The Core

Dear Parents & Guardians,

We have successfully completed our first 2 full weeks of school. We are all getting into the Hybrid Model rhythm and everything seems to be going well. Our students have adapted to our new school rules and are wearing their masks, practicing physical distancing and overall seem very calm and happy to be back at school.

Arrival and Dismissal times seem to be going fairly well too. The good news is that we are getting the parking lot rocks moved! We are working to make these systems more efficient but in the meantime, please follow Mr. T's Rules for the Road.

Safe Driving consists of:

1 - Drive Slowly

2 - Stay in your lane and hug the right, providing plenty of room for "through" traffic

3 - Keep an eye out at intersections - there may be blind spots!

4 - Be on time please.

Thanks drivers!

The Kindergarten and 1st Graders got their first Farm-to-School lesson. Some mornings this week were a little chilly as they did their in depth study of apples. We are very appreciative of Carol McQuillen and Common Roots for working with our schools to provide these lessons. Some Common Roots updates are provided as downloads below.

Stay safe, stay well, and take some time to read with your child.

Mark Trifilio

Quote of the Week:

" Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams and more reading helped me make my dreams come true."

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Health Commissioner Mark Levine said Vermonters shouldn’t wait any later than September or October to get their flu shots this year. "I wouldn't want people to wait too much beyond that this year."

Illness Reminders:

Vermont Department of Health: What families can expect when a student is sick

Staying home when you're sick: Video

Student Symptoms

· Fever · Cough · Shortness of Breath · Sore Throat · Runny nose · Loss of Smell/Taste

· Nausea · Vomiting · Diarrhea · Fatigue · Muscle Aches · Headache

What to do?

· Stay home · Contact the school and report the absence · Consult with your student's health care provider to determine next steps, BEFORE returning your student to school · Follow-up with the school nurse.

Did you know the front passenger seat is THE most dangerous position in the car?

In Vermont, risk is increased by placing a child in the front passenger seat by 47%. The national recommendation for children is to stay in the back seat until they are at least 13.

Be well,

Kara & Darcy

Orchard School Nurses

As we settle into Hybrid Learning this fall, you may hear teachers talking about using a flipped classroom approach. With students learning in-person two days a week and the rest online, teachers are rethinking their instructional approach to adapt. The flipped classroom model starts with a prompt (e.g., an investigation, a problem, a provocative question, a video) which engages the student in learning before the topic has been introduced in class. Then, when students are together with their teacher, they compare results, analyze evidence, construct arguments, and collaborate in their work. These in-person activities prioritize higher order learning skills when the teacher is with students, which makes the most of our small class sizes during Hybrid Learning.

So why do they call it a flipped classroom? Well, mainly because instead of starting with a lesson in class and then assigning homework, students start on their own with a brand-new question and then go deeper in class with the teacher & classmates. In other words, instead of presentation followed by practice, the flipped classroom is an investigation followed by consolidation of new learning.

Starting with a question also means that we’re designing to engage learners through the use of inquiry. Instead of starting with answers to be learned, we start with a question to investigate. We believe that redesigning lessons to emphasize inquiry and spark curiosity is a sound approach given some of the challenges of keeping students engaged in online learning. We are proud of the work that our teachers are doing to innovate and engage all of their students during Hybrid Learning.

Mike Martin

Director of Learning, SBSD

Daily Health Screening - We have started our daily health screening system. This will help us find communication errors and make any necessary corrections. At 6 AM you will receive one text, and one email, or both, depending on your contact information in our system (PowerSchool).

The link in the text or email will contain questions for each of your children. Questions will need to be answered and submitted for each child separately. If you have not answered the questions by 6:30 AM, you will be prompted again to answer the questions.

If you are not able to complete the questions for each of your children by 7 AM, please do so as soon as possible prior to school arrival.

Be well,

Kara & Darcy

School Nurses