Welcome to December! So many wonderful things happened in our schools last month - here is a small sampling of what our students and staff are achieving.
Yarmouth Schools Update
YHS students stand out at PATHS
Portland Arts and Technology High School has recognized two Yarmouth High students as Student of the Quarter in their respective programs. Riley Beaupre was recognized as a calm, pragmatic, and thorough student who brings professional and academic experience to the Culinary Arts Program. Sam Gardner is a Masonry student who was chosen for his conscientious approach to learning and his ability to develop new skills and techniques in the trade. Congratulations to both of these outstanding students!
You can read more about the PATHS programs and this quarter’s outstanding students at the following link: PATHS Newsletter 2023.
Rowe School kicks off "Captain's Crew"
Earlier this month, Rowe held its first Captain's Crew meeting where a group of first grade leaders met to discuss qualities of good leaders and ways they can each be leaders at school. Throughout the year, every first grade student at Rowe will attend a Crew meeting and learn what it means to be a leader.
YHS students featured on MDOE podcast
On the latest episode of What Holds Us Together, a podcast hosted by Maine Department of Education (DOE) Commissioner Pender Makin, the Commissioner spoke with two Yarmouth High School students about their experiences pursuing what they are passionate about through the school’s Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) program.
In the November 16 episode entitled "Exploring your Passions," Yarmouth senior Sarah Hinson explains how she earns school credit and paid work experience through her ELO at Portland Veterinary Hospital. Junior Liam Hannah shares how he engaged in a summer ELO in which he programmed and built a drink-serving robot while earning school credit. Listen below!
HMS Students attend Leadership Conference
The Hyde School in Bath was the site for a statewide student leadership conference in early November.
Frank Harrison Middle School was represented by Rachel Wick, Ruby Anderson, Alex Daley, Kavya Dearborn, and Phoebe Collins - along with their advisors Ms. Burrows and Ms. Harder.
LEADERSHIP MATTERS!
YHS Musicians earn District and Statewide Honors
The following students were selected for the 2024 District 2 Honors Band Festival, being held February 2-3 at Deering High School.
Chloe Troy, Erika Fong, Lila McNaughton - FLUTE
Finn Marianski, Clara Herman, Antonio Velasquez - CLARINET
Oz Stewart - BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Tristan Hardel - TRUMPET
Eli Snow - TROMBONE
Liam Hannah - PERCUSSION
The following students were accepted to the 2024 District 2 Honors Choirs, being held January 26-27 at Windham High School.
TREBLE CHOIR
Quix Binda, Eliza Cote, Hugo Farnsworth, Sheldon Hubbard, Maddie MacLearn, Chloe Troy, Zoe Williams - SOPRANO
Hadley Dillon, Maya Faulstich, Annabelle Foianini, Reshma Jerosch, Blue Orenstein - ALTO
MIXED CHOIR
Mia Cyr, Vagni Das, Bella Farnsworth, Lily Moore - SOPRANO
Clara Burgmaier, Lara Cakmakci, Lilah Connor - ALTO
Jay Duncan, Ryan Kew, Sam Thompson - TENOR
Abe Fortin, Madhu Le Gall, Antonio Velazquez, Coltrane Vitalius, Alex Walden, Josh Webber - BASS
These Yarmouth High School students were selected to the 2024 Maine Music Educators Association (MMEA) Jazz All-State Festival being held January 11-13 at Camden Hills Regional High School.
Jazz Combo
David Dealaman, drums
Jazz Band
Tristan Hardel, trumpet
SSAA Choir
Adia Ameswright
Blue Orenstein
Maya Faulstich
August Flynn
Mia Cyr
SATB Choir
Bella Farnsworth
Chloe Troy
Coltrane Vitalius
Chewonki visits Rowe School
Mid-November found volunteers from Chewonki visiting Rowe School for their annual presentation to our Kindergarten and First Grade students.
First graders were able to get up close and personal with the owl pictured here, while kindergarten students explored the mysterious world of bats.
Many thanks to the Yarmouth PTO for sponsoring this annual experience!
GO CLIPPERS!
Volleyball and Soccer:
State Champs - again!
The Yarmouth High School fall sports season ended with great success, once again. For the second year in a row, YHS swept the Gold Balls in Volleyball, Girls' Soccer, and Boys' Soccer. This is the fifth consecutive championship for the Volleyball team and the fourth in a row for Boys' Soccer, while the Girls' Soccer team brought home their second straight State Championship.
