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Dear YES Families,
It looks like February has decided to “go out like a lion”! We hope that everyone is settled in safely at home on this snowy remote school day. We also hope that you all had a nice February vacation week. It was wonderful to see our students back at school yesterday.
As we begin these last few months of the school year, we want to thank you for your participation in our recent and upcoming parent-teacher conferences. This is an opportunity for you to celebrate your child's progress and learn more about their next steps in growing as learners. Please know that your partnership, feedback, and support are valued and greatly appreciated by our staff.
The upcoming month of March is a busy one with lots of information to share!
MARCH DATES/EVENTS TO REMEMBER
MARCH 2: READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY
Read Across America Day is an opportunity to take time to promote the love of reading. Here at YES, we will be celebrating this event at a school-wide community meeting on Thursday morning. Thank you to our school librarian, Mrs. Moreno, and our unified arts team for leading this event. We encourage you to celebrate the day at home ... and of course, take time in your own lives to READ!
MARCH: WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
Women's History Month is a dedicated month to reflect on the contributions of women to United States history. From Abigail Adams to Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, the timeline of women's history milestones stretches back to the founding of the United States.
At YES our Fifth Grade Civil Rights Team has been planning a variety of activities to celebrate and share awareness. We look forward to celebrating and learning as a school community throughout this month.
MARCH: YES SPIRIT MONTH 2023
Our annual "YES Spirit Month" is back! This year will once again feature fun spirit week dress-up days on each Friday in March:
Friday, March 3:
Yarmouth Spirit Day!
Wear your favorite Yarmouth gear or the colors blue and white.
Friday, March 10:
Hat Day!
Wear your favorite/fun hat.
Friday, March 17
St. Patrick’s Day!
Celebrate by wearing the color green.
Friday, March 24
Favorite Day!
Wear your favorite color, sports team, activity…anything that is one of your favorites!
Friday, March 31
Wacky Outfit Day!
A day for mismatches, wacky clothes, and hats.
SUNDAY, MARCH 12: DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
We look forward to the time when our days start getting longer. Don't forget to set the clocks one hour ahead when you go to bed that night!
PTO-SPONSORED SPECIAL EVENTS IN MARCH!
MARCH 13- 17: BIKE SAFETY WEEK
As we transition to spring in Yarmouth there will be many more students riding bicycles to and from school. In an effort to support our students with bicycle safety education, we are pleased to share that we will be working with the Youth Cycle Project www.youthcycleproject.org. Each grade level will participate in safety education that they can be mindful of as they are riding their bicycle out in the community.
As a culmination of "Bike Safety Week," we will have a group from Woodside Elementary School in Topsham join us for a school-wide assembly. On the afternoon of Friday, March 17 the “Woodside One Wheelers” will perform unicycle tricks and stunts with positive messages focusing on growth mindset and bicycle safety.WoodsideOneWheelers.org
Thank you to our PTO for supporting our work with both of these organizations!
MARCH 20- 24: KINDNESS WEEK
Each year the PTO sponsors and supports Rowe, YES, and HMS with a week focused on kindness. It’s a celebration of all the ways we can become a positive influence in each other’s lives. Even one small act of kindness can mean a great deal to somebody.
It is important for us to constantly be reminded to be kind to one another and to give others hope whenever we can. During the month of February, we raised money for the local community through our World of Change initiative along with donating socks to the Preble Street Shelter. A small and random gesture of kindness can go a long way. This week all of our students will be engaged in activities that focus on kindness for others in our school.
MONDAY, MARCH 27: YARMOUTH'S GOT TALENT AUDITIONS 4:00 PM
It's Time to Get Ready for the 11th Annual Yarmouth's Got Talent: A K-12 Student Competition
All talent is welcome to audition – music, dance, arts, magic, comedy, or any creative endeavor that will win over the audience!
Entry Forms:
Entry forms: www.yarmouthsgottalent.org
Entry forms must be submitted by Thursday, March 23.
Auditions:
Monday, March 27
Start at 3 PM at HMS and YHS
Start at 3:45 PM at YES and Rowe.
Show Date:
Friday, March 31 (Rain date, Saturday, April 1)
Prizes:
Cash prizes based on audience votes.
A first and second prize will be awarded for each age group.
View official rules and links to the entry forms at YarmouthsGotTalent.org
THIRD-GRADE COGAT TESTING
In March, we will be administering the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to all third-grade students. It is a series of short assessments that are a part of our universal screening process for gifted and talented instructional support. As you are aware, our Talents instructional support is consult-based at the elementary level. Beginning in grade four we have additional pull-out groups that represent 3-5% of the total grade-level population.
The CogAT is a multiple-choice K-12 assessment that measures reasoning skills with different types of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal questions. There will be three 30-minute tests administered and spread out over the weeks of March 13, March 20, and March 27.
