ideas into reality. The construction-themed sensory bin, filled with natural materials and cardboard tube, offered even more opportunities for exploration, building, and discovery. These centers provided meaningful ways for students to play, create, and grow as thinkers and storytellers every day! 🏗️📚
We are proud to celebrate our most improved readers, honored with the Louise Pease Reading Award, generously presented by her daughter, Cynthia Pease. This special recognition highlights students who have shown outstanding growth, perseverance, and a true commitment to strengthening their reading skills. Congrats to our winners, Julian, Breck, and Yarra.
We are also thrilled to recognize our teacher award recipient, Mrs. Whittemore, whose dedication, encouragement, and passion for literacy play a vital role in helping students grow as confident readers. Her commitment to supporting reading improvement makes a lasting difference in the lives of our students each and every day.
Through hard work, support, and determination, these readers and the educator who champions them, have achieved something truly meaningful. Congratulations to all of our award winners. Your efforts and impact truly shine! 📚✨
Students in first grade received their very own Junie B. Jones book, generously purchased by Hoang Reality, for them to enjoy either over vacation. The excitement was immediate and contagious.
Students quickly noticed that this was a “first-grade version,” and many made the connection that it had been thoughtfully selected just for them. They were especially excited to recognize features we’ve been studying in our own writing like the “About the Author” page. Several students eagerly began reading about Barbara Park, sharing interesting facts they discovered.
As they explored further, they noticed the book was divided into eight chapters and immediately started planning when and where they would read. They also spent time studying the class picture page, where all the characters are illustrated. This sparked great conversations as students compared what they had imagined the characters looked like with the illustrations, and shared what they remembered about them from other stories we’ve read together.
Finally, they discovered the page featuring all of the author’s books and excitedly began pointing out the ones they recognized from our classroom read-alouds.
Students left school genuinely excited, many already beginning to read before the day was even over. It was a wonderful moment of connection, curiosity, and joy around reading.
Students quickly noticed that this was a “first-grade version,” and many made the connection that it had been thoughtfully selected just for them. They were especially excited to recognize features we’ve been studying in our own writing like the “About the Author” page. Several students eagerly began reading about Barbara Park, sharing interesting facts they discovered.
As they explored further, they noticed the book was divided into eight chapters and immediately started planning when and where they would read. They also spent time studying the class picture page, where all the characters are illustrated. This sparked great conversations as students compared what they had imagined the characters looked like with the illustrations, and shared what they remembered about them from other stories we’ve read together.
Finally, they discovered the page featuring all of the author’s books and excitedly began pointing out the ones they recognized from our classroom read-alouds.
Students left school genuinely excited, many already beginning to read before the day was even over. It was a wonderful moment of connection, curiosity, and joy around reading.
It's that time of year!🌼
CES students and staff had a great time watching The Little Prince at the Waterville Opera House! They enjoyed the fun acting, colorful scenes, and magical story come to life on stage.
Look at these CES students monkeying around on the playground! This spring weather has them full of energy and smiles 😄
