Cabot School - Newsletter

I first want to thank you all for your warm welcome into your school and into the community. This truly is an amazing community and one I value!

Our students had an incredible start to the school year! Students are getting back into the swing of things and adjusting well to new systems and routines that will help us build a positive and productive learning environment. From enthusiastic greetings to engaging activities, it's been a week full of smiles, excitement, and new beginnings.

The purpose of this weekly newsletter is to share important information with parents and spotlight amazing teaching and learning happening at Cabot. The goal is to highlight a few classrooms each week so if you see your child(ren's) classroom missing one week, it is because we are going to be featuring them another week.

Please take your time getting to know the layout of this document.

My big question this week is: How can we partner with you for the growth of our children and community? If you have suggestions, please email me at jennifer.blake@ccsuvt.net

Hello everyone and thank you for making me feel welcome at school and inside the Cabot community! These first few days have been busy. We are developing a simple behavior matrix that will make our communication on behavior issues clear and concise. We want to be proactive and I welcome any phone call or email about concerns you may have.

eric.nelis@ccsuvt.net or my extension at school 245. As a new administration we are also working on building a strong home-school relationship and I will invite each parent/guardian to meet with me soon.

Eric Nelis, Interim Assistant Principal

Welcome back to our 2024-25 school year. All Reregistration (First Day) Packets have been sent home. Please return the Packets ASAP. Reregistration Packets are required by law for every New or returning Student no later than the 10th day of school, which is September 11th. Thank you all for your help in getting these completed and returned to school.

• Monday: 8:20am - 3:00pm

• Tuesday: 8:20am - 3:00pm

• Wednesday: 8:20am - 2:10pm

• Thursday: 8:20am - 3:00pm

• Friday: 8:20am - 3:00pm

Arrival

• New: Drop-off can begin at 8:05 am each morning in the Cafeteria. Students who are dropped off early will have the option of breakfast then.

• Ideal drop-off time: 8:15 - 8:20 a.m.

• New: Students arriving between 8:15 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. should report to the cafeteria if they want breakfast and will be dismissed to their classroom from there. Students arriving off the bus who want breakfast will go directly to the cafeteria to pick up a grab and go meal.

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Location

• Drop-off and pick-up occurs in front of the main building on Common Road.

• Grown-ups should NOT use Gym Road to enter or leave campus! Our buses enter the back parking lot via Gym Road. Any additional traffic creates significant safety issues due to the shape and construction of the back parking lot. Walkers must cross using the cross walk on Common Road. Do not send your child through the Gym Road parking lot.

• Grown-ups are welcome to walk elementary students in grades pre-k through 4 to class - please park along the common fence, out of the way of the flow of traffic.

• Vermont law prohibits idling of motor vehicles for more than 5 minutes in any 60-minute period. We ask that you please turn off your car when you pull up to the school if you expect to be stationary for more than 5 minutes.

New: No breakfast will be served in the cafeteria after 8:30am. Any student arriving after that time must check-in at the office and go directly to class.

This week, we enjoyed spending time with our returning and new families at our Open House times! We will begin our regular Preschool schedules on September 3rd for both groups.

We currently have openings in our AM Session, if you know of children who will be 3 by September 1, 2024. Next week, we will focus on exploring our classroom and learning about our schedule!

This week, the 3 & 4 classroom has enjoyed getting to know one another and building a strong classroom community! We are spending time learning new expectations, exploring outside together, playing classroom games/activities and diving into our classroom library! Next week we will start to build the structure of academic routines and continue to build connections through class games and exploration.

We have had a fantastic first week of school! Students are beginning to settle into routines, making new friendships, and started exploring our curriculum. This week, we’ve focused on:

• Building classroom community.

• Establishing routines and expectations

• Introducing our first unit of study: the rainforest.

• This week, science students learned about biomes and their unique characteristics and inhabitants. Students have been tasked with incorporating geography into their learning by creating a legend to map out the different biomes. Next week, we will dig deeper into the rainforest biome.

We are impressed by the enthusiasm and curiosity of our students. Thank you for your continued support.

Jess, Chris & Phil

The High School is off to a great start this year! We are happy to welcome Laura McCaffrey and Ian Kelly to the high school team and have Soledad Herrera join us as our foreign language teacher. This week we have worked on establishing our routines and new Crew groupings and we’re excited to dive into our projects. This semester students will be working on historical podcasts, developing earth system board games, writing and adapting stories, starting financial plans for potential small businesses, and looking into the data for some of their biggest nutrition questions.

This summer Rick, Michelle, and Connie worked long hours getting everything ready for the opening of school. This past week, Rick filled in our decaying sidewalk with staymat and tamped it so students would not fall or twist an ankle, not to mention he did this in the rain. Rick loves this community, the staff, and the students and will go out of his way (daily) to make sure everyone is safe and happy.

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Rick for always taking the time to care about everyone and keeping up safe!

During one of my walks this week, I came across Arin in the 3/4 house and students had the following sentence starter on the board..."If I were a teacher, I would..." I sat by Arin and asked him to read his sentence and he proudly said, "If I were a teacher, I would tell Rick to take a vacation and I would cover for him."

Hello Cabot Families,

It’s been wonderful to have the kids back at school this week and to hear all about their summer activities! As we begin the new year I wanted to remind you of the school illness policy.

On March 1st the CDC released updated COVID-19 guidelines and the Cabot School/CCSU Illness Protocol has been adjusted to reflect the change. The five day isolation period for positive COVID-19 cases is no longer required.

Your child should not attend school if they:

• Are unable to fully participate in school classes and/or activities.