FROM ROWE SCHOOL: PUBLIC PRE-K
Please spread the word to friends and neighbors that we still have afternoon openings in our Pre-K sessions for the fall of 2023! Children must turn four on or before October 15, 2023.
Click HERE to Register for fall 2023
The Yarmouth School Department believes that providing children with a Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) experience facilitates their success by nurturing academic, social, and emotional development. The curriculum is intended to actively engage students in their learning and to provide regular opportunities for hands-on, play-based activities and outdoor experiences. We believe that offering public Pre-K provides all students and families with the opportunity to equitably access high-quality, early childhood education.
Transportation will be available for all interested students.
Programming will be part-time (half day) Monday-Friday during either the morning or afternoon.
Session times are as follows: Session 1, 8:40 am - 11:25 am; Session 2, 12:40 pm - 3:25 pm.
Currently, all morning slots are full but we still have afternoon openings. If you are interested in signing up for the morning waitlist, please contact the Rowe School office directly.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION BEGINS ON MARCH 1
If you have a child who will be five on or before October 15, 2023, please visit the Rowe School website at yarmouthschools.org. You can choose Rowe School from the drop-down menu on the upper right of the screen. This will take you to a pre-registration form.
Beginning on March 1st and once you have filled out the pre-registration, you will receive an email from our office with directions for completing the online registration forms and signing your child up for a kindergarten screening appointment. Kindergarten screening will take place in the first week of May. If you have friends or neighbors who have a potential 2023-2024 kindergartener, please remind them to pre-register on our website, too. We will place an advertisement in the Forecaster and through YCS to spread the word. Thank you!
If you have any registration questions please contact Rowe School at 207-846-3771 or Amanda Murray by email at amanda_murray@yarmouthschools.org. If you have any programming questions, please contact Susan Lobel, Rowe School Principal, at susan_lobel@yarmouthschools.org.
PTO MARCH NEWS
Parent Education Event- Wednesday, March 8, 6-7:30 pm
“Food as Fuel” Join Sheila Carroll, MD, and Kellie Hall CPT for an information session at Harrison Middle School. They will cover the following topics:
- What foods your kids need
- How sugar affects kids
- How to read food labels
- Resources to improve your family's nutritional habits
Silver Graphics- Coming Soon! 3/29-4/12
The return of one of our favorite fundraisers! Rowe and YES students will bring home a personalized order flyer at the end of March. This order form will showcase a piece of art that your student created in Art this year, but you will also be able to upload additional pieces of art; something your child created in the past, a new drawing, or both. Sibling art, family projects, and photographs are also accepted! The perfect gift for Grandparents, Father's Day, Mother's Day or any celebration!
Note cards, magnets, ceramic mugs, canvas totes, jewelry, ornaments, and much more, all featuring your child's artwork will be available to order by the end of March! *The PTO receives over 30% of the proceeds, which goes right back to funding enrichments.
To place an order go to: https://www.silvergraphics.com/shop and enter School Access Code: 23ArtYS *Please note: Orders may not be placed before March 29
All orders ship direct to families and arrive 2-3 weeks after they are placed.
Community Bike Fair & Bike Swap- Save The Date- April 30
A return of the bike swap, with some added extras this year! More information to follow!
Glow Run 2023 Appreciation
Thanks 5th grade families for your support of the Glow Run, we raised over $28,000 for the P.T.O! What an achievement! Huge thanks goes to Mary Post & Christy Hayashida for pulling off another super successful glow run!
WORLD OF CHANGE NEWS
As you know, our World of Change initiative focused on helping our local community. Please see the information below from Matt Hoidal and Michelle Theriault, Directors of the World of Change non-profit. As you will read this was a very successful effort at YES! Thank you all for your support. We announced this information to our students on Monday morning and they were quite excited!
First, the fun facts:
- Total number of coins collected = 38,184 coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollar coins, dollar coins)
- Change exceeded 250 lbs in weight.
Total Collected by Focus Area (Plus examples of what the change will support)
- Food: $622.85 (will provide more than 2,400 meals for kids in need)
- Housing: $709.35 (will buy seven new beds for kids currently sleeping on the floor)
- Education/Learning: $473.30 (will provide nine backpacks filled with supplies to help kids thrive at school)
- Health: $464.81 (offer diapers to up to 5-6 families for one month)
- Animals & Nature: $550.02 (Provides temporary homes at the Animal Refuge League, sponsoring a kitty condo and a dog kennel for an entire year!)
- Play: $220.14 (will provide toys for kids who don't have any)
Grand Total Collected = $3040.47!!!
We are proud of our students and school community for engaging in an authentic initiative that focused on our core values of caring and citizenship. Our students are learning that they can make a positive difference in the world.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback you would like to share. Thanks for all that you do!
Respectfully,
Ryan Gleason, YES Principal & Molly Kilpatrick, YES Assistant Principal