HMS Update #10: January 5, 2024

January 5, 2024

Dear HMS Parents and Guardians,

We hope this message finds you well and that the start of 2024 has been positive for your family. HMS educators were excited to welcome students back this week, and we enjoyed an extended advisory yesterday morning that focused on community building as a full school community as well as within individual advisor groups.

Prior to the December break, students enjoyed the HMS Poetry Kabaam, an event that celebrates poetry. Pictured above is an HMS 8th grader reading a poem in our library.

In this update you will find information about the following topics:

NAEP - 8th Graders

Guidelines for Keeping Sick Students Home From School

PTO Update / Glow Run

Dates to Date

Our next HMS Update will be sent on January 19, 2024. We encourage you to please reach out with any questions you may have. As always, thank you for your partnership.

With Gratitude,

Mandy Lewis and Tom McDowell

HMS Administrative Team

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NAEP - 8th Graders

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuous assessment of what students know and can do in various subjects, and 50 HMS 8th graders have been randomly selected to participate in the assessment. NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, within the U.S. Department of Education. This assessment takes place during the school day. Information will be shared with parents/guardians of the 50 selected students within the next few weeks.

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Guidelines for Keeping Sick Students Home From School

As a parent, there are times when you may be unsure whether or not to send your child to school. In accordance with the Maine Department of Education and the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, a child should not attend school if they exhibit one or more of the following symptoms or infections:

Fever: A fever is defined as a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher. Students must stay home from school for 24 hours after they no longer have a fever without the use of fever-reducing medicine.

Vomiting and/or Diarrhea: Students should stay home and return to school after being symptom-free for 24 hours.

Rash: Students with an unexplained rash with fever or behavior change. Students may return to school if a physician has determined the illness is not contagious and the fever is gone.

Strep Throat/Impetigo: Students must stay home from school until 24 hours after antibiotic treatment has been started.

Please contact our school nurse (Kristina Truesdale) with any questions, or if your child has been diagnosed with a contagious illness.

Illness Notification: Please make every effort to contact the school as soon as possible when you have decided to keep your child home from school. When calling to report your child's absence, it is helpful for the school to know what type of illness your child is experiencing. This information helps the school nurses with monitoring cases of infectious diseases in the school setting. The Main Office number is 207-846-2499.

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PTO Update

HMS and YES-5th grade host and raise money through this PTO fundraiser to benefit K through 8 enrichment opportunities for our kids in Yarmouth. The kids receive pledges from neighbors, businesses, family and friends. YOU pledge; our schools WIN! Click here for more information.