"Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it." -Ralph Marston
Each November we revisit this quote from Marston as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. As a school community, we have so much to be thankful and appreciative for. In light of the tragic events of last week, we are especially thankful for this school community. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and support over these last few days.
Our November newsletter highlights many of the exciting things we have engaged in recently and also look forward to in the month ahead.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
On October 2 we held a school-wide “YES Constitutional Convention” with representatives from each classroom helping to create school-wide rules based on our student-created classroom rules. At this ratification ceremony, we were joined by Yarmouth Police Chief Dan Gallant and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dolloff. After the ceremony, Chief Gallant shared some words of wisdom with students about the importance of rules and how essential it is to be involved and invested in your community. The school-wide rules, which will be displayed on banners in the lobby, include:
● Be Safe, Responsible, and Honest
● Respect Everyone and Everything
● Take Care of Our School Community
A huge thank you to our PTO who are supporting the purchase of our new banners!
PARENT CONFERENCES
Thank you for actively participating in your child’s education by attending the fall conferences. Individual conferences will continue to take place over the coming weeks. Our teachers appreciate your support and look forward to working closely with you throughout this year.
BOOK FAIR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
The Book Fair schedule has been adjusted for this week. The Scholastic Book Fair is happening in the YES library from October 30 - November 3. Students will have an opportunity to shop the fair during the school day with their class, and the fair will also be open to the community for two evenings:
● Monday, October 30, 4-7 p.m.
● Wednesday, November 1, 4-7 p.m.
Thank you for supporting reading and the library!
OCTOBER 31: COMMUNITY MEETING, COMFY CLOTHES DAY, & CANDY DONATIONS
On Tuesday morning, October 31, our school will have a community meeting led by the third grade. We will celebrate fall and share the “Pumpkin Literacy Characters” created by each classroom. This is a well-loved tradition at YES that students engage in to celebrate their favorite book characters.
On that same day, we will have a “Comfy Clothes Day”. Students can wear pajamas, sweatpants, or whatever their favorite comfy clothes are to celebrate the day! We do ask that students not wear costumes to school. For those who celebrate Halloween please keep those items at home that day.
For those of you who would like to get the excess candy out of the house this week, fourth grader Grant Chadwick is leading a donation to “Treats To Our Troops” again this year. Soldiers’ Angels Treats for Troops is a Halloween Candy collection program where businesses and organizations register to collect excess Halloween candy and send it to our military troops who are overseas. There is a collection box in the main office and it will be there until Monday, November 6, with the candy donated immediately after that.
MAINE THROUGH YEAR AND NWEA RESULTS
The NWEA MEA/MAP (Gr. 3, 4 & 5) and MPG (Gr. 2) results are going to be sent home to you soon. Once the fall testing window is complete for the state of Maine, we will have access to the results and will be sending home the Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 assessment information. These results also include a letter that helps to explain the assessment and how we use this information to support instruction and help students grow.
WINTER WEATHER GUIDELINES
Before we know it there will be snow on the ground! Time will tell but the weather forecasters are predicting a snowy winter here in Maine. This is a good time to review some of our winter weather playground and clothing guidelines as we may get some snow before our December newsletter.
We will NOT go outside if the temperature is 5 degrees or below. Wind chill plays into this, but fluctuates within seconds. The effect of a consistent wind chill may also cause us to stay inside even if the temperature is above 5 degrees.
It is important that students come to school dressed for cold winter weather. Students who want to play in the snow and on snow banks must wear winter jackets, boots, and snow pants. If the temperature is below 40 degrees it is too cold for shorts, tee shirts, and no coats. If you are in need of winter weather clothing please reach out to Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Beckett, or Mrs. Lokken in the counselors' office as we do have resources available for those in need to make sure that all students have the proper gear.
Thank you for your help with this to keep our children healthy and warm this winter!
SNOW DAYS/REMOTE LEARNING DAYS
The first few days that we find winter weather impacting travel we typically have traditional snow days held district-wide. That means no school for anyone. With the unexpected loss of two school days last week, we will clarify the exact number of traditional days soon.
After that we will plan, as best we can, to hold remote learning days in the event of winter weather occurring that makes road travel unsafe. We will monitor the weather forecast and send school iPads home with students the day before. Teachers will provide assignments through Seesaw, Google Classroom, and/or any written materials that are sent home. Google Meets will be held to provide virtual instruction and support. Students are expected to bring the school iPads back to school the next day school is in-person.
If we have a “surprise day” day that impacts weather, or widespread power outages, then we will have a traditional snow day. This would be in the event that we were not able to send devices home ahead of time or if there is no power in homes to use the internet. The remote snow day information can be found here: YES Remote Snow Days 2023-24
CAR TAG REMINDER
Over the past few weeks, we have noted that there is a growing number of student car pickups who are not displaying car tags or the PikMyKid app. This slows down the car loading process as we need to take time to verify and make sure that the adult is authorized to pick up that child. Please post the car tags on the lower side of the windshield towards the sidewalk to keep things both safe and efficient. We appreciate your help with this.
LOST AND FOUND
The Lost and Found area is located in the gym lobby and it is beginning to overflow with coats and sweatshirts. If your child is missing an item please direct them to look for it there. It is always a good idea to write their name on these articles of clothing in the event that they are forgotten. We will be making a donation for any unclaimed items as we get into December.
