Monday, September 28, 2015

Physical Education at HMS

Kelley Damboise and Brian Skilling shared the following update about Physical Education at HMS, along with some great action shots:
 
We are off and running in Physical Education! Students in various grade levels have been involved with team building activities, Frisbee, overhand throwing activities and games, fitness games, golf, Omnikin and more.
 
It's always a pleasure to work with your kids and we have more exciting activities planned!

Mr. Skilling and Ms. Damboise.

                                                         


Eighth Graders Particiape in Coastal Cleanup

On September 18, the eighth grade participated in the worldwide event, Coastal Cleanup.  Walking through the fort, beach, and parking lots at Popham Beach, we collected 1,553 cigarette butts, parts of an artificial Christmas tree, old tires, abandoned lobster traps, rubber bands, bottles, cans, and miscellaneous pieces of plastic.  The park ranger and several beachgoers were very appreciative of our students' work. Data from the cleanup has been sent to the Coastal Cleanup organization which will be added to a world wide data base. 

Thanks to the PTO for funding the colorful tie dye t-shirts in the photo! 

HMS Eighth Grade Class
 


Yarmouth Historical Walking Tour

The 8th grade team shared the following information about their recent walking tours:

On Tuesday, Sept. 22, our eighth grade students walked to the Yarmouth Historical Society for a slide show presentation about Yarmouth history.  The slide show included "then and now" photographs of Main Street, images of the various mills which occupied the three falls on the Royal River, and ship building activities in the harbor.  Excited chatter periodically erupted from the audience as students viewed old photographs and recognized landmarks.  

A walking tour of Main Street followed, on Friday, Sept. 25, providing students the opportunity to share and discuss knowledge gained from the slide show presentation.  Bright sunshine and crisp Maine air provided the perfect opportunity for students to engage in these learning experiences beyond the classroom walls.  Thank you to the Yarmouth Historical Society for sharing their resources and expertise.

                                                                              
Yarmouth Historical Society




                                                                     

Sunday, September 27, 2015

STEAM students learn about robotics

Randy Dehetre's 5th grade students begin the year with an exploration of robotics. Randy shared the fascinating information about our students' journey with this learning:

Grade 5 students in STEAM class have started the year off by working with Lego Mindstorm NXT Robotics. Students begin by learning about the history of robots which they find dates back to very early days in Ancient China. Today, robots are widely used in manufacturing and assembly, earth and space exploration, medical applications, research and much more.

The students continue with their robotics discoveries by building and programming a basic robot which eventually develops in to a more advanced robot with various sensors attached. The ultimate test is programming the robot to have the ability to distinguish between two different colors. Students learn basic programming skills as they program their robots to perform experiments and challenges. Experiments provide the students with step by step instructions; however, that is not the case with the challenges. Challenges are just that! They require the students to problem solve and program on their own.

Robots need nourishment too though it’s in the form of battery power. Two years ago the robots were in need of new batteries and thanks to the support of the Yarmouth Education Foundation, funding was provided for new batteries to keep this very popular 5th grade STEAM unit continuing. 
                                                                                         
Darby Brennan and Mollie Blaschke

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Composting comes to HMS


HMS students and staff began composting on Monday, September, 21st. Blair Currier, Yarmouth School Nutrition Director, introduced HMS students to Kendall Hinkley, from Garbage to Garden. Kendall talked with our students at all four lunches about the benefits of composting, and the process we'll use to compost at HMS. 
 
Thanks to Blair Currier, Kendall Hinkley, Kathy Latham, HMS Nutrition Director, the HMS Nutrition Team, and the HMS staff for their support. Our students understand why we're composting, and are doing a great job with this new process. 
                                                                                           

                                                                                                      


Sherry Lapointe Continues To Raise Awareness About Ovarian Cancer

As we did last year, we want to extend our gratitude and support to Sherry Lapointe, twenty-one year veteran Occupational Therapist for the Yarmouth schools. Sherry is continuing her efforts to share information about her four year battle with ovarian cancer in order to raise awareness and educate our community and state about this disease. 
 

