The Core
April 7, 2023, Volume 14, Issue 31
Notes from the Principal
Hello Parents,
It's almost here! The Orchard production of The Further Adventures of Peter, Wendy and Hook is next weekend and all of our students are attending the Thursday matinee prior to the Friday and Thursday evening performances. The cast and crew have been doing a terrific job, they are focused and excited to do their best. And hats off to the parent volunteers, they've put in many, many hours and have been extremely flexible!
📌We celebrated National School Librarian Day this week (though Donna is sure it's for the month). Special thanks to our Librarian Donna Sullivan Macdonald for everything she does. The Orchard Library is really special and is well-known throughout northern Vermont. I even remembered it visiting years before becoming the principal! Thank you Donna for providing awesome books and awesome experiences for our students. And also special thanks to our Library Assistant/IT tech, Judy Gilmartin. Judy is key to keeping things humming along for students and for staff. Enjoy your month!
📌 I was planning to do a mini editorial on Prime sports drink but our nurses just beat me to it. Please read through their article below. One thing the nurses did not mention is that I see students having Prime as a status symbol. You can see that it isn't appropriate for kids, let's think about saving Prime for home and/or special occasions. Thanks.
📌We are celebrating Autism Awareness Week starting on Monday, April 17th. You might remember our activities celebrating our extraordinary brains from last year, check out the flyer below.
📌Finally, we're looking forward to meeting our upcoming kindergartners on Tuesday and Wednesday. It's a very special time to say hello to new families - and for our returning families to share their insights. Let us know if you have any questions.
Have an awesome weekend; take some time to read with your child.
Mark T & Olivia K
Happy Easter and Passover for those who celebrate. Also continued Ramadan Mubarak!
Rehearsal!
School Nurse Notes
Have you heard of PRIME?
This popular energy drink is cause for concern. See the 4/30/232 article, Are Prime Energy Drinks Good for Kids?
Prime offers two versions:
- Prime Hydration: contains the artificial sweetener, sucralose, and other additives.
- Prime Energy: a 12oz can contains 200mg of caffeine (as the article above indicates, that's the same amount of caffeine as: 2 ½ cans of Red Bull, three large coffees, or six cans of Coca-Cola!).
The Prime website indicates it's unsafe for anyone under the age of 18.
What are alternatives? Water! In order to stay well hydrated, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following per day (amounts vary by individual):
Ages 1-3 ~ 4 cups, including water or milk
Ages 4-8 ~ 5 cups per day
Older Children ~ 7-8 cups per day
Illness Reminders:
- STAY HOME WHEN SICK. Do not return to school until fever-free for 24 hours (without fever-reducing medicine).
- If you have symptoms of COVID-19, even mild symptoms and even if you previously had COVID-19, test as soon as possible. We have tests available at school.
- If you are using at-home antigen tests, please follow FDA guidance and test more than once (48 hours apart).
Be kind, stay well~
Kara Cassani & Sarah Pineda
Seriously Good Art Work
PTO Notes
Save the Date! The next PTO meeting is Wednesday, April 12th at 6:30 pm in the art room. Agenda items include a teacher and staff appreciation lunch, upcoming school events, and planning for new playground equipment!
Spring Fling Coming Soon! Mark your calendars and get excited for our community event to be held on May 12th! If you’re willing to help plan and organize, please email orchardschoolvt@gmail.com.
Fifth Grade Fun Day Volunteers Needed! Calling fifth-grade parents who want to help make your child’s Fifth Grade Fun Day a success! If you’d like to be part of the planning committee, please email Melissa Grealis at mwoj44@hotmail.com.
Monthly Teacher Treats: Sign-ups are needed for Teacher/Staff goodies for April and beyond! Here is the link to sign up to bring in goodies for the next few months of drop-offs.
The Further Adventures of Peter, Wendy and Hook
Orchard Drama proudly presents: The Further Adventures of Peter, Wendy, and Hook
Thursday, April 13th, noon: (closed performance for all of Orchard School)
Friday, April 14th, 6:30pm
Saturday, April 15th, 5:30pm
Paper ticket sales ended today. However, tickets for both performances are still available for sale in Konstella. Please use our public access link (no Konstella account required) for ticket sales here:
- Friday: tinyurl.com/36evveuf
- Saturday: tinyurl.com/mptjhpua
There are less than 50 tickets currently available for each performance. All ticket pre-sales will end on Thursday April 13th and IF there are any remaining tickets they will be made available for sale at the door on the night of each performance.
We still have many volunteer opportunities available for both backstage and front of house roles and we absolutely need your help to make this play happen so please have a look and consider volunteering through our Konstella page.
5th Grade Cast & Crew Parents: If you haven't already, please sit down with your child and complete the google questionnaire that was sent out on April 2nd. Our goal is to print out and proudly display within the Orchard School lobby a one page bio about each of our 5th grade play participants so that every child in the school may learn about and be inspired by the incredible kids that are creating this year's play.
Thank you for all your support, these kids are worth it.
Farm-to-School Monthly!
Hello South Burlington Families!
For our last farm-to-school lesson of the school year, we’re making Spring Greens Pesto!
Here is the recipe:
- 2 Curly Leaf Kale Leaves
- 2 Dinosaur Kale Leaves
- ¼ Cup Scallions
- ¼ Cup Parsley
- A handful of sprouts
- Really any fresh and flavorful green you have!
- Blend it in a food processor with
- ¼ Cup olive oil
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 2 Cloves of garlic
See our Spring Greens Video here!
Common Roots will be at the farm from now on! Interested in our summer camp, farm to go, or moon belly circle programs? Check out our website or email me at kayli.odonnell@gmail.com
Happy spring!
Kayli O’Donnell, RD
Common Roots Education Program Director
This Week's Announcers, Sawyer & Sophia!
Memory Book 22-23!
Hello Orchard parents and caregivers!
I am currently putting together this year's school Memory Book and looking for someone to come alongside me to assist in the process. This is my daughter's last year at Orchard, so I will not be putting it together again next year. A new Memory Book team (parent volunteers) will need to be formed in order for your children to have a Memory Book made each school year. Having some tech skills is a definite plus as part of the process includes uploading portraits and designing the pages. I would love to get a couple of you trained now while I'm still in the creation process, and also looking for assistance in the creation of this year's book. Please reach out via phone at 802-393-5223 or via email at pay.johnson@aol.com if you are interested in learning this process to take it over for next year.