SCS Community Newsletter

Dear SCS Families and Caregivers,

We packed a lot into the three days of school this week. The middle level had the perfect morning for our annual hike up Mt. Philo yesterday morning. Congratulations to Meg’s prime group for emerging as the champions from our top-of-the-mountain trivia competition! Did you know that “Philo” comes from the Greek word for “love”? Or that there are more than 70,000 visitors to Mt. Philo State Park annually? They sure did. It was a wonderful experience to see our students taking care of themselves (by getting some exercise), each other (by helping make sure everyone found their prime groups/basecamps at the top), and the place (by leaving the mountain in pristine condition). Watching our students interact so positively in an unstructured, screen-free environment during our down time at the top and the bottom was equally heartwarming.

Our younger students are having a similarly great bonding experience through Action-Based Learning (ABL) with Ms. Alysia. This is a new program we’re offering to our kindergarten students this year that connects academic learning through movement. Each kindergarten class has one 30-minute block of time each week (in addition to their regular PE classes) to go to the gym with their teacher and parent/caregiver volunteers to run various station activities. Everyone is having a blast and learning a ton! A huge thank you to Ms. Alysia for bringing this to SCS, and for all of our community volunteers and teachers who are helping to make this so successful for our younger learners. Ms. Alysia is already thinking through how she can bring this to the first and second graders in the future!

We’re grateful to our faculty and staff for providing these learning experiences and memories for our students. In a similar vein, we’d like to give some shout-outs to the PTO and community volunteers for supporting so many of the things that make our school special. Nearby Nature volunteers are connecting kids with the natural wonders of our environment (and selected the appropriate theme of ‘spiders’ for this month). Everybody Wins mentors are reading with students each week to instill a lifelong love of literacy, relationship building, and connection. Thanks to Liz Carney and the PTO for facilitating our best Dynamic Experiences year yet! The list of winners was shared with faculty and staff this week, and the lucky students who were selected should get their invites over the next few days. Finally, we want to thank Kari Kelly for donating her expertise to help clean up and organize our recess equipment shed! We’ve got lots of new basketballs, kickballs, soccer balls, and footballs, and now we finally have an organized place to keep them!

We’re back to a normal schedule next week. While Monday is a federal (Columbus Day) and state (Indigenous Peoples’ Day) holiday, school is in session. We look forward to seeing your kids back in school on Monday, October 14!

Take care,

Alison, Brett, & Emily

• 10/19 - PTO Cornhole Tournament 10am-3pm (SCS soccer fields)

• 10/22 - Outright Vermont Caregiver Conversation 6:30-8:30 PM (SCS Library - childcare will be provided)

• 11/01 - No School - Diwali

• 11/12 - PTO Meeting 6:00 - 7:00 PM

• 11/12 - Music Boosters (Volunteers) & Fall Recital 6:30-7:30 pm (Band Room)

• CVSD PreK-8 Fall Family Conferences - be sure to set up a meeting with the teacher(s) before the November break!

CVSD K-12 Calendar

We are thrilled to announce Erika Monaghan, English Language Teacher in our Multilingual Program at SCS, as our nomination for UVM's Outstanding Teacher of the Year award! Erika consistently goes above and beyond for students, families, and colleagues, and we are psyched that she is on our team. We're so appreciative of all that Erika brings to the Shelburne Community. If your child hasn't worked with Erika directly, you've undoubtedly seen her tending the SCS gardens, supporting the soccer programs, or helping out in the community in ways big and small.

The photos below are of Erika receiving a surprise bouquet from her son Charlie after the announcement that she is being recognized as Teacher of the Year. Her husband, Mark, came to the staff meeting under the guise of having something to announce for the PTO.

2nd grader, Emma B, in Ms Diane's class won a $30 Flying Pig gift card! Congratulations, Emma. Thank you for joining the Fall Open House event at SCS :)

We've collected around 96 submissions!!!! Our PTO will narrow it down to the top 20 entries, and have faculty and staff vote for the winner of this competition and get working on printing the directories soon! Stay tuned for more updates.

Students in grades 5 to 8 had an exciting and adventurous hike at Mt. Philo State Park on Wednesday, Ocotober 9th!

Lauren and Becky prepping the carrots for a delicious lunch!

We have an exciting opportunity for our 4th grade students this year!

Our District Behavior Systems Director, Evan Sivo, has received a substantial grant for CVSD schools to partner with Up for Learning this year. This organization will help us provide opportunities for students to learn more about Restorative Approaches and how we can implement more of these practices at our school. This is a great leadership opportunity for students to facilitate conversations with their peers about sharing their school experiences to help us increase students’ sense of belonging at Shelburne Community School.

We are looking for up to twenty (20) 4th-grade students to join us for several retreats throughout this school year. Our first two dates are 10/23 and 10/30 from 2-4pm, in the SCS Library. Our first session will focus on building shared understanding of Restorative Approaches, and our second session will focus on designing morning meetings that students can facilitate with their peers to help gather student voice in how we can increase a sense of belonging for all in our community. (We will most-likely have two more retreat dates throughout the school year, but we haven’t landed on those dates, yet.)

If your 4th grader is interested in participating in this leadership experience, and is available for both 10/23 and 10/30, please fill out this brief survey before 10/16. (This will help us plan for space, snacks, and potential transportation needs.)

