THE NEWSLETTER

Dear CCS Families,

We are currently experiencing a surge in stomach-related illnesses, strep throat, and flu-like symptoms in our school community. To prevent the spread and protect everyone’s health, it is critical that families keep unwell students at home. Sending a sick student to school increases the risk of spreading illness to classmates, teachers, and staff. Please join us in prioritizing the health of our entire community by keeping your students home if they show any signs of illness.

Key Guidelines to Help Keep Everyone Healthy:

• Symptom Monitoring: Before sending your child to school, check for fever (100°F or higher), fatigue, significant cough, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea. Students should stay home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours without medication.
• Diarrhea or Vomiting: Keep your child home for at least 24 hours after the last episode, ensuring they can eat and drink without recurrence.
• Fever: Students must be fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication before returning to school.
• Contagious Illnesses: If your child has strep throat, RSV, or other contagious conditions, they may return only after meeting treatment and fever-free requirements (usually 24 hours after starting antibiotics or being cleared by a doctor).

How You Can Help:

• Notify the School: Calling the attendance line (425-6688) to report your student’s absence is vital because it ensures we have accurate information about who is in attendance while also helping to ease the workload of our wonderful Cindy LaWare in the front office, who spends much of her mornings contacting families about unreported absences—let’s work together to lessen this burden on Cindy! If your child will be out and/or has a contagious illness, please call the attendance line and provide details so we can monitor and take necessary precautions.
  
• Encourage Healthy Habits: Reinforce handwashing, proper rest, and a balanced diet to help boost your child’s immune system.
• Be Overly Cautious: If you are unsure whether your student is ready to return to school, please err on the side of caution and keep them home until you are confident they can fully participate and be a productive student. This helps ensure we are keeping the entire school community healthy.

Why This Matters:

We understand the challenges of keeping students home, but this effort is crucial to prevent further illness and ensure that our school remains a safe and supportive space for learning. Protecting the health of our students and staff helps minimize disruptions caused by illness-related absences, especially during these colder months.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in keeping CCS healthy and thriving. Together, we can create a safe and supportive environment for everyone.

Warm regards,

Lauren Calkins. BSN, RN
School Nurse

Sunday, January 26th - UVM Men's Soccer Championship Parade, Church Street, 1:00pm

Wednesday, January 29th - Early Release

Wednesday, January 29th - Math Night, MPR, 6:00 - 7:30

Friday, January 31st - Winter Ball (grades 7/8 only), MPR, 7:00 - 9:00

Friday, February 7th - Prek Lottery Closes - see below for details

Wednesday, February 12th - Early Release

Tuesday, February 18th - CCS Spelling Bee, MPR, 8:45

Wednesday, February 19th - PTO Mtg, CCS Cafeteria, 8:00 - 9:00

Wednesday, February 19th - Field Trip, Grade 3 to Flynn Theater, 9:00 - 12:00

Wednesday, February 19th - Early Rlease

Monday, February 24th through Februrary 29th - NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

Monday, March 3rd - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS - Parent/Guardian Conferences

Tuesday, March 4th -NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS - Faculty Inservice

Wednesday, March 5th - Early Release

Wednesday, March 5th - Bolton Valley Ski & Ride, 2:00 - 7:45

At CCS, we are committed to starting every student’s day with calm, connection, and readiness to learn. To support this, students can arrive as early as 7:30 am each morning. From 7:30 to 7:45, students of all ages are welcome to be dropped off at the cafeteria entrance, where they can enjoy a relaxed start to their day with tables and board games. At 7:45, they’ll head to their classrooms to get ready for the day ahead.

To help every child have a smooth and confident start, we ask that caregivers plan for students to be inside the building well before 8:00 am. Arriving just a few minutes earlier not only ensures your child begins their day with ease but also helps our community avoid traffic challenges that arise from last-minute arrivals.

We appreciate your partnership in creating a calm and caring start for all students. If you have any questions or need support, please don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here for you!

The CCS middle school yearbook is underway. We have a group of dedicated students actively working on the design and layout. The CCS yearbook is primarily for middle school students, as only these students are featured in the yearbook.

The deadline to order your yearbook is January 31, 2025. Please order your yearbook today!

If purchasing a yearbook for your student is a financial hardship for your family, please reach out confidentially to our school counselor, Betsy Lloyd at blloyd@cvsdvt.org so we can make sure your middle schooler can receive a yearbook. For all other yearbook related questions, please reach out to our yearbook advisor, Elisa Miller, at emiller@cvsdvt.org.

This past weekend the CCS Lego Hawks wrapped up their season at the FIRST Lego League Vermont State Final at Global Foundries in Essex. The Lego Hawks represented themselves well in the presentation of their Innovation Project which outlined ideas to reduce pollution in Lake Champlain, and competed in three robots games during the day. Although the results weren’t what the team hoped for, they worked together throughout the day and were able to celebrate a successful season of teamwork and innovation!

Does your 7th or 8th grader love technology or want to learn how to build and program their own robots? Join our Coding & Robotics Club for a fun, hands-on experience! Students will explore the basics of coding, tackle robotics challenges, and work together to solve real-world problems—all while sparking creativity and teamwork.

