![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/_fr/pumpkin-22.25e2ff20.jpg)
The School Bell
Williston Schools / September 29, 2023
In this issue...
A message from Williston Principal Greg Marino - CVSD Family & Caregiver Survey is open - Chorus and Band Details - InterGen Book Group still has openings - ParentIn Update - ABS Celebration on Monday - and more...
In every issue...
- DAMLibrary - Upcoming Events/Programs
- School and District Calendars
- Food Service / Transportation Links
- Families as Partners & Four Winds
- CVSD District and School Board Links
- Important Family Resources
A Message from the Williston Schools Leadership Team
by Greg Marino, Williston Schools Lead Principal
Wow - what a week it has been. There are just so many things that have occurred this past week it’s difficult to know where to start. Here are a few exciting snippets that I am happy to share with you.
What’s with the Weather at ABS?
It was really exciting to have NBC5 Meteorologist, Marissa Vigevani, broadcasting her live weather updates from Allen Brook School this morning! This event was part of NBC5’s “Weather at Your School” program. Some students were even able to get into the act and help out with one or two of the broadcasts from in front of the school. After the live broadcasts, Ms. Vigevani and her camera person stayed for a bit, visiting some classrooms and taking questions from inquisitive students about her job as a meteorologist. Who knows - maybe this will inspire some of our students to explore a future in broadcasting, meteorology, or journalism.
ABS Open House -
Though I was not able to attend myself due to my child’s own open house event, I have heard from reliable sources that last night’s open house event at ABS was a big success. We realize that there were some traffic and parking challenges and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We have already done some troubleshooting about how to avoid these challenges in the future. Nonetheless, the Allen Brook spaces were filled with smiling faces and proud students showing their special people around their wonderful school and how, at ABS, “we are Safe, Kind, and Responsible!”. We thank you for taking the time to visit and help celebrate our learning community.
Weather at ABS
Wildcat Way Celebration
Wildcat Way Celebrations!
Just yesterday WCS held its first round of school-wide celebrations to acknowledge students following the “Wildcat Way”. Following the Wildcat Way means you are taking care of yourself, taking care of others, and taking care of this place. The celebration took the form of an extra recess with the special bonus enhancements of dance music, bubble machines, and a celebrity visit from the our school mascot, the Williston Wildcat himself, Einstein. The beautiful sunshine was another added bonus that seemed like the cherry on top of the sundae. Seeing the students enjoying this celebration was the highlight of my week for sure. (picture below)
Safe Routes To School:
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a movement that aims to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school. The Williston Schools are proud to say we are SRTS schools! Walking is one of the simplest, most effective, and most affordable strategies for kids and adults to build physical activity into their lives. The benefits of walking extend beyond physical health. Studies show that there are links between physical activity and learning, proving that active kids do better in school. The Williston Schools faculty and staff are working with partners from our Town, Local Motion, and volunteers to make walking and rolling to and from school easier and more fun. To help kick off these efforts, the SRTS team is sponsoring a “Wednesday Walk to School Day'' on Wednesday, October 11. Please stay tuned for information about how to participate and how to volunteer if you would like to get in on the fun.
Important Safety Reminders: As you have seen from recent communications, this week we conducted an important and required safety drill at both skills; an options based lockdown drill (or practice).
In thinking about preparedness for a variety of emergency situations, it is a best practice to communicate with parents / caregivers in advance about what you should expect in the event of a real emergency and how information will be shared throughout the emergency. With this in mind, the Safety Committee has prepared this resource: Parents Expectations During A School Emergency. We share this resource at least annually and ask that you become familiar with it. If you have questions or concerns after reading the letter, please feel free to contact me directly. In terms of school safety, we will never be “done” improving our habits, routines, and procedures in order to help us be prepared and stay safe in different types of emergencies. We take the responsibility of ongoing improvement in this area very seriously. On behalf of the Safety Committee, I thank you for your partnership in this work.
