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SCS Community Newsletter
Week of October 2, 2023
Principal's Message
Dear SCS Families and Caregivers,
It was a great short week here at school! The smiling faces at Open House on Wednesday night brought so much joy to our building. Thanks to everyone who attended, to our staff members who put in a long day in order to build relationships with families, to our custodial and facilities team for setting and cleaning everything up, to our cafeteria crew for providing so many delicious treats, and to our PTO for feeding our staff members beforehand. If you didn't get to make it in for the Open House, there are two more upcoming events that can keep you connected to what's going on at SCS.
The first is something new we're trying out this year. We're hosting our first of three "Coffee and Conversation" meetings on Thursday, 10/5 from 8-9 in the cafeteria. Inspired by the Coffee and Conversation events hosted by our DEI Coach Lashawn Sells, we are providing an informal, agenda-free space for you to come in and speak with us directly. Ask questions, bring ideas, or share feedback on your school experience so far. This will be the first of three in-person sessions this school year. If you can't make it, you can always reach us via email, phone, or Let's Talk.
The second way to get connected is through fall family conferences. Next week is a short week, with Friday 10/6 being our conference flex day. This does not necessarily mean that all conferences will take place on that day. Your child's teachers will be in touch with you to share a variety of times that they are available to meet in the coming weeks. You will have the option of an in-person or virtual conference. This first round of conferences will focus mostly on how your children are settling into the school year. We hope you are all able to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher. A strong home-school partnership is key to making sure all of our students feel a sense of belonging here at SCS.
We hope everyone enjoys the lovely fall weekend ahead!
Take care,
Alison, Brett, & Emily
Mark Your Calendars
October Important Dates:
- 10/2 - Last Day to Enter Dynamic Experiences Drawings
- 10/5 - Dynamic Experiences Winners Drawn
- 10/6 - Conference Flex Day - No School
- 10/9 - Indigenous Peoples Day - No School
- 10/10 - Dynamic Experiences Winners Announced
- 10/10 - PTO Meeting (6:00 pm, Green Team Commons)
- 10/11 - 5th-8th grade field trip: Mt. Philo (9:30 -12:00)
- 11/2 - Picture Day Make Up
- 11/2 - Sibling Photo Day (3:00 pm)
Bus Safety Agreement
Please sign and return by October 2nd!
We are looking for your help and support in keeping our bus riders and drivers happy, healthy, and safe. Your K-4 child should have brought home a NEW Bus Use Guidelines for Students (BUGS) agreement this week. Please review this with your child, sign, and return to the school by Monday, October 2nd. Please review this even if they do not typically ride the bus - they may ride the bus in the future for field trips, relocation plans, etc.
Middle School Students: technology on the bus should be limited to personal use. Phones should be used to read or watch something with headphones, never to take pictures or videos of other students.
Highlights from the Week
Fields Trips
Many classes got to experience this beautiful time of year in nearby apple orchards, Shelburne Farms, and with extra time outside on our own campus this week. Green Team made a delicious apple crisp with the apples they picked on Wednesday at Yates Family Orchard!
Welcome Back Goats
Our 5th & 6th grade Goat Ambassadors visited New Village Farm Friday in preparation for welcoming our goat friends back to SCS. The goats will return to SCS on Sunday and will be here for the entire month of October. We will have 5 goats on campus and we have 20 goat ambassadors from Blue and Green Teams. We are planning many fun events and interactive exhibits during the month.
Stay tuned for specific ways you can interact with the goats and connect with the Goat Ambassadors!
Student Leadership Council
Morning Movement
Aiming to start this week!
As soon as we clear the final paperwork hurdle, we are excited to provide supervision in the gym each morning beginning at 7:30. We're thrilled to be able to offer this again, and we anticipate starting next week (potentially as early as Tuesday 10/3). Please keep an eye on your email for the official notice once we are ready to launch. Once we do, students should be dropped off at the School Street entrance and they will walk through the school to the gym. We will continue to have supervision at the School Street entrance for early arrivers that do not want to participate in Morning Movement. Thank you for your patience as we get this up and running.
SCS Band
Guest Teachers Needed
Looking to help out SCS, and make some money? We've got a solution for you!
SCS is need of more Guest Teachers. If you're interested in subbing for us, please contact Louise Michaels at 802-985-3331 x122, or lmichaels@cvsdvt.org and ask to set up an appointment for an interview.
Destination Imagination
Click the image above for information about the SCS Destination Imagination team. It's open to students in grades 3-6 and will begin meeting in mid-October. The team had a blast last year and even brought home some impressive hardware from the state competition.
Dynamic Experiences
The PTO is winding up the last full week for Dynamic Experiences. All tickets and money are due Monday, 10/2.
Click here to find:
- easy instructions with interactive payment options
- one raffle ticket sheet
- all-inclusive list of adventures
Questions? Email Liz Carney, elizabeth.h.carney@gmail.com
Next PTO Meeting
Tuesday, 10/10 at 6 PM. There is free pizza and babysitting for school-age kids!
SCS Useful Links
CVSD News
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 Survey
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 8:00pm 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.
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. See The CVSD Story for the latest blog posts about what's happening across the district.
Let's Talk
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