Gertrude Chamberlin School
Family Newsletter January 22, 2021 Volume 15 Issue 24
WE WILL BE IN REMOTE LEARNING ON MONDAY, JANUARY 25th, TUESDAY, JANUARY 26th AND WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27th.
Covid Update at GCS
I know that it was a challenge for families to scramble to make the shift to remote learning on Thursday and Friday. I understand that it impacts your work and home routines, and how hard it is for many students to access learning online. In consultation with the Vermont Department of Health, Nurse Farrell and Superintendent Young, we have made the decision to continue in remote learning on Monday, January 25th, Tuesday, January 26th and Wednesday, January 27th. Please know that we do not make the decision lightly to temporarily leave in person learning. Knowing that our Chittenden County Covid numbers continue to be high, and the fact that we are tracking positive cases in our school community, even today, means that we need to continue to stay with remote learning for the safety of our staff and students. We hope that we can break the pattern of positive cases that are popping up in our school community by being out of school for this period of time. If your child experiences any symptoms while we are in remote learning, please reach out to Mrs. Farrell. Also, if you are in quarantine and/or have had a PCR Covid test, please email or call Mrs. Farrell to let her know kfarrell@sbschools.net or 652-7449. Teachers will continue to post assignments on See Saw and Google Classroom and hold Morning Meeting Zooms. If you are in need of meals on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, please use the link below to order BY 8:00 AM SATURDAY or contact Rhonda Ketner at rketner@sbschools.net or 652-7160. Please continue to practice good handwashing, mask wearing and social distancing to reduce your risk. Thank you for your patience as we work to ensure student and staff safety due to the latest information on Covid in our school and in our community.
Be well and stay safe,
Holly Rouelle, GCS Principal
School Budget Update
Yes, this budget is an increase in the expenditure budget by 5.88% AND we have an increase in our revenue to offset this increase.
Yes, our enrollment is growing, including here at Gertrude Chamberlin School. To support our increasing enrollment, this budget has an additional teacher to support our growing numbers. This will allow us to NOT have a class size of 23 or 24 students at any grade level.
Out of 168 school districts in VT, there are 100 districts that spend MORE per pupil than South Burlington School District.
There is also a bond that would support improvements for our buildings. At GCS, this means that we would be able to replace door hardware that is failing, continue asbestos floor abatement and replacement, and replacement of our circulation pumps, controls, and expansion tank.
Voting will be on Tuesday, March 2nd, or you can vote earlier by mail.
Family Resources from our Howard Clinician
Caregiving is hard enough without a global health pandemic! Now more than ever, it is CRITICAL that we encourage our caregivers to practice diligent self-care. Our health depends on it, and the health of our children depends on it. It is difficult for caregivers to put themselves first – and we know they are equally as deserving and in need of it. Please consider using these helpful resources.
The Importance of Care for Caregivers (National Association of School Psychologists)
Parenting During Coronavirus: You are Enough (PBS Kids)
Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope (National Child Traumatic Stress Network)
COVID Support VT (from 211)
Apps for Self-Care and Wellness
Your School Services Clinician,
Sharon Davis
Health Office Updates
Wet Masks & Winter Clothing
- Please consider sending in 2 extra masks in your student's backpack. Masks are getting wet when outdoors and are not as effective (and certainly not comfortable). Remember to wash masks before reuse!
- Please ensure your student has winter gear: boots, snow pants, mittens, hat, and a warm jacket. If you need help providing these items, please connect with our guidance counselors.
- A clean set of clothes, including socks, is also helpful to keep at school, in case a change is needed (for all grades!).
COVID RESOURCES: Click on underlined below to follow the link.
- What to do when you are waiting for COVID test results
- Isolating, quarantining and self-observing
- COVID translations
- Frequently Asked Questions: COVID-19
- Return to School Following Illness guidelines
- COVID-19 PCR Testing Sites:
- If you/your student has symptoms of COVID-19, contact your health care provider first, to determine if testing is needed. If you don't have a health care provider, call 2-1-1 to connect to care.
- If you/your student are not sick, but need a test, consider scheduling a test at a pop-up site on the Health Department's website: "Where to Get Tested," through your provider, or call the Health Department @ 863-7240.
We are started vision and hearing screenings in grade pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, 1st, 3rd and 5th grade (per State of Vermont guidelines). Due to the pandemic, we are only screening distance vision (not near) and hearing. If you have a concern about your student's near vision, please contact us. If your student requires further (out of school) assessment, by their provider or a specialist, we will contact you. Students can also be screened during the school year upon request. Please call if you have any questions.
Be well,
Nurse Farrell
Library News
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBiS) at GCS
Looking Ahead...Changes to our School Calendar
Changes in Valentine's Day at our Elementary Schools Due to the Pandemic
In an effort to keep everyone safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking for our students and staff to celebrate Valentine’s Day differently this year at school.
