March 9, 2018
Dear Parents and Guardians
In recent weeks we have been hearing about how students and school districts across the country are responding to the tragedy in Parkland, Florida. Students are thinking about school safety and finding ways to express their opinions and share their perspectives.
At the middle school level, we work to provide our students with opportunities to participate in guided discourse and activities that allow them to listen and learn from each other, while clarifying their own thinking in the process. We pay close attention to the different developmental stages and needs of our students and understand that discussions which take place in an 8th grade classroom may not be appropriate for 5th graders.
We have taken all of this into account as we considered how to help students respond to the call for a national student “walk out” on March 14. Our grade level teams have worked to develop age appropriate activities, which will focus on school safety, kindness, inclusion and working together as a learning community to ensure that our school culture is welcoming and accepting of all students, staff, and community members.
To that end, our fifth grade students will maintain their regular schedule on March 14. They will focus on their “Keys of Kindness” initiative, which is embedded into their everyday work. Sixth, seventh and eighth grade students will each take 17 minutes during the day to engage in classroom discussions and activities that promote our strength as a community and our positive school culture. Our students will create symbols of their thinking about these topics (e.g. mosaic tiles and posters), which we will display in the grade level wings.
Families and individual students have differing views on this topic. We know that you will continue to talk with your children about this at home and pursue ideas and activities outside of school, which feel like an appropriate fit for your family.
The activities we have developed will allow our students to feel comfortable using their voices. Grade level teams will be sharing the structure for this time with our students. We appreciate you talking with your child about the plan for this day and letting her/him know that these activities will take place in HMS classrooms. Please let us know if you have any questions about this or if we can help in any way.
Parent Portal-Just a reminder that the parent portal will be in flux during the next week as students turn in work and teachers finalize grades. Report cards will be available on the parent portal after noon on March 19.
Spirit Week-We are excited to share some information about our upcoming Spirit Week, which begins on Monday, March 12! We wanted to give you a heads up so our students can start planning their outfits. : )
Here's the schedule:
Monday- Spirit/blue & white day
Tuesday - Pajama bottom day
Wednesday- Wacky day
Thursday- Dress (completely) in your favorite color
Friday- Look like your favorite book, tv or movie character
Looking forward to an enjoyable and imaginative week!
It’s Time to Get Ready for the 8th Annual Yarmouth's Got Talent, a K12 Student Competition!
All
talent welcome to audition music, dance, arts, magic, comedy...or any
creative endeavor that students are passionate about!
Auditions:
K 4: Wednesday, March 7th at YES
5 8: Monday, March 12th at HMS
9 12: Monday, March 12th at YHS
Event Date: Friday, March 16th
Official rules and entry forms at YarmouthsGotTalent.org.
Dates To Remember:
Monday, March 12 through Friday, March 16-HMS Spirit Week
Thursday, March 15-PTO Meeting-7:00 PM at YES
Thanks very much Joan Adler and Tom McDowell HMS Administrative Team