YARMOUTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

"It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want — oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" ~Mark Twain

Dear YES Families,

Mark Twain says it well as he describes the anticipation and joy of spring. Spring fever is definitely in the air at YES as our children have been energized by the longer days and (slightly) warmer weather. As we return from April vacation we have already seen this energy in action with more students riding their bicycles to school and beginning to engage in several after-school activities outside. 

As you will see from the length of this newsletter, activity is the theme at YES in May! It is hard to believe that we only have about seven weeks of school left this year, yet there are so many exciting and important learning experiences still to come for your children. 

MAY DATES & EVENTS

May 1: Earth Day Cleanup Celebration

The Green Voices Society (GVS), is an environmental club at YHS that has partnered with Yarmouth Community Services to hold a May 1 cleanup of the grounds at Yarmouth schools. On December 5, 2021, the club organized a similar trash pick-up just around YHS and in two hours they collected 70 lbs. of trash. GVS is excited to expand this event and is inviting students and families to join in. 

It will begin this Sunday at 1 pm, and the group is meeting in front of the YHS West Elm Street entrance. They ask that interested participants please bring gloves and a reusable bag to pick up trash (GVS has some extra, but there might not be enough for everyone).

They would appreciate an idea of how many people plan to participate to better organize the clean-up effort. If you plan to participate please email YHS GVS student Mia Ginsberg at  y2023miagin@yarmouthschools.org. If you have questions about the clean-up event you can also contact Margot Downs, the GVS advisor at margot_downs@yarmouthschools.org.

May 2-6: Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week

We hope that you will also take a moment to celebrate "Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week" with us! Our teachers and staff at YES provide so much for our students—inspiration, motivation, and, ultimately, their futures. Our educator's work impacts and extends far beyond the boundaries of the classroom.

From May 2-6 we would like to show our thanks and gratitude to our fantastic staff. We hope that you will take the time to show your appreciation this week with the educators who work with your child.  Often a simple note of thanks means the world to them.

Wednesday, May 4: YES Bike To School Day

May is National Bike Month! National Bike to Work Week is May 2-6 and Wednesday, May 4 is Walk and Bike to School Day. This day is a great time for those who might be thinking about walking or biking the chance to try it out, 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 Sixth 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 be evaluating the weather on Tuesday afternoon and will let you know if we plan on moving to a rain date or if we're going to stick with Wednesday.

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 for 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.

A volunteer from Yarmouth's Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee will be outside the school during morning arrival on May 4th to hand out bike safety materials to students, thank them for biking and walking, and answer any questions you might have.

Thank you to Mr. Abbott for taking the lead on this fun annual YES event!

Friday, May 6: School Cafeteria Workers Superhero Day

Thank you to our kitchen staff for the amazing job that they do each and every day.  Our YES "Lunch Ladies" play a very important role in the lives of our children. Mrs. Stowell, Mrs. Riddle, and Mrs. Black do a wonderful job making sure our students have nourishing meals that prepare them to learn. A smile and words of encouragement go a long way when kids go through the lunch line. We will be celebrating them on May 6!

May 2-6: YES Kids Heart Challenge!

What a busy week this is! Also, during this week, Ms. Pachuta, Mrs. Murray, and Mrs. Lokken will be facilitating our annual Yarmouth Healthy Heart Challenge, sponsored by the American Heart Association. This will take place during students' PE and SEL classes. Through the challenge, kids learn jump rope skills, how their heart works, and raise money (optional) to help kids with special hearts. It is an opportunity to have fun, learn how to stay healthy, and make a difference in the lives of others! Thank you to these teachers for leading our students in this fun, educational, and healthy challenge.

Beginning May 10: MEA Assessment for Grades 3 & 4

The spring administration of the Maine Educational Assessment will be held in the morning on the following days:

• Tuesday, May 10
• Thursday, May 12
• Tuesday, May 17

We appreciate your efforts to make sure that students are well-rested and at school on time each day to sit for these important end-of-the-year assessments 

Thursday, May 19: Grade 4 Chorus, Band, and Orff Ensemble Spring Performances 6:00 PM

We look forward to you joining us for this celebration of learning, growth, and fun. Thank you to Mrs. Troy and Mr. Snow for all their hard work in supporting our young singers and musicians on this year-long journey.

Friday, May 20: Community Meeting Encore Performance 9:15 AM 

Our Grade 4 singers and musicians will hold an encore performance for the entire student body at our May community meeting in the gymnasium. 

Monday, May 30: Memorial Day NO SCHOOL

For our band parents please remember that our students participate in the Yarmouth Memorial Day parade that morning!