School calendar remains unchanged for this year
The school closures on October 26 and 27 will not impact this year's academic calendar, as the Yarmouth School Committee sought and was granted a waiver of those two days by the Maine Department of Education. The final student day is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11. It is our intent that the first three days schools are closed due to inclement weather will be traditional "snow days", and any days after that (power outages and surprise events notwithstanding) will be remote learning days. This will allow us to finish the school year by Friday, June 14.
No promises - but that's our intent!
While we're on this topic - let's not forget the tragic events in Lewiston that led to the school closures in October. If you are interested in donating to organizations that are supporting the victims, this link will take you to a news report with a list of verified non-profits directing funds toward the Lewiston-Auburn community.
Once again, the YHS Playmakers hit their marks under the bright lights of the YPAC during several dazzling performances of the Rupert Holmes musical comedy "Curtains". An accomplished group of musicians, actors, and technicians kept the audience guessing - and laughing - as they tactfully presented this "whimsical whodunit" in four performances over three days. Next up will be the One Act play in the spring!
Meanwhile - at HMS, the 6th Grade thespians performed A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Fifth Period (something we all can relate to, even from the distant past).
YHS Playmakers and HMS thespians take the stage
Next up for HMS will be the 7th and 8th Grade performance of A Girl Called Opal by Robert-Lindsay Nassif in March. Auditions are next week!
YES student introduces keynote speaker at state principals' conference
YES 5th Grade student Liesl Sharp provided a flawless introduction of Shamiel Gary, an author and former NFL player who now speaks to organizations around the world, at the Maine Principals' Association's statewide conference in Portland.
Rather than being one of many students in a school with one principal, Liesl was one student, alone, in a room with hundreds of principals - a scary thought for many - and she nailed it!
Yarmouth Education Foundation reviews Fall Grant proposals, seeks your support
The YEF Grants Committee is in the process of reviewing Fall Grant proposals from Yarmouth educators, with the expectation that awards will be announced on December 15. We look forward to celebrating innovative ideas generated by our teachers and school leaders.
The YEF Annual Appeal, the organization's largest fundraising effort, is currently underway!
YEF awards at least 75% of annual revenue generated to fund grants at Yarmouth schools.
Anyone wishing to make a gift to fund innovation in education may do so by visiting yarmoutheducationfoundation.org or by mailing a donation, payable to Yarmouth Education Foundation c/o Finance at 101 McCartney Street in Yarmouth.
YEF is seeking volunteers to join the Board of Directors and/or Grants Committee. Community members are encouraged to learn about the Foundation's work by exploring the YEF 2022-2023 Annual Report. For more information about getting involved, please send a message to info@yarmoutheducationfoundation.org
Yarmouth Schools - a great place to work - apply now!
Are you looking for a rewarding experience with steady income and excellent benefits? Do you know someone who is looking for work or looking to make a change in their career path? The Yarmouth School Department is hiring for a number of positions right now! Custodians, School Nutrition Workers, and Drivers are all needed at this time. We also have a limited number of Ed Tech openings, and Substitute Teachers are always in short supply. Click on our Employment Opportunities link and begin the application process today!
Flu clinic being offered on Sunday, December 3 at HMS
NOTE - we were notified on 12/1 that they WILL NOT have COVID vaccines for children aged 12 years and under.
Yarmouth Schools earn a High Ranking
For the first time (as far as we can remember), U.S. News & World Report has ranked Middle Schools and Elementary Schools in Maine, releasing their lists in November. These rankings are based on a very limited set of standardized test scores, which therefore provide a narrow view of the true effectiveness of schools. While we were pleased to see Frank Harrison Middle School and Yarmouth Elementary School ranked as the top public, non-charter schools at their respective levels in Maine, the tremendous work our students and staff are doing in areas not measured on statewide assessments leads us to believe that our ratings would only be higher if our fine arts, performing arts, world language, physical education and health, student services, athletics, and student activities programming were considered.
Niche.org ranks schools using similar data as U.S. News, placing Yarmouth High School #3 among public high schools in Maine. U.S. News was unable to calculate a "college readiness" score for YHS, impacting placement on their scale - but still ranked YHS in the top tier of high schools statewide. Again - as seen elsewhere on this page - these ratings don't take into consideration the wonderful things students are doing outside of the testing arena - where our student performances speak loudly!
Overall, Niche ranked the Yarmouth Schools as the #1 district in the region, for which we are not only pleased but also grateful. We recognize that excellent schools are the product of a supportive community, committed families, talented staff, and engaged students.
So - thank you, and congratulations!
Empowering all students