Newsletter #17

Our school was visited by a very special group of furry friends and their human companions this week! Robert Farley and his sled dogs visited RES this past Tuesday where they shared exciting tales (and tails!), and students got a first-hand experience of what it’s like to pull a dog-team sled!

Ms. Metcalf is an absolute superhero. She single handedly facilitated a joint performance of band and chorus from five schools, joining together for a beautiful celebration of music and months-worth of learning and practice of our amazing musicians. In addition to the “big show” on Monday, our students were treated to a Ripton-version on Thursday. Thank you so much musicians, parent-volunteers who made the practices possible, and Ms. Metcalf!

Mrs. Giroux’s class learned about elephants and the many ways that they communicate with each other. Along with Ms. Whitt’s expert guidance, the class had their own “Wild Kratts” experience where they morphed into elephants and experienced what elephant life and communication felt like first-hand. They shared their learning with our older grades in a fun presentation in the library!

Recently, the principals of WES/RES/SCS met to consider the best solution to a district need for a second elementary Wellness and Learning Center to serve ACSD students in need of specialized social-emotional and behavioral supports. We talked about the best approach and as a group determined that Ripton Elementary School would be the next location.

We agreed that any of our three schools would be a wonderful and supportive location for the program, however, I advocated for welcoming this program into the fabric of Ripton Elementary school because I am confident that our child-centered, community-minded strengths are a perfect fit for this need. I am so grateful and incredibly excited that our school community was selected as the location for this important program.

The conceptual model for the program is as follows:

We are in the very beginning planning-stages and there may be some questions without answers at the moment. We will use this document to gather and address your questions. We will schedule a community meeting in the next few weeks to share additional information and answer questions. As always, please also feel free to reach out to me directly at any time.

At Ripton Elementary School we approach “school” with a strong sense of community, support, and a deep love and respect for children. It is in the spirit of our openness and commitment to children that I hope you will join me in welcoming this program into our community!

Get ready...a total eclipse is coming to Vermont on April 8, 2024!

What you need to know:

April 8, 2024 will be an early release day! We will end school early because parts of our district will be in totality (darkness) around 3:30pm and Route 7 is expected to be busy with tourists visiting our area for the eclipse. We will follow our usual early release schedule.

RES Librarian, Mel O’Neill is leading the way in partnership with colleagues across our schools to plan fun eclipse activities for our PK-12 students leading up to the eclipse. We’ll be sharing more details about activities for school and home soon.

We have eclipse glasses for every ACSD student! These will come home closer to the event.

This year, ACSD is partnering with Dr. Rebecca Eunmi Haslam of Seed the Way LLC to advance our commitment to equity and justice. Dr. Haslam’s focus is on understanding the impact of racial and bias-based harm in our schools. Her work is designed to inform ACSD’s policy and procedures, increase more inclusive classroom practices, and leverage decision-making in meaningful ways. We hope this work will increase the restorative and reparative experiences for students, staff, and faculty in the ACSD community.

Dr. Haslam has completed the first phase of her work at MUMS and MUHS which included meeting with students and staff directly. She is now set to begin phase two which will focus on students and staff in ACSD’s elementary schools. The complete announcement and plan for phase two will be shared with all ACSD K-5 families in March, with a phase two completion date of June 30th. Please be on the lookout for the invitation to participate in this work.

Upon completion of both phases, Dr. Haslam will share findings with incoming Superintendent Dr. Wendy Baker in preparation for ACSD’s implementation of the ACSD Strategic Plan for Equity.