CBMS Community Cougar Comments

Dear Crossett Brook Community Members:

We are looking forward to our first Three Cs award ceremony of the 24/25 School year. Students have been showing amazing Caring, Connection and Curiosity this fall in many different ways. We are looking forward to celebrating those students that are nominated by their teachers for going above and beyond in one of the above areas.

It's also hard to believe that we are only a week and a half away from the change of trimester for Applied Academics groups. When students return from their Thanksgiving breaks, we will be heading into our second rotations and new opportunities to explore will be upon them.

Please make sure to send back the Winter Sports Payment form and rental forms (if your student needs rentals). We would love to have everything in before Thanksgiving break, so that we can make sure that things are up to date before the Holidays.

Sincerely,

Jen and Duane

At CBMS, we believe that teachers and caregivers are partners in the teaching of students. To that end, teachers will sometimes write home to let caregivers know that there has been a concern around student behavior. We ask that caregivers view these as opportunities for their students to continue learning from their choices and actions. A teacher's note home can be for positive reasons or reasons of concern. Regardless, CBMS teachers contact caregivers as partners with the intention of building open lines of communication and wrapping around students in the supportive environment of learning. Please also understand that Middle School aged students often have unique perspectives or misconceptions about how their behaviors can affect themselves, others and the learning environment and may see something as not a big deal. We view all experiences as opportunities to grow and learn and our teachers do an amazing job presenting supportive environments for ALL kids to learn. Thank you for supporting our teachers in the work that they do everyday to help your students succeed.

Now that fall conferences have all but wrapped up, you may be considering what your student’s transition to high school might look like. Here is a quick overview of this process and some information about Harwood.

After the first of the year, Harwood school counselors and Crossett Brook school counselors will work on a timeline for helping your student learn more about high school, and ultimately select their courses for their 9th-grade year. In March, we will visit all 8th-grade classrooms to talk specifically about 9th-grade options, offerings, and expectations. Additionally, we will touch on the four-year planning process as a whole. There will also be an opportunity for parents to engage with the high school faculty during an evening presentation about their child's transition and academic options. This will also happen just before or after the February vacation.

During the first classroom visit, your student will receive a program of studies for the 2025-2026 School year, which you may review together. Using a planning worksheet, your child will be able to map out their academic choices for the upcoming school year. CBMS school counselors will then revisit 8th-grade homerooms to help kids register for their classes using the PowerSchool system.

If you are interested in learning more about Harwood’s current academic offerings you may check out their online program of studies. You can also learn more about academic pathways offered at Harwood here. Within the program of studies, you can check out the “road maps” for different academic areas, which will give you and your student some possible ideas of what their next four years could look like. It is important, however, for your learners to take the lead in thinking about what is important to them. 8th graders are encouraged to chat with their current school counselor, Mrs. Hempey, or Ms. Scharff if they have questions about this transition or high school.

Please complete the Family Conference Feedback from below.

Check the website for this month's menu.

Please consider sending your student(s) with winter coats, hats, gloves/mittens and boots once the snow begins to pile up. As a reminder, the building does not open until 8:15 as we do not have the ability to supervise students until that time.

Shoes need to be worn on school grounds, which includes indoor and outdoor spaces. Additionally, to participate in PE, students need to wear sneakers. We have a supply of sneakers for loan in the gym as well as the nurse's bathroom if students are in need.

We are in the home stretch with collecting all our Winter Sports forms. If you haven't sent in blue forms and payment forms, please do so. Every penny helps us keep this program running and allows students to learn new skills and take healthy risks on the mountain. Additionally, if you have not filled out the Sugarbush waiver form that was sent out on November 4, please do so. Sugarbush is trying to digitally streamline the process of collecting emergency contacts and liability waivers. Last year, they spent countless hours entering the data into their system, and this will save them time and manpower. Anyone who is participating in the program must fill out the form.

Crossett Brook Middle School Ski & Ride Program, please click. Please make sure to complete the form on this site for Sugarbush purposes. This is in addition to the form you completed for CBMS earlier in the fall. Next year, we hope to streamline this and make sure it all goes out together.

• 11/21 Fall Concert for Grades 5-8 at CBMS 6-8 pm
• 11/22 Combined CBMS/HUMS dance for grades 7 and 8 at CBMS, 7-9
• 11/26 End of Trimester 1
• 11/27-12/1 Thanksgiving Break, no school for students.
• 12/2 Back to School, Trimester 2.
• 12/6 MS Little Mermaid Jr. performance at the Harwood Auditorium at 7 PM.
• 12/7 MS Little Mermaid Jr. performance at the Harwood Auditorium at 4 PM

Please check out the flyer for our first 7/8 dance of the year.

To sign up: A caregiver must sign a student up using the QR code.

