HMS Library

 

April 29, 2022

Dear HMS parents, guardians, and caregivers,

We hope this message finds you well and enjoying the final days of April. Pictured here are HMS students gathered in the Library to celebrate poetry together through our HMS Poetry Kabaam! Students shared their own poetry as well as poetry written by others, and together we brought the joy of poetry off of the page and into our school community.    

In this update you will find information about the following topics:

Spring MAP/MEA Assessments

World Fish Migration Day

Walk and Bike to School Day

PTO Update

May Happenings at Merrill Memorial Library

Dates to Remember

HMS Update #20 will be sent on May 13, 2022. Please continue to reach out with any questions. 

With gratitude,

Mandy Lewis and Tom McDowell

HMS Administrative Team

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Spring MAP/MEA Assessments

Each spring schools are required to assess student progress using the MEA.  Our students will engage in testing between May 2-May 20, 2022.  The information from the spring MEA helps us determine general trends in our educational programming as well as student growth targets for individual students.  The assessment will be given in small chunks in order to best support student success.  Please reach out with any questions!

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World Fish Migration Day

On Saturday May 21, there will be a celebration in Royal River Park for World Fish Migration Day. HMS students participated by creating individual fish with Mr. Corey in the STEAM Lab and attaching them to the frames pictured below. All students are represented in the structures, and these structures will be part of the community celebration on May 21!  For more information, check out this pamphlet.

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Walk and Bike to School Day

Wednesday, May 4 is Walk and Bike to School Day! This is a great time for those who might be thinking about walking or biking to school to try it out, while also celebrating the environmental and health benefits of walking and biking. Yarmouth's extensive network of sidewalks and paths provide safe routes for people of all ages to walk or bike. The Yarmouth Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee has provided the following tips and resources for biking and walking to school:

- Go in groups. It's easier, safer and more fun to ride or walk to school in a group. You might want to consider organizing a Bike Train with other families in your neighborhood.

- Plan your route. Stick to sidewalks, quiet streets, and pathways whenever possible even if it adds a couple extra minutes.

- Be safe! If you are driving, always yield to children and adults in the crosswalk, slow down, and give people on bikes plenty of space. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine also has some great educational materials and a video on bike safety basics, and there are safety tips on the town's website.

A volunteer from Yarmouth's Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee will be outside the school during morning arrival on May 4th to hand out bike safety materials to students, thank them for biking and walking, and answer any questions they might have.

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PTO Update

 The annual PTO Bike Swap is coming! You can buy or sell gently used bikes, scooters, tag-a-longs, and jogging strollers. The PTO will fairly price, tag, and sell your items and you can choose to directly donate your bike to the Yarmouth PTO Bike Swap OR sell your bike and 20% of the sale will benefit the Yarmouth PTO student enrichment programs for all K-8 students.

 Sellers: Drop off items on Friday, May 6, 5:30 - 8 pm at the Rowe School gym.

Buyers: Sale begins on Saturday, May 7, 8 am - 12 pm at the Rowe School gym.

 We need a few volunteers to help prep the bikes and sell them. Whether you have bike know-how or not, we'd love to have your help via the sign up below.

PLUS, those Friday night and early Saturday volunteers get an early peek at the bikes they might be interested in!  Sign up to Volunteer here.  FMI: Contact Adam at aqmoore@gmail.com.

 SEEKING LEADERS AND VOLUNTEERS!  The Yarmouth PTO is seeking volunteers for the 2022/23 school year! You can share (or update) your volunteer interests by taking this two-minute survey: bit.ly/PTOVolunteerSurvey.

 We have volunteer positions at every level, including several leadership roles. If you’d like to make decisions that impact student enrichment and help the school community, we would love to work with you. If you are interested or have any questions, please email Elaine at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com.

 Hannaford Load- May 18

May PTO Meeting- May 26 at 7pm

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May Happenings at Merrill Memorial Library

Sunday, May 15, Virtual Cooking Challenge via Zoom, 3PM - the first one we ran was so fun that we're doing it again.  I have attached a flier for it. Sign up link is: https://forms.gle/pdQCrbSiEB4GVn3Q9

 LEGO builds on display.  There is an ongoing LEGO Contest and we are going to let our library patrons vote for their "Fan Favorite". Voting will start this week both in the library and on our Facebook page and runs through May 16. 

 How to Dungeon Master (Dungeons & Dragons), Weds, 5/25, 3:30, for Grades 4-8, sign up: https://forms.gle/4HiMezChm9hpedDY7

 Dangerous Thinking Club, Thursday, May 26, 5-6pm, at the library, Grades 8-12. New members welcome. This month we are reading The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe. Snacks provided. 

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Dates to Remember

May 2-20 - MAP/MEA assessments

May 4 - Jazz Night 

May 10 - 5th/6th Band and Chorus Concert

May 11 - 7th/8th Band and Chorus Concert