Have a wonderful week and please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Mark Your Calendar
Upcoming Events
10/02 - Coffee with the Principals, 8:30a - 9:30a @WCS Community Room
10/06 - NO SCHOOL, Student Conference Day
10/09 - NO SCHOOL, Indigenous Peoples Day
10/11 - 4 Winds Training, 8:15am - 10:30am @WCS Community Room
10/12 - Families as Partners Monthly Meeting, 8:30 - 10:30 @WCS Community Room
10/13 - Synergy to Mt. Philo / Explorers to Yate Family Farm
10/24 - Preschool to Whitcomb Land of Pumpkins
10/27 - Beginner Band Instrument Assembly, 9:45-10:45am
10/30 - Picture Retake Day
11/03 - 7th & 8th Grade Dance, 6:30 - 8:30
11/08 - 4 Winds Training, 8:15am - 10:30am @WCS Community Room
Lunch Menu
CVSD Fall Family and Caregiver Survey
CVSD values your feedback and we want to know what you think!
We are currently surveying our families and caregivers to gain insight into your perception of our school and district's effectiveness. To ensure that we continue to provide high-quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college, career, and the future, we would love to learn your opinion on the progress towards those ends.
To administer these surveys, we have partnered with Panorama Education to conduct our Fall 2023 Family Survey. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses confidential and anonymous. The survey will be a valuable source of information for us as we work to make our schools and our district exemplary.
You may complete the survey online between September 22 and October 13 using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. If you have children in more than one of our schools, we'd appreciate you sharing your thoughts about each separately. Please note: we are not certain that the survey saves if you have to step away while completing it. Please try to fill it out in one sitting.
We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact us using Let's Talk and selecting the General Questions topic.
Thank you,
Rene Sanchez, Superintendent
Champlain Valley School District
ParentIN CVSD is working with our district to better understand the perspectives and needs of caregivers. Your honest answers are appreciated and are completely anonymous and will not be used to identify individual respondents in any way. Results help us evaluate current programs and plan new ways to support youth and families in our area. If you have questions about this survey, reach out to Amy Sayre at asayre@cvsdvt.org. At the end of the survey is a link to be entered in a raffle for a chance to win one of three $50 gift cards to a grocery store of your choice! The contact information you provide for the raffle is kept separate from the survey response and cannot be tied to your survey answers. Check Out Our Upcoming Programs!!
On October 5th we'll host a convenient, virtual event that is a collaboration between ParentIN and UMatter. Kathleen Kilbourne of the Center for Health and Learning will help us identify risk and protective factors connected to supporting youth mental health and will share ways to strengthen wellbeing and reduce suicide risk. Save 7:00-8:00pm for Kathleen's presentation and 8:00-8:30pm if you want to stay for questions. This event is free and open to residents in the CVSD and Burlington school districts. No registration required. Save this zoom link to join at 7:00pm on 10/5: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89721209081
You told us you wanted to be better informed on social media’s impact on youth.On November 16th, we are bringing back an amazing speaker, Erin Walsh of the Spark and Stitch Institute, for a virtual presentation from 7-8:30pm on Teens, Social Media & Mental Health and how we can help the young people in our lives navigate the digital world. This will not be recorded so mark your calendar now! Erin Walsh and the Spark and Stitch Institute that she runs with her father Dr. David Walsh is an amazing wealth of information and support. We will link to them a lot in our ParentIN communications - we encourage you to check them out online.
All About ABS...
Allen Brook School End of Day Changes
Please remember: If there is any change to your student's typical end of day plan, please be sure to contact the front office and teacher BEFORE 1:00PM (or 12:00 pm on Wednesdays). Changes in your student(s) schedule will not be accepted after this time unless it is an emergency.
Send all emails regarding attendance and end of day changes to:
The classroom teacher
Front Office: absfrontoffice@cvsdvt.org
The Team Assistant for your grade:
Kindergarten - cplouffe@cvsdvt.org
First/Second Grade - lsaladino@cvsdvt.org
What Up at WCS...