In order to attend students are expected to follow behavior expectations at school and not have major behavior infractions resulting in suspensions for at least a week prior.

In order to participate in the dance, caregivers need to sign students up using this link.

Winter sports sign ups are now live, click here to register. The parents meeting will be November 20th at 6:30pm, this is for high school and middle school parents and athletes. The winter season starts on December 2nd.

Our CBMS Fall Concert is 11/21/24 @ CBMS! The 6pm concert includes the 5th Grade Band, 6th Grade Band, and 5th/6th Chorus. The 7pm concert features the 7th/8th Band, 7th/8th Chorus, and Jazz Band. Have your performers at the school 15 minutes before their start time. Concert dress is any combination of black and white.

Pottery artist Lindsay DeOld visited grades 5 and 6 in art class to share her expertise and help students use the pottery wheel.

Quest students have been exploring the physical properties of solids, liquids and gasses. Here we are looking at density columns and seeing how objects either sink or float in them.

7th grade Spanish students have been learning the role playing game, Hombre lobo (werewolf). They designed and voted for their favorite characters and have been playing this game in class, slowly eliminating the use of English as they acquire more words.

8th grade students lead this game, following a script and speaking almost entirely in Spanish!

Winter is a great time to get cozy and enjoy the company of family and friends. But it’s also a time when colds and the flu can spread easily. So make sure your family continues to stay healthy this winter with these tips:

• Wash your hands often and well. Scrub both hands with soap and water! This is the best way to prevent the spread of germs.

• Avoid touching your face. Germs can enter your body through your nose, mouth, and eyes.

• Stay warm and dry. Wear warm clothes, and make sure to always wear clean, dry socks. Remove any wet clothes after being outside.

• Drink lots of water and fluids each day. Water, healthy juices, and soup are all good choices.

• Go to bed early. A good night’s sleep will help your body fight off infection and colds.

• Eat healthy, vitamin-rich foods! Vitamin C and D and Zinc are especially important during the winter.

• Prevent nosebleeds. Nosebleeds are common in the winter months. Try using a humidifier to increase moisture in the dry home. Limit exposure to smoke from fireplaces, tobacco, natural gas etc.

• Stay active, get outside and have fun! Exercise helps your immune system stay healthy and strong.

• Drink lots of water and fluids each day. Water, healthy juices, and soup are all good choices.

• Go to bed early. A good night’s sleep will help your body fight off infection and colds.

• Eat healthy, vitamin-rich foods! Vitamin C and D and Zinc are especially important during the winter.

• Prevent nosebleeds. Nosebleeds are common in the winter months. Try using a humidifier to increase moisture in the dry home. Limit exposure to smoke from fireplaces, tobacco, natural gas etc.

• Stay active, get outside and have fun! Exercise helps your immune system stay healthy and strong.

The Thanksgiving food distribution is as follows for pick up:

Monday 11/18 10 - noon

Wednesday 11/20 3 - 5pm

Friday 11/22 10 - noon

Monday 11/25 10 - noon

Wednesday 11/27 3 - 5pm

****It is advised that you PICK UP your turkey by MONDAY 11/25 so it has time to thaw out before Thanksgiving.

Each year the sophomore class hosts a Christmas Tree and wreath Sale at American Flatbread. Proceeds from this fundraiser support class activities for the remainder of high school. A new addition this year will be supporting the sale of Star Kits from the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce. Star Kit sales will benefit the memorial funds in honor of the five young people who lost their lives in a tragic accident in 2016. If you would like to learn more about the kits, this video will provide a helpful background.

When: December 5th, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

December 7th and 8th, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

If trees and wreaths are still available:

December 12th, 4:30 - 7:00 PM

December 13th and 14th, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Where: American Flatbread (Route 100, Waitsfield, VT)

Cost: Trees range from $ 30 - $100 based on size

3’ Star Kit, $40 and 6’ Star Kit, $50

Harwood is incredibly grateful for the generosity of George Schenk for supporting this sale every year. This sale began with his great idea and has become an annual tradition.

The CBMS teacher book club meets monthly to discuss their current reads. The club consists of current faculty members as well as retirees and teachers that have moved out of the district. This month, the club had a special guest: local author Katherine Arden! The club read her latest book The Warm Hands of Ghosts. Many of our CBMS students know this author from her middle grade Small Spaces horror series, the first of which won the 2020 VT Golden Dome Book Award. It was very exciting to meet Katherine, talk about character development, her research and the process it took to write this latest book. We caught her just in time too as she shared with us that right after our book club meeting she was hopping on a plane to France to research her next novel. What a treat!

Please see the flyers for community opportunities.

CBMS Calendar

Website:https://cbms.wwsu.org/

Phone: 802-244-6100

Location: 5672 VT Rt. 100 Duxbury, VT 05676