Dear YES Families,
We are now beginning the month of February and it’s hard to believe that we are officially past the halfway point of the school year. As we reflect on this school year at YES our students are working hard and making strong gains in their learning despite the many challenges that we are all facing. To our students, keep up the great work! Parents, your ongoing support of your child’s learning has been vital to their success.
February marks a month-long celebration known as “Black History Month”. It is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the history and achievements of African Americans. The celebration takes place in February to commemorate the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Our Responsive Classroom practices, YES core values, and ongoing Intercultural Competence work continue to support a nationwide theme of celebrating peace and tolerance during this important month.
CONSTRUCTION & MOVING UPDATE Progress on the new addition continues to move forward steadily and I will be sharing a new update video with students on Wednesday, February 10 at 9:00 a.m. Included in that video will be a look at the modular classrooms that students will be moving into for the remainder of the year. I will make sure to send the link home to you as well!
As we have already shared with fourth-grade parents, February 5 and 8 will be all remote days for all students in fourth grade only. This is to accommodate the packing and unpacking of classrooms that grade four teachers will be involved in before and after their weekend move.
CONFERENCES AND REPORT CARDS
As I shared in the January newsletter, parent conferencing occurs just after the mid-way point of our school year. Classroom teachers are in the process of beginning to schedule these meetings and hold conferences. They will be sharing with you how students are progressing and growing in regards to the YES learning standards that have been taught.
Just a reminder that the conferencing window for teachers runs from now through March. Your child's teacher will communicate with you directly on when they will hold these meetings. Teachers will provide you a copy of the report card just prior to, or at the conference. Once again, your collaboration and support are greatly appreciated!
YARMOUTH’S GOT TALENT 2021
Yarmouth Music Boosters is thrilled to announce they'll be hosting Yarmouth's Got Talent, the Online Edition, this March! While this popular fundraiser will be a little different this year, much will remain the same.
A volunteer committee of teachers, Music Boosters, and community members will review the submissions. Local "celebrities", teachers and school leaders will introduce the acts. There will be no judging, ticket sales, or voting, and best of all, there's no limit on how many people can watch the show! Music Boosters can't wait to see how students use technology to highlight their talents and think this new Online Edition will allow for acts never seen before on the YGT stage!
Student submissions must be COVID/CDC compliant or they will not be considered. The entry form, rules, and details on how to submit a video can be found on http://www.yarmouthsgottalent.org/ Videos can be submitted any time between now and Friday, February 5. The list of acts included in Yarmouth's Got Talent, the Online Edition, will be announced on Monday, February 22 and the final show will be released for viewing on Friday, March 26.
SCHOOL COUNSELOR NEWS I will keep this short as I know you may be inundated with so many things right now and it can feel hard to keep afloat. I know many of our children are also feeling that way. Therefore, I have this article Trauma in Children During the Covid-19 Pandemic that may be helpful to you. Please feel free to call me at 846-3391 or email me at laura_spellman@yarmouthschools.org if you have any questions.
Have a peaceful day,
Laura Spellman
SCHOOL NURSE NEWS
Winter weather has arrived and with it so have winter activities. Please remember to have students dressed appropriately for outside play, with hats, mittens/gloves, a winter coat and boots. Snow pants are necessary for play when there is snow. When the weather is below 40 degrees students must have a coat on when on the playground. When a coat is sent to school we tell children that parents expect it to be worn. Also, please send a change of clothes to school, because students tend to get wet in winter puddles and melting snow.
Please remember to send a water bottle to school each day. Students cannot use the water fountains at school this year and hydration is important.
Please remember to send sneakers to school. Boots and dress shoes are not safe to wear during PE class. We have a few extra pairs at school, but nothing fits like your own sneakers.
Please remember to let the school know if your child is unwell for any reason, is planning on traveling out of state, or has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 so we can talk about the next steps together. Thank you all so much for helping to keep all students healthy at Y.E.S. this year. For more information on when and how to quarantine please visit the Maine CDC updated quarantine policy 12/4/2020 and for general information on all things COVID-19 related please visit THIS WEBSITE
The YES Nurse’s Webpage is updated with vaccine information HERE. Yarmouth keeps COVID at bay, mask up, wash up and keep 6 feet away!