Appeal for Supplies for the WCS Needlework Club!
The 5th-8th WCS Needlework Club meets weekly on Fridays where students knit, crochet, chat and have fun together in a relaxing and supportive environment.
This year we have so many new students who have joined and it is wonderful! However, we are in great need of some of the following supplies:
Crochet hooks -- We need a lot! (a 7th grade top crocheter tells me that a good size to have plenty of is 5.5)
Circular needles -- sizes 7, 8 and 9 seem like good average sizes
Plastic sewing needles with large eyes (to sew up seams of knitted or crocheted projects)
If you have any of these items at home you would like to donate, or if you would like to purchase them for the club, we would be so grateful! You can contact either Susan Simpson (ssimpson@cvsdvt.org) or Kim Odachowski (kodachowski@cvsdvt.org), send supplies in with your student, or drop off at the front office. Many thanks in advance!
Parent communication for WCS Nurse's office visits
A lot of families (especially families of 3rd graders and those new to WCS) are inquiring about the Health Office process of notifying parents when their child is seen by the nurse. We want to inform families that the WCS process is different from the one in Allen Brook due to the size of the school, age of students, and amount of students the nurses see daily.
WCS has more than 600 students and WCS nurses see from 50 to 70 students a day. Unfortunately, nurses do not have the capacity for calling families for every student visit. In addition, we believe WCS students are at the age when most of the students can communicate well and tell their parents when something happened (unlike students in ABS).
The nurses at WCS use a nursing triage system with a procedure in place for when to call/ email families.
We do a phone call for all life threatening emergencies, major injuries and for matters that either require immediate attention and/or require a student to be picked up.
We do an email notification as an FYI notice for all above-shoulder injuries that passed neurological assessment with no signs of concussion. If we suspect a student might have a concussion - we always call.
At the discretion of the nurse - families might also get notified via email of the matters that require monitoring over a few days (e.g. ear aches with normal exam...). We always notify families when we administer antihistamine that is 24 hrs acting (Claritin, Zyrtec). We also notify families of 3-4 graders when we administer any oral OTC medications (except for cough drops).
We hope this clarifies our procedures and we are happy to talk via the phone at 871-6170 or email at WCSnurse@cvsdvt.org
Be well,
Nurse Maria and Nurse Carol
SEEKING PARTICIPANTS for InterGen - A Monthly Inter-generational Book Group!
Like to read? Join us! WCS middle school students, seniors from our community and parent participants are part of an "inter-generational" book club that meet once per month during school hours from October - March.
The program kicks off on October 10th and meets the second Tuesday of each month from October - March. Register today!
If your 5-8th grade student is interested in being considered for this program, please register now. We are also seeking parent volunteers! Use this online link to learn more and to register your child or to sign up as a parent participant.
If you have any questions, please contact Karen at ws_intergen@cvsdvt.org.
(Here is the online link: https://forms.gle/nk7CZ4gpumxx85Ru5)
WCS 5th - 8th Grade Lego Robotics Team is seeking new team members!
Is your son or daughter interested in STEAM - science, technology, engineering, art, and math? If so, they might really enjoy being part of the WCS Lego Robotics team that competes against more than 20 other Vermont middle schools to see who can best code robots and create innovative solutions to challenges. This year’s theme is Masterpiece, exploring how technology helps create and communicate art across the globe. Here is a sneak peek at the challenge table: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QArg43rCMBA. The team meets every Monday / Tuesday from 3:00 - 4:20, and there is a late bus for any students needing transportation. We expect every member of the team to commit to attending every “practice” to the best of their ability. This year, we will compete in two competitions, a Vermont qualifier at SCS on Saturday, Dec. 2, and the Vermont State Championships at Norwich University on Sat. Jan 26.
