March 20, 2020
 
Dear HMS Families,
 
Our thoughts are with all of you as you navigate this ever-changing situation in your own homes. We are grateful for the assistance you are providing for your child(ren)’s new “school day”, and for your questions and input. We also know that everyone is facing challenges unique to their own families at this time. Please keep in touch with us, and let us know how we can help with social/emotional support and/or support for your child’s learning needs. 
 
Thank you for your messages of appreciation as we move through this unprecedented time. Your kind communication is keeping us going! I cannot express how much your encouraging words mean to our educators, who are working so hard to create engaging distance learning opportunities and ensure that our students feel a sense of community. Tom and I are incredibly moved by the work of the HMS staff and all Yarmouth educators, and we are learning valuable lessons from these professionals every day.
 
We want to remind you about the importance of social distancing, which will help us to keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy. As Dr. Dolloff shared earlier this week, we should not be gathering for social activities of any kind, and students should not get together on school grounds for any reason, including athletics/recreation. Other than a minimal number of administrative and cleaning teams, staff will not be present at our schools.
 
I will be in touch next week with some updates and photos from before our schools closed, and we will be sharing news, celebrations, and resources from our new world of Distance Learning soon.
 
I hope you can take a few minutes to share my brief message (attached) with your children.
 
For now, please keep in touch and know that we are all together in spirit.
 
With Thanks,
 
Joan Adler, Tom McDowell, and the HMS Staff
 
 
 
 
 
A message to HMS students