October 30th Principal's Notes

October 30 Parents' Message  

It has been an exciting week at Yarmouth High School as we prepare to wrap up the month of October and prepare for November.  All of our athletic teams have been involved in post-season playoffs, and many of our musicians were recently honored with all-State recognition.  Please check the YHS website and Twitter feeds for more updated information as both our boys and girls soccer teams will be playing in regional finals this week, and the Cross Country teams will travel to the state competition this weekend.  As always, our Playmakers will cap the fall season, this year performing Cinderella starting November 16th.  Information regarding ticket sales will be sent out soon.  In the meantime, there are many events to keep us busy the next two weeks:   

November 1: Winter Sports Night - Believe it or not, it is time to prepare for our winter sports.  Winter Sports Information Night will be held on Tuesday, November 1 @ 6 pm. Please plan to attend if your son or daughter is planning to participate in a winter sport in order to meet with coaches about the upcoming season.  Locations for each team will be posted at both entrances to the school.

November 4th: End of the First Quarter - It is important for our students to take care of their academic responsibilities as the quarter draws to an end, and I would encourage you to review PowerSchool to review your student's progress.  A reminder that Cornerstones are the assessments designed by Yarmouth High School teachers that connect directly to the learning area expectations and school-wide expectations.  Students need to pass all of the cornerstones in a course with a grade of 80 or above in order to pass the course.   Students who do not reach that grade on the first try will have multiple opportunities to meet the required score.  Should a cornerstone not be successfully completed, a "CINC" (cornerstone incomplete) will be listed in their grade report.  Please note that an incomplete cornerstone will NOT impact extracurricular eligibility if it is a passing grade of 70 or above.   As soon as students have retaken their assessment(s) and successfully demonstrated proficiency with a score of 80 or above, the incomplete "CINC" marker will be removed from their grade report.  

November 7th, 9th - Learning Area Conferences - In light of the rather contentious upcoming elections, Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday November 7th and Wednesday, November 9th.  If your son or daughter's last name begins with A-K, conferences will be held from 3:30-6:30 pm on Monday, November 7.  Those with last names starting with L-Z will have conferences on Wednesday, November 9  from 3:30-6:30 pm.  These conferences provide quick updates (about 5 minutes) with the teachers.  Most teachers will be in the gym or the cafeteria, with a few in their classrooms.  As always, our student ambassadors will be there to help you find your way.  On a final note, our AP Art students will be holding a bake sale to help fundraise for their NYC trip on both evenings.    

November 8th - 9th Grade YAAP Presentation - 9th graders will be participating in an assembly with YAAPP (Young Adult Abuse Prevention Program).   Last year we began a series of presentations aimed at raising awareness of gender bias and behaviors to reinforce our beliefs of learning, specifically that the best learning occurs when students and staff are physically and emotionally safe.   Another goal of these workshops is to establish a common language and understanding of our expectations related to healthy, respectful relationships.  These goals reinforce a cultural shift for all students regarding respectful relationships, particularly taking a look at how gender stereotypes and socialization have taught us to act and the impact these issues have on how we treat each other. Please feel free to contact me with questions and concerns.

Quick Reminders

Use of Advil/Tylenol in School -  Please make sure you have completed the parental permission portion of Powerschool .  This can be quickly done by going to student information, then to go medical/emergency and complete the tylenol/ibuprofen check boxes. Thank you for your assistance with completing this information.  

Parent/Principal Coffee Chat - Thursday, November 10 at 8:30 am.  

Senior Yearbook Deadlines - senior photos and senior baby pictures are due December 2.  This link will provide parents with detailed information.

Upcoming Fundraisers

• The Volleyball boosters are selling  Yarmouth Clipper stadium chairs for $45 (or $50 if you would like it personalized) and are now taking orders! For more information, please click here.

• The Yarmouth Hockey Boosters will be holding a giant yard sale on Saturday, November 5th from 8-11am at Yarmouth Elementary School.  The money raised goes to support both the girls and boys ice hockey teams at the high school and middle school.  Donations for the yard sale are gladly accepted Friday, November 4th from 6-8 pm at Yarmouth Elementary School.

• YEF (Yarmouth Educational Fund) will be holding its annual Blue Jean Ball on Saturday, November 12th at the AMVETS Hall.

--

Eric P. Klein

Principal

Yarmouth High School

9th Grade Students On The Rocks at Ft. Williams

​Students spend day in advisory groups involved in interdisciplinary learning activities 

The Yarmouth Rowing Club Wins Gold at textile River Regatta 2016!

The Yarmouth Rowing Club Wins Gold at textile River Regatta 2016!

The Yarmouth Rowing Club's Mens Junior Novice crew earned a gold medal in their first ever race on Sunday, October 2, 2016 at the Textile River Regatta in Lowell Massachusetts. The regatta, a 5K time-trial "Head Race" down the Merrimack River, is one of the largest rowing events of the fall season, hosting 77 Clubs from around new England with 570 entries of high school, college and masters rowers. 