We have a pretty large group of students returning from last year’s two teams, and Lego limits team sizes to 10 students, but there are at least five positions for new students. We will hold a lottery of everyone interested to select new team members, and those not selected are placed on a waitlist in case anyone can’t keep their commitment. If your son or daughter is interested, please complete this form https://forms.gle/fVyYJzx8Y16AKa8e8 before 3 PM Wednesday, September 20, and we will do our best to include as many as possible from those interested. Everyone will be notified by Friday, Sept 22, of their status, and our first team meeting will be Monday, September 25, at 3 p.m. in Mr. Miler’s Creation Studio. If you have any questions, please reach out to Coach Allan Miller at akmiller@cvsdvt.org
WCS 4th Grade Chorus Info
When:
Tuesdays after school, 2:50-4:00.
Rehearsals for session 1 begin on Tuesday, September 26th.
The first two rehearsals are “open enrollment.” (9/26 and 10/3) Students may come to sit in and check it out with no obligation.
Starting Tuesday, October 10th, students must make a final decision to be a chorus member or not. Chorus members must attend all rehearsals. Absences due to medical, religious, or family reasons are excused.
Non-members are not permitted to attend rehearsals.
Where:
WCS Music/Chorus room
Students should bring a snack to eat between school dismissal and the start of chorus rehearsal. No food is permitted inside the rehearsal room. Only water is allowed.
There is a 4:20 activity bus available to take students home. Supervision is provided between 4:00 and 4:20.
Other Information:
The chorus performances for session 1 will be on Tuesday, February 6th, 2024.
The chorus sings a variety of music from different time periods, cultures, and styles. The students will be singing in different languages, meters, and tonalities. The songs range in level of difficulty.
No audition- just a love for singing!
No cost.
Sign-up forms will be coming home in your child’s take-home folder. (Or use this online form instead!)
Click HERE to receive important 4th-grade chorus information and updates!
Please contact Danielle Trasciatti-Holmberg (Mrs. T-H) with any questions or concerns. dtrasciatti@cvsdvt.org
Four Winds Nature Institute
Families as Partners
Arrival & Dismissal
Williston & CVSD Services and Resources
Bus Information
Thank you for your continued patience and support as our students and drivers learn the routes and routines at the beginning of the school year.
Williston Schools Food Service
Williston Schools Safety Team
Community Connections
Hello from the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library Youth Department! Find out more about programs at http://www.damlvt.org or by calling 878-4918.
*YOUTH PROGRAMMING*
Children in 5th grade and up may use the library unattended, while those in grade 4 or under must be supervised by a person over 16 years of age. For information on the Unattended Children Policy, see above or visit www.damlvt.org. Parents and guardians are encouraged to stop by or call 878-4918 to chat with a youth librarian about expectations and the library's after-school experience.
Saturday Music
Saturday, September 30, 10:30-11 a.m. Sing and dance with Linda Bassick the last Saturday of the month!
Storytime
Tuesdays, 10:30-11 a.m. Join Sarah for stories, songs, and rhymes.
Kid Crafternoon
Tuesday, October 3, 3-4 p.m. Make solar eclipse and space-themed artwork at the library!
Baby Time
Wednesday, October 4, 10:30-11 a.m. Enjoy interacting and bonding through these gentle baby activities (twice monthly).
After School LEGO Time & Board Games
Wednesday, October 4, 2-3 p.m. Make something exciting with the library’s LEGO collection and enjoy some favorite games!
Preschool Music & Preschool Playtime
Thursdays, 10:30-11 a.m. Sing and dance with Linda Bassick! Followed by preschool playtime from 11-11:30 a.m.
Read to a Dog (Rocko)
Thursday, October 5, 3-4 p.m. Come meet Rocko, a new visiting Therapy Dog, at the library!
Teens Duct Tape Crafts
Friday, October 6, 5-6 p.m. Ages 12+. Use all sorts of colorful duct tapes to make wallets, pencil cases, or other carriers!
Saturday Storytime
Saturday, October 7, 10-10:30 a.m. Start your weekend off with Cindy and our monthly Saturday Storytime! First Saturday of every month, indoors. Made possible by the Winnie Belle Learned Fund grant.
