Cougar Chronicle

If you are interested in signing up to help with a station or donating towards the Winter Carnival, please sign up here.

Starting on Monday, February 3rd, the only sandwich option for lunch will be Peanut Butter & Jelly. We understand that we just sent home the February menus and the other options are listed at the top but we need to make this change and didn't want to waste more paper! In addition, all sandwich orders need to be in by 9:30am in order for Chef Dena to have enough time to prepare everyone's meal. If you know that your child(ren) will be arriving late due to an appointment and they would like a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich, please email Danielle at dmackay@u32.org before 9:30am so that she can help order their lunch!

Calais is home to an incredible Preschool program and we want all of our parents of 3-4 year olds to consider enrolling their children in our program for the 2025-2026 school year. The more children we have sign up for Preschool the more we might be able to offer.

Please check out the website below for more information and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

WCUUSD Preschool Registration Information

Act 139, Vermont's new literacy bill, was passed by the Legislature late last spring and went into effect on July 1.

Act 139 is intended to support strong literacy achievement for all students by focusing on young learners. Specifically, Act 139 focuses on K-3 learners and requires assessment to identify students who might need support, the provision of student support, professional learning for teachers, and caregiver notification when student assessment results are substantially below expectations.

The shifts we've made in our district to the Acadience reading assessment and the Fundations program in recent years are in alignment with Act 139.

We are in the middle of our winter assessment window right now, which means students are taking the Acadience reading assessment again. If your K-3 child scores well below the winter expectations, your principal will send a letter home as required by Act 139. The letter will let you know your child's current strengths and areas for growth along with the supports that are or will be put in place to support your child's continued growth in reading.

In future years we will send the family notification letter after the fall assessment window.

Please reach out to your principal if you have any questions about Act 139.

If you need a COVID test, please either stop by or email Nurse Kathryn at ksaunders@u32.org. Stay healthy!

If you are a PreK family in the WVSA regional district, please fill out this survey by Feb 10th!

Guide to the Elementary Report Card.

2/8 - Winter Carnival

2/8 - 3rd/4th Calais Boys Basketball game @ Calais (11:30am)

2/8 - 3rd/4th Calais Girls Basketball game @ Calais (12:30pm)

2/10 - 1st Grade - Cross Country Skiing

2/10 - Washington Central Allies and Caregivers of LGBTQIA++ Children Group Meets @ U-32

2/11 - 100th Day of School

2/11 U-32 Transition Night for Rising 7th Graders

2/12 - 5th/6th Calais Boys Basketball game @ Berlin (6:30pm)

2/13 - Friends of Calais Meeting

2/15 - 3rd/4th Calais Boys Basketball game @ Calais (1:00pm)

2/15 - 3rd/4th Calais Girls Basketball game @ Calais (12:00pm)

2/17 - Coffee & Conversations with the Superintendent

2/17 - 5th/6th Calais Boys Basketball game @ Calais (6:00pm)

2/17 - 5th/6th Calais Girls Basketball game @ Calais (5:00pm)

2/20 - 3rd/4th Calais Boys Basketball game @ Berlin (5:00pm)

2/20 - 3rd/4th Calais Girls Basketball game @ Berlin (6:00pm)

2/24-2/28 - Community Connections Winter Day Camp

3/7 - Spring Fling

3/10 - 5th Grade - Cross Country Skiing

3/17 - 6th Grade - Cross Country Skiing

Starting later this month, Calais will be starting the formation of our own “Humanity & Justice Coalition” in alignment with the strategic goals and vision of the WCUUSD. Simply put, the HJC is a group working to ensure all people feel heard, welcome, and safe at Calais Elementary and in our community. It is a celebration of all that makes us who we are and will work to ensure we will always be a community that welcomes and respects all people.

Our first step is to work with our students to better understand what it means for an HJC to exist at Calais. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me and be sure to talk with your students - those conversations are going to be critical. This is something we believe is important and I personally want to ensure that all viewpoints are heard and all people have a stake in this work. Do not hesitate to reach out to me personally with any questions.

Additionally, we will be planning a Parent/Community Humanity and Justice Information Session in the Spring. Be on the lookout for more information in the future.

INVITATION

Washington Central allies and caregivers of children questioning and/or identifying LGBTQIA++

(not our official name!)

February 10th 5-6:30 pm

The SECOND MONDAY every month

Location: U-32 Library Classroom

We invite all district members with children (preK-12) in their care or in a caring relationship with kids who are or are exploring their gender expression.