The Yarmouth Novice Boys crew beat out the second place boat (a Maine Rowing Association crew) by just 2 seconds over a distance of 6000 meters - 3.7 miles! The coxswain of the boat (the individual who steers the boat, executes the race plan, motivates her crew and makes on-the-fly decisions) was Lucia Bolles, of Yarmouth, who had to get creative when her microphone quit part way through the race! She managed to urge her crew on right to the last stroke, passing quite a number of boats and racing for the line. The stroke seat of the boat (the rower who sets the pace and leads the crew) was Eli Anderson, of Yarmouth. Shown on the photo handing out the medals to his boat mates. The "engine room" of the crew consisted of Duncan Birkbeck, of Yarmouth, and Emerson House, of Scarborough. Both of these rowers just started rowing this summer but worked hard to pick up the technique, balance and rhythm to make the boat fast. The bow seat of the boat, considered a key technical position, was Team Captain Aaron Densmore, of Yarmouth. Coach Leigh Mastin said, "I am extremely proud of these boys. They have all worked really hard as a crew and looked great coming down the final stretch! I couldn't be more pleased!"

The Yarmouth Rowing Club's Girls Crews, coached by Scott Hornney, have struggled with injuries and illness this season but put in an excellent showing in their race - one of the largest in the regatta - finishing 30th and 37th out of a field of 42 crews. 

The Yarmouth A boat was coxed by Captain Maddy LePage, of Greely High School. Captain Lexi Rich, of Yarmouth, rowed stroke seat, Amelia Cavanaugh of Greeley rowed 3 seat, Emilie Hardel of Yarmouth rowed 2 seat with Hannah Van Alstine, also of Yarmouth, in bow.  

The Yarmouth B crew was coxed by Henry Southall, of Freeport, with Natalie Bourassa, of Yarmouth, in stroke seat, followed by Olivia Leonard, of Yarmouth in 3 seat, Sophie Wink, of Yarmouth in 2 seat, and Sarah Beretich, of Baxter Academy in bow.

It was a great day of rowing for the Yarmouth Rowing Club's Junior Crews, Masters crews, Sculling boats and our fellow rowers from Waynflete Crew with whom we shared the bus, our Regatta Team Headquarters camp site, and a great booster BBQ

The Yarmouth Rowing Club's Novice Boys crew - in their "lucky headbands" collect their medals in Lowell, Massachusetts. From Left to right: Emerson House, Duncan Birkbeck, Aaron Densmore (Captain) and Eli Anderson (stroke). Not shown: Lucia Bolles, who was coxing the Masters Womens race at the time. Photo by Chris Coughlan

YHS Students Participate in Coastal Cleanup

This weekend's Coastal Cleanup Event on Cousin's Island proved to a a successful one, led by ten students from Yarmouth High School who were joined by teachers Sarah Hirschfeld and Sarah Carrigan.  In total, students removed over 300 pieces of trash and recyclable material - while also recovering a small dingy that had washed up in the grass this past spring.  Some notable items they found were a fully functional kayak paddle, 3 dingies (including the one that was rescued...the others were too deep in to get out), 1 boat cushion, lots of lobster buoys, and 1 tire.  A neighbor's dog also helped us find 3 old tennis balls!  All in all, it was a great day!

School Start Time Change for 2016-17 School Year

On May 26, the Yarmouth School Committee approved the change of school day start and end times beginning with the 2016-17 school year. The new daily schedule will be as follows:

Yarmouth High School and Harrison Middle School

Start time: 8:00 a.m. End time: 2:45 p.m. 

Yarmouth Elementary School and Rowe School

Start time: 8:40 a.m. End time: 3:30 p.m.

These times will be in effect at the start of the school year in September. We are hopeful that this notice will provide parents and staff with time to make the necessary schedule adjustments. 

Several frequently asked questions include:
With this twenty-minute push, what happens to bus schedules? Bus schedules will be adjusted to reflect this twenty-minute adjustment. Each year we evaluate our bus runs based on the location of student residences. Most bus runs will simply be pushed back twenty minutes, but minor adjustments are always necessary once the residency map is considered. Those schedules will be released by August 1.

Will the high school still have “late start Wednesdays”? Yes – the Wednesday schedule at Yarmouth High School will begin one hour later than the regular school day, running from 9:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Will our student-athletes, musicians, and club members just have more morning practices, rehearsals, and meetings? No – The recommendation from the Start Times Task Force is to ensure that we avoid scheduling morning events to any greater extent than the current practice, taking into account facilities constraints for some programs.

Will there be an option for younger students to be cared for at school prior to the start of each school day? Maybe – There is a possibility that we will be providing an option for a limited number of parents of K-4 children to access childcare at one of our schools or at an off-site location through Yarmouth Community Services. We will be exploring several options and will communicate any solutions prior to the end of this school year. 

We will be working on several logistical and programmatic pieces to further answer these and other questions that this change will raise. We appreciate the work of the Start Times Task Force, the participation of parents and students in the district-wide survey, and the input from community members at recent School Committee meetings.

Jason Rutberg - Maine representative for American Regional Mathematics League

We are pleased to announce that Jason Rutberg will be representing Maine at the American Regional Mathematics League (ARML) Competition. This event will be held at Penn State University from June 2 to June 5.  We are very proud of Jason and of his accomplishments in math. In addition, Jason will bring his love of science and mathematics to the MDI Biological Laboratory this summer, where he will be working as an intern studying the effects of MMP-13 inhibitors on invasive species.

Patrick Grant Wins MPA Principal's Award

At the Maine Principal's Association Annual Banquet on April 2nd, Patrick Grant was recognized as the 2016 Principal's Award Winner.  Given to a senior who demonstrates academic excellence, leadership, and citizenship, Patrick has exemplified these qualities during his four years at Yarmouth High School.  Congratulations!