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THE VIKING
Hinesburg Community School - October 5, 2023
THE PRINCIPAL'S CORNER
Dear HCS Families;
As a reminder, there will be no school tomorrow, Friday, October 6 for Parent/Teacher Conferences as well as Monday, October 9 in observance of Indigenous Peoples Day.
Conferences are a perfect time to meet with your child’s teaching team. Each teacher has valuable insights regarding your student's experiences at school and can give you a more complete picture of their day. It is also a great way for teachers and caregivers to collaborate to support the learning of our children. The caregiver and teacher partnership is a valuable tool for the success and growth of our children.
We look forward to seeing you at the PreK-4 Open House and Essential Arts Night on Thursday, October 12 from 5:30 - 6:30. This is a wonderful time to visit your child's classroom and teacher, meet the Essential Arts teachers as well as other students and parents. We hope you join us!
Warmly,
Suzan and Tim
SAVE THE DATE!
Friday, 10/6: Parent/Teacher Conference Day - NO SCHOOL
Monday, 10/9: Indigenous Peoples Day - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, 10/11: Early Release Day (1:45)
Thursday, 10/12: PK-4 Open House/EA Night (5:30 pm - 6:30 pm)
Wednesday, 10/18: Early Release Day (1:45)
Friday, 10/20: PiE Family Movie Night (6:30) please see flyer below
Wednesday, 10/25: Early Release Day (1:45)
Wednesday, 11/1: Early Release Day (1:45)
Wednesday, 11/8: Early Release Day (1:45)
Wednesday, 11/15: Early Release Day (1:45)
Monday, 20 - Friday, 11/24 Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL
A REMINDER FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE
As we are seeing an increase in cold symptoms, fevers, and stomach viruses, we wanted to send some important reminders to families so that we can continue to keep all of our students and staff safe and healthy while they are at school.
- If your child is sent home from school with a fever, they must remain at home the following day and until they have been fever-free for over 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications.
- If your child is sent home from school with vomiting or diarrhea, they must remain at home the following day and until they have been free from symptoms for over 24 hours and are able to be an active participant in their school day.
- You must call to notify the school if your student is staying home sick by calling the absence line @ 802-482-2106, option 1 and leaving a voicemail.
Families are encouraged not to send their students to school if they appear ill or do not feel that their children will be able to be active participants in their school day. A student should remain at home if they have a fever of 100 degrees, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, or any contagious infection until they have been successfully treated and on antibiotics for greater than 24 hours or fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medication for over 24 hours. Staying at home promotes healing and the welfare of your student, reduces the spread of illness and protects the staff and students at school. Thank you so much for your help in keeping our school safe and healthy!
WE HAD A CELEBRITY SIGHTING AT THE HCS CROSSWALK THIS MORNING!
HCS PiE FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT!
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO MENTOR A STUDENT?
Connecting Youth Mentoring’s school-based program at HCS is in need of mentors. Mentors are caring adults who spend about an hour a week during the school year with a 5th - 8th grader who would benefit from the friendship of an additional caring adult in their life. Mentors bring with them a sense of shared fun, new experiences and deep listening skills. Through providing consistent encouragement, mentors support expanding a young person’s regard for themselves and their world.
To learn more contact the Program Coordinator Livy Bulger, lbulger@cvsdvt.org, 802-482-6248.
🎨 KINDERGARTEN SELF PORTRAITS 🎨
CVSD OCTOBER EVENTS AND REMINDERS
VTCAP ASSESSMENT UPDATE
Student Individual Reports for the VTCAP assessments administered in the Spring of 2023 were scheduled to be released on September 19, 2023. We received notification from the Vermont Agency of Education that the release has been delayed. We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more from the AOE. We plan to send the Individual Student Reports home along with an Interpretation Guide for families as soon as we are able.
CAREGIVER REGISTRY & VOLUNTEERING
Would you like to attend a HCS fieldtrip with your child or volunteer to read in their classroom? If so, now is an excellent time to fill out your paperwork for clearance though the District. Once your paperwork is received, please allow 10 business days for approval. Once approved, the clearance is valid for 1 year.
Volunteering & Chaperoning Procedures
Consent Form To Fill Out for Registry - please include a photo ID as well
5th GRADE ROCKET LAUNCH
THE CVSD FALL PARENT & CAREGIVER SURVEY IS LIVE!