Sometimes the health and well-being of our kids is hampered by the social expectations we have all been taught-- about what to expect from boys and girls.

As adults we carry our upbringing of such expectations AND we adore our kids who may be breaking up with those very ideas.

This group welcomes conversations about how our kids are declaring who they are, defying expectations, how our kids love pink or don't, play with trucks instead of dolls, wear dresses instead of pants, or both, love everyone and sometimes do not receive such open heartedness from others.

What do we do about pronouns, bullying, our own 'coming out' as adults who love and adore kids who tell us they are questioning how they fit in the world? What about LGBTAQ++ and non-binary? Wondering about gender and as age appropriate, growing into social and emotional intimate interests?

We want to create a place to share experiences and resources guided by Shelley Vermilya, district equity scholar and gender studies educator, and parents.

Looking forward to meeting you!

Shelley

Please send questions and RSVP

Shelley Vermilya svermilya@u32.org

Dear Calais Families,

We will be starting the Backpack program soon here at Calais Elementary School for families. The program is designed to provide families with children who attend Calais, the necessary food and clothing that they may need throughout the school year. Food and Gift bags will be dispensed in a discreet and caring manner. This program runs the full school year on a weekly basis with exception to student breaks and summer. This includes winter clothing, Thanksgiving and Christmas presents, in addition. There is no cost associated with this program. If you wish for your child to participate in the program, please sign below and return this letter to the school in your child's folder or drop it off at the Main Office by next Friday. Thank you and please let us know if you have any questions or any needs for your child at any time.

Feel free to email me at rfrisenda@u32.org or call 802-454-7777 ext 105 at any time.

Sincerely,

Ruth Frisenda

School Counselor

Calais Elementary School

2024-2025 Family Handbook

Volunteer Program Form

Calais Parent Advisory Interest Form

Calais Cougar Online Merchandise Store

Good Morning, Blue Raiders

I am starting to get some solid responses with interest to participate in a Blue Raider Run this early spring. This little Hoop Run is intended to keep our U32 Ballers playing a little longer together, build skills and have some fun!

We are having a Blue Raider meeting this coming Saturday at 11am in the U32 Auditorium.

Is there anyone interested in coaching a team? Please let me know. We are looking for coaches at all levels.

Coach Olivia and myself will be available to answer questions and gather player information. If you are unable to attend, that is OK. You can provide your son or daughters information in an email and I can insert it in the spreadsheet. We are looking to fill teams from 4th Grade to 8th Grade. Depending on the number of Players per grade and available coaches some grades may be combined. This is geared to include basketball players of all skill levels. We will work with players that already have early spring commitments. No pressure just come and Hoop!!

Please provide the following player information to start building teams and registering for tournaments. Things are happening fast.

• Full Name, Birthday, age, address, grade

• Jersey Size

• Parent contact information

Proposed Schedule. Details TBD and subject to change.

• 2 - 1 Hour practices per week starting in early March. TBD Before I can reserve the gym I need to see how many teams we will have. Gym times are 7:30-9 possibly 9:30 until spring sports get outside.

• 2-3 Local Tournaments

March 22-23 Castleton Slate Valley Kickoff 4 games

March 29-30 Vt Sting Ice Breaker Barre/Mont 4 games

April 5-6 April Fools Bash Burlington 3+ pool play

Looking forward to this Springtime Hoop Run!! Reach out if you have any questions. Please try to get back to me as soon as possible as things are moving fast with Spring Sports.

If you are interested, please fill out this Google Form → BLUE RAIDER AAU SIGN UP 2025

Thank you

Coach John jmedose@u32.org

Type in your zip code or county to find different resources in your area!

https://www.navigateresources.net/211vermont/

https://resourcevt.org/essential-goods-program/#

https://www.amysarmoire.org/

Prevent Child Abuse - Vermont

5 Tips to Ease Back-to-School Anxiety

Hi Calais Cougars!
Today we are interviewing Clara.

Her favorite food is asian food. (Yum!)
Her least favorite food is spicy food (same).

Her favorite color is turquoise.

Her least favorite color is yellow.

Her favorite animals are cats.

Her least favorite animals are bugs. (ick!)

Her favorite sweet food is pocky sticks.

Her least favorite sweet food she said is hard to choose!

Her favorite anime is demon slayer (same)

Her favorite character in anime is Karma Akabane (from Assassination Classroom)

Bye for now!
Ms Scoop