March 29, 2019
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Your children and the HMS staff are looking forward to sharing a variety of learning experiences with you in the coming months! Fifth grade students will begin their work on the explorers unit, which will culminate in Great American night, while our sixth grade students are hard at work creating their World’s Fair projects. Students in seventh grade are deep into their Genius Hour explorations, and our 8th grade students will begin their inquiries into civil rights with the Young Athletes Festival kick-off in May. We also have the spring concerts, a variety of field trips, the 5th grade play, and the start of the spring sports season to look forward to. It is an interesting and exciting time at HMS as your children continue to inspire us each day with their curiosity, their questions, and their passion for learning.
March Rotary Recipients: Congratulations to Katie Thornton and David Dealaman, March recipients of the HMS/Rotary Recognition award! This recognition is based on growth mindset and the effort/grit/perseverance demonstrated by HMS students. Please visit HMS NEWS for the full story, coming soon!
Exciting news from the world of Art: We are pleased to share Matilda Murray’s artistic accomplishments with you! Our thanks to Mr. Hickey for his guidance and support of our students. Yarmouth students well represented at PMA’s Youth Art Month
Please let us know when your child will be out of school: Please call the HMS main office by 8:30 AM if your child is going to be absent, or if she/he will be coming in late (846-2499). This will enable us to complete our daily attendance protocol and ensure that we know where all students are as we begin each day. Thank you for your support with this!
Drop Off/Pick Up Safety Reminder: We appreciate your help ensuring that our students, staff and community members are able to get to and from school safely during the morning and afternoon drop off and pick up times. A reminder that it’s helpful to move as quickly as possibly through the drop off line in order to ensure that traffic is able to move forward around the loop. To facilitate this process, please pull up to the curb to drop off your child, then move along to the stop sign before leaving the HMS lot. Passing cars on the left is an unsafe practice for our students and other drivers.
Girls On the Run Update: The Girls on the Run organization is looking for volunteers for their spring 5k on June 2, 2019 and for volunteer coaches for grades 3-5, for the fall and spring 2019/2020 seasons. If you are interested please contact Staci Olsen at staci.olson@girlsontherun.org, or Cary Phoenix at caryphoenix@gmail.com.
YHS Clothing Drive: The Yarmouth High School Global Action Club is sponsoring a clothing drive to support refugees in the Greater Portland area! People coming to Maine often have very few belongings, especially winter clothing. This clothing drive will help their transition to our Maine communities. Please help support this cause by bringing in clothing (especially winter clothing -- coats, hats, gloves, boots, pants, shirts, etc.) and any extra bags or backpacks! We have a blue bin just outside the HMS main office where you can place your donations. We will be accepting donations through April 10!
Thanks to our PTO for their continuous support and for sharing this update:
-Hannaford Gift Cards – Due Wednesday, April 10 at noon. You can print the form here.
-Volunteering for Next School Year – If you want the chance to connect with the schools in new ways and work with a fun group of people, just click the link below to fill out our 1 to 2-minute survey. We have roles that are a match for all levels of time commitment and interests. Filling out the form does not obligate you; it just gives you a chance to share your interests and how you might like to help during the next school year. http://bit.ly/PTOVolunteerSurvey
-Silver Graphics – For the first time ever, Silver Graphics is being offered to HMS families! An order form was sent home this week. This PTO fundraiser allows you to choose from over 40 keepsakes that feature your child’s artwork. These make wonderful gifts (thinking ahead for early holiday gifts), and the merchandise will be delivered just in time for Mother's Day. The best submission method is to send in original artwork, along with the paper order form, due April 8. Please label art on the back with the first and last name of the student, grade, and homeroom (for 5th grade) or advisor. Art and order collection boxes are located at the HMS front office. Original art will be returned in a timely manner. Online submissions are due April 10. Products will be available to pick up from the YES library on May 7 (Tues) and May 8 (Wednesday), 3:30-6:00 pm each day.
-Raise Craze - Wave of Kindness - WOW! Our students performed over 750 Acts of Kindness, collected 78 reusable shopping bags for the Yarmouth Food Pantry, kept 7 lbs of markers out of the landfill, added over 15 pounds of plastic caps toward a community bench, and raised over $200 for the YCAN Lunch Crunch program. Our 3 events were a wonderful way to meet new friends and participate in kindness activities together. Over $4,000 was raised, which will go to fund student enrichment. Thank you to all who participated! The ripple of our Kindness Wave will be felt all spring!
PTO Meeting – Please join us April 25 at 4pm in the YES library.
Thank You Parents! – Our generous parents are as amazing as this list of PTO-funded enrichments. Thank you! Please contact Heather or Christy with comments/questions (christinehayashida@hotmail.com or info@yarmouthpto.org).
DATES TO REMEMBER:
-Music Boosters Meeting - April 1 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the HMS Band Room
-Budget Public Hearing #1 - April 4 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Log Cabin
-Activity Night - April 5th, for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders, put on by the YGLAX team - 5:30-7:30 at the HMS Gym/Cafe-PLEASE see the flyer attached for more information!
Thanks very much-
Joan Adler and Tom McDowell
HMS Administrative Team