YES FEBRUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER
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. To our students, keep up the great work! Parents, your ongoing support of your child’s learning has been vital to their success.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2023
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.
The fifth grade Civil Rights team will be sharing announcements with the school highlighting the many contributions that African- Americans have made to the United States. 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.
CONFERENCES, REPORT CARDS, & NWEA
As we shared in the January newsletter, parent conferencing occurs just after the midway point of our school year. Classroom teachers are in the process of scheduling these meetings and holding conferences. They will be sharing with you how students are progressing and growing in regards to the YES learning standards that have been taught.
Also, as part of the report card the SHARE Unified Arts team has provided information on the learning experiences that students have had in each grade level for the first semester.
Just a reminder that the conferencing window for teachers runs from now through March. Your child's teacher will communicate with you directly about when they will hold these meetings. Teachers will provide you with a copy of the report card prior to, or at the conference.
It is important to remember that our progress reports are reporting out on end-of-year grade level common core standards. It is not uncommon that many students are at a "beginning" or "developing" level in their progress toward these standards at this point in the school year. In many cases we would not expect students to be at a "meets the standard" until the end of the school year. The report card is always an "invitation to a conversation" as the conference will share all the work going on for your child in the classroom.
We are finishing makeup testing this week in all grades for the NWEA winter assessment. Once those are completed we will be mailing home those results to you.
Once again, your collaboration and support are greatly appreciated!
REMINDER: USE OF PERSONAL DEVICES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY
There has been an increase in students reporting to us that they are using their watches and phones to communicate with parents during the day.
The following information is from our school handbook: “The school discourages students from bringing expensive items to school, i.e., cell phones, video games, etc. Smart watches should only be used as watches during the school day. We ask that you and your child do not call, text, or email each other during the school day. The school cannot assume responsibility for damage or the loss of such items. Students who do bring expensive items to school, do so at their own risk.”
If your child is going to bring a personal communication device to school it cannot be used during the academic day. Cell phones should be tucked away in pockets or a bag until school ends. If there is an urgent matter that requires that you communicate with your child during the day please contact the main office. Students can access the phone in the main office if they need to communicate with parents. We appreciate your help and support in reinforcing these expectations with your child.
PARENT PICK UP: CAR TAG THANK YOU!
After communicating a need to “tighten up” the use of car tags at parent pick up we appreciate how responsive everyone has been. Thank you for your continued support with this! It makes a big difference.
VALENTINES DAY CARDS
Classroom teachers will be in touch with you regarding any plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Once again this year students may send/exchange paper Valentine’ only- there should not be any attached items (candy, erasers. etc.)
SCHOOL COUNSELOR CORNER
In SEL classes we are working on the importance of responsibility. We have all demonstrated responsibility in our lives. Many of us have seen people practice responsibility in ways that have inspired us. Stories are powerful tools for connecting as a family.
I encourage you to protect time this month to share stories about responsibility with each other (you can use the story prompts to get started).
Story Prompts:
● A time I (or someone else) showed responsibility was _____.
● An act of responsibility that changed/challenged me was _____.
As a family, think of ways in which you might make someone’s life a little easier by helping a neighbor or family friend with one of their responsibilities. Could you bring the garbage out to the curb? Could you carry things in from the grocery store? Could you invite someone over for a meal or a show?
PTO NEWS
YES Skating Event hosted by the YES Welcome Committee
Where: Blake Pond (behind KeyBank)
When: Saturday, February 4th from 10am-Noon
Hot cocoa will be provided! Bring your skates, a few pairs of extra skates will also be on hand thanks to Yarmouth Community Services. If you don’t want to skate, come for cocoa and conversation!
Glow Run- 5th Grade Parents-Thanks for all of your generous support of the Glow Run, we also thank our teachers for their willingness to do silly string battles with students! Final details about our fundraising success will be shared once we wrap up the campaign.
Summer planning: many camps open registration in January, here is a link to our camp packet. http://bit.ly/PTOCampPacket
Yarmouth Area Camps: This Camp Packet is brought to you by the Yarmouth K-8 PTO in an effort to familiarize families with local camp information. Please contact Becca Maltais at rebeccamaltais@yahoo.com with any questions or if you have additional camp information.
Feb PTO meeting is in the Y.E.S Library, Thursday, Feb. 16 at 4 pm. All parents, guardians, children, and school community members are welcome!
YARMOUTH’S GOT TALENT NEWS
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
MERRILL MEMORIAL LIBRARY NEWS
Saturday, Feb. 4, Lunar New Year craft, drop-in in to the library anytime from 10 am-12 pm to make a Year of the Rabbit craft
February Break: February Break Activities at MML
Tuesday, Feb 21, Pokemon MeetUp, 3:30-4:30. Bring your cards and talk about all things Pokemon. No trading cards, please.
Thursday, Feb 23, Minecraft Drop In, 3-4:30 pm. Bring your own device or use one of ours to play Minecraft with friends.
Friday, Feb 24, LEGO drop-in, 10am-4pm. Come in and build with our extensive LEGO collection. We will also have our Dash & Dot robots available to code and/or LEGO joust.
FEBRUARY DATES TO REMEMBER
National School Counseling Week Feb. 6-10, 2023
National School Counseling Week is celebrated annually to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. Sponsored by American School Counselors Association, this week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February.
We are fortunate to have three dedicated school counseling and social work professionals at YES. A huge thank you to Laura Murray, Chelsea Beckett, and Lindsey Lokken for all the work they do to support our students' social-emotional needs!
Monday, February 13:
School Safety Drill - 9:00 am
We will hold our next Emergency Protocol Exercise of the school year based on the “Stop, Look, and Listen” approach. This will take place entirely in students' classrooms and will only last a few minutes.
“South Bristol Spindrifters” Jump Rope Team 9:30- 10:00 am
We welcome the return of this Jump Rope Team from South Bristol School.The team is sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA) and performs throughout Maine to entertain and motivate elementary students to get involved and participate in the annual AHA’s “Kids Heart Challenge” (formerly “Jump Rope for Heart”), a fundraiser in support of heart research.
Wednesday, February 15- Grade 4 Band Sectionals Recital 6:00 pm
On February 15 there will be a sectional recital performed by our 4th grader band students.. Each section will play a selection from their lesson book or from the list of three-note songs. Students should be here by 5:45 pm. The recital will start at 6:00 pm in the gym and should finish by 6:30 pm. We are excited for their first performance of the year!
Friday, February 17: Sock Drive/Wacky Sock Day & Pajama Day
On this day we will celebrate the YES core values of caring and citizenship at a community meeting led by our second-grade teachers. 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!
Additionally, this will also be a “Pajama Day” for students. Students can look forward to wacky socks and PJ’s on the last day before school vacation!
February 20 to February 24: Winter Break- No School
Monday, February 27: School Resumes
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback you would like to share. We hope that your family has a nice winter break!
Best,
Ryan Gleason, YES Principal & Molly Kilpatrick, YES Assistant Principal
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