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SCS Community Newsletter
Week of September 11, 2023
Principals' Message
In addition to our faculty and staff, we'd like to extend a HUGE Thank You to our PTO for helping kick the year off on the right foot. They have been busy behind the scenes to help us launch a warm and welcoming start to the new school year. The PTO provided all of our faculty and staff with an amazing breakfast spread during pre-service (see photo below), purchased balloons to welcome our students on the first few days of school, hosted our annual community connections over coffee to welcome new families to the Shelburne community last week, and is busy coordinating our upcoming Dynamic Experiences fundraiser.
Along with everything else teachers and staff take on at the opening of the school year, this week they are also busily dreaming up unique adventures to offer our students for the PTO's annual Dynamic Experiences fundraiser. Students can enter to win a chance to bike the Ti-Haul trail with a teacher, make a gratitude video with a technologist, decorate cookies with our food service ladies, and many more! We had nearly 40 different offerings last year, and we're hoping for another great showing this time around. Everything you need to know - including information about a free ticket for all students - will be coming soon.
We're also excited to share that our first field trips started up this past week! We have more scheduled for next week as well. As a reminder, we need all permission forms completed in Powerschool before students can attend a trip - please get those in if you haven't already! We're looking forward to some cooler temperatures next week and are hopeful that the weather will be more cooperative for athletics. Have a great weekend, all.
Take care,
Alison, Brett, & Emily
Morning Movement Update - Not up-and-running, yet...
We are still looking for a coordinator for our Morning Movement program in the gym each morning. This is a paid position. If you are available to help supervise students from 7:30-7:50 as they play, read, or hang out on the bleachers, please reach out! We are unable to offer early entry to the building until this program gets up and running. Students are welcome to wait by the School Street entrance or use the playground, but we are not able to provide supervision until 7:45am.
Upcoming Dates to Remember
Here are a few of the upcoming events that we'd like to highlight for your September Calendars:
- 9/12 - PTO Meeting 6pm in SCS Green Space (pizza and childcare provided)
- 9/18 - School Photos, PTO Dynamic Experiences Ticket Sale Begins
- 9/19 - School Photos, CVSD School Board Meeting at 6pm (Central Office)
- 9/20 - School Photos & DEI Coffee Conversations @ 8am (SCS)
- 9/21 - SCS Open House (5-6pm for last names starting with letters A-L, and 6-7pm for last names starting with letters M-Z)
- 9/25 - Yom Kippur - No School
Our district values your feedback! Starting on September 22 and continuing through October 9, we will be asking you to take a brief survey to tell us about your experience with the school(s) your child attends. To ensure we continue to provide high-quality learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We invite you to share your thoughts.
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.
Thank you,
Champlain Valley School District
Fall sports are underway, despite the heat and thunderstorms this week. Please take a moment to watch the message above from the Vermont Principals' Association. In all of our athletic programs, coaches will continue to stress the importance of good sportsmanship and teamwork. We ask all spectators to do their part to make our athletics program a positive experience for all!
Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Program (VTCAP) Update
All students in grades 3-9 (last year) took the new VTCAP assessment this past spring in math and literacy (and grades 5, 8 & 11 in Science). Results from the assessment were recently shared with districts. We are just beginning to compile those in an effort to send individual student reports to families. We are not anticipating that those will be ready to send until closer to the end of September. When the individual student reports are sent, there will be a guide for families that accompanies the report.
Use Your P-EBT Card to Give Back
All families with a student enrolled in a CVSD school last year should have received a P-EBT card by mail over the summer. If you haven't activated it or exhausted the funds yet, we encourage you to use it to buy food for the Shelburne Food Shelf. Nonperishable items can be dropped off at the Town Offices, Library, or Shelburne Market. The list of items the Food Shelf needs most is available here: https://www.shelburnefoodshelf.org/give. You can also exchange your P-EBT benefit at the Shelburne Farmers Market to support local farms, many of which are still reeling from this summer's flooding. See the graphic below for more details.
If you have more questions about P-EBT, please visit the P-EBT website.
Communications
Front Office FAQ's
One More Form to Fill Out
In addition to the required PowerSchool forms, we also request that all families fill out the Free and Reduced Meal application each year as well. Even though there is no charge for breakfast and lunch, we are asking you to fill out this application for free and reduced-price school meals.
This document provides many of the reasons why it is important to fill out the forms even though meals are free to students this year. Please go to the Free and Reduced Meals page on our website to learn more and to access the online and printable forms.
Sign Up to Receive SMS/Text Messages!
Please enroll to receive text messages from the district and/or our schools. If you haven't done this yet or if you are new to CVSD, follow the easy steps on this flyer. We don't overuse this method of communication, but it is helpful for reminders and quick announcements. Don't miss out!