As always, please reach out with any question or concerns at alison_thomson@yarmouthschools.org or at (207)846-3391
PTO NEWS
- PTO Co-Chair – Would people describe you as approachable, organized, and communicative? The PTO is looking for a co-president for the next school year. The position is an excellent and fun way to get involved in the schools and is an amazing resume and skill builder. You'd be helping to run a small non-profit working with all K-8 principals and administrative assistants, 30+ board members, and committee chairs, teachers, and all K-8 parents and students. You won’t be leading solo. You’ll have a co-chair, a solid leadership team, and myself if questions pop up. If you have even a bit of interest (with or without reservations), let's at least talk! You can contact me, Christy, at christinehayashida@hotmail.com.
- Hannaford Gift Cards – Next load is Tuesday, Feb 9 by noon. Forms will be sent home. Thank you for participating in this free-to-you fundraiser!
- Online Directory – We anticipate receiving opt-in family information from the schools in early March and hope to have an online directory available in mid-March. We’re determining the feasibility of offering a printed directory this late in the school year. We will let you know when the no-charge online directory is available and how to access it.
- PTO Meeting – Please feel free to join us at our next meeting on Thursday, Feb 25, 4 pm. Meeting log in information: ID-820 0158 5276, Passcode-173939. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82001585276?pwd=UDV4UG9VaXhTbzdSbi9XL3FFV0pDUT09
- PTO Enrichments – You can view a growing list of enrichments we’ve been able to provide through your donations. Thank you, parents!
- Questions can be sent to Christy Hayashida and Jessica Raimy at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com.
YARMOUTH PANTRY FOOD DRIVE
Starting Monday, February 1st, Interact Club will be hosting a “Spread the Love” food drive in order to raise donations for the Yarmouth Food Pantry in collaboration with Jared Conant’s annual birthday food drive. There will be boxes in the office until Friday, February 12th for students or parents to drop off items. (High School only - Students are also encouraged to bring donations to their advisor and drop off donations in the boxes which designate their grade) Monetary donations are encouraged as well: $1 donated can go towards $4 of spending money for the Food Pantry! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact: Celina Belleville: y2022celbel@yarmouthschools.org Jared Conant: y2022jarcon@yarmouthschools.org Elizabeth (Lizzie) Guertler: y2021eligue@yarmouthschools.org
VALENTINES DAY CARDS
Classroom teachers will be in touch with you regarding their plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This year students may send/exchange paper valentines’ only- there should not be any attached items (candy, erasers. etc.) as we follow our safety protocols.
PARENT PICK UP: CAR TAG REMINDER!
At this point in the school year, the parent pick-up process is running smoothly. We are even starting to know the make and model of your vehicles! However, it is still important that we follow our procedures. Recently we have noticed people forgetting to post the car tag prominently in their vehicles. The process goes much more efficiently when this is posted in the right-hand corner of your windshield or another place on the right-hand side of your vehicle. Smartphone app tags are more difficult to see but if you have them ready to show when you pull in that is also a big help.
FEBRUARY DATES TO REMEMBER:
Thursday, February 4 & Friday, February 5: Math NWEA Assessment
Students in all grades will be finishing up their Winter NWEA Assessments this week. Math and Reading results will be mailed home to you later this month. Please note that grade four cohort 2 students only will be taking the MAP assessment on Tuesday, February 2* as they will be remote on Friday, February 5 due to the modular move.
* If winter weather results in no school on Tuesday, we will move the Feb. 2 testing to Feb. 8.
Friday, February 5 & Monday, February 8: All 4th-grade students remote
Again, all grade 4 students in both cohorts will be fully remote on these two days while classroom teachers are packing, moving, and unpacking.
Wednesday, February 10: 9 a.m.- New School Update Video
Students will be sent a video of the new school progress and the modular classrooms.
Thursday & Friday, February 11 & 12: Sock Drive/Wacky Sock Day!
On the last two days of school before the winter break, we celebrate the YES core values of caring and citizenship. Students who wish to participate are asked to bring in one or more new pairs of socks. Socks will be collected that day. Everyone is also encouraged to wear wacky socks to school that day to show their school spirit. You can wear unique looking socks, mismatched socks, socks pulled up over the outside of your pant legs, etc.
As we approach our 100th day of school, we'd like to see if we can collect 100 or more pairs of socks to donate to people in need. We are proud to share with you that all socks collected will be delivered to the Preble Street Shelter in Portland. Way to go YES!
February 15 to February 19: Winter Break- No School
Monday, February 22: School Resumes
Thursday, February 25 & Friday, February 26: School Lockdown Drill
The Yarmouth Police Department will be back with us to help support our final lockdown drills of the year with each cohort. The January drills went smoothly and we expect that these will as well.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns or feedback you would like to share. I hope that your family has a healthy start to February and a nice winter break.
Best,
Ryan Gleason, YES Principal