Open House, Flu Vaccine & Pooled testing

Dear Students, Parents, and Families,

The fall is now in full swing, with a number of events coming right up!  See below for details.

Last week YHS participated in a number of activities to recognize the International Day of Peace.  David Pearl, a YHS social studies teacher, has been accepted into the "Peace Teacher" program through the United States Institute of Peace. The USIP is a federally funded non-partisan institution created to facilitate and promote peace internationally.  Mr. Pearl also advises our Global Action Club, and he and senior GAC leader Olivia May were interviewed by WCSH recently.  You can find the interview HERE.  

Inspiring work by Mr. Pearl and the members of the Global Action Club!

Warmly,

Amy Bongard, Assistant Principal

Virtual Open House on 9/29 ➯ We will kick off our YHS Open House next Wednesday, September 29, at 6:30 with a virtual parent advisory gathering.  Advisors emailed parents last week with information about the evening, including a link to the virtual parent advisory meeting.  That session will be followed by an opportunity for parents to watch teacher videos to get a sense for course content and teacher practices. 

Flu Clinic on 9/30 ➯ We will be partnering with Northern Light Home Care & Hospice to provide this clinic to our students DURING SCHOOL HOURS. All of the vaccines will be injectable.  

Yarmouth Schools Influenza Consent  

  • Note that you must type something into all highlighted fields, so please use N/A if the field doesn’t apply to your family. 
  • Although the vaccine is provided at no charge, there is a cost to administer the vaccine. Please include accurate insurance information. Children presenting with an incomplete form will not receive their vaccine. 
  • There is no out of pocket cost and those without insurance will be vaccinated as long as the form is completed.
  • Call the YHS main office if you are having trouble accessing the form:  846-5535

For questions about the vaccine clinics at our school, please contact the YHS school nurse:

Melanie Lord         melanie_lord@yarmouthschools.org               (207) 846-5535

Updating Family Contact Info in PowerSchool ➯ We are asking parents to review and update contact and demographic information in Powerschool.  Please use the instructions below to complete the requested information.  Please note that there is an administration approval process prior to the updated information appearing in Powerschool.  If you need assistance, please contact the main office.

PowerSchool Returning Student Forms Introduction

  1. Choose your high school student’s name in the blue bar
  2. Click on Forms
  3. Click on Medical Information and fill out the appropriate information
  4. If your student is an athlete, click on Athletic Registration

Form 2: Returning Student Contacts Tab

  1. You must fill out the primary email to be able to edit any contact information
  2. Scroll down below the directions to update any current contact information
  3. If you would like to add a new contact click on the Add button at the top of the list of contacts

Answer the questions below the contact information 

Pooled testing ➯ We are pleased to report that the percentage of student participation in pooled testing has risen from 52% to 57%!  The pilot testing at Rowe and YES has gone very well, and we expect our pilot and school-wide testing to begin in the next few weeks.

For all staff and students, even those who are vaccinated, pooled testing is an incredibly effective way for us to be aware of the level of Covid at school.  It allows us not to wait for someone to become symptomatic before Covid is reported to us, limiting the spread and impact of any given positive case.  

  • Participation in pooled testing is particularly important for students who are not vaccinated.  If they are a close contact of a positive Covid case but stay asymptomatic, they will NOT have to quarantine from school OR sports/clubs. 

  • We will pilot the pooled testing program with a small number of advisories by mid-October, followed by school-wide implementation.

  • We are offering 5 hours of community service to every student who participates, since the choice to do so helps our whole community (and beyond!) stay safe.

  • In order for a student to participate in pooled testing, a parent or guardian must give permission via a short process found at this link.  Note that our “organization code” is yarmouthhigh

Yarmouth Education Foundation ➯ Looking for ways to volunteer to support our school community? The Yarmouth Education Foundation (YEF) is a nonprofit organization made up of parent and community volunteers. YEF has awarded nearly $500,000 in grants to Yarmouth schools for innovative projects -- such as outdoor classroom space, 3D printers, school weather stations, a community shellfish nursery project, an electric car building project, staff and student mindfulness lessons, and hundreds of other projects. YEF is always looking for new volunteers. Click here to share your interest in volunteering. Visit www.yarmoutheducationfoundation.org to learn more.

Important Dates

  • Wednesday, 9/29:  Open House
  • Thursday, 9/30:  Flu Clinic
  • Wednesday, 10/6:  Progress Reports
  • Friday, 10/8, and Monday, 10/11:  No School (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
  • Wednesday, 10/13:  No late start for grades 9 - 11 (Field Trip, PSATs)