The UVM Extension 4-H Teen & Leadership Program
Bookmark the Upcoming 4-H Events page as more opportunities get added all the time!
Youth Environmental Summit: YES is an annual conference for middle and high school students to learn about environmental issues and get involved in local communities. The mission of YES is to inspire, encourage, and prepare youth for a life of environmental responsibility, service and leadership by increasing awareness and knowledge of environmental issues and fostering leadership skills. At YES participants engage in hands-on workshops, action-inspiring discussions, networking with environmental professionals and like-minded peers, and much, much more! Learn more here. Open to grades 6-12; this program is FREE but all participants must register by October 16. YES will be held on October 27 at the Barre Civic Center.
We are also looking for youth in grades 8-12 to serve as YES Ambassadors. Learn more here and apply by September 21!
Teens Reaching Youth (TRY) for the Environment: TRY stands for Teens Reaching Youth and is an environmental leadership opportunity for students in grades 7-12. It is an environmental education program taught by teens and designed to increase environmental literacy and responsibility in younger youth. TRY for the Environment connects young people to real-world environmental problems by allowing them to be key change agents contributing to real-world solutions. Learn more here. Applications are due no later than November 7.
VTeen Leadership Weekend: November 17-19, 2023. VTeen Leadership Weekend is a fun-filled weekend developing important skills and traits that will help you stretch and improve your leadership, communication, problem solving, teamwork and other transferable skills to take back and use in your club work, school and community. Learn more here. Open to all youth in grades 7-12; limited to 50 youth.
Vermont Science Olympiad - Teams Wanted: UVM will be hosting the Vermont Science Olympiad on Saturday, April 6, 2024, and we are looking for teams to join us for this exciting day of science competition! We encourage all high schools to form a team (or two, or three!) to participate. Students and teachers alike say it was one of the most inspirational and memorable experiences of their educational life.
Talk to your school about starting a team! We will be hosting a new coaches meeting in September. Date to be posted soon. Contact Lauren.Traister@uvm.edu if interested. Learn more about the Vermont Science Olympiad at: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/youth/vermont-science-olympiad
Discover Engineering: A FREE full day event with workshops at UVM to promote the field of engineering and help youth understand different pathways they can take to pursue a future as an engineer. More information coming soon. Save the Date! Saturday, February 17, 2024.
THRIVE Workshops: 4-H has been helping youth thrive for over 100 years! Through experiential learning activities we deliver high quality programs framed in a positive youth development context. Let us work with your middle and high school students to intentionally focus on the development of critical life skills / transferable skills. Contact Lauren.Traister@uvm.edu for more information and to schedule your workshop.
Information in 1-Click
Family Resources
Resources to keep accessible:
- First Call - 488-7777: phone support, crisis intervention, assessment and referrals
- In Crisis: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) (National Hopeline Network: USA)
- National Suicide Prevention Life line- 1-800-273-TALK (8255), call or chat online
- Crisis Text Line - text HOME to 741741 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
- Outright Vermont - support for LGBTQ+ community
- UVM Breathe In Breath Out - How to deal with stress due to COVID-19
- Vermont 211 -Vermont database of resources and services
- Vermont Support Line (833) 888-2557) - peer support warmline open 247 - 365 for call or text
- COVID Counselors @ VT-211
- Teen Crisis Text Line - Crisis Text Line provides free emotional support and information to teens in any type of crisis, including feeling suicidal. You can text with a trained specialist 24 hours a day. Text “HOME” to 741741.
- Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide - Website where you can find information to help yourself or a friend who may be having thoughts of suicide.
- Trevor Lifeline - 1-866- 488-7386 - provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. It offers free, 24/7, confidential counseling. TrevorText—text START to 678-678; TrevorChat—instant messaging at TheTrevorProject.org/help. It also runs TrevorSpace, an affirming social networking site for LGBTQ youth at TrevorSpace.
Allen Brook School and Williston Central School