Maine School of Science and Mathematics

10/14/2026

Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) is a public residential high school in Limestone, Maine, for students who love asking questions and taking on real challenges. With a 7:1 student-teacher ratio, classes are small, teachers know every student, and curiosity drives learning.

10/06/2026

MSSM hosted its first STEM Discovery Night on Monday, October 6, at Limestone Community School, bringing local families together for an evening of hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math. About 20 stations were led by MSSM faculty and students, along with community partners including the Francis Malcolm Science Center. Activities included rocks, squishy circuits, chemistry experiments, static electricity, making instruments, and an inflatable planetarium.

The event drew children and families from the area, including several Scouts, for two hours of exploring, experimenting, and learning together.

“Everyone from MSSM did a great job letting them experience the joy of STEM,” said MSSM Executive Director Rob Constantine. “The impact of young students seeing older students excited about and enjoying learning and science is so important!”

The event was organized through MSSM’s new Community Programs Manager position, led by Valerie Chavez. “We were really excited by the turnout for our first STEM Discovery Night,” Chavez said. “It was wonderful to see so many local students and families engaging with STEM.”

We are already looking forward to the next one.

10/05/2026

Students in Dr. Deb Eustis-Grandy’s Ecology class have been spending Wednesday afternoons outside working on a forest community analysis project. The class set up two 100m-long transects - one in a deciduous forest and one in a coniferous forest - and established sampling points at 10m intervals along each transect. At each sampling point, students collected data on trees, shrubs, and herbs present, as well as air temperature, relative humidity, dew point temperature, and wind speed. Soil samples were also collected at each point, which were then analyzed for moisture content and color. At one point along each transect, data loggers were deployed to record temperature and light intensity at one-hour intervals; these will be left out until mid-October and will capture daily variations in light/temperature at the ground surface and two meters above the ground.

Once all of the data is obtained, students will be applying a suite of standard analysis tools to quantify the plant community composition of each transect. The results of these calculations, as well as trends identified in the abiotic parameters (temperature, etc.) and soil microbiome data provided by Dr. Eustis-Grandy’s Genetics class, will allow students to quantify (and compare) characteristics of each forest community.

In addition to the benefits of simply being outside, students are learning standard ecological sampling and analysis techniques, gaining plant identification skills, and seeing how both abiotic and biotic factors (including past human land use) influence the forest communities that can be seen today.

10/04/2026

Our cross-country penguins had another strong race at the 25th Maine XC Festival of Champions in Belfast on Saturday, October 3rd. Coach Jeskey drove them down from Limestone, departing at 5:45 AM, and everyone enjoyed running with so many other runners (around 2,000). The team gave 100% on the course at Troy Howard Middle School. They had strong finishes across the board and great representation for MSSM.

Michael Dooley, 21:27.21 (PR)
Raphael Halpern, 21:46.51 (PR)
Garrett Sanders, 22:03.09 (PR)
Jeffery Johnson, 31:15.87 (PR)
Sadie Wigmore, 26:00.45 (PR)
Theodora Panagoiliopoulou, 32:16.89

Coming up next for MSSM Cross Country:

• Saturday, October 24: North Regional Championships at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast, with races at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Saturday, October 31: State Championship Meet at Cony High School. Times TBA.

10/01/2026

MSSM Community Program Manager Valerie Chavez visited Limestone Community School this week to bring hands-on STEM activities to younger students. In these photos, students explored friction through a series of activities using fine and coarse salt, then wrapped up the lesson by creating their own loops. Thank you, Ms. Moir, for having us. The visit gave students a preview of STEM Discovery Night, coming Monday, October 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the LCS gym.

We hope to see families there for an evening of hands-on science, discovery, and fun.

09/29/2026

The MSSM Soccer Boys' team earned its first win of the season on Monday, September 28th, at home against Southern Aroostook High School (Dyer Brook). SAHS had previously defeated the Penguins 3-0 at an away game earlier this month. The Penguins got off to a fast start when Zander M. ( #12) scored in less than two minutes of the game. Abhi R. ( #10) added the second goal, and MSSM worked well together throughout the match to maintain the victory.

The heavy rain made for tough (and cold) playing conditions, but the boys stayed focused, supported each other, and finished the night with their first win. It was a great first victory for the season, and we are looking for many more.

Great job, Penguins!

09/29/2026

How excited are we for the home soccer games on Tuesday, September 29th?

09/27/2026

Congratulations to MSSM VEX Robotics team 4393A for going undefeated and taking the Tournament Champion title, the Design Award, and the Robot Skills Award at the John Bapst Season Opener competition on Saturday, September 26th in Bangor. Team members Sam P., Elliot H., Silas O., Edward P., Sheldon P., and Riley S. all worked together to dominate the event.

This win earned them a ticket to the Maine State Championships held in early spring in South Portland. Winning at States will secure the team a spot at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Las Vegas April 23rd - 30th.

From VEX.com

All students are natural scientists and engineers. They love to question, tinker, experiment and play. VEX competitions foster these skills and capitalize on the motivational effects of competitions and robotics to help all students create an identity as a STEM learner. VEX competitions are also a great way to expose students to valuable soft skills like communication, collaboration and time-management in a fun and authentic way. The VEX Robotics competition prepares students to become future innovators with 95% of participants reporting an increased interest in STEM subject areas and pursuing STEM-related careers. Tournaments are held year-round at the regional, state, and national levels and culminate at the VEX Robotics World Championship each April!

https://www.vexrobotics.com/v5/competition/vrc-current-game

09/26/2026

We are once again ranked the #1 Best Public High School in Maine.

Rankings, stats, and reviews on academics, teachers, student life, and more.

09/17/2026

Know a student who is always asking questions, loves solving problems, or is ready to explore more?

Invite them to discover where curiosity meets challenge at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics!

Join us for our Fall Open House on October 11 and 12, 2026, in Limestone, Maine. Step into our classrooms, meet students and faculty, and discover what living and learning at Maine’s public residential STEM high school could look like.

Come with questions. Leave with a clearer picture of what is possible at MSSM.

Register here: https://mssm.myschoolapp.com/app/embed?svcid=edu /1431/selector=.internet/1782325800%3a0ab1Wo4hs4DAAt0e%2bJgI4fgWbBl1qmkyyvqY%2bE0No3CFispEbQ%2b74L4l77kHzAl8Tdgbq8kH3%2f2370Ch49Z8NQ%3d%3d

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