Dear YES Families,
Spring is finally here and excitement is in the air at Yarmouth Elementary School as we begin the last three months of the school year!
It continues to be a wonderful year of learning, growth, and fun at YES. As always, we greatly appreciate the combined efforts of all as we support our students' success.
APRIL- AUTISM ACCEPTANCE MONTH
In April, the YES community is proud to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month. Here in the United States, more than 5.4 million adults are autistic, and 1 in every 44 children has been diagnosed with autism.
This month we celebrate the achievements of neurodiverse people everywhere and champion the equal rights and dignity of all those living on the autism spectrum. Our YES Civil Rights Team will be engaging our staff and student body in learning and recognition experiences throughout the month.
CONGRATS TO OUR YGT CONTESTANTS!
Once again, there were several Yarmouth Elementary School students who were represented in the “Yarmouth’s Got Talent” event this year that was held on Friday, March 31.
There were also many more YES students who submitted entries for this annual tradition. Whether they were selected for the show or not we are so proud of all our students for putting themselves out there to share their talent, creativity, and imagination.
Our hope is that all our students feel safe taking risks and trying new things in a culture of community encouragement and support. And of course, we love to see them have fun while doing it!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR YARMOUTH GIRLS HOCKEY PLAYERS!
At Harrison Middle School, beginning in the fifth-grade girls can participate on the middle school girls' hockey team. There are several fifth-grade girls who played on the team that won this year's Southern Maine Middle School Ice Hockey Championship. Congratulations to the team!
TEXTING/COMMUNICATION REMINDERS
Please remember that if your child brings a phone or wears a smartwatch they should not be used either for phoning or texting during the day. We have had a number of situations where parents are texting students during the day. Please do not do that as it is disruptive to the instructional day. If you need to get a message to your child between 8:30 am and 3:30 pm please contact the main office and we will make sure that the message is delivered. We appreciate your support with this.
LOST AND FOUND
The lost and found area has begun to fill up again. At the end of the day on Friday, April 13, any unclaimed items will be donated. Please have your child check the area for any missing items and feel free to contact us or stop by and we can coordinate a time for parents to check for any missing items.
PTO NEWS
Parent Education
Thanks to Sheila Carroll, MD, and Kellie Hall CPT for a wonderful parent education talk on using "Food as Fuel". They created a helpful list of resources for all parents at the following link: Food Resources
Silver Graphics - 3/29-4/12
The return of one of our favorite fundraisers!
Rowe and YES students will bring home a personalized order flier 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... 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 - Sunday, April 30th, Rowe School Gym & outside circle
A return of the bike swap, with some added extras this year! More details coming soon.
Happy Wheels - Save the Date!
Come support your PTO and have a blast on Roller Skates at the same time!
This is a new PTO fundraiser and we can't wait to skate!
YES - Friday, May 5th 5pm-7pm
HMS - Friday, May 12th 5pm-7pm
Happy Wheels is located at 3 Chabot Street Westbrook
Seeking PTO Leaders, Members, and Volunteers!
The Yarmouth PTO is seeking volunteers for the 2023/24 school year! You can share (or update) your volunteer interests by taking this two-minute survey: bit.ly/PTOVolunteerSurvey.
We have volunteer positions at every level, including several leadership roles. If you’d like to make decisions that impact student enrichment and help the school community, we would love to work with you. If you are interested or have any questions, please email Elaine and Tenley at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com
YOUTH FOOTBALL NIGHT- APRIL 3
Interested in Football?
All new and returning PreK-Middle School athletes are invited to attend the 2023 Flag and Tackle Football Information Night on Monday, April 3rd at YES Gym. Kickoff is at 6:30 pm. Come meet the coaches, hear about the changes for the upcoming 2023 season, and have fun with the Yarmouth High School Football State Champions!
NEW THIS YEAR! After a general overview, parents will move to the YES cafeteria for more details while interested athletes PLAY Football games in the YES Gym! Want to CATCH passes from the high school QB? Do you think you can move a high school lineman? Want to learn how to hold a strong 3-point and a 4-point stance? Do you like to throw footballs? How about testing out your footwork with some simple drills?
ALL current PreK-7th grade athletes are welcome and there will be plenty of supervised fun for all ages and ability levels. We will wrap up by 7:30 pm with free ice cream! Bring a friend.
YHS DAY OF HOPE- APRIL 7
Yarmouth High School is excited to bring back the Day of Hope: a student-organized "Ted Talk" style event centered around bringing hope and unity to the Maine community. This year's Day of Hope will take place Friday, April 7 from 5-6 pm at the Yarmouth Performing Arts Center (YPAC).
