Meet Sam Dunbar, principal of Messalonskee Middle School!
What jobs have you had before becoming an administrator? I have been an administrator for eight years (on year nine now). I am entering year three as the MMS principal. For the four years before that, I was an assistant principal at Messalonskee High School. Before that, I was the assistant principal at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington for two years. I also taught ninth grade social studies at Mt. Blue High School for eight years. I enjoyed being a teacher and the awesome relationships I forged with students and families during that time. Many days I miss teaching and I see myself returning to it at some point! Prior to working in schools and while I was in college, I worked at Hannaford (Augusta) in the produce department. I loved that job.
What’s your favorite meal? While it’s not really a meal, although I make it a meal on occasion… my favorite food is poutine. Big fan. I recently went to Quebec where poutine is from and had poutine a couple of times while there. The best poutine I had in Quebec? At an Irish Pub. Who knew?
If you could live anywhere, where would it be? How could I live anywhere but in this area? I have loved the Belgrade Lakes Region for as long as I can remember as my parents have a camp on one of the lakes. While I don’t live on the water, I can hear the loons from my house in the evening. This is an area that is central to many things, and within an hour’s drive we can be at the coast or in the mountains. We may not have everything at our fingertips, but a short drive leads to many opportunities. Would I love to eventually have a house on the water? Absolutely. But for now I will settle for the sound of the loons and going to the family camp whenever I am able.
Tell us about your family! My family is unsurprisingly the best and most important part of my life. My wonderful wife is an amazing and dedicated second grade teacher at Belgrade Central School. She has been at BCS for sixteen years. I am fortunate to be my daughter’s principal at MMS. She is in 8th grade and loves dance, music, soccer, and lacrosse. My son is in 5th grade at BCS and loves football and baseball. My kids and I bond over sports as I am also a big Boston sports fan. As a family, we enjoy traveling when we can (near and far) and boating/relaxing on the lake in the summer and skiing in the winter.
What is your coffee order? This is an interesting question for me. The best answer is that I don’t order coffee since I don’t drink coffee. Some may find this odd, since my day typically begins around 5:30am. I don’t, however, skip the caffeine to start my day or as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. I now drink unsweetened Pure Leaf iced tea. This has been an evolution that involved energy drinks (sugar free Red Bull), diet and then regular cola, and now Pure Leaf unsweetened black tea. Occasionally, I’ll make my own black tea, but Pure Leaf and its convenience has been my go-to for at least five years. Maybe someday I will drink coffee like an adult … but, I’m not there yet.
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