No prior experience is needed—just curiosity and enthusiasm! Spaces are limited, so sign up today to secure your spot in this exciting STEM adventure.

When: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:00–4:30 PM

To sign up use this link or scan the QR code. Registration is limited to 8 students. Contact Steve Flint at sflint@cvsdvt.org with any questions.

We’re thrilled to announce that a couple of dedicated individuals have stepped forward to take on the three positions for this exciting extracurricular and community opportunity: Musical Director, Choreographer, and Music Director. With this news, we are taking next steps.

Our 6-8 students received an email this afternoon with a link to a Google Form/Survey to gather interest. They are asked to complete the form by Friday, January 31st. The performances will be later in the year to accommodate a variety of schedules, the weekend of June 7-8, with the 8th-grade graduation scheduled for the following Thursday, June 12th.

For our caregivers, if you are a parent of an interested student and want to take a lead role in organizing other caregivers and working with our directors, please let Tim O’Leary know. He’s looking for two people to lead a group together.

Can you spell A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N ? The CCS School spelling bee will be Tuesday, February 18th. Parent volunteers will begin Spelling Club on Mondays and Fridays in the cafeteria for grades 3rd through 8th. Spelling club is a fun way to be with your friends, play word games, and quiz one another on your P-R-E-F-E-R-R-E-D spelling words. Any spellers of any level are invited to join.

Parents can download the study words for free from the Scripps website. https://spellingbee.com

The top three spellers will be invited to the Vermont State Spelling Bee on March 24th at St. Michael's College.

One in three young people will grow up without a trusted mentor to turn to for support outside of their immediate family. CVSD’s Connecting Youth Mentoring exists to close that gap. This year, Connecting Youth celebrates 25 years of serving our community youth through meaningful and trusted relationships. Consistently, research has shown that youth with mentors are more likely to graduate, pursue higher education, and become active, engaged citizens in their communities. Mentoring also benefits the mentor - growing their empathy for what it’s like to live as a young person today and feeling connected to their community.

For a real life peek into what it’s like to mentor, check out WCAX’s coverage here on Connecting Youth, featuring a mentor/mentee pair from Shelburne Community School.

For more information about mentoring opportunities contact a CVSD Mentor Coordinator:

Hinesburg Community School, Livy Bulger, lbulger@cvsdvt.org / 802-482-6248
Charlotte Central School, Kate Rooney, krooney@cvsdvt.org / 802-425-6682
Shelburne Community School, Alice Brown, abrown@cvsdvt.org / 802-734-9845
Williston Central School, Becky Martell, rmartell@cvsdvt.org / 802-871-6046

Champlain Valley Union, Alison Duback, aduback@cvsdvt.org / 802-482-8921

Taking an ACCESS CVU class, at CVU High School, is a great way to connect with like-minded community members while you explore new passions, discover new hobbies, and enjoy a judgmental free, fun-filled evening! The semester runs from Feb-June and opens with 160 classes for all interests and ages. Click HERE to visit our website, or view classes by category HERE and register online. Don't stop there, sign-up for our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram @accesscvu.

New classes added monthly!

Register early to reserve your spot as popular classes fill quickly. Invite your friends, family, neighbors, and cohorts to join us! Posters with class listings, by month, are available to download from our home page. Print and post in your favorite grocer, coffee shop, or bulletin board and help spread the word! Thank you for supporting community education!

Connect, Learn, and Grow at ACCESS CVU!

The CVSD Early Education Program is now accepting applications for a random prekindergarten lottery drawing for the 2025-26 school year. This lottery is for an opportunity to enroll in one of our school-based classrooms which runs 4 partial days per week. Our school-based prekindergarten classrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education programs that provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments for all children in an inclusive setting. Our curriculum is based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS).

Our programs follow the CVSD school calendar. Children who will be age 3 or older by September 1, 2025, who are not eligible for kindergarten, and live in the communities of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, and Williston are eligible to enter the lottery. Families who are selected for the lottery and choose to enroll their child in a CVSD program access their Act 166 publicly funded prekindergarten funds for the school-based program.

All applications must be received by February 7, 2025, and are located on the CVSD Early Education website under PreK Enrollment. Paper applications are available upon request.

For additional information, questions about our program, or any concerns about your child’s development, please visit our website or contact Director of Early Education, Erin Gagne at egagne@cvsdvt.org. Our Early Education team is also available for developmental screenings in the areas of communication, social-emotional development, motor skills, adaptive development, and cognition. More information about an Early Multi-Tiered System of Supports is also available on the website.

The CCS Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a partnership between parents, teachers, and staff, working together to create enriching experiences for our students. Visit our website, Facebook, and Instagram pages for the latest and stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to get involved!

We welcome your feedback at any time. Please select your topic below and send your thoughts our way. If you don't see your topic listed, choose "General Questions." All feedback will be routed to the appropriate district team members, who will follow up with you within 3 business days. CVSD is committed to connecting with students, families, staff, and community members to provide exceptional and equitable experiences.

Even though free and reduced meal applications are no longer required for free meals, the Vermont Agency of Education asks that all families complete the Household Information Form. Thank you.

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Tim O'Leary, Principal

Beth Slater, Assistant Principal & Special Services Director

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