Cheryl Lambert cycles her way to a YEF Grant

Cheryl Lambert

The HMS community extends thanks and appreciation to the Yarmouth Education Foundation for enabling Cheryl Lambert and her students to cycle their way to learning and fitness! 

Cheryl was one of the district's spring grant recipients. Her innovative idea for desk cycles will support students to make a connection between the benefits of movement, increased heart rate and achievement. 

Cheryl's students help her celebrate the exciting news!

Students (and staff  : ) are looking forward to trying this new form of fitness at HMS! Cheryl will keep us posted on our students' progress. Stay tuned for more information coming soon in a blog update.

Lydia Dustin receives the Steingart Scholarship

Heartfelt congratulations to Lydia Dustin, this year's recipient of the Steingart Family Music Scholarship!

Lydia has a passion for music. She plays the flute and viola; she also sings. Lydia has been selected to participate in all three District Honors Music Festivals for the past two years in a row. This includes the Concert Band, Orchestra, and Chorus. She plays with another orchestra outside of school and has pursued private viola lessons. Lydia will use this scholarship award for further music lessons of her choosing.

The Steingart family established this scholarship fund prior to Mr. Steingart's passing in 2013. They saw their daughter Emily's world change in positive ways when she pursued the bassoon in middle school. Emily's hard work and love of music led to the opportunity to play with the Portland Youth Symphony, as well as the Youth Philharmonic (in Boston), while she was in high school. Her talent and dedication opened the door to some prestigious awards and opportunities, including traveling to China with the Youth Philharmonic orchestra.

Carol Steingart, Kimberly Grover, Brad Ciechomski, Stephanie Dustin, Lydia Dustin, Rick Dustin

The Steingart family met with Mrs. Grover and Mr. C. in 2013 to establish this award, which will fund years of private lessons for our students. Their goal is to provide opportunities to other young musicians so they too can explore and expand their own world of music and everything that music can bring into our lives.
 

The scholarships are awarded to students who have a love for music and are committed to their craft. Presenting these scholarships is one of the highlights of Mrs. Grover and Mr. C's school year. Lydia is a most deserving recipient of this honor!

The HMS community extends their deep gratitude to the Steingart family for making this opportunity possible for our students.

7th Grade Students enjoy Tostones and Yucas Fritas

Claudine Hladky offered this description the recent feast prepared by Blair Currier:

7th grade Spanish students in Mrs. Roberts' and Mrs. Hladky's classes sampled food from Costa Rica and Puerto Rico: tostones (fried plantains), yucas fritas (fried yucas or cassavas), and pico de gallo (salsa). The food tasting is part of the 7th grade study of the culture of Spanish speaking countries. Many thanks to Blair Curier, our Nutrition Director, who cooked the meal and took students through the step by step process involved in preparing the food. ¡Delicioso!

Blair Currier

Sixth Grade Science students study our water

Thanks to Barbara Ellis for her description of this engaging learning opportunity:

On April 5th, 6th and 7th,  sixth grades students were visited by Kat Munson of the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District, as well as a representative from the Yarmouth Water District. The goal of this visit was for students to understand that their drinking water comes from groundwater, to learn the characteristics of North Yarmouth's drinking water, and to understand the surface-groundwater connection and the role humans play in this system. They constructed a model that shows what happens when pollutants introduced at the surface make their way into the groundwater.  It was a wonderful, educational , hands-on experience for our budding young scientists!

Sixth Grade Students work with Kat Munson

Google Expedition Arrives in Yarmouth

Through the generous funding of YEF, Google’s virtual reality app, Expeditions, has landed in Yarmouth Schools! 

Our thanks to the Yarmouth Education Foundation and Allison Flowerdew for these photos! 

Mike Arsenault provided us with this exciting update:

We now have a class set of devices to take students on a virtual field trip, with teachers leading the tour. To get teachers acquainted with the kit and procedures I'll be offering training sessions so they can see what’s available and how to manage an “expedition”.  There are over 500 expeditions that encompass all learning areas. Check out our Google Expeditions site for more details!

Mrs. Logan's class takes virtual tour of Ethiopia, Switzerland and Bhutan

Google Expedition Carrying Case

Blair Currier and Nikki Davoren win Farm to School Cook-off

Thanks to Dr. Dolloff for sharing this exciting news about Blair Currier, head of the K-12 Nutrition Team and Nikki Davoren, member of the HMS Nutrition Team!

 

Nikki Davoren and Blair Currier

I am pleased to let you know that our own Blair Currier and Nikki Davoren won the Department of Education's Regional Farm to School Cook-off competition yesterday.  Competing against teams from Falmouth and RSU 14 (Windham/Raymond), Blair and Nikki created the winning breakfast and lunch featuring Maine ingredients.  

