THE SCHOOL BELL

Today we can share that both Williston Schools continue to experience a reduced frequency of positive Covid -19 cases as compared to the month of September. Yesterday we learned that one individual associated with Equinox house at WCS and one individual associated with the Clover house at WCS tested positive for COVID-19. These two cases are not related and represent a total of three cases in the last 19 calendar days. All close contacts associated with the cases have been notified.

We do acknowledge and appreciate the impact that even one case has on our students, families, and staff. We will remain vigilant with all of our mitigation measures, including the enhanced measures introduced in more recent weeks. We also ask families to continue to be mindful about making choices that reduce your family members' risk of coming into contact with the virus.

RESPECTING QUARANTINE:

When a family is notified that a child in their household has to be quarantined, we understand this presents a sacrifice and inconvenience for the family on many levels. We also know that the quarantining of close contacts reduces the spread of the virus. With this in mind, we ask that all parents / caregivers who are notified of a household member being a close contact please honor and follow the defined parameters of quarantine. The VT DOH defines Quarantine:

“Quarantine means staying home and away from others. This means you can’t do any activities outside of your home, like going to school, work, or out to do errands. However, you can go outside to do outdoor activities, like exercise or recreation, if you: "don’t have any symptoms, are alone in an uncrowded place, and can stay at least 6 feet away from others at all times. If you are not alone, you should wear a mask at all times.”

We continue to be grateful and uplifted by the spirit of cooperation and support from our parents and community. We are truly all in this together! Thank you for your persistent efforts in this essential partnership.

We are pleased to announce that starting the week of 10/4, the Williston Schools will offer optional daily learning opportunities for students who are quarantining without their class and teacher. On each school day there will be two types of learning opportunities that can be accessed by students: “Meets” with teachers and learning menus. The activities completed during the “Meets” and through the learning menus will not directly connect to the lessons happening at school, but they will allow students to access productive and engaging grade appropriate learning opportunities.

This slide deck contains more information about these opportunities including the “Meet” schedule and links to math, science, and literacy activities:

Learning Opportunities for Quarantining Kids

All CVSD schools will participate in Digital Citizenship Week later this month. Using many resources, including those from Common Sense Education, we will focus on one strand collectively across the district: Privacy and Security.

From Common Sense:

We care about everyone’s privacy. Students learn how to protect personal information and gain a deeper understanding of their data privacy rights so they can advocate for themselves and others.

We will share more information as we get underway. Here are some resources for families related to Online Privacy and Security from Common Sense.

If you are not familiar with Common Sense Media, it's a fabulous resource for families on all topics related to technology in the lives of our children. (reviews, forums, and much more!)

The CVSD School Board encourages you to get involved and share what’s on your mind as we begin the budget process for the 2022-2023 school year. This budget will be presented to voters before and on Town Meeting Day, March 1, 2021. We invite you to join us in the process.

Your voice is important and valued. There are at least 3 ways to get involved.

• A Thoughtexchange - open now through October 31
• A virtual community budget forum on October 27
• School board budget meetings held November - January

Please see this document for more detailed information. We hope to hear from you!

We are making some changes to the format for curriculum nights and parent / teacher conferences this year. Please note these changes below.

Curriculum Nights:

• The school will not be hosting live curriculum nights this year.

• In place of this, teams will prepare a slide presentation (or packet) for parents. These will contain the information that is typically presented at in-person curriculum nights and will be sent home to families anytime between now and the end of October.

• Teams will provide opportunities for parents / caregivers to ask any questions they may have, either in a virtual office hours format, or at parent-teacher conferences.

Parent Conferences:

• Virtual Parent-Teacher conferences will be offered by all teachers / teams between Oct 8 and the Thanksgiving break and will be in touch with information about how to sign up.

• Families may request an in-person conference if there are circumstances that will make a virtual conference difficult.

It’s time for 5th-8th grade musicians to order their WCS Performing Arts shirts! All 5th-8th grade performing arts (band and chorus) students will need to wear this shirt on concert days and to field trips and other organized events.

We are using the same shirts as we have in the past. Older students should check and be sure they have their shirt and that it will fit them for the remainder of the year as this is the only order we are placing.

All students new to the program and older students that need to replace their shirt should place an order and send your payment directly to your child’s music teacher. Shirts need to be ordered and paid for by Friday, October 29, 2021. The cost is $10 and financial support may be requested.

If you have a child who is experiencing anxiety, depression or other social and emotional challenges, Amy will be on hand to offer her support and guidance and be armed with useful resources in the community if you need/want them. For more information, click here.

You can pop in for a quick question or to chat through a situation. Amy would love to try to help! Here is the link to join: http://meet.google.com/nfm-tovh-bjz

Elementary and Middle School Levels:

We are still seeking several energetic folks to join our team! We are looking for skilled, caring individuals to provide support for individual and small groups of students in personal development, behavior support, and social-emotional skills.

We have positions available in the following categories:

Non-Intensive ($14.28-$15.91 - last year's rates, will likely increase)

Intensive ($17.28-$18.91- last year's rates, will likely increase)

Specialist ($21.78-$23.41 - last year's rates, will likely increase)

Paraprofessionals are contracted 6.5 hrs a day for 194 school days and begin as soon as possible.

