Dear YES Families,

We hope you had a restful and enjoyable February break. Despite vacation being extended for a day, and some uncertain weather last week, students have settled back in nicely! It has been wonderful to welcome students back to school and see their energy and excitement for learning.

Teachers, if they have not already, will be sending out sign-ups for March conferences soon. Report cards will be available on March 3, and Wednesday, March 18 will be a half day of school for students, with conferences taking place throughout the remainder of that day. These conversations help us celebrate progress, set goals, and strengthen the home-school connection so every student feels encouraged and supported. We truly value your involvement and collaboration.

As we look ahead, we want to share some staff updates for next year. At the end of this school year, Kelly Conley and Gale Clifford will be moving on to new adventures. We are deeply grateful for their many years of dedicated service to Yarmouth schools and the lasting impact they have had on our students and community. We wish them both all the very best in this next chapter of their lives.

In addition, Megan Donahue will be taking an extended maternity leave next school year. We are excited for Megan and look forward to welcoming her back in 2027-28.

We are currently in the process of posting these positions and will be hiring in the months ahead. We will keep families informed as we move forward.

March is shaping up to be a busy and exciting month, filled with opportunities to learn, connect, and celebrate our wonderful school community.

Best,

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

Friday, March 6 - Yarmouth Gear/YC Colors 

Friday, March 13th - Hat Day! Wear a favorite or fun hat!

Friday, March 20th - Favorites Day- wear your favorite gear or show off one of your your favorite things (such as team/place/sport/activity...all kinds of options) 

Friday, March 27th - Wacky Day - mismatched and/or fun outfits/clothing are in style on this final spirit day!

Your child’s mid-year report card will be available for viewing on the PowerSchool Parent Portal on Tuesday, March 3. We will send a reminder to you on that day once they are posted.To access the report card, simply login to your PowerSchool account and follow these steps: Accessing Online Report Cards

If you have any difficulty accessing the information or have questions, please reach out to us.

2nd Grade: Art Robots -  2nd graders built an art robot powered by a battery and motor! Through this project, they learned how electrical energy powers machines and discovered the importance of testing and redesigning when things don't work the first time. 

3rd Grade: Maglev Trains -  3rd graders explored magnetism by building maglev train prototypes. They experimented with attraction (opposite poles pulling together) and repulsion (similar poles pushing apart). By playing with these forces, they designed prototype trains that could "float" just like the real maglev trains used around the world!

4th Grade: Paper Engineering -  Chemical engineers from Sappi visited 4th graders and showed them exactly how paper is made, from raw materials to the finished product. This real-world experience helped your child understand that engineers solve everyday problems and that teamwork and creative thinking are essential. Students even got to make their own paper!

5th Grade: Chemical Reactions & Slime -  5th graders made slime while exploring how different substances react when combined. They learned about polymers and non-Newtonian fluids (liquids that behave differently depending on how you handle them). By testing different combinations and adjusting their recipe, they discovered that experimenting and refining their approach leads to better results, just like in real engineering!

As we shared this past week, now that we have had four snow days Remote Learning Days may occur in the future. We will be putting our "weather watcher" hats on for the remainder of the winter! Once again, here is the overview of what a remote day will look like if needed: YES Remote Learning Plan

The Special Olympics Spread The Word Campaign is returning to YES in early March. This is a campaign that is all about INCLUSION! Civil Rights Team members will attend Morning Meetings in March to spread the word about inclusion! Students will learn about this and sign a pledge to agree to commit to being part of an inclusive and welcoming community.

We look forward to the time when our days start getting longer. Don't forget to set the clocks one hour ahead when you go to bed that night!

In March, we will be administering the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to all third-grade students. It is a series of short assessments that are a part of our universal screening process for gifted and talented instructional support.

As you are aware, our Talents instructional support is consult-based at the elementary level. Beginning in grade four we have additional pull-out groups that represent 3-5% of the total grade-level population. 

The CogAT is a multiple-choice K-12 assessment that measures reasoning skills with different types of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal questions. There will be three 30-minute tests administered on March 10, March 17, and March 24. 

On Friday, March 13 at 6:00 pm, YES will present the 5th-grade school play! The play will be held in the gymnasium and students will be performing The Lion King.

Under the direction of Mrs. Bagley students have been practicing for several weeks. It promises to be an exciting night of acting, singing and fun! All are welcome to attend the performance that evening.

It's Time to Get Ready for Yarmouth's Got Talent!