We’re really looking forward to doing this learning and leading with your kids!

Alison Celmer (PreK-4 Principal) & Pat LaClair (Up for Learning)

About UP for Learning: UP for Learning is a non-profit with a mission of empowering youth and adults to reimagine and transform education together. UP For Learning recognizes the importance of inviting students to take on leadership roles, which not only helps their peers learn valuable skills, but also to see themselves as future leaders. We work with schools and communities in Vermont and beyond! You can learn more about us at upforlearning.org

Please click HERE for more information on this year's 4th and 5th grade musical.

WINTER sports registration is now OPEN for the 2024 - 2025 school year.

Boys Basketball is available to any 7th or 8th grade boy.

Girls Basketball is available to any 6th, 7th or 8th grade girl.

If you have an interested student-athlete who would like to participate in our WINTER athletics program, you will need to complete our registration for SCS athletics.

In addition, you will need to submit a Wellness Exam - Sports Participation Form (one submission per year).

WINTER sports will begin on November 18, 2024. Student-athletes WILL NOT be allowed to participate until their registration and wellness forms have been completed and submitted.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Leigh Petrucelli, SCS Athletic Director.

Extension for order forms: Order forms due back to school on Monday MORNING, October 14th.

• Sibling Photo Options will be offered soon. We will share the date(s) when we receive them.

• AMV also offers an online ordering option with the same print packages. Here is the link to access AMV online order. You can log into the gallery using your child's student ID number which can be found on the order form or by contacting Jen Marx. Online order prices will increase after December 1st.

Please contact Jen Marx at jmarx@cvsdvt.org or 383-1102 if you have any questions.

Please remind ALL participants of Morning Movement that they need to put ALL backpacks, coats, shoes, etc. on the hooks in the hallway across from the gym OR on the bleachers where they sit so that we can maintain a clear entrance/exit at the doors in the gym. This is becoming a major safety concern that can be easily resolved. Our adult volunteers will also remind students to pick up their belongings so they are not in the way of egress.

Thank you for your help in reminding kids about this expectation!

We are always looking for reliable, consistent community volunteers to help us monitor students between 7:25-7:45am daily. If you are available and interested, please contact Christine Haines at chaines@cvsdvt.org

We are excited to share that our recent fundraising event raised an estimated, "unofficial amount" of an amazing $4,624.11—our highest total ever!

This year, we had 11 winners from our FREE ticket raffle, thanks to increased participation from our dedicated teachers. We’ve emailed the list of winners to all families, and teachers have their invitations ready to share with students.

Thank you for your support in making this event a success!

Registration has been extended to Wednesday 10/16 for the first annual Fall Cornhole Tournament being held Sat 10/19. Now is the time to get your team registered! Open to all ages and skill levels - from students K-12 to adults, simply click here to submit your team of two. This event is a great way to have fun while giving back to the school. Prizes awarded to the top teams, but the real victory is coming together for a great cause. Beginner, novice, and wannabe pros are all welcome! To register or for more information: https://www.shelburnepto.org/cornhole.

Not playing cornhole? Come anyway! We’ll have a festive fall atmosphere with pumpkin painting for all ages, face painting, a Fall bake sale, a farmers market and a food truck!

*Volunteers and baked goods needed to help make this event a success. Thanks for your help!

*We're seeking cornhole boards to borrow for the event! If you have a set and are willing to lend it for the day, please let us know here!

Questions? cornhole@shelburnepto.org

• If you own, manage, or have a close relationship with a local business that might benefit from a directory ad or other sponsorship, please let us know at info@shelburnepto.org

• Please do not reach out on behalf of SCS on your own but contact us first so we can coordinate.

• We also need help with follow-up calls, please feel free to reach-out if you can volunteer. We appreciate every bit of help we can get!

• Details of advertising and sponsorship opportunities are HERE!

We are looking for two certified teachers to cover 2 third-grade classrooms starting this winter through the end of this school year. If interested. please reach out to Alison Celmer.

We are looking for a certified elementary teacher to fill a vacancy from the winter break to the summer break of the 2024-2025 school year. If interested, please reach out to Alison Celmer.

We are looking for a certified school counselor to support students in grades 3-5 from the return of our winter break in February through the end of this school year. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please reach out to Alison Celmer or Brett Cluff.

We are still looking to hire two paraeducators to join our K-4 team. Please reach out to Alison Celmer.

We are looking to fill an intensive paraeducator role. Please reach out to Alison Celmer.

Our SCS Food Service Team is looking to fill 2 positions in our kitchen. If you know of someone who might be interested in learning more, please reach out to Becky Mashak

We are always looking for reliable, flexible, and fun guest teachers to support our school throughout the year. If you would like to learn more about how to get on our sub list, please contact Louise Michaels.

Click here for more information on becoming a sub!

Register HERE: HTTPS://go.uvm.edu/stem7

There is still room in Health Heroes (Grade 8-12) and VTeen Science Pathways Cafés. Please call or email Margaret Coan at 802-656-7634 OR MARGARET.COAN@UVM.EDU if you are interested.

Alison Celmer, PreK-4 Co-Principal

Brett Cluff, 5-8 Co-Principal

Emily Cogan, Director of Special Education