If you've already opted in, there's no need to do it again.
Community/Family Engagement
SCS PTO
New PTO Co-Chairs
We would like to introduce Mark Monaghan and Devin Beringer who are the new PTO Co-Chairs. Their work will be divided across supporting different committees and build on the structure Jen Cairns, Amanda, and Ken put in place. We hope this will allow us to expand and grow PTO efforts in the years to come!
- Mark has a son going into Grade 2 and his wife teaches ELL at SCS. His background includes business development, marketing, consultancy, and entrepreneurship, with 15+ years in learning and development.
- Devin and family have spent most of their lives outside the USA and will be new to SCS this year with a rising Grade 5 daughter. Devin has spent 25 years in marketing strategy and consulting for global agencies/brands.
They look forward to meeting everyone at the first meeting!
Co-Chairs: Mark Monaghan (monaghan77@gmail.com) and Devin Beringer (devin@consultap.com)
Treasurer: Ken Scott (kenscottvt@gmail.com)
Secretary: Amanda Broder (abroder14@gmail.com)
Social Media Coordinator: Hayley Cimler (hayley.cimler@gmail.com)
Teacher Reps: Katie Birkett, Alysia Wakeman, and Megan Maynard-Jacob
Additional Members & Volunteer Opportunities
EVENTS:
Sept 12th First PTO Meeting (6:00pm, Green Team space)
Sept 18th Dynamic Experiences Fundraiser Ticket Sales Begin
Sept 21st Open House at Shelburne Community School 5-7pm
Safe Routes to School - NEW Committee - Need Volunteer Leads!
This group is working on sidewalk enhancements, monitoring traffic incident areas, planning out safe routes to walk/bike to school, buddy systems, and much more!
The broader team includes teachers, town committee reps, and Local Motion.
We would love to have 1-2 PTO leads to join this group. If you are interested please Sign Up Here.
Reminder Every Wed (Including 8/30) is Walk/Roll to School. Folks will meet at Pierson Library at 7:30 AM.
Nearby Nature - Needs Volunteers!
Nearby Nature engages K-2 students in place-based science learning in their own classroom and schoolyard. It relies on volunteers to operate and is a great opportunity for family members to be part of the classroom experience. Volunteers have a monthly training on the first Thursday of every month, do a bit of lesson prep, and lead a monthly lesson. Read more: https://nearbynature.fwni.org. If interested, please email Wendy Eberhart at wendy.eberhart@gmail.com.
Attend a PTO Meeting
The first PTO meeting will be on Tuesday, 9/12 at 6 PM. There is free pizza and babysitting for school-age kids! For all other dates: Click Here
DEI Corner
SCS DEI Community Meeting
Please join us on Wednesday , September 13th from 6-7:30pm in the SCS Library
Feel free to join us virtually as well. The meeting link is: meet.google.com/mww-rwda-swh
Looking for Volunteers in the SCS Library
We would love to see some community volunteers helping out in our library. If you're interested, please email Fiona Kovacik at fkovacik@cvsdvt.org. Thanks!
Everybody Wins! needs a Shelburne Community School coordinator!
This part-time position helps to bring mentors together with children from grades 2-4 each week for friendship, conversation, and reading. Work at SCS and remotely in a supportive environment, with flexibility and autonomy. Love of both books and people is critical, good communication and computer skills are necessary.
For more information, see the Everybody Wins! website: https://everybodywinsvermont.org/about-us/openings/ or contact Beth Wallace, director: beth@everybodywinsvermont.org
Looking to help out SCS, and make some money? We've got a solution for you!
Shelburne Community School is in need of Guest Teachers for the 2023 / 2024 school year. If you're interested in subbing for us, please contact Louise Michaels at SCS at 802-985-3331 x122, or lmichaels@cvsdvt.org and ask to set up an appointment for an interview.
SCS is a vibrant, caring community school with fantastic support staff to aid a guest teacher with transitioning to the classroom environment. Thank you.
Ways to Get Involved at SCS...(the Volunteer Process)
Celebrations!
CVSD Info
Find information about monthly School Board Meetings, community forums such as the DEI Town Hall, and more on the district website. See the year at a glance on the 2023-2024 K-8 School Year Calendar. The CVSD Mission is to develop citizens who learn, think, live, contribute, and pursue excellence. See The CVSD Story for the latest blog posts about what's happening across the district.
Let's Talk
SCS PTO
Still Need More Information?
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/shelburne
Shelburne Community School Administration
Brett Cluff, 5-8 Principal
Emily Cogan, Director of Special Education