This year we are honored to bring in three speakers from various fields to talk about hope in their own lives. Please click here to learn more about our three speakers: Artist Charlie Hewitt, Kate O’Halloran of Lifeflight, and Kali Focht of Partners for World Health.
Admission is free, however, we kindly suggest you consider making a donation as all the proceeds will go to Partners for World Health, a non-profit based in Portland, ME.
We hope you will join us for the 2023 Day of Hope—our first live event since 2019!
BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY- MAY 3
We had a wonderful week of Bicycle Education with the Youth Cycle Project that helped prepare our students to take to the roads this spring. Thank you again to our PTO for supporting this learning experience!
Now that students are well prepared, please mark your calendars for May 3rd. May is National Bike Month! National Bike to Work Week is May 15th-21st, and before that happens, Wednesday, May 3rd is the YES Walk and Bike to School Day. This day is a great opportunity for those who might be thinking about walking or biking to school to try it out with support, while also celebrating the environmental and health benefits of walking and biking.
Yarmouth's extensive network of sidewalks and paths provides safe routes for people of all ages to walk or bike.On that day, we will be having our Seventh Annual Bike Train to YES.
What is a Bike Train? A Bike Train is a group of students and adults all riding to YES together from a few meeting spots around Yarmouth. We aren't able to meet everywhere in Yarmouth, so if your child would like to join us please find the most convenient meeting spot, then click on your spot to see what time we will be there. We would love to have you join us as an adult volunteer.
Please make sure all riders come wearing helmets for safety! (This includes adults.)
We will not be riding home together, please make your own plans for after school. Hope to see you there!
List of Meeting Spots and Departure Times: 7:45 AM - Parking Lot of baseline ES (Route 88 & Bayview) 8:00 AM - Amvets Parking Lot 8:15 AM - Royal River Park Parking Lot 8:30 AM - Arrive at YES
The Yarmouth Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee has provided the following tips and resources for biking and walking to school:
- Go in groups. It's easier, safer, and more fun to ride or walk to school in a group. As noted, you may consider organizing a regular Bike Train with other families in your neighborhood.
- Plan your routes. Stick to sidewalks, quiet streets, and pathways whenever possible even if it adds a couple of extra minutes.
- Be safe! If you are driving, always yield to children in the crosswalk, slow down, and give people on bikes plenty of space. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine has some great educational materials on bike safety basics. There are additional safety tips on the town's website here.
WEEKS OF MAY 8, 15, & 22: MAINE THROUGH YEAR STATE ASSESSMENTS - GRADE 3, 4, & 5 This Spring the 2023 administration of the state assessments will include Math, Reading (grades 3, 4, 5), and Science (grade 5 only). These will be administered during the weeks of May 8, 15, and 22. Please keep these upcoming testing weeks in mind to avoid any scheduling conflicts.
This spring the state of Maine has adopted a new assessment now called the “Maine Through Year Assessment”. It has partnered with NWEA, the company that we have worked with for many years in administering the MPG (Gr. 2) and MAP (Gr. 3, 4, & 5) assessments. As we move forward, this assessment will replace the MAP assessment and provide us with the same type of data.
Because this is the first pilot year of the new assessment, we will not have access to the results right away. For this spring only, results will be made available by the state in the fall of 2023. We will share these results with you once they are provided to us. As we move forward, the results will be available each time the assessment window closes in the fall, winter, and spring.
For more information on the Through Year Assessment, you can read this DOE Parent Letter from the Maine Department of Education. As always, please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about the state assessments.
SUMMER WRITING CAMP
Dear Writers and Parents of Writers,
Have you ever said to yourselves, “I just wish there was a camp for kids who like to write.” Wish no more! For the tenth year, a writing camp is being held in Yarmouth this summer.
The camp offers time to write with other young authors in a relaxed environment designed to spark creativity. Writers will have time to get their thoughts on paper, be inspired and energized by activities indoors and out, and have time to interact with other kids and high school volunteers (former campers of course!) who also want to write. Each year we bring in lots and lots of new activities.
Camp is for students currently in grades 4-7
Camp runs June 26-30, 2023 from 9 am-2 pm
The camp will be located at Yarmouth High School
To register in Yarmouth, link here.
If you are interested, sign up soon. Our camp is currently more than half full with repeat customers. We will get back to you if you made it in or are on a waiting list.
Also, we have a camp running in the same week if for any reason you want your child to go to the one. To register for Gorham, link here.
Feel free to share this. Got questions, contact Lorrie King at lorrie_king@yarmouthschools.org.
SPRING BREAK REMINDER
Please remember that the last day of school before vacation is scheduled to be Thursday, April 13. Spring vacation begins on Friday, April 14 and students will return to school on Monday, April 24. Enjoy the break!
Best,
Ryan Gleason, YES Principal & Molly Kilpatrick, YES Assistant Principal