Cornwall News

March 8, 2024

Hello Cornwall School families,

I saw lots of smiles outside on this sunny morning. It's amazing the difference a little sunshine makes!

There is a lot included in this week's newsletter - an update from Ms. Burns-Collins plus information about parent-teacher conferences, a showing of Screenagers, preschool enrollment, and more!

Also, please remember that tonight is movie night, starting at 6pm.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Warmly,

Heather

Class Highlight - 4/5 Ms. Burns-Collins

We have been busy finishing up our IB unit, “How We Express Ourselves” and simultaneously starting our fifth IB unit, “How We Organize Ourselves.” The culminating assignments for the former are twofold. Students wrote a five paragraph essay exploring something that they wanted to learn about in terms of how the environment is affected by either the materials used in the production or the making of the product. Another lens students looked through was about if people are harmed in the making of the product. Students, working in groups were assigned three different Greek myths and they had to read it and then produce either a poster or through a play the explanation of the myth to their classmates. Lastly, after studying how the ancient Greeks expressed themselves, devised their own explanation for how something in nature occurs, see following pictures of back bulletin board.

For our March Number Corner, we are currently conducting an experiment using pencils. Every student got a brand new pencil on Monday. They measure the pencils using both the standard measurement (inches) and the metric system using centimeters. Each Monday of this month, we will measure the same pencil and keep track of the rate of our use. At the end of the month, we will then graph our results.

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Greek Mythology

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Sam playing piano in the barn at Rikert

Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences

As part of the updated progress reporting system, the spring parent-teacher conference window opens March 22. The goal of this conference is to be in person, as teachers plan to share student work and current progress toward the standards. If they haven't already, your child's teacher will be reaching out in the near future with a conference schedule.

Screenagers: Next Chapter Showing

here will be local counselors available to answer questions following the movie! Please use the attached visual!

Free viewing of "Screenagers Next Chapter: Addressing Mental Health in the Digital Age" by filmmaker and physician Delaney Rushton on March 19th at 6:30pm in the auditorium at MUHS.

ACSD Preschool Enrollment

If you have a child who will be 3 by Sept 1, 2024 and needs preschool placement, please fill out the preschool interest survey by the end of March. ACSD has two school-based programs: Mary Hogan and Bridport. Space is extremely limited, so we also encourage you to consider other preschool options. ACSD partners with prequalified private preschool programs to pay tuition for 10 hours/week, 35 weeks/year of preschool. This means your child could receive a tuition discount at a private preschool. Your first step is to enroll with the program directly. They will help you to complete the preschool tuition paperwork. Visit this site for more about which local programs have met the quality standards for partnership or contact Meg Baker at mbaker@acsdvt.org or 382-0045

Eclipse Update

Remember, Monday April 8th, is an early release day due to the eclipse (this is in addition to the scheduled early release day on April 3rd). Every ACSD student will receive eclipse glasses. Visit our eclipse web page to learn more about what your students may be doing at school and activities to try at home!

For eclipse-specific traffic and weather updates, VT Emergency Management is offering a text update system. Text VTECLIPSE to 888777.

StoryProv Registration

FOCS is excited to have Andrew Ritter returning this spring to offer StoryProv for Grades 2 - 5! The fall class had a ton of fun. See pictures below!

The class will run Tuesdays, 3/12 - 4/16 from 3:00 - 4:05 at Cornwall Town Hall, where the bus will drop kids off.

Please register by Friday, March 8. Here is the registration link:

https://form.jotform.com/240564024555150

STORYPROV II (2-5) - This theater based class combines the fields of improvisation for the stage with stories and storytelling. Students will engage in a variety of interactive games & exercises while also learning and reinforcing the fundamental aspects of creating a story. The students will also be introduced to a variety of theatrical concepts like staging, voice, give and take of focus, character creation and listening. Using real stories as inspiration, the ensemble will ultimately learn how to make up a collaborative story on the spot and may give an informal presentation on the last day of class.