LEGENDA

Congratulations to the Legenda staff, authors, and illustrators, who put out the 16th Anniversary Edition of the HMS literary magazine this spring.
 


The magazine features the creative, inspiring, artistic work of HMS students grades 5-8. The HMS community is grateful to all contributors, and to Ms. Agell for her inspiring leadership of this effort!

HMS Inquiry Notebooks

Curious students, staff, and parents who are mad about mazes, awed by art, inspired by random thoughts, amused by unusual words, intrigued by whales, distracted by unanswered questions, passionate about fashion, fascinated about nature, interested in poetry, and giddy about gadgets had an amazing time browsing through the Inquiry Notebooks during the recent Inquiry Notebook Tour. This project is generously funded by the YEF, and HMS PTO.

Visitors perused 47 notebooks from students and teachers, filled with photographs, drawings, poems, questions, diagrams, flipbooks, material, and natural objects. The notebooks were on display in the HMS library this spring, before continuing their tour throughout the district. Please visit Miss Smith, and Ms. Agell’s websites for further information.

YEF Grants

HMS staff is proud and excited to share information about four YEF grants! We’re grateful to the dedicated members who serve on this foundation, and make such an important, positive impact on our work.

As a surprise at the YES Grandparents' Celebration,  the YEF awarded Karen Renton, Kimberly Grover, and Erica Troy a grant for two iPads.  The iPads will travel between the k-7 general music classrooms, giving students the opportunity to reinforce music concepts through various music apps, and compose music using the "Symphony Pro" app. HMS students will use the iPads to compose music in Garageband, where the iPads will communicate with each other, creating one song.

The 7th grade science teachers are thrilled to have received a grant from the Yarmouth Educational Foundation to purchase two digital microscopes. The grant will provide them with the necessary technology to support teaching of several life science units. Digital microscopes will aid them in instructing students on proper focusing techniques, which will allow them to project, as well as capture still and moving images, improving both teaching and learning in our classrooms. The microscopes will be shared with other middle school teams when not in use.

Jenny Jorgensen, HMS Lead Math Teacher, and Kristina Walsh, HMS Special Educator, received two iPads that will be used to engage students struggling with math concepts. The students will have the opportunity to reinforce math concepts through various math apps and will use the  "Show Me" app. to record their thinking about math concepts. The students will have access to their recordings and can view them at any time, via their web access, as a way to refresh their memory about a math concept, or to improve what they originally recorded. The teachers will use the recordings to learn more about their students’ thinking, and to plan of future lessons.

The 7th grade math/ science teams received a grant for iPads and two ScreenFlow licenses. These grants will provide the necessary new technology to aid in their pursuit of their version of “Flipping the Classroom,” an innovative way of presenting certain material made popular by the Khan Academy site. Teachers and students will be using cutting edge technology to create helpful videos that will be used to preview, review, and guide students and parents through difficult concepts.

Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science

We are pleased to announce that Karen Jagolinzer, 5th grade teacher, has been chosen as a Maine state-level finalist in the 2012 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) Program.

As a state-level finalist, Karen is automatically a candidate for the state Presidential Award. Her packet has been sent on for review by a national selection committee that will meet in Washington, D.C. The White House will announce the results of the national selection process.

State-level finalists in both mathematics and science will be invited to attend a State finalists' dinner in the fall to recognize and honor them.

We commend Mrs. Jagolinzer (Mrs. Jag) on her selection from the field of outstanding candidates for the prestigious award. She was one of three chosen from the state of Maine.

2012 Maine History Teacher of the Year

Marsha Newick, 7th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, has been named the 2012 Maine History Teacher of the Year!  Congratulations Marsha!

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, HISTORY®, and Preserve America are honored to celebrate the outstanding work that Marsha does in the classroom.  A panel of teachers, administrators, and academics from Maine chose Marsha for her use of primary documents in the classroom, the level of inspiration that she provides to her students and her career achievements in education.

As the 2012 Maine History Teacher of the Year, Marsha will receive a $1,000 award, a certificate of recognition, an archive of books and historical resources presented in her name to the HMS school library, and an invitation to attend a 2013 Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar.  She will be recognized at a ceremony in Maine.  She is also a finalist for the $10,000 National History Teacher of the Year Award. The winner of the national competition will be announced in the early fall.    

In addition, HMS will be named a Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School.  Affiliate Schools receive invitations to regional forums with noted historians, access to an exclusive section of our web site with extensive teacher resources such as lesson plans, tool kits, and primary source documents to use in the classroom, priority access to our Teacher Seminars and traveling exhibitions, discounts to our online store, and free mailings of classroom materials. 

Congratulations Marsha!