Please DO NOT send in any Valentine’s day treats or cards (homemade or store bought) to your student’s classroom (or school) this year. If your student's classroom teacher chooses to do Valentine's activities, all necessary materials and items will be provided. Thanks for your understanding.
Job Opportunities in the South Burlington School District
Substitute Openings in the South Burlington School District
Are you looking to get more involved at your child’s school? Need a bit of extra income or additional work experience? Apply to substitute now for one or more of the following:
- Classroom Teacher (all subjects and all levels)
- Paraeducator or Interventionist
- School Nurse (RN) or Nurse Assistant (LPN) (Must have appropriate licensure and/or certifications)
- Custodian
- Food Preparation/Cook
- Bus Driver
All SBSD substitutes are required to undergo a criminal record check and be fingerprinted for a VT public school District.
Current Job Openings in the South Burlington School District
Seeking a career change? Feel like your skills and abilities aren’t recognized enough at your current job? Looking for a job where you’re on the same schedule as your kids?
We are seeking candidates for the following positions
- Bus Driver (CDL, Class B with passenger, air brakes, and school bus endorsement preferred, training may be available to the right candidates)
- On-call Second Shift Custodian
- Interventionist
- Paraeducators
These positions will remain open until filled. For more details on open positions, visit www.schoolspring.com Keyword: South Burlington School District, or contact Karen Dantzscher, HR Director at 652-7256 or kdantzscher@sbschools.net
Interested candidates may apply through one of the following options:
1) Apply at www.schoolspring.com Keyword: South Burlington School District.
2) E-mail a current resume, cover letter, and 3 references to kdantzscher@sbschools.net . Please indicate which position(s) you are applying for.
Mail a current resume, cover letter, and 3 references to: South Burlington School District, Human Resources, 500 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT 05403. Please indicate which position(s) you are applying for.
January 15th Update from Superintendent Young
Dear Parents/Guardian and Staff,
Thank you for another fantastic week of learning together. While we needed to pivot to remote learning for one class at Gertrude Chamberlin School as well as Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School due to positive COVID cases this week, I am so proud of how well our students and staff responded to the sudden shift. More on this below. I also wanted to remind everyone that there will be no school for students Monday, January 18 to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Therefore, there will be no remote learning day for students at any grade level next week.
Happy Birthday Dom Marabella!
Long time District employee Dom Marabella, beloved by students and staff alike, celebrated his 90th birthday January 10. SBHS celebrated Mr. Marabella Friday, January 8 and Monday, January11 with birthday cake for all during lunches in the lobby. Even Governor Scott took notice and recognized Mr. Marabella in the first few minutes of his press conference today
Calendar Changes
I wanted to let families know that we will be in school March 3, 4, and 5. Elementary grades PreK-5 will be in on all three days. At the middle and high school, the 3rd will be a blue pack day and the 4th and 5th will be gray pack days.
COVID Cases
This Monday, we were notified by the Vermont Department of Health that a member of both our Gertrude Chamberlin School and Frederick H. Tuttle learning communities had tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, at Chamberlin School, the SBSD Preschool Program am and pm sessions and Mrs. Brown’s kindergarten class were not in school through Friday, January 15. At FHTMS, students pivoted to remote learning Tuesday and the usual remote Wednesday, then returned to in person learning for the remainder of the week. Contact tracing was completed and the Vermont Department of Health indicated we were safe to reopen.
Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the names of the individuals with COVID-19. Learn more about what happens when there is a case in a school at this link.
Upcoming COVID-19 Surveillance Testing
The South Burlington School District will be participating in our third round of COVID-19 surveillance testing January 19. Staff were notified early this week that, if interested in participating, they could sign up by noon today. During Phase 1, we had 270 participants and for Phase 2, 298 staff members took the PCR tests. We are optimistic that we will have a similar or greater level of participation in the third round. You can read more about school staff surveillance testing here.
The Importance of COVID Symptom Monitoring and Adhering to State Guidance
In accordance with the Governor’s mandate, all Vermont residents have been advised to not spend time with anyone who lives outside their family unit’s home, apart from children in shared custody situations (which may involve a child traveling between two homes), and single adults living alone. Those who do not follow that mandate are required to quarantine for 14 days (or seven days followed by a negative COVID test result). For more details, please see this link on the health department’s FAQ site.
We are seeing a surge in COVID-19 positive cases in Vermont and in the spirit of keeping everyone safe we ask that you maintain strict adherence to the guidance which will help to keep our students learning in person. Continue to monitor your own health each day and adhere to our district's guidelines of remaining home if ill. Before filling out the health screening app, please determine if the symptom you are experiencing is typical or atypical for you. If the symptom(s) are not new and they are related to a chronic health condition, please do not indicate this on the app (for example if you have a history of migraine headaches, do not press headache)..