There is a different pay scale for each of these, as well as a different level of expertise needed. However, we CAN train folks and we have money available for PD along with GREAT benefits and student schedule.

Any interested folks can reach out directly to Sarah Crum, Director of Special Ed (scrum@cvsdvt.org or 802-871-6140).

CVSD is an equal opportunity employer. Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), women, and LGBTQ+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Have an hour to give? Help needed to cut and count Boxtops for Education. Please contact Sally Dattilio sdattilio@cvsdvt.org

Please turn in your clipped box tops from Boxtops for Education products so they can be submitted by the October 31st deadline.

We are excited to work in collaboration with the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library on a special project to provide a free opportunity for family literacy engagement centered on creating a welcoming and inclusive community. Our libraries were recently awarded a grant from the American Library Association (ALA) Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries grant.

We have offered BraveBooks Bags to each second grade family this fall. The bags include two picture books and two chapter books to spark conversations, understandings, and build caring, valued relationships. These books, created by Black authors and illustrators, were chosen to encourage conversations around racial equity and inclusiveness. The books range from picture books to middle grade titles, to encourage conversations amongst the very young as well as older family members.

As a follow-up to the distribution of the Brave Book Bags, on SATURDAY, October 23rd at 10am our Williston community community is invited to a celebration of the project on the Town Green. We will be reading aloud the picture book Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel to celebrate social justice and the partnership between DAML & Allen Brook School. The story will also be featured on a Storywalk® on the Town Green this month.

Our Hands Up! Celebration is open to all and we will have a limited number of additional Brave Book Bags to give away to interested community members at our event.

In September, 2,389 books were checked out from the WCS library...that's over 113 books each day school was open!

WCS students also checked out 646 books on our digital ebook & audiobook app, Sora, in September. That was the 2nd highest school checkout total in Vermont!! If you haven't tried Sora yet, have a look! It's our incredible library of ebooks and digital audiobooks for students.

It's the perfect online reading partner to the wonderful collection of books & audiobooks in our school library.

Access Sora here https://soraapp.com/library/vssdcvt (school Google login)

or through the WCS Library website https://www.wcslibrary.org/

If you have any questions, contact librarian Ellen Arapakos at earapakos@cvsdvt.org

Happy reading!

Popular classes fill quickly! Sign up today, tell your family and friends, and please help spread the word about our AWESOME classes!

· 202 awesome classes

· Back to in-person learning at CVU!

· 42 Online classes via Zoom

· 27 New instructors!

· 100% FUN- Bring a friend & sign up today!

Resources to keep accessible:

• First Call - 488-7777: phone support, crisis intervention, assessment and referrals
• In Crisis: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) (National Hopeline Network: USA)
• 1-800-273-TALK (8255) (National Suicide Prevention Lifelife: USA)
• Crisis Text Line - text HOME to 741741 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
• Outright Vermont - support for LGBTQ+ community
• UVM Breathe In Breath Out - How to deal with stress due to COVID-19
• Vermont 211 -Vermont database of resources and services

Pre K-2

It has been reported to administration from some parents that they are concerned about our arrival and dismissal procedures. As a reminder it is very important to stay in your vehicles during arrival and dismissal. It appears that many parents stop, get out of their car, talk to teachers or other parents, and stand around to visit. Some vehicles are being left unattended so parents can walk their child into school. This creates a line of cars backing up as other parents wait for a spot to pull up to. We have also seen some families not using the designated lane for your child's house as a means to get through the line faster. Please adhere to the procedures we have created and do your best to pick up and drop your child off in a timely and efficient manner. Thank you!

For K teachers only:

When dropping your child off in the K lane please be sure to pull up to the curbside to drop your child off as opposed to parking your vehicle as if you are in a parking spot. This helps with the overall flow and avoids having vehicles having to back up which causes congestion and traffic jams. Thank you!

We appreciate all you can do to follow these guidelines to ensure a safe and smooth transition in and out of school!

Please refer to this map for the correct location to drop off/pick up your student:

Arrival /Dismissal Map / Diagram

Mask Reminder: Please remember to send a few masks to school daily with students. We thank you for your support.

Wednesday, October 13, 2021-Four Winds Training Workshop (WCS in the Community Room, 8:30-10:30am)

Monday, November 1, 2021- Picture Retake Day

Volunteers Needed! Please help us with the Fall Craft Show on November 6th. Volunteers are needed for set-up on Friday evening November 5th and during the event on Saturday November 6th. Find more information and available shifts on the sign-up link: signup.com/go/vDRgjyp or contact Karen and Paula at wsdcraftshow@cvsdvt.org. Thank you for helping with this important school fundraiser!

• Williston Facebook Page
  
• CVSD Facebook Page

• CVSD on Twitter
  

• CVSD on LinkedIn
• Did you know CVSD has a blog? http://cvsdstory.blogspot.com
  
• CVSD Handbook
• Bus Information
• Technology Help Desk

Email: alongley@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org
Location: 195 Central School Drive, Williston
Phone: (802) 878-2762
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Williston-School-District-1483758238612170/timeline/
Twitter: @wsdvt