Entrants were judged on taste, presentation, food cost and food safety skills.  For Yarmouth, breakfast featured crepes made with Maine wheat and eggs and served with a wild blueberry and kelp smoothie.  Lunch included Atlantic fish tacos with Maine apple salsa and garlic roasted potatoes.

Blair and Nikki will now represent Yarmouth's School Nutrition Department in the state finals in April.

 

7/8 Math Team-3rd Meet

Thanks to Jay Harrington for this latest math team update!  

On Thursday 3/16, the 7th/8th Grade Math Team traveled to the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland to compete in the third meet of the season. The team continued its success with the 7th Grade Team finishing in second place overall! Additionally, Krisztian Kovaks placed second overall in individual scores!

Evan Lucca, Krisztian Kovacs, Jack Riddle, Milo Weibus, Emily Mickool, Georgia Herr, Elena Miller

 

Krisztian Kovaks

Congratulations to team members Evan Lucca, Elena Miller, Emily Mickool, Georgia Herr, Krisztian Kovaks, Milo Weibus, and Jack Riddle. Well done all, and please note our fancy new shirts!

Milo Weibus

Barbara Ellis recognized by ATOMIM

Congratulations and best wishes to Barb on this recognition from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics! 

 

Barbara Ellis

 

Hello Barbara!

On behalf of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Maine I want to congratulate you for being recognized as part of our teacher recognition program.  You have been chosen as our April ATOMIM winner! 

Let me also thank you for the work you do, making your sixth grade classroom an engaging and exciting place for students to learn and love math and science.  We would like to honor you by sharing your story on our social media pages.  We will also include your name in our end-of-year drawing for some goodies along with all of our nominees and monthly winners. Thank you for your energy and enthusiasm and for making your mathematics classroom so hands-on and student focused.  We are so pleased to recognize your excellent work.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  

Yours, Marielle

Marielle Edgecomb

ATOMIM President-Elect

Peninsula School

Prospect Harbor, Maine 04693

Poetry KaBaam!

 Our thanks to Charlotte Agell for filling us in on the annual HMS Poetry KaBaam, and to Charlotte, Merry Stuhr and Tracy Weinrich for their wonderful work on this inspiring event!

On April 5th, HMS celebrated National Poetry Month by hosting our annual KaBaam. A KaBaam is a (locally invented!) kinder version of a Poetry Slam. High school "Poetry Out Loud" contestant Hannah Grant regaled the crowd, as did eight HMS students and one librarian, some of whom had written their own poems.

Hannah Grant performs for HMS students

After each performs, audience members write down the emotion that the poem elicited. The room was a sea of reactions! Many thanks to the parents who provided the refreshments enjoyed by this large crowd of 7th and 8th grade poetry fans. A video clip of the YGT High School quartet performing "Sorry" kicked off this celebration in style. Poetry lives!

Maddie Emrich-Shanks and Juliet Meas react to KaBaam poems

6th Grade Scientists Learn About Our Water

 Thanks to Barbara Ellis for providing this interesting update about our 6th grade scientists:

Kat Munson with 6th grade scientists

On April 5th, 6th and 7th,  sixth graders were visited by Kat Munson of the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District, as well as a representative from the Yarmouth Water District. 

The goals for the visits included students learning about their drinking water, which comes from groundwater, understanding the characteristics of North Yarmouth's drinking water, the surface-groundwater connection, and the role humans play in this system. They constructed a model that shows what happens when pollutants introduced at the surface make their way into the groundwater.  It was a wonderful, educational , hands-on learning experience for our budding young scientists!

Fundraising for Camp Sunshine

This week Terry Blashke, a representative from Camp Sunshine, joined our HMS Student Leadership Team, and Nini Emmons, their advisor, for a special presentation. The Leadership Team was proud to present Terry and Camp Sunshine with a check for eight hundred dollars, which our students raised during Spirit Week. Our thanks to the Student Leadership Team and Nini for spearheading this effort, and to the inspiring staff at Camp Sunshine and the important work they do.

HMS Student Leadership Team

Spirit Week brings our school together as a community with the focus on outreach and giving to others who need assistance. We engage in a friendly fundraising competition with the goal of presenting a united front, as a learning community, about the importance of community service and community engagement. Our Student Leadership team has designated Camp Sunshine as this year's recipient of our fundraising efforts.

From the Camp Sunshine Website:
Camp Sunshine's Mission: Camp Sunshine was founded in 1984. The camp provides retreats combining respite, recreation and support, while enabling hope and promoting joy, for children with life-threatening illnesses, and their families, through the various stages of a child’s illness.Please access further information about Camp Sunshine at the link provided.