2016 HMS Blood Drive

                                                                                       

The 7th Grade science classes held their annual Blood Drive on Thursday, March 10th. They collected 78 usable pints of blood. Each pint of blood can influence the lives of three people, so their work impacted 234 people. Our students also brought in a number of new donors, which is extremely helpful and important to this cause.

                                                                               

 In addition to running the drive the students' informative projects demonstrated all that they've learned about blood, blood typing, blood disorders and the genetics of blood. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback about our students' professionalism as the ran the drive. Those who attended observed the essential value of service learning!                                                    

Congratulations to the 7th Grade Students and Team! Our thanks to Morgan Cuthbert, Jay Harrington and Janice Medenica for creating this important learning experience for our school and community.

Music Lunch at HMS

Mr. C. explains our recent "musical lunch" at HMS:

On Thursday, February 25th, the Music Boosters sponsored a "Music Lunch" bringing in a group of musicians from USM to play jazz while students ate. The students were excited about the performance and gave it very positive reviews.

We're looking forward to sharing more music with our students! Our thanks to the Music Boosters for this wonderful experience!

                                                                                    

Hannah Skeffington on Base, Thomas Brown on Guitar, Hunter McKay on Tenor Sax and Eric Landau on Drums
Photo by Jessica Townsend

Loey Waterman's painting displayed at Portland Museum of Art

Elaine Fletcher wrote this piece about Loey Waterman's exciting news:

 

Loey Waterman,  HMS seventh grade student, has had her work selected to represent HMS in the annual Youth Art Month Show at the Portland Museum of Art. This show offers a display of artwork by students throughout Maine, and each school may select only one piece, so this is a true honor!

 

Loey's piece is a tempera painting on black paper, titled "The Many Colors of Portland".

The show will be open from March 2 through April 3, and is well worth a trip to see the talents of many young Maine artists.
 

"The Many Colors of Portland "by Loey Waterman

Congratulations to Loey on her achievement!

Jenny Jorgensen presents at CMP3 Conference

Attendees at the CMP3 User's Conference in Michigan this week will be fortunate to learn from Jenny Jorgensen, HMS Lead Math Teacher, and consummate presenter. Jenny will share her expertise and knowledge about the current Connected Mathematics Program and how it can best be brought to life in the classroom. Jenny will be presenting on the following topics and exploring all aspects of related student learning with the participants.

Session 1: Using the Teacher Notes - What About those Check for Understandings?

Description: Learn more about using the "Check for Understanding" that are in the teacher notes for some of the problems. Group discussion on how educators can inform instruction

Goals: Encourage educators to take advantage of using the "Check for Understanding".

Intended Audience: 6th, 7th, 8th

Session 2: Using the Focus Questions to guide the Summary Discussion
 
Description: We will discuss the Focus Questions and how they can be used to keep students' focused on the goal of the lesson, and how they can be used by teachers during the summary part of the lesson.

Goals: Raise awareness of the Focus Questions and how they can be used to keep the lesson on track and guide the discussion.

Intended Audience: 6th, 7th, 8th

Session 3: Using Interactive Notebooks in the 6th grade CMP classroom

Description: Wow! Students are doing amazing things with their creativity and their math notebooks. See sample student notebooks and learn how 6th grade teachers are using them in their CMP classrooms. This work has helped students realize that their math notebook can be a useful tool for their learning.

Goals: Share what teachers are doing with Interactive Notebooks. Offer suggestions to teachers who would like to start using Interactive Notebooks

Intended Audience: 6th grade

8th Graders Have the Time in STEAM

Mr. Dehetre explains one of his 8th grade students' projects in STEAM:

8th grade STEAM classes have been learning about basic woodworking and woodworking safety by building clocks. As you can see from these pictures, there is also a very strong art component involved with this project and much of the fine art work can be attributed to the strong art program that we are fortunate to have in Yarmouth. 

Students begin by choosing a clock design of their own. This is followed by cutting and shaping their clock by using a scroll saw, file, and abrasive paper. A large hole is drilled in the back of the clock for the clock movement using the drill press. Once the clock takes its  final shape, the artistry begins. Building clocks has been a very popular piece of the STEAM curriculum over the years and students look forward to this activity. For some students, the clock design is brainstormed even before reaching the 8th grade!

Audrey Goessling

Angus Muir

Sara Smith

Caden Rogers

Michael McNeil

The PTO provides a sweet Valentine's Day for HMS

             

 The HMS staff thanks the PTO from the bottom of their hearts for a scrumptious Valentine's Day extravaganza! Heartfelt appreciation to Amie Moore, Kelly Sawnhey, Melina Roberts and the PTO for organizing this celebration.  

Jess Townsend's photos paint a sweet picture of this event!

 

Alexis Nisbet receives the Steingart Scholarship

Heartfelt congratulations to 8th grade student, Alexis Nisbet, who was recently named as this year's recipient of the Steingart Family Music Scholarship! Alexis will use the scholarship for private flute and/or voice lessons.

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 love of music presented her with 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.

Taylor Robison (2013 winner of the Steingart Scholarship), Kristina Nisbet, Alexis Nisbet, Carol Steingart, Joan Adler, Brad Ciechomski, Able Briton, Kimberly Grover 

                                                                         

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 can explore and expand their own world of music and everything that music can bring into their lives.

The scholarships are awarded to students who have a love for music, and are committed to their craft. Awarding these scholarships is one of the highlights of Mrs. Grover and Mr. C's school year. Alexis 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.