• Have a fever (temperature higher than 100.4 F), or have experienced fever within the last 24 hours.

• Have had an episode of vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours that is not from a known condition or cause.

• Have a significant new rash, particularly when other symptoms are present.

• Are ill with a new respiratory illness (COVID, Flu, RSV, etc.)

Your child may return to school/school related activities when:

• They have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications.

• They have experienced improvement in symptoms over the last 24 hours.

• They feel well enough to participate in ALL school/work activities.

• They are able to appropriately control their secretions from coughs, sneezes, and nasal discharge.

Return to School Recommendations Post Respiratory Illness

Once your child returns to school after a respiratory illness it is recommended they:

• Wear a mask when around others for 5 additional days.

• Maintain distance from others.

• Be vigilant with hygiene practices: hand washing, covering cough, sneezes, and runny noses.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all. My email address is: kris.stecker@ccsuvt.net and my phone number is (802) 597-2790.

Stay well,

Kris Stecker, RN

Cabot School Welcome Back and Open House September 13

Please join us on Friday, September 13 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM for a Welcome Back, Open House, and Opening of the Playground event on the CSPAC lawn at Cabot School. All are welcome: in addition to introductions of Cabot School staff and an opportunity to visit classrooms, the PTSO and Recreation Committee will be there to provide information on their activities. Dinner will be provided-we hope to see you there!

The Cabot School Sustainability Committee:

Stef Burtt

Theresa Lay-Sleeper

Rebecca Nally

Melissa Pratt

Amy Richardson

Shannon Smith

Johanna Thibault

Chris Tormey

One of the large take-aways from our first Community Forum in June was the need for families and community members to have a better understanding of how the “project-based” way of learning being used at Cabot School actually works. Our next Community Forum (scheduled for September 16) will tackle that issue by having Cabot School teachers from three different grade levels (elementary, middle school and high school) make brief presentations about how a specific project at their grade level proceeds from start to finish while helping students build essential skills in literacy, math, communication, collaboration, etc. After each presentation, forum attendees will have the chance to discuss their impressions and to ask specific questions of the presenters.

Please join us at the CSPAC on Monday evening, September 16th to find out from school staff about how Cabot School students are learning through projects. Our Town Meeting moderator Jeannie Johnson will again facilitate the forum, which will run from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Refreshments will be provided- hope to see you there!

Chris Tormey

Cabot School Sustainability Committee

• September 2: No School - Labor Day

• September 13: Open House and Welcome Back to School Night 6:00-7:30pm
• September 16: Community Forum Night - learn how project based learning and curriculum align to support student growth from 6:00-8:00pm.
• September 20: Early Release Day, students dismissed at 12:00 (grab and go lunch available)
• September 23: Cabot School Board Meeting 6:00-8:00pm

Join us on September 7th at 6pm for The Playing Fields Project at the Danville School, a free back-to-school celebration presented by The Flynn and the Caledonia Central Supervisory Union. Enjoy Cirque Kikasse's spectacular circus performance from their extraordinary food truck, and dance to the vibrant sounds of the West Philadelphia Orchestra, blending Balkan and New Orleans brass. Don’t miss out—everyone is invited!

Here is a link to the event page where your event and all the others are listed:
https://www.flynnvt.org/Events/2024/9/playing-fields

She Jumps, Northwoods Stewardship Center, and Kingdom East Afterschool Programs (KEAP) are excited to offer the first-ever Mountain Biking & Wild Skills event at Burke Mountain! Event Registration includes KT day pass, lunch, and snacks. This event is being provided for free, with a suggested donation of $10 to SheJumps.

SheJumps' Wild Skills events teach young girls the survival and technical skills they need for outdoor adventuring. At the Kingdom Trails event, girls will be introduced to mountain biking through workshops on biking skills, first aid, bike maintenance, and more! This event will encourage girls to learn new skills, take on challenges, and think creatively which develops perseverance and fosters confidence.

SheJumps goal is to see girls learning, having fun, and connecting in an encouraging environment with amazing instruction and support from female mentors. We want Wild Skills to be an experience they will remember, one that will spark a lifetime of passion for the outdoors and will remind them that they are capable of anything.

Who can attend?

SheJumps, Northwoods and KEAP are proud to present a day of learning Wild Skills for Northeast Kingdom girls in grades 3-8th. Girls will learn, participate and create, plus all will receive a Wild Skills journal and certificate for joining in the fun.

Participants should:

• Bring their own bike and helmet, or borrow one from KEAP at the event (free).
• Dress in layers (athletic clothing, raincoat, etc)
• Wear close-toed sneakers
• Bring a water bottle and sunscreen

*KEAP has some clothing to borrow. Email morganmoore@kingdomeast.org to request some.

Schedule for the Day:

• 9:30am Registration/Check-In
• 10:00am Morning Meeting
• 10:30am Stations (Trail Ride or Bike Maintenance, First Aid)
• 12:30pm Lunch
• 1:00pm Stations (Trail Ride or Bike Maintenance and First Aid)
• 3:30pm End of Event/Check-Out

The day begins and ends at the Village Sport Shop Trailside on Darling Hill. Families should park in the VT Children’s Theater lot and students should be checked in at the tent there. Once checked in, girls must stay with their chaperones until they are checked out by a parent at the end of the event.

Price:

This event is FREE! There is an optional donation option to support SheJumps' mission of increasing participation of women and girls in the outdoors.

Dr. Jennifer Blake, Interim Principal jennifer.blake@ccsuvt.net

Eric Nelis, Interim Assistant Principal eric.nelis@ccsuvt.net

Jennifer Tidd, Executive Assistant jennifer.tidd@ccsuvt.net