From the Principal
Hello Parents,
We are looking forward to seeing you at Parent Conferences on Thursday and Friday, April 7th and 8th. It's been a long time, and for many parents it will be the first time coming into the building. Welcome Parents!
Lost & Found will be set up on tables in the lobby during Parent Conferences. Plan to stop by the Orchard lobby Thursday or Friday afternoon and look through all of the coats, hats, mittens, boots, clothing and water bottles. All unclaimed items will be donated to the Good Will.
We're excited to announce that we are kicking off Spirit Week on Monday, April 4th. Our theme will be in honor of Autism Acceptance Week. Check out the attachment for a daily dose of spirit. Monday is Magnificent Mind Monday. Autism is a neurological variation, which means the brains of autistic people work differently than the brain of allistic (non-autistic) people - and that's amazing! Celebrate how amazing it is that our minds work in different, wonderful ways by wearing a fun hat!
Introducing our candidates for Assistant Principal! For the first time in a long, long time, Orchard School will have an Assistant Principal. Join us Monday evening to meet them via zoom.
The SBSD School Board approved the academic calendar for next year. Please see the attachment below.
You can see we have a busy week coming up, Autism Acceptance Spirit Week, Meet the Assistant Principals, Parent Conferences, Meet the Executive Director of Equity Candidates, and Moana!
It's so easy to prank kids, ask your child about the spider invasion in my office or the yodeling roofers. Have a good weekend, take some time to read to your child.
Mark T
Quote of the week:
"Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
~President Theodore Roosevelt
MEMORY BOOK ORDERING TIME
Order early! Deadline by Monday, April 24th
Memory Books are a great way to commemorate your child's year at Orchard. Books cost $14 each and can be ordered using the link or QR code below. If you are able, please consider donating an extra book for a family in need.
Order Link: https://www.memorybook.com/online-pay/parent-pay/
School Code: 920771
You will need the school code above and then follow the directions on the screen to set up an account. If you already have an account from last year, please update your child’s information so their order goes to this year's classroom teacher. Do so by clicking on the “+Add/Update Information” purple button in your account and adjusting the teacher's name and grade. If you wish to donate a book, you can put it in your name or your child's name as the system requires a name be entered but we will be sure the book goes to someone in need. Thank you!
Volunteer Opportunity: This Memory Book coordinator is graduating in June! If you are interested and willing to take on the Memory Book in future years, please reach out to learn the ropes and be mentored in this current ordering season.
School Nurse Notes
TODAY'S FOCUS: STAY HOME WHEN SICK!
COVID is not the only reason to stay home. Regular colds and other illnesses are spreading in our school community. Even if COVID tests are negative, students should only return to school when symptoms are resolved or markedly improved (and they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication).
The most effective way to stop illness from spreading is to keep germs at home and out of our school community.
Please consider COVID testing at home BEFORE your student returns to school following illness (2 rapid-antigen tests, at least 24 hours apart, or one LAMP/PCR test).
Free take-home rapid tests available from the school or the Health Department.
Leah Costello, M.D. and a local school nurse speak to how regular illnesses are creeping back into schools in THIS VIDEO.
Continue to check the SBSD COVID-19 Dashboard for case updates, testing recommendations and illness guidelines.
Be well,
Kara Cassani, RN & Darcy Mazlish, RN
Orchard School Nurses
SBSD Elementary Health Services
p. (802) 652-7303
f. (802) 652-7354
MOANA!
ORCHARD DRAMA is thrilled to announce that we are less than two weeks away from putting on our first show in two years!!! Here is everything you need to know about the 5th grade production of MOANA.
SHOWTIMES
- Friday, April 8th, 9:30 am at Orchard....this show is for STUDENTS ONLY. All grades we will be able to watch the show free of charge at the school.
- Friday, April 8th, 6:30pm at Very Merry Theatre, 20 Allen Street, Burlington-Orchard families welcome to attend.
- Saturday April 9th, 4pm at Very Merry Theatre, 20 Allen Street, Burlington-Orchard families welcome to attend.
ADMISSION and DONATIONS
Since this is a 5th grade only production and the theatre can accommodate up to 250 people, we do not anticipate reaching capacity. Should we have to turn people away on Friday night, they would be allowed first entry to our Saturday show IF they have a family member in the cast or crew.
If you are a family member, guardian or caretaker of a child in the cast or crew, we recommend you arrive at least 30 minutes early to secure your seat (cast members have a call time an hour prior the performance and crew will have a call time of 30 minutes prior to the performance). If you do not have a child in the cast or crew, we ask that you arrive 15 minutes prior to show time and you make take any available seats.
This year we will not be charging for tickets, instead we will ask that families give what they can to support the costs incurred for this production such as Disney licensing fees, Very Merry Theatre fee (they were gracious enough to significantly reduce their fees knowing it's been a challenging two years for so many in our Orchard community), costumes, and sets.
Our suggested donation is $10 per person/per show but we just ask that you give what you can, even if that is just a hearty round of applause to the hard-working cast and crew. Anything beyond $10 person would be greatly appreciated...in years past, we have charged a $15 participation fee plus $8 ticket fee. We can collect cash or check (made payable to Orchard PTO, please write "drama" in the memo field) at the door, we can not accept credit card payments.
BAKE SALE
We will also be having a bake sale to support the costs of the play. We'd greatly appreciate any individually wrapped or store-bought items. You can bring them to the performances or you can drop them off by 10:30am to Orchard on Friday, April 8th.
Thank you for your support!
Orchard Drama Production Team
Form the PTO
Artist in Residence coming in May! Join our next PTO meeting to hear about the Artist in Residence program to take place next month! Master Yordan will attend to answer any questions parents may have about martial arts and the program he will be offering.
South Burlington Lacrosse
Hello South Burlington Wolves Families,
We are currently planning our boys' town lacrosse season for players in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.
Registration: Registration for South Burlington Boys Youth Lacrosse will open on Saturday, March 26.
If you visit www.sbyouthlacrosse.org, at the very top of the page you will see information and a link to register once it's open. The registration fee for this year will be $85 per player.
Please note that you will also need to register with USA Lacrosse prior to registering to take part in the South Burlington Lacrosse program. You can either take care of this ahead of time by visiting the USA Lacrosse Membership site, or, you will be guided through the process when registering for SB Lacrosse.
Please continue to pass this information along to anybody that may be interested! ABSOLUTELY THE MORE THE MERRIER!
We expect that we will start practices on MON/WED/FRI in mid-April. Game season will run on Saturdays throughout the month of May (excluding Memorial Day Weekend), and will continue into the first weekend of June with a likely opportunity for potential tournament weekends of play into mid-June, TBD.
No prior experience required, just a desire to exercise, have fun, be a valued member of our Family Team, and play the fastest game on 2 feet with friends!!!
For new players to the game of lacrosse, you will need a helmet, mouthguard, *shoulder pads* (EKG CERTIFIED), arm pads, gloves, athletic protector, cleats, water bottle, and a stick.ASK FOR HELP HERE PLEASE AS NEEDED ;)
We are looking forward to getting on the field this spring with our team and having fun playing the great game of lacrosse. Please join our great group for a couple awesome months!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email or text me at anytime.
Thank you for your time, GO WOLVES!
Coach Tim Knoth
484-888-1641