Happy Sunday! This newsletter is going to be a tad shorter than most. My oldest son, Ryan, had his appendix removed yesterday evening and it has been a whirlwind of a weekend! He's home and is doing fine, but I'm pretty exhausted, mostly from explaining that he can't go back to work today. Kids...adult kids 🙄

I can hardly believe we have just one week left before the Thanksgiving break! A friendly reminder that there will be no school next week, and we will return on December 2. This is also our final week to collect canned goods for the food shelf, so please consider contributing if you can. We also partner with a local community member who organizes supporting families with holiday meals and gifts. If your family would benefit from a little extra love this holiday season, please email Val Hunter (mvhunter88@msn.com).

I’m excited to share that December 2nd marks the start of our after-school enrichment program! This has been a long-awaited initiative, and I am thrilled that we are finally ready to launch. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the PTA for their support in managing the program's finances, to our staff who have thoughtfully planned engaging activities for the students, and to those who will supervise the program. Their dedication has made this possible.

In this newsletter, you will find valuable resources related to the school budget from the state, insights on the differences between bullying, being rude, and being mean, as well as a reminder about report cards.

Wishing everyone a joyful Thanksgiving if you celebrate, and a peaceful and restorative week off (next week).

Warm regards,

Mrs. H

It can be hard to tell the difference between being rude, being mean, and bullying. Teaching kids about these differences helps them see how their actions affect others. This understanding allows them to handle social situations better with kindness and care. Learning these skills is important, and they will use them throughout their lives!

Sometimes, people can be rude without meaning to. Everyone makes mistakes and says the wrong thing now and then. However, we should not ignore rude actions. It’s important for us to speak up when someone is rude so they can learn and not do it again. Rude behavior can often be fixed by saying sorry and forgiving each other.

When someone is unkind, it can be easy to mix this up with being rude or bullying. The main difference lies in the person's intention. If someone didn’t mean to hurt another's feelings, they were just being rude, not mean. If they intended to hurt someone’s feelings, then they are being mean.

Being mean can improve if the person who is mean learns to change their actions by being nicer and apologizing for what they have done wrong.

Bullying means being aggressive on purpose and often involves someone having more power than the person being bullied. People who bully usually pick one or two people to focus their mean behavior on. However, just because someone acts this way doesn’t mean they are a “bully” all the time. It is a bad choice they can change if they learn to be kind and understand how others feel.

Bullying can show up in many ways. It can be physical, like hitting; verbal, like name-calling; cyber, like online threats; or relational, like excluding someone. All types of bullying have some things in common: they are done on purpose, happen more than once, and can hurt others.

With help from adults and the chance to grow as a person, those who bully can learn to stop their behavior.

For something to be considered bullying, it often depends on how many times it happens, but an aspect of power must also be considered. If the mean behavior goes both ways between students, it is not classified as bullying. Bullying happens when one student has more power over another student.

Investigations are always reported to families and you should report any concern you have so we can look into it further.

Kindergarten has been learning about community helpers and on Friday, Chief White and Asst. Chief Clark joined the kids to teach them about our local fire department. Kids learned about what firefighters do, their gear, the trucks, and that they are strong! (See Chief White below!)

It’s hard to believe that in just six short weeks, we'll be welcoming a new year! With the new year, we also begin to think about the exciting transition to middle school.

Over the past two years, I've gathered some insights on how to better support families during this important time. In each newsletter leading up to early Spring, I’ll share helpful steps and tips to guide you through this process. Stay tuned for more!

As a family in Grand Isle, North Hero, and Isle La Motte, you have school choice to any school for middle and high school.

Schools typically chosen are:

• Folsom
• Colchester
• South Burlington
• Essex
• Milton
• NCCS
• And MORE!

Busing is provided to most schools, but not all, and that often plays a factor in family choice.

1. Make a list of schools you might want to attend.
2. Visit those school websites to see what activities they offer, what classes kids usually take, etc.
3. Be prepared to have a decision by March 2025.
4. School visits are later in the Spring.

6th Grade Game Changers!

The 2024 Scholastic Book Fair will be held at Grand Isle School from December 2nd through December 7th. A flyer will be sent home with students within the next few weeks with information about which books will be at the Fair. During library classes the week of December 2nd, students will have the opportunity to explore the Book Fair and make purchases if families choose to send in students with funds. The last day of the Book Fair will be Saturday, December 7th and it will be open during the GIS Craft Fair. To set up an eWallet for a student to use, please visit this link: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/content/fairs/ewallet.html As the dates get closer, I will be sending out an email with the Book Fair's homepage and more details. However, please feel free to reach out with questions in the meantime. Thank you for your support!

-Ms. Drasler

Nov 22:

• Donut pickup at GIS 2:30-3:30

Nov 25-29:

• No School

Dec 2

• Enrichment begins

Report cards will be distributed early next week. You will receive an email from Alma letting you know you have a report card to view.

If you have questions about your kiddo's report card, please contact the teacher who reported the grade.

If you have trouble accessing your report card please email ahanlon@gisu.org

Email: ahanlon@gisu.org
Website: https://www.grandisleschool.org/
Location: 224 U.S. Rte 2, Grand Isle, VT, USA
Phone: 802-372-6913
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grandisleschool.org

Attendance Form: https://forms.gle/ABSvVURCxvqbMfXw7