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. When you click on the link, you'll see a (2) after the survey name on the main screen. That will help you know you've got the correct link.
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
🏃♂️ HCS CROSS COUNTRY PICS! 🏃♀️
SCHOOL SAFETY DRILLS
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep our community safe and in following with guidance from the VT Agency of Education (AOE), CVSD will be practicing a variety of emergency preparedness exercises this month and throughout the year.
One procedure we will be practicing this month is our options-based response to an active threat protocol. This protocol, recommended by the VT Agency of Education, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and F.B.I., empowers staff during an active threat with options based on what they know about the situation. Those options are to stay with students in a secure location inside or to evacuate with students to a safe location outside the building. Staff will have age and developmentally-appropriate discussion-based practice with students coming up next week.
We believe that beginning with a very simple and short classroom discussion led by the teacher is the most appropriate way to introduce this information to students. Staff will be informed of the day and time of the practice session in advance. The practice is outlined as follows and is designed to be as low-stress an activity as possible for both adults and students.
- The principal makes an announcement to the school over the intercom, “In a few moments we will be practicing what to do when we hear the word “lockdown” over the intercom. Your teacher will stop instruction and take a few minutes to talk about what to do.”
- Teachers have been provided with talking points to lead a brief discussion in the classroom. Sample language includes:
"Today we are going to learn what to do when we hear the word, “Lockdown”. Practicing this will help us all stay safe if something unexpected is happening at the school. We all have special and important jobs to do whenever we hear the word, Lockdown. Our first job is to get quiet and keep voices off. The second part of your job is to look at me and listen carefully for my directions. Sometimes we will stay inside ______. Other times, I might tell you that we are leaving the classroom. Remember, your job is just to keep your voices off and follow my directions. Now I will show you where we will go ____ if we stay inside, and we will practice going there, closing the door, and turning off the lights. On another day, we will practice leaving this space and going outside."
- Principal says: “At this time we will begin our practice and discussion of what to do when you hear the word lockdown. Teachers please take this time now to facilitate a discussion with your students.
There will be follow up practices for this procedure in later this Fall/Winter. All practices will be announced to staff and students in advance. No active threat “simulations” will occur.
School violence is not something anyone wants to think about, but we must do the best we can to be prepared for as many different emergency or potentially unsafe scenarios as possible. Thank you for your support in this effort.
PiE GRANT APPLICATIONS
It's that time again!
The 2023-24 PiE Grant applications are available now and we can't wait to see what special projects and ideas you all have in the works! This year, PiE has allocated $5,000 to our Fall grant program (which is twice as much as previous years!!)
Maybe you're hoping to expand your outdoor classroom offering, or incorporate more hands-on tools to supplement your curriculum, or provide an enrichment experience outside the classroom? We hope you'll think about above and beyond items that can enhance the learning environment, your teaching experience and the daily educational experience for HCS students of all ages.
Grant Guidelines including LINK to Grant Submission form
No idea is too far outside the box!
Thanks,
HCS PiE Steering Committee
THANK YOU TO PiE FOR THE TREATS!
The staff at HCS would like to express their gratitude to PiE for the delicious Stine Orchard cider, apples and cider doughnuts.
Thank you!
LOST & FOUND
Our Lost and Found collection is overflowing! Please stop by the school if your child is looking for lost items. We have water bottles, lunch boxes, shoes, lots of shirts and OVER 40 sweatshirts and shirts.
Items not claimed by the Thanksgiving Break will be donated to a local organization.
About Us
Suzan Locke, HCS Co-Principal, Grades K-4
482-6299, slocke@cvsdvt.org
Tim Trevithick, HCS Co-Principal, Grades 5-8
482-6298, ttrevithick@cvsdvt.org
Alicia Kurth, HCS Special Education Administrator
482-6285, akurth@cvsdvt.org
Email: hcsinformation@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/hinesburg
Location: Hinesburg Community School, 10888, Route 116, Hinesburg, Vermont, USA
Phone: 802-482-2106
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hinesburg-Community-School-125786304154731/
The Viking Newsletter is published weekly, when school is in session. It is available on our web site and is also delivered via email. If needed, a hard copy can be provided for your child to bring home. The Viking includes upcoming events, after school opportunities, notes of interest for parents and the community and updates from our school administration.