If the symptom is NEW for you and you do not feel well, please indicate that on the app. This does not include examples such as: feeling tired from staying up late or having a drippy nose from being outside in the cold. By checking on a symptom on the app, you will be prompted to not attend work. Thank you all for your continued diligence!
FY22 Budget
There will be a special school board meeting held tomorrow, Saturday, January 16 at 1:00 pm to discuss the FY22 budget. This item is warned for action and we hope you can join us with your comments and questions! There will also be a city council and school board steering committee meeting held January 20 beginning at 6:00 pm, where both budgets will be presented. The next regular school board meeting is also scheduled for January 20, but will begin at 7:30 pm directly following the steering committee meeting.
Winter Sports Update
In today's press conference, the Governor announced a modest expansion of winter sports. Listed below are the changes that will go into effect Monday, January 18.
Allows teams to expand practices to include drills that include limited contact and intra-squad scrimmaging.
School-based Nordic, Alpine, and Snowboarding teams may hold competitions where participants are from a single school or the total number of participants does not exceed 25. Competitions may involve multiple school teams or groupings of 25 throughout the day if the groups do not interact with each other. If competitions are held, the host school must maintain a list of participants in each grouping for 30 days to assist in contact tracing.
Please note that we still do not have a date for interscholastic games to begin. This issue will be looked at on a week-by-week basis. The gym schedule for Jan 25 - Jan 31 has been updated.
Come Work with Us!
There are multiple position openings in our District at the moment. We are looking for substitutes in the areas of classroom teacher (all subjects and all levels), paraeducator or interventionist, school nurse (RN) or nurse assistant (LPN) (Must have appropriate licensure and/or certifications), custodian, food preparation/cook, and bus drivers. All SBSD substitutes are required to undergo a criminal record check and be fingerprinted for a VT public school District.
We are also seeking candidates for the following positions:
Bus Driver (CDL, Class B with passenger, air brakes, and school bus endorsement preferred, training may be available to the right candidates)
On-call Second Shift Custodian
Interventionist
Paraeducators
These positions will remain open until filled. For more details on open positions, visit Schoolspring Keyword: South Burlington School District or contact Karen Dantzscher, HR Director at 652-7256 or kdantzscher@sbschools.net.
School Happenings
SBHS Student Comic Anthology
SBHS Design Technology Educator Philip Galiga teaches a class called Creating Graphic Novels and Comics and this year he put together an anthology of student work. The comics are a mix of assignments and student ideas. The Howling Herald highlighted it in its latest issue. You can also check out the anthology here. The class ran first term this year and had 7 students enrolled. It meets the Technology requirement, but can also be taken as an elective. It first ran last spring but was affected by COVID. Mr. Galiga is trying to generate interest in the class because of the prevalence of graphic novels out there, but also because it's fun!
FHTMS Students Get Inspired by Rokeby Museum Exhibit
In Beth Coleman’s art class, students recently checked out the virtual exhibit, Mending Fences: New Work by Carol MacDonald featured at Rokeby Museum. Then, according to Coleman, “Students created a small pinch pot based on the Japanese art of mending pottery called Kintsugi, inspired by an art piece from the exhibit. This became a metaphor for how they can contribute to making a positive difference in the world.”
Gertude Chamberlin School Students Explore their Similarities and Differences
At Chamberlin’s latest Wolf Pack Time, student made self-portrait plates were used to play a game called "In and Out.” According to Principal Holly Rouelle, “The past two Wolf Pack Times have focused on similarities and differences and how it feels to be included or excluded as part of a majority or minority group. We used an activity called In and Out to have students identify their feelings when they are part of the group (brown eyes, left handed, wearing red, etc.) and explore how we should treat each other in our community.”
Central School Students Get to Zoom with an Astronaut
Students in Mr. Knepp’s 4th grade class had the chance to join a virtual conversation hosted by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Astronaut Zena Cardman in coordination with the Vermont Space Grant Consortium and NASA on Thursday, January 14. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and learn about NASA’s exciting plans to go back to the moon and beyond as part of the Artemis Generation!
Orchard School First Grade Identity Project
Throughout the month of December, all first graders at Orchard worked on a special project titled "Mapping Our Identity." They read books and wrote about all of the distinct parts of our identities.. They created beautiful posters that illustrate various aspects of our identities such as race, language(s) spoken, where their ancestors came from, the meaning of their names or who they were named after, and their personalities. These posters are currently on display in the Orchard hallways, so that students can learn more about one another than what is visible from the outside.
Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
David
Family Resources:
Family Support with Technology/Chromebooks
Here's the link to the breakfast and lunch menus.
Gertrude Chamberlin School
Email: hrouelle@sbschools.net
Website: https://vt01819219.schoolwires.net/Domain/10
Location: Chamberlin School, White Street, South Burlington, VT, USA
Phone: 802 652 7403
Twitter: @hrouelle