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

School Nurse Notes

May is Lyme disease awareness month.  When going out and about remember to be “Tick Wise”:

• Know tick habitats and use caution in areas where ticks may live.
• Wear light-colored clothing that covers the arms and legs.
• Use an EPA-approved repellent such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
• Perform tick checks on yourself, family members, and pets daily and after any outdoor activity. 
• Take a shower after exposure to a tick habitat to wash off any crawling ticks.
• Visit the Maine.gov website for more information about Lyme Disease 

When warmer weather arrives students often want to wear sandals to school.  Flip flops and other open-toed shoes result in injuries to toes and feet while playing in wood chips and on the tar.  Sneakers are always the best choice of footwear for school.

Please remember to send a water bottle to school with your child

Please remember to complete a health check before sending your child to school each day.

Happy Spring,

Nurse Thomson

School Counselor Corner

Here are some strategies to support social-emotional learning at home. As always, feel free to email or call me if you have any questions or concerns. 

• Be an active listener.
• Provide acts of kindness together.
• Help your child express their emotions by identifying their feelings.
• Check in on feelings/emotions daily and model identifying your own emotions/feelings. 
• Cultivate your child’s self-esteem by providing developmentally appropriate tasks and recognizing a job well done. Allow them to make developmentally appropriate choices.
• Practice mindfulness (breathing or stretching exercises). 
• Respect your child’s differences and provide encouragement during challenges.
• Model managing stress, disappointment, anger and conflict, respect and empathy. 

Laura Murray, School Counselor 

PTO News    THE BIKE SWAP IS BACK!

The annual PTO Bike Swap is coming! You can buy or sell gently used bikes, scooters, tag-a-longs, and jogging strollers. The PTO will fairly price, tag, and sell your items and you can choose to directly donate your bike to the Yarmouth PTO Bike Swap OR sell your bike and 20% of the sale will benefit the Yarmouth PTO student enrichment programs for all K-8 students   Sellers: Drop off items on Friday, May 6, 5:30 - 8 pm at the Rowe School gym. Buyers: The sale begins on Saturday, May 7, 8 am - 12 pm at the Rowe School gym.   We need a few volunteers to help prep the bikes and sell them. Whether you have bike know-how or not, we'd love to have your help via the sign-up below.

PLUS, those Friday night and early Saturday volunteers get an early peek at the bikes they might be interested in!

Sign up to Volunteer here. FMI: Contact Adam at aqmoore@gmail.com.   SEEKING LEADERS AND VOLUNTEERS!

The Yarmouth PTO is seeking volunteers for the 2022/23 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 at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com.   Hannaford Load- May 18

May PTO Meeting- May 26, 7pm

Merrill Memorial Library News

Sunday, May 15, Virtual Cooking Challenge via Zoom, 3 PM - the first one we ran was so fun that we're doing it again.  Sign up link is:https://forms.gle/pdQCrbSiEB4GVn3Q9    LEGO builds on display.  There is an ongoing LEGO Contest and we are going to let our library patrons vote for their "Fan Favorite". Voting will start this week, in the library and on our Facebook page, and run through May 15.    How to Dungeon Master, Weds, 5/25, 3:30, for Grades 4-8, sign up: https://forms.gle/4HiMezChm9hpedDY7 

Dress Code Reminders

As we experience warmer weather students will begin to wear fewer layers of clothing such as short-sleeved shirts and shorts. A reminder that it is expected all of our students will wear clothing that covers their chest, stomach, and behind. We appreciate your help and support to make sure that students are wearing clothing that is appropriate for school.  . The Bus Loop is Open- Buses Only Please!

Over the break, we were able to open up the school bus loop near the building for morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. Please note that this is not an area where individual vehicles should drop off or pick up students. That parent drop-off and pick-up area is still the loop by the main entrance of the school. Again, we appreciate your attention to this. 

SPRING TRANSITION ACTIVITIES IN JUNE

During the month of June, we will be wrapping up this year but also begin to transition our students for the 2022-23 school year. 

On Tuesday, June 14 we will hold our annual “Step Up Day” for all grades.  This is a wonderful opportunity for students to meet their teacher, learn who will be in their class next year, and hopefully help with any anxiety that students may have about moving onward and upward. More details will follow in our June end-of-year newsletter.

If you are moving or anticipate that your child will not be attending YES next year, please reach out to us in the main office to help with our planning for student placement. 

Of course, we have not listed all the other wonderful classroom-based events occurring this spring! Your child's teachers will be communicating all of those with you. Also, please note that our annual YES Field Day will be held on Wednesday, June 9 (rain date: Thursday, June 10) and the last day of school is a half-day on Wednesday, June 15. 

As always, please reach out to us with any questions, or if we can do anything to support your child’s end-of-year learning experience at YES. 

Best,

Ryan Gleason, YES Principal & Molly Kilpatrick, YES Assistant Principal