YGT is open to students with any kind of talent: music, dance, arts, magic, comedy or any other creative endeavor that will win over the audience!

Entry Forms: Click here for the YGT 2026 Entry Form

Entry forms must be submitted by Thursday, March 19.

Auditions

Monday, March 23

(Snow date Tuesday, March 24)

Starting times:

YHS - 3:00

HMS - 3:15

YES - 3:45

Rowe - 3:50

Show Date and Times

Friday, March 27, 4pm and 7pm

(Snow date Saturday, March 28)

Prizes

Cash prizes based on audience vote.

A first and second prize will be awarded for each age group. 

View official rules and links to the entry forms at YarmouthsGotTalent.org

Yarmouth’s Got Talent is a school function, and all Yarmouth School Department behavior expectations apply to our performers and our audience members

News from the PTO

It's time to get GLOWING!

As you know, the 5th-8th Grade Glow Run event is fast approaching! Here is a breakdown of why this event is so important and what the day of the event will look like:

The Glow Run is the largest fundraiser of the year for the PTO. Our goal for this year is $25,000--and we're already 20% of the way there! Raising these funds allows our Yarmouth students to go on field trips, experience incredible guest speakers, benefit from playground improvements, and have access to other educational enrichment opportunities that fall outside of the school budget. 

From now until next Thursday, March 5th, students can earn individual incentives based on the number of pledges they collect:

*Ten pledges = silly string a teacher!

*12 pledges = silly string a principal!

And just by registering alone, students will earn a math homework pass! 

They also have an opportunity to earn grade-wide incentives based on how many pledges the grade has as a whole. For fifth graders, they can look forward to:

*100 pledges = 10 minutes of extra lunch recess

*200 pledges = iPad choice time

*300 pledges = Board games from 2:50-3:20 pm

*500 pledges = Comfy clothes movie

On the day of the event, Thursday March 5th, students are invited to the Harrison Middle School gym in shifts to run, walk, dance or wheel their way around. The gym will be transformed with atmospheric lighting, fun music, and bright neon colors to create an unforgettable experience for students. They'll celebrate their successes as they take to the lighted track to get ready, get set, and GLOW! 

Here's the schedule for the day of March 5th:

8:00AM-9:00AM: 7th Grade Glow Run

9:40AM-11:00AM: 5th Grade Glow Run

10:50AM-11:45AM: 6th Grade Glow Run

12:25PM-1:15PM: 8th Grade Glow Run

1:25PM-2:00PM: Quiet Glow Run for 5th Graders with sensory needs

2:00PM-2:30PM: Quiet Glow Run for 6th-8th Graders with sensory needs

The Glow Run is a wonderful tradition that engages kids to build community among their classes, raise funds for their schools, and set and achieve personal goals. Don't miss your chance to take part in this electric event! Register at mybooster.com by following the directions below. 

1) Choose "Sign Up" and create an account (Tip for parents and guardians: Enter YOUR birthdate, not your student's)

2) Search for "Yarmouth Schools"

3) Register your student

4) Explore the website and start sharing!

Please reach out to the Yarmouth PTO at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com with any questions. Let's glow! 

PTO Gather & Greet 

Join us on Tuesday, March 3rd for our monthly casual coffee hour at Fox & the Fiddle (inside 317 Main) any time after 8:45 am. If you're hoping to learn more about the organization or would just like to chat with some other parents and community members, we hope you'll join us. Drop in, grab a coffee from the cafe, and pull up a chair! 

Gather & Greet is a recurring event on the first Tuesday of each month, so even if you can't make it this month, we hope to see you in April!

March PTO Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 19th at 7 PM in the YES library. Our meetings are open to everyone, and we'd love to see you there! 

Volunteer with the PTO!

We're always looking to welcome new volunteers, and we'd love to hear from you! Please fill out the PTO-specific volunteer interest form, or reach out directly at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com.

Once again this year our YES community is participating in a school-wide fundraiser by partnering with the Maine-based “World of Change”.

Since 2017, WOC change makers have gathered millions of coins for more than 300 nonprofit programs worldwide. This year students will have a choice to donate to one of six chosen focus areas (Education, Housing, Food, Health, Animals & nature, and Play),

When visiting the school, you will see that the World of Change kiosk is located in the lobby, where change-makers can deposit their donations each day during the fundraiser. Students will also have change jars in their classrooms to fill the kiosk.

This is an opportunity to live our YES core values of caring and citizenship! In April, we will celebrate the total amount raised!