September is Ovarian Cancer awareness month. Teal is the color of Ovarian Cancer awareness. TEAL stands for Take Early Action and Live.  

The boys' soccer team sponsored the second Ovarian Cancer Awareness game on Saturday, September 12th. Coach Hagerty honored survivors and their families, along with those we've lost to this disease. He also shared important statistics and information about ovarian cancer:

 Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women. A woman's risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 75. The American Cancer Society estimates that in the United States in 2015 about 21,290 women will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Thankfully, the rate at which women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer has been slowly falling over the past 20 years but we are hoping for far more work to be done.

Our thanks to Coach Hagerty and the team for their work to raise awareness about this disease. 

The HMS staff wore teal on Fridays in September in support of Sherry, and recognition of the awareness campaign.
 

We thank Sherry for all she's continuing to do to educate our community about ovarian cancer.

                                                                          
Ray Swissler, Roberto Borda, Cody Lapointe, Sherry Lapointe. Donna Gorden, Gary Lapointe, Logan Lapointe, Melanie Decker (Oncology Nurse) and Jason Lachance (Oncologist)

                                                                                                   
HMS staff

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Elaine Fletcher's work featured in upcoming shows


 
Elaine Fletcher at work

We're pleased to let you know that Elaine Fletcher will have paintings in two art shows in October-her spectacular paintings are posted below. Congratulations, Elaine!

Elaine shared the following information about her latest work:

One painting was completed in a Plein Aire event put on by Yarmouth Arts in conjunction with the celebration of artist Chip Chadbourn's career in Yarmouth. About 30 artists participated, painting outside (plein aire) for four hours. We then took our paintings to share at Royal River Park. The paintings will be shown at 317 Main Street from Sept. 17- Oct. 30, with a reception on Oct. 2nd from 5:00-7:00. My painting is titled "Heron Morning, Spartina Point".

The other is a Maine Art Education Association teacher show, to be held at Maine College of Art from Oct. 1-16. The work will be up for First Friday Artwalk in Portland, and there will be a reception that evening (same Friday evening as the 317 Main show!) The painting I have in that show is titled "September in the Barrens, Stonington", done from photos taken last fall. 

"Heron Morning, Spartina Point"
 
"September in the Barrens, Stonington"

Sunday, September 6, 2015

New Student/New Parent Meet and Greet

We welcomed approximately 30 (plus) new students and parents to HMS at our annual New Student/New Parent Meet and Greet, held on August 31st. 

Laura Mike facilitated the new student get together as she does every year. Students new to Yarmouth got to know each other and our school through conversations, games, and activities with HMS student guides. 

Melina Roberts, our HMS PTO representative, welcomed our new parents to a get together in the library. Melina was joined by her son Riley Anderson, Charlotte Brennan and her son Darby, Diane Campos and her son Galen, Alison Moore and her son James, and Michelle Lucca to talk with parents new to Yarmouth about life at HMS, and welcome them to our community.

Our thanks to Melina and the HMS parents and children listed above, and to Laura and our HMS student guides for extending this warm welcome. We're so pleased to have our new students and their families with us at HMS! 






      


Saturday, September 5, 2015

HMS In-Service Days

HMS staff participated in three engaging, productive in-service days this week. Educators are continuing their work on the common core state standards, the inquiry model, strategies to differentiate instruction, and digital citizenship. Teams had rich conversations about how to bring each of these components to life in their work with students. 

Thursday morning's workshop focused on the benefits of using a common note taking tool to support the most effective research practices for informational writing, which also ties into our common core and inquiry work. 

We're looking forwarding to welcoming your children back on Tuesday!

Meghan Haugevik, Kristina Walsh, and Bob Morse


Caroline Wiggett, Jen Laberge, and Ragan Bartlett