Dear YES Families,

Happy September! As we begin this first month of fall there is already a great deal to celebrate. It has been a very successful first week of school here at YES.  Despite the heat and humidity, students have learned new routines and settled in quite nicely. Thank you for sending your children to us so prepared and ready for the start of a new school year. The positive energy and spirit in the building has been infectious. We are off to a fantastic start!

The beginning of a new school year is always a busy time and 2018-19 is no exception. We have several upcoming dates, events and important information that you will want to have on your calendar.

SEPTEMBER DATES/EVENTS

Thursday, September 13th

Grade 2 Parent Open House 6:00 - 6:45 p.m.

The program for this evening will begin in the cafeteria at 6:00 p.m. where there will be a brief presentation before moving on to student classrooms.  In addition to our second grade teachers, there will also be an opportunity to meet our unified arts team.

Week of September 17th- 21st:

NWEA MAP Testing for Grade 2

NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) is a global not-for-profit educational services organization. NWEA partners with over 3,500 educational organizations worldwide to provide research-based adaptive assessments, professional development, and research services.

NWEA’s assessments are called Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). When taking these computerized adaptive tests, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. In an optimal test, a student answers approximately half the items correctly and half incorrectly. The final score is an estimate of the student’s achievement level.

MAP assessments are used to measure your student’s progress or growth in school. You may have a chart in your home on which you mark your child’s height at certain times, such as on his or her birthday. This is a growth chart. It shows how much he or she has grown from one year to the next. MAP assessments do the same sort of thing, except they measure your child’s progress by the RIT scale (Rasch unit). The RIT scale is an equal-interval scale much like feet and inches on a yardstick. It is used to chart your child’s academic growth from year to year.

MAP tests are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. They let teachers know where a student’s strengths are and if help is needed in any specific areas. Teachers use this information to help them guide instruction in the classroom.

At Yarmouth Elementary School all students take the MAP assessment twice a year. This year the first assessment will be given in September and the second in January.  Students are assessed in reading and math.  Each assessment lasts approximately one hour and are given on two separate days in the morning.

For second grade students we are still piloting a new assessment. Teachers are learning about the results and using that formative information to guide instruction. For grade three and four students teachers will provide copies of MAP results at fall parent- teacher conferences. 

Monday, September 17th

4th Grade Parent Band Night 6:00 p.m.

This informational meeting is for the parents of fourth grade students who are interested in band this year. Mr. Brad Ciechomski, our band instructor, will share details on the program and answer questions that you may have. This will be held in the YES cafeteria. 

Thursday, September 20th

Grades 3 and 4 Parent Open House 6:00 - 6:30 p.m

For this event, please go directly to your child's classroom at 6:00 p.m. where their teacher will provide an informational presentation.

K- 4 PTO Meeting 7:00 p.m.- YES Library

The Yarmouth K-4 PTO provides support to our schools that truly enhances the educational experience for our students.  They provide funding for the majority of the field work that our learners participate in throughout the school year. Additionally, they support our annual field day and so many other projects that have become part of our programming for students. 

Please consider joining the PTO for this first meeting and learn about all the great work going on and how you can contribute. The PTO meets twice a month at YES and you are always invited to attend. Here is a welcoming message from this years co- presidents :

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Yarmouth K-8 PTO is excited for another school year of providing our students with field trips, visiting specialists, enrichment supplies, and community events! We are so thankful to you, our Yarmouth school families, who give funding for these enrichments. If you’d like more information on specific enrichments that the PTO funds, please click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QIk0_K0I9YvLG_Fsmk9w1f0R-HCA1_wL9dWpK5DaC1E/edit.  Below are a few points we’d like to share:

  • If you are interested in volunteering, we would love to work with you. Please fill out our 1 to 2-minute volunteer survey, which explains ways you can participate and lets you select what interests you: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPYU_owgZA14RxaBUTujJzYwB1szW5MdQB8BOgaME1Mhfupw/viewform
  • Kick off the school year with Spirit Wear! The online store is now open until September 30. Order today at http://www.pandpscreenprinting.com/yarmouth This is a local business owned and operated by a Yarmouth school family.
  • The Hannaford Gift Card program is our most successful fundraiser and is completely free to you. Next week, your student will bring home a flier, so be on the lookout! Simply fill out the form and return it to school. Hannaford will donate 5% of your gift card to the PTO.
  • Do you want to just simply give to the PTO to help support this year’s events and activities? You can either write a check to Yarmouth K-8 PTO and send it to PO Box 262 in Yarmouth or visit our website and click on the blue “Donate Now” button: http://www.yarmouthpto.org/
  • Help the PTO reach our annual goal of $1500 by clipping Box Tops for Education! For every Box Top redeemed, the PTO earns $0.10 for our schools. Return your Box Tops in your student’s folder or drop in your school office. Click here for a list of participating brands and products: https://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/participating-products

Thank you again for all your support! If you have any questions or comments, please contact Heather Meier and Christy Hayashida at info@yarmouthpto.org. We are happy to hear from you!

