Dear Students, Parents and Guardians,
In many respects, our preparation for the upcoming school year remains the same. Once again, Bruce Bickford and our custodians have done a wonderful job getting our facilities ready for students. After a summer of preparation, our faculty is excited to hit the ground running in order to welcome students back to YHS.
This year, however, we welcome many new faculty as our school enrollment continues to grow. Mr. Caleb Collins is the newest addition to our English department and will be teaching 11th and 12th grade courses. The teaching duties of our 10th grade English courses will be complemented by Mr. John Russell, who will also teach several sections of 9th grade world history. As another member of our 9th grade social studies team, Sarah Harrington will also cover a wide range of electives. Amy Bushway joins our instructional support team, and two new teachers - Dylan Thombs and Stephanie Dembowski - will join our science department
Furthemore, Angela Naveschuk will split duties with Ms. Crawford in the Innovation Center, and we look forward to the addition of Jordan Hebert as an educational technician. As Kate Pietropaoli transitions to the guidance office, Heather Cimellaro will take her place in the main office. This year, several members of our faculty further welcome new additions to their own families. In September, Karyn Svarczkopf will serve as our athletic trainer while Sarah Holmes is on maternity leave. Later this fall, we will be hiring a long-term substitute for math teacher Lillian Stiles who is expecting her first child. Amidst this sea of new faces, we will have one familiar face in the crowd: Mike Weiss has been pulled back from retirement to cover for Sarah Hirschfeld, who will out this September recovering from foot surgery.
This growth represents a tremendous opportunity for our school and community. We look forward to sharing our district’s Beliefs of Learning and Core Values while welcoming our new faculty to a community that so deeply honors education and learning. Our new faculty members bring their passions and interests to Yarmouth High School, and we invite you to look at our webpage, Why We Teach, to read more about their commitment to education.
Most importantly, we look forward to the arrival of students on Tuesday, September 4th. There are always many details to the start of the school year; please review the information below to ensure your student starts off the school year on the right foot. For several of these items (senior privileges, parking), further information will soon be sent separately. Should you have questions regarding the start of school, please feel free to call or email for more information
Wishing you the best,
Eric Klein and Amy Bongard - YHS Administrative Team
First Day of School - Classes will begin on Tuesday, September 4th as a BLUE day. This will be a full regular school day, with advisor/advisee period starting promptly at 8 am. This year’s schedule can be found here. Advisor group lists and locations will be posted in the main hallways for students who are not sure where to go.
Wednesday Late Start Days - Every Wednesday morning, class start at 9 am. Please note, however, that the bus schedule does not change. This starts on Wednesday, September 5th.
Open House will be held on Wednesday, September 26th at 6:30 pm. This evening is an opportunity for parents to meet their son or daughter’s advisor and teachers to learn more about classes and learning at YHS.
Bus transportation - This year’s pickup/dropoff bus schedules are being updated and should be ready soon.
Vocational Schools - Portland Arts and Technology High School & Westbrook Regional Vocational Center - For those students who are attending PATHS or WRVC, classes start on the first day of school. Ms. Bongard will send more detailed information to students in a separate letter.
Student Driving Privileges - Students will soon receive information and will need to bring a copy of their registration to the main office. Student parking is limited to seniors and juniors, and students will be assigned a specific parking spot in designated areas.
Senior Open Campus - A separate letter from Ms. Bongard will be sent to seniors describing the protocols for our open campus program.
Student Laptops - We are continuing the laptop computer program for all students in grades 9-12 as students will be issued a “MacBook Air” computer during the first few days of school. Students will receive permission slips on the first day of school; please return these to the advisors along with a $25 check for insurance prior to the distribution of computers. We also ask that you take time to review the expectations for laptop use. This program will continue to help our students use technology in many aspects of their learning. If you would like to get a jump-start on this process, please review the following letter at this link: Parent Letter for the Laptop Rollout. To access the form that requires your signature, please go to this link: Form to be sent in to advisors.
Online Classes - Yarmouth is part of the Virtual High School program (http://thevhscollaborative.org/). Students who are interested in taking a class that is not currently offered at YHS should see their guidance counselor in the opening days of school.
Sports - Please use this link YHS athletic website to check schedules and access other information related to athletics.
Clubs & Activities - On September 14th, our Student Senate will host a Club Fair that provides students with the chance to explore many activities and clubs currently available at YHS. Our senate also works with students create new clubs or organizations based on their interests.
Student Handbook - Can be found at this link. Please take time to review this site with your student as it contains our core values, protocols, and policies of our school community.
School Announcements - Can be found on the home page of the district website to stay up to date with events and news at YHS.
Pest Management Policy - Can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/yhspestmgt
2017-2018 Yearbooks - Students who ordered a yearbook last year will receive them after the School Assembly on September 7th.
School Nutrition - Please read through this letter from Blair Currier regarding our school nutrition program for the upcoming school year. If you would like information regarding our free and reduced lunch program read through information. Please use this link for an application this program which should be filled out and returned to school. Should you have any questions, please contact Mr. Currier at 846-2323, blair_currier@yarmouthschools.org.
School calendar - Can be found at this link If you are someone who uses “Google Calendars,” you can subscribe to this calendar with this link by going to the bottom right side of the calendar where you will find a link to the directions.
Each year, we supply our volunteer coordinators with the names, phone numbers and emails of parents. If you do NOT want your information shared, please call the Main Office.