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Happy October! These first few weeks of school have flown by so quickly. Our students have settled nicely into their classroom and school-wide expectations. Suffice to say, it has been wonderful to see them back in school full time and engaged in their learning five days a week.
The procedures and daily activities of your child’s learning experience should now start to be familiar and more comfortable for them. If your child is still experiencing anxiety or any type of concerns, please contact your child’s teacher or Mrs. Murray, our school counselor. You are welcome to also include us on those types of communications. We will be happy to visit with you on the phone or to schedule a virtual meeting to talk together regarding ideas to help your child or the situation. Please don’t ever hesitate to contact us – we are here to help.
Fall is a busy time at YES and we have lots of important information to share with you!
NWEA MAP ASSESSMENTS - GRADES 3 & 4- WEEK OF OCTOBER 4 Students are required to participate in statewide ELA/literacy and mathematics assessments in grades 3-8. During the week of October 4, our students will be taking the Maine Educational Assessment.
Just like last school year, the state is using the NWEA MAP reading and math growth assessments as the state assessment for elementary school students. This year language usage has also been added to the state testing requirement. Each assessment takes approximately 45 to 60 minutes to finish on average. However, all students have extended time to finish the assessment on that given testing day.
Students in grades 3 and 4 will take the following assessments each day:
- Tuesday, October 5: Reading
- Wednesday, October 6: Math
- Thursday, October 7: Language Usage
By the end of October, we will mail home student results along with a letter explaining how to interpret the results. The NWEA Family Toolkit is a helpful resource if you would like to know more about the MAP assessments.
SCHEDULE REMINDER - NO SCHOOL OCTOBER 8 AND 11 The weeks of October 4 and 11 will be four day weeks with no school for students on October 8 for Staff In-Service & on October 11 for Indigenous Peoples Day.
YES BOOK FAIR 2021-OCTOBER 18- 22 The YES School Library invites students and their families to the Fall Scholastic Book Fair! Our Scholastic Book Fair is a fun event that provides a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level. Reading for pleasure inside and outside of school has real and long-lasting benefits. It unlocks the power of information and imagination and helps children discover who they are.
Put October 18th-22nd on your calendar! Students will have a chance to shop the fair during their normal library special time. To make independent shopping easier, consider using eWallet: a safe, cashless way to shop the fair. Find out how to sign up for eWallet at the YES Online Book Fair . Families, you can also shop online from October 15th-28th! Visit our YES Online Book Fair to shop online and more.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the YES School Library. Thank you so much for your support. Happy reading!
BULLYING AWARENESS MONTH/COMMUNITY MEETING- OCTOBER 15 The month of October is also national “Bullying Awareness Month” in schools. During this month there is extensive work with our students in SEL on anti-bullying and being a positive "upstander" at YES. On Friday, October 15, we will ask students to wear the color blue as part of celebrating the annual worldwide day of bullying prevention. As with all special days like this, participation is up to the student but we hope that many students will choose to join in.
As part of this work, we will also hold our first school-wide community meeting that same morning. At YES community meetings, the focus is on celebrating our core values of respect, caring, fairness, and citizenship.
FALL VIRTUAL CONFERENCING Classroom teachers will be reaching out to you in the next few weeks to schedule virtual parent-teacher conferences for later this fall. The conference window runs through October and mid-November. This is an opportunity for you to get an update as to how your child is progressing academically and as a member of the classroom and school community. It is also a time to learn how your child can specifically grow as a learner and understand ways that you can help support that process. As always, we appreciate your collaboration and partnership!
SCHOOL COUNSELOR CORNER It has been a fantastic start to the school year! It is so great to see all our students and get to know our second graders and new students in the district. In social/emotional learning (SEL) class we have been learning and relearning about whole body listening by reading stories, role-playing, making crafts, and playing communication games.
Listening with our whole bodies is a concept that incorporates listening with our eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, body, brain, and heart. We have reviewed what it means to listen with all of these parts as the concept of listening with our hands, for example, can seem a bit funny. Encourage your child to tell you what it means to listen with their whole body. Reinforce when they are and model this yourself. For more information on whole-body listening click here!
SCHOOL NURSE NEWS With flu season approaching, Yarmouth Elementary School and Rowe School will be having an influenza vaccination clinic for students on October 1, during school hours. We will be partnering with Northern Light Home Health and Hospice to provide our students this clinic. If your student missed this clinic, vaccines can be found at your primary care office, most urgent care or walk-in locations, and any pharmacy including CVS, Walgreens, Target, or Hannaford.
For more information about flu prevention visit the CDC Webpage on Flu.
A couple of other school reminders:
- Please send students in closed-toe shoes to play outside during recess.
- Please send layers to school and a change of clothes
For families interested in adding their student to pooled testing: Students added after Thursday of a given week may not be included in the following Monday pool due to the reconciliation process taking place on Thursdays. Thank you for your understanding. For questions about the flu vaccine clinic or pooled testing, please contact - Alison Thomson (207) 846-3391 or email alison_thomson@yarmouthschools.org.
PTO UPDATE News to Use: If you missed our September newsletter, full of fun information, you can find it here! Spirit Wear: Sale ends 10/4 - We are excited to see everyone rocking their Clipper pride around town! Production starts after the store closes 10/4 and orders will be dispersed by the end of the month. To make an order before the 4th, click here. Hannaford Gift Cards: 10/6 and 10/27 by noon - Thank you to everyone who participated in the first load of the year! Look for a form coming home before each load, or print one here. Take it Make it: 10/7 (Rowe) and 10/14 (YES) 3-6 pm - This twist on our traditional Make It, Take It Craft Fair will take place at the Yarmouth Farmer's Market at the Bickford Pavilion. For more information, see our Facebook event here. Boon Supply: 10/18-11/5 - Catalogues are coming home this month full of exciting products with 40% of your purchase going to the K-8 PTO! October PTO Meeting: 10/21 4 pm - All are welcome to attend! Look for zoom information on our website and social media pages before the event. Trunk or Treat: Friday 10/29 4-6 pm - Join your PTO at the first-ever YCS Trunk or Treat at Yarmouth Town Hall! More info here. Questions or Comments: Please contact Kim Tyau at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com. Thank you for all of your support! UPCOMING OCTOBER EVENTS/DATES TO REMEMBER
- Friday, October 1: Student Flu Clinic at YES
- Weeks of October 4: MEA/NWEA MAP Testing
- Friday, October 8: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS - STAFF INSERVICE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY
- Monday, October 11: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS- INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY
- Friday, October 15: Wear Blue Day for Bullying Awareness/Community Meeting Day
- Week of October 18: YES Book Fair
- Thursday, October 21: PTO Meeting 4 pm
- Sunday, October 31: Halloween
There has been so much to celebrate and be grateful for this school year. We continue to be grateful for the opportunity to work with the students, staff, and families at YES. Thank you for your ongoing support!
With appreciation,
Ryan Gleason, YES Principal & Molly Kilpatrick, YES Assistant Principal