Christy Hayashida and Heather Meier, PTO Co-Presidents

Week of September 24th- 28th

Grades 3 and 4 NWEA MAP Testing

Again, please remember that all third and fourth grade students will be testing two mornings that week for math and reading. 

Tuesday, September 25th: SCHOOL PICTURE DAY

Send your child to school with a big smile for the camera!

Friday, September 28th: YES Community Meeting

At 2:45 p.m. our student and staff school community comes together for the first school-wide community meeting of the year. At these meetings we focus on our YES core values of "Respect, Caring, Fairness and Citizenship". At each meeting our adopted school mascot "Steamer" joins us for a celebration of community, learning and fun.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

School Counselor News If you want to know how your child’s school day was try asking some of these questions.

  • “How were you kind or helpful today?”
  • “What’s the coolest thing that happened? What wasn’t so cool?”
  • “What made you laugh?” 
  • “Let’s see what you brought home.” 
  • “What was the most creative thing you did?” 
  • “Describe a book you enjoyed today.” 

These open-ended questions will elicit more information about your child’s school day than simply asking, “How was school today?” They will also help you stay connected and involved with school.  I hope your child’s school year is off to a fantastic start!  Laura Spellman

School Nurse News

Hello YES families and welcome back to a healthy school year! Here are a few reminders I would like to share with you.

Yarmouth Elementary School is a 5210 Let’s Go! school, and we do not encourage bringing in sugary treats to share with students.  There are a lot of reasons for this, allergies being one. You can find a lot of healthy ideas for treats to share with students on the website 5210 parent link (https://mainehealth.org/lets-go/childrens-program/parents), and Emily Clyatt, from 5210 Let’s Go, will be here to answer questions at open house.

I know from time, students are unwell and need to stay home from school.  Here are some general guidelines on when to keep your child home for the day.

**Fever, 100.0F or above - Your child must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of Advil/Motrin or Tylenol. Please do not send your child in if he/she had a fever yesterday or last night; this is an indication of illness and your child may be contagious.

**Uncontrolled/excessive sneezing/coughing - Children who have difficulty with managing large amounts of nasal drainage need to be kept home as well. The flu and other viruses are spread through these body fluids being sneezed/coughed into the air and transported from child to child through hand contact. 

**Vomited in the last 24 hours.  

**Diarrhea in the last 24 hours. 

**Strep throat - Your child must be on antibiotics for a full 24 hours before returning to school. He/she remains contagious until 24 hours after the start of antibiotics.

**Chicken Pox - Chicken pox continues to be contagious while new blisters are appearing, when blisters drain, and until blisters have all crusted over. This process can take approximately 5-7 days. 

***The above information is by no means complete nor does it substitute for a consultation with your healthcare provider. Please consult your physician/pediatrician for more information.

Links to the medication permission form and other useful information, such as immunization requirements, and avoiding the flu, can be found on my school web page which I update regularly and it can be found HERE: https://yarmouthelementaryschoolnurse.blogspot.com/  

As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.  

Alison Thomson, RN BSN   

November 6th School Bond

Last Wednesday night our town council approved the school committee recommendation to put two school bond requests out to the voters on November 6th.  As you are well aware, increased enrollment and programming needs have been the catalyst for this bond.

If approved, here at Yarmouth Elementary School the entire existing building will receive upgrades, while a large expansion will provide additional space. Increased parking and security features will complete the transformation of YES into a modern facility. In order to avoid a similar expansion at the Middle School, Grade 5 will move from HMS to YES. At Open House we will provide a handout with detailed information that will help you stay informed as you vote on this important issue. 

I hope that your child has had a positive first week of school and is excited for the year ahead. As always, if we can help in any way please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for your continued collaboration and support!

Best,

Ryan Gleason, YES Principal