5th GRADE DRAMA CLUB
We are excited to share that we will have a 5th-grade Drama Club this year! Ms. Katie Pride, YES fourth grade teacher, is the club director and she will be leading drama tryouts for parts on November 14, 15, and 16 in the Band Room from 3:45- 4:45 pm. The club will practice on Wednesdays weekly from 3:45-4:45 in the Band Room beginning November 29- March. The fifth grade play performance will be on Friday, March 22 at 6:00 p.m. in the Gym. All fifth-grade students are welcome to participate in the Drama Club. For any questions please contact Ms. Pride at kathleen_pride@yarmouthschools.org.
PTO NEWS
A huge thank you to our PTO for supporting so many of our enrichment activities already this year. Our Community Meeting and the "Pumpkin Literacy Decorating" would not be possible without PTO support in securing the pumpkins.. Here is the PTO news for November:
Glow Run- Jessica Raimy, PTO Volunteer Coordinator
The PTO is currently looking for one or two people to lead the Glow Run at HMS! This fundraiser is loads of fun - students in grades 5 - 8 walk, run, and dance through a glowing track, gather pledges, and earn fun incentives such as silly stringing a teacher and playground equipment. The lead(s) would be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Glow Run including communications with school staff and vendors, management of prizes/incentives, some advertising (prepping social media posts of incentive photos and totals updates to create excitement), and overseeing and attending the day of the actual event.
The Glow Run is scheduled to run January 12th - January 24th, with the actual event on the 24th and some prep work before these dates. The past lead of Glow Run will be available for guidance, some assistance, and any questions you might have. If you are interested or would like more information on this opportunity, please email Lenora and Katie at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com or you may reply to this email.
Make it- Take it-Madeline Backman
The PTO is looking for volunteers for this year's Make-It & Take-It event on Sunday, December 3rd from 11-2 p.m. at YES.
Love to craft? Table Leader is the perfect role for you! If you sign up to be a table leader we will connect with you in the next few weeks to get you supplies, and instructions and give you information about any prep work needed before the event.
Want to help but don't want to lead a table? No problem! We have plenty of other roles to fill and we would love to have your help. Please take a look at the SignUpGenius for all the available roles including table leaders, table helpers, bakers, ticket sales, setup, and cleanup.
https://www.signupgenius.com/g...
2023 Make-It Take-It flier (4).png
PTO Directory Information
Hannaford Gift Card Upcoming Load will be November 15
Please see the attached flier for Staff Appreciation Breakfast here: YES Staff Appreciation Breakfast
The Next Public PTO Meeting will be held November 16th at 7:00-8:30 pm at the Yarmouth Elementary School library All are welcome!
SCHOOL NURSE NOTES
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 5 million people in the U.S. are expected to have Type 1 Diabetes by 2050, including nearly 600,000 people under the age of 18. Type 1 Diabetes has no cure, and is considered a lifelong chronic illness with management around the clock. You can learn more HERE.
Please consider donating gently used or new gender-neutral sweatpants size 6-18, and waterproof mittens of all sizes to the health office.
In Health, Nurse Thomson
COUNSELORS CORNER/YARMOUTH FOOD PANTRY THANKSGIVING APPLICATIONS
The Yarmouth Food Pantry provides assistance to families who would like support with a Thanksgiving meal. There is more information attached here: 2023 Project Holiday Information
Contact any of our school counseling team (Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Beckett, or Mrs. Lokken) as they can also help with any questions you may have.
YCS Youth Basketball Boys & Girls 5th & 6th Grade Basketball
From YCS: 5th & 6th-grade basketball will focus on skill development and fundamentals in this in-house league. Practices and games will be on weeknights, with no weekend commitments. A placement clinic will be scheduled before the start of the season to split players up into balanced teams. Each team will have one practice and one game each week, Mon-Fri. Exact schedule will be dependent on registration numbers and coach availability. Games will primarily be in-house but as the season progresses, we may have games against other towns if schedules allow. Please email Bob Priest at rpriest@yarmouth.me.us with any questions. *Program details are subject to change*
Dates: December 4 - February 16 (Skip 12/25-1/1)
Grades: 5 & 6
Location: Yarmouth Elementary School Gym
Fee: $110 (includes jersey you keep)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10: NO SCHOOL- VETERANS DAY HOLIDAY
We would like to take this opportunity to personally thank our community Veterans for your dedicated service to the United States Armed Forces. We will forever be grateful for your bravery and sacrifices to protect our country’s freedom.
GESKUS PICTURE RETAKE DAY- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14
If your child was absent on school picture day or you would like to have a retake done, the Geskus photographers will be back at YES on Tuesday, November 14. Here is a message from Geskus about retake day:
Retake day is for new students and staff members, transfer students, or anyone who may have missed the initial picture day, OR for anyone who was unhappy with their original picture and would like to give it another try. If a student would like the retake photo to replace the original photo, please have the student return the original picture package to the photographer on picture day. We will replace the original package at no additional cost.
If this is the first time being photographed, just have the student/staff go to the camera and we’ll create a proof for them that will be sent to the school (and/or to their family email if we have that information). These proofs will be delivered approx. 4 weeks after picture day. An order code will be on the proof along with ordering instructions.
NO SCHOOL: WEDNESDAY, NOV. 22 - FRIDAY, NOV. 24: THANKSGIVING BREAK
On behalf of everyone at Yarmouth Elementary School, we wish all of our families a happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful start to the Holiday Season!
Best,
Ryan Gleason, YES Principal & Molly Kilpatrick, YES Assistant Principal